We talk a lot about sustainable living, sustainable fashion, sustainable architecture, and sustainable food. Tonight, I was watching “King of Queens” and Doug decided to become a vegetarian and become more socially conscious, purchasing Carrie a dress made of hemp.
Of course, Doug didn’t stay a vegetarian for long – how funny would that have been? But, many people today are making a conscious effort to live a more sustainable lifestyle.
So, what is sustainable living? It is the choice to live your life by doing as little damage as possible to others (that includes animals) or the environment. Simply put, you are going to try to reduce your impact on society and the Earth’s resources. That can mean making changes to the way you travel, the way you eat, the way you shop and the things you purchase. Some people make small changes while some dedicate their lives and livelihood to sustainable living.
Henry David Thoreau first addressed sustainable living in Walden back in 1854. But, it was Helen and Scott Nearing’s 1954 publication Living the Good Life that kicked off the modern sustainable living craze. They helped kick off the back-to-the-land movement in the ‘60s and ‘70s when people decided to leave the cities for the rural land again.
But, the Nearings weren’t just about moving back to the country and practicing organic horticulture, their lifestyle also focused on reducing what they had and needed. They opened their land to others so they could learn to live what they dubbed “the good life” from them.
Also helping kick off the sustainability movement in the ‘60s was Rachel Carson. Rachel was a marine biologist and nature writer who wrote bestsellers about ocean life. By the late ‘50s, she had become concerned with synthetic pesticides and the effect they had on the environment, so she wrote Silent Spring. The book was a huge seller and it helped assist in getting the pesticide DDT banned in the United States. Discover Magazine named Silent Spring one of the 25 greatest science books of all time.
Some believe that Carson helped start a grassroots movement that eventually led to the development of the Environmental Protection Agency.