Big Oil, Big Problem

I’m a little depressed.

I've been trying to throw out a few ideas about things we can do at home and at work to help save our planet, and basically ignoring the big environmental issue of the day - the BP Oil Spill.

You can understand the reason why.

Suddenly, all good deeds seem pointless. All the people in the world who are recycling cans, planting gardens, picking up trash and trading in their SUV’s cannot undo or mitigate the damage already done by the careless actions of one big company.

What does the EPA say about BP's oil spill?

But, we already knew that, didn’t we? It doesn’t mean we give up. We should never, ever give up! It’s a chance to win others over to our side!


How can we help?


Should we donate money?


Should we volunteer?



After seeing this tragedy unfold on TV and reading about it in the papers, anyone with a lick of sense knows that there has to be a better way of producing energy than drilling for oil. One look at all the dead birds and fish and the fouling of our wetlands and beaches this oil has caused, should convince everyone of the moral necessity of finding another alternative.
Bio-diesel from Algae  
Renewable Energy
Energy Alternative for Auto Industry
Oilgae?
Green Gold

 If we could lower our consumption of oil by improving our transportation system (which accounts for about 2/3 of America’s oil use) then we could also separate our country’s energy policies from our overseas security commitments.

NO BLOOD FOR OIL! (But, that’s another issue.) 

No blood for oil.

War for resources?


We live on a tiny, watery planet located at the far edge of the universe because there is a fragile bubble of air surrounding us.

We need this air to breathe, we need water to drink, and food (plants and animals) to eat. If we destroy our ocean, and the plants and animals that live in its waters, we will disrupt the water cycle upon which all life depends.

 
Did you know that the most ancient life form on Earth is
blue-green algae (aka cyanobacteria)? Chemical traces of this bacteria have been found in 2.7-billion-year-old rocks, indicating that these bacteria were abundant and busy adding oxygen (through photosynthesis) to the Earth’s atmosphere way back then.

Algae is fundamental to the food chains of ALL ecosystems in the world. They take energy from sunlight and use it to feed themselves, produce oxygen and create energy-rich molecules of carbohydrates that other organisms eat.

Life, as we know it, would not exist on Earth if it were not for cyanobacteria.


Without plants to produce oxygen for us to breathe, we will die.

Without plants to provide food for us and all the animals upon the Earth, our future will be very short and our remaining time here will be desolate.

We can’t let this happen.

The 5th R = RAT (as in Pack Rat)

Of the 4 R’s (Recycle, Reduce, Reuse and Repair) I’ll have to admit I’m pretty bad about the 2nd one “Reduce”. At home, I live in clutter. It may be partly due to adhering to the other 3 R’s. (Or, maybe not!) Anyway, I’m blaming my husband, “Mr. Thrifty”.


He can’t throw anything away. If it’s broken, he thinks it can be repaired. If he can’t repair it, then it’s kept for parts. If something is no longer needed for the original function for which it was intended, but is too good to be thrown away, it is kept with the idea of future use - even if he has no idea what the use may be. (For example, a VHS player when we now use DVD’s) Actually, it’s even worse than that, we also have a Betamax along with a box of Beta tapes.


Some items are well-suited for “re-purposing”; such as an old dresser turned into a vanity for a bathroom sink. That was a great idea! Other items (Yes, I’m speaking specifically of the two 5-ft.tall Boze floor speakers) have no discernable purpose unless it is to block access to the dining room – in which case, they are doing an admirable job.


I think the longer you live in one spot, the more stuff you accumulate. That’s why Grandma’s attic is so full. It’s probably best to move every five years just so you’ll be forced to consider what you actually want to pack up and haul with you to your next destination. The attic is an interesting place, but no one wants to live in one.


I’ll admit that some of the clutter is mine…but only the good stuff! It’s mostly unfinished art projects and abandoned hobby paraphernalia. And some dolls. A few books too. Okay…a lot of books.


The only good thing that can be said for the clutter we have is this: If the world banks finally crumbled and we were forced to return to the bartering system, we could set up shop. How many people do you know who have a “backup set” of appliances?


I don’t know how we got to this point because it’s amazing really how much stuff we buy and dispose of. Take plastic grocery bags, for example. They seem to multiply on their own, but many people actually purchase “small” garbage bags to line their bathroom and bedroom trash cans. Why not use the grocery bags? They are the same size and you can tie the handles into a knot when you get ready to dump and replace them.
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Here’s what I do with them:

Take a plastic bag

Fold and Cut off the handles  

Cut into strips and connect to make "PLARN" (plastic yarn)    

Crochet the "plarn" into a bag - use different "plarns" for pattern 

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For other ideas on how to recycle what you have around the house check out these great books:

Earth-friendly crafts: clever ways to reuse everyday items 
by Ross, Kathy

Don't throw it out!  by Baird, Lori

Junk beautiful: room by room makeovers with junkmarket style 
by Whitney, Sue

Let's reuse!  by Nelson, Sara Elizabeth

Have fun!

GREEN ABOUT GREEN?

I sometimes find it amusing that everyone who is talking about “Going Green” seems to think they discovered the idea. (It’s not a new invention, y’all!) Every generation seems to eventually stumble upon the same concept, although we call it by different names.

 Back in my hippie-days (Yes, I am ancient!), it was called the “Getting Back to Nature Movement.” All people remember about it now is tie-dyed shirts and unshaved legs, but there was more to it than that! There was PEACE and LOVE ---and HARMONY too, Man!

 But, being “Groovy” didn’t last long. The reality of making a Utopia work is difficult. For everyone who is willing to give it their all, there is someone else waiting for it all to be given to them. This is a fact, but we can’t let that stop us from doing what we know is right.


It wasn’t but a couple of generations ago that everyone was “greener”. It was a necessity. They were still waiting for the inventions!

 When my Grandmother hung her wash out on the clothesline, she didn’t give a thought to the energy savings of solar power. That was just the way it was done. And when she dumped that same wash water over her garden, she wasn’t thinking of water conservation either. She was thinking of conserving her BACK from having to haul water! There were no garden hoses, just watering cans. To get the water, you didn’t just turn a spigot either; you had to pump a handle.


If you look further back – to her mother – I’m sure you find things “greener” still. However, I’m not one for living in the past. Life was hard back then! I’m all for flush toilets, running water and electricity. It’s because we want future generations to have these things too, that we need to conserve our resources now.

Some of us are trying, but with varying degrees of success. We recycle our newspapers, but we buy bottled water. We holler when gas prices go up, but we don’t carpool. We don’t litter, but we fertilize our lawn with chemicals. We do a whole lot of things we shouldn’t, and just a few that we should.

Each of us could do a lot more, and we all know it. But, there is always that nagging thought, “Why should I, when everyone else isn’t?” For many, the whole “Go Green” concept just seems like extra work, rather than the great idea that it is.

Any new endeavor is difficult at first. If we start slowly by incorporating some of those energy-saving ideas from the past, and adapting others to fit with our modern technology, we can simplify our lives.

For goodness sake, anybody can start by just taking a canvas bag to the supermarket.

 

 Put up a clothesline, plant a garden, cook a meal at home, learn to knit, build a birdhouse – you don’t have to go to the mall for entertainment. Turn off the TV and read a book. We don’t need to buy more stuff. We need to cut back on what we want.


When you get to the point where all you really want is what you really need, then you will have succeeded. I’m still working on it and you can too.

READ THESE:

Dawn light: dancing with cranes and other ways to start the day 
by Ackerman, Diane

The Green Workplace: sustainable strategies that benefit employees, the environment, and the bottom line  by Stringer, Leigh

I love dirt!: 52 activities to help you and your kids discover the wonders of nature  by Ward, Jennifer

Poisoned profits: the toxic assault on our children by Shabecoff, Phillip

Last child in the woods: saving our children from nature-deficit disorder 
by Louv, Richard

Down to earth: nature's role in American history by Steinberg, Theodore

Giaia's revenge: climate change and humanity's loss  by Liotta, P.H.

Garden's of revelation: environments by visionary artists by Beardsley, John

A Vision of Nature: traces of the original world by Tobias, Michael

Listen to RWords

Less Is More

In these anxious days of hiring freezes, furloughs and budget cuts, people are starting to take inventory of their surroundings. That includes their work life too. What do we have? What do we need? What can we do without? The surprising answer is that we CAN all get by with less!

That’s what we are doing here at the library. We are getting more work done with less people and less money. How does that happen? Well, first of all, when you don’t have much money to spend, you’re more careful about what you do purchase. You learn to prioritize your needs… and you get more creative about how to fulfill them.

When you are on a tight budget and you have a family to feed, you buy dried beans and rice and you cook them at home. When you’ve got a little money, you take the family out to a restaurant ---and you order yourself a Margarita!

The problem with most of us is that we’ve gotten used to the Margaritas, and we think we are somehow entitled to them. We’ve forgotten that we still have the ability to cook for ourselves and we don’t really need a Margarita to survive.

Instead of complaining about what we don’t have, we have to be smart about the purchases we do make. We can’t fritter it away on non-essentials. That holds true at work as well as at home.

Our chairs and sofas at Central were starting to look pretty shabby, but we couldn’t afford to purchase new ones. So we compromised and got them reupholstered instead. Hey! They look great and no one was the wiser; except those monitoring our budget.

Our décor was a bit dated too, so we reconfigured our seating arrangements and moved the magazines downstairs. Now we have a beautiful “living room” space near the bay windows and people are flocking to the area in a big way. It looks fantastic! It didn’t cost us anything. It just took a little creative thinking.

At CPL, our branches have learned to barter with each other. Need colored paper at South Norfolk? We have extra here at Central and will send you some. We won’t order anything until we’ve checked with the other branches first.

We don’t have as many employees as we used to and can’t hire more right now, but the work load is still the same. What can we do? Well, we pitch in and help each other out. If an area is short-staffed, someone from another department or branch steps up and fills in. That way we are still able to serve our patrons.

And, by helping out, staff members are making new connections with each other, learning new job skills, and getting a break from their usual routine. It’s all as good (or bad) as you make it. There is a certain satisfaction in finding solutions to problems. It’s a chance for you to do your best. It’s also the only way we learn and grow.

Most of us have taken history classes where they taught us about the Great Depression. Some of us may have had Grandparents or parents who told us what it was like living during rationing or raising Victory Gardens. And all of us can remember the days immediately after 9-11.

The one thing these events proved was, that in times of crisis, people pull together. I don’t think we are approaching anything near those times, in spite of what the media tells us. Yet, I do believe that when facing challenges, people consistently rise up to meet them and that they ultimately become stronger and better for it.

I’m not saying it’s going to be easy, but the Chesapeake Public Library System is a strong group. We can do it. We have the skills needed. We can do whatever it takes to ensure that our libraries continue to be the community’s beacon of light in stormy weather. We are the lighthouse keepers. We’ll keep on shining.
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Books available in our collection that will help you learn to do more with less are:

Switch: How to change things when change is hard  by Heath, Chip

Remake it home: The essential guide to resourceful living by Thompson, Henrietta

The tyranny of dead ideas: Letting go of the old ways of thinking to unleash a new prosperity
 by Miller, Matthew

Shift your habit: Easy ways to save your money, simplify your life, and save the planet 
 by Rogers, Elizabeth

Green Living: The E magazine handbook for living lightly on the earth  363.705 GRE