It's been downhill from Copenhagen

Question

it's been so hard to walk the talk. sustainability reminds me a bit of autarky, but hopefully it will not be discredited by the failed and cosmetic attempts individuals and organizations make because sustainability is trendy. sure, software can help, but it can also get in the way as too much reliance is put on rational and analytical and keeping us away from good old common sense. but maybe we expect too much from it and it will take many missteps before we can achieve the laudable goal, but i don't even know how start at home...ok i will turn air conditioning off tonight, but i can't promise that i will keep it off tomorrow

Answer 1

Bob,
I couldn't leave your elaborate comment unanswered, so let me weave my thoughts into your statements so we continue the thread:
The difficulty with any change is, pun intended, sustaining that change. After any promising start a project can stagnate. This causes a certain amount of pessimism to set in. But it's normal for any program, project or initiative to experience set-backs and attention slipping away.
more than stagnate, the project will resume under a new banner. so, the cycle of life will continue, in a way repeating the old but still anew. initiative by definition is only the starting point.
The difference between success and failure has to do with your attitude and your peristence. You have to rely on your own motives and motivation. The inspiring stories about most of our heroes always show them continuing on with their quests despite the opinions or resistance of others. I'm not asking you to be Gandi, I am just asking you to be great and all great people have to work through discouragement.
persistence is fine, but it also brings a lot perspiration and despair when things don't progress as originally planned. for one Gandhi there are thousands (millions?) unnamed who have paved the way for that one individual to succeed. i like to think of Steve Wozniak who stepped aside when the other Steve charged full speed ahead.
There continue to be successes realized with sustainability and remember those as you work to be an influence for change. The technology helps track and report on those changes, which might otherwise go unnoticed.
carbon tax is stuck in the US of A, i hear airlines have 85% "free" carbon credits, so the political game continues. for SAP, this is only another unit of measure as i'm sure the company doesn't want to be responsible for the data it is processing.
Don't think of approaching sustainability as merely some form of denial - like most people think of dieting as merely denying themselves food. That is how promising starts fade and fizzle. Sustainability is a frame of reference, an attitude, way of living.
i agree, it can be more than denial and become a way of life. beyond the single initiative, there has to be a change of mind and internalization of the attitude. i think threads like this only help staying positive and having positive outlook.
Think of the positive choices you make and how those choices make a difference. Say all you do is ride your bike, even just for recreation, you are expending your own energy instead of connected to the power grid for television or surfing the web on your computer. Changing your frame of reference can make all the difference in the difference you start making in the world.
biking is a bit of a problem for me as the roads here are not adjusted to non-car traffic participants, but there are other ways like good old walk if i could only cut down on the commute.
There is a song with the lyrics "When you're smiling the whole world smiles with you.." Keep smiling and keep working at it. Change will come.
smile yes, but grimace no, it has to come from within, but i appreciate your encouragement as i didn't expect anyone to pick up on my skepticism, so now i have to eat my own words. now on to walking behind the lawn mower.
rgds, gm