First Steps
EVERYDAY SUSTAINABILITY Practical Ways We Can Help Out the Planet by Lisa Kivirist and John Ivanko
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or many Americans, living more sustainably has become a natural part of their daily routine as they consistently recycle, eat healthy and use energy more efficiently. It’s just what they normally do every day. Every one of them had to start somewhere, growing their efforts over time to the point that nearly every activity yields better results for themselves, their family, their community and the planet. It might begin with the way we eat and eventually expand to encompass the way we work.
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“The sustainability movement is large and growing in the U.S.,” says Todd Larsen, with Green America, a grassroots nonprofit organization harnessing economic forces to create a socially just and environmentally 14
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sustainable society. “Half a million people turned out in New York City to march for action on climate change. People also are working in their local communities to oppose fracking and pollution, and to support green building and clean energy. Many businesses now include sustainability as a core business practice, including the 3,000 certified members of Green America’s Green Business Network.” This month, Natural Awakenings profiles the experiences of representative individuals from around the country that are helping to both make the world more sustainable and their own lives richer and more meaningful. From growing and cooking family food and line-drying laundry to powering their business with renewable energy, their approaches are as varied as the places they call home.
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“Many people start with something small at home, particularly if they’re concerned about the impacts on their family’s health,” says Larsen. “More Americans are approaching sustainability first through food. It’s relatively easy to change spending habits to incorporate more organic, fair trade and non-GMO [genetically modified] foods, and with the growth of farmers’ markets nationwide, people are able to buy local more easily.” A focus on food quality is how Wendy Brown and her husband and five children launched their eco-journey just outside of Portland, Maine. “We started thinking about where our food came from, how it was grown and raised and what we could do to ensure that it was better,” says Brown. “What we don’t grow or forage ourselves, we try to purchase from local farmers.” Living more simply during the past decade has helped the family cut debt and become more financially stable. “Our entry point to sustainable living was to grow tomatoes on the steps of an apartment that Kelly and I once called home years ago,” echoes Erik Knutzen, who, with his wife Kelly Coyne, have transformed their 960-square-foot Los Angeles bungalow into an oasis where they grow food, keep chickens and bees, brew, bake and house their bikes. Gabriele Marewski’s journey also started with what she ate. “I became a vegetarian at 14, after reading Diet for a Small Planet, by Frances Moore Lappé,” says Marewski, who in 1999 turned an avocado orchard in Homestead, Florida, into Paradise Farms. “Forty-seven years later, I’m still a strict vegetarian. I believe it’s the single most important statement we can make about saving the planet.” Marewski’s five-acre farm showcases certified organic micro greens, edible flowers, oyster mushrooms and a variety of tropical fruits marketed to Miami-area chefs. Her farm also offers Dinner in Paradise farm-to-table experiences to raise funds for local nonprofits providing food for underprivileged city residents, and bed-andbreakfast lodging. Sweden’s Chalmers University