The Global Cookie Jar

by Chuck Hall

I grew up on a farm in rural Upstate South Carolina in the late 1960s. I remember the chores around the farm, but more importantly I remember the connection with nature I developed from living in the country. I’ve watched my children grow up in a suburban existence and sometimes I wonder what they may have missed out on. When I was a child I played in the woods. Nowadays it takes an act of Congress to get the kids away from the Playstation. What would it take to reconnect the latest generation with nature?

Growing up as I did, I don’t remember a time when I wasn’t interested in sustainable living. When you live on a farm it is a necessary way of life. You learn to take care of the land. Water conservation is a habit because you don’t want the well to run dry. Energy conservation is a habit because you don’t want any surprises on the power bill. You don’t throw anything away if there is a possibility of fixing it. In short, you learn to be conservative with resources.

Somewhere in the 1970s sustainable living came to be seen as the realm of ‘hippies,’ but I don't see taking care of the environment as the exclusive domain of people with a more liberal leaning. I know that such a lifestyle is often seen that way in America, but I think that's unfortunate. Ultimately, sustainability is about conserving resources. When you conserve resources, you save money while making sure there’s something left for future generations. What could be more conservative than that?

I'm sure you’ve heard the adage that 'if you give a man a fish he eats for a day, but if you teach a man to fish he'll eat for a lifetime.' Well, that's where we are right now as not only a nation, but as a global community as well. It’s simple, really. If we keep eating all the cookies without putting anything back into the cookie jar, eventually we’re going to run out of cookies.

If we are to survive on the Earth, we will have to start putting the cookies back. I think we have to learn not to define ourselves by how much stuff we own or by how many resources we consume. I have a lot more ‘stuff’ now than I had back in my days on the farm, but it hasn’t made me any happier. In fact, when I think of happy memories, they all revolve around that farmhouse in rural Abbeville County. I can’t speak for everyone, but personally the things that make me happy aren’t ‘things.’ Hiking in the woods with the kids is a lot more fun than sitting in front of the tv all day. Picking fresh vegetables from the backyard garden is a lot more fun than standing in line at the supermarket.

Perhaps we could learn to define ourselves by what sort of people we are instead of by how much we own. I for one want to be the sort of person who isn't robbing my children of a future. I think the best way to do that is to learn to replace what we've taken from the Earth so there will be something for future generations. That's what sustainability is all about.