Medium Low

I recently noticed that my favorite beer, Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, no longer comes in bottles with twist-off caps. The author of one of my favorite blogs, Salon's How the World Works, has also noticed this fact and has written about it. My initial reaction was that his discussion of the symbolism of the change was way over the top. In spite of that, his premise that in an era of increasing environmental degradation and limited resources it may be impossible to maintain our accustomed level of convenience and luxury is an important message. In an earlier post to Medium Low I examined the way that terms such as "green" and "sustainable" are used to rationalize our continuing consumption. I think a better and, dare I say it, more sustainable paradigm is to accept the fact that all of our decisions have an impact on the world. Rather than looking at one choice as being more "green" than another we should acknowledge that any choice consumes resources and limits us in some way. Choosing to live in a big suburban house is fine, but if you make that choice then don't complain about traffic jams because your decision just made them worse. In Orion Curtis White examines these issues. He makes a strong argument that the current manifestation of environmentalism is simply another facet of our free market, consumption-based culture which views nature as a commodity. The capitalist system is so deeply entrenched that despite our good intentions we're unable to perceive an alternate point of view. I don't believe that the spiritual view of the world and our place in it that White propounds is the answer, or at least not the complete answer, either. However, it is clear to me that we should be thinking about models for society that do not rely on continual growth and I believe that articles such as these provide a framework for the discussion. If only they were read by more than a handful of prosperous, well-educated liberals.