Sustainability science is a fancy word for old-fashioned Piney cheap living know-how!
King, I don't think Spung-Man was implying that we "suck".
Thanks Paddler. My point is that Pinelands rural lifestyles are generally less consumptive than the current unsustainable consumer-driven economic model we’re becoming accustomed to. Pineys and Down-Jerseymen (“gravel-hoppers” south of the Mullica, the other half of the Pine Barrens) are a hardy self-sufficient bunch. On a personal note, I’ve never been to a Walmart in my life preferring to purchase goods at small locally owned establishments like Richland General Store. We pick oodles of vegetables out of a big garden, fighting with pine voles all the way. I make a parsnip venison pie that will knock your socks off. Much of the furniture is refurbished second hand stuff my wife’s restored. We’re here for the long haul, revel in the local beauty, and try to respect the natural world around us.
Our family chooses to make small changes with the way we live to become better environmental stewards – while saving money in the process. Our all-electric house self-built in 1997 is very energy efficient, using water-to-water geothermal technology to drive a radiant floor heating system. Its peak heat- and cooling-load is calculated at 20,000 BTU for 2,600 square feet of living space, a direct benefit of using continuous stress-skin sheathing. Hydronics are provided by two high-efficiency heat pumps: an 800-watt unit for potable hot water and a 1,200-watt unit for central heating/cooling. It’s so cheap to run that it’s not cost-effective to fire-up the woodstove! Instead of cutting wood I hike. Building materials – oak timbers, 22-guage metal roof, and concrete Hardiplank siding to last a lifetime. Sinks, doors, and various other building materials were salvaged, another Pinelands tradition. Pineys, outnumbered but not necessarily outsmarted...