Terminology: Crunchy, Sustainable, and Self-Sufficient

I've been thinking about the crunchy-granola term, and some of the responses I've gotten to it. Plus I've run into another couple definitions that seem related to the topic, so here are some additional thoughts:

Heeding a recommendation from Michelle, I borrowed the book titled “Self Sufficiency for the 21st Century” (Dick and James Strawbridge) from the library system. In it, they explore the distinctions between sustainable and self-sufficient.

Sustainable is described as “using no more than our fair share of the planet's resources to meet our needs” while self-sufficiency is “a way of life where you endeavor to produce all you need from the resources that are available to you”.

Perhaps the term “crunchy-granola” refers to someone who attempts, in at least some aspects although probably not all, to be sustainable. Self-sufficiency largely encompasses sustainability. So there appears to be something of a progression. I think it is important to realize, however, that the progression is likely to be at different levels in various categories. It seems like it'd be (relatively) easy to be self-sufficient in food, growing and foraging your own crops and raising fodder or hunting for animals, but clothing is more easily sustainable, through purchasing used or ethically produced items, rather than producing all you need yourself. This is my impression of how villages used to work – most people were self-sufficient in food but had a specialty craft, such as spinning and weaving, leather working, and so on, with which to trade sustainably with other crafters. As Carla Emery points out in her tome “The Encyclopedia of Country Living”, one person can do any of the skills described therein, but one person cannot do all of the skills simultaneously! Best to choose which interests you the most, possibly becoming self-sufficient in that area, and choose which you will trade (time, labor, or money) for, striving to be sustainable in that area.

Given my consistent gardening failures, I'm starting to think self-sufficient food may be an exercise in frustration for me, and perhaps simply striving for sustainability (eg buying from local organic growers) would be a more reasonable goal. This would free me up to focus on other areas, such as self-sufficiency in water (rainwater collection and processing), heat (woodlot management), and power (largely through elimination of needs but also a small solar array for communication tools). This would also allow me more time and energy to develop a trade craft (or three!).

Perhaps it isn't a grammatical accident that one of my pillars is sustainable rather than self-sufficient, despite self-sufficiency being an important driver in my goals!