That is a great question and it is one which can be easily answered on a basic level and more complexly answered when it comes to how it must come to function in our global community. Simply put being sustainable is making the world around you able to continue to be the way it is as you pass through it. We should want to leave as small an impact on the place we are as we can. To do this many things must be taken into account. Simple things like recycling, reusing, using things fully and making our living spaces efficient can make a great impact but a grand scale must be created if we are reverse the effects that have reared their heads. One simple way to become more in sustainable in your day to day life is to only buy what you can afford. Over consumption has led, in great portion, to our current environmental and financial disasters. It will take time but if we all learn to live a little more simply the system will evolve and constant growth will not be necessary to maintain it. And lets face it the credit card companies are doing nothing to make the current situation any easier. As money gets tighter for everyone they are raising peoples interest rates and making it harder for people to pay off their debts. There is nothing sustainable about credit in this fashion lets all come together and force them to act responsibly.

Cut up your cards. Pay with cash.

A lot of things contributed to my becoming a vegetarian and I gave up meat slowly. I stopped drinking milk just because I didn’t like it and then red meat because I couldn’t afford it. Then my printmaking professor at Pratt Institute introduced me to the idea of being a vegetarian. We talked about it a lot but he never preached at me. I think David is most responsible for how I choose to proselytize my beliefs and that is through actions. The last thing I stopped eating was fish, that was in 1991 after reading an article in the NY Times about King crab numbers being depleted by over harvesting. I stopped eating meat all together and began to research industrial harvesting of meat, poultry and fish. This was the beginning of my interest in sustainability and now the catalyst of this interest is in the news again. I am not asking the world to become vegetarians but I ask all you flesh eaters of the world to harvest your food in a sustainable way.

Think about what you eat.

We need to make a fundamental change the way we approach life. Turn the heat down, turn off lights when we are not using them, carry our own bags to the grocery store, make our homes more efficient all of these things can make a difference but all of these things won’t change the world even if everyone does them. Renewable energy sources on a grand scale and creating sustainable lifestyles for all are a must if we want to effect change on our world. Signing this petition is a way to show your support for a future that relies on energy sources that are renewable and clean.

Byron sent me this link. Birthday and other parties are one of the least sustainable activities we all participate in. How many parties have you been to where you have seen bag after bag of plastic covered paper plates, plastic forks, spoons, knives and cups? Well now you can do something about that at your next party. Check out Sustainable Party and find out how you can be less of a part of the trashing of our green spaces.

Compost everything you can.

Simple decisions in your life can make you more sustainable. Keeping your food fresh is a key aspect to not wasting. My friend Byron created Clip-N-Seal to do just this. My grandmother always said “waste not want not”. It was one of those things a grandmother, who grew up during the depression, would say to a grandson who she was trying help understand the fundamentals of thrift. I wish now I had listened more carefully.

Less waste - Less waste - Less waste.