The Big Issue

Edition 297

These days everyone’s peddling ‘sustainability’, but – Jake Avila asks – what does it actually mean?

Arwen Birch finds that, when you’re dealing with bureaucracy, it’s not easy being green. And, Stephanie Williams unearths a brave new online world for hard-garbage scavengers: freecycling.

Also in this issue:

In ‘Yes They Can’, Norm Barber finds real value in living off the scrap heap. Antarctica’s scientific community is the focus in this issue’s ‘Roving Eye’, ‘Breaking the Ice’. And in ‘Who We Are’ photojournalist Michel Lawrence exposes the many, many different cultures that make up Australia.

Our ‘Vendor Profile’ for this edition is Karl from Adelaide. We also have ‘Streetsheet’ contributions from Adelaide’s Alaric G, Melbourne vendor De and Adelaide vendor Belinda. And two well-known Big Issue Melbourne personalities – office volunteer ‘Bushy’ and vendor Aaron – are pictured dispensing badges, T-shirts and Big Issue information at this year’s Big Day Out.

Alan introduces current edition: Green days

Lasting the Distance

It was the headline that struck me, not the face. Sure, I recognised the face – the challenging stare, the scruffy stubble – but it was the words on the page that made me stop what I was doing: ‘Heath & Pressure: Ledger learns to cool it’. This was the cover of Ed#245 of The Big Issue, from early 2006. The story inside coincided with the imminent release of three Ledger movies, including Brokeback Mountain.

For someone already battling a reputation for being prickly, Ledger comes across as being relatively mellow. “I’m a very easygoing person in real life,” he says. And then, contemplating some time off in New York: “Right now it’s just about living life.” A life that is now over at 28. Events can change our perspective on anything. Had Ledger not died last month I wouldn’t have paused while flipping through a pile of back-copies, and his quoted comments (plus that headline) wouldn’t have had such resonance.

The incident reminded me of the extent to which publications like The Big Issue can be time-capsules. Strolling back in time to see how people or issues were once regarded can be a fascinating, if sometimes spooky, exercise.

Very few publications in Australia could match the history of The Bulletin magazine. As it first appeared in 1880, a complete set of copies would give you a comprehensive (though slanted) coverage of Australian history from well before Federation. And now the ‘Bully’ is gone, too. Shut down after 128 years.

A victim – depending who you believe – of corporate cost-cutting, the internet era, or irrelevancy. In a macabre way, Ledger’s death was cited as one example of why The Bulletin had declined.

Where do most people turn for updates on a ‘hot’ story? The web, of course, and TV or radio. A ‘news’ magazine is out of date the moment it hits the streets. One media commentator gravely observed that “generalist magazines are in their twilight years”. Not us. The Big Issue might have had some shaky moments as an infant, but now, as we approach our 300th edition, we’re blooming.

Unlike the ‘Bully’ (RIP), our sales and readership figures are rising steadily. One reason for this, I suspect, is that this is a unique publication. “Generalist” is an imperfect description; so too is “news”. We aim to be lively and interesting, and to do things our way.

Most of all – and herein lies our point of difference to all other publications – The Big Issue exists not to make profits for a holding company but, rather, to provide our vendors with income and a sense of purpose. This has been our mission for almost 12 years now: a brief lifetime, perhaps, but long enough to demonstrate that we have some staying-power. Sustainability. The theme of this edition.
It’s become a buzzword in both business and ‘green’ circles. But a funny thing happens when you ask people to define ‘sustainability’. They know what it means, sort of, but most will end up talking about water-tanks or long-life light bulbs or (with great pride) of worms in their compost-bins.

The simplest definition I’ve seen comes from environmentalist David Suzuki. It means, he suggests, “living within the Earth’s limits…doing things better – not doing without”. Appropriately, the quote comes from a smart little publication called The Little Things: Sustainable Living Diary – just one manifestation of what increasingly seems to be a sustainability industry.

Publishers, promoters (of ‘green’ concerts) and certainly corporations are jumping aboard, keen to initiate and promote environmentally friendly projects. All this is admirable. If it sounds like opportunism, contemplate the alternative. There’s not much mileage in blatantly despoiling the environment – hence the eleventh-hour efforts now being made in China to have industries clean up their act before the Beijing Olympics.

We don’t pretend that ours is a comprehensive guide to sustainability; think of it more as a primer – useful information to get you started or help you on your way. One tip: it’s not a competition. I told myself this as I skimmed a book about ways to save water. It’s a fascinating, informative story of one man’s quest to save and use every drop of rainwater and greywater at his home.

There are photos and diagrams and DIY hints…and, somehow, it left me feeling unworthy. Suddenly, my single outdoor tank and regular trips outside with dishwater seemed, literally, piddly. But, hey, it’s something. And every little bit helps. Sustainability? It’s up to us.