Bob Ewing - There is no such thing as a free lunch. If you plan on living a low impact lifestyle, you must understand this.Everything we do has a cost. Money may not exchange hands but there is a transaction taking place when we undertake any action. We will not always be aware of the extent of our affect on the world around us, but this lack of awareness does not negate the fact that we do, indeed, effect our environment. Some affects are positive others are negative.
Permaculture recognizes and maximizes beneficial relationships while minimizing or eliminating harmful ones. My choices do matter as do yours, so it is important to understand that all we do has a cost or produces an affect.
Take transportation. We all need to get from one place to another, whether it is to work, shopping, going out for dinner, or visiting friends and relatives; we all need to move from our home to other locations, school, hockey, piano lessons and so on. The list can go on and on. Our mode of transportation can have a major impact on our environment, pollution being one of the most obvious affects.
If you are committed to living a low impact life, then begin with how you get around town. Do you drive, take public transport, ride a bicycle or walk, for example.
Walking is how I get around town; it is as low an impact as you can get for personal transportation. I emit very little greenhouse gas when I walk and use almost no fossil fuels.
My wife also walks. Our choices have consequences that some may not at first consider. One, were we presently live there is no public transit. The city is simply too small to make public transit viable. This means we would need to buy a car, use taxis everyday, both to and from work, or pick a place to live that is in a reasonable walking distance to where she works. This in bad weather is ten minutes.
The weather here gets nasty, winter is long and it get down to minus 30 Celsius on a regular basis. Snow storms and heavy rain and winds are common in season. Appropriate clothing is essential; this includes boots and coats, plus a variety of layers for warmth.
Walking to work also means buying or renting a home that is located within that ten minute radius. This limits selection. We are fortunate that her work place is close to our doctor, grocery shopping and downtown so we rarely need any other mode of transportation than our feet, but the quality, affordable housing stock in this area is limited.
The upside, we have the financial freedom that walking brings; no worries about car payments, car insurance, car repairs; no pumping greenhouse gas into the atmosphere to get to work and back or to go grocery shopping or get a coffee, a great coffee shop is within easy walking distance, as is all else we need on a regular basis.
One of our major social problems is the design of our urban centres. They are stretched out and everything is miles away from everything else. This creates a situation where a personal transportation means, such as a car, is far more convenient that taking a bus; walking takes too long and the distances are too great, and bicycling, while a good option, requires bike lanes, weather gear and a change room at the work place so you can get out of your riding clothes and into your work clothes.
Our cities, villages and towns are not likely to get redesigned anytime soon, but we can redesign our lives, next week we will begin to look at how we can apply permaculture design methods to everyday living including transportation.