sustainable living - quotes and descriptions to inspire creative writing
The smart suit self powers via nanotechnology in the fabric. It replaces the phone, building heating/cooling systems, and all other kinds of clothing. It is the real green revolution, reducing the carbon footprint of humanity, giving us a chance at a good future for billions. It's long been a thing of science fiction, but when we see how many other industries it would make obsolete, we need to make it. Energy bills that would be an hours work at minimum wage, yeah, we can get behind that. Sustainable living isn't 'Luddite,' it's smart.
In a system built to persuade richer people to consume and poorer people to service that consumption in order to survive - the notion of sustainable living is counter-current.
Sustainable living happens when society is built that way; asking people to live sustainable in a system that is built for (and relies on) the opposite is stupidity.
Market forces require an acceleration of people and goods and thus sustainable living cannot be achieved within a money-nexus system. There will be innovation due to competition, yet the goods will always be concentrated where the wealth is and the advertising will always convince those with money to purchase more than they need.
We achieved sustainable living when we combined good social policy making with good role modelling in the movies - at first it all seemed a bit Star Trek, everyone so cooperative and living for the mission - all the new "academies" for excellence in different specialisations - but in time we began to feel that we really could live that way, sustainably. We started voting for policies to make it happen. We made democracy stronger. Eventually everyone lived sustainably because that is the way things are done. There was no food arriving double wrapped in polluting plastic, nothing to become garbage or waste.
Perhaps it would be a fitting tribute to the life work of Sir David Attenborough, as well as a much needed step to save our own souls, to ban the sale of all furniture made from new wood. Such a step would be positive shift in the economy and the way we live. Jobs in refurbishment and the antique industry would flourish - we'd gain more carpenters and artists who can work from home. As we move into more plant based diets the stems of wheat and other plant materials could be used in furniture production. We can amend the way we live, taking inspiration from other cultures. Many eat sitting on the floor, thus doing away with dinning tables and dining chairs. How about sleeping more Japanese style with a mattress that rolls up during the day - no wooden frame. We use recycled and reclaimed materials too - perhaps the harvesting of plastic from the oceans for reuse will gain financial viability as well as being the right thing to do.