Sustainable Community: Sharing the Journey
by Fred Horch, Principal Advisor
Sustainability is about making the world better for everyone, now and far into the future.
The more people in our community — and the more each of us is willing to share our knowledge — the more valuable our conversations. Every reader has a unique and valuable perspective on how to make the world better. Please share this post with friends and family; encourage them to join our community for the benefit of all involved.
Among the readers we already have, there is a huge amount of knowledge. I hope we can figure out a way to unlock that storehouse of wisdom.
Weekly Expert Action Guides
Every Sunday, we publish a new expert action guide, exploring milestones along a sustainability pathway, sharing the knowledge we’ve been able to gather. When you have a chance to read each post, I hope you’ll be able to reflect on your own journey to sustainability. If you’re willing to share your thoughts in a comment, it would be extremely meaningful to me and many other readers.
It’s equally valuable to hear your thoughts on the week’s sustainability topic as well as topics we have not yet examined. Whichever pathways to sustainability you are exploring, an occasional comment from you, sharing what you’re discovering, would be a gift.
Your comments will help our community of sustainability leaders grow and become more knowledgeable and effective.
Current Focus: Sustainable Recycling and Composting
Each month we focus on a few milestones along one of the seven pathways to sustainability. When I asked friends what questions they had, sustainability soap and recycling topped the list. So we started by exploring sustainable soap and cleaning products. Now we’re exploring sustainable recycling and composting.
Have you tried composting? Is it working for you? Are you satisfied with how your place of work, place of worship, or place of residence is recycling?
If you have any thoughts about recycling or composting or solid waste management in general, please feel free to share them. I’ve proposed a comprehensive color-coded system to move Maine from a single-stream to a multiple-stream recycling system. Do you see the value of doing this? Are there better ways to reduce the economic and social costs we’re all paying for the current solid waste system that landfills and burns most of our waste instead of composting or recycling it?
Where Are You On Your Own Sustainability Journey?
The purpose of our guides is to share knowledge that helps everyone be more sustainable. Where are you on your journey? What areas would you like me to explore for July and beyond? You are most welcome to let me know in a comment, or in a direct message if you prefer private communication.
Have you heard any surprising, exciting or especially concerning sustainability news? Please let me know!
Your Sustainability Goals, Successes and Setbacks
In addition to your thoughts about the current month’s sustainability focus, I’m very interested to learn about your sustainability goals and your experiences. What’s helping or hindering you as you attempt to achieve your goals?
Personally, I find it very enlightening to read articles by experts as well as comments from their readers. There’s often a disconnect between what an author writes and what an audience hears. If you’re in the business of providing advice that people can really use (as we are), it’s extremely helpful to get a sense of the common misunderstandings that arise. One thing that we want to encourage is comments from readers so I can know whether my message is getting through, or whether I need to work harder to be clearer.
In the “Being Sustainable” post, I introduced a widely-used definition of sustainability (“meeting our needs in ways that allow future generations to meet theirs”) and explained my concept of seven pathways to sustainability.
I’ve mapped out seven pathways for sustainability to empower you to determine your destination and choose your journey wisely. Each pathway is a category of needs where you have meaningful choices that make a real difference.
— Being Sustainable, Fred Horch
The seven pathways are
- Energy
- Food
- Water
- Movement (Transportation and Exercise)
- Goods (Materials, Equipment and Supplies)
- Habitat (Homes, Yards and Landscapes)
- Community (Friends, Family, Organizations, Projects, Policies and Politics)
I’m excited to dive deeper into the issue of solid waste management, giving talks around Maine sharing a plan for dramatically improving measurable outcomes such as diverting organic waste from sanitary landfills by improving composting systems and saving money by not pretending to recycle things that can’t actually be recycled.
Your Moment of Sustainable Reflection
What does sustainable community mean to you? How can you participate in constructive conversations about making the world a better place?
I hope our series of action guides and practice guides can connect a community of people who are building a sustainable future.
I look forward to reading and reflecting on any ideas or insights, comments or concerns, questions or answers you’d care to share in comments. Thank you for sharing your journey to sustainability with me.
