by Tao Oliveto, Carrboro, NC

Wait a minute! I am unsettled by the sound of a common refrain that I’m hearing coast to coast. It rings of good intentions, an element of surrender and the faint background hum of fear. That is, the plan to buy some land and build a “green/sustainable” house and be more, you know, “self-sufficient”. I listen to these friends and neighbors with interest and sometimes envy. But, after hearing this familiar idea in increasing numbers, I had to take pause.

We’ve all been there. It sounds so easy, neat, clean and safe, doesn’t it? Just get the hell out of dodge, (ie: the hectic and crowded city), buy up a few cheap rural acres, take the animals/kids, grow some vegetables, raise a few chickens, get a few solar panels, a couple rain barrels and you’re set. In theory, this sounds like a responsible, self-sacrificing, green-minded decision. I know because I’ve entertained such fantasies myself. Then I woke up.

I hate to be the one to burst the bubble, but, when in comes to eco-mindedness, this plan has several major flaws. First, a few acres of land per family is a damn big footprint - there are not nearly enough rural land to go around for all these brave souls, willing to rough it on their own. Second, when people started buying up acres and putting houses there, it used to be called “suburbs” - widespread neighborhoods followed by roads, gas stations and strip malls. Thirdly, unless you’ve really thought through the idea of self-sufficiency, you’ve now added a lot of miles and carbon emissions between you and your work, schools and the rest of good ole’ civilization. What resources and emissions may be saved or reduced by investing in being supposedly off the grid, may be lost in commuting miles. So much for sustainability.

Getting away from it all, part or full time, sounds attractive but with the current and growing population, it only compounds the problems for the environment. We’ve already seen these issues materialize in all the people owning second or vacation homes, cabins, lake and mountain properties, an indulgence that, including travel, more than doubles each individual footprint.

Maybe you are the solitary type, but pulling yourself out of neighborhoods may not be quite the ideal you imagined. The local farmers who do it are exceptional people who have chosen not just to get away, but to serve the surrounding communities. The rest of us, like it or not, thrive on productive, stimulating and intellectually challenging jobs, connections and experience that exist within a thriving community. And most of us want easy access to movies, restaurants and other conveniences.

David Henry Thoreau, said “Large or small, cities, especially done in a common sense, ecologically-minded way, serve people and the environment well.”

We can reinvent city life by working together to have less roads, less noise and pollution through small living and shared accessible big spaces. Co-housing communities or mixed use communities provide convenience integrated with nature. We can have food-producing gardens and we can get off the grid. But self-sufficiency is a misnomer, especially when applied to one person or family at a time. It takes a village to build a more sustainable and healthy life for more people. We are already home.