Is self sufficiency sustainability?

[big brown horse]

Hey Noobie!!

And Bee, I am totally jealous!!!!

Yes, FarmFresh, that was a wonderful post!!

 

[ohiofarmgirl]

Buster i think he only visits when you are here... so either he's your doppelganger or he just follows you around???

hows THAT for a conspiracy?

either way i'm going back outside - we are wasting our time butchering turkeys we raised ourselves.

 

[bibliophile birds]

1) To be "self-sufficient," on this forum, doesn't really have that much to do with actual self sufficiency, where one would have the ability to live without outside aid or input of any kind. It simply means trying or actually being able to do some stuff for yourself, but not necessarily all stuff. The amount of stuff you can do for yourself isn't really as important as the effort when it comes to being considered an SS'er.

4) Nobody on this forum believes that actual self-sufficiency...in the strictest sense of the phrase where a person wouldn't need any outside aid or input...is attainable -- or even desirable, apparently -- and as such, nobody actually strives toward that goal

i would agree with both those points. to use the example someone brought up, indigenous, so-called "primitive," peoples are about as self-sufficient as anyone can be. they didn't do it alone- they had communities of people working together in a mostly perfect sustainable way. they traded with others for what they couldn't provide for themselves. it was networks of mostly self-sufficient individuals creating a sustainable larger community. as i said, humans aren't solitary creatures, so anything that requires us to live against our basic natures (that of culture) isn't a goal that should be pursued, especially since it is, as you have pointed out, a fallacy.

more to the point, living as a hermit is completely unsustainable. i mean, sustainability doesn't just mean that the way you consume things is sustainable, but that your population is sustainable. if we all go out and start living as hermits, the human race won't be long for this world. and that's about as unsustainable and inefficient as i can imagine.

 

[big brown horse]

Buster i think he only visits when you are here... so either he's your doppelganger or he just follows you around???

hows THAT for a conspiracy?

either way i'm going back outside - we are wasting our time butchering turkeys we raised ourselves.

Why would you do that when you could just buy McNuggets?

 

[DrakeMaiden]

3) Even though having to purchase things and requiring input from outside sources is totally OK under many circumstances, having a job that pays for everything you need doesn't make you self sufficient. You have to do some stuff for yourself. Working at the aforementioned job and making enough money to pay other people to do things you need done doesn't really count.

No it doesn't count to have a job and pay someone to do your bidding. You actually have to get your hands dirty, your back sore, break a sweat, and make-do with materials that are less-than-perfectly-brand-new. You have to use your creativity to get where you want to go without shelling out a lot of money. That is what makes it fun, believe it or not.

 

[Buster]

i mean, sustainability doesn't just mean that the way you consume things is sustainable, but that your population is sustainable.

I'm not sure I see it that way. Sustainability to me means sustainability of the planet, not our species.

Seems to me that would be much easier to accomplish without a big dumb ape like us around to muck it up.

 

[bibliophile birds]

i mean, sustainability doesn't just mean that the way you consume things is sustainable, but that your population is sustainable.

I'm not sure I see it that way. Sustainability to me means sustainability of the planet, not our species.

Seems to me that would be much easier to accomplish without a big dumb ape like us around to muck it up.

arguably, yes... the planet would probably get along a lot better without our little human experiment. but that isn't in our best interests, now is it. i think the key is to find the balance. a sustainable population should benefit the land it inhabits, through conscientious management as well as through regulating itself.

i mean, if we're living wholly off the land, we need another generation just so that we have someone to look after us at the end and to continue the good work we've started. otherwise, when we drop dead in our paddocks, our poor beasties are going to go hungry!

 

[Buster]

Buster i think he only visits when you are here... so either he's your doppelganger or he just follows you around???

My groupie.

We have had good conversations on several of Nifty's board, actually, most of them quite productive.

 

[ohiofarmgirl]

Buster i think he only visits when you are here... so either he's your doppelganger or he just follows you around???

My groupie.

We have had good conversations on several of Nifty's board, actually, most of them quite productive.

your own groupie!?!? whoot! good for you!

actually i was thinking about you today - we processed some of our turks (3 huge toms) and since you are my favorite battle-axe-wielding-turkey-guy (now that Turkey Steve is gone....)... i looked up some of your tips. we ended up using a hybrid of some of your ideas... but not the battle axe.

ohmigosh.... am I your groupie now!??!??!?! can i get a tshirt or something?

 

[big brown horse]

Buster i think he only visits when you are here... so either he's your doppelganger or he just follows you around???

My groupie.

We have had good conversations on several of Nifty's board, actually, most of them quite productive.

your own groupie!?!? whoot! good for you!

actually i was thinking about you today - we processed some of our turks (3 huge toms) and since you are my favorite battle-axe-wielding-turkey-guy (now that Turkey Steve is gone....)... i looked up some of your tips. we ended up using a hybrid of some of your ideas... but not the battle axe.

ohmigosh.... am I your groupie now!??!??!?! can i get a tshirt or something?

"Buster's Munsters" ?