In this issue:
-More than living harmlessly
-Balanced growth

::MORE THAN LIVING HARMLESSLY::

Ask anybody what's BAD for the environment, and you'll most likely get an answer. In fact, you might even get a mouthful. From having children, to driving your car, to PCB's, DDT, and VOC's, we seem to know a lot about what we SHOULDN'T be doing.

But one night, while I was lying in bed about to fall asleep, I wondered to myself: "What's GOOD for the environment?"

At first I thought of answers like "Don't litter," and "Don't buy stuff from certain companies," and "Don't drive an SUV." But does that really answer the question?

All I was doing was telling myself what NOT to do if I DON'T want to be bad to the environment. But I still didn't know what I SHOULD do if I wanted to HELP the environment.

It's like asking someone "What's good for my body?" and getting the response "Avoid fat, cigarettes, excessive drinking, and sloth. Only eat fruits and vegetables." All that really does is tell you what NOT to do.

Even things like "living simply" or recycling or donating money to non-profits are "don'ts" in disguise, because upon closer inspection, they all involve giving up something...in other words, being "less bad."

I want to know what I can actually DO to help the environment. When it comes to our bodies, we know there are certain things we should avoid, but we also know there are certain things we can do to better ourselves, like exercising, drinking a lot of water, and getting regular sleep.

On top of that, I want to do more than just live harmlessly. I want to actively nurture a healthy environment. But what does that entail? And what IS a healthy environment?

::BALANCED GROWTH::

When I think of a healthy ecosystem, I think of abundance, diversity, clear water, and green plants. But this is nothing more than a subjective association of positive feelings. I often wonder if the Amazon rainforest is any healthier than the northern tundra.

It seems as though we don't know all that much about what makes a healthy ecosystem. For example, we often tout the importance of conserving endangered species, and we take for granted that this is good for the environment. But aren't some species SUPPOSED to go extinct? If we manage to save each and every species on this earth (or at least the cute and fuzzy ones, with the way our system works), will we really be helping the environment?

My best guess is that the only way 6 billion of us are going to end up living sustainably is NOT by trying to live as harmlessly as bears or birds or bees--that is, reducing our population AND individual consumption to something we Americans have probably never really experienced. Rather, I imagine something like balanced growth, where for everything we take from the environment, we return in a manner that is conducive to its health.

The problem with the way things work now, especially in developed nations, is that the things we do are gradually changing our environment, and not in our favor. No one wants to live on a planet soaked in carbon dioxide--actually, no one CAN. We need to figure out how to do the things we're doing so that the NET effect on the environment is not just neutral, but POSITIVE.

Take, for example, my fantasy car--one that not only uses renewable energy, but also cleans the air as it zips through it. And maybe it plants seeds, too....who knows? My point is that we'll have a much easier time convincing 6 billion people to use these cars than to not drive at all.

Ultimately, my attempts to live sustainably have shown me two options: Strive to live harmlessly and reduce my impact on this planet (along with everyone else's), or aim to leave a POSITIVE mark and develop the means for me and everyone else to do so. I've chosen to focus on the latter.

Till next month,

Krystle C.

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