Towards True Sustainability: Overcoming the Effects of Consumerism in the Outdoor Field, Part III
In the introduction to his iconic work in ecopsychology, Nature and Madness, Paul Shepard asks the question: “Why do men persist in destroying their habitat?” Although Shephard peered into the deep recesses of the human mind, I’d like approach the issue from the standpoint of more easily accessed mental processes. Two previous articles in this series have addressed the issue of how to reduce impacts related to consumerism in outdoor pursuits. While ideas for how to make changes and an understanding of the barriers to progress are critical to addressing the issue, actually making the commitment will require a serious look at our own motivations and thought processes. I’d like to suggest we consider some critical paradigm shifts that may help us think differently about the impacts we have on the planet.
Paradigm Shift #1: From Me to We. In other words, get over yourself. We must learn to temper our own desires with the knowledge that everything we do affects the broader ecosphere. This idea forms the basis of many foundational ideas in the sustainability movement, including the Hannover Principles and the Deep Ecology movement (Edwards, 2005). Yes, we should attend to our physical and mental health, and learn to love nature, but we have to do so with constant, rigorous attention to minimizing the impacts we create, and alter our behaviors accordingly.
Paradigm Shift #2: From Them to Me. We must learn to take direct responsibility for the impacts we create instead of trusting a faceless corporation to be green for us so we can conveniently continue business (and shopping) as usual. Make your gear, shop local, do without. If the piles of trash, toxic waste and petroleum (or even “earth-friendly” wind generators) we create through the outsourcing of our impacts began to accumulate in our yards, we’d likely begin to make changes fast.
Paradigm Shift #3: From More to Enough. Cultivate an attitude that what we need in life is abundant, and already at hand rather than an attitude of scarcity and endless desires. As Dan Hoffman, a student at Northland College points out, we must learn to get the job done with greater application of skill rather than more gadgets.
Paradigm Shift #4: From Consumer to Conserver and Producer. Learn to be a producer, or at least a “conserver” instead! Nothing else in a balanced system is merely a “consumer”. Junk and castoff or broken items should be seen as resources and opportunities. Make, give, conserve. Only take when necessary.
Paradigm Shift #5: From Hip to Enduring (or Even Classic!). Take pride in wearing old stuff and resist fashion trends. Today’s cool (or “hip”, “tight”, etc) gear will one day be a source of mirth and amusement, so why even try? Stick with what works!
Only by seriously rethinking our material approach to the outdoors (and everything else in our lives for that matter) will we truly begin to lessen our impact on the planet. We can’t buy our way out of environmental crisis, but we just might be able to think and act our way out. This will of course take discipline and effort to achieve. Laura and Guy Waterman offer this bit of encouragement:
“It is a dismal view of the public to say that we do not have the intelligence and the good conscience to adjust our consumption patterns to what are, in the long-term, the best interests of the human community and the biosphere on which it rests.”
They make it a point to place the responsibility for action squarely in the lap of the public:
“We shall get nowhere in this troubled world as long as we blame our troubles on the tiny minority of corporation executives, whose control over markets I grossly exaggerated, instead of recognizing the responsibility of the entire community to shape its consumption patterns in more environmentally responsible ways…Those who perceive the problem and are roused to do something about it bear a special responsibility. They are the ones who can rouse public consciousness, initiate the needed dialogue, and argue in the public debate for a more rational policy in the long-term, balanced best interests of all concerned. It is they who can speak for the trees” (Waterman, 1993).
It’s time to get serious about reducing our impact on this earth. We work hard to “leave no trace” on the trail. Isn’t it about time we give the same attention to the larger world? So cancel your next trip to the gear store, dust off that wool shirt from the 1970s, resole those leather boots, and hit the nearest trail. After all, the experience is what it’s really about!
References
Edwards, Andres. The Sustainability Revolution: Portrait of a Paradigm Shift. New Society Publishers, Gabriola, Canada. 2005.
Hoffman, Dan. Personal Communication, December 5th, 2008.
Shepard, Paul. Nature and Madness. University of Georgia Press: Athens, Georgia. 1982.
Waterman, Laura and Guy. Wilderness Ethics: Preserving the Spirit of Wildness. The Countryman Press: Woodstock, VT. 1993
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12-Jan-12
