BRIGHT MIND
HEALTHY BODY
S U S T A I N A B L E P L A N E T
HEALTHY BODY
S U S T A I N A B L E P L A N E T
.jpg)
Developing a community to live together, work together, and play together; whether the community be rural/small, or whether it is a city neighborhood. Either way, getting to know your neighbor can help the overall purpose and vision of town/city.
A sustainable community is one that works together to sustain the economy, bring new ideas into it and renew its sense of place from a personal and family perspective. A community is sustainable when it practices:
% Communication -- Community
% Involvement with City Meetings: City Council, Planning Commission, Schools, Chamber of Commerce, Library, Service Charity Organizations;
% Buying from local merchants to support your neighbor's livelihood and keep your neighborhood growing with the right attitude;
% Help develop new businesses that support the needs of the community;
% Organize a local business co-operative to support struggling businesses;
% Conserve water and electricity;
% Use biodegradable products to keep the water clean and the ground safe from chemical pollutants;
% Keep paints, cleaners, and pesticides out of the wastewater drains;
% Plant native plants in your landscape, they are both drought-resistant and ground water cleansers of pollutants;
% Plant trees on your property, they are natural air filters for pollution, and needed shade on hot summer days to keep your electricity usage down;
% Use Energy Saver Appliances, skylights, and compact flourescent lighting;
% Use recycled materials as much as possible in building your home, Green Home Building Program,
Check out the Redirect Guide for Portland, OR;
% Make your next car a hybrid or biofuel car that doesn't depend on oil;
% Keep your family's health in optimal condition by buying local organic whole foods, and using organic phytonutrients to supplement your diet;
% Help organize local community events where everyone is invited to participate;
% Start a Community Garden, leasing a small portion of a neighboring farm; or a CSA, Community Supported Agriculture Farm.
INTERESTING LINKS:
Community Infrastructure
Out on a Limb-- On the Edge
Out of Poverty
Regional Intelligence -- Regional Communities
Green Employment
top of page
Sustainable Life Info Copyright © 2006-2008 DLH Business Associates.
All rights reserved.
A sustainable community is one that works together to sustain the economy, bring new ideas into it and renew its sense of place from a personal and family perspective. A community is sustainable when it practices:
% Communication -- Community
% Involvement with City Meetings: City Council, Planning Commission, Schools, Chamber of Commerce, Library, Service Charity Organizations;
% Buying from local merchants to support your neighbor's livelihood and keep your neighborhood growing with the right attitude;
% Help develop new businesses that support the needs of the community;
% Organize a local business co-operative to support struggling businesses;
% Conserve water and electricity;
% Use biodegradable products to keep the water clean and the ground safe from chemical pollutants;
% Keep paints, cleaners, and pesticides out of the wastewater drains;
% Plant native plants in your landscape, they are both drought-resistant and ground water cleansers of pollutants;
% Plant trees on your property, they are natural air filters for pollution, and needed shade on hot summer days to keep your electricity usage down;
% Use Energy Saver Appliances, skylights, and compact flourescent lighting;
% Use recycled materials as much as possible in building your home, Green Home Building Program,
Check out the Redirect Guide for Portland, OR;
% Make your next car a hybrid or biofuel car that doesn't depend on oil;
% Keep your family's health in optimal condition by buying local organic whole foods, and using organic phytonutrients to supplement your diet;
% Help organize local community events where everyone is invited to participate;
% Start a Community Garden, leasing a small portion of a neighboring farm; or a CSA, Community Supported Agriculture Farm.
INTERESTING LINKS:
Community Infrastructure
Out on a Limb-- On the Edge
Out of Poverty
Regional Intelligence -- Regional Communities
Green Employment
top of page
Sustainable Life Info Copyright © 2006-2008 DLH Business Associates.
All rights reserved.
Common objections to becoming "sustainable":
"DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO"
We all know there are hundreds or thousands of things that can be done by individuals, groups, communities and countries, so the task is for people like ourselves to go out and inform the wider community about what can be done. This information dissemination can take many forms, so the challenge is to work out in each of our own minds the methods that best suit our personal circumstances and abilities and then do them.
"IT'S NOT WORTH MY EFFORT"
There are many success stories which should be widely told so that people can easily accept that it is worth their effort to be more sustainable. Unfortunately, the dominant message is doom and gloom - oil shortages in 20 years time, factories closing, unemployment, wars over oil, etc - but such messages seem exceedingly and unnecessarily pessimistic. So what's required is a commitment to make a constructive effort with the needs that are presented -- tell people what we know - that all non-renewable resources have a finite life and that solutions to our future problems will have to be found. Over to the right you can read what you can do to make a genuine difference.
"IT COSTS TOO MUCH"
The simple response to this attitudinal problem is to point out that most of the required actions are small, personal and cheap. It's our fault if people believe that it costs too much to be sustainable, because it means that we've been concentrating on the larger items - electricity generating options, global warming -- instead of individual responsible acts.
"WHO WILL BE PUT OUT OF WORK"
This, believe it or not, is one of the biggest questions we get, when we engage in a conversation about environmental sustainabilty. We consistently hear that farmers can't make it without chemical fertilizers and pesticides; or they have relatives in logging and mill work; or an acquaintance is a commercial fisherman who is being regulated out of business, and so on. We are committed to lifting up a level of optimism that works, because it is consistent to maintaining health. Every natural step we take, brings a brighter future with greater potential.
N.WEST SUSTAINABILITY ACTIVITIES
"DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO"
We all know there are hundreds or thousands of things that can be done by individuals, groups, communities and countries, so the task is for people like ourselves to go out and inform the wider community about what can be done. This information dissemination can take many forms, so the challenge is to work out in each of our own minds the methods that best suit our personal circumstances and abilities and then do them.
"IT'S NOT WORTH MY EFFORT"
There are many success stories which should be widely told so that people can easily accept that it is worth their effort to be more sustainable. Unfortunately, the dominant message is doom and gloom - oil shortages in 20 years time, factories closing, unemployment, wars over oil, etc - but such messages seem exceedingly and unnecessarily pessimistic. So what's required is a commitment to make a constructive effort with the needs that are presented -- tell people what we know - that all non-renewable resources have a finite life and that solutions to our future problems will have to be found. Over to the right you can read what you can do to make a genuine difference.
"IT COSTS TOO MUCH"
The simple response to this attitudinal problem is to point out that most of the required actions are small, personal and cheap. It's our fault if people believe that it costs too much to be sustainable, because it means that we've been concentrating on the larger items - electricity generating options, global warming -- instead of individual responsible acts.
"WHO WILL BE PUT OUT OF WORK"
This, believe it or not, is one of the biggest questions we get, when we engage in a conversation about environmental sustainabilty. We consistently hear that farmers can't make it without chemical fertilizers and pesticides; or they have relatives in logging and mill work; or an acquaintance is a commercial fisherman who is being regulated out of business, and so on. We are committed to lifting up a level of optimism that works, because it is consistent to maintaining health. Every natural step we take, brings a brighter future with greater potential.
N.WEST SUSTAINABILITY ACTIVITIES
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 (198 x 148).jpg)
"I know that one revived rural community would be more convincing and more encouraging than all the government and university programs of the last fifty years, and I think it would be the beginning of the renewal of our country, for the renewal of rural communities ultimately implies the renewal of urban ones." – Wendell Berry,
"The Work of Local Culture"
"The Work of Local Culture"
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
WHAT IS A SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITY?
.jpg)
