The Progress Paradox and Sustainability

Two ideas have been swirling around in my thoughts for the past months. The first is from Gregg Easterbrook’s The Progress Paradox; the idea is that almost all aspects of Western life have vastly improved in the past century - but most men and women feel less happy than in previous generations. The second idea is that we have to figure out ways to live on Earth sustainably (a good staring point to understand why is Jeffrey Sachs' Introduction to Sustainable Development course available On Demand from Coursera)…or we won’t be able to live on Earth; our population is growing, there will come a time when the world cannot provide enough food and water, and we are changing the climate of the earth (and it’s not for the better).

Putting the two ideas together - we live in a way that is not making us happy and it is hurting the planet…..

We need to change the trajectory of ‘progress.’

Up until now - progress has been about harnessing the resources that the earth stored away in the past. Breaking natural cycles was not something we worried about. In many cases the resources are transformed as they are harnessed and cannot be used in the same way again. With the cycles broken, the resources are not replenished either. For example, we have ramped up agriculture to produce food for more people but managed to reduce the productivity of the land either by erosion, salination, or poisoning of soil…so that some soils can no longer grow food as effectively (or at all). And the overall biodiversity around us has been dramatically reduced.

Our quick and dirty manufacturing has made industrialists wealthy and provide inexpensive products to millions but left debris and poisons in their wake.

There is evidence that there is a human induced mass extinction happening on Earth right now.

We all make choices about the way we live and most of us would choose to live sustainably if we could. But our society provides very few choices that enable that?

Right now some aspects of sustainability are very difficult or impossible. Some examples:

There are some items that always come packaged in plastic (plastic bins/bags of salad greens, bags of frozen fruit),

There are products that such short serviceability that they clog landfills (disposable diapers, foam packing material), and

Electric cars are expensive and range limited….the list goes on.

But the real problem is lack of vision from the top that leads to a sustainable society. With no top down vision it is hard to piece together what we as individuals can do (i.e. bottom up) that will make a difference. That does not mean we should not take the actions that we can.

In 2015 - my overarching resolution for the new year is to live more sustainably. 

There are some steps I have already taken in the past few years and new actions. Some are substantial…some are very small. I’ll be writing about them in the weeks ahead and encourage everyone to think about taking steps, even small ones, toward living more sustainably. It’s the most important type of progress we can make for the long term benefit of our children…and the generations to come. And - who knows - maybe there is a nugget of happiness in the doing too.

Gleanings of the Week Ending January 4, 2014

The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles and websites I found this past week. Click on the light green text to look at the article.

Quinoa, Apricot, and Oat Muffin Clusters - Yum! I made these yesterday. There were some substitutions since I ‘made do’ with ingredients I had around the house: spiced fruit preserve instead of apricot paste, sesame seeds for the nuts/seeds, tahini instead of almond butter. I also used muffin cups that I had had for years (found recently when I was re-arranging the cabinets!).

Heat maps reveal where you feel emotions in your body - Hmmm….so people that are happy are physically warmer!

Beyond the Core: What about Other Important Outcomes? - What topics do you think are missing from the common core for K-12 education? Use this article to jumpstart your thinking.

Stranger than Fiction (Plant Biology) - An intro to the January issue of The Scientist online magazine. Read the full articles too: Plant communication, plant DNA challenging preconceptions about the evolution of life, and gold in plants.

Attacking Fungal Infection, One of World's Major Killers - When we think of microbes that kill we generally think of bacteria or viruses, but fungal infections kill 1.3 million people per year. I remember the mycology class I took (a long time ago) in college because of the beauty visible through the microscope: it was a blue world (dye) with complex structures. Reading this story makes me wonder if there were too few people from my generation that chose to pursue medical mycology and if our medical system has tended to focus only on the non-fungal microbes. Here’s another fungi story published this past week about How Mushrooms are Changing the World’s Winds.

Meditative Moments Found Within Dramatic Landscapes - If I went for a walk, there would be some places close to my house that look like these images! I took a few pictures from my door and decided that the wind and temperature in the teens made it too cold to venture further.

Marvelous Snowflakes - A video about how they form…in keeping with the view from my window in Maryland today!

The Best Wildlife and Nature Photos from NWF Staff in 2013 - My favorite is the pitcher plants (toward the end) but the sandhill crane (the picture after the pitcher plants) just visible in tall grass is a close second. And here is a group of nature photos from National Geographic: Rainforest Bugs and Best Wishes for 2014!

Elder Pharmacology - Many clinical trials exclude patients over the age of 65 as well as patients taking multiple drugs. And one of the key findings by gerontologists is that the biology of a young body is quite different from that of a young body. Put these together…and doctors medicating patients over 65 are virtually ‘flying blind.’ The status quo is not acceptable.

The book we all wish we could have read as children - I’ve added Travel Light by Naomi Mitchison to my wish list (The NPR article that is referenced is here.)