I recently surfed up to an article on No Impact Man. This guy in NYC decided to live without lights, toilet paper, pre-packaged foods, and any form of transportation (including elevators). He composted inside (with worms, I've seen the presentation and it's not as gross as you'd think) and didn't put out any trash...for a whole year.
Now I salute anyone who makes an attempt to live lightly on the earth, but I think "No Impact" is a bit of a stretch. We all have impact. Did he cook on a stove, yes, plug in a cell-phone, yes, use water, yes.
I'd really like to see this type of experiment be run by people living outside of an urban area. Even in Boston we couldn't forgo transportation because my husband's job is well past the city limits. He'd have to cycle 17 miles to and from work. Physically he's capable of it, but just think about the dangers of traffic, the upcoming weather and the limited hours of daylight. Not going to happen.
I recently read Farewell, My Subaru by Doug Fine. I became interested in the book because the author decided to go off grid...in New Mexico. Reading into the book Fine settled in an area I'm familiar with and started raising chickens and goats and tending his own vegetables. Again, while I applaud the effort, it's not a path I could entirely live with. Frankly I have trouble with my community garden. Working on a farm is helping, but mostly it makes me aware of the incredible amount of work necessary to create food.
I also recently read in The Sun Magazine, The Decline and Fall of the Suburban Empire by Leslee Goodman. James Howard Kunstler discusses the inherent problem with our suburban setup in terms of economics. While the focus is on economics, I'm drawn to the environmental impact created by our suburban design. This was quite possibly the best issue I've read of The Sun yet and I've already re-read the article through again.
I guess the point is that there are many ways of working towards living local and living green. And actually tons of questions that make it difficult. Which is more important organic or local? What am I comfortable living without and what am I unwilling to compromise on (marry a foreigner and you're going to take some flights overseas, it's not just pleasure, it's family). Should I eat local meat or forgo all meat (local meat is expensive but I'm supporting an industry that treats animals humanly prior to slaughter and I think it's an important industry).
So for the mean time we're doing out usual thing. I continue to add more efforts to my go green mentality. I hung up all the clothes instead of using the dryer yesterday (but did dry the sheets today because we've got a guest coming). But my efforts are imperfect. And I have the benefit of an urban city.
It's not difficult for me to find local foods, Lionettes is down the street, I work on a local organic farm and Harvest Coop is only a few stops away on the T. I have a community garden in which I can grow veggies and a deck I can hang my clothes out to dry on (and an indoor rack for when it's raining). I can walk, bike, or take the T pretty much anywhere. What *is* difficult is giving up more. I already gave up my car and I'm not ready to forgo my toilet paper or internet (although frequently I think I should, it's way too much of a lure). But someday maybe I will be.
2 comments:
Did you guys get married????
I think there's a balance that needs to be struck. Humans have always banded together into communities and now cities because there's an inherent efficiency in livng close by, pooling resources, and dividing up responsibilities so that everyone does the tasks that they are best suited for.
And I think that with the growth over, say, the last 50 years of global commerce that the world as a whole is trying to juggle how best to supply the demands. The fact that everyone's taking a step back and looking at eating local, and organic farming, and going "green" is a corrective measure. Like a market correction where stocks got a little out of control, and things need to shrink back down to a workable size.
It drive me nuts that the bell peppers carried by my local grocery store come from Chile and Isreal, when there are farms 10 minutes away with fields full of them. That screams inefficiency and a waste of transportation just for something small and cheap like a pepper. But because the grocery chain covers a fairly large area with probably dozens of stores, I suspect they have to find a way to efficiently stock all stores, not just mine. And the local farms may not be able to produce enough to meet the demands. And certainly not year-round.
So there's some shifting going on.
We could not go "off grid" either, nor would I want to. I would love to have a big backyard garden, but I have to weigh the amount of time it takes to maintain it against the time I need to spend on my job and my family. For me, its not necessarily efficient to spend so much time working towards a small harvest of vegetables, because the family needs more than that to live on. Though I'd really like to.
My husband has been following developments in solar power and solar shingles for years, and maybe we'll actually get to install something in the next few year. And when we do, I hope that it becomes less of an esoteric luxury than just a smart materials choice. Like buying a hybrid car--sure its fancy and costs a tad more than a non-hybrid of the same size, but the benefits are there and will last.
Oh yeah, and "husband"? :)
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