There would be no nectarines and tomatoes in the dead of winter, although when these foods were eaten in season, they would be healthier, tastier, and leave less of an ecological footprint. This would require a shift in approach to buying food, and perhaps require more canning, freezing, and preserving of foods than people might have done in the past. More cooking would also be necessary, given the smaller supply of foodstuffs. Produce might also be more expensive, given the more labor-intensive practices involved in pesticide-free farming.
With the use of solar power for energy, people would no longer be able to live in a 24/7 society. Sunrise to sunset would define the day as it did so long in the past. This might make people happier, given the beneficial effects of sunlight -- it raises the mood, is full of Vitamin D, and is naturally energizing. But again, this would come at a 'cost' -- no more all-night parties, no more surfing the Internet at 12am. Of course, the miracle solar cell that provides energy through tidal and wind energy would enable the existence of some sustainable forms of non-solar energy after the sun had set, particularly during the times in the winter when solar power is in short supply, but unfettered consumption of electricity, and essentially living a life in artificial light would have to come to an end, depending on how functional solar cells would be over time.
And almost everyone in the community would have the same time schedule. There would be less living in isolation for good, or for ill. People would feel more relaxed, but people who like to live by their own schedules might be frustrated.
The end of competitive sports and for-profit corporations would end the 'dog eat dog' culture of today's corporate environment, even the schools. But it also might mean that people would be less pressured to excel, and to come up with new ideas and solutions to make a profit, since there was less incentive to do so. There would be a greater sense of social responsibility to the community and to others because people would not be judged upon how they were able to accumulate the trappings of success. More of the nation's money would be budgeted to help the needy, and to provide health insurance to everyone, and this would mean those who are currently poor would likely flourish in Ecotopia. But life in Ecotopia would definitely come at a personal cost to people who are more affluent, or perhaps more iconoclastic, individual, creative -- and competitive by nature.
Works Cited
Callenbach, Ernest. Ecotopia Imagined. Heyday Books, 1981.
