Sustainability Means Being a Better Star Thrower

Adventures in Sustainable Living

Episode 114

Sustainability Means Being a Better Star Thrower

From the deck of my cabin I have a nice view of the mountains to the north and the east. This is the most common direction from which storms will move in toward the cabin. As we watch the distant ridges slowly disappear into the clouds we often jokingly say “Here comes the dark cloud of doom.” 

On one such day I was watching an approaching storm and contemplating the fate of humanity. The thought that occurred to me is the changes that truly need to take place to build a sustainable future will likely never happen unless there is a dramatic upheaval.  

Then I realized that all it would really take is for all of us to be a better star thrower.  

If you want to hear about how your individual action makes a big impact, then listen to E114.  

Welcome back everyone to the Adventures in Sustainable Living podcast. This is your host Patrick and this is E114 which is called Sustainability Means Being a Better Star Thrower. 

And that is what I was thinking about just the other day as I was sitting on my deck watching another storm moving in over the mountains. Quite often we hear the rain or see the approaching snow storm long before it reaches us. Sometimes it is a source of entertainment and sometimes we rush to put tools and equipment away before the deluge hits hard. Since we have a nice view of the mountains to the north and east we can see approaching storms long before they reach us. And as I said we often joke about the incoming dark cloud of doom. 

And this is what I was thinking about the other day as I read yet another article saying we are past the point of no return and no matter what we do humanity is doomed at this point. So has the dark cloud of doom truly moved in? Is it never going to go away?  

In my last episode I talked a lot about making some changes in our lives, down to what we eat day to day. I also talked about how a change in perspective is often needed as a motivating factor.  Now, make no mistake about it, humanity is past the point of easy. No matter what we do, no matter the decisions we make at this point, it is not going to be easy. 

Now as dire as this may sound, the solution may be as  simple as becoming a better star thrower. 

There was once a very wise man who would go to the ocean to do his writing. He was always in the habit of walking on the beach before he started his work. One day he was taking in his typical peaceful walk when he looked down the beach and saw a young man. At first he thought this young man was dancing. But as he got closer he realized that he was not dancing at all. He was repeatedly picking up something and tossing it into the ocean. 

As he got even closer he asked the young man what he was doing. The young man paused for a moment and said, “Throwing starfish into the ocean. The tide is going out and if I don’t throw them into the ocean they will die.” 

The wise man said, “But there are miles and miles of beach and thousands of starfish all along the beach. You can’t possibly make a difference!” The young man paused for a moment, then reached down and picked up another starfish and threw it into the ocean. He then turned and said, “It made of difference for that one!” 

So many times when I am reading articles on various topics related to sustainability I come across articles that downplay the significance of individual action. It always makes me angry because such things only serve to further discourage people about the state of our world. These articles are often filled with misinformation designed only to influence our thinking so we will maintain the status quo. And of course as long as we do this we are not affect the profits of the very corporations that are destroying the planet. The end result is that people continue to sit and do nothing. 

Yet there are so many examples in history how one simple thing has changed the world. For example, Fidel Castro came to the United States to try out for baseball and never made it into the bid league. He returned to Cuba to pursue a career in politics. In 200 BCE the Han Dynasty in China produced the first magnetic compass. Johannes Gutenberg developed the printing press in 1440. All of these seemingly simple things dramatically change the course of history. 

So I think the moral of the story about the star fish thrower is that every person counts. Some small action is better than no action. Perhaps then we inspire someone else to take action. Then we make a collective action that has the power to change the world. 

If a large collective of people are doing little things, in the end it makes a huge impact because our choices as consumers truly changes the market place. As I have said before we don’t need a few people with a perfect zero waste lifestyle. What we need is millions of people doing it imperfectly. 

Each time you refuse to take home a single use plastic product it makes a difference. You may not be able to completely avoid it every time. But every time you do there is one less piece of plastic that ends up in the ocean or the landfill. We now produce 381 million tons of plastic waste every year and 50% of that is single use plastics. Refuse to use such things knowing that our choices make changes. 

Each time you take reusable grocery bags to the supermarket it makes a difference. On average each one of us uses 365 plastic bags per year. That amounts to 100 billion plastic bags in the United Sates alone. 

Every time I go scuba diving I take a small mesh bag with me to collect plastic waste. I think to myself, there is one less thing to end up in the stomach of some marine animal. It is estimated that 85% of the surface of our worlds oceans are now polluted with plastic. I think about this each time I take part in a beach clean up effort. 

I think of all the years I spent working in small villages in the jungle setting up health clinics, administering vaccines, and teaching people about preventative health care. I think of all the dogs that got re-homed. I think of the hundreds of people I worked with and even taught how to do basic veterinary care. Truly I was overwhelmed about the enormous need and often questioned if I was ever going to make a difference. 

In the end I realized that the two dogs I presently have are former street dogs. They are truly the best dogs I’ve ever had. I may not be able to save the world but I now look at my own dogs and think I made a difference for that one. Every year in the United States 920,000 animals get euthanized in shelters. Reaching out to save one not only makes a difference but it will also truly enrich your life. 

Buying bulk produce items, going to farmers markets, buying organic reduces the amount of agriculture chemicals that go into our water shed. Due to all the agricultural run off and waste, there is now a dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico that is 6,334 square miles. Each thing we do makes a difference. 

If you work and travel, take reusable refillable containers. Stop buying to go coffee. Prepare meals at home instead of buying take out. Stop purchasing bottled water. Each thing we do makes a difference. 

Slowly get rid of all the toxic chemicals in your house. There are simple, organic, sustainable alternatives for many household cleaning chemicals that we use and then flush down the drain which eventually ends up in the environment. 

There are also numerous ways where you can get creative with things. When I lived and worked in a tropical climate we fostered and encouraged the presence of various lizards, frogs and geckos in the house. They kept all the other not so pleasant invasive insects under control.  Now I will have to admit I would occasionally be taking a shower while there was a gecko sitting on the shower head. But, that was just a source of entertainment. 

The point being is there are many day-to-day things we can do, habits that we can work into our daily lives that will make a difference. Simply make one small change and make it your mission to continue learning. 

I know that we have a lot of work to do and it seems as if it is an impossible task. I have thought the same thing several times during my life when I was attempting to accomplish something that I knew up front was going to take me months to years. But it is a matter of taking one small step at a time.  It is a matter of having a vision of where you want to go and then you absolutely have to take action. This is because vision without action is merely a dream. But vision with action can change the world. 

Now I have said numerous times before that I never expect anyone to take things are far as I have. But you also have to remember that I built up my homestead over the course of 15 to 20 years. It has truly grown into something that I never expected. That being said, we have made tremendous improvements over the last 2 to 3 years that have made our lives much more sustainable. That happened only because we changed one thing at a time. It just takes time, dedication, and motivation. 

I think too often people feel as if they lack the motivation needed to make necessary changes. But in reality what most people lack is clarity. If you do not define what you want in life then you can’t change the course of your life to get what you want. The more clearly you define your goals and priorities the more motivated and productive you will be. If you don’t have goals you will never grow and change. If you don’t have have sufficient clarity you will never be able to define your goals. 

Now, that being said, I am sure you have heard the saying that “Necessity is the mother of invention.” But I would also say that necessity is the mother of motivation. More often than not we are motivated if we believe what we are doing is important and urgent. It comes down to the fact that if we don’t feel any sense of necessity in our daily habits we will start procrastinating. One of the habits of highly successful people is that they feel a sense of necessity and consequently they take consistent action on what they want to accomplish. Now if you truly lack a strong sense of necessity to start living more sustainably I would encourage you to go back and listen to some of my previous episodes and that will help you gain some clarity. 

For example: E23 Waste Not, Want Not, Pollute Not.  E32 There is No Away.  E56 Stop Eating C.R.A.P.  E85 What Happened to Our Energy Security.  E92 The Science of Climate Change.  E99 Earth Overshoot Day. All of these episodes are filled with details of what is happening in our world. Hopefully that will give you a sense of necessity. 

Sometimes I also feel as if when most people want to  make significant changes in their lives they think they are going to be doing it alone. There is no doubt that we all need to turn our lives up side down and make huge changes and most of us are hesitant to do so because of the uncertainty.  But I also think a little bit of fear and uncertainty is a good thing. The other thing to realize is that you never really have to do things alone. You have to remember if you want to make some fast changes in your life then go alone. But if you want to go far, then go together. What this means is being surrounded by like minded people makes all the difference.

Just recently after Annette and I returned home from visiting with a group of friends, I made the comment that despite the fact that we live somewhat isolated we have a strong group of close and trusted friends. These are like minded people that are honest, friendly, and very helpful in the event we truly need something. I was recently telling someone that for the first 6 or 7 years that I owned the homestead property I was truly the lone wolf. I rarely saw anyone. Although that never really bothered me over time we developed a close group of friends in the area and it is nice to have some support when things get tough.  

What is interesting is that the happiest and most productive people I know that are making a strong effort to live sustainably are those that are accomplishing things with others. They have partners, family, and friends that are like minded people. And I can tell you from experience it is nice to have the support and encouragement from others when you get discouraged with your way of life because sometimes I do. 

There is one family that lives close by that we have known for over 20 years. There are three other families within 10 miles of us that are like minded people that we have known for about 10 years. And now there is another couple that just recently moved into the area that are making great strides at living off the grid and being sustainable. It is fantastic. In many ways I enjoyed my time as a lone wolf but after 20 plus years of living up there I can tell you it is wonderful the have the support structure of other people in the event things are not going well.  

At times I start to get discouraged because I often feel as if there is no one else on the planet that understands what we truly need to do. But what I have noticed is that once you start making small changes in your life you soon realize that you are not alone.  Our positive actions often affect those around us. I especially realize this when I start talking to people and realize that many others feel the same way I do. I think if we all find our own personal strength and vision, focus on that, and share things with other people we will never feel as if we are alone in our journey toward sustainability.  

There is absolutely no doubt that we are beyond easy. We have become accustomed to a culture of ease and convenience where we are taking advantage of the environment and available resources without any regard for the future inhabitants of this planet. But the way we live is also a matter of conditioning. 

I truly believe that our consumer society has been the most successful, long-term social engineering project on the planet. It is truly a product of the human mind and we need to be reeducated. But that is going to take time and effort. We need to gain clarity. We need a sense of urgency and necessity that motivates our daily actions. We truly need vision accompanied with action. 

In the interim, while we are watching that dark cloud of doom that I joke about, focus on the fact that your personal individual action makes a difference. We can choose to do nothing or we can choose to take acton and participate in the world around us in order to shape our future. But we have to have a strong vision. Remember that vision with action changes the world. So each time you refuse single use plastic, “It made a difference for that one!” Every time you buy bulk foods think “It made a difference for that one.” Every time you walk instead of driving a vehicle think “It made a difference for that one!” 

You know I also think that when we take a single action that makes a difference in a small way we are never able to see the impact it has on the world in general. But when we realize we made a difference for that one, it empowers us to do some else that has an impact. Then we do it again and then again. After awhile it becomes a habit. As I have said before preventing a single piece of plastic from going to the landfill will not save the world but a lifetime of sustainable habits will. 

Now as we start to reach the end of this episode I want to leave you with a challenge for this week. Your challenge is to do one thing each day that makes a difference. Cook an extra meal at home. Cook a plant based meal. Combine trips. Instead of making two trips for errands make only one. Pick up a piece of trash. Go an entire week without using a single disposable product. Take one small step toward a zero waste lifestyle. There are so many things to choose from. Just pick one!!

Now as I close out this episode I just want to say a couple of quick things and then I will  leave you with a couple of important thoughts. If you can then please take the time to leave me with a review. That would be fantastic. And please subscribe to the Adventures in Sustainable Living podcast as well as my blog Off Grid Living News. 

I closing I truly hope this episode has inspired you to take action to live more sustainably. Please ignore all the people and all the things that are published that say our personal actions produce minimal progress. That is simply not true. Remind yourself everyday that each one of us matters. Find some clarity. I know it is discouraging when you look at the state of our world. But, our future has not yet been decided. We just have to gain some sense of necessity and realize that each one of us have the ability to make a difference. 

One final comment. 

I want to close this episode with a quote from Jane Goodall who is a well known primatologist and anthropologist.  Miss Goodall once said “What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make. 

This is your host Patrick signing off until next week. Always remember to live sustainably because this is how we build a better future. 

Patrick