The true meaning of sustainability

Note: This is the second part in a two-part series on the Genesis Farm, an organic farm that”™s run on solar power in New Jersey. The writer recently attended a weekend-long conference at the farm, which has become a part of the international Transition movement.

The goal at the Genesis Farm “Deep Transition” weekend was to take the participants from where they started on Thursday evening to an entirely new place by Sunday afternoon. It began with “the awakening,” meaning the development of a profound awareness of the gravity of the stresses on the planet and the potential for impact on one”™s person, family and community.

To some readers this may seem like the consciousness-raising seminars of the ”˜70s. However, in the “Transition” context a personal awakening demands action. It means getting to work on a plan to prepare your community to be resilient in the face of the coming uncertainties in food and fuel, in other words, to prepare a community to be able to sustain itself in the face of serious adversities.

Now there is a word that has been manipulated almost beyond recognition. To the general public sustainable appears to mean that if one buys into all the “green” strategies that abound these days a sustainable environment will result. Maybe so but it is definitely not resilient.

Another definition of the word sustainable is to strive to leave the Earth in the same way you found it so that there may be a livable environment for the next generation. That is clearly not happening. In the Transition context sustainable would mean “How can we survive in the face of severe uncertainties in the supply line of all that we depend on?” In other words, how can we sustain ourselves.

Globalization depends on cheap oil, and, as the Wall Street Journal said in a May 24 piece “Facing Up to End of Easy Oil,” (read “cheap oil”) those days are over. That headline alone should tell us that our life is about to change. Sure, there will always be oil but who will be able to afford it?

Back to transition at the farm.

Friday ”“ Sessions provided a painful reality check as to the gravity of the global situation. Just before dinner we suffered through an excruciating film titled “Earth and the American Dream,” the story of this nation”™s nonstop destruction of everything that makes America beautiful, from the killing of the Indians and the buffalo, to destruction of the forests and the rich soils of the heartland, to the removal of mountaintops, the cheapest way to get at coal. In fact, the destruction is gaining momentum as the struggle for energy becomes more devastating to the environment (think fracking). This film was extremely tough to watch. I would have loved a glass of wine before dinner.

Saturday ”“ We began to learn about ways to survive and even prosper in a seemingly hostile environment and it all has to do with energizing your community, becoming a part of a group that can make things happen.

Given that the American psyche is hooked on individualism this might be a challenge for some people. However, there is an area in which nearly everyone can feel a part of the human family ”“ growing food. Farmers markets have become almost mainstream in the metro area, a place for neighbors to meet as well as enjoy fresh locally grown food. Community gardens are also on the increase. Local food initiatives were a big feature in the Saturday sessions as we began to understand how to get control of our lives in turbulent times.

A comparison of traditional environmentalism, with which many are familiar, to the unfamiliar Transition process is instructive. Enviros try to change individual behaviors, focusing on single issues while Transition seeks to change group behaviors, using a holistic approach.

As already mentioned sustainable development is the goal for enviros, while Transition seeks resilience and relocalization. To the enviros the man in the street is the problem, to Transition the man in the street is the solution.

Finally, enviros believe economic growth is possible while Transition is bent on designing for local economic resilience.

Sunday at Genesis Farm became empowerment day, the how-tos of establishing a Transition Town. How to answer the predictable questions that will be raised, how to deal with difficult people, how to help people see the big picture, how to make it happen.

During the course of the weekend we were asked to write down our thoughts as in a diary, not to be made public. As I read my own writings a few weeks later I found myself extremely concerned about my five baby boomers and eight grandchildren. What kind of life is ahead for them? What can I do about that future right now? The way was clear. I had to do my part in establishing a Transition Town.

Surviving the Future explores a wide range of subjects to assist businesses in adapting to a new energy age. Reach Maureen Morgan at maureenmorgan10@verizon.net.