When my then teen-aged son dabbled in anarchy, many of our conversations had me playing the role of capitalist defender. You know the arguments: capitalism and democracy are constructive partners that provide consumers with goods and allow hard-working entrepreneurs to thrive.  I consider myself a social democrat, but clearly my acceptance of business as usual hadn’t changed since high school. The result of our debates? My son has matured into an upstanding and productive citizen actively improving society, and I have gotten an education.

The last blog I published was a year ago!

At the time I was feeling hopeful because renewable energy was challenging fossil fuels, and climate justice was newsworthy. Despite political frustrations, communities seemed to have the wind behind their backs. Myriad articles, books and podcasts were published that addressed consumerism and gratuitous growth. I stopped writing because I was listening, learning and trying to synthesize the encouraging information and stories about changemakers and change

appearing from all directions.

And then we fell headfirst into the pandemic and, as we know, life changed.

This post has been long in writing, as I’ve been drawn away by other priorities, but also drawn to good stories. I had assumed this blog would report straightforward discoveries, instead I have found that compelling stories about our attitudes towards resource use, global warming and social change come in many forms. They are written and reported, but also conveyed through every day actions and activities. How I acquire a story can just as important as the story itself.

We spend large parts of our lives inside buildings. We expect them to stay warm or cool. We expect them to be equipped with all the lighting and gadgets we need to live well and work efficiently. Energy-use is often an afterthought, until we get our utility bills.  But how would you rate the buildings you live and work in?

In his prescient 1973 treatise Small is Beautiful, E. F. Schumacher challenged society to reconsider its quest for a global, industry-driven economy. He presented the case for small-scale, locally meaningful economies, writing that “...the specific danger inherent in large-scale organization is that its natural bias and tendency favor order, at the expense of creative freedom.”

Wait, don’t throw that out - I’m taking it for lunch tomorrow!

I try hard not to throw food away. Not having a large US-size refrigerator makes it easier, as there is less chance of losing track of food in our modestly scaled Swiss fridge. But I still throw away more food than I feel good about. Bread is especially hard to keep track of (no, I can’t freeze it - my freezer is just as small).

In a recent conversation about finding positive energy stories in unexpected places, a good friend asked if I knew about Greensburg, Kansas. I didn’t, but it is a town we should all know about. Greensburg presents a compelling example of resilience, sustainability and successful community building in the face of disaster.

Every once in a while I come across an idea that makes me wonder why no one thought of it before. We were talking about the idea of “smart sharing” in a discussion group I belong to, and a friend asked, "have you heard about the mailbox stickers in Zurich?

For those of us who have enough, our dependency on fossil fuels and other non-renewable resources is deeply embedded in the way we[1] live, in what we take for granted (water, warmth, mobility) and how we express ourselves (new, bigger, better).