Needs vs wants. I don't need most of what I use energy for. I could wear really thick coats on those -30c days in winter. Instead of indoor plumbing I could have a bucket of water that I need to draw from a well just before I use it (so it isn't frozen)... Living like that on a camping trip is even fun for a few days, but I'm glad to spend most of my time in a house where I can use a lot of energy on wants.

Now granted as they improve their quality of life I hope they can take the best technology I have. There is no reason they should build poorly insulated houses just because that is a phase we went through 100 years ago - before we knew better. (they will undoubtedly make plenty of mistakes without following ours - for that matter I what our children will think about us...)