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Opting In
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So in the last entry I began a discussion of just how much more energy those of us living in the industrialized world use to eat what we want to eat, buy whatever we want to buy, live where we want to live, and go where we want to go. Considering the strain this lifestyle puts on global resources it seems it could better be described as eating too much, buying too often, living where we shouldn't, and just generally going too far.
What is it - exactly - that I can do to be a more responsible member of this "too much" lifestyle? The first option is opting out. As I mentioned in my previous post, Americans (on average) use 531 times as much energy in a year than an Ethiopian. Seems like the solution to my overconsumption problem is easy. All I need do is head to Addis Ababa and get my coffee on. Here's the problem: I don't want to live in Ethiopia. Yes, it has amazing landscapes, cool music, and I love injera. But that's not the whole story. In Ethiopia there is less than one physician per 20,000 people. Life expectancy is about 43 years. Almost half the population lives below the national poverty line. More than a third of the children are malnourished. Only about a fifth of the population has access to a decent (or "improved") water source.
In all of these ways, I don't want my country to be more like Ethiopia. Then again - there are lots of ways I don't want Ethiopia to be anything like my country.
What's another option? I think there are many, but all of them require us to opt in. That is to say, we make the choice to participate in our society in ways that address the problems with our current trajectory. That we make ourselves responsible in small ways that can add up to big changes.
In my last entry I mentioned Bill McKibben's book DEEP ECONOMY. I took a bit of a cheap shot at him by saying that he doesn't offer up so many practical solutions to all of the problems that he describes. I don't want to be dismissive of a book that illuminates some of the issues our lifestyles obscure, but maybe McKibben agreed with me a little bit. He's written another tome that is filled with some of those answers that I've been craving. It's called FIGHT GLOBAL WARMING NOW: A Handbook for Taking Action in Your Community. Now I'm feeling like I'm shilling for the guy a bit which is a little bothersome because there are lots of other writers that I'd like you pay attention to first. (Pssst . . . check out these lovely heads floating along the right side of your screen. They've tons of important things to say about some of these issues. Try here and here and here for a start.) The thing is I promised to start offering up some ideas about how to make changes in our lives right now and the aforementioned book is full of them.
So let's start exercising our options before we don't have any.
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December 10, 2007 7:40 PM
nomad
I recently read that we generate 25% more waste between Thanksgiving and New Year's than at any other time-- that's something like an additional million tons of garbage per week. Gross. Thank you for this thoughtful and appropriate series on consumption. It's amazing how quickly we lose sight of not just consuming less, but thinking more.
December 11, 2007 10:29 AM
damon
Thanks for the interesting and timely info. I am going to assume that your handle "nomad" - my name spelled backwards - is some sort of tribute. That's awesome like pizza!
December 13, 2007 7:44 PM
trojjer
It's annoying when people "Just Don't Care" about something as simple as recycling cans or newspapers, for instance... But I suppose that people like me, who feel guilty about not doing so, are "annoying" to them. Oh well. Maybe I'll just print a picture of a landfill site and stick it on the wall next to the bin... I get sick of seeing it full every day, when I know that the bulk of it could be recycled.
December 13, 2007 8:01 PM
trojjer
Having said that, I think that "An Inconvenient Truth" could've been better than a slideshow advertising Apple Computer... I mean, does "Al Bore" still hypocritically fly around in private jets and uses more energy in his home than the "Bush Ranch"? So much political crap to cut through before people start actually caring about all this. And to be honest, the IPCC report doesn't really help a lot it seems. "We're all going to die! The world as we know it will end in the next century (or so)!" -- less like religion, please, scientists! There's enough confusion surrounding this alleged "scientific consensus", which annoys me. Politicians may exploit the PR opportunities as always, of course, but I don't think the whole thing is a conspiracy.
And more insanely, I keep having to attempt to explain why I prefer to recycle newspapers at college, because someone in my class finds it funny to state that, "Since recycling started, it's actually CAUSED so much pollution and stuff!" -- right. Maybe I should ask him if he thinks that there are more accidents on UK roads because of the 70mph national speed limit, or because there happen to be millions more cars on the road than before the law was passed. Okay, so there are lot of fools who drive too slowly on a motorway, and cause a dangerous obstruction as a result. But I don't think it'll be anywhere near the total figure for accidents related to speeding... Sorry for the lack of supporting evidence; it's 4:01am and I'm going to bed. Correct me if I'm wrong in my assumptions.
December 14, 2007 6:11 PM
damon
Trojjer - thanks for the comments. I encourage latenight inspiration and rambling. I wouldn't have gotten through college without them. Your frustration about "just not caring" is warranted in part because of the doomsday scenarios you mention, but also because we don't just want a world that doesn't sink. We want one that is clean, beautiful, and promotes better lives for all of us. I liked your reference to the failed logic of "since recycling started." While there are certainly some inconvenient truths about recycling, we must keep in mind the imperatives of an ever-growing (and industrializing) global population. I'll post more on this later. Thanks again for reading and weighing in.
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