“Half of the apartments in New York City are occupied by single individuals.”

"Modern Loneliness" - from Flickr (Le Pere, Creative Commons License)

Listening to To the Best of our Knowledge on NPR this morning, that phrase jumped out at me.  The topic for the morning was loneliness and solitude, and for the most part, the comments were interesting if predictable.  Yes, our culture has made us lonelier than we’ve been in the past.  No, there is no difference between men and women – both genders are equally lonely, though (again, predictably) men tend to be less likely to admit to loneliness.But the statistic from New York City really struck me:  50% of us (in that city anyway) live alone.  This is a terrible statement about the condition of community, but it is also points up a significant environmental concern.  Think about it:  The environmental impact of a city apartment is almost the same whether it is being used by one person or four.  With the possible exception of water, the cost of lighting, heating is exactly the same.  The person living by herself places four times the burden on the planet as another who has three roommates (or family members).

One of the principles I have developed over the years is this:  If it’s good for community, it’s probably good for creation.  And if it’s good for creation, it’s probably good for community. Both the fault and the solution can go in either direction.  Our retreat from nature and from each other into a busy, noisy, confusing world has made us lonely and has been devastating for our experience of community.  And our return to a more creation-friendly lifestyle, whether we pursue it because we want community or because we want to be kind to the planet, will be helpful to both.

So – live lightly on the planet:  Get a roommate!

Related posts:

1. An anniversary worth marking
2. The Environmentalist’s Dilemma

• By Don, February 2, 2009 @ 5:09 am

  Hey, Brother! Love the new blog.

  Was chewing on this and wondering whether online communities (facebook, myspace) are contributing to this isolation or an effort to combat it. Either way the tech revolution could certainly be more energy efficient…

  Grace and peace,
  Don

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