Everything we thought we knew is wrong!

Okay, maybe not everything. But what if some of our core beliefs about how the world works turn out to be seriously flawed? Last Thursday some of us watched a documentary that flipped our world upside down to see what makes it tick, as it explored the most critical question of our time:

How do we become a sustainable civilization?

Water shortages, hunger, peak oil, species extinction, and even increasing depression are all symptoms of a deeper problem – addiction to unending growth in a world that has limits. GrowthBusters: Hooked on Growth goes way beyond prescribing Band-Aids to slow the bleeding. This film examines the cultural barriers that prevent us from reacting rationally to the evidence that current levels of population and consumption are unsustainable.

It asks why the population conversations are so difficult to have. Why it’s more important to our society to have economic growth than clean air. Why communities seek and subsidize growth even when it destroys quality of life and increases taxes.

Our growth-centric system is broken. It’s not providing the happiness or the prosperity we seek. But that’s good news; it means a shift to a sustainable model will be good for us. We’ll be happier and more prosperous!

Individual and public policy decisions today are informed by a powerful, pro-growth cultural bias. We worship at the Church of Growth Everlasting. Undeterred by the facts, we’re on a collision course powered by denial and the illusion that growth brings prosperity. Before we can shift our civilization meaningfully, effectively, and substantially toward true sustainability, the world must be “prepped.” We must become self-aware and recognize the programming that keeps us hooked. GrowthBusters attempts do just that. We heard from leading thinkers of our time – scientists, sociologists, economists – to help us separate fact from superstition.

We’re approaching the end of growth. Will we embrace it and find a winning solution? Or will we deny it and go down fighting?

From Las Vegas to Atlanta, Mexico City to Mumbai, the White House to the Vatican, GrowthBusters took us on a whirlwind tour of growth mania. Kind of like Wild Kingdom with a twist: the cameras are turned on humanity as our own survival skills were examined. GrowthBusters: Hooked on Growth looks into the psychology of denial and crowd behavior. It explores our obsession with urban and economic growth, and our reluctance to address overpopulation issues head-on. This documentary holds up a mirror, encouraging us to examine the beliefs and behaviors we must leave behind – and the values we need to embrace – so our children can survive and thrive.

The movie, of course, does not focus on southeastern Manitoba. It looks at the world as a whole, and examines how embracing growth has affected some specific communities. The people of New York, Toronto, Hong Kong and Mexico City need to ask how they should be living if they want to leave a habitable planet for their children. But it’s a question we, living in southeastern Manitoba, need to ask as well. When will we do that?

Eric Rempel

Why I Ride My Bicycle

A few months ago, Eric Rempel posted a column about why he biked. This motivated me to share my story.

Were I to choose a personal zodiac, 2011 would be the year of the Bicycle. Last summer I found my self completely smitten with a mode of transportation that was simply too intimidating and/or inconvenient a few years ago.   This epiphany occurred because I had become increasingly aware of the effects of “unconscious living” and that such a lifestyle was destroying the very environment I love.  I realized that I had a responsibility to do something. I also needed to save money.

In the past few years, some friends at the University of Winnipeg have opened my eyes to the concept of sustainable living.  I have become alarmed by the realization that our lives are completely dependent on petroleum, a resource that is finite and non-renewable, causes wars, and is becoming increasingly expensive. I had been living in ignorant bliss for most of my life and suddenly I became painfully aware.

This awareness placed me at a fork in the road, with a map and no compass. I knew where I was and where I wanted to go, but had to find a way to get there. I had friends who were vegan, others were dedicated winter cyclists, and some attempted to follow a 100 mile diet.  That was all too extreme. I was overwhelmed but decided to take baby steps. I have begun by composting, noting where food I buy comes from and riding my bike.

I have never been athletic and the mere thought of biking exhausted me at first. I had no leg muscles, no endurance, was terrified of cars on the road and did not know what traffic laws to follow. 

Then I decided I would like to travel, and go back to school.

I hate to make it seem like money is the ultimate motivator, but a tight budget is.  Driving my car less was an easy penny saver and that meant biking more. And then I began to love it! Biking was actually exhilarating! Not only was I saving money, I was gaining muscle. It was like I was on Body Break – staying fit and having fun!

When I returned to Steinbach this past June after a two-year hiatus, I needed to share my new discovery with my old town. Some friends and I organized group bike rides. I wanted people to realize that riding a bike doesn’t have to mean that you can’t afford a car, or that you are an athlete. It can simply mean you like riding your bike and want to consume less gasoline.

Hey, give it a go! Start small. Next time you need to dash to the store or return a movie, ride your bike. January may be a difficult time of year to start, so maybe you wait till spring. But now is the time to resolve to ride your bike more. The city of Steinbach has done a great job of making the city bicycle friendly. For cycling information check both www.steinbach.ca and southeasttrasniton.com.

Hilary Klassen

Slowing Down

Recently I have been thinking about slowing down. Of course, say my friends, you have reached retirement and so that is a legitimate proposition. But then, when I connect with some of my retired friends, one of their complaints I hear most often is that they are busier than ever.

I conclude that busyness has become one of our culture’s virtues. We tend to think more highly of people whose calendars are chock-full than of those who have a few open spaces left.

A lot has been written in recent decades about margins and boundaries. How long would you stay with a book, for example, that had no margins. Most of the book would likely remain unread. Slowing down reminds us that we are most fully alive when we live within appropriate boundaries that allow some room for surprise and flexibility. A good cup of coffee is best taken slowly, as is a good quality wine! So why do we gulp down our lives so quickly?

Beyond being better for you, slowing down is becoming imperative in our day because a fast life always leaves a larger ecological footprint than necessary. This is so very evident in the fast food industry to which many of us have become enslaved. We grab our food on the run and wolf it down on our way to the next thing on our calendars. Of course, on our way in we drop a large bag of paper and plastic into the garbage. Sometimes we even just throw it out the car window. We have yet to add up the personal and social cost of giving up a regular, slow-paced, family dinner.

Feeling the need to take in every possible event we can, we zip around in our vehicles and fly around the world lest we commit the “sin” of missing out on something. Of course, in the process we build up a large number of experiences we can share with our friends. The only problem is we don’t really have time to get together much for a leisurely sharing of life. And at the same time we keep on using up more and more of diminishing fossil fuel reserves of the world.

One commitment I have recently made is to literally slow down while driving. I have developed a 90-90 principle which states that 90 percent of the time on the road I will not exceed 90 kilometers an hour. Some of my trucker friends tell me that such a move can make the difference between breaking even or earning a decent living – given the amount of fuel you save at the slower speed. 

An additional benefit I experience is that every time I set my cruise on 90, I am reminded to slow down in other areas of life as well. Perhaps I can retrain myself to leave a smaller ecological footprint as I learn to slow down and actually have time to smell the flowers.

By Jack Heppner