Why Sustainability Is Important to Me
Every so often someone challenges me on why I care so much about being sustainable. If I don’t have or plan on having children why do I try to hard to reduce waste, conserve energy, and overall create a smaller impact on the environment? What does it matter to me that the next generation has a good planet to inherit without the grave problems we face today? The way I see it earth has been around for hundreds of thousands of years without the interference of humans accelerating the effects of climate change, leading to a rise in billion dollar natural disasters. Generations of people lived off the land without creating changes in the atmosphere and ecosystems. As a result, they did not experience the frequency or intensity of natural disasters we are facing today.
Sometime during the industrial revolution convenience took precedence over sustainability. We wanted products handed to us at the store without thinking of the consequences. We wanted quick delivery of the services we needed which morphed into Amazon Prime where anything we desire is dropped at our doorstep within about two days. I'm as guilty as the next person of this, with a Prime account I use more than I should. It is easy and cheap to buy a shirt and have it shipped to me to avoid driving to the crowded mall. But what arrives is not quality, nor is it sustainable. It arrives in several cardboard boxes wrapped in plastic. If I had just biked to a nearby thrift shop I could have avoided all the packaging and wasted vehicle emissions.
The problem with relying on a thrift store is you are not guaranteed to find simple clothing such as a plain black t-shirt, or more specific materials are good to bike to work in that wont show sweat or start to smell. So when you are debating the most sustainable option the decisions get difficult. Do you purchase something online that appears the best option for a daily bicycle commute that will lower emissions or do you go with a second hand version that may leave you smelling or visibly sweaty after you commute to the office?
Being sustainable is not easy. It is actually really hard which is what I have learned over the past year. I tried to build a compost bin and an opossum burrowed in and ate all the veggies I had just added. I added a rain barrel but the late winter rain filled and froze it, breaking the spout. I bike to work and often arrive a sweaty mess despite my best efforts. I have stood in the freezing cold at the bus stop and waited for 30 minutes for a bus that should arrive every 10 minutes.
I have done all these things and found out solutions where possible to make the decision easier because I care about the environment. I care about the piece of dirt that has been under my house for hundreds of thousands of years that previous generations stewarded and did not squander. Whether or not I am stewarding the environment for the next generation of my family I should care about what happens to it. It bothers me to buy a bunch of groceries wrapped in plastic that only contributes to a worsening recycling problem and that by driving more I am telling the oil companies to produce more oil.
[Stewardship] involves responsibility for the natural world. It is born of wonder and awe of the diversity of life and the majesty of nature. Trusteeship involves responsibility for future generations, for those who will inhabit this place after our time.
-Michael J. Sandel of Harvard University
I care for the environment and this planet more than just the fact that so many generations have taken care of earth before us. I care because I have nieces and nephews in the next generation who will be dealing with the impacts of climate change after me. I hope that the environment they are stewarding isn't one in great peril, but land they can work with to create a truly sustainable world, one that is economically, socially, and environmentally rich for everyone in it. I hope that the decisions I make today do not compound into an insurmountable issue for their future. I would hope that we could solve the issues of the great garbage patch in the ocean, find ways to produce energy in a sustainable manner, and grow food for the world in a way that reduces global warming instead of contributing to it. I hope all this so my nieces and nephews and all the kids to follow can focus on more important issues, rather than how to survive in a world of climate chaos that my generation helped to build.
