I think Stephanie Brail is on to something with her Natural New.com article entitled Voluntary Simplicity: Good for You, Good for the Environment when she said “…a person who is practicing voluntary simplicity may give up a large, expensive “McMansion” to move into a smaller home that needs less energy to heat in the winter and cool down in the summer.” She defines the philosophy of voluntary simplicity as “downshift(ing) from a high-pressure, high-cost lifestyle to one that is more spiritual, humble, and less materialistic.”
Queen Anne and Magnolia residents just received a flyer from Seattle City Light saying they want us to partner with them to help our neighborhoods conserve energy by passing out light bulbs. Neighborhood Power Project (NPP) It sounds like a good idea.
Maybe SCL should also consider partnering with developers and realtors to design and sell smaller, more efficient single family homes. A couple of light bulbs isn’t going to do much for my new McMansion neighbor with four bathrooms, three gas fireplaces, and a hot tub. We could all benefit by practicing a little voluntary simplicity.
