Well, NZ is pretty isolated. Since this guy proposes living without modern energy and technology it brings, let's test it there. No fossil fuels for NZ for, say 25 years, no shipping, no air freight, no transportation, no heavy industry, no "pollution" generating power, no nasty SUVs or any other vehicles. No fertilizers for crops, no synthetics for clothing, no mills to weave the wool or process lumber, no refrigeration to keep the meat, no petrochemical based pharmaceuticals, no smelted metal products, no plastics.
Then, after this 25 year moratorium, we'll see how much the people really want to live in that world, those who haven't died that is.
> Then, after this 25 year moratorium, we'll see how much the people really want to live in that world, those who haven't died that is.
I think that's exactly the point the writer is trying to make.