We may need to redefine ‘progress’ to find sustainability – Jackson Hole News&Guide

Belief in progress is part of Americas cultural DNA. Each generation will do better than the last, with better understood in terms of rising income, bigger homes and more stuff. Sure, we have problems pollution, racial injustice, a pesky drought, fires on the horizon but Americans just get to work fixing those problems. To live in America is to reside on an ascending material curve.

I look out my window at the smoke that fills our valley. Later today I may go to town. Or not. The traffic discourages me from leaving the house. I need groceries, but when I walk into the store some shelves are empty; tourists have cleared them and there arent enough employees to keep things stocked. Id like to go for a hike in Death Canyon, but between the heat and the smoke and the traffic and the crowds on the trail I think Ill stay inside with my air purifier.

What has happened to our summers? It doesnt feel like things are getting better anymore. Visits to San Francisco or Boulder, Colorado, arent as much fun as they used to be. The New York Times recently described urban growth along the I-35 corridor between San Antonio and Austin as being a blur of subdivisions, commercial development and soul-crushing traffic, coalescing into a singular mass of population. Everything seems to be defined by excess: too expensive, too much traffic, too long a wait, too much heat.

Back in Jackson we should first acknowledge that a lot of this is outside our control. We cant stop the smoke or the drought, heat and fire that causes it. And the state of Wyoming wont let us put tollgates on the highways into town to limit access.

On the other hand, we arent resourceless. There are things we can do to improve our situation if we are willing to question our underlying assumptions.

In other words, theres a philosophical aspect to our difficulties. We say that we cant stop people from coming here. Its their right if they can afford the hotel prices. Its how we make our living. And how is Jackson going to progress if it doesnt continue to grow? Then we sit back and watch things spin further out of control.

Celebrate individual freedom and grow the economy: Its been the American definition of progress for a very long time.

Every culture is built upon a set of fundamental beliefs about what constitutes a proper (or acceptable, or meaningful) way of life. America was founded on open space, endless resources and constant technological innovation. There were so many resources that you could get yours without blocking others from doing the same. And if there was a problem wed just call in the scientists and engineers to invent a work-around. Our challenges were technical rather than political or philosophical in nature.

There is no technology, however, that will create more space in our valley. Building more roads to deal with traffic means that we will have to deal with the construction. Then traffic will get a little better for a while, which will encourage more people to come, which then increases the overall traffic. As for nature, we arent going to build new trails up Death Canyon. Even if we did that would mean a bigger parking lot below and even less of the solitude that we and the animals seek. The same is true in Denver and New Orleans: The solutions to our problems now often feed back into and worsen the problems that they were meant to solve.

There are no easy answers to our situation. But we can begin by questioning our dogmas.

We could take seriously the possibility that the way of life that worked for 300 years may need adjustment for the 21st century. We could adapt our ideals of freedom and opportunity to a world where space and resources are limited. We could challenge the assumption that more growth in Jackson equals a higher quality of life, and ask whether 1 million visitors to Yellowstone National Park in a single month is good for us, the visitors or the environment.

Jackson is a microcosm of our general situation: The American way of life will have to change. This might sound unpleasant. The very idea might make you angry. But cultures that do not adapt to changing conditions slide into decay.

For instance, it may seem painful to have to check our cars at the entrance to the parks or to give up our personal automobiles entirely. But such changes could lead to a way of life that is both more beautiful and more sustainable in the long run. Progress can be redefined in ways that are less materialistic, more inclusive, and easier on the environment.

Its worth considering.

Hoback resident Robert Frodeman writes on technology and the environment. He can be reached at robert.frodeman@gmail.com. Guest Shots are solely the opinion of their authors.

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We may need to redefine 'progress' to find sustainability - Jackson Hole News&Guide