Green simplicity circles help members
help the earth

By Dominique Dibbell

A fruitful collaboration
Over the past three years, the collaboration between the Sierra Club and Seeds of Simplicity has given birth to joint simplicity circles wherein environmentally minded people gather to help each other simplify so that they may help the earth.
The relationship between consumption and the environment is now well established. Every plastic bag we use, every new car we buy, every new house we build uses precious resources and pollutes. And Americans are supreme consumers. According to the Sierra Club website, the United States contains 5 percent of the world’s population but accounts for 22 percent of fossil fuel consumption, 24 percent of carbon dioxide emissions, and 33 percent of paper and plastic use.
Most Americans are unaware or unconcerned that we take up more than our share. In fact, consuming has become linked to patriotism. After the shocking events of September 11, 2001, President Bush urged Americans to rally around the economy by going out and buying things. Car manufacturers ran ads appealing to patriotic sensibilities and offering tantalizing opportunities to go into debt.
In addition to financial debt, many Americans are suffering from another kind of deficit: lack of time. Recent stories in the national news media addressed a general feeling in the country that people are being stretched beyond their limits: working long hours, driving long commutes, and not having time for the things they really enjoy: family, recreation, community.
The voluntary simplicity movement was born in direct response to these worrying developments.
Seeds of Simplicity, a national, nonprofit organization based in Los Angeles, was begun in 1996 as a resource for the public. Carol Holst is its program director. She is also a member of the Sierra Club’s national Sustainable Consumption Committee and the Angeles Chapter’s Sustainable Population and Consumption Committee.
When Holst joined the national committee in 1998, the marriage of the Sierra Club and Seeds of Simplicity became official. But it wasn’t until a few years later, when Sierra Club activist Michael Beck became involved, that the joint simplicity circles began to blossom. Beck, a longtime Sierra Club member, became involved in the voluntary simplicity movement almost immediately. For him, the connection between cutting back personally and saving the earth was evident. But it would take increasing medical distress to motivate him to truly practice what he was preaching.

Simplicity as lifesaver
Beck, 62, worked for many years as an elementary school teacher. While he loved teaching children, the job had become increasingly mired in bureaucracy, and his stress level was going through the roof. Soon he developed a host of grave health problems. In discussions with his doctors, it became clear that Beck would have to retire early or face certain rapid decline in his health or even early death.
“If I hadn’t woken up with a heart attack or a stroke one morning I would’ve gotten so sick I’d have been forced to retire and been permanently, badly disabled,” said Beck. And so, at 591/2, he retired.
Retiring early meant a significant cut in his pension. Beck saw that his lifestyle, while not opulent by American standards, would have to change dramatically. He knew he needed support in this new way of living so he joined a simplicity circle. The results were rejuvenating. “I found an even better support system than I thought I would,” said Beck.
He was so inspired by his experience that he decided to adapt Andrews’ guidelines for the circles to environmental issues, his true passion, and the joint simplicity circles, sometimes called mint-flavored, took off.
At present there are three joint simplicity circles in the Angeles Chapter and many more in development in chapters across the country.

Michael Beck, co-chair of the National Sierra Club's Sustainable Consumption Committee, and Carol Hoist, director of Seeds of Simplicity and that group's liason to the Sierra Club, at the committee's 2003 meeting in Los Angeles. -- photo courtesy of Michael Beck

A new twist on an old idea
The simplicity circles, which are based on the Swedish idea of the study circle, loosely follow the template as written by Andrews in her book. The groups are small; it is recommended that they be no larger than four to eight people. They meet in participants’ homes usually monthly for about two hours for the first 10 sessions. The sessions are organized around a series of basic life questions designed to stimulate self-examination.
The joint simplicity circles, as adapted by Beck, ask such questions as: “How can we connect our passion to the environment?” Participants reflect, discuss, then usually set a goal for the week. For example, one person may want to recycle magazines that have piled up. Another may want to take the bus instead of driving to work. When they meet again the next week they discuss their progress. The main tenet of the circles is that they are self-directing. There are no leaders and each group can tailor the specifics to meet its needs. The suggested template is just that: a suggestion. After the 10 sessions are completed the groups may disband or they may morph into another kind of study or support group, depending on the desires of the participants.

More time for activism
Simplicity circles are not activist groups per se, but they are designed to lead to activism. “I call them empowerment circles,” said Beck. “They are places where you can learn that simplicity values are shared by a lot of people. You don’t need to feel like you’re under a rock.” After a participant has been able to simplify her life through completing the 10 sessions, she will ostensibly have more time for those things that bring value to her life. For environmentalists, that may mean actively working toward saving the planet. It was certainly how it worked for Beck. Besides saving his health, another reason he retired early was so that he would have time to be environmentally active again. “I don’t think most people with jobs can actually do much environmental activism unless they’re dynamos,” said Beck.
In his pared down life, Beck has time to co-chair both the Chapter’s Sustainable Population and Consumption Committee and the national Sustainable Consumption Committee.
Another aim of the circles is to empower individuals to live more in line with their values. For Sierra Clubbers, those values often have to do with treading more lightly on the earth.
Diane Duran, a personnel trainer for the state, attends a joint simplicity circle in Fullerton. With the support of her group, she has made a number of green changes in her life, including trading in her gas guzzler for a Toyota Prius.
A vegetarian for years, through her participation in the simplicity circle she got the support she needed to take her ideals a step further. Knowing that eating and consuming lower on the food chain is an effective way to minimize one’s impact on the earth, slowly she began replacing her leather goods with vegetable-based items. “I have several fairly expensive leather handbags and I just dumped them all recently into a shopping bag and I’m going to take them to a thrift store,” said Duran. “I bought a crocheted handbag. I probably don’t look so sharp but I don’t care. It feels better inside to me. I think that’s what simplicity’s all about.”

Easygoing environmentalism
The tack of the voluntary simplicity movement, in contrast to some environmental activism, is decidedly gentle. There are no directives or requirements in the simplicity circles. Participants move in their own way at their own pace. “You’re the expert on your life,” said Duran. Seeds of Simplicity’s Holst finds this “discover it yourself” approach to be a very effective outreach tool. Many times people who don’t have a particular passion for the environment are drawn to the self-fulfillment aspect of voluntary simplicity (reducing stress, getting out of the rat race) only to find themselves lightening their environmental footprint almost in spite of themselves. She calls this Trojan horse work.
“Enviromentalists have a reputation in this country-they’re not usually seen as extremely friendly people, even within the Club,” said Holst. “Voluntary simplicity allows us to reach out in a gentler way, drawing people in in a strategic manner.”

Environmentalist, heal thyself
The voluntary simplicity movement may seem like a rich person’s movement, and, to an extent, it is-if “rich” is defined by global standards. Even the most “recycle and reuse”-conscious Sierra Clubber is wealthy by most of the world’s yardstick.
The growth in the voluntary simplicity movement is a reflection of the growing recognition that consumption has a significant impact on the earth. Until recently, environmentalists emphasized the problem of overpopulation, much to the consternation of poorer nations.
Holst recalled that her perception was altered when she attended the United Nations conference on population in 1994 in Cairo. There she heard from many people, especially women, from the “two-thirds world” countries. (Holst uses the term two-thirds world instead of the commonly used “third world” to more accurately reflect the world’s distribution.) The voices from these countries protested the focus on population, when consumption was at least as dire a problem. Poor people, said Holst, consume less than wealthy people, because of the simple fact that poor people have less to consume.
“I saw that the population work really wasn’t the most significant root cause [of degradation to the earth],” said Holst. “And that the maldistribution of the world’s wealth and the differential in the world’s consumption was underpinning many population debates.” The immigration issue as it relates to environmentalism is still hotly debated within the Club. But Holst can understand the ire anti-immigration sentiments induce. “Closing the lifeboat when we’re the biggest pirate ship is deeply offensive to people around the world,” she said.
While the discussion continues, some Sierra Clubbers are quietly curbing their consumption and feeling better at the same time through participation in joint simplicity circles. “I’m living in line with my values,” said Beck. “I’m the happiest I’ve ever been in my life.

Contact Information
To find out more about the Sierra Club and Seeds of Simplicity¹s joint simplicity circles contact Michael Beck at 818-246-3661 or by email. For information on Seeds of Simplicity call Carol Holst at 1-877-UNSTUFF. You can also check out www.seedsofsimplicity.org and www.truegoods.com .

[top of page]