PhRB "A Vision for Change" - Waste Not, Want Not: Relational Summary 6

PhRB—

High grasslands showing the beauty of Mother Nature. Andes, Ecuador. 

In her book “The Story of Stuff”, Leonard shares her lifestyle of living in a “tight community” where resources are shared rather than purchased.  The community is more sustainable than most due to the fact that the people buy less Stuff and throw out less trash.  They rely on each other first, and the economy second.  Carpools, shared babysitting, traded goods and borrowed tools are a way of life for her.  However, she is careful to point out that this is not a sustainable life either—closer, yes--but they still function within a system so based on “fossil fuels, carbon emissions, toxic chemicals and wasted resources” that it is IMPOSSIBLE to live a completely sustainable lifestyle without disengaging from society as we know it (Leonard, 2010).

Ecuadorian Shaman shares knowledge of a lifestyle shared with nature.

Up until this point, things are looking pretty bleak.  It’s so easy to get overwhelmed, feel hopeless and want to give up under a cloud of depression.  Thankfully, page 241 of “The Story of Stuff” states my above-mentioned thought almost verbatim.  It’s not enough to just be “greener” or recycle better.  That will just put us on a slower track to the end of nature, the environment and natural resources and, because of that, the end of life and the end of us.  We ARE nature; inexplicably connected whether we acknowledge it or not.  The Vision for Change as explained by Leonard is to change policy and our entire system until the sustainable option IS the DEFAULT option! To start, the suggestion made is to join a movement that you are passionate about.  I am fortunate to work in my passion at an NPO that focuses on sustainable agricultural solutions specific to various areas of the world.  I love my work and feel so much purpose and meaning in it. 

Moss growing in the clouds.  Pichincha, Ecuador. 15,000 ft. elevation.

The website Wiser.org is a great site that serves to connect agencies with each other to grow the movement toward the changes in the world that need to be made for us to be a sustainable, healthy world. I signed up at https://wiser.org/stay-informed/ to be informed of ways to help support that movement via texts and emails.  The idea is that “Things get better everyday, not just less bad” so that our children see that we have a vision for the future, rather than just a way to improve on the grave problems we have created (McDonough, 2015).

Sources:

The Story of Stuff: How Our Obsession with Stuff Is Trashing the Planet, Our Communities, and Our Health-and a Vision for Change

Annie Leonard / Free Press (publication:2010-03-09)
Read "Writing the new story"

Resource Abundance by Design | William McDonough (2015). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uKlqL_nuh_c