Sustainable Man “Glocalism” is a term that represents our need for balance between more local autonomy over life sustaining resources and a global network of cities, towns, and villages that can freely share information across the Internet. Our current global economy in which bananas are routinely shipped thousands of miles around the world is, from an environmental lens, a very inefficient process environmentally. The externalization of the environmental costs of pollution contribute to an artificially low price for transportation, which is what fuels the globalized economy. This situation is unsustainable. Instead, we need to begin shifting consumption patterns to source as many of our needs from within 100 miles of our home. Almost all food should be locally sourced. Today, in the big cities, less than 2% of food is obtained locally. An emphasis on local economies and businesses also enhance livelihoods as more of the money that is used to transact stays circulating within that economy. Combined with sustainable economic systems and using local currencies and time banks, people will be able to meet more needs with a far lower environmental footprint. While most of what we do should be localized, we must not regress from our globally connected society. By sharing innovative ideas around the globe tailor-made to similar climates and ecosystems, we can all learn and share more sustainable ways of doing things. 3-D printing is a sustainable technology that could be used to share designs globally while manufacturing locally. We must continue to embrace diversity and the feeling of being connected to the entire human race as one global family.
Posted on: Fri, 01 Nov 2013 19:45:44 +0000
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