Living Sustainably It’s your choice Viviane Simon-Brown Sustainable Living Specialist

definition external drivers internal drivers decision-making triangle perceived barriers

Sustainable living… A thoughtful approach to leading fulfilling, productive and environmentally responsible lives Determine personal priorities Explore our personal values, ethics and beliefs that underlie decision- making Consider the barriers to living sustainably in the US Examine national trends In an encouraging, safe environment

Intelligent Consumption… Sustainable Living… is not…… about living in the woods eating nuts and berries and wearing tie- dyed clothes about never buying anything again competitive guilt-driven gloom and doom is... for typical Americans about making thoughtful decisions,considering the impacts of our consumer choices, and finding alternatives deeply personal focused on the future about putting individual actions into a global context

Economic Population Consumption

values ethics beliefs decisions

cultural environmental economic values

time natural disconnect consumption

Manage natural resources Manage ourselves

Kirk Anderson with permission

World Consumption Classes, 2002 Worldwatch Institute DIET TRANSPORT MATERIALS meat packaged foods soft drinks private cars buses throwaways grain clean water bicycles durables insufficient grain unsafe water walking local biomass Category of Consumption Consumers Income > $7500 (1.1 billion) Middle Income $ (3.3 billion) Poor Income < $700 (1.1 billion)

Meta-transitions in mainstream America Moving from the ‘early adopter’ to ‘early majority’ 35 to 40 million Americans fit the ‘early majority’ category 1) Innovators 2) Early Adopters time 3) Early Majority 4) Late Majority 5) Laggards Change phases