Simple living as applicable to environmental sustenance and protection would mean that we adopt a life style that causes least damage to the environment. At the core of it lies a lifestyle that fosters the concept of live and let live principle. We, the people, live and let the environment also live. Living doesn't mean just surviving or sustaining. It does mean that one enjoys life to its fullest while making allowances to the natural habitats to thrive and grow as well. It is a concept where man lives in harmony with nature.
Does simple living mean that we need to live a miserable life in the jungles or an austere life of a saint? Of course not. At the same time it does mean that we should not live a lavish life that squanders and destroys the environment around us.
We don't have to eat everything that is possible to be eaten on this planet. It is necessary to limit ourselves to food items that can be grown or obtained in a sustainable manner. This will mean that we eat and enjoy dairy products, agricultural products and products from poultry. This will mean that we stop killing animals on land, air and sea which grow in their natural habitats to satisfy our hunger. It also requires us to prefer and limit our choices to locally available food to a large extent. One critical question to ask is, will we sacrifice a whole lot in life if we adhere to this principle? I think not.
All of us need homes. Here again we can make the choices for the size of the houses and what facilities we would need. Smaller the house is, lesser is the strain on the environment. It does mean avoiding lawns and private swimming pools. It does mean preferring more plants and tress in the open spaces around the house. It does mean borrowing ideas from other societies or countries and adopting suitably to the local environment. Also the building materials and techniques selected are to be more suited to the local conditions. The entire construction needs to be such that it consumes as low energy as possible through the year to sail through the seasons. Emphasis on natural ventilation, lighting, and a wide variety of local trees and plants makes the houses sustainable. Keeping the furniture in the house to the minimum adds to environmental sustenance.
We do need good clothes. Limiting ourselves to the necessary ones does help the environment. Similar choices need to be made for entertainment. Entertainment that consumes less overall energy and the ones that don't disturb natural habitats are to be definitely preferred over others.
We need to engage ourselves in creative activities. Those creative activities which enhances our skill, knowledge and lightens our body and soul are to be sought after in place of those that are intrusive to the ecology. Need to think twice before taking up car/motor cycle racing, montaineering, scuba-diving, skiing, etc.
Are there indicators that help us measure simplicity in life? Are there indicators to measure our environmental impact? Yes there are. One possibility is to use the the economic indicators themselves but in the reverse way! The amount of money that we need to lead a healthy and fruitful life is a measure of simplicity in life. The lower the money that we require the simpler we are. What about the environmental angle? The lesser energy that we consume the better for the environment. In majority of the cases the cost of the product is higher when high energy has been consumed during its manufacturing. Thus lower the cost of the product, lower is the overall energy consumed.
The move towards simplicity in life does call for being less greedy in life. It does call for moving away from consumerism. The reward we get for choosing simple lifestyles is that we get to live in a rich environment which we can proudly present to our future generations.
