Within a 40km radius of my home, desperate folk live in subsistence housing (or are homeless), and rely on Foodbank for their daily crust. The housing shortage is just one of a sweep of crises which includes climate change, child-poverty and more. These issues are not just in 3rd-world countries, but in supposedly-rich western nations, and right here in my back yard.
Yet here I am planning to spend thousands on the Great OE. I will contribute to climate change by sitting in long-haul aircraft and eating foods which I cannot trace the footprint of. How easy it is to ignore personal contribution to crises under the desire to travel, live comfortably, and do what we feel we deserve.
But why shouldn’t I enjoy the gold leaf of my hard work?
Recently a friend purchased a brand new vehicle. It will travel the same roads as his previous car, but more comfortably, cheaper, and with more gizmos to distract him. The money he spent could have fed sixty families for at least four weeks. The car is electric, reduces the climate impact of his driving, and removes his fuel costs almost entirely, thus freeing up cash for other activities. Meanwhile his trade-in exhaust’s itself for lower-budget folk.
The well-resourced can afford healthier food, quality clothes, and cheaper-running capital items, along with warm homes, power-saving appliances and activities which promote well-being. The fact that I can contemplate the Great OE means I am in that group, despite living in an uninsulated house. We have the freedom of choice.
With that privilege, whether earned or inherited, comes responsibility. Not to deny oneself the Great OE, or new car, but to ensure our lifestyles are not on the backs of others misfortune. Checking our income is earned honorably, that investments involve positive impact on climate, our purchases pay workers a living wage, and our financial expectations refrain from driving others into poverty.
Perhaps living lightly on the planet, and doing our bit to reduce crises, enables us to indulge ourselves occasionally? My own attempts involve farming organically, growing most of our food, regenerating wetlands and native bush, trapping predators, and trying to purchase/use the planets resources with care. It’s certainly not perfect, evolving as knowledge grows. I look back and see how far we’ve come. I look forward and see how far we have to go.
The Great O.E; indulgence or earned?
The answer is both the one and the other. The challenge of the Great OE will be to minimize the impact, and support other’s efforts to raise the bar. Using public transport, travelling lightly, eating guilt-free, and avoiding throwaways may be inconvenient, but these are positive choices.
And for the struggling folk living with 40 minutes of my home? Ensuring my Foodbank Project contributions continue whilst I am away won’t resolve everything, but it’s responsible choice, just as the car buyer may choose to donate his fuel savings.
Eight days until the Great OE; here I come!
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