we like to stay home. to potter in the garden, nose through books, immerse ourse…

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we like to stay home. to potter in the garden, nose through books, immerse ourselves in the project of making the household, the smallhold, resilient. we work from home, we even homeschooled all our children’s lives, though that’s more about community and attachment than actually staying home. we like those quiet pursuits that home embodies so well, to write, read, draw, to sow, prune, propagate, to knit, spin, sew, to design and build, to mend and repair, to harvest and cook, to mill, knead, bake. to have friends round to share slow meals, long walks. to dance in the kitchen, watch films in bed. to doze by the fire in winter, the orchard in summer. we like a slow pace, though it’s elusive. when we go away we miss the cat, ducks, chickens, goats. we thrive here. well, it turns out that more of us staying home is also just what the planet needs now.
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in this part of the world we could easily handle slowing down to a speed our grandparents knew. there’s a good chance they were not deprived by the pace of life a few decades ago. there’s a good chance they had more joy, less debt, less stuff, more time. for many people here, less was more. connecting with our own communities, working less, buying less, giving time to the work that is needed by our most vulnerable members, it’s a good place to start. we need to make certain that everyone has a home, for one thing.
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for this little island, our carbon bank is the temperate rainforest. were it to go up in flames our emissions would multiply by an order of magnitude, so protecting it is critical work. but as far as the carbon we are already burning, most greenhouse gas emissions are from transportation. it is almost all for getting about. there’s rather a simple solution to that, and it is to stay home more. to work a shorter week, combine errands, carpool, choose local, do a little less. walk, cycle, take a bus. to treat travel by airplane or ship as profoundly precious and rare. given this emergency, thinking of ourselves as requiring a vacation far from home is problematic. yet when we consider the real limits of our carbon budget, suddenly staying home and living more simply seems like a fine remedy.

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Y Not Freakin’ Recyclable Home