Has the destruction of the extended family contributed to climate change?

No

7 of 9

by Jamie Wyman

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The question of the week is "What are you doing for Thanksgiving?" In a nutshell, we're having dinner with family from a minimum of 1700 miles away. In my youth, my parents and I made the short trek to Grandma's house on Thursday evening then a longer drive to Other Grandma's house during the long holiday weekend. For some members of my family, this would be one of the 2 days out of the year we spent together. A time for cheek-pinching and "my how you've grown" commentary.

And yet, my daughter has a very different lifestyle. Our child is two years old and sees her grandparents twice a year if the air fares align. Family time consists of words shared via speaker phone or pictures posted on internet photo albums. But she has no want for extended family. She has aunts and uncles in spades, but only one tied by blood. This holiday we dine with 30 of our dearest friends; they are our family.

The extended family hasn't been destroyed or dissolved. The extended family has evolved. Sisters, aunts and in-laws need no longer come over to help with the wash and there need not be ten children to help share a work load. Long gone are the days when a neighbourhood of homes consists of one or two families. Technology has enabled us to sit at the table with far-away relatives through a little creative use of a camcorder and an HD TV. Friends now fill in the gaps when blood relatives are few. In short, we make do with what's around us and have made our own families.

Has this contributed at all to climate change? Absolutely not. The dire status of our ecology is derived from habits. While our family units have moved with the times, our energy consumption and addiction to oil hasn't evolved. It's easy for one to say that modern technology is keeping people in this loop, however, think about it: what does this really have to do with the modern extended family dynamic? Nothing. As the family has changed, technology has allowed us to adapt and remain close even if we're not proximal. We can have a webcast Thanksgiving from all points of the country without spending a red cent at the gas station.

It's ludicrous to think an iPod can destroy family values just as it is to say that the climate change is linked to a suposed lack of extended family in the modern society. If anything has dissolved it is the will of common people to put aside toxic habits and search for "green" solutions.

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