Shawn Dell Joyce, Times Herald-Record

Editor's note: This is the debut of a weekly column focusing on how we, in our region, can lead environmentally sound, sustainable lives.

We are waking up to the fact that every life-supporting system on this planet is in decline. We're suffering the consequences of our oil dependence in air quality, water pollution and many ways besides the price we pay in cash at the pump. Even the most hard-core of us admit that global warming has become a reality. As Chief Seattle predicted: "We borrow the Earth from our children." Unfortunately, we have spent it, and left an account due for their inheritance. THERE IS HOPE in the form of sustainability. It is possible to turn all this damage around and halt the warming, according to Lester Brown, CEO of the Washington think tank called Earth Policies Institute. In his book, "Plan B," he addresses a World War II-style conversion from oil dependence to sustainability. It simply means to live within our means, respecting the natural limits of the planet and its ecosystems. This seems particularly hard for us Americans, but more and more of us are adopting a sustainable lifestyle. SUSTAINABILITY DOES NOT MEAN massive solar panels lining your historic house's tin roof; it starts with simple and subtle lifestyle changes that can have a profound impact when we all do it. Sustainability is more like choosing to live consciously, making a conscious decision to buy from the farmer's market instead of the supermarket, to walk to church instead of drive, to buy the hammer from the corner hardware store instead of the big corporate box store. I'll be writing about sustainability as is pertains to us in the mid-Hudson, the Catskills and Pike County. In my next column, I'll list 10 simple things that each of us can do to live more sustainably, "because we all live here!" SOME OF YOU might be wondering what the heck an artist would know about sustainability. My paintings address themes of sustainability like our farms and open spaces and organic heirloom varieties grown by local farms. I use reused materials in my work, and my studio is a "green" building, which means using reused and recycled materials. It is also the Orange County pick-up point for organic vegetables from Phillies Bridge Farm in Ulster for its local share members. I've been a member of that farm for more than five years. I'm also a member of Sustainable Montgomery, a working group started by town Supervisor Susan Cockburn with Melissa Everett of Sustainable Hudson Valley, to create a more economically viable and green township. I founded the Wallkill River School in hopes of capturing the vestiges of our agricultural heritage in paint before they are gobbled up by development. My words are a working woman's wisdom, not a scientist's or a politician's. I hope to be part of the solution to our county's and planet's problems, and pass on what I learn in a simple way that people can use. Feel free to contact me with questions or comments, and I will be happy to address them in future columns.

Shawn Dell Joyce is a sustainable artist and community activist who lives in Montgomery. She is the founder of the Wallkill River School, which combines environmental activism with plein air painting. She can be contacted through her Web sites, www.shawndelljoyce.com or www.wallkillriverschool.com Record Online is brought to you by the Times Herald-Record, serving New York's Hudson Valley and the Catskills.

© Orange County Publications. All rights reserved.