The word ‘lifestyles’ is tied up with ways of living and the conditions of life. The former relates to personal choices and the latter to socio-cultural context. For the climate crisis, it has become clear that both need to be transformed radically within a short span of time if we are to have any hope of achieving 2 degrees of warming, let alone 1.5 degrees.
To focus on ways of living is to charge individuals with changing their patterns of consumption, making choices around travel, food and patterns of shopping that are deliberate and thoughtful with regard to one’s personal footprint. Greta Thurnberg has been an inspiration in this regard, by refusing to fly, being frugal in her shopping for food and clothing, among other commodities.
The LIFESTYLES group analysed and discussed different modes of living and working together in an environmentally sustainable fashion. Acting alone ethically, ecologically, and politically to change our individual ways of life and yet acting together in cross-border cooperation for a bigger planetary purpose is a key idea that the group developed during the ‘More World’ Conference.
We also realised that the conditions of life cannot be challenged directly but can be disturbed through irony, humour and other ways of expressing shame. Different contexts require different approaches and involvement in different ways, different audiences require different communication tools and messages. Three different projects with a single purpose were developed.
adbusters
Can we bust ads by transforming their own messages? Here are some examples, now create your own.
Marketing and advertising play pivotal roles in shaping societal values and aspirations. But what if they are lying most of the time?
Versace has an E” rating, the lowest possible sustainability score at Rank a Brand, based on the themes of environment, climate, labor issues, and transparency.
What is your trigger?
Gosia: The lifestyle change I have made was that I am vegan for 19 years.
What triggered this change?
It was a challenge between me and a friend. I was already a vegetarian because of ethical reasons and I wanted to try to go deeper. My choice was assured when I’ve started working for 350.org and I learned about impact of meat industry on climate change.
What is my next big challenge?
Since two years I am trying not to buy brand new clothes. I trade items I already have, or I buy only second hand one.
Chella: The lifestyle change I have made was that don’t use a car anymore.
What triggered this change?
I moved from LA to Bangalore and then to New York. I didn’t need a car in New York and that helped me make the decision quite easily. But I had also learned by then that my ecological footprint and carbon emissions from transportation were too high. By the time I moved to Boston and then to Chennai, where I could have justified buying a personal vehicle (even an electric car), I realised that I was happier with my lifestyle change – no need to worry about insurance, maintenance or parking, fewer expenses and more exercise on my bicycle.
I still have a high carbon footprint from transportation because I make at least one international trip a year and several trips within India (both for work). Flying is very carbon intensive compared to rail but I will have to find alternatives, such as video conferencing, which may improve vastly in quality with new technologies such as augmented reality.
Even if we all know that the biggest problem when it comes to food carbon footprint is meat, there are other importnant issues like food transportation effects on climate. I looked at a mango and imagined how far was the travel for that fruit to arrive on the local Belarusian market, how much energy, efforts, logistics were involved in that process.
Inga: The lifestyle change I have made was that I do not buy imported food.
What triggered this change?
I buy local food predominantly – vegetables, fruits and berries. Buying local food reduces greenhouse gas emissions and my carbon footprint. I didn’t have any trigger point to refuse from imported, I just decided to switch to more conscious life. You know, when I’m looking at a mango I imagine how far was the travel for this fruit to arrive on the local Belarusian market, how much energy, efforts, logistics were involved in that process. This mango have to be so tired to travel so far. Then I also think if my need or most often ego-driven desire to eat it for my pleasure or more varied diet is more important than life on the planet in general, I just do not want to be involved in support of such complicated and harmful food chains that affect my home planet in such a dramatic way. Conscious consumption for me is not something I have to do, it’s a switch from automatic lifestyle patterns to respect and love towards life in its all forms.
I challenge us to take a minute to think about the travel stories of the goods before putting them in a shopping basket
What is my next big challenge?
Consume less and consume based on real needs not on ego-driven desires
If you feel responsible for what’s happening to our planet and the impact you have on it – it’s not enough to say sorry. Neither to the future generations, nor to our environment.
So, we challenge you to take up a lifestyle change – tell us about it via your instagram story, use our AR effect and challenge your friends to join you.
The planet needs our action now!
Image Credits: All images were taken by the participants at the MORE WORLD conference, Screenshots of AdBusters, Instragram and Versace.
PARTICIPANTS of the Lifestyles-Workshop at the MORE WORLD conference were: Riho Matsuda (Instagram: wiwo0123) Gosia Jagiello: (@even_insects_play_together) Sudhir Chella Rajan(Instagram: laservisor / @iatetweet) Inga Lindarenka (@kengrid) Masa Matsuda (@mshdmtd) Koji Takahashi @tkhs1968) Cristina Pombo (Instagram: pomby77 / @cristinalpombo) Andrei Bulearcă (Instagram: andreibulearca) Darja Medic (Instagram: d4rm4r / FB: darija.di.medici) Natalia Skoczylas (@motwistgirl) Claudia Nunez (@nunezcla) Beata Wilczek (Instagram: beatawilczek)