Is sustainable living feasible in the U.S? 4 May 2007
Posted by pcNielsen in Christianity, Community planning, Environmental stewardship, Live car free, Modern culture, Sustainable living.trackback
In my cell group last week (life group, home fellowship group, Bible study — what do you call these things these days so people understand?) we discussed “environmentalism” from a Christian perspective. All of us in the group are sympathetic to the ideals of the movement — although the increasingly hot-button issue of global warming was purposefully avoided, not feeling like we could address the bloated topic objectively given the current media frenzy surrounding it. However, we struggled to implement the ideals in our own life.
None of us felt like we had the finances to live in a way aspiring to a sustainable ideal. I would absolutely love to have a solar powered house, but right now I’m cringing the $1,500 I’m going to spend this month upgrading the electrical panel to get rid of the old fuse box (and add the outlet for my kiln). There’s no way I can afford solar power, as much as I’d like it. I’d love it if my moped ran, but it doesn’t (yet, and frankly may never). I do still bike most of the time I am able, but the moped would allow me to run to the grocer which I don’t do cycling.
How does a Christ-follower reconcile the desire to live as a good steward with his or her puny budget? The group in question is more or less middle-class, comprised mostly of people working at a small Christian university or in some kind of ministry. The question was also asked, “What good does it do if I try and use less water if I know some other person is wasting twice as much again?”
One thing we were not willing to give up yet was our incandescent light bulbs. I admit I did break down last month and purchase another CFL, the newer non-spiral kind, and the dumb thing didn’t even fit under the globe (not too mention needing 60 seconds to ramp up to full brightness). Aesthetically speaking, CFLs are still not convincing.
Another thing I pointed out to the cell group was the lack of proper infrastructure in most American communities (Siloam Springs included) to facilitate a sustainable lifestyle. Cities are planned with cars in mind. Services such as grocer and post office are not within walking distances. And even when they are, walking might be dangerous. For instance, a friend of ours in town lives a mere three blocks from the grocery store. But there are no sidewalks and roads are narrow. She’s not about to take her two year old with her on that trek in a community of drivers not used to dealing with pedestrians anyway.
This last point is particularly sad in my opinion, but I say that as a designer keenly interested in community planning. Perhaps my interest would be less keen if American cities actually planned over the past century.
It’s really weird and sad to think that in the society we have built, it would take some substantial capital to live simply and make it work. The system we have devised is not friendly or conducive to those who might swim against the current. Heck, just homeschooling your kids is enough to arouse suspicion in some quarters (”probably one of those right-wing Christian militia groups!”).
I agree with youir assessment (and have thought this way for some time) that the answer lies largely in re-thinking the way we plan communities. We need to re-learn how to live happily in cities. I think zoning laws are a problem and the suburbs are an abomination. It used to be more accepted – maybe even expected – that a family might live upstairs from the Family Business. Now, it is extremely rare, though I think there are signs of change.
G.K. Chesterton had a great deal to say on the subject of the ills of post-industrial society. He, I think, coined the term “distributism” and his thoughts on the topic are well worth the read.
Actually, I don’t know that we have ever really lived happily in cities. It might be more correct to say that we need to UN-learn how we currently live in cities, rather than re-learn anything. We need to approach to whole idea from scratch with a fresh view… using technology – controlling it – rather than letting it control us.
About 8 months ago I moved from a city (Nashville) to a more rural area (Brunswick, GA). In a few weeks I’ll be kicking off the series at our church (www.brunswickgracecommunity.org) on creation care called “The Birds and the Trees.”
My family has become far more passionate about caring for the environment since moving here. I think it has a lot to do with the fact we are on the coast and can more readily see the effects of human abuse of the environment.
I’d love to do solar panels too. In my research, I found it takes about 8 years to reach a break-even point on an average home.
There are some small things we can do. As followers of Christ, I believe our responsibility is to live a life that glorifies God … even in the small things. For instance, if half my church is involved in recycling by the end of this upcoming series, that will be improvement.
Be interested to hear how the series goes over with the congregants!
A lot of people recycle here in Siloam Springs already. The city has weekly pick-ups, although they only take things they make money on.
Just now getting back to you …. The creation care series went great … in fact our kids are extending their focus for 9 more weeks. We’re working with the county to be a free-to-the-public community recycling center.