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Let's Go Green Spots
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Change
by Lawson Schaller
To say change is a comin' is to state the obvious. It is ironic how often we overlook the obvious. As I write this the Fed's have not yet resolved the looming budget/debt limit crisis. If their inaction leads our country into deeper recession or greater uncertainty, we may see continued dramatic change. The Fed's seem to be reacting, allowing change to create the agenda, with too much posturing and politickin'.
Leadership needs to take simple steps to announce, reset, recalibrate, and re-invent (call it spin if you want to) our nations guiding principles and values.
There was a time when I realized I had to create change . . . before change created me. It might be that the coming change will create an economy, a society that becomes simpler—focused on the basics, conserving resources, and using only what we need (because that may be all we can afford). In past columns I have woven the theme of less is more into various topics. Frugality—less is more—can be a very good thing for Mother Nature and one's pocket book. Naturally people feel better when they voluntarily make the change to conserve.
The changes may act to galvanize and strengthen our society, much like the WW II Victory gardens that created community, bartering, sharing, and increased awareness of the simple yet important joys of life. It might be a real blessing if the production of flat mega-screens, high-horse-powered toys, McMansions, and other over-the-top, luxurious lifestyle elements are reduced some.
I owned and operated a salvage business for many years (environmental concern with mission to reduce waste and increase reuse). Times of rapid economic expansion are a time of waste and haste. They are good for the salvage business and we did our best to save what we could from the landfills. But because things were happening so fast and there was such a sense of financial well-being, there was a lot of waste and disregard for natural resources. This fast paced economy also, in my opinion, created an environment where the quality of building and construction suffered.
In times of slow-down, people are more careful with their material resources, their money, and their time. The atmosphere allowed people to slow down, focus on quality and wise use of material, and keep an eye toward the long term— i.e. pro active not reactive. Doing it right the first time is time-tested.
Hopefully our economy recovers soon, our culture grows and matures, and Mother Nature is more valued. If the economy remains flat or continues to decline, it may allow folks to re-assess priorities, guiding principles, and values.
There is too often a focus on supply—more water, more electricity, more horsepower, and more house. Where or how can we get more? It pains me to see groups and committees meet to discuss resource issues and too often demand is overlooked or minimized in the discussions of solutions and options. One of the basic fundamentals (principles-values) of sustainability is that as a first step conservation must be taken. The simple mantra of Reduce/Reuse/Recycle, which is so elegantly lean, seems to have fallen off the radar. Maybe it needs to be re-invented? How many folks mend clothes or repair small electronics these days? Not enough in my opinion. This may change if the dollar becomes worth less and much harder to come by. Perhaps we had too much money and not enough time? Might it be, going forward, that we will have more time than money and it will somehow be a blessing in disguise?
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