Sustaining America
We all hear it, most of us ignore it. Sustainable. That WORD. The triple bottom line. It makes most of us cringe but for many different reasons. What does “sustainable” mean? Sustainable means “able to be maintained.” Sustainability means maintaining our environment, economy and society while we continue to grow and develop.
I try to think of it this way: The Earth has a big bank account with many resources in the bank. To live sustainably is to live off the tnterest without cutting into the principal balance of the Earth’s bank account.
Can it be done? My feelings are mixed. In an “everything all the time” society like America, I’m just not so sure. This is a country where we save far less than any other country. We have more and live horribly, fattening our children on ridiculous amounts of chemical laden foods, diluting our lives with one basketful after another of dollar store type fodder that no one needs but we just have to have. A bigger house, a bigger car, more vacations, more clothing, more acceptance of what would have been considered detestable only a few short decades ago.
We live with less education, less value, less accountability and less remorse in general for the damage we’re doing. Like a bunch of spoiled children who’ve been given too much, we feel a sense of entitlement of having all access to everything, including the safety nets that may or may not be there. There has never been less interest in the future as a whole.
We are a group of humans running through our lives consuming as much as possible until its game over and at no time of the year is it more evident than during the holidays.
Until the inhabitants of this country learn that it’s not up to someone else to do the job, that every single piece of trash and every single waste of our resources adds up, we cannot sustain our lives or this planet. But how do you make someone care? This, I fear, is the obstacle to sustainability.
We have a sign over our dining room table that states “Live simply, live well” and we try to adhere to that. I’m not talking about not driving a car or living completely solar, although I wish I could. I’m talking about my wooden bowl.
I have a wooden bowl that a dear friend of mine gave to me. He brought it from China and it’s well over a hundred years old. It’s carved from a single piece of wood, it has hand sewn crossed stitches down its side where it was patched back together again after being broken. Someone cared enough and valued this bowl enough to repair it, to sustain it. I use it nearly every day, because it reminds me. This old bowl sitting still on my table, unassuming and proud is my constant reminder to look at the value of things.
It reminds me to teach my children.
It has to start with our children. Socrates said, “The right way to begin is to pay attention to the young, and make them just as good as possible.” I agree. Value the children, value our lives and value our Earth. Instead of caring less, use less.
Sustainable is easy.
While I agree about the vital importance of properly managing sustainable, I cannot agree with the part where you say “There has never been less interest in the future as a whole.”
On the contrary, I have great hope for the future. I am very encouraged by the interest in the Slow Food movement, the support for organic, heirloom, and heritage foods that are locally-produced. For Thanksgiving, my aunt just sent us some chestnuts that were produced by people who are trying to bring back the American chestnut. Artisan cheeses are a livelihood for many small dairies. Chefs are cultural icons that they never were back during the rise of processed foods and convenience meals.
While I think there’s certainly still a long way to go in terms of improvement, I also believe that this moment in our culture is ripe for making successful changes. Why, the very fact that you’re writing this blog and I’m reading it indicates that there’s an audience actively interested in leading a more moderate lifestyle that has less negative environmental impact. In my opinion, the glass is half-full on this issue. We’re not there yet, but we’re not sitting on our hands doing nothing, either.