The Overshoot Plan, Part 2
My hands are still shivering from the strike of the hammer on the pry bar.
I’ve been taking apart wooden skids to use as material for making frames. It’s hard, good wood; but it’s difficult to take apart.
The purpose behind this experiment is to see if I can decrease my reliance on purchased frame moulding (the long, shaped sticks that I turn into frames). Most of the moulding available to me as a framer has crossed the world twice: it is harvested in Indonesia or southeast Asia, and in some cases, is made into the finished product in Italy, making the supply chain enormous. All of this transportation means ships burning dirty fuel.
Last year, we made changes to our art supplies, introducing local and less-toxic alternatives, and shrinking our supply chains. Many customers have had great things to say about our efforts. Thanks for your feedback!
This year, I’m taking a look at the framing side of our business.
Years ago, there were many companies making frame stock in Canada; now there are only one or two, and their product lines are small. Despite this, I plan to fully support these options, as well as create my own. I will only be offering North American or repurposed woods going forward. This will mean fewer choices, but now some frames will be truly one-of-a-kind: I can put my carving and painting skills to use here! Even with the increase in labour, I estimate that this will result in lower costs for customers in the long run.
Foamboard, which is widely used as the support backing, will be used more judiciously, and eventually not at all. Many of the things we take for granted are just too energy-intensive.
I plan to let my suppliers know, and hopefully this will put pressure up the chain and microscopically move the needle.
In light of the recent UN climate report warnings, and the sluggishness of world governments to act, the path towards sustainability can seem overwhelming or discouraging. One way around the negativity is to realize that we humans don’t have any more right to the earth than any other living thing. Rather, we have an opportunity to share the spaces we inhabit by taking up less room. Right now, we humans use more resources than the earth can replenish in one year by the month of July. This means we overshoot our alotted means half a year early. You can learn more about “Earth overshoot” at overshoot.org.
Most humans throughout history have lived with much less than we in fossil-fuel-rich nations do today. These next years will be a difficult transition. But it will be possible.