The Greening of Gavin

Defining Sustainable Living

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What does the term Sustainable Living mean?

Ask a group of your friends what they thing it means and I bet you get a range of answers.

Some may think it is installing solar panels on your roof, some may think that backyard chickens are part of it, where others believe it is self denial.  Others may think of communal living, and some mention straw-bale homes, yurts and living in the country like a hippy!  Well, it could be some or all of those I suppose.  But that is only part of it.

Clearly there is no right answers, but let me have a go at defining this often misunderstood term and one that I believe that we have been living for the last seven odd years;

“Living a concious and intentional lifestyle, that is interdependent upon others and treads lightly on the planet, so that there will be a liveable habitat for our children, their children, and all species that reside on Mother Earth.”

How does one achieve this?

Well let me tell you that in this case, one size doesn’t fit all.  How you choose to live a more sustainable lifestyle may or will be completely different than the way me and my family do.

And you know what?  This is perfectly okay.

Sustainable living is intentional, based on sound knowledge and it is about every single choice we make on a daily basis.  Choices that take us one step closer to living within our means and respecting the limits set by natural boundaries and the finite resources imposed by our biosphere.


So what do I have to give up?

Would you believe me if I said nothing?  Living within your means or lightly on the planet doesn’t mean doing without or giving up stuff.  You just have to weigh up your decisions carefully.  The reality of knowing when enough is enough and what is harmful, or alternatively, sustainable takes time to learn and understand.  When I mention the way I live, I refer to it as our sustainable living journey.  Because it is exactly that.

It’s a journey, not a destination, and it is not a race.  However, every great journey begins with one small step which you must take if you want to change the paradigm that you live in.

How do we know we are there yet?

Well this part is not easy.  However if you find yourself wrestling over a decision like what to do when your fridge breaks, which goes beyond simple replacement, then you are probably in the right head space.  You start thinking of sustainable choices.

Do you repair the old one, even though it guzzles electricity, is full of greenhouse gasses or do you research the latest model that has no greenhouse gasses in its refrigerant and runs on the sniff of an oily rag or do you try and live without one (which is possible in some climates)?

Here is another.  Do you buy a reusable coffee cup and take it to work everyday, or buy your coffee in a disposable cup that is not recyclable, or do you do away with your morning cuppa altogether?

And the last one.  Your electricity bill arrives in the mail and is over $1500 for the quarter.  Do you just pay it, whinging to your friends, or do you look at your energy use and start to take small but consistent steps towards lowering consumption or do you change over to GreenPower and start a program of energy reduction including using the savings to purchase your own renewable energy?

All of these are tough decisions when you are first starting out, but by just thinking of alternatives, you have taken a step on the path to a more sustainable lifestyle.

The Path

I suppose my point is that there is no specific destination or point in time that will determine whether you are living a more sustainable lifestyle.  I know that I have never been happier and there is a calmness within.

You will just know that each and every life decision you make feels right inside.

So over to you.  Have a go at describing in your own words what sustainable living means to you.

What the World Needs Now Is Love…

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credit: Zazzle

Coping okay with the heat or snow?  Hope you are all well, and enjoying the break.

Now let me ask you.  What do you think the Earth needs, now that we have stuffed up our climate?  Here in Australia, our record heat continues, with no sign of abating, and many parts of the northern hemisphere are experiencing crazy climactic conditions.

I think Earth needs a bit of tender loving care.  This post was originally published in August 2012, and explains why we need a bit more love in our lives, love of community, and for the planet.  After all, it is the only home we have!

Who loves this Planet?  A bit of a strange question, seeing that it is the only habitable one the we know of within 20 light years.   Call me wacky, but I declare that I love my planet and where I live.

I believe that as Burt Bacharach wrote “What the world needs now, is love sweet love”!

Yes, really.  Love!

Not physically like tree hugging (even though it is nice to hug a tree), but in the community sense. Things like pride of place, which is a sense of communal love or to put it in a better way, pride of where you and others around you inhabit.

I have previously mentioned that to live a fulfilling and sustainable lifestyle, you need other like minded people to share the journey with you. It is a lonely place to be in if you attempt to down-shift in isolation or take steps to build a sustainable community without others to help and to share the passion and to bounce ideas off.

I have found that people who attempt to live this kind of lifestyle, usually are involved in at least one community group, sometimes two or three depending on their interests. This is a great way to meet like minded people, learn new skills and to build long lasting friendships. However, with these connections there comes a greater responsibility to other than self.

You have the needs, desires and well-being of others to contend with. I liken it to an extended family, who care about each other, which I believe leads to a deep sense of belonging. Humans want to belong, otherwise we would not have congregated into hamlets, village, towns, cities or megalopolises over the last 10,000 years.

With these communal structures in place other needs begin to become fulfilled, like security of food, water, shelter and the like. Even in bad times, a tight knit community looks out for one another.

Now, having a strong, and dare I say, loving and caring community is a great goal to strive for and it reminds me of the country town I grew up in.  I often talk about Peak Everything regularly, but rarely mentioned resources that are totally renewable and are around us in abundance, that are not peaking, are love and compassion.

Personally, I will not stop caring for my community, the environment, all creatures, and our home, planet Earth. I believe we can create a sustainable and peaceful future together because I truly believe in human nature.  We cannot possibly be that stupid to let it all go to rack and ruin by continuing this charade we call the consumer culture.

I know we can show this planet that we love and respect it, and lets start with our very own communities.

Group hug everyone!

What do you love about your community?

Changing Gears Book Launch

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On Thursday night, I was invited to attend the book launch event for Changing Gears, by Greg Foyster, where there were over 80 guests.

I had never been to a book launch before, let alone one with a bicycle theme, but was willing to support my friends Greg and Sophie.  Besides, there was free solar brewed beer and food. 😉

It was held in the Affirm Press HQ located in South Melbourne, in what looked like their loading bay.  Nice open space, and along the lines of the simplicity mantra of making do with what you have.  There were wooden pallets leaned up against one wall to be used as bike racks. Very nice.

Anyway, on to the photos and my perspective of the event!

Future Spark supplied two bikes that have generators attached, and the electricity generated from them was to power the PA system during the speeches.  Here is Greg showing everyone how it works.

Good Cycles kindly offered to provide a free bike assessment and tune-up for cyclists, so everyone was encouraged to ride their bike to the event.  The mechanic must have repaired/tuned about 15 bikes on the night.

Then there was the food.  It was supplied by TacoBike, owned by Cara Munro.  The vegetarian tacos were delicious.  All served off a trailer attached to a bike, naturally.

And of course, a book launch wouldn’t be complete without beverages on a bike!

These were supplied by The Good Brew Co, owned by the cheeky Dean O’Callaghan, who’s beer, cider, and soft drinks (magic tea) were too good to refuse.  His Pilsner was outstanding!  I can only say that I did partake in lots of beer cart chat and the odd beverage!  Thankfully, shanks pony and public transportation were my designated driver for the evening.

Then it was on with the speeches.  With the Future Spark bikes whirring away, Greg was introduced by Michael Green, a journalist who once upon a time interviewed me for The Age newspaper (he is freelance).  Nice to meet him in person, a great guy and you can check out his blog, http://www.michaelbgreen.com.au/.  Nice introduction as well.

Then there was Greg’s speech.  Anyone who knows Greg would understand when I said he over prepared for it.  At the start of the evening he showed me his three pages of prose, but in the end, after he had just finished peddling for Michaels introduction, he was out of breath and just winged it.  He kept it short and sweet (10 minutes), but meaningful.  I think he really captured the essence of the book.

Then it was Sophie’s turn on the milk crate podium.  She ended up reading out all of the daggy things that Greg got up to on their trip up to Cairns.  It was hilarious!  Both Greg and Sophie spent the rest of the evening book signing, which is what the author does at a book launch.

I spent time working the floor, meeting new people including Greg’s Mum and Dad who mentioned that they loved my podcast interview with Greg and Sophie.  Apparently, according to Greg’s Mum, I sound just like Shane Jacobson (aka Kenny), and very down to earth.  Well there you go, who would have known!

Then, after many beers with my new friends Samuel Alexander and his partner Helen aka FunkBunny (pictured above in her riding gear), it was time to walk to the tram stop, take a little trip to Southern Cross Station and catch my v-Line train home.

I had a great evening, albeit a late one, arriving home at around 11pm.  If all book launches are like this one, I want to be invited every week.

You can catch Greg and Sophie on their cycling book tour.  They are currently riding from Melbourne to Sydney and stopping frequently along the way.  You can see their itinerary at this link (scroll to the middle of the page); http://simplelives.com.au/book/.  I highly recommend their book and please take the time to say gidday if they are in your neck of the woods.

It was great to be surrounded by so many like minded people, don’t you think?  Have you ever been to an event where you just fitted in perfectly?