What is Sustainable Living?

Our definition is “A life that is deeply satisfying, fulfilling, and appealing – and at the same time, environmentally responsible.”

To understand what sustainable living is, it helps to understand what it’s not.

First of all, it’s not about living in the woods, eating nuts and berries, and wearing tie-dyed clothes. It’s for mainstream adults – typical Americans with two cars in their garage, one of which might be a sport utility vehicle. It’s for people who ski, watch TV, hike, read, snowmobile, go to movies, rollerblade, play video games, bowl, and camp. For people with mortgages and those who drop their kids off at child care. It’s for people with credit cards and those who shop at malls. And for people who regularly drive up to fast food windows.

Second, sustainable living is not about never buying anything again. It is about making thoughtful decisions, considering the impacts of our consumer choices, and finding alternatives.

Third, sustainable living is not competitive. Individuals have different needs and values. Sustainable living is deeply personal, based on individual definitions of quality of life. For example, this quote might express your sentiments exactly – or it might not.

Fourth, sustainable living is not guilt-driven. It focuses not on what was done in the past but on what will be done in the future. It combines practical ideas – such as turning off lights – with intangibles such as lifestyle values and personal quality of life.

And finally, sustainable living is not “gloom and doom.” It does, however, put our individual actions into a global context. While it’s about taking positive steps at the individual and family level, the world we live in is an important consideration. Wackernagel and Rees, in Our Ecological Footprint, state, “It would require four Earths for everybody on the planet to live the lifestyle of North Americans.”

Read more about the OSU Sustainable Living Project at cof.orst.edu/cof/extended/sustain/

“Our goal when we opened Living Light Marketplace was to carry products not only for the raw food chef, but for anyone who wants to make a difference when they select household items, products, and gifts for family and friends,” says Soria. “We’ve created this simple holiday list for the conscious consumer with sustainable values in mind.”

• Bamboo-one of the fastest growing renewable plant species on the planet. Try bamboo flatware or chopsticks. Cherie’s advice: “Use these plants to eat more plants.”
• More Bamboo-The Bamboo Bottle for hot or cold beverages is BPA free, durable, and 1% of sales go back to the planet.
• Acacia bowls-sustainably produced of Hawaiian hardwood are both beautiful and durable.
• Glass Dharma Straws-lifetime guarantee, and made of borosilicate class in Fort Bragg, California, where we live. It’s the last straw you’ll ever need.
• Greenware-this stainless steel water bottle is lightweight, BPA free, durable, and 1% of the sales go back to the planet.
• EcoBags Natural Tote-in durable cotton canvas with Living Light logo – great for shopping, errands and travel.
• Thai Coconut Sugar-known also as jaggery, coconut sugar is a world renowned low-glycemic sweetener favored by Mahatma Gandhi.
• Rawsome Creations Nut Milk Bag-fair trade, philanthropic, functional, and durable. Make your own nut and seed milks with this simple tool, and drink to your health.
• Guatemalan Aprons-beautiful striped, hand woven icats in a palette of rich colors and patterns in long or short styles, with adjustable straps.

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This article in EcoSeed – Energy | Environment | Economy explains how His Royal Highness Prince William of Wales will marry Miss Catherine Middleton in an eco-friendly way, from the wedding ring to the flowers.

Let us hope their marriage is totally sustainable, too!

Click to read the article in EcoSeed.

photo by Jim Fairchild

Maharishi University of Management has launched a $1.5 million renovation project to fix buildings, upgrade facilities, and improve energy efficiency at the same time. After completing a $2 million dorm renovation project last year, the University plans to spend half of the new funds on energy efficient upgrades.

“Our University Trustees were eager to make energy efficiency a major focus of the project,” said David Streid, MUM chief administrative officer. In addition to making the campus greener, the upgrades will save money in the long run.

The roof of the Art Center received an additional 2 ½ inches of insulation and a system to capture the heat from the kiln . . .

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Try or buy The Green Parent for more information. This magazine is aimed at parents in the UK and Europe who want to raise green kids. The entire article is available online to subscribers and trial members.

Environmental benefits of trayless cafeterias:

• conserves water and electricity
• reduces water pollution (detergents, drying agents etc.)
• decreases food waste

When given a tray, the tendency is to fill it up with more than you can eat. One survey showed a 25-30% drop in food waste after trays were removed from school dining halls. Maharishi University of Management’s food waste was nearly 800 lbs/day.

This will also reduce cost.

Source: Dome Announcement

Click to read an article on this nationwide trend.

Press Conference and Earth Day Event Scheduled for 12:45 p.m. April 22

On Earth Day, April 22, the walls and the roof will go up on Maharishi University of Management’s new Sustainable Living Center — a building that will set a new standard for green building in America by being completely off the grid with respect to electricity, heating and cooling, water, and waste.

The Sustainable Living Center has been designed to meet the Living Building Challenge, the highest standard for sustainable design and green building in the world. It will be one of the first three to achieve this. And it will be unique because it will be the first to combine that standard with the standards of LEED Platinum certification, Building Biology, and Maharishi Vedic Architecture.

“There’s no other building like this going up in the nation, or in the world for that matter, that we know of,” said nationally known green building expert Mike Nicklas, who co-designed the building and whose company Innovative Design has designed over 4000 buildings that use renewable energy solutions.

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Green Marketing Mavens Ellen Finkelstein, Phyllis Khare, and Lee Leffler

From the April 2010 issue of The Iowa Source. By Linda Egenes

Last spring while setting up a series of book talks around Iowa, I started to question this fossil-fuel extravagant way to sell a few books—not to mention the cost of gas. Then my publisher fired off an email, “Create an online presence and market your book that way.”

Gulp. Even though I wrote website copy for a living, learning how to set up my own site felt daunting. But determined to finally enter the digital age, I attended a free Internet marketing seminar by three consultants based in Fairfield: Ellen Finkelstein, Phyllis Khare, and Lee Leffler.

From the tools and strategies they shared, I was able to create a blog and social media campaign to market my books—without driving my car or printing…

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Note: Ellen Finkelstein, Phyllis Khare, and Lee Leffler will be giving Marketing Make-Over Sessions in Fairfield, Iowa on April 20 – click for details.

Image linked from the April 2010 issue of the Iowa Source

The Iowa Source just issued its special Green issue for April. “Cut Flowers, Locally Grown,” “”Sustainable Repairs: The Barhdyt Pipe Organ Gets New Life,” “You Too Can Go Green!” “An Alternative to Bovine Submission” and more. Pick up a copy in the state of Iowa, or check it out online at the Iowa Source website.

Held on the Maharishi University of Management campus, this year’s EcoFair will feature Diana Leafe Christian, the author of Creating a Life Together: Practical Tools to Grow Ecovillages and Intentional Communities, speaking on Spiritually Oriented Ecovillages. Also, you will hear Mark Lakeman and Micahel Cook on City Repair and the Power of Placemaking. Meet Mike Nicklas, president and co-founder of Innovative Design, Inc., who will talk about Key Strategies for Green Development. And more. Speaker’s list. Schedule.

On Sunday May 2, the Ecofair will become an Unconference using Open Space Technology. Open Space Technology is a highly participatory process that has been successfully employed in multiple situations all over the world. Learn more.