Voices against sustainability?

Thanks to the inherent tension between the economy and the environment, there has been a consistent strain of economic conservatives and libertarians who speak out against environmental policy. But there are also voices against sustainability. What's the deal with that?

Berit Kjos argues that sustainability advocates seek to "brainwash" the public into changing their values away from the bible, and "the unadulterated U.S. Constitution" and towards peace and community. This to her is obviously a dangerous precursor to full-on socialism: she uses the teaching of the Little Red Hen in kindergarten to show that children are taught not to hoard the fruits of their labor, but to share.

Henry Lamb tells the story of a 70-year-old woman arrested for not watering her lawn in Utah as an example of how the "sustainable development craze" endangers property rights and imperils freedom:

What should be immediately obvious to the most casual observer is the fact that where sustainable development prevails, individual freedom cannot. Private property rights take a back seat to the collective vision in a sustainable community. In a sustainable community, a committee of "stakeholders" decide what private land owners may do, or may not do, with their own property. This is not freedom.

His example seems odd, because Envision Utah, the initiative he blames for the woman's arrest, lists water conservation as one of its eight quality growth strategies and hopes to promote "water-wise landscaping." So it stretches the imagination to consider her falling afoul of its vision by not watering her lawn.

ICLEI is also a target: Tom DeMeese urges readers to remove the organization from their towns' local planning process. ICLEI, a nonprofit organization that came out of the United Nations and seeks to help sustainable development policy at the local level, is here a clear example of international takeover of U.S. policy.

Talk against sustainable development is not idle theoretical discussion. One talk radio program in New Rochelle discusses sustainability there:

[The town's new sustainability coordinator] Kooris presents "sustainability" as asking ourselves whether decisions we make will benefit all of the facets of New Rochelle but what he is really talking about is placing limits on economic growth. If you push hard on this you will find that the organizations behind pushing this idea are talking about a fundamental reduction in demand. New Rochelle residents might want to understand how these groups propose to fundamentally reduce demand for resources. The answer will have something to do with population control.

The program has an extended series on ICLEI's involvement in the town and sustainability in general, trying to convince listeners that such policy is extreme and leads to socialism.

10:10:10 Global Work Party in Prinzessinnengärten

The last time I wrote, it was about the Prinzessinnengärten in Kreuzberg. Well, on Sunday I organized a work party with some fellow FFU PhD students in conjunction with 350.org's international 10:10:10 event.

It was a smashing success! We had nearly 40 volunteers who harvested two varieties of potatoes to be used and sold in the garden's café. I got lots of nice feedback from participants and was glad to finally see the sun as well.

What touched me the most was a young boy who had come for another event across the street. He helped me record how much the potatoes harvested from each sack weighed (remember, this is a mobile garden!). When I asked him if he knew about climate change, he told me he'd watched a documentary that said humans were polluting the air and that the world would suffer greatly in the coming century. The movie upset him so much that he couldn't sleep for two days. So I told him that we were throwing this party to help heal the planet and make sure that his nightmare didn't come true. He was helping to save the planet! I think knowing this motivated him and definitely put a smile on his face.

Urban farming in Berlin: Prinzessinnengärten

A few weeks ago, I stumbled upon a giant open space on Moritzplatz that I always remembered as an abandoned lot. This time the gates where open and the place was sprawling with sacks, crates, and bags of soil, most of which had plants popping out. They were labeled with their name and many had a little description. It looked almost like a gardening store, but there were no prices on anything. In the back, people were lounging on benches, eating and drinking at a café of some sort. Welcome to Prinzessinnengärten.

British magazine Monocle made a short video report about the project, which calls itself a "mobile urban farm." Some guys thought the previously wasted space was a great opportunity to grow heirloom organic food. So they grabbed their friends and started to work last year. The place is already thriving, and I can't wait to go to one of their work days on Thursdays.

Consumer indicators: Egg labels

Every carton of eggs sold in Germany is labeled according to how the chickens were raised:

0. organic (Ökologische Erzeugung)
   
1. free-range (Freilandhaltung)
   
2. ground (Bodenhaltung)
3. cage (Käfighaltung)

There are detailed requirements for each type of production; for example, in addition to being fed organic feed, organic hens are required to have at least eight hours a day with no artificial light, room to build nests, and a place to "sand bathe."

The point is more consumer information, which undoubtedly leads to better (i.e., more humane) choices. The percentage of eggs purchased in Germany from caged hens has dropped in the last few years. Making the hens' living conditions apparent gives meaning to more expensive types of farming and allows consumers to make more informed choices.

It makes me wonder how the eggs I bought in the U.S. were laid.

Ein neues wir: Documentary on eco-villages

I caught an interesting documentary by Stefan Wolf called Ein neues wir: Ökodörfer und ökologische Gemeinschaften in Europa ("a new we: eco-villages and ecological communities in Europe"). It profiles 10 communities in Europe, interviewing residents to show what life in each place is like. Although it's not exactly an earth-shattering film—Wolf doesn't tie the villages together or discuss their cultural or political relevance—it does show how real people are living today with a lighter ecological footprint.

Interesting, too, is that the residents' interest lies in the sense of community and well-being that comes from living in these eco-villages. Aside from a few solar panels and talk of energy-efficient buildings, their environmentally friendly lifestyle comes from living simply. Most of their diets are vegetarian or vegan and come from the food they grow themselves. A huge part of the day is spent with arts, music, and spiritual ceremonies: there isn't a TV or car to be found. Although the film doesn't discuss this directly, I suspect that the values shared by eco-villagers cause them to own fewer possessions, which allows them to work less and enjoy more free time as well as reduce their carbon emissions.

This slow, easy pace life had in the ten villages struck me the most from the film. It reminded me a little of the philosophy I've seen in long-distance hikers, but as a long-term way of life. Now I'm curious to visit one.

Local sustainability: State parks

Sustainability means long-term system viability. The environmental component often gets the most attention, but it's by no means the only aspect that needs consideration. At any rate, this article in May's Governing magazine shows state governments throwing all three out the window in their decision to close state parks, which are huge revenue generators, preserve the local environment, and encourage social interaction and active leisure.

Shame on you, state governments.