I have been staying with my grandma the past week and it has made me question what generation is the most sustainable. Hers or mine? I am going to go ahead and already count my parent’s generation as being less sustainable. My grandma may not care about organic foods or products being green but there are many aspects of her life that are more sustainable than mine.
First and foremost, she doesn’t own a computer, this to me seems more sustainable than my family, which owns two computers, a Kindle Fire and a smartphone. She watches a lot of TV but computers are very resource intensive and the materials used to make them are definitely not environmentally friendly. She has never owned a computer and never will, while I have already gone through two computers (one was stolen and one died). This living situation isn’t unique; my paternal grandma has had the same experience.
I also noticed that almost everything in her house has been there since I can remember (the furniture, carpet, etc.). The only item that has changed is the TV. When looking closer I notice that most items in her house are made in the USA. Buying American-made products in the USA is a big deal, at least to me, and to my Grandma as well. Almost all of her pots and dishes have the “Made in the USA” stamp. These are the same dishes and pots she has been using since I was a kid, if not before. That to me signifies something. I feel like while my generation is trying to be more sustainable by buying green products, they want new products all the time, so they don’t use items as long as previous generations. Some of this I think has to do with my grandma living through the Great Depression. My grandma does not just throw things away on a whim or buy something new with no reason. Such as something being broken beyond repair. While my generation and even my parent’s generation will by something new because it is easier than dealing with an older product.
I guess what I am trying to say is that we need to look to our older generations that are still around to learn how they are sustainable, even if they don’t use that word as a way of living. They have knowledge we need to combine with our knowledge on sustainable ways. If we don’t consult with them we may never be able to be fully sustainable.
