One of things I love about writing this blog, is that there’s always something new to discover. Like today, I discovered that Oregon State University has a Sustainability Living Project, complete with wonderful downloadable booklet that reads like a textbook to Non-Consumer Living.
The home page describes sustainable living as:
A thoughtful approach to leading fulfilling, productive and environmentally responsible lives, by balancing our economic, cultural and environmental needs, to meet the needs of the present without compromising the needs of future generations.
Can’t argue with that!
The section on consumerism states that:
Everyday we are barraged by hundreds of advertisements telling us we’ll be sexy, desirable, be more efficient, have a healthy family, or just have a special moment of quiet if we just purchase their product. While we’ve been taught from an early age by society that the more consume the happier we will be, many if not most of us are still not satisfied. While we work more to buy more, at the end of the day we’re often left wondering if it’s all worth it. This cycle leaves less time for things that we choose to do, activities we find fulfilling like spending time with our family, recreating, or just leisure. It’s like were on a treadmill of consumerism that keeps us running, unable to step off.
I have only just now started exploring the website, but wanted to share this fabulous resource with all my readers.
Katy Wolk-Stanley
“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.”
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
Ooh, that’s good stuff. I’ll have to go check out the rest of the site.
Thank you! As always…. Thank you for what you point us to.
Thank you. I love the idea of charting how I spend my hours. I’m going to do that this week.
My daughter called me from a restaurant last night to give me that link she thought it was so cool. I immediately posted it to the Compact group. I thought I would print a few out to give people (or leave laying around) like ‘tracts’ to inspire people to think about their impact. Give’s whole new meaning to an hour of work!!
Thanks for sharing that! I’ve begun perusing the website. Great stuff! I’m glad it addresses the fact that raising animals for meat (at least the way it’s done on a large scale, factory farming) is basically an unsustainable practice, too. Indeed.
Great link, thanks Katy. I look forward to talking with our local university about a similar stream as part of their sustainability program.
Katy,
Found the “booklet” note way above (just click it , folks) very interesting ! Thank You. Check booket’s “Additional Resources” on page 19.