Keep it Simple

By Lindsey Pizzica Rotolo

On Earth Day, Matthew Freund was a guest speaker at our monthly Energy Task Force meeting in town hall. He spoke
about the methane digester he built at their farm in Canaan and plans for the biomass plant to be built next spring that
will provide enough energy for all the residences in Canaan. Freund also spoke of the present struggles of being a
farmer: the ethanol catastrophe, rising grain prices, soaring fuel and electricity costs and the difficulties of making a
profit solely through production of goods.
Running a dairy farm, developing his growing cow pot business and expanding on a roadside food and flower market
would be large enough endeavors for even the most enterprising individual, but Freund manages to also find the time and
energy to come up with innovative solutions to problems that most farmers would see as reason enough to close their
doors for good.
Speaking to the Energy Task Force in his characteristically astute and matter of fact manner, Freund stressed the need for
conservation, and pointed out that the best way to combat global warming and the energy crisis is to make basic changes
in our homes and daily lives. We all know by now what those are: replacing less efficient lighting and appliances, better
insulating our homes, using less water, turning down thermostats, limiting driving, etc.
It is so easy to feel helpless when faced with the myriad of problems in the news today: the foreclosure crisis, failing
banks, the airline debacle, rising food and fuel costs, global warming and threats to public health.
What happened? We used to be a fairly self-sufficient society. People grew much of their own food, built their own
homes and found solutions to whatever problems arose in their daily lives. Now that we have become a global society,
dependent on so many products from so many places, we have lost control over our own environment.
Long before “Real Simple” and “Simple Living” magazines were published, my wise mother-in- law adopted the mantra,
“Keep it simple.” For me, this means don’t buy a house, or anything else, you can’t afford. Don’t buy things that will
soon end up in a landfill. Make better use of your time. Use less gas. Grow your own food, or buy it from someone
locally who does. Try to get off the grid.
Instead of giving in to the influences of consumerism, advertising and social pressures we should be looking to people
like Freund, who use their talents to not only better themselves, but improve their community and the environment at the
same time.