Just and Sustainable Living

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We hear a lot about "sustainability" these days. The concept is promoted in many forms, from "sustainable development" and "sustainable living", to "sustainable architecture" and "sustainable tourism". Like an emerging style or trend, we warmly greet the comfortable ambiguity of "sustainable living" and are encouraged to "green" our world by introducing appropriate products and technologies into our lives.

But, what does that word "sustainable" really mean? In a world of an ever-growing population and finite resources, is a sustainable lifestyle even possible?

The Case for Sustainable Living

Sustainable living has been simply defined as living in a manner that utilizes resources in a way that does not diminish their availability for future generations. This is a tough mandate for most of us in the developed world, given our penchant for an increasing array of products and services that bring us the "good life". Defined in this way, sustainable living is a far cry from a business as usual lifestyle with the simple injection of green products. In the past 50 years, the world in general (and the U.S. in particular) has accelerated its consumption of non-renewable resources at a rate unprecedented in history. Since World War II, the human race has consumed as many goods and services as all previous generations combined!

Today, a growing world demand for resources; the peaking of oil production; the ticking time bomb of global climate change; and the massive loss of species world-wide are signaling the end of the era of limitless consumption.

We Can Do It!

We CAN turn things around and build a more sustainable world, sharing and celebrating God's abundance rather than exploiting Creation as though our earth and all who inhabit it are a "commodity" to be used and discarded. So . . . What do we need to do to get started?

Redevelop our energy system. Our fossil fuel resources are depleting and their continued use is destroying our climate, damaging our health, and degrading nature. Renewable energy sources can meet our energy needs: Every hour, the sun radiates more energy onto the earth than the entire human population uses in one whole year and according to the U.S. Department of Energy, the world's winds could theoretically supply more than 15 times current world energy demand.

Preserve the world's remaining species and ecosystems. We are part of Creation, and whatever we do to the web of life we do to ourselves. There is no more precious inheritance to convey to future generations than the richness of life itself.

Revamp our industrial agricultural system. We need farming and food production systems that do not depend on depleting water supplies,fossil fuels, chemical pesticides, or ever-increasing nitrogen fertilizers - all of which destroy nature and our bodies. How? Grow food locally!

Build energy efficient buildings and products. How we make things, and how we think about how we make things, must change radically. Visit Architecture 2030 and Energy Star websites to learn more.

Invest in green chemistry. We need to move away from hazardous chemicals that release poisonous substances into nature, where they accumulate in living organisms. Green chemistry technologies create safer products, reduce use of energy and resources, and minimize waste.

Work for a stable, long-lasting peace. Armed conflict over resources and ideologies need to cease. What better way to begin to bring about peace and justice than by working globally to end the growing gap between the rich and poor; end our dependence on fossil fuels; reduce our material consumption; and ensure that resources are distributed fairly and equitably, so that everyone's needs are met.

Long ago, Indigenous people understood our relationship to the earth, based upon a delicate balance between its living parts. The Great Law of the Iroquois crystallized the sacred responsibility of Indigenous people to consider the interests of the next seven generations whenever decisions were made. Following this ancient, wise principal today just might bring us into a new era of sustainable and just living!

What the Experts Are Saying . . .

Pat Murphy

Low Energy Lifestyle - Lessons from Cuba

Consume less, conserve more, create community! Click on the image to watch this presentation on sustainable living and rebuilding community by Pat Murphy, Executive Director of the Arthur Morgan Institute, Community Solutions. Click here to visit their website.

Bill McKibben - Deep Economy

Click here to watch renowned environmental author and environmentalist Bill McKibben discuss his new book Deep Economy: The Wealth of Communities and the Durable Future. He questions the feasibility of sustained economic growth, its impact on the earth and whether the costs outweigh the benefits in terms of human happiness and survival. Then he akes a case for going local. Cities that make more of their own food, energy and other goods are better off, and do less harm to the environment.

Alex Steffen

Inspired Ideas for a Sustainable Future

Click here to watch Worldchanging.com founder Alex Steffen argue that reducing humanity's ecological footprint is incredibly vital now, as the western consumer lifestyle spreads to developing countries. Worldchanging is an online salon of activists and thinkers dedicated to the proposition that "another world is here" -- that the tools and techniques we need to reverse the global malaise already exist and await only our imagination and willpower.

The Choice is Ours to Make!
We are now entering a new era. What lies ahead is up to us. The choices we make within the next few years may determine whether our future will be characterized by the decline of life on planet earth or the arrival of an age of sustainability. The heartening news is that we have the means to make the right choices. We just need the personal will to embrace life-giving alternatives and the where-with-all to choose political leaders with the courage to reject business as usual and truly support a sustainable future. It's time to act!

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Eco-Justice Collaborative

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