Filed under: J840 Week 5, Waste + Recycling | Tags: Annie Leonard, Disposable Society, Greensulate, Immanuel Kant, PBDE, social consumption, social responsibility, societal ethics, Story of Stuff, sustainability, sustainable, sustainable living
So what’s sustainability?
To me, true, bona fide sustainability is using only biological or renewable resources in all production/manufacturing for everything we use and/or consume, and only using those resources at a renewable rate. Isn’t that truly sustaining? Well that’s proves difficult for our society at this point.
Are we too far gone?
We are a society of consumers, and it seems that success is often measured by the stuff we consume—at any cost. We max-out credit cards, sacrifice the planet and work 80-hour weeks just to ensure we are able to maximize our consumption. And all the while we never stop to think about how disposable we are treating everything—time, money, energy, and the environment. These are not things we will ever get back nor can they be recreated or regenerated; our lives are not sustainable. To that point, the planet is a shared space and our society’s decisions should treat it as such. And driving giant vehicles and climate-controlling excessively huge houses (just some examples) are sustainably-poor decisions.
Video courtesy of www.youtube.com
We are faced with a compromise between sustainable, emotional and economical demands. In Annie Leonard ‘s Story of Stuff, she warns of harmful PBDEs used in flame retardant products. Still, there are no perfect alternatives. There are a number of pros to using flame retardants, it unarguably saves lives from fire. Eco-friendly products are available that offer flame retardant benefits. Greensulate™ , is a housing insulate made of agricultural waste products and has a class-A fire rating, but it’s not competitively priced and it’s not applicable in all situations. This is great, but what about other flame retardant uses—-clothes, camping accessories and firefighting equipment. We have to choose between the environment, our health and monetary feasibility, and there’s not an easy answer. This is just one example, but we find ourselves in these types of situations everyday.
Great, now what?
I wish I had all the answers, but I don’t. I just know society is very far from abandoning all of the unsustainable luxuries that modern technology has afforded society. We use non-biological and non-renewable resources everyday, and exhaust the renewable ones available.
Over the last few weeks I have been exposed to a wealth of valuable information regarding sustainability, and the lack of in our society. Since then, I have made a conscious effort to be sustainable as possible by doing what I can, when I can and as often as I can (for example, I just started printing on both sides of paper and recycling). And just as important, I feel educated enough speaking to and encouraging others to do the same. I realize I could do more, we all could, but these are steps toward being more sustainable and less disposable.
www.treehugger.com
Beth Davis
Filed under: J840 Week 5, Society + Media | Tags: sustainability, University Office of Sustainability UNH
Sustainability, what is it? One word with countless definitions. Hard to grasp. Good grief! Today I am informed as a result of two interactions.
Sustainability Model
Interaction one -
Chris Doran opened my eyes today. When thinking about defining sustainability, think about what sustains you. Your answers will go beyond air, food, water, shelter. You will include the more complex and rich aspects of living; the things that matter to you.
University Office of Sustainability at UNH asserts that culture is key to sustainability and includes it as one of four key components in their learning model. What do you think?
Interaction two -
A friend with a lengthy history of service work defines sustainability as follows: ”My inspiration for thinking about how I live on earth has come from my travels and service experiences in Guatemala, India and Nepal. People are forced to live without basic necessities like adequate and clean drinking water and clean air. It is hard to describe the misery of trying to breathe in their major cities. Having seen the impact of our presence on the environment in this way, I am acutely aware of my own use of resources. I make choices that consider my contribution to the total. For me, the option to be less wasteful is easy. I consider it sinful if I am not a careful and caring steward of the earth. I think about the future as embodied in the beautiful children that are trying to grow and thrive in this environment and the animals that cannot complain.”
I agree with my friend. I agree with UOS of UNH.
Today was a good day; my curiosity was appeased.
What sustains me? Air, water, food, shelter, curiosity, compassion, love, laughter and learning. What sustains you?
-PegC.
Filed under: J840 Week 5, Society + Media | Tags: drama, ecosophy, Guattari, sustainability models
Is all the sustainability drama necessary? (image from www.daivdandgoliathtees.com)
Everywhere I turn I hear about the need to be sustainable. And I agree, we are at a global crossroads. But the opening act of whom ever has the stage always seems to lead with a negative story. Any positive spin comes at the end, if at all. To them I say, “Spare me the drama!” The most important component of a definition of sustainability is that it is uplifting and inspires us to choose what is best.
Sustainability is often defined in terms of ”R” words. From “Leading Change Toward Sustainability,” we get ”redesign, replace, reduce, refine and recirculate.” Toyota uses “refine, reduce, reuse, recycle, recover.” Based on several of our readings this week, I would also add “repair.” We have to move forward, and we have to fix what is currently broken. The undercurrent seeping out of these words is the act of building. For me, a personal definition of sustainability includes creating processes and actions that fix, support, and build up people, cultures and environments – the structural under pinnings of life.
Often in sustainability discussions humans seem to be placed separate from the environment - interacting with it but not a part of it. A definition of sustainability must include the inter-relatedness of humans with nature. In my research, I ran across the term ecosophy, associated with psychoanalyst Felix Guattari. As I understand it, he holds that ecology alone (ecology being a component of sustainability) obscures the complexity between humans and their environment, and a much more holistic approach is needed to “change mentalities.” Ecosophy encompasses the marriage of mental, social and environmental ecosystems. This approach is exciting and allows for the creativity to build the things we need to implement the “R’s” while making sure that the physical (environmental), cultural (social) and spiritual (mental) nature of life is accomodated.
So, for Cindy Olsen, sustainability is the creative processes of repairing, maintaining and moving forward the physical, spiritual and cultural life on earth. I’m inspired, are you?
Cindy Olsen
Filed under: J840 Week 5 | Tags: Alex Steffen, convenience, LifeStraw, planets, recycle, Robert Gilman, survival, sustainability
I have a confession…according to myfootprint.org, it would take five planets to support my lifestyle. When I found this out, I told my friend and he jokingly called me an “environmental monster.”
I laughed at my friend’s joke, but I have to admit, it kind of stung. A monster, really? Okay, so I don’t recycle everything…I don’t always carpool…and I occasionally forget to bring my cloth bags to the grocery store. Sometimes I choose convenience over sustainability.
But I am trying to get better. And maybe that’s why it’s hard for me to have my own personal definition of sustainability. It’s evolving.
However, I did find a good starting point for my personal definition: Meeting present needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
This definition was created in 1987 at the World Commission on Environment and Development. Robert Gilman, former editor of In Context magazine, simplifies this definition – “do onto future generations as you would have them do onto you.”
With that, I believe that sustainability is living in a way that ensures that the world not only survives, but thrives, for future generations.
More important than defining sustainability is living by it. In order to ensure that future generations have a safe and healthy environment to live in, we must have a united strategic vision for sustainability. Let’s set goals that can be achieved and focus on the things that are necessary for a healthy, sustainable future.
I think Alex Steffen does a great job in outlining his vision for a sustainable future. In addition to the amazing innovations he presents, such as the LifeStraw, he provides hope and encourages me to want to be more sustainable.
A LifeStraw filters enough water for one person for one year. (image from touchafrica.info)
Steffen’s closing remarks are particularly inspiring, “the tools we use to change the world ought to be beautiful in themselves. Not just what we need to survive.” We need to see beyond survival – we need to create a world that thrives. What will it take to do this?
~Pauline H
