Reminder

Posts are due today for the second APLS blog carnival on the topic of affluence! Make your submissions to aplscarnival [at] gmail [dot] com.

The response last time was amazing; I can't wait to see what everybody comes up with this month!

Also, don't forget to check out the APLS blog to see if a regional group has formed for your area yet - it's a great way to connect with other APLS living near you. If a group hasn't formed, you can always start one! Just send us a note and we'd be happy to get you started.

Affluence

APLS stands for “Affluent People Living Sustainably.” The part of this acronym that consistently makes people cringe and consider opting out is the “A” for Affluent. Some may confess that they haven’t reached a totally sustainable lifestyle yet, and are still working towards it (which is true for almost all of us, by the way!) but nearly everyone protests at the use of the word affluent. “I’m not affluent” is very often the immediate reaction. Dictionary.com gives the following definition of the word: “having an abundance of wealth, property, or other material goods; prosperous; rich.” Within the context of one’s town, state, or even country, many of us could rightly claim that, relatively speaking, we are not affluent. As APLS, however, we recognize that a global perspective is crucial to healing the problems faced by our world today, like climate change. Taken from a global perspective then, there are very few people living in the industrialized world who are not affluent. Assume for a moment that you make $6 an hour. This is certainly not enough money to be considered affluent by US standards. But when looked at from the global point of view, that income still would place you in the top 12.88% of the world’s wealthiest people. Check out the globalrichlist and play around with the numbers. It’s scary and interesting at the same time. Let’s skip past the “wealth and property” section of the definition of affluence for a moment, and focus on the other aspects, which include having an abundance of other material goods. Most of us in this country, regardless of how small our incomes, have enough money to own more than one pair of pants, and more than one shirt. If we were honest about it, most of us probably own more shirts than we can readily list. We therefore have an abundance of clothing. Most of us also own many other material goods. For example, I don’t eat my dinner on the floor, because I have a table to sit at, and chairs to sit in. I eat baked items when I want to because I have an oven to cook my food in. I am entertained at the push of a button because I have a television. None of these items are markers of affluence in North American society, where I live, but they certainly would be in many parts of the world. Any travel to parts of the globe that are still industrializing quickly reveals that there are many, many, many, people today living without a change of clothes, even while the ones they are wearing are dirty and torn. Countless people live in shacks and huts that are too small to contain a kitchen table or chairs. Even if they somehow made space for an oven, electricity is not reliable and fuel is too expensive to run such luxury appliances. Even as communities, we are wealthy. We have no shortage of hospitals, schools, roads, police, fire departments, safe drinking water, and on and on. It seems hard, then, when we really consider our fortune compared to the rest of the world, to claim we are not affluent. Even those of us who are voluntarily leading simpler lives are still affluent in the global context. Yet there does seem to be some resistance still to this word. Is it a collective guilt? Does the idea of our being affluent somehow run counter to the ideals we thought we adhered to and lived by? Are we worried that assuming this label puts us in the company of people like Imelda Marcos and Kenneth Lay? If that’s the concern, it seems a bit unfounded. We don’t live in a black and white world. There are a million shades of color. Just because we aren’t Bill Gates doesn’t mean we aren’t wealthy. If we have a change of clothes, or a car, television, refrigerator, oven, dishwasher, dvd player, or computer, we are affluent compared to most of the world. To deny that in some ways takes away from the experience of the person who truly does live in poverty. Living on very little money in an industrialized country is not really comparable to being poor in Sub-Saharan Africa, or southeast Asia, or many other places around the world. As APLS, what we must come to terms with is not whether or not we are affluent, but how to deal with our affluence. And that is the power of this community. With affluence comes choice – the choice to live sustainably or not. Looked at another way, if you are choosing to live sustainably, you are privileged in a way that many in the world are not. We are the privileged few in this world who can afford to live unsustainably. Yet we are choosing not to. Rather than deny our privilege, we must accept the responsibility to live our lives in the most sustainable manner possible, and to encourage others to do so as well, in whatever way is comfortable for each of us. What most of us are finding is that we are even more affluent than we thought after making the choice to live as sustainably as we can. Because the realization that we all keep coming to is that more money doesn't make us feel any wealthier, for the most part. A more sustainable lifestyle, however, frees us from the burdens of material things and allows us to spend more time having experiences and being with people rather taking care of things and acquiring new things. More sustainable means more living - and that makes us feel privileged beyond belief.

The First APLS Blog Carnival

The big day is finally here - our first ever APLS blog carnival! I am thrilled to have the honor of hosting, and equally pleased with the absolutely amazing response we've received to the first topic - What does living sustainably mean to you?

The answers were surprisingly more varied than I might have expected - I encourage you to take the time to look at each and every post if time allows.

The highlights, in no particular order:

Lori at Life in Webster Groves starts us at the beginning, walking us through the various definitions of the word "sustainable" and and explaining, quite eloquently, how those of us who self-describe as APLS meet the criteria for each of those subtly varying definitions.

Green Resolutions uses the analogy of parenting to illustrate the point that the question of what constitutes sustainable living is one that has to be answered by each family based on their unique situation.

Farmer's Daughter approaches the question from a teacher's point of view and looks at personal sustainability through the textbook Four Basic Principles of Ecosystem Sustainability to share what sustainability means for her.

Green Bean very convincingly argues that a sustainable lifestyle is not the same thing as a self-sufficient lifestyle, but rather that the sustainable lifestyle actually leads to an embracing of other members of our community and building of relationships.

Eco Burban Mom explores how living in our disposable world actually keeps us busier than a more sustainable lifestyle, and opts to trade more stuff for more time.

Surely You Nest gives us permission to embrace (or at least periodically snuggle with) our inner junk food lover - and tells us why it's not necessarily incompatible with living sustainably - I for one appreciate that!

Arduous explores balance and compromise in relation to sustainability, and acknowledges the importance of recognizing what works for you and your lifestyle, so that the changes you make can be long-lasting.

Going Green offers pictures (and oh what pictures they are!) to answer the question - along with the now expected healthy dose of levity and humor, of course.

Simple-green-organic-happy answers the question in a delightful manner, couching her answer in the context of a wonderful children's novel, Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH - I've ordered a copy to re-read already!

Chez Artz reminds us that sustainability is a continuum and that walking down the road gradually is okay.

Fake Plastic Fish avoids almost all mention of plastic (or fish, for that matter) and discusses the importance of awareness while attempting to live more sustainably.

Civic Lessons discusses her history as a small "e" environmentalist, her desire to be a big "E" environmentalist, and the joys of being called a dirty hippy.

Mindful Momma explains that trying to keep up with the Joneses isn't always such a bad thing - especially if the Joneses are living more sustainable lives.

Going Green Mama explains how sometimes sustainability can be forced by circumstances beyond our control, but no matter the route, a sustainable lifestyle is often a much happier lifestyle.

One Size Fits All discusses the concept of "enough" and how a true understanding of what this means can help lead to a more sustainable lifestyle.

Heather at Simple Green Frugal discusses the importance of recognizing your place in the grand scheme of things, the fact that living more sustainably is a process, not just a decision, and acknowledges that the "why" of living sustainably may be different for each of us.

Melinda at Elements in Time challenges us to prove that we can change our unsustainable behaviors without being faced with a major disaster or crises, and to look at sustainability in all aspects of life, such as body, food, and products.

The Purloined Letter probes the link between justice and sustainability and provides an excellent analysis of Richard Heinberg's axioms on sustainability.

Greenfluencer makes an analogy between sustainability and dieting, and encourages us to consider whether our newly adopted behaviors can be continued indefinitely, and to make sure we ease into things at a pace that's right for us.

Greeen Sheeep illustrates how sometimes, when everything gives, we can be unexpectedly blessed with a more sustainable lifestyle.

Lynn at Organic Mania is striving to live more sustainably, even if her son does think she's a meanie, and even if it means a little more planning and organization.

What's Your Name, Mommy? reminds us that living sustainably is a practice, not a competition - and if it stresses us out, it's not sustainable.

Inner Monologue of a Madwoman explores sustainable living against the backdrop of Christianity and finds that the two are very compatible.

Crstn85 has been watching the Olympics and thinking about sustainability on a global scale.

Organic Needle offers a beautiful look at the ways in which sustainability has led to a happier life for her and her family - a life that is rich with both connections and experiences.

Simple Living in a Complex Society examines how small steps compound each other and can have larger impacts than we might have expected - but we must decide to take the small steps.

Bobbi at To Live Local walks us through the major phases of her life to share how she's arrived at her current state of synthesis between her economic, political, and social values.

Home Is... shares how her path to a more sustainable lifestyle began when she realized that she was a part of the problem, not the solution - and then began working to change that.

Will at Green Couple explores the differences between local and global sustainability, and looks at how a focus on money can lead us down that path via the king of the 3Rs, Reduce.

Green Arizona looks at sustainability through the lens of health concerns, and reminds us that education is the key.

IB Mommy wants to be a sustainable pirate (and yes, there is such a thing, as she shows us!)

VWXYNot outlines some of the changes she's made on her path to sustainability - and turns out to be a much darker shade of green than she gives herself credit for, in this APLS opinion!

Greene Onion also shares some baby steps being taken towards sustainability, recognizing that gradual change is most likely to be lasting change.

Ecoinhabitant looks at sustainability in the context of our alignment with nature.

Mother Earth shares with us some of the ways she is working to achieve sustainability in both her personal as well as her professional life, and reminds us of the importance of maintaining flexibility in how we define things.

and, last but not least, Kneedly Knots reminds us of the importance of a balance of giving and receiving, and ethics in our quest for sustainability.

That wraps up this month's APLS blog carnival - don't forget to check out the Facebook Group, and of course the APLS blog page to catch up on all sorts of other exciting activities going on! If you haven't been added to the Bushel Basket yet, please leave a comment letting us know that you'd like to be included, and we'll toss you in!

THANK YOU to each and every contributor who took the time to write such thoughtful posts - you've helped to make this first APLS blog carnival an overwhelming success!

Can't get enough APLS?

If, like me, you've been loving all the activity of the APLS lately, you're going to love this! For those of you who are just arriving to the party, APLS stands for Affluent People Living Sustainably. There's been lots of good bloggy discussions on the subject, and we've even got a facebook group going with lots of great conversation and interactions. But the fun doesn't stop there!

Green Bean, Arduous, and I have teamed up to create the APLS Blog - a home base of sorts for a monthly blog carnival on issues surrounding being an affluent person and living sustainably (and if you're cringing at the use of the word affluent, or thinking it doesn't apply to you, I really encourage you to check out the global rich list, as well as some of the assorted blog discussions or the facebook group).

This blog is designed for anybody who is trying to live more sustainably. If you're trying, you qualify! You don't have to own a composting toilet, or power your home with solar panels to be an APLS (although if you do, that's awesome too!). You don't even have to have a green blog - or any blog at all. We want anyone and everyone who is interested to come and join us.

I'll be hosting the first carnival on August 15th, and am really excited to see what you all come up with. As we've all been learning, APLS are better together, and this is just one more way for us to share our knowledge, our questions, our inspirations, our concerns, and our hopes.

We also are hoping to eventually use this blog to organize some regionally based community building opportunities. There's been a lot of interest expressed in this area, and we think it's pretty exciting too - if you'd like to be involved in getting APLS organized in your area, send us an email. We'll definitely need your participation to make this work!

Hope to see you at the APLS blog!

today was a good day

Do you ever have one of those days where everything just kind of works out really nicely? I know we've all had the other kind, where nothing works out, but I think it's important to stop and appreciate the days we do have where everything just flows.

I had some errands to run this morning, one of which included mailing a rather bulky, though not heavy box. I had some other errands to run afterwords that made walking out of the question, and I was a little nervous to try to balance this box and ride the bike, but I figured I'd give it a shot. So I did, and was so glad I didn't break down and drive, because it turns out I was able to finish all my errands in the strip mall where the post office is. So I decided to take advantage of the sudden free time and the fact that I was already out with the bike and go exploring.

There's a very cute neighborhood about 3.5 miles away from us with an adorable Main Street feel to it, and I've been meaning to go spend some time down there for about a year now. So I hopped on the bike and started pedaling. I didn't get lost, and I managed to avoid the expressway (a scary mistake I'd made once before!). I arrived at my destination a little sweaty but otherwise doing fine.

I immediately found an adorable little thrift store I'd never seen before. I popped in to see if ther was anything I needed. I found two wonderful books. The first, published in 1974, is titled "English Crewell Designs". I didn't really even know exactly what crewell was (it's a type of embroidery) until I opened the book, but I'd picked it up because the picture on the cover was so cool looking. I'm going to use this book for inspiration and guidance when I start designing my own patterns for hooked rugs. The other book I got is called "Homemade Bread" and is even older than the first, having been published in 1967 - but still in great condition. I was thinking I should buy it when I read on the inside flap "For everyone who is tired of 'instant living'", but I was convinced when I flipped open to a random page and found myself looking at a picture of the same Easter Egg Bread my mom used to make when I was little! There are a ton of other recipes in here, and I'm psyched that the book was written before bread machines were even invented! In total, I spent $1.62 on these two books!

I puttered around a while longer, popping into an independently owned bookstore that I try to support, having a snack at a small, locally owned deli, and finally hopping back on the bike and heading back home. When I was just over a mile from home, I noticed a sign I hadn't seen before, reading "India Mart" and I decided to investigate. Apparently they've just opened within the past month, and the woman working there was super nice! She was obviously very proud of her shop and took me on a tour of the small aisles, explaining all the items they planned on stocking in the future. They had a good assortment of all the basics needed for Indian cooking. She told me she wanted this to be a community shop and to please ask her if there were things we wanted her to stock that we didn't see and she'd order them for us. I bought a few things that I didn't necessarily need but knew we'd use eventually and went on my way, feeling like I'd made a new friend. I'll definitely be shopping there again!

Just when I thought it couldn't get any better today, I arrived home, and in my mailbox was sitting the copy of "New Recipes from Moosewood Restaurant" that I'd been waiting for several months to pop up on paperback swap (if you haven't checked it out yet, I can't recommend it highly enough!).

Now I'm off to make some sorbet and continue enjoying this wonderful day. By the way, don't forget to check out the APLS group on facebook if you haven't yet. There are some really wonderfully interesting discussions happening there, and we'd love to have you chime in!

Come hang out with the APLS

Carrying on with the theme that building communities of all sorts is an important part of living a more sustainable lifestyle, Green Bean today introduced the apple bushel. APLS was an acronym created a few months ago over on Arduous' blog to describe those of us who live an (at least relatively) affluent lifestyle and strive for sustainability (APLS = Affluent People Living Sustainably). Hence, the apple bushel is a place for us to introduce ourselves and to meet some new APLS.

As a continuation of the community building efforts, we've created an APLS group on facebook. It's an open group, so anybody can join. Come check it out! (And if you're not on facebook yet, it's probably time you got an account!)

EDIT to apologize for messing up green bean's name...it's not the apple bushel, it's the bushel basket. I knew it sounded wrong as I was writing it and now that I've had a nap, my head is much clearer. Sorry bout that!