Sustainable living

From Free net encyclopedia

Sustainable living might best be defined as a lifestyle that could, hypothetically, be sustained unmodified for many generations without exhausting any natural resources. The term can be applied to individuals or societies. Its adherents most often hold true sustainability as a goal or guide, and make lifestyle tradeoffs favoring sustainability where practical. Most often these tradeoffs involve transport, housing, energy, and diet.

Sustainable living is a sub-division of sustainability where the prerequisites of a modern, industrialized society are left unexercised by choice for a variety of reasons. The practices and motives overlap somewhat between the movements.

Self-sufficiency is the principle of consuming only those things produced by oneself or one's family. It is generally a stricter lifestyle than a sustainable lifestyle in that an effort is made to limit trade with others regardless of the sustainability of such trade.

Permaculture is a design philosophy that emphasises sustainability in land use and landscaping, as well as fields such as architecture and economics (for example, encouraging the spread of Local Exchange Trading Systems (LETS)). In terms of agriculture, food production and building materials, permaculture emphasises use of well-adapted plant materials that require few inputs, especially trees and other edible and useful perennials.

Some people are opposed to mechanization and technology for any reason. Adherents of sustainable living, in contrast, are willing to accept appropriate technology.

Contents 1 History 2 See also 3 References 3.1 Popular Literature 4 External links

History

Henry David Thoreau's work Walden represents the earliest literature that specifically addresses the sustainable lifestyle in simple living.

The Luddites raised issues of appropriate technology as early as the 1800s.

The publication of Living the Good Life by Helen Nearing (1904 – 1995) and Scott Nearing (1883 – 1983) in 1954 is the modern-day beginning of the sustainability movement. The book fostered the back to the land movement in the late 1960s and early 1970s. As the back to the landers realized the difficulty of copying the Nearings' lifestyle, they returned to more conventional lifestyles yet incorporated self-sufficiency where they could.

The publication of Silent Spring by Rachel Carson in 1962 was another major milestone in the sustainability movement, as well as the writings of American essayist, novelist and farmer, Wendell Berry.

See also

• world seed project
• Albert Bartlett
• Conscious Consuming
• Economic vegetarianism
• Environmental studies
• Simple living
• The Good Life
• Sustainable community

References

• Jim Merkel Radical Simplicity : Small Footprints on a Finite Earth, New Society Publishers, 2003, ISBN 0865714738

Popular Literature

• Marijke Wilhelmus, "Eco-Tripping Around the World: Part I", Seed Magazine" (04/04/2006)

External links

• Sustainable Community Action Wiki - for anyone interested in action toward local sustainability, but especially ordinary people and community groups.
• www.planetfriendly.net - Sustainable Living Links
• www.pangeapartnership.org - The Pangea Partnership: Eco-building workshops in the developing world
• Sustainable Households - Site for New Zealanders who seek practical information on lower-impact lifestyles or 'sustainable living'
• Alanisma - An ethical not-for-profit organization for living sustainably.
• Fifty Possible Ways to Challenge Over-Commercialism
• Beyond Simplicity: Tough Issues For A New Era by Albert J. Fritsch, SJ, PhDde:Nachhaltige Lebensweise