Now the Work Really Begins

With the inauguration of Barak Obama complete I feel a need to hunker down and really get to work. His leadership will only succeed if he has tens of millions of American working along side him through these increasingly challenging times.

For this reason I offer a short piece from STEPHANIE BERCHT Staff Writer for the Savannah College of Art and Design in Savannah , Georgia.

- Zev

The term “sustainability” can be confusing, as it is often related to a broad range of disciplines, usually associated with human development and its effect on the environment. The buzzword comes from “sustainable development”, which is defined as “meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” This term was coined in 1987 by Dr. Brundtland, the first appointed chairperson of the UN World Commission on Environment and Development. However, sustainability is not a new concept. The Great Law of the Iroquois long ago stated that “in our every deliberation, we must consider the impact of our decision on the next seven generations.” It relates to human development in terms of economy, culture as well as the environment.

Our way of life that thrives on excessive consumption is unsustainable – that is, we cannot maintain our lifestyle indefinitely because we are quickly depleting the resources that support it and consequently deteriorating the quality of our lives. The concept of sustainability is to continue development through wise choices in the way we use our natural resources. This includes reassessing where we get our energy from, how we use it and what we use it for, what type of food we eat, how we harvest it, what materials we use – for anything – and how we get all of this as well as what we do with the byproducts from our actions.It is not just about keeping the Earth green and clean for woodland creatures: we must take care of the environment for our race to continue. Once humans deplete every resource on this planet, who is really going to suffer? Once we are gone, Earth will bring itself back. That deserves some respect. And if we want to stick around, we should start showing some of that respect right now.

10 Steps to Sustainability

With all this talk about the importance of increasing our individual and societal sustainability the question always comes up - What Can We Do? Here is a short list of 10 items we can all do to help.

1. Plant a Garden – Being able to grow some of your own food is not only a way to suppliment our diet but working with the soil can also be very grounding.

2. Learn to Cook – Eating out is one place where households can reduce their spending. By learning how to cook we not only reduce the cost of food but gain the enjoyment of making fresh healthy meals with our own hands.

3. Make Things – Participating in this consumerist society is not only expensive but reduces our opportunity to give of ourselves. Birthday, holiday, house warming gifts made by hand are greatly appreciated and can often cost little or no money.

4. Ride, Walk, and Bus Wherever You Can - Using single person cars to get around is the least efficient way to get around.

5. Eat Less Meat – Our food system is one of the most energy and water intensive on the planet. By making changes in this area we can have a significant reduction in the overall energy we use.

6. Meet Your Neighbors – Old fashion community. Humans not only know how to do this but it has been the way we have lived for 95% of human history. We have lived in extended families, and tribes for thousands of years, villages and small towns for many hundreds and only the last 100 or so years have we experimented with the idea of rugged individualist.

7. Wear a Sweater – Household energy use comprises over 20% of our nations overall energy use. What ever we can do to reduce the amount of energy we use in our homes, can have a substantial effect on our national dependence on foreign sources of energy. Steps we can take are numerous from turning down our heat a few degrees and putting on a sweater to adding insulation, replacing light bulbs and adding renewable energy systems to our homes.

8. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle – In our “throw-away” culture we have become accustomed to tossing almost everything into the trash. By reducing how much trash we generate, we can have a substantial positive effect.

9. Live Local – As the famous saying goes ... Think Globally, Act Locally. By increasing the amount of our needs that are satisfied locally we can build resistance to the ever growing shocks from global changes.

10. Be Casual - The assumption that we "need" fancy homes, clothes, cars, and lifestyles leads us to increasing consumption. Shifting to a more casual lifestyle will allow us to consume less and enjoy life more.

Take the No-Waste Challenge

For most people the proposition of a "waste-free" week sounds pretty impossible. No waste, how do I do that? You'd actually be shocked at how a few little steps can drastically reduce your waste. Why not take the challenge and see how much you can reduce your waste.

Here's how you can have a waste free week:

• Cut the convenience foods. While convenience foods might be, well, convenient, they also come with a ton of packaging. Those prepackaged mash potatoes come in a plastic carton. That box of Chinese takeout comes with loads of Styrofoam trash, plastic forks, and paper napkins. Takeout boxes and convenience foods can fill up your trash can super fast. Instead, take your canvas bag to the farmers' market or grocery store and fill it will tons of wholesome foods like fruits, vegetables, fresh bread, and grains.

• Compost all your used food matter like veggie, fruits, eggshells and some meats. This week, skip on the foods that you can't compost. You can drastically reduce your waste by turning your waste into nourishing soil.

• Curb the consumption. Only buy what you need and don't buy excess. What you do buy should be as locally and sustainably produced as possible.

Good luck and let us know how it goes in the comments.