Sustainability.
you heard it here first, this shits hard.
Everyone has heard the conversations surrounding sustainability that are peppered with judgment. The idea that if you are not doing everything you can to live as sustainably as possible, you are a terrible person. TikTok videos that start with “You mean you aren’t…(insert obscure sustainability hack you never heard of in your life but suddenly causes feelings of guilt for causing environmental disaster because you aren’t participating in sustainability in this exact way) …” Yeah, you know the videos.
I am not trying to write this from my soapbox, but hey, it’s my account. My soapbox.
What is sustainability, how does it benefit me, the world, and why do I feel enormous amounts of guilt?
Well, let’s start here. Propaganda. I am 26 years old, so I grew up during the time of recycling or else! There are lots of phases of sustainability, and a lot of them attack you at the point of guilt and dread. That you are a sole person makes a huge difference, and it’s all on you (this is not to say people do not make a difference, but we will get back to that).
Here is the thing that I am sure we all know by now. Corporations are doing the most damage to the environment. According to a study from Harvard, 60% of environmental intensity is driven by industry (Freiberg et al., 2021). Of course, everyone should do their research, but I have found a huge chunk of effects are from emissions and other pollution tied to corporations.
Where does that leave us? Should we give up on any idea of sustainability? Cut our losses and move on? Honestly, that’s how I feel most of the time. Especially as a person who lives paycheck to paycheck, rents, and can struggle to make ends meet. When I have a lack of time, money, and energy, how can I even consider or think about being sustainable?
Another systemic issue that affects the working poor is- robbery of time. The blame falls on the individual for not doing enough. Working people, people living paycheck to paycheck, 2-3 jobs, don’t have time to consider waste, recycling, or growing food. It is about survival, keeping your family fed, and paying bills. When more and more people are poor due to systemic issues that feel out of our control, we lose autonomy. People have less time for the things that matter to them. They can’t enjoy any spare time, let alone use that time to feel guilty for not doing enough?
I have decidedly no room in my heart to judge others for what they aren’t doing to be sustainable. Sustainability is a whole issue that has a lot of moving pieces, and if you do not have the time to put into it, THAT’S OKAY!
I have always dreamed of growing my food, having a garden, and being able to provide nourishment to my family in that way. Living in apartments, it always felt like a pipedream that would only happen years down the line, once I had stability.
Luckily, this year, I asked my landlord if I could start a garden in a small plot outside of my apartment, and he said yes! This truly has been a dream come true as I navigate my very small but very mighty garden for the first time. This, of course, came at the most perfect time as I am currently unemployed unexpectedly and preparing for surgery in the summer. Leaving me with loads of time (and an insane amount of dread of not making money and being able to provide), I have been able to focus on my garden and projects around my apartment.
Now, I have said a lot about how it does not fall on you, the individual, to fix the world’s problems with the environment. Does that mean it’s all for nothing? No, I don’t think so. I think something about the green movements we see that are beneficial is the ways that we can affect our communities; we just really need to take the guilt, shame, and individual responsibility out of it.
I think it leads me to prioritizing things that affect our communities on a smaller scale. Efforts to reduce trash in my house reduce trash in my community. Growing my food fills my kitchen, full of fresh produce, even when I can’t afford it. This also allows me to try recipes and gather with friends to cook! Reusing the things I already have instead of buying brand new things helps me have less clutter and spend less money!
A lot of these things that are sustainable also build up a community. I am a part of Buy Nothing Groups on Facebook, and you can see the community building in action. Offering things you don’t need to someone who might find use in them. It’s today’s version of asking your neighbor for a cup of flour.
I try hard to practice things when I can, but not harp on it when I don’t have the time.
Take good care,
EJ