What do I do?

I’ve been asked the question “What do I do?” quite a few times lately. It is usually in the context of some discussion about how it is wonderful for me to do what I do here in rural Ohio where I have lots of space and a wife who gets paid well enough that I can afford to play at saving the world. But what about the people who have to work for a living? Or the people who live in the city? Or the people without the skills or inclination to be small scale eco-farmers? What do they do?

I think my philosophy still holds up in other settings. I hope some of you will experiment with it and see what can be done. I’ve some ideas about where to start. The most important thing is to live locally. Ultimately your energy, food, and water must come from your local resources and your waste must be returned to that same local area in such a way that it helps build the local resource base. For a human tribe or community I think that the local range is probably contained in a circle about 20 miles in diameter. (This is based on the amount of space we can get to know intimately. If you can’t walk there and back in a day it is probably outside what is truly local. I haven’t had any chance to test this, but it is a starting place.) Now let me lay out some ideas about what to do.

1. Look at where your food, water, and energy come from and where your waste goes. Not just where the store is located, but where the actual product is made and where the resources used in its making come from. Make a chart of how much you are importing from resources outside your local range.


2. Explore your local area and see what you can get locally. Talk with local producers to find out how local the products really are. (We have things sold at our local farmers market which are shipped up from Florida. That’s not really local.)

3. Look at things you can do at home to produce more yourself. Catch rainwater to water your houseplants. Put some tomatoes and lettuce in your flower garden or in a pot on your window sill.

4. Explore what you can do with your waste. Compost everything (use a worm bin inside if you can’t compost outside) If you buy eggs from someone locally see if they want your kitchen scraps. Chickens love them! If you can get away with a “farm animal” pet have a chicken or two in your yard. They will do quite well on your back lawn and will eat all the kitchen scraps you can give them. They will gift you with an egg most days.

5. Energy – Switch things off. Use compact florescent lights. Walk when you can. Ride the bus or a bike. Explore how much energy you need and ways you can produce it at home. Solar is getting cheaper and even if you just do some it makes a difference.

6. Network. If you find a local source for eggs, food, or what ever, share that knowledge with your neighbors. Local produces need customers. If no one buys we can’t afford to produce.


I could go on and on. The most important thing is to decide to do something. Stop waiting for “THEY’ to do it. They never will. Take responsibility for yourself.