Kate Raworth, an English economist with Oxford University, wrote that “Reversing consumerism’s financial and cultural dominance in public and private life is set to be one of the twenty-first century’s most gripping psychological dramas.” What is obvious is that economic growth is directly tied to resource consumption. Both are hand in hand with environmental degradation and climate change. Despite this obvious trend consumerism continues to be deeply ingrained. Even though there are communities...
Jun 26, 2024•31 min•Ep. 185
Whether you like it or not there is a lot of psychological research that goes into the marketing of products. The majority of this research is used to manipulate consumers and get you spend more money. Additionally, convincing consumers to purchase an ever-increasing variety of products, only to discard them after a short period of time, is a fantastic way to stimulate commerce. From disposable products to planned obsolescence, our wasteful practices have an ever devastating affect on the enviro...
Jun 19, 2024•29 min•Ep. 184
There are so many warning signs about the fate of our planet yet the average person is happy to live in comfortable ignorance. Have you ever stopped to ask why people are so complacent about something that truly affects our future? Furthermore, because of this complacency we are loosing some very important life skills. But are we really to blame? Or is this the end result of our modern culture? Are we now so comfortable that we feel as if certain life skills don’t even apply any more? Besides, w...
Jun 12, 2024•31 min•Ep. 183
When I get up in the morning I typically sit quietly by the wood stove for about an hour and start my day with some good coffee. I don’t worry about a lot of things during my quiet time but I do put some thought into planning my day. If I think of something I need at the homestead, if I have time I may browse the internet for the best product and the best price. After all online shopping is a modern convenience that I enjoy just as much as everyone else. It is simply a part of our culture now. H...
Jun 05, 2024•36 min•Ep. 182
Top of the list for most consumers is price and convenience. However, in our pursuit of such convenience we often sacrifice our money, our physical health, our mental health, the environment as well as the rights of all the workers upstream from where our purchase actually occurs. One of the challenges is that due to our current market place, there is an over abundance of choices. Consequently, most consumers tend to purchase from a huge conglomerate because we can easily find everything we need...
May 29, 2024•35 min•Ep. 181
In case you haven’t noticed, life has no standardized rules. How we are prepared to meet the world as adults depends mostly on how we are raised as kids and our family background. But at least we have certain basic skills such as how to drive, where to get food and how to find and pay for the various services needed to meet our daily needs. But what we are taught changes over time because societal norms change. What children are taught today is totally different from 50 years ago. And one good e...
May 22, 2024•32 min•Ep. 180
Adventures in Sustainable Living Podcast Episode 179 After Sustainable Habits, What’s Next? My veterinary career has truly been quite varied. Upon entering veterinary school I only had experience in one hospital. Upon graduation, I was determine to broaden my focus. After years in practice I am happy that I’ve had the opportunity to live in work in multiple different countries. The result has been a much broader perspective on the world and a much greater appreciation for other cultures. Lessons...
May 15, 2024•20 min•Ep. 179
Adventures in Sustainable Living Podcast Episode 178 Sustainable Habits for a Sustainable Habitat Episode Link; Sustainable Habits for a Sustainable Habitat 29.5 minutes Website adventuresinsustainableliving.com In the last few episodes I’ve talked a lot about the overcoming the barriers to living more sustainably. And while there is a long list of barriers to overcome, a big part of the challenge is our engrained values and habits. And the big question is how do we change that. Many of us tend ...
May 08, 2024•30 min•Ep. 178
Adventures in Sustainable Living Podcast Episode 177 A Green Foot Forward: Overcoming the Roadblocks to Sustainable Living Part III Episode link: https://www.offgridlivingnews.com/podcasts/adventures-in-sustainable-living/episodes/2148574613 33 minutes Website: adventuresinsustainableliving.com Studies and surveys show that the vast majority of people do care about the environment and what happens to our planet. Yet many of those same people struggle when it comes to making greener choices in th...
May 01, 2024•32 min•Ep. 177
During the time that humans have existed on this planet, we have gone through multiple transitions. Each of those transitions have changed the course of humanity and ultimately improved our standard of living. It has also made our lives just a little bit easier. In our modern culture, we no longer have to provide for ourselves. You can have anything you want with one click. In fact, ease and convenience is top of the list for most people, not the impact they are having on the planet. But when it...
Apr 24, 2024•38 min•Ep. 176
Adventures in Sustainable Living Podcast Episode 175 A Green Foot Forward: Overcoming the Roadblocks to Sustainable Living If you happen to have in-depth training or knowledge in a particular area it is easy to forget that many others do not have that same expertise. For example, the knowledge I have about the care of animals is second nature to me. Sometimes I forget there are many people who just do not understand the basics. But the same holds true when it comes to sustainable living. Such a ...
Apr 17, 2024•38 min•Ep. 175
Adventures in Sustainable Living Podcast Episode 174 Habits for Success: The Little Things Make a Difference Have you ever wondered why people spend so much time on social media and then get depressed because they compare and despair? Have you ever wondered why 75% of our population feels that it is important to focus on living a sustainable life but they never take the time or put out the effort to make it happen. Has there ever been a time in our life that you risk everything in order to accom...
Apr 10, 2024•31 min•Ep. 174
Adventures in Sustainable Living Podcast Episode 173 How to Vote with Your Dollars You have likely heard me say that our choices make changes. This is because our choices drive the market place. Now you may not think that your individual choices can make a difference. But, it is the cumulative results of the individual choices of the 7.8 billion people on this planet that has gotten us to where we are today. One of the easiest things you can do as a consumer is make better choices with the dolla...
Apr 03, 2024•27 min•Ep. 173
Adventures in Sustainable Living Podcast Episode 172 Would We Be Naked Without Synthetic Fabrics? What exactly is a Spinning Jennie? Have you even heard of it? Few people these days own a sewing machine but surely we all have a concept of what it is and what it does. And even though not all of us have taken a chemistry class, we have some concept of a chemical concoction? But do you know what all of these things have in common? Certainly there can be no argument that advances in technology have ...
Mar 27, 2024•25 min•Ep. 172
Adventures in Sustainable Living Podcast Episode 171 Simple Rules Are All We Need I so often marvel at the complexity of our society. It seems as if things were so much simpler when I was a kid. Even when I first moved to Colorado and was working a construction job, life was pretty simple. Now it seems as if there are rules, rules, rules and so many other things that complicate our lives. And everyone seems to complain about it. But are all these rules really necessary or is it simply the result...
Mar 20, 2024•34 min•Ep. 171
Adventures in Sustainable Living Podcast Episode 170 The Cost of Convenience Few people would believe that I lived without running water and electricity for over 15 years. But I can tell you from first hand experience when you live that way it changes how you think. But the same is true with our modern conveniences. It changes how we think, or should I say don’t think. We no longer have to put any thought or energy into many of our daily activities. However, for that convenience we do pay a pric...
Mar 13, 2024•34 min•Ep. 170
We live in a culture of over abundance. Unless you travel abroad, most of us have no concept of the level of poverty in the world. Yet 9.2% of the worlds population live on $2.15 a day. On a global basis 1.1 billion people live in poverty and in some countries as much as 80% of the population. But the question is do the people who live in wealthy countries bear some responsibility for those that are less fortunate? After all, part of the sustainability equation includes people. If we are to trul...
Mar 06, 2024•31 min•Ep. 169
Adventures in Sustainable Living Podcast Episode 168 Can We Live Without Trees How many times per day do you walk by a tree and never give it any thought. It is almost as if we take trees for granted. They have always been there and we never think that there may come a time when they are gone. From my previous episode you may remember how many trees we use versus how many we plant. It is obvious from those numbers we are consuming this natural resource faster than it can be replenished. And that...
Feb 28, 2024•41 min•Ep. 168
Adventures in Sustainable Living Podcast Episode 167 How to Go Paperless Most people never realize that paper usage is directly related to a nation’s wealth. The US and most European countries rank the highest in the world for paper usage. And this of course has a significant impact on the environment. Although it is impossible to calculate just how many trees are cut down each year for paper, estimates range between 4 billion and 8 billion. Some of that paper usage is due to food packaging and ...
Feb 21, 2024•29 min•Ep. 167
The three pillars of sustainability are environment, economic and social. Less formally these pillars are known as people, planet and profits. Knowing this, I do think that we fail at supporting a vital part of these three pillars. It is so easy to speak of fair pay and equal opportunity regardless of race, gender, marital status, religious beliefs, disability or political opinions. And yet this is a vital part of sustainability that often gets overlooked and consequently social injustice is dee...
Feb 14, 2024•39 min•Ep. 166
As you likely know by now I am a big fan of having a garden and producing as much of my own food as possible. It is the best way to be certain I am consuming fresh organic produce. Not to mention it saves me a considerable amount of money. Despite the many advantages of having a garden only 1/3 of people on a global basis engage in any sort of gardening activity. Whatever the reason may be, that portion of our global population finds it more convenient to simply purchase what they need. But as i...
Feb 07, 2024•38 min•Ep. 165
Did you know that there are now approximately 150 chemicals in our homes that are connected to allergies, birth defects, psychological disorders as well as cancer. And this is actually old news. I have now met three different people who had numerous health problems, were on multiple medications, and were even given a poor long term prognosis for survival. But instead of accepting what their doctors said they took matters into their own hands. Each of them moved into a rural area, gave up all pro...
Jan 31, 2024•35 min•Ep. 164
If so often hear the question “What is the world coming to these days?” And while I would contend that the world is not coming to anything other than what the world has always been coming to, I do think that people are more fearful today than ever before. And there are several reasons for this. Part of the challenge in our modern society is that most of us are not taught to think and live independently. Everything we need is easily available and we are completely unsure of what to do if somethin...
Jan 24, 2024•37 min•Ep. 163
Being sustainable often means providing a certain amount of things for yourself. Providing for yourself also has the added benefit of increasing your personal independence. A certain amount of independence also means more personal security. And few things provide more security than growing you own food. With the majority of our population now living in urban areas, most people have the impression that they cannot have a garden because they do not have a lot of space. If you are one of those peop...
Jan 17, 2024•31 min•Ep. 162
There was a time when I went to the supermarket three to four times per week. Now I go maybe twice a month. It is astounding how much I used to spend on groceries compared to what I spend now. So how exactly did I drastically reduce my supermarket trips and how do I now save so much money. My success is a matter of growing a lot of things at home, having access to organic game meat, and being very careful not to waste anything at all. You may think this success is because we live on a homestead....
Jan 10, 2024•31 min•Ep. 161
With working farms in my family self-reliance was not something we talked about because it was just how we lived. Presently because the homestead is somewhat isolated, a certain degree of self reliance is mandatory simply because help is not instantly accessible. But in our modern culture the average person is no longer self reliant nor do they see the need to live that way. But I would contend that despite our modern culture there is even more insecurity than ever because our world changes so r...
Jan 03, 2024•27 min•Ep. 160
As you have likely heard me say before, I do not tend to pay a lot of attention to the trends of society and public opinion. This is because such things swing like a pendulum right along with our values. Additionally most of the time I tend to focus my attention on entirely different things than the typical concerns of the average person. That said, there is one societal trend that certainly has my attention. More and more people are making sustainable choices especially when it comes to their f...
Dec 27, 2023•31 min•Ep. 159
Most likely you do not know that it was the discovery and manipulation of fire that was the first step in humanity’s separation from nature. Among many other things fire enabled humans to use biomass as a source of fuel. Eventually our comfort level increased to the point that nature was viewed as a resource instead of a place to live. We are now more separated from nature than ever before. The vast majority of us never stop to think about, much less appreciate how every single thing we do is co...
Dec 20, 2023•28 min•Ep. 158
Adventures in Sustainable Living Podcast Episode 157 A Cultural Transition: What the Fossil Fuel Industry Doesn't Want You to Know Throughout human existence there have been several significant transitions which have truly defined our history. Although these transitions have often improved our standard of living such things have always been met with resistance. This is because typically someone has something to lose. Whether it be an individual, a big business or the government, losing your posi...
Dec 13, 2023•28 min•Ep. 157
Adventures in Sustainable Living Podcast Episode 156 Ten Steps to Net Zero: Can We Do It? In the last two episodes I talked a lot about how as a global community we are over stepping the planetary boundaries that are responsible for our very survival. Hopefully by now we all realize the need to change a lot of the basic things in our lives that we take for granted. In other words, how we run our lives on a day to day basis. Part of the discussion about those changes needs to include the concept ...
Dec 06, 2023•30 min•Ep. 156
