Achieving the 21^st Century Dream

Abundant Sustainability

We are surrounded by abundance. We are part of a global system that provides all the resources not only for more than six billion human beings but all other living entities. We cannot exist without parts of the system that mostly we are not physically aware of and this planet is a very small part of a universe throughout which energy is constantly changing from one form into another without ever being depleted or destroyed. Yet we complain about our sense of ‘lack and limitation’ even when this is caused by our own actions because we are competing for ‘desirable commodities’ that we value because we have made them scarce. There is an alternative. We can choose to enjoy and contribute to what is abundant and this is sustainability.

The simple truth is that the love of the creator for creation is a fact of life whether we conceive this as something that we benefit from at a spiritual level or as our enjoyment of a set of physical activities that we see ourselves as having initiated. Fundamentally, this love is the greatest power of and in creation and nothing can exist without it at any level of conception. Unfortunately, this can lead to unintended consequences if we choose to behave in ways that create a sense of shortage, for example when we actively deplete specific resources faster than the global system can replenish them. To focus on a particular current concern, we cannot ‘fight climate change’ if we are contributing to it nor does it help if we tell people what they cannot do (such as make carbon emissions), thus emphasising the desirability of that resource and heightening a sense of loss. Cynics may say that this attitude of concentrating on what is supposed to be ‘wrong’ is one way of creating control over others. Even if this may seem to be the case it can be dispelled if we remind ourselves that we are all part of an abundant system and concentrate on enjoying what is plentiful.

It is sometimes said in political circles that ‘it is the economy stupid’ or ‘it is money that counts’. Our economy is the way the resources we choose to use are circulated and recombined, therefore it is based on the global system that we are part of, which our actions affect and produce results that we cannot completely predict or control. Money, on the other hand, is a tool that we have created, do control and can assemble in large quantities if we chose, for example by governments levying taxes to pay for public services or businesses creating desirable new products or charities running successful campaigns or even by a great number of people buying tickets in a lottery. If we accept that currently we have an unsustainable economy, it is because we rely on finite resources over which we compete. If we choose to accept the alternative that sustainability is created by enjoying resources that the global system can renew with our help then we should choose to create sustainable development by investing in activities that we can recognise as renewable such as:

· Growing things

· Using energy from universal sources

· Recycling the materials we use

· Services provided by people to people, with consideration for the global system

Some ideas about enjoying sustainable abundance

Growing Things

To be sustainable, ‘growing things’ is a far greater concept than gardening or larger scale activities such as horticulture or agriculture. However, nurturing seeds and plants on any scale is a good starting point because it should remind us how much we rely on the Sun, rain, insect pollinators and the many beneficial organisms that create a healthy soil. By adopting the principles of ‘Permaculture’ we recognise that whatever we do to ‘grow things’ should work in cooperation with and help nurture the global system. What we choose to grow in this way could also encompass business, art & craft, recreation and any innovative ideas.

Using energy from universal sources

Physical sciences would indicate that nuclear forces (which is what powers the Sun) and gravity are two most apparent and relatively understood examples of universal energy that are available in and an essential to our global system. We have already developed a whole range of technologies to ‘tap-in’ to each of them including solar collectors to produce heat or electricity and wind and water turbines, which can be used to provide heat and power at a domestic level for individual users or as part of larger scale projects such as dams and tidal barrages.

Recycling the materials we use

What is required is a change of attitude that starts by looking to supply our material needs from what is already available either by finding a new use for an existing product or, if that is not feasible, by creating anew from recycled components. The final stage in this thinking process is to ensure that all materials that we cease to use are returned to the global system in a way that ensures that they are immediately available to be taken up by other organisms (as in composting) or can safely await eventual reuse in the planet’s crust without risk to ourselves or other organisms.

Services provided by people to people

Humans have become an abundant species and when we help one another we are a plentiful source both of social and material support. In particular, we can help others to discover new ways to benefit from and enjoy other abundant and sustainable resources; thus developing an appreciation of and consideration for the global system. For further ideas and assistance, please contact:

Sustainable Staffordshire

Community Council of Staffordshire

Friars Mill

Friars Terrace

Stafford

ST17 4DX

Tel: (01785) 242525

Fax: (01785) 242176

E-mail: communitycouncil@staffs.org.uk

Web: www.staffs.org.uk