In the recently released book Life in 2030, John Robinson and colleagues at UBC's Sustainable Development Research Institute (SDRI) outline a scenario of what Canada might look like in the future. Features of that future outlined below are based on the assumption that Canadians make a determined effort to employ the most environmentally benign techniques either available or under development in 1990.

• Canada's population is 30 million

• divorce is down slightly, fertility has remained at the 1990 level of about 1.7 children, and there are more non-traditional families

• there is full employment and the average formal work week is down to 27.5 hours

• almost everyone does voluntary work and there has been a boom in private bartering and work for payment-in-kind

• all forms of social security have been merged into guaranteed annual income

• health care employs twice as many people as in 1990

• alternative medicine is far more common and most people are treated at home

• tobacco has virtually disappeared

• almost everyone has a "superbox" at home: a combined fax, computer, TV, and videophone

• most households have one small electric car for local use and rent a larger vehicle fueled by either hydrogen or plant alcohol for intercity travel

• although most people still have personal video and audio equipment, most other domestic durables are rented or borrowed from "common goods stores"

• energy use and environmental emissions have dropped significantly (carbon