Currently in our sustainability class, we're reading a book called EcoCities, which, as the title suggests, is about constructing cities to be more eco-friendly. We're diving into the first chapter tomorrow (which I've already read). The first chapter is entitled, "As We Build, So Shall We Live," and the overarching theme of this chapter is that the cities we build impact how we behave in them. For example, the book suggests that if we build our cities around cars and private transportation, with roads, highways, and greater distances between buildings, then we become dependent on cars as a means of efficient transport.
The notion of the environment affecting one's behavior raises an interesting question: how have the cities I've lived in affected me? How have they impacted what I do, what I experience, and how I think? For the purpose of answering these questions, I will be cataloguing my influences in this blog post.
Before one can talk about an environment, though, one must talk about the environment itself. I've had the experience of living in several different environments, with the only common thread between them being that they were all suburbs. My family largely used cars to get around, and generally having an easygoing, carefree lifestyle. We weren't afraid of walking, though. In Kansas City, we often walked to and from school. We also weren't afraid of using public transit. We took advantage of the school bus systems in Cincinnati, Milwaukee, and Saint Augustine to shuttle us to school. But we still used our cars quite often, for grocery shopping, for going downtown, or going to friend's houses. So in summary, my environment was a curious duality of of seemingly mutually exclusive values. We took full advantage of convenience, yet we weren't afraid to forsake it when we so desired.
Maybe that goes some way to explaining why I feel inconsistent in my outlook on sustainability. On one hand, I'm perfectly willing to conserve resources by using public transit and recycling, and I'm fine with picking up trash on the side of the street as well. On the other hand, sometimes I don't give a rat's butt about environmentalism. I don't always pick up trash, for example, only when I feel like it. I also use up electricity, because I enjoy video games and my computer. I also don't turn my computer off at night.
In addition, some environmentalist readings make me roll my eyes, because they seem so preachy. I feel that, in some ways, the proposals made in some of the readings infringe on the convenience I had utilized throughout most of my life. Yet the environmentalist part of me concurs with what is being said. I'm not willing to make radical changes, yet I do agree that something needs to be done about environmental issues.
This split attitude affects my experiences as well. I often spend most of my time indoors, and that's often enough to satisfy me, and yet some of the best times of my life have been had out in freshwater lakes or in natural areas. I feel as though I don't fit in any particular pattern of behavior on this dichotomy. I think how I lived and where I lived played a part in that.
Nice work here, Gordon. Far from anomalous, what you describe is common, in fact. There's the rub of "green living": we see something can be done, but we enjoy our conveniences to the extent that sometimes we aren't willing to be the ones to change. We all do it. Being self-reflexive about that, as you are here, is key. That way, you are making conscious choices. You don't turn your computer off at night, but perhaps something else you do "balances" out the energy your computer uses. This class has more to do with encouraging people to make conscious choices (regardless of what those choices are) rather than getting them to change everything about their lives.
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