Our Impact On the World

I’m sure there are people who are living small who do it for the world, the environment, etc. With the realization that some of us on the planet are using far more of our resources than the rest. There are, also, I suspect, many who are simply looking for a different way of life, one that doesn’t involve a 24/7 concern with money, keeping up with the Joneses, etc. And probably honestly, there’s a continuum, as with many things in life. And on one end is the purely environmental concern, and on the other end a self-centeredness that none-the-less arrives at the same place.

On this continuum, I feel I started, quite honestly, more on the end of the scale of my own concerns. I have always hated wasted simply because of tight purse strings. Where other people would have replaced things, I would always try to repair them if it were practical. Unfortunately, it is not always so. For instance, a few years ago, a clothes dryer in my house up and died one day. It happened to still be under warranty, so I called in the repair squad. A week later it was fixed, and though I owed nothing, I was still given the bill. The cost of having someone come and replace a part amounted to nearly the original purchase price of my dryer! At first this seems impossible, how could it cost so much for one repair? And it’s really the other way around. We are taking advantage of cheap labor and resources in another part of the world when we buy the dryer. That plus an assembly line style of construction where a repair involves more intricate work of diagnosis and dis-assembly and re-assembly. Thus it comes, with the status quo, it’s often cheaper to just replace some items if you lack the skill to repair them yourself, which face it, mos of us don’t have. But the more I have come to understand how our world works, the more I have slid towards a concern for the future and the opposite end of my imagined continuum of altruism and self-centeredness.

One of fundamental concerns of our time should be fuel. Prices have risen so quickly in the last few years. Each world event from massive storms to revolutions on the other side of the world just push the prices higher and higher. One would think this would be something we could all agree on. For the sake of the environment and our economies, we should be working to wean ourselves, right? To use what we have efficiently and to find alternatives. But for everyone who is concerned, there seems to be plenty with their heads in the sand.

Yet, I have to say, I am one of those people with the stereotypical American SUV. At least my 2001 Blazer (amongst the last of its kind) is not an Expedition, HumVee, etc.! I very nearly bought a SMART car a few years ago when they first came to America. In the end, I examined my expenses and it just made no sense for me. I lived 5 miles from work, often worked at home, and had no car payment. And, perhaps it’s rationalization, but it seemed to me the act of consuming a new car rather than continuing to use my own (at the relatively low miles I drove) just didn’t add up environmentally either. Even with gas prices where they are now, I just can’t justify the outlay of cash on another car. So, it appears unless I end up with a significant commute, I will be driving this vehicle until it meets its maker.

What do you think? Do more people act out of altruism or other? Where do you fit on the continuum? Have you made financial or other sacrifices entirely out of a desire for a better world? Or are their times that you only act if the stars line up where both you and the planet benefit? Interested in knowing if I’m alone in my decisions.