project icarus; first draft

how to have a subsistence lifestyle

The earth is very complex. It eats, it breathes, it takes and it gives. But the way that we are using the earth, it’s much to damaging to it. Lately, I’ve been noticing that we are becoming very dependent on a lot of things like our foods, our appliances, our furniture… but they are not coming from places near us, and we have to rely on other countries or even other states. I am no expert in economy; I hardly even know what that word means, but I know that by not being able to rely on America alone, life is getting harder to live comfortably. And we spend time worrying about the future.
‘Modern’ life seems much more complicated then a normal life would about 100 years ago. Just the fact that third graders have cell phones disturbs me. I like technology, I don’t have anything against it [yet], but we are abusing our ‘power’ and hurting the earth in a purely physical way. We are relying too much on our technology, and I’m afraid that if all of our technologies somehow vanish, that we will forget how to actually survive with just us and the earth.
Ever since the caveman era, humans have evolved, and our way of life has evolved. We’re now using many things that we never had back then. There is a simple way that we can dodge the worry of never having enough and running out of resources.
The dictionary definition of ‘sustainable living’ is that it is a specific lifestyle that attempts to reduce and individual’s or society’s use of the earths’ natural resources. Quite a few cities and communities in America have adopted this style of living off of the land. The whole point of subsistence living is to “achieve a natural balance and be respectful of humanity’s symbiotic relationship with the earth’s natural ecology and cycles.” To protect against downturns in the economy, people rely on subsistence farming. And to lots of people (like me) it sounds like it is not possible for me, to grow my own foods. But I think that it really takes a community to be able to rely on subsistence farming. And the good thing is that there are people in my area that are already starting to do it. Since I live in Hawaii, there are lots of opportunities for me to me able to live locally.
I think that it is smart to start learning how to live off of our one and only land. So many people are just dependent on people who do know what their doing; how to farm, how to build, but we don’t want that number to decrease.
Subsistence lifestyle exists because we need to meet the needs of the present, but not use too much so that future generations will not have anything to live off of. I know that I have personally abused my opportunities to use the technology we have that give us an easier time. But it’s is just about time that I give back to the humble earth who will not survive if we continue.
I learned that there are some simple things (that are a lot of fun too) that I can personally do to start living a more sustainable life. Basically, I can do three things. Change my means of transportation, change my diet, and change the products of my home. By checking what my carbon footprint was online, I knew that there were some changes that I needed to make. I can start taking the bus, or carpooling. I can do simple things like eat seasonally, have a vegetarian diet, buy organic, local and fair trade things can make my life more sustainable. Also, I can make soy or beeswax candles to use as an alternative to electric lighting, make handmade soap, as well as practice ‘daylighting’. (daylighting is to do more house chores and duties during the day, so that lighting energy is saved at night. Plus you can relax at night.) Use hand powered appliances, like a hand washer and avoid using the dishwasher are also good ideas to save on the electric bill. I also read my fair share of articles about making my own crafts; purses, pouches, clothing, blankets, etc. and buying secondhand things.
These are all things that I can do, or change in my life to start living a more sustainable life. It feels like the right path for me to take because subsistence life is a “Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” And it is something that I feel passionate about.

Sources:
http://www.naturalstrategies.com.au/library/building-a-sustainable-life/actions-tools
http://shop.naturalstrategies.com.au/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sustainable_living
http://www.pbs.org/harriman/1899/subsistence.html
http://urbansubsistenceliving.blogspot.com
www.ecocycle.org
http://urbanhomestead.org/journal/