seriously, if people are still looking for an answer to that question the world is in a lot of trouble than we realise. in our view that is at least part of the issue: waiting for others to do something before we get our own act together may seem like a rational course of action (especially according to certain political circles) but we believe that’s not only irresponsible and incredibly stupid, but also economically irrational: the later any problem is addressed, the more expensive the corrective action will be. that is true in business and even more so in real life (ie when one removes all the unrealistic assumptions and constraints that underpin orthodox economic thinking).
our sense is that at this point we are told that we must prop up an ultimately unsustainable economic model (accounting scholar rob gray for one has a lot to say about this) because we can either continue the path we have been on for the last 200 years or climb back up the trees. kris, nat & i, however, think that isn’t the only way forward, and that we can make changes to the way we live.
can our own tiny actions and choices really matter? by themselves – no. but at the same time we also can’t just sit on our hands and wait for our so called ‘leaders’ (i truly hate this word) to work through their focus group results and calculate what minimum action will still get them get re-elected.
we recognise that we are in a very fortunate situation. we bought a good sized bush block in tasmania with nothing on it but natural flora and fauna: the ultimate green field location, if ever there was one. now we get to do something truly special: we are about to build our new home, using the latest technology and ideas to make that house and our life within it as sustainable as possible. we have no illusions: not every choice will be ideal, not every material we use will have the least amount of embodied energy or be perfectly reusable. we also understand that most people will not ever have such an opportunity, but even an older, existing home could be retrofitted using these methods.
we are not solely focused on building a house using more sustainable materials and methods. we also want to reduce our environmental footprint long term. this means using energy from renewable sources, avoiding and reducing waste, recycling where possible, and using the space we have to grow at least some of what we consume. and we also want to try and protect the amazing natural environment we live in, like those tiny helmet orchids in the photo below.
the posts in this section will describe our journey: our plans and ideas, the designs, our choices, the reasons behind those choices and how it all comes together – or sometimes maybe not quite as planned. if it all turns out half as well as we imagine, it will be a fantastic journey and an amazing sustainable home.