RESOLUTIONS

4 January 2010

A small ritual of writing down something to be discarded was performed at a New Year’s Eve party, the defenestrated being physical or metaphysical. Discarding predicates acquiring, which seems the logical place to start the remedy. Realizing the resource limitations and consumption consequences of our world is the first step to sustainability, and we each play a part.

Our toilet paper purchase decision determines the habitat consequences for wolves and bears and all wildlife down the food chain, including us. And let’s not even talk about the Chinese-made rubber duck.

The question is consciousness: most of us don’t want to think every decision through to the seventh generation consequence. And there is a large group that will never be convinced of our precarious situation, and to whom the very idea is a threat worthy of a call to arms. These we can’t change. But, most of us are willing to listen to reason when our children’s welfare is concerned.

In the modern world it’s hard to know which action has consequences. The answer is that they all do. The apple bought at the farmer’s market has a beneficial ripple effect from preventing sprawl to cutting carbon emissions.