Being poor in other countries is not so green. I've read (sorry can't cite) that a good deal of rain forest loss is due to family farmers in third world countries trying to create more farmland largely just to feed their families. There are plenty of pollutive emissions from cooking over fires as well, and a number of other practices of the truly poor that don't measure up as green.
Could it be that our Western old people, most of whom are not "poor" by global standards, are closer to an economic sweet spot, something more sustainable and greener than the work-all-the-time, spend-all-the-time mentality of the working generations?
I'm all for working less even if it means being less affluent. But to hold down a full time job, and thus have anything close to affordable family health care, means, in this economy, working pretty much all the time.
I'm not sure that "no one" is willing to be poorer to be greener, or, for that matter, to lead a more fulfilling life. Many choose that path. Others are left with little choice.
