Reflections on Ecuador, Part One

What's with the car photos? If you are a spectator of the Flickr photostream along the right side of this page, you may notice a string of car photos. For those of you who know me a bit, you are probably aware of my interest in American petroleum dependence and our culture built around individual transportation. Whenever I travel, I can't help but take notice of how other countries have apparent differences in perspective. The technology for automobiles worldwide isn't dramatically different, however marketing approaches from country to country differs even from within a single company.

In the US as well as in Ecuador, there is no shortage of petroleum-fueled cars. Although I was in a place where I didn't even see a car for over two weeks, during the few hours I spent in Quito some of the differences were glaringly obvious. From a rough estimate, GM and in particular Chevrolet enjoys a large share of the automobile market in Ecuador. However, most of the models sold under the Chevrolet brand visible in Quito are not offered at all in the US. Notable in this category are the Chevrolet Luv, a useful and reasonably sized small truck and the Chevrolet Corsa and Sprint passenger cars. With GM flailing economically and losing market share to more fuel efficient Asian brands, why they do not sell these models in the US is beyond me. Until they realize that not everyone wants a gas-guzzling SUV or a high horsepower V-8, they will continue to be in ever greater economic trouble in the US as fuel prices continue to rise.

Assuming that you may agree with the observations above, or that at least you can see the basis for my underlying arguements, you may be expected to ask a question along the lines of:"So, what does all this have to do with sustainability in Ecuador?" Have no fear, there is indeed a relationship.

During our research into sustainable agriculture, my colleagues and I grappled with a definition of exactly what sustainability in fact is. Sustainability is a relatively simple idea in theory, but it is much more difficult to pin down in the real world. For nearly a month, we debated about a definition of sustainability. Sometimes we argued heatedly (as nearly everything is done in oppressively hot humidity) and sometimes more philosophically, smoothed by fermented beverages. While we reached no definitive consensus, it became apparent that sustainability is dependent on factors of economics, place and people. To apply that notion to a relatively simple agricultural setting already largely insulated from outside factors due to limited reliance on outside infrastructure is one thing; to apply it to the complex, expansive and material-hungry culture of the United States is another.

Personally, I found the work of the students and faculty of the Yachana Technical College admirable and impressive, but in all honesty, based solely on the quantity and content of the trash they discard versus that of the average westerner, they are not much of a problem to the world. We are. If anything is to have much of an effect in increasing sustainability worldwide, it is necessary for that change to occur in the west and specifically the United States. The choices we make on a daily basis could potentially have much more of an effect than similar choices made by dozens of people made in regions where material waste and consumption are not nearly as great.

So now, back to the car thing. In the Amazon, the supply chain from production to consumer could be as short as a single link. In America, such an occurance is rare. As consumers, we need to realize that as the final link in the consumption of goods and services, the choices we make have an affect retailers, distributors, marketing agencies, managers, workers and ultimately on the corporations at the top of the supply chain. Although we may not be capable of harvesting our own bananas for our own consumption, we share in the responsibility that what we do consume has been thoughtfully and appropriately harvested. Cars are representative of our greatest dependency and how we choose to buy, use and maintain them is of great consequence.

Sustainability in the United States is an idea so far from being attainable that to even mention it is to induce either laughter or despair. However, many of us who participated in this research project are not yet ready for surrender. Individually, we are not capable of much change, but if each of us were to reexamine patterns within our own consumption and even to persuade another person to do the same, change may ultimately occur. Forgive my optimism, but even incremental change is change.