Being a casual listener to the green movement, I have bumped into the discussion on what we can do to bring down our eco-foot prints plenty of times. Rarely though have I seen suggestions that are radical enough[make a real impact], or when they are seem very removed (is that necessary perhaps). I am forced then to ask, is there a practical way to make choices that bring our footprint to the one earth scenario? The type of choices that lead to a lifestyle that can be sustainable even in a post-climate change world?
This is a huge post, and I truly wish I could be more succinct but as it is I am wordy guy, so that said I would love to hear your ideas and comments on what choices you think are necessary and why? Or comments on mine. That is even if you read almost none of my post.
My concern with the standard linesI would love to hear solutions/suggestions directed from either the investor, community organizer or consumer prospective. I am willing to put in tons of effort and time, but I need to believe it will make a real impact.
Summary: These are all not as obvious as their presented to be. They don't work for me and I am sure many others. They don't even come close to a real impact, especially considering the effort required, but I would love to hear how any of them could be adapted or improved.
Recycling - Recycling isn't facilitated much at all where I live and progress is neither favored nor forthcoming. We ship it out (800+ km) to small centers with a mixed reputation and have minimal local infrastructure (despite a pretty large local environmental community). Even on the personal level you have to drive 10-20 km to the closest drop-centre. I would love to do my own recycling, but have no idea how to even start and despite the internet/books apparently containing the information, I have had a heck of a time getting even the little I know now.
This will change when I move to a larger center in two years, but I then still have no idea how their system works or the quality of their services.
Reduction - is ridiculous, the farmers market [local goods] are not very robust in any of the three cities I have lived. There is little to no way of knowing anything about how much waste products produce, there parts history, ect.. Packaging is crazy and there is no choices (I am aware of) as far as low packaging alternatives. Buying/accepting used has a horrible history with me. Making it myself is getting ridiculously costly and time-consuming: the parts need to be shipped in from around the world/nation[very costly], and I have zero access to proper facilities because my choice to have a small living space, which I still believe is the best choice as far as becoming sustainable.
Composting - I live in a condo. So beyond the flower/herb pots, even wormed organic waste needs to be trucked 10km to the university community plot. Which is often frozen over, difficult, and messy.
Reuse As a self-affirmed minimalist, it might seem counter-intuative to say I hate to reuse, but it is the truth. When quality and upgradability is there sure, but let face facts, I neither have the funds, time nor will to figure that out to any large degree. So 90% of the time I end up with a lot of waste. I am a hype whore, and a gadget nut. It gets me into trouble. I always try to give away/sell my old models , but really if I don't find much use in them, ones kidding themselves in thinking it will not end up in the junk pile soon.
Vegetarianism I have tried an variety of of vegan and vegetarian diets. They have serious effects on my taste buds (raising my stress levels, which is bad for my health), it has so far made me more prone to sickness, and because of where I live[very north] the food goes bad really quickly. I by no means think this is true for everyone[esp how it seems to makes me sick], but it is true for me. I do keep meat to a minimum, don't eat pork, have limited beef/lamb and always get as seasonal and local as possible[tons of my food], but beyond awaiting lab-grown meat, is there really anything more I can do? (Footprint calculators are always saying diet is such a huge component, and I am very vulnerable barring a crisis, so theoretically it needs work )
Green power I like many are saying sign me up and I am willing to pay more, but how do I get it? Reduction basics have been done and are are generally pretty easy and practical. I still use tons of electricity though and its ever increasing. Is there a cost effective way to locally produce some? A place I can afford the loss? A reasonable DIY energy solution? So far the only applicable solutions I have heard is reducing my beloved technology use, and I have some choice words for that and would rather die a happy smoker [tech addict]. And personal Solar/wind, which I'd be all for, but apparently I can't finance it. I saw the helix design for wind, which looks good, so if the sound issue is solved, I'd be happy to adapt, but quoting real cost seems to be a huge taboo and financing is pie in the sky talk.
The soon to come electric car / hybrids, buses, and biking Biking long distance is out of the question most of the time. There is no way I am going on the roads in the busy parts of a city, not to mention most of the year it is way to cold where I live now. Electronic motors work horrifically where I am due to the cold, batteries are said to be quite dirty, so how am I suppose to know what is better? Not to mention, all electricity production around here is dirty, and going distance is a must[draining most gains]. So really electric is not a viable alternative, yet it seems the only transportation alternative coming to market or as a DIY conversation. Ethanol is interesting though, but still a polluter. I take buses when I can, I avoid distance travel (though that more a hate of planes, crossing finger for an airship boon) and walking and taking the bike on short trips is a given (even in the cold). I use a small fuel efficient car and rent for large halls. This though still doesn't even come close to being a real solution.
House and home Really these are the most ridiculous. Sod houses/farm living is out of the question. Past the basic and quite frankly weak renovations to peak things like heat efficiency you got little you can do to back-design in smart architecture. New builds are huge risk which is hard to stomach; you got what obscenely weak(IMO) green standard which looks almost almost solely at energy efficiency. You got poor quality builds in most cases, at least in my opinion. Space use is an after thought, costs are trapping, but at least cost by space helps. Common areas in condos for the most part are too public for most private uses. There is all but zero thought put into the surrounding environment in almost every build (correct me if I am wrong, please). What choice do I have but a bad one? What advantage is there to make scarifies? is there an action I can take to at least encourage a better future opinion?
An as far as appliances go there need to be a revolution but toward what? I must say I love my new steam Washer and Gemini stove though.
My workable solutions so farFrom the standard line:
- Basic home and energy efficiency upgrades.
- Avoiding extreme temperature control.
- Having a small house to occupant ratio.
- Living close to work, shopping, entertainment, ect...
- Avoiding obvious power drains[lights, power bars].
- Minimizing meat and processed foods.
- Preferring local foods.
- Encouraging backyard gardens and in-hosue herbs.
- Minimizing long distance travel.
- Utilizing Public transportation systems
- Walking/biking short distances.
- Carpooling
- Driving a small fuel efficient car and renting barring weekly need for truck/suv.
- Being involved in community action.
- Buying quality, minimal packaging opinions [in those rare opportunities]
- Using reusable containers/bags when available.
But obviously these aren't even close to enough to being personally in the one earth scenario, let alone sustainable in a post-climate change world. So what can I(we) do?
My additions:
Toward Smart Population Growth - My proposition is, avoid assistance to families with larger than 3 children [baring reason, e.g. quintuplets ], limit your own children from 0-3. Have children in the 20-28(25) window, than use a permanent birth control measure[e.g. vasectomy] there after. Include an earth-human philosophic unit when teaching religious, traditional, or political beliefs, especially about the virtue of family. Reject and oppose the idea that the economy *requires* immigrants and young people to work in an aging population, and instead encourage a healthy, productive and included older generation.
Include Personal Finances - Better overall management of funds is essential to living sustainable IMO. So some suggestions: Use of at birth education/starting out funds [no mater how small] for all children. Aim to earn some passive income and increase it year on year. [No matter how small, even if you fail]. Have an emergency fund. Set and plan a product replacement cycle. Write down goals in a reviewable format. Invest in stocks from companies you buy from and enjoy. Aim to reduce on one expense every season. Utilize available debt. Insure only when you cost effective, and than always. Have an affordable expert who can facilitate some of these things for you since you probably don't have the time to do it effectively. If your having problems ask questions, as there is almost always a way to do what people want, quickly, they just don't know how. Self-directed selfish behavior can be good for the whole.
Stress is worth more than a dollar - Slower more casual lifestyles naturally
bring down impact.That can be good and that can be bad. Bringing ones own peace of mind to effectiveness ratio into balance then is a key to a practical one earth scenario. It is a hard thing to lay out in absolute terms, as it so personal.The point then is it needs to be apart of the personal discussion. A dollar can't be worth more then your peace of mind, but that within the context that to go to the other extreme only changes the problem.
Find your natural environment - do you love the desert, the forest, the lake, the marsh? It a more important question then it can seem. Most people (i find) are attached to only one, and it not always the one that surrounds them. It can also be forgotten when masked by most of our our daily urban living. This is important, because I don't see how you can be sustainable without feeling connected, and you can't connect without making time an being in your element. Not enough people take time to find it let alone embrace it, so the environment then often becomes merely an intellectual pursuit. Change that, and all of a sudden the question is not 'save the environment' but save myself. Return. Reawaken and dissolve that artificial line between natural and artificial. Us and it then no longer need to apply. As a Taoist might teach, this is all about the power of non-action. the power of subtle meaning.
Things I believe would help, but don't quite know how to invest in:- Local power generation or low impact green power.
- In-building(house) gardens [Urban farming]
- Lab grown meat
- Artificial trees [Personal carbon converter/sink product] [Don't know what product would be, nor how to use, it just would be better if I could take my carbon[et al] foot print away without owning massive amounts of land or giving money to some unseen queasy creditable organization/person. i.e. I need to see it to believe it.
- Non-electric alternative personal transportation.
- Airship airline - that is if they are even more sustainable than airplanes?
- Better non-chemical produce storage. [Vegetable/fruits die way too quickly]
- Real creditable labeling that tells me what a product is made of, where it is from, and some of info on its impact: food label style. [That is, products don't have to get more green, but I think they should at least tell me how un-green they are and let me make the choice if the other values merit that total cost.]
- Multi section junk yards/dumps. [ I don't necessarily expect a city to recycle everything I give them. That may or may not be cost effective. I just wish that if I sorted my garbage into some basic categories, e.g. possibly useful junk, mainly plastic, mainly metal, mainly paper, who knows, organic. That they could store those at different facilities or parts of the site. As to assist the sorting process when that stuff will gain value, which it most likely will.
- A product tax actually directed to a visible action or a visible record of government spending that the government expects public feedback from. [ I more than most know how long this road would be]
- Road quality sucks, so an alternative. [ little hubs need to get faster access to the advantages of cities in a cost effective way]
- Access to facilities like a wood-metal shop [public library style?]
- Access to basic local production facilities.
