Adventures in Sustainable Living Podcast

Episode 88

Ten Myths and Misconceptions of Sustainable Living

By far the most common reaction I get when I talk about my off grid lifestyle is “You are crazy. How is it even possible to do that?” When I discuss sustainable living I get similar reactions such as it’s too difficult, it’s too expensive, or I just like beef too much.”

That being said, there are many myths and misconceptions about living a sustainable life that keeps people from taking steps in the right direction. And that is the focus of this episode. I want to debunk a few of these myths and misconceptions about living a sustainable life. Then I want to talk about how to make conscious living a little less intimidating. 

So stayed tuned to E 88 which is called Ten Myths and Misconceptions of Sustainable Living.  

Welcome back everyone to the Adventures in Sustainable Living podcast. This is your host Patrick and this is E88 which is called Ten Myths and Misconceptions of Sustainable Living.

And before we get started let me remind everyone that if you has comments, questions, or even suggestion about podcast content then please feel free to email me at adventuresinsustainableliving@gmail.com. Repeat. 

So, let’s get right down to this weeks topic.  

I am happy to say that I actually met another off grid person just the other day. She is a staff member in one of the hospitals I work with, she has two children, is a single mom, and lives in a refurbished school bus complete with solar which she installed herself. I was extremely impressed. 

We talked about some of the challenges of living off the grid, and how very few people choose to do so. We also talked about some of the advantages and disadvantages of this lifestyle but in the end how we were both extremely satisfied with our choice. Furthermore we discussed how we could not understand why more people did not choose to live the way we do and be in control of a considerable amount of your own resources. But our conclusion is that most likely few people choose to live off the grid because of a lot of misconceptions about this kind of lifestyle. But that is also true about living sustainably.  People tend to be put off by some of the concepts of sustainable living simply because they think it is too difficult. 

And that is the focus of this episode, the myths and misconceptions of sustainable living. I am going to talk about ten myths of sustainable living and debunk those myths. Then I want to convince you that living this way is not as hard as you think.  

Myth #1: Living Sustainable is Expensive

Right out of the gate I want to address one of the leading objections to living sustainably. I think the majority of people believe that sustainable living is too expensive. 

Now I did address this issue in detail in E84 which was called The True Cost of Sustainable Living. I gave concrete examples of the cost of housing, electricity, food, as well as other things, and how approaching your lifestyle from a sustainable perspective actually saves you a considerable amount of money. So if you want to know more about those considerations, then go back and listen to E84. However, that episode certainly does not cover every aspect of sustainable living. 

For example, while most people have the perception that purchasing sustainably sourced products is more expensive that is not always the case. While some are more expensive you have to keep in mind that one of the underlying concepts of sustainability is to actually purchase fewer things. While never purchasing anything is not realistic, slowing down the amount of things you purchase not only saves the planet but also saves your bank account.  

And one more thing to keep in mind is that buying second hand is a great way to be sustainable. Not only are you giving a product a second life after being discarded, second hand products are typically much less expensive. For example, one of my major projects for this summer is to add a sunroom on the south facing side of the cabin. The other day I went out shopping for doors and windows and decided to first go to a place that sells after market building materials. By doing so, I purchased windows for the sunroom and spent $400 USD instead of $1000 at a big box building materials outlet such as Home Depot or Lowes. 

And on that same topic of cost, a big part of the attraction to disposable products is that they tend to be less expensive. Once the usefulness of a product is over, we simply discard it and purchase another one. On the other hand, purchasing sustainable products may be more expensive up front, but you can use them over and over again so that you only purchase them once. In the end this saves you from repeatedly purchasing a disposable product. 

Even when it comes to the clothes you wear, consider purchasing second hand fashions. It is truly hard to imagine that 85% of all textiles go to the land fills every year. And those textiles are produced from materials that have a high environmental cost. Purchasing second hand goes a long way toward saving the environment.

Myth #2 You Have to Be Zero Waste 

The second myth I want to dispel is that of zero waste. While I do find it fascinating that people actually manage to fit one years worth of waste into a mason jar, that is simply not practical for most people. Furthermore, I can only imagine that the amount of work and effort it would take to achieve such a goal is far more than what most people would be willing to do.  

Therefore, it makes more sense to approach this subject from the perspective of reducing your waste. For example, in the United States, the average amount of waste produced per person is 4.9 pounds per day, which is far more than any other developed country in the world. Countries such as the Netherlands, Denmark, Switzerland, and Germany are top of the list for producing the least amount of waste. And in Sweden, only 1% of household waste finds its way to the landfill.  

All I am saying, is that there is a lot of room for improvement. And you can start by simply conducting a trash audit. Take the time to go through your trash at the end of the week and determine what part of your life produces the most amount of trash. If you find you eat a lot of take out food, then cook more at home. If the things you typically purchase come with a lot of packaging then find more sustainable alternatives. Taking one small step at a time and doing this repeatedly is far easier than thinking about how to fit all your waste in a small little jar.  

Myth #3 You Have to Be Vegan

The next myth I want to discuss is that in order to be sustainable, you have to be vegan. While this is far from the truth, I do want to give you some things to think about. 

First of all, by far one of the largest drivers of environmental destruction, habitat loss, loss of biodiversity and pollution is our agricultural activities.  And at the top of that list is the production of beef. 

That being said, it has also been shown that a plant based diet is much more environmentally friendly. However, even being vegan can have detrimental environmental impacts depending on what you are eating. Fruits and vegetables that are highly perishable and must be packaged carefully and shipped quickly have a significant environmental impact. This is especially true if it is an imported product. 

Furthermore, many people simply cannot adopt a vegan diet due to special dietary needs, lack of accessibility, as well as many other factors. 

All this being said, beef, pork, lamb, and poultry are always going to have a greater environmental impact relative to a plant based diet. But while eating meat does not necessarily spell the end of the planet, our personal choices do make a difference. Even a 25% reduction in meat consumption for every American would result in a reduction in 82 million metric tons of green house gas emissions every year. 

Additionally, of all the meat that we consume, beef has the greatest environmental impact. Lamb production has a little less. Pork even less. Chicken production has the least impact. So, if you choose to eat meat, which I do, then eat beef on special occasions or use it as a treat. Switch to eating more chicken and pork, both of which has less of an impact. 

Furthermore, you can have a couple of days per week where you eat no meat at all.  It is now now very easy to find delicious meat substitutes in the supermarket. Whereas just a few years ago this was not true and if they were there they were very expensive.  So the fact that these things are now easily available is even further evidence that our choices heavily influence the market place.  

Myth #4 You Can Never Use Plastic 

Now the next myth I want to consider is the use of plastics.  It is actually very common to assume that in order to have a sustainable life you have to eliminate every single piece of plastic in your life. But the truth is that this may actually be impossible. Virtually every product we touch these days has some form of plastic in the manufacturing, even the vehicles we drive.  

But, just take a minute to consider some of the statistics about plastic and you will see the true value in finding ways to reduce your use of plastics as much as possible. 

-91% of the plastic produced is never recycled

-36% of all plastic produced is used for packaging and 85% of that ends up in landfills

-Plastic bottle take about 450 years to break down. 

-Microplastics, which are tiny plastic particles that form as a result of plastic degradation in the environment,  are now being found on the bottom of the ocean and on top of Mount Everest. We even consume them everyday. 

So, what all of this means is that while plastics are in fact very useful, in many ways they have become the bane of our existence. There are many good reasons to reduce your use of plastics but we may never be able to get rid of them entirely. That being said, it is truly very easy to make some productive changes in your lifestyle. 

For example, disposable single use plastics account for roughly 50% of all the plastics to go to the landfills. It is entirely possible to completely eliminate this form of waste in your life. You can start by taking reusable bags to the supermarket, purchase bulk vegetables instead of those packaged in plastic, carry a reusable cup with you instead of purchasing drinks in plastic containers, take your own food containers to a restaurant if you have left overs after a meal. Now more than ever it is much easier to make conscious choices that actually make a difference.  

Myth #5 Sustainable Living is for Treehuggers

The next myth I want to discuss is that green living is for treehuggers and hippies.  Now I must say that when I first started living off the grid, everyone around me thought I was crazy. But I am happy to report that these days many people are actually envious of my lifestyle. Yet living off the grid and being sustainable are not necessarily the same thing. 

Yet when I talk about being sustainable the first reaction from a significant portion of people I talk to is that such a lifestyle is only for hippies and treehuggers.  But the reality is that this is for everyone. In fact, there is going to come a time when you may not have a choice but to be more sustainable because we are actually running out of resources. 

Just a couple of weeks ago I was working in a hospital that has a nice big break room for the staff with a fully equipped kitchen, complete with dishes and standard cutlery for eating. One of the staff came into the kitchen and was going through all the cabinets looking for a plastic cup and a paper plate. When I inquired as to why she did not use the plates and cutlery that were already there, she just said “Well that would mean I would have to wash it.” I politely explained that in the United States alone, we use approximately 68 million trees per year for the production of paper and paper products. Furthermore, at our current use of disposable paper products that we will no longer have rain forests by the year 2100 in another 300 years our planet is going to be completely devoid of trees.

We are truly at the point where we all have to make some changes. And some of those changes may not be easy.  But we are all in this together and sustainable living, green living, conscious living is truly for everyone and is quickly becoming an absolute necessity.  

Myth #6 Recycling is Easy  

Okay, the next topic is recycling. Now, this can certainly be a topic all its own. Furthermore I am fully aware that our recycling system is inefficient and for the most part leaves a lot to be desired. In fact, after 25 plus years of living in a mountain community in Colorado, there are still no options for recycling. So for us it is even more of a challenge. But that should not prevent us for doing what we need to do.  

When it comes to recycling I truly think by far the most important thing we all need to do is to take the time and put in the effort to educate ourselves. This is because how we do things truly makes a difference in whether our recyclables get processed appropriately. Recycling is easy and convenient if you live in a municipality that already has a program in place. But if that is not the case where you live, which is the challenge that we have, then it takes a little more effort. 

Now I will say that one of the biggest challenges for the recycling industry is that of contamination. What this means for the consumer is that we actually have to wash our recyclables before they go into the bin. I know it takes a little time and effort, but all it requires is just a little change in your lifestyle. Once you become accustomed to this it just becomes part of your routine. And this is a huge part of our educational process, what to wash, when to wash, what is recyclable, and what is not. 

The bottom line is that it is easy to talk about recycling but in the end recycling is not that easy.  But, once again, it is about making conscious choices.  

Myth #7 Sustainable living takes too much effort and too much time. 

The next thing I want to discuss is that many people believe that sustainable living takes way too much time and effort. This alone prevents lots of people from taking the necessary steps to change their lifestyle. 

After all, it does take time to research products and companies to determine if they actually engage in sustainable practices or if any particular product is actually sustainably sourced and manufactured. 

The first thing I would have to say about American culture in particular is that we are addicted to convenience. We want to order something and have it on our doorstep the next day. We want to walk into the supermarket and pick out exactly what we want when we want it. 

But the thing of it is, you can make up any kind of sustainable lifestyle that you choose. There are many things you can seamlessly fit into your lifestyle without making any significant effort. For example, taking reusable shopping bags to the supermarket, occasionally purchasing an alternative source of meat to put on the grill, always taking a reusable cup or mug wherever you go. It just requires you to think a little more about what you are doing and why. 

And speaking of which, there is one thing I started doing about a year ago. I made it my personal goal on a monthly basis to add one more sustainable habit to my life or find yet another product that I could either make at home or find an alternative that was more sustainable.  And yes this does take some time and effort. And surely we all have enough spare time to do that once a month.  Over time you will end up with a list of sustainable favorites and you will not have to think about it much any more. In fact, I think it is a fun little game to go into the supermarket and figure out yet another thing I can make at home. 

In the end, it is truly a matter of your attitude. Most of us are addicted to convenience and would rather have someone else do things for us. Consequently, when something goes wrong in the world, there is a war, an economic disaster, a natural disaster, or supply chain disruption, we are all butt hurt and angry over the fact that we can no longer get what we want. Or you can put in the time and effort to makes things at home from a few basic ingredients that are easily sourced. And you can plan ahead and store a little extra so that when something goes wrong in the world it has little impact on your life. 

Myth #8 Home products that are sustainable are both expensive and difficult to find

This sort of goes along with the myth that sustainable living takes too much time and effort. 

In E80 I talked about household hazardous waste, especially our cleaning products. In that episode I talked about how easy it is to make cleaning products that are both inexpensive and environmentally friendly. For example, it takes me less than 30 minutes to make a batch of home made laundry detergent that last us 3 to 4 months. Additionally, there are several alternative cleaning products that can be made from a combination of water, vinegar, lemon juice, and essential oils. And the best part is that all of the ingredients come in containers that can be recycled. 

Truly our high octane consumer society has convinced us that we need so many things that just aren’t necessary. So, once again take the time and effort to educate yourself and find alternatives. I can guarantee you it will only take 5 or 10 minutes of internet research to find sustainable, environmentally friendly alternatives to many of the products in your home.

Myth #9 Sustainable Living is About the Environment

Okay, myth #9 is that green living is about the environment.  While this may be true, green living is about so much more. There is no doubt that green living is environmentally friendly compared to what most of us are accustomed too. But this type of lifestyle goes far beyond that.  

As you have likely heard me say before that sustainability comes down to the kind of future we are leaving the next generation.  This means being mindful of every single thing that you do. I asked myself once if there was any one thing I could do that had absolutely no impact on the environment. Turns out that the answer is no. Every single thing we do has some sort of an impact. Just being here, living and breathing has some sort of impact. 

Think of sustainable living in terms of leaving only foot prints. If you live by that concept then by default you are using only what you need, you are reducing your production of waste, you are respecting other cultures, and you are respecting the environment. Remember we all have to accept the fact that we are in a crisis of our own making and this is the result of decades of environmental indifference. In order to correct this, we are all going to have to make some sacrifices and be mindful of everything we do.  

Myth #10 Green living is about depravation

And lastly, myth # 10 is that green living is about depravation. You know, I can tell you from personal experience that nothing could be further from the truth. Annette and I live in the middle of the forest 100% off grid and still have a modern lifestyle. We have modern convenience, satellite internet, full electricity, hot showers, a green house, a chicken barn and everything is run off of solar energy. Granted our lifestyle is basic and somewhat minimalistic but we truly do not do without anything. But the pay back for what we do is that we are 100% independent for electricity, water, sewer, and about 50% independent for our food. 

And this all happens because we choose to live that way and manage most of our resources. The end result is that we use 95% less water than the average American household and 75% electricity. Yet we do without nothing and we do not feel the least bit deprived of anything. 

So as I am wrapping up this episode, let’s do a quick little review over some of the misconceptions of sustainable living that we have covered.  

-Sustainable living is expensive

-You have to be zero waste

-You have to be vegan

-You can never use plastic

-Sustainable living is for treehuggers

-Recycling is easy

-Sustainable living takes too much time and effort

-Sustainable products are both expensive and difficult to find

-Sustainable living is about the environment

-Green living is about depravation

Hopefully at this point in time you see that none of this is actually true. The underlying concept of living sustainably is simply conscious living. And if you are living consciously that means your life is a work in progress. I can say from personal experience after 26 years of living off the grid my lifestyle is not perfect and I am still learning things. What is truly more important than anything else is that you realize the need for a change and you take small little steps in the right direction. And that is exactly how you make this whole process a lot easier, one small step at a time. 

Most of us never realize that the decisions we make now will in fact define our lives 5 years from now. And certainly my decision to live off the grid does in many ways define my life. But I am happy with that. When it comes to living consciously just try to imagine what your life would be like 5 years from now if you start taking small steps in the right direction and tried to live as sustainably as possible. After all, being sustainable should be the one thing that defines our lives

Mark Twain once said, “There are basically tow types of people. People who accomplish things, and people who claim to have accomplished things. The first group is less crowded.”

Personally I enjoy being in the group that is less crowded. I hope many of you will come join me. 

I hope you have enjoyed this weeks episode. And if you have then please take the time to leave me with a review and also subscribe to the Adventures in Sustainable Living podcast as well as my companion blog Off Grid Living News.   

Until next week this is your host Patrick signing off.  Always remember to live sustainably because this is how we build a better future.