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Many Americans believe that adopting sustainable practices is going to cost them an arm and a leg. The confusion is likely the product of our first myth, as some green lifestyle changes may be expensive though not necessarily sustainable.
Conceptually, sustainability is based on reducing consumption and increasing longevity, which should produce monetary savings. This notion is sometimes lost in translation, making the public reluctant to adopt sustainable practices.
As we elaborated on in the first entry, the terms ‘green’ and ‘sustainable’ are synonyms but are not interchangeable, meaning that there are objects that they both describe but also areas where they diverge. For example, green and sustainable, when used to describe agriculture can imply very different things. Green agriculture is usually organic, pesticide-free and as the article demonstrates not necessarily concerned with feeding a growing human population. Sustainable agriculture is designed with feeding the human population now and into the future in mind. Green, organic produce is less productive and more expensive than non-organic counterparts, an American luxury not viable in famine-prone developing nations. Sustainable agriculture aims to meet the needs of as many as possible, now and into the future, and is done by increasing efficiency to cut costs and increase production while maintaining the quality we all expect.
Sustainable design and development are viewed as carrying a hefty price tag, which causes hesitation in investors. When I said that sustainability is lost in translation, I was specifically citing this phenomenon. Buildings, furniture and energy efficiency upgrades that promote sustainable ideals are sometimes viewed only on their ticket price, discrediting the return on investment that will be provided. Saving $100 today can be more attractive than the possibility of saving $1,000 over five years for developers, especially in this economy, but if energy and lifecycle costs are appropriately considered it is easy to realize the long-term benefit of sustainable practices.
Moving forward, it is critical that Americans put consideration into their consumption habits. Though it is nearly impossible to live a completely sustainable lifestyle in our modern society, there are huge strides that can be made as technology progresses. Addressing sustainability can provide benefit to a number of areas, the most important being our wallets. Advocating energy efficiency and increased product life is like supporting lower utility bills and buildings that don’t fall apart. Thinking about it that way makes you wonder why this is just coming up.
***Wesley Cronk is the Sustainability Director and co-founder of the SEEC Foundation. Currently a graduate student at New York University studying Sustainable Development and Environmental Policy, Wesley is a regular contributor at seecfoundation.org/blog.
This is the second entry addressing the list of sustainability myths that we compiled in a previous post. Check them out if you aren’t up to speed here and here.
