My neighbours just installed solar panels. That’s not the kind of thing that should arouse jealousy, but it does. I’d like to do it too, given a few changes in our circumstances. But I started to wonder why they’d done it, and why we wanted to. They’re certainly not alone…
The owner of the campground where we enjoyed the wonderful weather this past weekend in Bruges had obviously read the research in his attempt to get guests to keep things clean – a common problem in campgrounds, where people often seem to not feel bound by what they would do…
What Vandana Shiva says should be demoralizing, should make you give up hope for where our society is going and just retreat into a hole, full of fear and despair. But somehow, she has precisely the opposite effect, instead lighting you up with the fires of possibility. Her talk last…
I grew up vegetarian, long before it was cool or at all normal. Back in the late 70s and early 80s, most people didn’t quite know what to do with someone who didn’t eat meat or eggs. I’ll never forget the look of complete incomprehension on the face of the…
Growing up in North America, a washer isn’t complete without a dryer. Though I clearly remember our large next door neighbour’s flowered mu-mus and underwear fluttering on the line, even my hippie mother mostly used the dryer. And now, hanging clothes out to dry is no longer considered normal in…
It felt a bit like getting back into my old job at UBCM last Friday when I attended a meeting of city councillors talking about sustainability. My husband had been invited, but he asked if I would go in his place and report back, knowing that I would find it…
Ever since I became convinced of the need to move to a more sustainable way of living, I’ve been looking for answers as to how it can be made to happen, given that most of the developed world would just prefer to keep on doing what they’re doing (and understandably…
“Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. It contains within it two key concepts: the concept of needs, in particular the essential needs of the world’s poor, to which overriding priority should be given;…
Perhaps, looking back on my life, it is not surprising that I ended up fascinated by the application of psychology of sustainability. As long as I can remember I have been fascinated by how people think, how groups work and how societies change and the links between all those things.…
