Editing Simple living (section)

===Reconsidering technology===
People who practice simple living have diverse views on the role of technology. The American political activist [[Scott Nearing]] was skeptical about how humanity would use new technology, citing destructive inventions such as [[nuclear weapon]]s.<ref>{{cite book|author=Scott Nearing|title=Civilization and Beyond |page=101 |year=2006 |publisher=Echo Library |isbn=978-1406834970 }}</ref> Those who eschew modern technology are often referred to as [[Luddite]]s or [[neo-Luddism|neo-Luddites]].<ref name = Luddites>{{cite web|last=Sale|first=Kirkpatrick|date=February 1997|url=https://mondediplo.com/1997/02/20luddites|url-access=subscription|title=America's New Luddites|website=Le Monde diplomatique}}</ref> Although simple living is often a [[Secularity|secular]] pursuit, it may still involve reconsidering [[appropriate technology]] as [[Anabaptism|Anabaptist]] groups such as the [[Amish]] or [[Mennonites]] have done.

Technology can make a simple lifestyle within mainstream culture easier and more sustainable. The [[internet]] can reduce an individual's [[carbon footprint]] through [[remote work]] and lower paper usage. Some have calculated their energy consumption to show that one can live simply and in a satisfying way by using much less energy than is typically used in Western countries.<ref>{{cite web|first=Anil K.|last=Rajvanshi|title=How to Live Simply and in a Sustainable Way|date=2012-05-27|url=http://www.speakingtree.in/spiritual-blogs/masters/self-improvement/how-to-live-simply-and-in-a-sustainable-way|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131219004528/http://www.speakingtree.in/spiritual-blogs/masters/self-improvement/how-to-live-simply-and-in-a-sustainable-way|archive-date=2013-12-19}}</ref> Technologies they may embrace include computers, [[photovoltaic system]]s, [[wind turbine]]s, and [[water turbine]]s.

Technological interventions that appear to simplify living may actually induce side effects elsewhere or in the future. [[Evgeny Morozov]] warns that tools like the internet can facilitate [[mass surveillance]] and [[political repression]].<ref>{{cite book|first=Evgeny |last=Morozov|title=The Net Delusion: The Dark Side of Internet Freedom |year=2011 }}</ref> The book ''[[Green Illusions]]'' identifies how wind and solar energy technologies have hidden side effects and can actually increase energy consumption and entrench environmental harms over time.<ref>{{cite book|last=Zehner|first=Ozzie|title=Green Illusions: The Dirty Secrets of Clean Energy and the Future of Environmentalism|year=2012|publisher=[[University of Nebraska Press]]|isbn=978-0803237759}}</ref> The authors of the book ''Techno-Fix'' criticize technological optimists for overlooking the limitations of technology in solving agricultural problems.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Huesemann|first1=Michael H.|first2=Joyce A.|last2=Huesemann|year=2011|title=Technofix: Why Technology Won't Save Us or the Environment|publisher=New Society Publishers|location=Gabriola Island, British Columbia, Canada|isbn=978-0865717046}}</ref>