Why Be Sustainable?

I've decided to become completely self-sufficient. Ideally, I would produce everything I use and never have to go to the store again, but there will be some things I cannot produce on my property, like salt. I will work on compiling a list of these items so they can be purchased in bulk.

People often ask me, "why are you doing this?" Why be sustainable? They often have a few ideas in mind, and think that I am motivated by just one reason.  The two common reasons people think of are "preparing for the end of the world" and "going green." Really, it is a combination of these reasons and several others.

Preparing:
It's wise to prepare for the worst. Imagine a natural disaster wipes out crops and there is a food shortage. Record temperatures kill off the tomato crop in Florida. A volcano erupts in the Pacific Northwest that kills off the potato crop in Idaho. An earthquake disrupts freight lines and highways used to ship food all around the country. You get the idea. However, preparing need not center around such extreme scenarios. Imagine, gas prices hit $9.00/gallon and shipping food becomes too expensive. Food prices skyrocket and there is economic collapse leading to looting in grocery stores. In short, if you're not providing for yourself then your food source is at risk.

Saving Money:
Perhaps the crisis you face is not widespread, but more personal. Should you lose your job or become too sick to continue working it would relieve a lot of stress to be able to produce everything you need. Imagine not having an electric bill, a water bill, a grocery bill, a fuel bill. Even if you are healthy and employed, becoming self-sufficient can be a feasible path to early retirement.

Better Food:
Homegrown food, in an aquaponics system for example, is fresher, healthier, and tastes better. Avoid the dyes, preservatives, hormones, chemicals, and pesticides. Food bought from the grocery store is frequently picked early and ripened with ethylene gas while it is in transit. Packaged foods are pumped full of preservatives to improve shelf life. To make a more profitable product, manufactured food is loaded with hormones, dyes, pesticides, herbicides, and other chemicals. "Flavor enhancers" are used because manufacturers know that food that is not as fresh does not taste as good. Know where your food came from. Know your food is clean and safe. Grow your own. Even tap water is treated with chlorine and chloramine, two chemicals used to prevent bacterial growth in the water supply. These chemicals cause no immediate damage, but cause serious damage in the long run. The government agencies charged with assuring food safety don't care about long term effects. They are only concerned with things that make you sick immediately. They are concerned when the liability can be tracked. If you eat tainted meat today and are sick in two days, someone is held accountable, and the tainted meat is removed from the marketplace. Protective measures are put in place. If you drink poisoned water every day and get sick in 10 years it is almost impossible to track the liability and no action is taken.

Save The Environment:
Let's face it - this planet is in trouble, and I for one do not want to contribute to the damage. Maybe I won't make that much of an impact by doing my part, but if I can convince others to do their part, then we can all work together to improve a very bad situation. If you produce everything on your own, then you are helping in so many ways. Eliminate the need to ship food across the country. Eliminate the need for water treatment plants to use harsh chemicals. Produce your own electricity. Eliminate plastic and packaging required to ship goods. Eliminate the use of chemicals used in mass production, that eventually end up in rivers and in the ocean. As a society, we consume much more resources than we can possibly sustain and we are facing an imminent collapse. If every person consumes only what they produce, or even produces more than they can use, then we will be a much more stable society. We could even have enough to share with those who cannot produce for themselves.

These are just a few of the great reasons to becomes self-sustainable, but if for no other reason, do it because it's fun. It's extremely rewarding to create something, to eat a plant that you grew, to learn a new skill and see it in action.

This is my first in this blog and I hope to make many more. I hope this blog will become an excellent resource for anyone wanting to get off the grid and become more sustainable. I have only recently started on this path, but I have already learned so much. I look forward to sharing with you the things I have learned, and I hope you look forward to my updates. I also hope that you will embark on this journey with me. It is not all that complicated, and you too can become completely self-sufficient.