Here’s the starting point for the posts that fall under the More Sustainable tab:
What can I do, as an individual and without need of participation or permission of other people, to make my life more sustainable and more disconnected from what I consider most objectionable in our current culture?
Definition: For me, sustainable is not only ecologically sustainable, but economically sustainable, psychologically sustainable, and culturally enhancing.
Constraints
- I’m about to turn 68
- I have Type 2 Diabetes and high cholesterol
- I have a hinky back
- I live in a small town where an automobile is necessary
Assets
- My solar panels currently produce more electricity than I use
- Our house is well-insulated and all the windows are new
- Our house has a half acre lot
- I have steady retirement income that covers our needs
- My wife and I have simple tastes, and no desire to travel
- We have supportive and loving sons
- We own bikes
- We have a certain amount of money for capital purchases, but I need to shepherd it carefully for the future
Restraints
- I’m not willing to sacrifice quality of life — this is not a quest to become an ascetic
- I’m not trying to go off grid — the winters are simply too brutal here in Western Massachusetts, and I don’t want to work that hard
- I’m staying put and working with the assets that I have
- I’m not foregoing modern inventions
- I’m not looking for purity — if I can’t completely eliminate the need for something that I otherwise might find objectionable (for instance, Amazon or big box stores), I will settle for using them only when needed and without guilthttps://www.sloww.co/flywheel-jim-collins/
- I won’t let the Perfect be the enemy of the Good. Any move toward better is a net positive
Goals
- Reducing carbon footprint
- Reducing expenditures
Disclaimer
- I’m not going to feel like I’m a failure if I don’t single-handedly “solve” climate change or the evils of late-stage capitalism; I’m tired of not doing anything because I can’t do everything. I’m also not going to feel guilty over what others will, no doubt, see as my privilege. I am privileged in many ways: time, education, economic security, and many, many other things.
- I am not presenting any of this as a model of how things ought to be done; rather, it’s what I am trying to do in order to contribute, recognizing that mine is just one push on the flywheel.
- I’m publishing this to the internet for anyone who might benefit from my research, either through my successes or my failures. I am also publishing it in order to take advantage of any suggestions or constructive criticisms others might have.
- I’ll probably continue to alter this as I go.