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Sustainable Living
25 January 2007
by Mike Lowe
 Our family has never had a dishwashing machine, and when we moved into our new house just after Christmas it was one of the things I was looking forward to installing. (Particulary because I often feel that I am the family dishwasher).
Now, I am not so sure. First because at present we don't have anywhere in our kitchen to put a dishwasher. But more importantly because we have a national water shortage and dishwhashing machines use a lot of water.
Since we got here we have been conscious of trying to live sustainably. I was challenged by Bishop Brownings speech at the "Australia as neighbour" conference where he spoke about living in such a way that it does not negatively impact our grandchildren's lives. We try to save water from our showers and hand-washing to put on the garden, and to keep our energy use to a minimum. One of the first things I did on getting into our house was to put down thick insulation in the roof. This will mean we can survive the hot weather without installing air-conditioning.
So I think I will tell our kids that we are not going to buy a dishwashing machine because we are thinking of their future and their children's future.
And then I will ask them to wash the dishes.
Mike Lowe is the editor of the global website of Initiatives of Change. His varied career has included teaching English in Poland, running training programs for young leaders in Eastern Europe ( www.f-4-f.org), working in psychiatric hospitals and developing a 'Discover the Other' program. He currently lives in Melbourne Australia. |
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