Sustainable is defined by Farlex as: capable of being maintained at a steady level without exhausting natural resources or causing severe ecological damage.
No matter what you believe, the truth is bluntly in front of you, we cannot sustain the drain upon the natural resources that this world has placed upon Earth. Every day I see wasteful habits, small changes that could be made by individuals that, if even half the population made, would vastly reduce waste. Our goal is to reduce our own impact upon this planet, making slow steps, of which we hope to reap benefits not only in emotionally feeling that we've done our part, but in helping our health, saving us some money, and providing a sense of satisfaction each day.
Waste is all around us, just open your eyes. Every day my roommates shower twice each, both spending at least a half hour each time in the shower. With the average flow rate for a shower head at 2.5gpm, that's 150 gallons of water per hour, at two people, that's 300 gallons of water a day, just to shower. Doesn't even take into account the electricity necessary to keep all of that water hot.
Realistically, neither of us is wealthy, in fact we're a pair of college students, albeit in our late 20's. However, there are things that we can do now including canning our own foods, buying locally, and growing some of our food.
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Friday, January 21, 2011
Introduction
Greetings and welcome to my blog! Here I'm going to be attempting to keep up with and put down my thoughts on various topics in regards to the sustainability of our world, as well as my own efforts to slowly cut the umbilical cord to the consumer driven society we now live in.
A little bit about me: I'm just shy of 30, male, military vet, current college student, born and raised in the northeast US but now residing in the southeast, living with my girlfriend Ande, and currently living in an apt in an urban setting, but with high hopes of moving to a more suburban/closer to rural setting before the years end.
For the most part, we are just starting down the path to sustainability, at least as far as actually putting it in play. Fortunately, for the both of us, our families affording a wealth of knowledge when Ande and I were kids. Mom exposed me to canning foods, gardening, and needlework. Dad passed on a multitude of skills, from cooking [he was a chef], to auto repair, to woodworking, hunting, fishing, shooting, and so on. On Ande's side, she was raised by both sets of grandparents, whom all agreed on basic concepts of running a farm, canning, owning livestock, gardening, and so on.
A side note should be pointed here: this is not a decision, should you choose to make it as well, that should be taken lightly. For us, it was fairly easy as realistically sustainability fits right on in with the lives we wish to lead anyways, but it's still not going to be an easy task for us.
For anyone curious about the path of sustainability, I'd recommended reading over "Farewell, my Subaru". It's an entertaining, light read that gives a glimpse of the authors journey, though he is fortunate in that he had the money set aside to go full bore into the lifestyle. For us, and for many others, it's a long path, but very rewarding in the end. Each person has their own path, and their own circumstances, but something to keep in mind is that you don't have to do everything. Any little bit helps!
A little bit about me: I'm just shy of 30, male, military vet, current college student, born and raised in the northeast US but now residing in the southeast, living with my girlfriend Ande, and currently living in an apt in an urban setting, but with high hopes of moving to a more suburban/closer to rural setting before the years end.
For the most part, we are just starting down the path to sustainability, at least as far as actually putting it in play. Fortunately, for the both of us, our families affording a wealth of knowledge when Ande and I were kids. Mom exposed me to canning foods, gardening, and needlework. Dad passed on a multitude of skills, from cooking [he was a chef], to auto repair, to woodworking, hunting, fishing, shooting, and so on. On Ande's side, she was raised by both sets of grandparents, whom all agreed on basic concepts of running a farm, canning, owning livestock, gardening, and so on.
A side note should be pointed here: this is not a decision, should you choose to make it as well, that should be taken lightly. For us, it was fairly easy as realistically sustainability fits right on in with the lives we wish to lead anyways, but it's still not going to be an easy task for us.
For anyone curious about the path of sustainability, I'd recommended reading over "Farewell, my Subaru". It's an entertaining, light read that gives a glimpse of the authors journey, though he is fortunate in that he had the money set aside to go full bore into the lifestyle. For us, and for many others, it's a long path, but very rewarding in the end. Each person has their own path, and their own circumstances, but something to keep in mind is that you don't have to do everything. Any little bit helps!
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