IMost people are familiar with the phrase "reduce, reuse, recycle" as a way of helping preserve (or at least slow the destruction of) the environment. And in cities that offer recycling, most people take advantage of it and feel they are doing their part. But reusing resources has a larger impact on the environment. And reducing our need for new things has the greatest impact of all. The the United States supports less than 5% of the global population, we use about a quarter of the world's resources -- 27% of its coal, 27% of its natural gas, and 25% of its oil. Though average household size has gone down since 1970, average house size has gone up. Though the planet provides about 4.6 acres of biologically productive land for each person on it, the average American uses almost 24 acres -- far more than our share.(1) In response to a recent letter in Scientific American, David Tilford of the Sierra Club, states that a child born in the United States will create 13 times as much damage as the child born in Brazil over the course of a lifetime. Americans lead the world in consuming goods even among other developed nations. We use twice as much fossil fuel resources per capita as Britain, and two and a half times as Japan. (2) Most ecologically minded consumers have already started the downsizing process; however, we have so much further to go. The impact of our efforts must be larger if we are to have a chance of surviving as the human race. But every decade reveals another ecological crisis, and conditions continue to worsen. What can we do about it? Start taking "reduce" as a serious mandate. Stop buying new things that we don't really need. Start grassroots campaigns to buy less (or nothing!). If every American were to cut his or her consumption of new goods down by 50 or even 25 percent, that would have a marked effect on the environment. If further, every American were to take public transit or walk or bike for a couple of days a week, that would have even a more significant effect. If we were to eat 10% or 20% less than we do, most of us wouldn't starve, but would simply be able to tighten our literal belts a little. Challenge yourself to reduce your consumer habits. Try a day of buying nothing, or if that's too easy, try a week or a month. This month has had a great impact on me. I've had a chance to notice how severe my cravings for consuming goods were -- just kicking the habit of shopping felt like going through withdrawals. I've had a chance to really tease out what my values are around money, and I've had a shot at developing substitutes for new items by relying on networks and some of the junk in my house. I've developed the habit of googling "lifehacks X" (where X equals what it is I desire), or "lifehacks Y" (where Y equals the item I'm about to throw away or recycle). My friend bought me a coffee at Starbucks today (yes, I still have a long way to go). When I got home I google "life hacks coffee cup" and "life hacks coffee sleeve". I made an iPhone holder out of an inverted bowl, an inverted coffee cup, and the Starbucks coffee cup this morning, and then used the phone's camera to film me organizing a junk drawer, using the coffee sleeve to hold hairpins, and the lid to collect all my earplugs in. I'm really happy with what I've learned this month. I plan to repeat a "Buy Nothing Month" 4 times in the next year, October, February, May, and August. I'll keep you updated here. As to what I plan for tomorrow, September 1st? I'll buy a croissant for my daughter and catch up with her summer. In my "consumer months" I'll be spending up to $10/week on discretionary items above needs. At the beginning of this month that would have felt like a severe deprivation. From this end, it feels like a fortune.
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ArchivesAuthorVirginia Lore enjoys living life as an experiment and frequently steps out of her comfort zone -- when she's not hiding out in her room with the covers over her head that is. You may email her: [email protected] |