More Sustainable: Constraints, Assets, Restraints, and Goals

Tue, 21 Apr 2026 19:43:46 -0400

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.

More Sustainable on Wond'ring Aloud

More Sustainable: Constraints, Assets, Restraints, and Goals