Unsustainable resource use has led the world to the brink of total ecological collapse. Most educated people agree on this. Unless present human societies radically change their lifestyle habits (and breeding habits, too), the world of the future will be much more hostile than the planet on which we currently live. Most educated people want to take action to solve this problem. Their ideas about sustainable development generate a lot of excitement, because they present the opportunity for growth in a decade that otherwise promises resource scarcity, recession, and famine. Human ingenuity and creativity in the face of adversity can be quite impressive.
Sustainable development initiatives– buying a fuel-efficient car, building a new passive solar house, or consuming less– are nice, but they won’t solve this problem, no matter how creative. Buying, building, and consuming are the habits that caused the present sustainability crisis. We can’t buy or build or consume our way out of it.
This is not a negative perspective. It’s a call to action. It turns out that the solution to our problem is surprisingly easy. We, the people of the developed world, don’t need to do anything to be more sustainable. In fact, our sustainability problems can only be solved if we decide to do a lot less: to live smaller, simpler, and more local lifestyles.
The details are different for every individual or family, and every individual or family is capable of being a lot more sustainable. Don’t buy a new fuel-efficient car; figure out ways to decrease your reliance on fossil-fueled machines. Walk to the store. Bike to work.
Don’t go out and build a better house; make your current house super-efficient. Grow some plants in the rooms in your house nobody visits (you’re paying to heat them anyway). Use a clothesline. Ditch your second refrigerator.
Don’t simply consume less; don’t consume. Forget Jamba Juice and make your own fruit smoothies. Never, ever buy wrapping paper. Water your lawn infrequently and at night.
Obviously some buying, building, and consuming are necessary to make changes. That’s the reality of our society. Think about what is really necessary though, because living sustainably in the developed world is a lot more about what you aren’t doing than what you are. Get creative with the things you won’t do.
