Sustainability at Blooming ‘burbs

The ultimate, hidden truth of the world is that it is something that we make, and could just as easily make differently.
— David Graeber, The Utopia of Rules: On Technology, Stupidity, and the Secret Joys of Bureaucracy

Doing Sustainability

What we’re used to is what has to change.

I’m guessing David Graeber, quoted here, would have agreed that a collective movement towards sustainability is not really easy, but that it is possible. I read his quote as saying that our daily realities (that is, the way the world functions) are an outcome of values and choices. They are not destiny and we aren’t on a path that we can’t change.

That basic insight keeps me motivated to practice a different set of values that, in turn, create a different reality. It means being more mindful of my impact on the world in everything that I do: how I eat, how I provision myself, how I get from point A to point B, how I stay warm and stay cool. I am deliberate and conscientious. Living on auto-pilot, as many of us suburbanites do, is no longer an option because what we’re used to is what has to change.

I’m using this website to share what I do because I know for a fact that there are other people out there who want to live more sustainably but aren’t quite sure where to start.

There are several ways that I practice sustainability. Basically, it all boils down to whether or not they are moving me towards a few goals:

  • Am I reducing my fossil fuel consumption?

  • Am I reducing the waste and pollution I produce?

  • Am I enhancing the local ecology, while also not producing a negative impact somewhere else in the world?

Below are a few areas where I can demonstrate my sustainable practices in how I manage this micro-business. Because I’m still learning how to do this, I anticipate that I will make adjustments in coming years.

If you find this information helpful, consider a tip! It all goes back into the garden:

Sustainability in the Suburbs