A city girl's explorations into sustainable living

Recently I found myself unemployed, pondering what I should do with my life next. All the career books say, do what you love. Find your passion. Follow your bliss. As if there is an answer -- a solution that will allow you to make money doing what you were meant to do. Help the world, help yourself, and make money!

For me, it's not so easy. I'm interested in a lot of things, but nothing that I am willing to invest in enough to turn it into a career.

I'm what Barbara Sher calls a "scanner," or what Margaret Lobenstine calls "the Renaissance Soul." At least that's what these self-help books for the career-stunted tell me.

What I tell myself is that I'm a learner. And what I want to learn about right now is sustainable living. I have a feeling it's what I'm supposed to be doing -- even if it doesn't pay. Even if it COSTS money to do.

I am meant to be a student right now, exploring peak oil, the economic crisis, climate change, sustainable agriculture, community building, permaculture, natural capitalism, Transition Towns, rural sociology, and my own spiritual growth. I honestly don't know where it will lead, or what it will amount to, but I invite you to share my journey.

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

The Natural Step

The Natural Step is a broad conceptual framework - widely endorsed by environmentals and business leaders - that offers four key principals or conditions to guide people towards sustainable living. These four conditions were developed by Dr. Karl Henrik Robert as a way to define sustainability and measure our progress towards it.

The four conditions, paraphrased, are:

1) Do not systematically increase what we take from the earth's crust (metals, oil, minerals)

2) Do not systematically increase the concentrations of made-made substances on the earth

3) Do not systematically injure natural habitats, ecosystems, or biodiversity

4) Share resources equitably so all humans can meet their basic needs.

The Natural Step conditions provide simple, yet ambitious goals around sustainability that people from diverse fields, with diverse backgrounds, can agree upon and understand. The Natural Step offers the 10,000 foot, "big picture" view to inform our priorities and actions. It is up to us as individuals to figure out how to apply these conditions to our lives.
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