9.1 Individual Actions Towards Sustainability

 

 

"Be the change you want to see in the world" -Ghandi


When
faced with the enormity of a problem such as global climate change, wide-scale deforestation or peak natural resources, there are two ways of confronting it. The first would be to assume that the problem is so big and the causes so wide and diverse that any action made by an individual is insignificant so therefore not of any relevance and not worth starting. Another angle would be to consider the world and everything in it as immensely complex but with individual components and indeed actions all linked and interdependent.

The concept that everything is linked in some way means that actions however small are significant, and will affect everything else. It with this latter philosophy that lifestyle choices can be made consciously and with conviction, and through greater number of people putting into practice what they believe day to day, that positive change can occur. There is an obvious need for top level coordination and direction when tackling global issues such as climate change, but as is explained in a following article, real change can be lead from the bottom up, with governments responding to powerful grassroots movements.

In this way everybody has the potential to be a leader in sustainability. In the West especially there is a level of privilege and security that give freedom to consider these ideas and put into practice what we believe. The concept of leadership coming from the bottom up is described in more detail by Satish Kumar, editor in chief of resurgence magazine, in the article below.


We are all leaders, Satish Kumar [1]

True and effective leadership is more about inspiration, facilitation and right action than about outcome, achievements and unrealistic targets.

A real leader leads by example. Anyone who demands,Do as I say and not as I do!is not a good leader. Integrity between words and deeds is an essential quality of inspirational leadership. Mahatma Gandhi was once asked:When you call upon people to do something, they follow you in their millions; what is the key to your successful leadership?

Gandhi reputedly replied:I have never asked anybody to do anything I have not tried and tested in my own life. We have to practise what we preach. In other words, we have to be the change we wish to see in the world.

One living example is more effective than a million words; congruence between preaching and practice is a prerequisite for purposeful leadership. We are all potential leaders, because we can all lead our own lives in the right direction.

We can show the world that a good life can be lived without exploitation, subjugation or domination of others, or of natural resources. We can show that a simple, wholesome and equitable life can be joyful and good. We can show that happiness doesnt flow from material goods or the amount of money in our bank accounts: rather, happiness flows from the quality of the life we live, and the kind of relationships we have with our families, with our communities and with the natural world.

This is bottom-up leader-ship. Genuine leadership is not going to emerge from parliament or presidential palace. Leadership is not about legislation. The end of apartheid in South Africa, the establishment of civil rights in the USA and many other such transformations occurred in the history of humanity because millions of people took action at grassroots level and refused to accept the unjust order of the day. The feminist movement and the environmental movement are examples of people taking personal responsibility to participate in the process of the great transformation necessary for a just, sustainable and resilient future for the Earth and her people.

Leadership is an inner calling to lead ourselves and the world from subjugation to liberation, from falsehood to truth, from control to participation and from greed to gratitude.

We can all be leaders. All we have to do is wake up, stand up, live and act.


This
eloquent passage gives inspiration that our actions have significance, and that we should be active in leading the way from the bottom up. The next question, then, is what to do?

The answer relies often on an individual's personal ethics, background and lifestyle. Some may be more concerned with social justice, and put their efforts towards campaigning. Others may have more environmental concerns, and do everything they can to live a low impact lifestyle, eventually aiming to be living self sufficiently away from society. Some would say that money is the root of all the problems and dedicate their time to living without it in a gift or barter economy.

These may all be extremes, and the reality is that a balance needs to be obtained where you can address issues that concern you while finding time to earn a living and enjoy yourself. In the next article, again by Satish Kumar, the concept of a manifesto is introduced. Kumar outlines his "Green Manifesto", a list of actions he feels address the problems of sustainability. The list of actions stems from a powerful concern for the problems that they address.

Perhaps the first step of confronting sustainability is to decide what we feel strongly about, what our vision for the future looks like, and from this consider how we can best achieve that with the resources available to us.


Caring for the Planet, Satish Kumar [2]

It is easy to feel impotent in the shadow of the political and corporate interests that exercise so much power over the environment. The questions that instinctively arise when we feel a sense of anger and urgency about human treatment of the natural world - What can I do? Can I effect change? Can I make my voice heard? - seem so often to be answered with a resignedNothingorNo. What possible difference could my living habits make to the future health - even survival - of the natural world?

But just as individual habits will remain an eccentric idealism without political and corporate change, so political and corporate change will remain superficial and inadequate without personal change. Indeed, without individual action these larger changes will not occur. Political change will only happen when large numbers of people practise what they believe in. When there is a big enough groundswell of opinion and enough action, then governments will be forced to bring in laws and structural transformations. Based on my own personal experiences of practicable, sustainable living, here is my manifesto for how we, as individuals, can begin to cause this to happen. I hope that others may gain hints for their own lives from my recommendations.

Change our attitudes. Our industrial culture is human-centred and utilitarian. We value nature because of its usefulness to us; we believe that we are in charge and can do what we like with the worlds natural resources. If we want a sustainable future we need to change this mindset. We need to recognise that all life has intrinsic value. Without such a shift in our personal attitudes towards the natural world, no sustainable lifestyle can be achieved. In place of the utilitarian calculus, a reverential, respectful world-view is required. Then we will destroy less, poison less, kill less.

Live simply. A high living standardmeasured by wealth and material acquisition - has become the be-all and end-all of modern society. For an eco-friendly life we need to seek quality of life instead. More bluntly, we need to live more simply, so that others may simply live. Any fool can make life complicated; it requires genius to make it simple.

Consume less. Fifty years ago the worlds population was 3 billion. Now it has doubled to 6 billion and humans, at their present rate of consumption, are exceeding the capacity of the earth - something we all have to take personal responsibility for. Someone living in the West consumes 50 times more than a person in the Third World, which means, effectively, that the Western population is multiplied by 50 times. Therefore, live more lightly, taking from nature only what is needed, so as to make a smaller footprint on the earth.There is enough in the world for everybodys need, but not enough for anybodys greed, said Mahatma Gandhi.

Waste not. Waste is a sin against nature and a curse of modern life. Every day, millions of tons of waste are thrown into the natural world, which it simply cannot cope with. The pile of old cookers, washing machines, fridges, computers and televisions is now accumulating at 6m. tons a year, a rate that is expected to double by 2010, and most of it ends up as landfill, wasting resources and posing risks to health and the environment. Millions of plastic bottles and plastic bags are cluttering and clogging the system, polluting rivers and oceans. Therefore, reusing, mending and recycling must be regarded as great virtues. Waste-makers simply cannot call themselves responsible citizens.

Use less harmful products when cleaning the house and washing clothes (such as the Ecover detergents). One very simple step is to re-use plastic bags, or take a cloth bag when you go shopping. Another is to rediscover the old maximmake do and mend, to resist the temptation to replace utensils (old cookers and washing machines) and furniture when the old ones will do. In doing this you will strike at consumerism.

Walk. Our lives have become dependent on cars - even for a short distance. This lack of exercise makes us obese and unhealthy, with less energy than we might have if we walked. We live in homes, drive around in machines and work in offices; we hardly ever come into contact with the natural world. But if we do not know, see, and experience nature, how can we love it? And if we do not love nature, how can we protect it? So walking in nature, talking walking holidays and walking to work can be a real doorway to green living.

Meditate and pray. Our lives have become too busy and too stressful. Pressure of work, pressure to succeed, pressure to achieve, pressure to cope with excess information - pressure all around. To restore the balance we need to take some time during the day for personal replenishment, for the development of soul qualities, for reflection and for our proper relationship with the natural world and the Creator to develop and grow. Every day, for at least half an hour, we need solitude, stillness and silence, so that the rest of the day is built on a foundation of spiritual tranquillity.

Work less. In spite of mass production, industrialisation, automation and mechanisation, Westerners are overworked, often to the point of exhaustion. Too often by the time people come home they have no energy to do anything other than sit in front of the television set. In spite of our wealth and unprecedented economic growth, our work makes us slaves. For a sustainable future we need to work less, do less, spend less and be more. From simply being will emerge relationships, celebrations and joy. Sustainable living is joyful living.

Be informed. No one can lay down a blueprint for green living: each of us has to develop our own ideas. But we have to build on all the new thinking in this field. There are books, magazines and courses which can help us. We need to make time to study.

Protest. Vested interests will always find ways to fool people and seek profit and power which damage the earth. Therefore we need to be awake and alert to the exploitative actions of others. But such protests cannot be made alone; we have to be in solidarity with organisations working for a sustainable future, such as Friends of the Earth, Greenpeace, and Christian Aid. Choose an organisation which suits your temperament and work with your local community, form a local group and take interest in local politics.

Finally, take heart in the fact that huge multinational companies are now beginning to proclaim the virtues ofsustainable consumption. Unilever, for example, has vowed that by 2005 it will only fish only from sustainable sources, while its competitor Proctor & Gamble is coming up with innovative products such as detergents that require less water, heat and packaging.

These moves are not expressions of some sort of corporate social responsibility, however. Companies will only embrace environmental ethics if there are profits in them. Those profits will depend on the choices made by individuals like you and me.
 

Exercise - what is your manifesto?

Give some thought to what subjects covered in this module (or other areas not covered in this module) that have particularly stuck out as important issues to address. What should people be doing about them? Draft a manifesto. Start with "I believe...."