Here is another piece written by first year students at IUSB who enrolled in marcia Hollands introductory writing course, W130, where their writing prompts were focused on sustainability.
By Briana Weidler
Everyday life consists of numerous checks and balances that we must constantly consider. The amount of sleep we get every night, what and how much we eat, how much time we allow ourselves to get ready in the morning, etc. If any of these are disrupted it offsets our balance and causes us to not work at our greatest potential. We often forget that nature performs the same way. Animals require a certain amount of food, plants need a certain amount of sunlight, and necessary interactions must take place in order for everything to work at its proper capacity and functionality.
Duane Elgin, pioneer of the “voluntary simplicity” movement and an internationally recognized speaker, believes that we need to find a balance between insufficiency and surplus in order for our lives to work in perfect balance. In his article, “Simplicity and Consumption,” he discusses the importance of determining what we need and want in life and how by balancing that then we’ll find simplicity. That “balanced simplicity” will in return help our environment and our peace of mind (Elgin 71).
People, mainly in the form of farmers and chemists, have decided to work around these balances we require in life by using large amounts of fertilizers and chemicals. This has caused an increase in chemicals and hormones in our food and the mistreatment of farm animals. This has also led to a rise in people trying to find alternate and safer methods of farming the land. Michael Pollan, a contributing author for the New York Times and the author of The Omnivore’s Dilemma, has seen these methods succeed and even prosper. In his article, “The Animals: Practicing Complexity,” Pollan visits a farm where they have started using these methods and he observes all of the procedures they have implemented to best utilize all of the natural processes the animals contribute. This particular farm doesn’t use any chemicals and follows a route that is based on nature.
Janine Benyus, an expert on biomimicry—the process of imitating nature—and author of Biomimicry: Innovation Inspires by Nature, urges the people of the world to follow this plan nature has revealed to us. Her article, “Mother Nature’s School of Design,” explores the idea of biomimicry and how it can positively benefit the environment and ourselves. She feels that nature has provided the blueprint we need in order to succeed we just need to start viewing nature as a “mentor” instead of just a resource for us to exploit (37)….
Following nature’s cycles in the form of processes like that of biomimicry will help the human race create this sustainable way of living we have been seeking. We need to establish a system in which every “waste” is used for something new and better; then we can almost mimic the processes Pollan saw implemented on the Polyface farm. Everything had a use, nothing was thrown away. This created a cycle of use that produced the building blocks for something new instead of waste. McDonough and Braungart believe that everyday living should follow these guidelines in everything we do: “[Nature’s cycles generate] safe, ecologically intelligent products that […] provide nourishment for something new after each useful life. From a design perspective this […] means rather than designing products to be used and thrown away, we begin to initiate nature’s highly effective systems and design every product as a nutrient” (95). If the products we develop have other uses after their intended purpose then we will have safer products that won’t end up in landfills and cause further damage to our planet. This then creates a balance in the natural cycles of nature instead of pouring more plastics and other non-biodegradable items into the earth. Benyus thinks we can go even further in this idea and rethink our current way of planting: “Using annuals means we have to plow each year, which leads to soil erosion. To make up for the poorer soil, we pour on tons of chemical fertilizers. […] What we would have [in breeding and using perennial crops], instead of an extractive agriculture that mimics industry is a self-renewing agriculture that mimics nature” (35). To make up for planting the crops used in industrialized farming we have to use a lot of unnatural chemicals that are a part of the “cradle to grave” linear process, the manufacture and use of an item that will ultimately end up in a landfill, mentioned by McDonough and Braungart (95). Benyus believes that changing to a specific type of crop will allow us to return to the balanced cycle nature intended and therefore sustainable living.
In finding this sustainable lifestyle that we desire we need to find balance between a complex and simple way of living….
There’s a fine line between what is right for us and what is right for the environment. If we find where those two boundaries overlap then we will have a functioning existence that will have purpose. It will require a reconstruction of our current ideas and practices but will in the end benefit all of society. As Benyus put it, “Our ideology—the story we tell ourselves about who we are in the universe—has to change if we are to treat the living earth with respect” (36). If we are to have a sustainable future we must leave a brighter outlook for our environment and future generations.
Benyus, Janine. “Mother Nature’s School of Design.” Choices for Sustainable Living. Ed. Northwest Earth Institute. Portland, OR: Northwest Earth Institute, 2009. 34-38. Print.
Elgin, Duane. “Simplicity and Consumption.” A World of Health: Connecting People, Place, and Planet. Ed. Northwest Earth Institute. Portland, OR: Northwest Earth Institute, 2010. 70-71. Print.
McDonough, William and Michael Braungart. “The Extravagant Gesture.” Choices for Sustainable Living. Ed. Northwest Earth Institute. Portland, OR: Northwest Earth Institute, 2009. 95-97. Print.
Pollan, Michael. “The Animals: Practicing Complexity.” Emerging: Contemporary Readings for Writers. Ed. Barclay Barrios. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2010. 280-292. Print.
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