Responding in several different directions at once...
I was unaware that I lived a "Hyper Luxurious" life style. The non-sustainable part only comes in because we're brainwashed to replace EVERYTHING once a decade or so. We're fixing to bring in this years harvest using a combine that is almost as old as I am.
I guess I can't speak for you, but I know that I definitely am. Like most Americans, I have shelter, I have work, I have enough food that I can afford to glut myself to the point of obesity AND still waste most of it. I have so much stuff that is so far beyond basic necessities that calling it anything but a luxury is unthinkable. I have access to practically all of human knowledge at my fingertips. I may not be able to buy absolutely everything money can buy, but like most Americans, a heck of a lot of it is within reach. I live so comfortably that I can afford to engage in pointless debates and arguments in an obscure corner of the internet dedicated to shuffling around bits to build and explore imaginary worlds. Naturally, what constitutes "luxury" is in the eye of the beholder, but compared to almost all of the world and almost all of human history, I've got it very, very, very, very good. When the poorest Americans can still afford an ipod, cellphone, and/or a TV, we live in luxury.
The "organic" food nonsense is completely unsustainable too (and bad for the environment to boot).
I agree with you about the "Green" stuff, and I also agree that a lot of "organic" produce falls into the same category of "trend-of-the-day" capitalist opportunism, but could you please clarify this? Why exactly is organic food (in and of itself) unsustainable and bad for the environment?
Glad someone is more optimistic about this than I am. I don't have that much faith in technology.
Because of science and technology we have reliable, clean drinking water and lifespans have doubled in 100 years. It's also because of science and technology that, with the exception of world war 1 and 2, the western world has completely done away with famine. When you read about some poor africans or whoever that don't have clean water or whatever, it's because they dont have the technology we do.
the western lifestyle is completely sustainable... for a smaller population,
Again, you're making assumptions based on current technologies.
Let me clarify. I don't have anything against technology. More specifically, I am not confident that technology is going to continue to develop at the pace that it has, and not confident that it will develop quickly enough or completely enough to solve all of the problems that are bearing down on us. It might. But then again, it might not. I'm not willing to bet on it. Just because technology has been progressing rapidly for a few centuries doesn't mean that it will continue to do so. And even if it does, I am not at all confident in our ability as humans to properly handle such technology and stay well-adjusted, capable people able to keep technological progress moving forward. We might. But then again, we might not... I submit the amount of time wasted on Facebook (and forums like this) as evidence of the latter.