Join Us

Owners:  Kendall & Debbie McAlister

Contact:  www.canyonfarmco.com or canyonfarmco@gmail.com

 

 

Growing Spaces

Owner:   Lem Tingley

Contact: www.growingspaces.com or info@growingspaces.com

Who’s Got Time to Deal with the Environment?

So what, who cares? I’m too busy to volunteer. There’s not enough time in the day. I’m exhausted! With our modern-world busy and hectic lifestyles, we constantly hear these laments. But let’s look at this differently–if we bungle the planet nothing else matters! Carpools, politics, errands, PTA, work, yoga, and watching the game all go by the wayside if our environment is in such turmoil that nothing else can get done. This is the reality we need to realign our priorities with.

“Relying on national governments alone to deliver [environmental] results is not enough” (Esty, 2014, para. 5). Around the world, the real action on these issues needs to come from a bottom-up approach. On the ground, locals are the ones best positioned to make change happen. In this vein, you’ve heard the term ‘think globally, act locally.’ What exactly does that mean and look like?

Imagine a world where every individual, household, community and town, state, region, nation, and continent were as resource conservation conscious and efficient as possible. Imagine a zero pollution and waste ethic. The effects would be immense. Economies would flourish because there would be less money leaking out of local economies and spent on inefficiencies. This would not only provide more household funds, but more socially beneficial programs, not to mention the beauty from an in-tact environment.

The Southwest Organization for Sustainability[1] (SOS) has been working on environmental issues in Archuleta County since 2007. Among a host of other activities we sponsor the community’s Annual Farmers Market, Annual Earth Day Celebration, and book and film donations to the local library. And we desperately need you! We need your membership, your help in the form of time, and/or your financial support to keep these vitally important programs going. Consider realigning your priorities and join us today!

References

Esty, D. C. (2014, September 22). Bottom-up climate fix. New York Times. Retrieved from https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/weatherlist/NdllVLJjBpc.
United Nations. (1988). Report by the director-general on progress made by UNESCO towards the objectives of environmentally sound and sustainable development. Retrieved from https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000080240.

[1] There are now more than 100 definitions of sustainability. We choose to align with the most recognized, which was coined by the United Nations “development which meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” (United Nations, 1988, p. 2).