Tuesday, September 9, 2008

The Mission:


The missions of this process are as follows:







1) To demonstrate the ecological and human impact of our current manner of living; to show its expectations are unrealistic; and to illustrate the complete lack of future viability.

2) To dispel the many misconceptions about the term "sustainability" and answer the question of what sorts of lifestyle it might take to properly be termed "sustainable." To question the carbon foot print, financial footprint, and the impact on life and humanity itself of certain ways of living.

3) To demonstrate that a life of simplicity can be rewarding and even more satisfying than a life of consumption.

This task is no small one, and the answers of how far we must go to find simplicity, and sanity, are far beyond what many expect. If we desire simplicity, sanity, and sustainability--in a world of 8 billion people, we will have to go further yet. At some point the problem may prove insolvable, and if so, we will attempt to discover that point.

The goal is to live in a manner in which if all other human beings did the same--the world would began to heal and grow more healthy. This is an interesting goal from an ethical perspective, for personal reasons--but I admit from the start it seems a fools errand. Skeptics will say, and I agree--people will not modify their way of living, and any resources I conserve will be consumed by others. I don't doubt this to be the case. I reach towards this goal for two reasons. First, that I care about the future of our species and the planet, and for myself would enjoy the privilege of knowing that I at least had less blood on my hands than most. Second--central to my thesis is the assertion that human beings are so stupid and corrupt en masse that they will consume until there is nothing left to take. I don't believe it will be long until we feel the pain of this scarcity, and my practice in living ethically today will pave the way for living at all once this crisis gets to my doorstep. This is a fool's ideological errand on one hand, but it possess a core of the most skeptical, jaded, self-interested survivalism.

Certainly, we can immediately that to live "efficiently" is likely the central concept that will advance us on all fronts. In fact, I expect that "efficiency" may come to be a core value in this project.

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