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May 22, 2003
SustainableWays.com Newsletter #2
(This one's even better)
"For every thousand hacking at the leaves of evil, there is one striking at the root." -Henry David Thoreau
::THE SINGLE MOST DAMAGING BELIEF::
Recently I was on the Internet, searching for manufacturing companies. You see, my boyfriend is an inventor, and he's starting his own business to sell his first product. So there we were, browsing websites, when I suddenly threw my hands in the air. Not because we couldn't find anything, but because I was overwhelmed by the questions in my mind...What if this factory is a sweatshop? What if this material comes from land that used to be part of the Amazon rainforest? What if the blue dye wipes out a species of birds near a landfill, or, even worse, what if it causes brain tumors in children who unknowingly drink it in their water?
The questions never end. Like I said in the previous newsletter, the leaves keep growing back, and they're everywhere. If it's not one thing, it's the other. And it's easy to get caught up in them, which is why people who care for the environment tend to have a doom-and-gloom attitude. The environmental movement has made us painfully aware of the consequences of our actions, and environmentalists have told us again and again that there are more than a million ways that each of us can "save the earth."
I'm convinced that most of the propaganda surrounding the environmental movement reinforces the single most damaging belief---that humans NEED to destroy their environment in order to survive. When you see a commercial urging you to recycle, or when you see a picture of a whale being slaughtered (along with a toll-free number or donation form), the message is: "The environment needs to be saved because people are destructive, and this is how you can help make things better." Well, you're not making things better. You're temporarily making them a little less worse. Nothing has changed because trees are still being cut down and whales are still being slaughtered. People are still being destructive...but why? Because of the belief that humans NEED to destroy their environment in order to survive. And why do people think that way? Because as far back as we can remember, it's the way things have always been done. And as long as we cling to this belief, all the recycling in the world will never stop people from destroying the environment in the name of survival.
If you want to strike at the root of the problem, this belief is a good place to start. Don't become an activist. Don't sign a petition. Don't give your credit card number to a late-night non-profit infomercial. Go to a bookstore and educate yourself. You can't "save the environment" if you don't know what saving the environment really means. Otherwise, you'll end up hacking aimlessly at leaves. You'll wear yourself out, become paralyzed by the sheer volume of things you can do, and you'll feel bad for not doing them as well. Believe me, I've been there. That's why I put together this site. SustainableWays.com has two major goals: To dispel the myth that humans are naturally destructive like parasites (a myth that most people don't even realize they live by) and to help redirect people away from the leaves and focus their efforts on getting to the root of the problem.
::GETTING YOUR SUSTAINABLE DUCKS IN A ROW::
This month on SustainableWays.com, you might notice that I put "Sustainable Work" in the top spot of the menu, bumping Sustainable Homes to second place. That's because I came to the important realization that finding a sustainable job is the first, most important step toward living sustainably. ( --And what I mean when I say "sustainable work" or "a sustainable job" is NOT necessarily a job in the environmental field. A sustainable job is a way to make a living that provides a truly valuable service to the world and is personally satisfying as well.)
I came to understand the importance of sustainable work for a number of reasons, most of which I learned in my own attempt to find a career that was consistent with my values. It's long been a dream of mine to build my own sustainable, energy-efficient home. I used to think that doing so was the most effective thing I or anybody could do to help the environment--what better way to live sustainably than to focus on the place we spend the majority of our lives? Second to that came work, which is where we spend one third of our waking hours. But then I realized that I had my priorities backwards because without a job, I wouldn't have the money to build any kind of house, sustainable or not. Our work is the means to our ends, whatever those may be, and the ends do not justify the means. How could I strive to build a sustainable home while working at a job that contributed to the daily destruction of my environment? That kind of schizophrenic behavior can drive a person crazy, which is how I think a lot of people feel about their jobs.
But finding a sustainable job is no easy task. It's going to take initiative, open-mindedness, patience, and integrity. Sorry, I can't help you there. What I can do is provide you with the resources to get you on your way. I'm particularly fond of books like Beyond Civilization (by Daniel Quinn) and The Ecology of Commerce (by Paul Hawken), which provide a framework for a new economy that actually considers the state of our environment. I've reviewed them both in Sustainable Work. And if you're looking by real-life inspiration, check out my interview with Tom Kemper, founder and president of Dolphin Blue, a company that offers recycled office supplies. Not only does he run a business he believes in, but he treats his employees like living people, not parts of a machine.
If you already have a job you like, consider investing the money you make into building a sustainable, energy-efficient home. Yes, it can be done, and no, you don't have to be a millionaire to do it. Mortgage-Free!, a book I reviewed for Sustainable Homes last month, gives plenty of examples of people who did just that. Even if you just design your own home, the world is better for it. I just read and reviewed A Pattern Language, a classic but revolutionary book in the field of architecture. The authors contend that people should design their own homes, work spaces, and towns, and A Pattern Language gives them the basis to do so. Personally, I know a lot of people (including myself) who would love to customize their homes and towns...
Speaking of me, you might be wondering, "Well, how is SHE living sustainably?" I'm not quite there yet, but believe me, I'm trying. I'm currently looking for a place for myself in the sustainable architecture field so that I can learn how to build a sustainable house WHILE helping others do it AND while saving money to do it myself! It's taken me a long time to find something that I could do that would fulfill me in all those ways, and even though I haven't quite realized my conclusions yet, it's already worth it. And what would make it even better is if I could help someone ELSE do it, too, so get yourself to SustainableWays.com right now!
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-Krystle C.
Creator,
www.SustainableWays.com
The SENSIBLE Guide to Everything Sustainable