Key to Prosperity -- Sustainability Part II

Now, I'm happy to blather on about sustainability in an academic sense, but once I get talking about concrete suggestions... well, I start to feel like a major hypocrite. So let me make it clear that this stuff is advice for me and my little family first and foremost. Because we have to make some changes.

Think Locally; Act Locally

The things we can realistically do for the larger environment are pretty small. Not that we shouldn't do anything. It's just that those things are tiny things when compared to the larger picture. And we often live in a world of Hobson's choices, as I discovered when I tried to recycle three bags of shredded paper before a major move. The only facility that would take them was all the way across town. I'd burn more gas getting there and back than would be saved, in terms of environmental impact, for these three bags. Not to mention that paper is pretty biodegradable. So, I tossed it out with the garbage. Frustrating.

But by focusing on the most local level, I believe we can make more of a difference. For example, if I had a garden, I could compost the paper or use it as mulch to keep weeds from growing. We're talking basic bills and credit card offers, nothing toxic. And gardening would be more sustainable in terms of the results of the garden itself. Whether flowers or fruits and veggies, those would be items I wouldn't buy need to by. And complex decisions about whether the imported organic is better than the local non-organic that I wouldn't have to make. Or I could encourage my job to recycle paper. Then I'd add my paper to the larger mass getting regularly trucked away -- economy of scale, and not just financial economy, but environmental as well.

By buying locally, I can not only support the financial sustainability of the place where I live, I can effect more change because my voice actually matters. If I suggest to Walmart that they might want to sell products created without sweatshop labor, or offer more organic choices, or give a credit for reusing bags -- well, I'm just one voice and it's not like they'd care if they lost my business. But the local and locally-owned store just might care and just might listen. And local restaurants (not giant chains) might take seriously my requests for food made with local produce. And then everyone wins, financially and ecologically... if for no other reason than because local = less shipping. And the money I spend stays local as well, ensuring better community financial sustainability.

Fuck Reuse, Reduce is the key

This is something that's really hit me in the past few years. You can try 101 bizarre hippie ways to reuse every odd thing that comes into your life. You can recycle -- if there's a place that takes items in your town. But the real key is to REDUCE the amount of stuff you have to deal with in the first place. Don't let the crap in in the first place. And don't spit it back out without any thought. Little things like using rechargeable batteries, stopping junk mail, using the library, and making stuff last.

Commerce isn't the AntiChrist (and it Ain't a Savior Neither)

There's nothing wrong with buying stuff. If we weren't able to buy the things we needed, we'd be reduced to making it all ourselves... and that doesn't make sense. Thousands of years ago, upright apes discovered the benefits of specialization. Grog could tan leather well but couldn't nap flint worth shit. Noog, on the other hand had the reverse problem. So, they traded the goods and skills they had for the ones they didn't. And thus was born the economy.

Yes, if we all lived in completely self-sustaining homesteads and made every single thing we needed to live, our environmental footprint would be tiny... especially since the first time we got sick and there was no doctor (because he was busy milking goats and weaving cloth) we'd die. Lots of human death is good for the Earth, but I'm not that nihilistic, thanks.

But that doesn't mean we shouldn't consider the things we buy. For example, the explosion of completely disposal cleaning products. Even the mildest of them (like a disposable wipe) is still something that comes into your life to be thrown away. I've actually given this some thought. Better to use a disposable wipe or papertowel (OMG excess garbage) ... or better to use a rag and wash it (OMG excess water and soap and electricity for the water)? Who knows. But I do know that too much of that stuff is just not justifiable.

It also means that we should consider the quality of the things we buy. My friend calls this the $20 shirt theory. The point is that you should spend more on something that will last, on something of quality, than spend less on a cheap piece of crap. It's harder to spend more, I know, but it's more sustainable -- both financially and ecologically. One $20 shirt that lasts is better than five $5 shirts that wear out quickly. Better for your budget and better for the environment.

Sustainability is a Group Effort

Years ago, I was talking with an old friend who lived in Maine. She was talking about a major ice storm where the power was out in some areas for like two weeks in the middle of winter. I was stunned. What did people do? Did many die?

It seems that there were very few casualties. Why? Well, first of all, because the weather in Maine is typically pretty extreme (if that's not a contradiction). Even without freak ice storms, they have very severe winters. The result is that, by necessity, people are self-sufficient. Wood stoves are common as are large stockpiles of wood (even for people with new, suburban homes with central heating). People also have more food and water on hand, as well as other useful supplies like lanterns, flashlights, etc. Of course some people do that all over the country, but in Maine more people do it -- because they need it.

The other reason casualties were lessened is because people worked together to help each other. The elderly and infirm were watched over. Neighbors checked up on one another. If you didn't have a woodstove or enough wood, one of your neighbors would and you were welcome there. When the shit really hits the fan, people tend to band together. Because the consequences for not doing so are so very harsh. It's one thing to turn a blind eye to the lonely, elderly cat lady at the end of your block. But when that blind eye might very well result in her death (and her 16 cats with her)? Well, people get altruistic all of a sudden. Because (and I think this is mostly unconscious) no one wants that on their consciences. Again, because Maine has more dangerous weather, they have more experience with building community.

But whether or not you're expecting the end of the world in ice, building community is a good idea. It creates sustainability. Not only in a quid pro quo sense (so and so fixed my car, now I will till his garden) but in an emotional sense. When you have a network of supportive contacts, it makes getting through difficult times easier -- and what else is sustainability but planning now to avoid difficult times or make them easier when they come? This is perfectly illustrated by the fact that a strong network of contacts is one of the factors that contributes to a longer lifespan (physical sustainability at its most fundamental).

Financial Sustainability Starts at Home

It sometimes feels like we live in a world of too many choices. And, when it comes to the environment, the choices are often confusing and contradictory (paper or plastic?). However, when it comes to financial sustainability, choice is a very good thing. The more options you have to sustain yourself in terms of cash flow (buying the things you need, paying the bills, having a place to stay) the better. The more jobs you can find, the less likely you'll be out of work, right? The fewer bills you have the less you have to worry about and the less you have to make. The solution is going to be different for everyone, but one thing is clear. Being a paycheck or two away from homelessness really limits your choices and is not at all sustainable.

While community can create and nurture sustainability, when it comes to personal financial sustainability, independence is the key. The less you have to rely on others, the better. Anyone you're beholden to or owe or can't make it without limits your choices and reduces your independence. That means bosses, landlords, and above all creditors. Now, you may still choose to have a financial relationship with one of these entities, but it's important to be aware of how it affects your sustainability. What happens when you get fired? What happens when your landlord sells the property you live in and the new owners raise the rent? What happens when you can't make a mortgage payment.

Because we live in a capitalist country, we need to consider the way that our financial decisions effect our ability to continue supporting ourselves and our families into the future.