What does it mean to have a ‘sustainable’ lifestyle?

When I finished my MSc programme in Sustainability, having been exposed to so much information that highlighted just how f*cked we are in terms of climate, I needed to do something radical to put my climate anxiety at ease and reduce my day-to-day carbon footprint. I stumbled into the low-impact, nomadic lifestyle of East London’s Regent’s Canal in January of 2023.

I was lucky enough that the boat owner, my boatlord, if you will, was happy to show me the ropes on driving, parking and general boat life. So when I was left alone on my first night, I stayed awake into the romantic hours of the morning happily cleaning, organising and decorating by the light of a wood burning stove.

It was over the next 6 months that I came to realise how hard living on your own, on a body of water, in the middle of London actually is.

My job meant I was able to get my hands on a smart sensor and collect some data on the internal environment of the boat:

March IAQ data (temperature low 1.4C), dotted lines indicate healthy internal environment thresholds.

Looking at the data now a few insights/memories come forward:

• Top Left: Temperature peaks indicate every night when I would come home, light the fire and wait for the space to heat up. I remember in February there was one night when I was sure the fire had lit, I went for a run around Victoria Park in pitch black to stay warm while my home heated. There were a few nights where I retreated to my parent’s place when the temperature dropped below 5 degrees.
• Top Right: When the fire was on, VOCs went up.
• Bottom Left: Unsure whether the CO2 sensor was calibrating for the first half of March, or whether it is possible for CO2 levels to reach over 4,000 ppm. I remember evenings where I would fall asleep on the little sofa by the fire at 6pm, perhaps as a result of high CO2 levels (which tend to make people tired).
• Bottom Right: Humidity trundled along around 80% for most of the time I lived there. When I moved off the boat, I later found out that it had been flooded due to a slow leak the entire time I was living there, so that most likely explains the jungle-like conditions.

The below graphs showcase a comparison to normal indoor environments. I moved into a house June 10th which is easily seen by the dramatic reduction in temperature and humidity variability:

Temperature, by time

Humidity, by time

In addition to amplified exposure to external conditions, there were lifestyle shifts that forced my attention and spare time to address Maslow’s foundational layers. Boat dwellers use significantly less resource — mainly because it is physical effort to restock, and there is less space to hoard essentials:

• Diesel for engine — a fuel boat drives by every so often to fill up.
• Water for tap and shower — every move includes a stop by the water tap to fill up the tank.
• Wood for heat — a fuel boat provides wood, although different wood types release more/less heat.
• Electricity from solar panels — small surface area to generate electricity, just enough sunlight in the winter to power lights and charge a phone.
• Gas canisters for stove — a fuel boat delivers canisters.
• A very interesting business called circular revolution handles toilet waste.

While I was arguably living in one of the most environmentally ‘sustainable’ ways possible, for the reasons outlined above, it ended up being mentally and physically unsustainable for me. This was more to do with the internal conditions rather than the changes in resource use, which leads me to think I may end up on a boat again someday, albeit an insulated, non-flooded one. Therefore, when it comes to living a sustainable lifestyle, I have two main takeaways:

1. Choose your challenge — living sustainably for me at this point in life is not living on a canal boat. Instead, I am looking at ways to shape my career around carbon savings and ecosystem restoration. For others, it is living on a boat. It is up to us to connect with our own thresholds and what feels right. However, it is important to debate the extent of individual responsibility. For example, those who use a private jet to travel the world might see their life as ‘sustainable’ if they’re visiting to advocate for climate justice. Who has the final call on this and where is the limit?
2. We can live with a lot less than we think we need, and handle a lot more than we think we can. Every single friend that found out I was living on the boat said something like, “I could never do that.” My answer was always, “You could if you had to.” Humans are incredibly resilient, and those of us that have the luxury of choice might want to engage in a self-inquiry next time we go to buy that thing we need — why do we need it? What purpose will it serve?

Ultimately I have a deeply rooted belief that we will not get where we need to be by pointing the finger or inflicting shame. Afterall, it took me £13,000 in tuition fees to realise that a weekly Zara package is bad for the environment and for my mental health. Instead, we could approach these complex discussions with an expectation to learn something new and an openness to changing our minds.