Re-inventing Suburbia to Save the Planet
Welcome, Fellow Suburbanite!
Our current way of doing suburbia is very bad for the planet, but we can change that!
Compared to people living in denser cities, we suburbanites
drive more,
have bigger houses that use more energy and have more space that we need to fill with more stuff,
eliminate native vegetation and replace it with wide tracts of lawn that are not hospitable to insects or animals.
Why it matters: Changing how we live in the suburbs is necessary to halting carbon emissions and creating ecologically sustainable ways of living.
Here are a few statistics for you, with links to webpages that have more information:
The suburbs around major metropolitan areas emit up to 4 times the greenhouse emissions of their rural or urban counterparts;
Suburbs account for around 50% of the US household carbon footprint;
American lawns occupy 30-40 million acres of land in the US, which is around the size of the state of Georgia. The chemicals used to maintain lawns don’t necessarily stay where you put them. People and pets track them into houses, and pesticides and herbicides run off lawns and into watersheds. (It’s very hard to find good numbers on pesticide and herbicides in watersheds, which is perhaps due to the ‘rescoping’ of major monitoring programs.)
A person living in a detached single family home consumes more than double the amount of energy of a person living in a multifamily home.
Consider that we’re doing suburbia wrong and that we need to do it differently.
What if we….
collectively started driving down our carbon emissions by heating and cooling differently, or,
started contributing to pollinator and wildlife wellbeing by recognizing our home landscapes as habitat, or,
realized that the fertilizers, herbicides, and pesticides we use run off into the watershed, and pollute precious drinking water, or,
understood and took responsibility for our trash. Despite the illusion of trash pick up, it doesn’t magically disappear and is probably contributing to an environmental catastrophe elsewhere.
What if we realized that our homes are not isolated, but are very much connected to what happens to the planet, to our climate, and to other people…and we decided to do things differently?
This blog is going to encourage people to think of their homes and gardens as tools for planetary healing. That’s what this blog will be about and these are some of the topics that I’ve got lined up:
Why it’s okay to mention your concern about climate change to your friends, family, and neighbors (hint: they’re thinking about it, too!).
Managing landscapes differently, and pointers to a whole bunch of resources that will help you get started.
Why diet matters to the planet’s wellbeing, along with some links to recipes and products that make moving away from meat easy.
The Inflation Reduction Act and how to take advantage of rebates and credits in your transition to a more sustainable home.
My own experience with solar panels, and my upcoming experience installing a heat pump.
Sustainable practice in the garden.
New ways to discover the secret non-human lives of your amazing suburban neighborhood
My aim is to be super practical and to eventually become a place where people can ask questions and exchange information about what they’ve found successful. I aim to be the kind of host that looks for answers to your questions, sourcing reliable information. Let me know if there’s an issue you want researched, or a question you want to pose to the Blooming ‘burbs community. I am tuned into a lot of different resources and I can help to curate a blog that will be helpful and practical.
