Waking up from The American Dream

Continuing to consume excessively, as a way of life, is neither desirable nor possible. It’s time to create a more moderate, more enjoyable, less frantic, American lifestyle.

No more “keeping up with the Jones”. It’s time to measure our wealth in terms of our family, friends, health, free time and volunteer opportunities. While it sounds like a cliche, less really is more. If we want less “stuff”, we’ll end up with more of what we really do want.

How do we get there? It’s up to you, to figure out what is most important in your life. But take action now. Start small if you’d like, but start moving towards a more moderate, more enjoyable, less frantic lifestyle today.

Some of the big ticket items we all need to work on include:

• Cut energy consumption in half. This would reduce energy consumption per person, to the same levels as Italy and Germany. There are dozens of suggestions on this site for cutting your energy use.
• Support “Take-Back” laws, which force manufacturers to take back their used products to be recycled/refurbished.
•  Green-The-Grid. Our electricity production is the single largest producer of greenhouse gas. The earth can not support any more growth of coal fired generating plants.
• Eat more locally produced food. Eat less meat, which has a huge footprint when all areas of production are considered - you don’t need to stop eating meat completely. Try to cut it in half.
• Reduce, Reuse, Recycle - in that order.

 As individuals and as a culture, we long for a slower,saner world. It’s time to transition from the love of consumption to the love of life.

Similar Posts:

• Carbon Tax -It’s About Time!
• Emissions Per Person - Not Per Nation
• First step to reduce Greenhouse Gas - Energy Efficiency

Filed under: conservation