small is beautiful...

...or quality over quantity. McMansions, ever growing restaurant portion sizes, jumbo eggs, jumbo strawberries, big SUVs – why has bigger become better?  The earth is finite.  It is physically impossible for everyone of 7 billion people (and growing) to attain the standard of living we call the American Dream.

Something is sustainable when it self perpetuates without growing beyond its original size and without using up the principle.   In our irrational quest for ever more we are shamelessly gobbling up our principle  - natural resources, rainforest, soil (the Black Dirt here in our area) – without replenishing this precious capital.

When we begin appreciating quality over quantity we begin to shift our priorities to holistic ones.   Think small sun ripened sweet and intense tasting strawberries.  Think small eggs with deep yellow yolks, strong shells, and egg whites that don’t run, fresh from the farm.  Think  small zero energy house (the average American home was under 1000sf in the 1950s!).

 

Smaller and better oftentimes costs more than larger and of lesser quality, but there is nothing wrong with paying more for better quality - and that may mean saving somewhere else.