Gabrielle Gustilo

Community & Celebration

In the Midwest, the change of the seasons – and the approaching cold bite of winter - heralds the holidays. For most cultures, the end of one year and the beginning of the next is a time to spend in community. Whether with family and friends, in church or school pageants,

Vote Susty

Mindset of Change "Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself." Leo Tolstoy Love it or hate it, the United States is built on the backbone of capitalism, defined as "an economic and political system in which a country's trade

Big Bee

Mindset of Change The bee collects honey from flowers in such a way as to do the least damage or destruction to them, and he leaves them whole, undamaged and fresh, just as he found them. St. Francis De Sales When trying to live as a responsible human on this

Carbon Offsets

Mindset of Change “We need acts of restoration, not only for polluted waters and degraded lands, but also for our relationship to the world. We need to restore honor to the way we live, so that when we walk through the world we don’t have to avert our eyes

Climate Justice

Mindset of Change If everyone in the world lived like people in the United States, we would need more than five earths to sustain our population. Our earth overshoot day is March 14th. If everyone lived like Americans, we would have completely used up all natural resources on the planet

Susty Baby

Mindset of Change “The miracle that saves the world, the realm of human affairs, from its normal, ‘natural’ ruin is ultimately the fact of natality, in which the faculty of action is ontologically rooted. It is, in other words, the birth of new [people] and the new beginning, the action

Small wins

Mindset of Change Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has. Margaret Mead, anthropologist When you start thinking about how you live your life, and you begin to adapt your lifestyle to be more

Installing Solar

Mindset of Change With the Inflation Reduction Act in 2022, the Federal government introduced Federal tax credits for installing solar panels on both residential and commercial buildings. Many states followed suit and introduced state tax credits or rebates as well. In response, solar panel providers and marketing companies have proliferated,

Fabrics

Mindset of Change "I think in the same way when I'm cooking, when I'm gardening, when I'm choosing fabrics. It's a way of living." Dries Van Noten Different fabrics are suitable for different uses and for different people. People with

State of the Global Climate 2023

Mindset of Change Today we revisit why climate action is important. Please read the World Meteorological Organization's report on the State of the Global Climate 2023. It gives an update on the state of the climate according to the most recent data. It should also give some context

Animal Tourism

Mindset of Change There are many reasons to travel - for relaxation, for a change of scene, to learn about new cultures. For nature and animal lovers, seeing and interacting with new environments, including flora and fauna, is often a draw. This type of attraction includes things like: * safaris * elephant

Green Investing

Mindset of Change One of the reasons taking climate action feels so hard for us as individuals is that the systems we live in weren't developed with the environment in mind. That is to say, the world's systems – of food and energy production, transportation, goods and

Composting

Mindset of Change Most people probably know what composting is: the practice of decomposing organic scraps from your kitchen or backyard and using it as fertilizer. However, you are probably less aware of why it matters so much for the climate...and also our health. Why composting matters for the

Taking Public Transportation

Mindset of Change I was recently in Japan, and like many others before me, marveled at the incredible complexity and efficiency of Japan's public transportation system. Let me give a brief synopsis. 1. No single business entity, nor the government, maintains or derives revenues from all the train,

Energy Usage

Mindset of Change "What good is power when you're too wise to use it?" Ursula K. Le Guin, A Wizard of Earthsea In the US in 2022, residential energy use accounted for 38.4% of total retail electricity sold, a larger percent than commercial energy use.

Green Banking

Mindset of Change The importance of money flows from it being a link between the present and the future. John Maynard Keynes It is an unfortunate truth that, if you have never tried to avoid funding fossil fuels, you almost certainly are. "When you drop money in the bank,

Reading Online vs In Email

When you receive posts, and you're ready to read them, please click the link at the top of the post and read it on the website instead. This way you will get the latest version. So when I started writing this, I intended it to 'go public&

Behavior Change & Carbon Accounting

Scientists have put a lot of effort into quantifying the amount of greenhouses gases we can safely add to the atmosphere. It is a negative amount at this point. We have already warmed the planet. According to the National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA): "The combined land and ocean

(Eat less) Meat

Mindset of Change "Understand, when you eat meat, that something did die. You have an obligation to value it - not just the sirloin but also all those wonderful tough little bits." Anthony Bourdain Meat fundamentally requires the taking of a life - that of a fish, mammal,

Habit vs Impact

I was talking to a friend recently about sustainability and climate action. She told me she cuts her sponges in half, primarily to save money but also to help the environment. This got me thinking about the importance of habit in relation to impact. Does cutting a sponge in half

Buy Less Stuff

Mindset of Change It's not really so easy to just 'buy less stuff.' There are whole companies whose entire purpose is to get you to buy more. The advertising industry is the prime suspect, but there's also the marketing agencies and psychology groups who

Energy Sources

Mindset of Change Where does energy come from? When you turn on the lights or cook a meal, where does the power originate? In most cases, at least in most homes in the US, we're talking about electricity and natural gas. In the US, energy comes primarily from

Lusty & Susty

The purpose of this site is to help people figure out how to live well as a responsible human on this planet. I can't say that I've got it all figured out, but I have thought about it quite a lot. And I've landed

Most Impactful Climate Actions

Any action is better than no action, but there are choices that matter a lot more than others. For those who just want the hard hitters, here's your short list. 1. Use renewable energy. For most people, this means signing up for community solar (arcadia.com) or other

Mindset of Change

So, change is hard, and building habits takes time. If we're going to be in it for the long haul, it has to be fun and it can't be too stressful. So, with that in mind, we are going to implement a little ritual. This ritual

So you want to live more sustainably, huh?

Great! Me too. You've come to the right place. On this site I've pulled together notes and research from my own journey trying to live a more sust(ainabl)y lusty life. Just a few notes before you start looking around: 1. Be kind to yourself.