What Europe Taught Me About Doing, Not Debating

…the constant conversation about sustainability that somehow never leads to action. In Europe, sustainability doesn’t announce itself. It just… is.

I’ve been living in this strange state of displacement, no real home, time feeling suspended, even my birthday passed without the usual weight of “getting older.” Maybe that’s why the difference hit me so hard when I spent last week between Germany (visiting my sister), Spain (seeing way too many people to mention here), and the UK (visiting the friend who accompanied me when I (we) first left our home).

And what I noticed was how differently sustainability feels across the Atlantic.

On the tube in London, I saw people carrying reusable coffee cups without making it their entire personality. In Sevilla, we turn the lights off anytime we leave a room. In Germany, recyclable container machines are used by all, not just by people struggling to make a couple of cents. These aren’t activists or eco-warriors. They were just people living their Tuesday with a thing in mind: there’s a lot we can do aside from complaining.

Back in the US, I’d gotten used to a different rhythm: endless debates about whose responsibility climate action really is (corporations vs. individuals vs. governments), people defending why they can’t make changes, and sustainability treated as either an impossible burden or a moral competition that everyone seems to want to make money out of. The conversation is loud, but the action feels stuck.

In Europe… The action is everywhere. That action that I keep fighting for is everywhere, and it feels so good to be heard and understood. Because yes, turning off your light and changing your mindset about the resources we have IS IMPORTANT.

Here’s what I think makes the difference: In Europe, sustainable choices are often the default, not the hard choice.

• Public transportation actually works and is reasonably priced and funded, so you don’t need to be a hero to take the train; it’s just faster. Everyone has a bike, and they actually use it, with children, with dogs, or with groceries. And those sharing bikes and scooters that used to be in NYC for a bit are actually still there, and they are used by a lot of people.

• Recycling bins are color-coded and everywhere, so sorting isn’t an act of exception; it’s just what the bin in front of you requires. Food portions are smaller, packaging is minimal, and nobody’s congratulating themselves for it.

• It is not normal to have the AC/heating on 24h, and I will stand by that (alongside most Europeans).

• I could keep going… but I would love to hear from you. What is done where you are that is sustainable and spread?

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In the US (not so much in NYC, I have to admit), sustainability often feels like individual heroism. You have to go out of your way, spend more money, research harder, sacrifice more, and then you’re made to feel like even that isn’t enough, or worse, like you’re being performative (that can happen in Europe too, but a lot more people perform, and the governments actually incentivize it). It’s exhausting. And when the infrastructure doesn’t support you, when the default option is always the least sustainable one, it’s easy to just… give up.

This isn’t about Europe being perfect (it’s not) or the US being hopeless (it’s not). It’s about recognizing that individual willpower can’t compete with systems. We can’t shame or inspire our way out of this. We need infrastructure that makes the sustainable choice the easy choice.

Being in this liminal space —physically, emotionally, and creatively —has given me a strange clarity. I saw our short film “Corahe” with Martina (this friend of mine who moved abroad with me when we were 18) at the Norwich Queer Film Festival last week. And after letting it simmer for 1.5 years (I wasn’t ready before) and after seeing it in a festival in person for the first time with the person who made it possible (even though it has been shown in quite a lot of other places already), I feel ready to write the long form film we initially wanted to write, and to make it happen.

I also just joined FilmNorth’s Inclusive and Socially Conscious Filmmaking Lab. Being in this space is making me realize how important this work is, not just the filmmaking, but the intentionality behind it. If you want to watch it, message me, I’d love to share it with you.

There’s something about that waiting that connects to all of this. Sustainable change, whether it’s personal, creative, or planetary, isn’t about urgent individual action performed in isolation. It’s about patience, systems, and collective momentum. It’s about creating conditions where the right choice becomes the natural choice.

When I fell back in love with London this week, it wasn’t just the city; it was the feeling of being in a place where care is baked into the infrastructure. Where you don’t have to be exceptional to live a little lighter. Where rest and waiting, and taking your time, aren’t seen as failures, but as necessary.

However, I am still struggling to understand how the balance of salaries and cost of living works there… it doesn’t really make sense to me fully.

Here’s the thing: moving to Europe isn’t the answer. In fact, the number of people relocating right now is overwhelming European infrastructure and contributing to housing crises in major cities. Running away doesn’t fix the problem; it just moves it around. (And I don’t mean moving around when you have no other choice; those people should definitely come to Europe or anywhere they need to!).

For all of us privileged, the real work is here: in our communities, in our cities, in the places we already are. We can create micro-systems in our own lives and push for the infrastructure changes that make sustainable living accessible to everyone:

• Make the sustainable choice the default in your home. Put a reusable bag by your door. Keep a water bottle and cutlery in your bag…

• Advocate for infrastructure, not just individual change. Push for better public transit, comprehensive recycling programs, and bike lanes. Vote for policies that make sustainable choices easier for everyone, call your representative, and get involved with organizations like the Sanitation Foundation if you are in NYC.

• Stop treating sustainability as moral performance. Do what you can, when you can, without announcing it. Let it be quiet. Let it be Tuesday.

• Give yourself permission to wait. Not everything has to happen right now. Sometimes the most sustainable thing you can do is rest, observe, and let things simmer until you’re truly ready (as I am now to write this film… it has taken me 1.5 years!).

If you haven’t tried Too Good To Go, it’s an app that connects you with restaurants, cafes, and grocery stores selling their surplus food at a discount at the end of the day. Yes, it’s much more robust in Europe (I used it quite a lot in Spain when it came out), but it exists in NYC too! You save money, prevent food waste, and sometimes discover new spots in your neighborhood. It’s one of those rare wins where the sustainable choice is also the easier, cheaper choice.

Hear me out, I’ve been eating homemade yogurt, and it’s shockingly easy to make soy yogurt from scratch using just soybeans. It’s cheaper than buying it, creates way less packaging waste, and tastes incredible.

Here’s a TikTok video that walks you through it step by step. (It’s in Spanish, so you can practice!)

Pick ONE disposable item you use regularly and make the reusable version your default for the next 30 days:

• Swap paper towels for cloth napkins in your kitchen

• Trade Ziploc bags for silicone storage bags

• Bring a Tupperware when you eat out so you can take your leftovers

• Start saving those glass jars to use as Tupperware

Since we’re talking about sustainability in all its forms, here’s something that’s sustained joy in my life lately: Dutch Blitz. It’s a fast-paced card game. Sometimes the most sustainable entertainment is the kind that’s been around for decades and never needs an update or a charger.

Okay, this isn’t a climate book, but hear me out. I just finished Under the Whispering Door, and I’m still thinking about how it handles forgiveness, change, and second chances. The way Klune writes about queerness, about dying, about getting angry at injustice, and especially about being able to transform after doing something wrong, it all felt deeply relevant to this moment.

Sustainability isn’t just about the planet. It’s about sustaining ourselves, our communities, our capacity for hope and change. This book reminded me that we can fuck up and still become better. We can be angry and still choose care. We can be tired and still show up.

Sometimes the most sustainable thing we can do is remember we’re allowed to forgive ourselves and keep trying.

October 23 - European Literature Night 2025

October 23 - Inside Sustainability with Bard MBA: Live Podcast + Real Talk

Until October 25 - Hack the Planet at Metrograph

Until October 26 - Green-Wood After Hours

October 26 – GrowNYC Greenmarket Zero Waste Workshop. Learn composting basics at Union Square Greenmarket, 10 am-12 pm.

October 30 – Repair Café NYC (locations in Brooklyn and others). Bring broken items and learn to fix them instead of tossing them. Free and community-run.

November 1 - Poets as Deep Thinkers: A group reading with Samiya Bashir

November 2 - NYC Marathon! (You can also join the Marathon of Free Pizza Bagels in Williamsburg)

Until November 9 - 20at20 (the bi-annual celebration of Off Broadway)

Ongoing – NYC Compost Project Drop-Off Sites. Find your nearest food scrap drop-off site at NYC Compost Project.

Time still feels strange to me, like I’m waiting for something to click back into place. But maybe that’s okay. Maybe feeling nowhere for a while teaches you to see things you’d miss if you were too rooted, too certain, too busy defending the way things are.

I’m ready to write this film now. I’m ready to stay still long enough to let something real take shape. And I’m ready to keep noticing the quiet ways we care for each other and the planet when we stop debating and just… do.

Also loving my new job ngtl.

See you next time,
Lusi