Coping with the loss of a former way of life

"Sustainability is the capacity to endure." I wish I could take credit for that one, but I got it from Wikipedia.

I know that reading the news these days can be pretty depressing - natural disasters, climate change, the energy crisishomelessness, joblessness, hopelessness - but it's awfully bleak to think that enduring is the best we can do. Isn't it? Or, perhaps this sign of collective despair could actually be viewed as a form of progress. Let me explain.

The Kubler-Ross model, which was first introduced by psychiatrist Elizabeth Kubler-Ross in her 1969 book On Death and Dying, describes five common stages that people experience in the process of dealing with grief caused by catastrophic loss:

1.denial;2.anger;3.bargaining;4.depression;and finally 5.acceptance

Admittedly, the death metaphor is a bit macabre, but I would argue that it is not entirely irrelevant to the topics of Sustainability and Sustainable Development.

If the message of Sustainable Development is that much of what we thought we knew about how to live our lives actually don't work in the long term, then it's natural to experience a sense of lossa mourning of our former way of life. It's also natural that people should cope with this differently. For example, there are definitely still those who deny the realities of climate change, environmental destruction, and resource scarcity. You know who you are. YupStage 1.

According to the model, this temporary defense mechanism is followed by a heightened awareness of the situation at hand, often characterized by anger, misplaced rage, and a desire to place blame. [SUVs, George Bush, China, etc.] Next comes bargaining, an irrational hope that the inevitable might be postponed in exchange for a reformed lifestyle. [This makes me think of carbon offsets, but that might just be me.] With Stage 4 comes a feeling that the problems are insurmountable, so why bother trying? [Sometimes this is where I find myself.] But the good news is that this apathetic cynicism, if we're lucky, can be replaced by Stage 5, an acceptance of reality and a plan of action for confronting it.

If Wikipedia is a barometer for some sort of collective sentiment [which is, admittedly, a big ifbut just roll with it, okay?] then maybe defining Sustainability as "a capacity to endure" is a sign that we have arrived at Stage 5 and are ready to do something about it.

As this is my first post as a writer for Justmeans, I'd like to introduce myself, give you a sense of where I'm coming from, and explain what I'm trying to do.

I am an architect by training; I graduated last year from MIT with a Master's in design, an interest in environmental issues, and a portfolio of projects that take a critical stance towards Sustainability, Eco-speak, and Greenwashing. I believe that environmental issues are something we no longer have the luxury to ignore, but I am skeptical of Sustainability, a mantra which often sounds good but doesn't always mean much.

Before moving to the city of Boston, I lived in an organic farming community in rural Wisconsin where I didn't eat anything unless I knew who grew/killed/made it, and put a lot of effort into minimizing my carbon footprint. These days, I spend virtually all of my free time rock climbing, a pursuit that gives me a reason to visit some of the most remote, beautiful, and pristine places on earth and to be committed to maintaining them as such.

In writing for Justmeans, it is my intention to inject a bit of criticality [and also some irony, if you'll allow me] into the ongoing conversation about Sustainable Development and Green Building - to look carefully at specific case studies in an effort to understand how sustainable they really are and what, if any, general principles can be drawn from them. I look forward to your input along the wayas we all try to figure out what to do after Stage 5.