10.11.18

Christopher Nyerges
ON URBAN SUSTAINABILITY
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 10
to encourage millions of people to consume less water. With water usage averaging
about 131 gallons a day for Los Angeles residents, and population growth of about 5
percent a year, water must always be a concern, as it will always be for most major
cities of the world.
The mayor of Los Angeles and city officials are encouraging people to tear out their
lawns and install drought-tolerant plants. I encourage people to go even one step further:
Learn about the wild plants which are edible and medicinal, and encourage their
growth. And never merely plant “ornamentals,” that is plants that do not provide food,
medicine or good mulch from their leaves. Plant with the purpose of feeding your body
and soul.
To help irrigate these useful plants, I’m a big proponent of grey-water recycling in
which your sink and washing machine water are piped into your backyard garden or
front yard orchard. Not every city dweller can do this, but enough can to make a large
difference. Other changes are essential, such as buying soaps that do not contain dyes,
colors or harmful chemicals. Continuing education is also a big part of self-reliance
and sustainability. Recycling your grey-water means that you are getting at least two
uses from something that previously gave you only one. Practically speaking, for every
gallon of water you recycle, you have effectively created another gallon of water for
your use which does not have to be imported from somewhere else!
With the population of Southern California continually growing, there is the
increasing need for more food and more water. Unfortunately, this means even more
land will be paved over for more houses or apartments. Thus, the very soil which all
ancient civilizations knew was the foundation of a healthy society becomes more and
more rare. This should not be the case, even though it seems all but inevitable.
Our very lifeblood is dependent on the soil in so many ways: Water, food, everything.
However, urban people need to relearn these very basic ecological principles.
Our very laws and attitudes — especially in the more “developed” countries — work
against our long-term sustainability.
URBAN SUSTAINABILITY
Here in Southern California, a green lawn is still the norm in the sprawling suburban
flatlands. Never-ending flows of water (from somewhere) is the expectation. The
mindset must be turned around, and it will begin with enlightened individuals who
see that inappropriate lifestyles in an overpopulated dry terrain are the antithesis
of survival. As attitudes change, the laws of the land need to support the water-wise
practices that support sustainability.
As a lifelong educator in the uses of common wild plants, I cringe when I see television
advertisements for such products as Roundup and other weed killers designed to
eliminate unwanted vegetation from urban gardens and landscapes.
To me, a student of wild plants and things growing in faraway and neglected places,
using a chemical like Roundup to “clean up” a wild area is a sacrilege. Further, bankers
and land investors do not necessarily see the land as a source of life, recreation,
fulfillment and community. Rather, increasingly the desire is to extract the greatest
financial benefit from the land. Land that has nothing built upon it is all too often
described as “non-performing real estate.” That is the mentality which has caused the
urban sprawl to spread even further, while diminishing the very sustainability from
the land that we all need.
“Engineering” the city should not be simply building ever-more structures on the
diminishing landscape. We should be re-engineering our thinking so we can get more
from less, in ways that are both healthful and ecological.
THE QUIET REVOLUTION
I am a pioneer of the path of the green and sustainable revolution. You won’t find
me protesting in the streets for changes, but you might find me in a city council meeting,
or in a garden, or in a wilderness area. I work with people one at a time. I have
found that once an individual sees that the so-called weeds in an empty field are
actually great nutritious food or medicine, they suddenly take a very personal interest
in protecting and taking care of the land. Once individuals learn that the water from
their households can water their own garden and herb patch, they become quite alert
and aware of the quality of any soaps they are using, and they begin to use only those
that are biodegradable, as a result of enlightened self-interest. Suddenly, living an ecological
urban life becomes very personal.
There are many ways to attain urban sustainability. This is the path that I have
chosen. ■
Christopher Nyerges works to engineer a new mindset that says we can live ecologically (and
economically) in the city. He has taught self-reliance and sustainability his entire life through
the teaching of ethnobotany and principles of permaculture. Nyerges is the author of 23 books,
including “Self-Suffi cient Home: Going Green and Saving Money,” “Extreme Simplicity: Homesteading
in the City” and “How to Survive Anywhere.” He is the co-founder of the School of
Self-Reliance and works actively with various nonprofi ts to help them attain their goals of urban
sustainability.
10.11.18 | PASADENA WEEKLY 13