Exciting times! A proposal to think about.

Believe it or not, our sleepy little community has been in the spotlight. Our activities have been noticed by other thinking communities.

People in West Hobart are organising to set up a sustainability community group for that suburb.  And we have been invited to Mount Stuart Progress Association to explain to them how we went about our Solar Acquisition Project. They want to do the same.

This should make us feel good about our existence and have the energy to rise to another level, and break a few more boundaries. Unfortunately we are held back by the modern irony – our lives are so over-burdened with time pressures that sustainable living has to take a back seat. Or so we persuade ourselves. 

Simple things – like walking to work and insulating our homes and growing vegetables – may not be sexy subjects, but in their quiet way they are a lovely antidote to the urgency, rush and insanity that pervades modern life. We need to keep reminding ourselves about the quiet revolution that is happening and our own role in inspiring others.

My own view is that the low-carbon society of tomorrow will be one so much richer, so much healthier, so much more satisfying, so much saner than the one we inhabit now. Put in perspective, this challenge ought to be at the forefront of our mindset, not relegated to spare space sandwiched in between the chaos of our lives.

These thoughts are a pretext for a proposal. If there is enough support for it, our community is thinking of undertaking a small research project  -  examining the barriers that we collectively experience in our attempts to live sustainably. Modern time pressures are one obvious thing, but there are many other blocks. I am sure community members would have tremendously varied insights into this, and this information can be invaluable in helping communities everywhere work out how to overcome these barriers. 

It would be good to hear how many people would be prepared to take part in this project. Inevitably and understandably, the immediate cringe we feel is: “Sorry, but we are too busy”. 

Catch 22!

Well… the time involved should not be too much. Responses to a questionnaire. An afternoon workshop. Maybe a follow-up a year later to see how thinking may have changed. But maybe also, personal benefits will ensue?

If you have a view on this, or would like to participate in the project, please click the ‘comment’ button immediately below this article. We would love to hear from you. 

And… if we want assurance about the exciting changes that are happening in our society, then think about this. Following last year’s “Ride to Work Day” in October an astonishing 27% of first time bike riders on that day are still riding to work. (Click here to see the statistics.)

Such beaming good stories are becoming rife. Behind all the negativity surrounding climate change is a huge positive upsurge in culture change and community engagement. We can count ourselves to be so lucky to be at the cutting edge of a quiet revolution!  

Chris