R Words

You ought to see my Cindy

2012-01-19T12:55:00.000-08:00

When people talk about recycling products, reusing materials, reducing clutter and repairing items they often like to link these practices with the idea that we are “saving the planet”. While it is true that doing these things helps with the problem of trash disposal, I believe that the positive impact of these actions upon our environment is actually pretty small.

What is important about doing these things is that it changes our self-centered mindset. By actively thinking about other ways to use something before sending it to the landfill, people begin to see “the environment” as something directly affected by their action or inaction. They begin to realize that not only are we a part of this world, but that it is a part of us too. How we treat it reflects upon us as a species.

The world is more than just a resource to be used by people, but those resources are not there just to be protected from people either. There is a balance. When we use something of the Earth, we need to make sure that we take only what we need and no more. And, that in doing so, nothing else is harmed. Furthermore, we need to give something back in return.

We need lumber to build ourselves a house, but we don’t have to cut down the whole forest. We need food to eat, but how essential is it to fill every vacant lot with a McDonalds? We have just as much right to be here as all the other animals do. Unlike the other animals, however, we are supposed to be intelligent. We have choice, not instinct.

If we wanted to, we could make intelligent choices – not selfish ones. We could see that as important as we think humans are, the most skillful painting or technically perfect photograph of a tree is nothing compared to the beauty of the actual tree itself.

We have a lovely pink dogwood that hangs over our backyard deck. When my daughter was three, we were sitting outside underneath the branches of this tree when she looked up and asked me, “Mommy, what is this tree’s name?” I told her that it was a dogwood, but that’s not what she wanted to know. She wanted to know the “name” of this particular tree!

When I told her “I don’t know”, she said, “She’s so pretty, I’m going to call her Cindy!” Ever since then, our family has referred to this tree as “Cindy”. As in: “Oh, look there’s a little yellow bird sitting on Cindy!” or “Let’s take our lunch outside and sit under Cindy!”

It wasn’t just a tree to her; it was an individual worthy of a name. I do realize that she was just three years old and didn’t have the understanding of the world the way an adult does, but wouldn’t it be great if we all valued each plant and each animal as deserving as much right to exist as we do?

We dig in the earth and sow the seeds. With the help of sun and rain, the seeds grow into plants. The plants feed us and give us air. Let’s use what we have carefully. This planet is our salvation, not the other way around.

Way Out Where

I want to go way out where
the sky is green where I can tear up

certainty and make irregularity
out of string and strip

the departed the muted the rare
good primary labor

the sort that does not leave
spots or streaks or dust or bits of bone

just the broken subtlety
of found cloth hard to come by

fields of yellow flower and wild thyme
and salt and pepper ‘case the witches come

where you can piece yourself
get the dust out and winter burn

rise up in the morning time
every stuff of your own all there no pattern

just over the hills a scattering
of fog and white pine and the young

mother singing to her baby
lulla lulla

rain do come down my beauty
it do come down—

- Eva Hooker

Slogans, Definitions and Games

2011-12-20T10:43:00.000-08:00

2011 is almost at an end! I thought I’d borrow a catchy slogan about going green that would define the ideas this blog has tried to impart this past year.

There is the very simple - “Recycling works!”,

the polished - “Recycle today for a better tomorrow”,

the overly-rhyming - “When you refuse to reuse it’s the Earth you abuse”,

and the almost-rhyming - “Paper, bottles, cans, plastic…recycle them all, it's fantastic!”.

There is the lazy slogan - “Eat, sleep, recycle”,

the reproachful - “Don't trash our future: Recycle”,

the smug - “It's easy being green”,
and the silly.

“I pity the fool who don't recycle”

There is the trying-too-hard-to-be-clever “Waste is a terrible thing to mind-recycle“. And the hoarder’s mantra - “When there is doubt, don't throw it out!”

My personal favorite is - “Recyclers do it over and over again”, but that’s kind of crass. So is my second choice - “Once is not enough, recycle”.

I’m afraid to examine what that says about me! So, let’s just forget the slogan and wipe out waste by following the four R’s as below:

•Reduce - Decrease the amount of waste you produce by purchasing fewer products and making sure that those you do buy are long-lasting and have merit.

•Reuse – Donate or sell items you no longer need or use and re-purpose stuff you already have on hand to eliminate waste.
•Recycle - Plastic, paper, glass and metal materials can be separated and processed to be used again.
•Repair – Fix broken items instead of purchasing replacements.

If you still have stuff leftover, then you can do what I like to do:

Make Art (or something useful) from Recycled Materials

PAPER
magazines

from http://greenupgrader.com

newspapers

from www.bluecricketdesign.net

PLASTIC
soda bottles

from www.dollarstorecrafts.com

credit cards

from www.recycledcrafts.craftgossip.com

GLASS

pickle jars

from www.housetohome.co.uk

broken glass earrings

from www.marthastewart.com

METAL

globes

from http://consignmentphinds.blogspot.com

spoons

from http://storageandglee.blogspot.com

TEXTILES

zipper

into a beautiful brooch

fabric scraps

from http://kimboscrafts.blogspot.com

OTHER

Truely bizarre

Recycled "Art"

Why would you?

something "useful" ?

RECYCLING GAMES

DUMP TOWN GAME

This is an online game from the EPA where you are city manager of "Dump Town" and you have to solve the city's pollution problems.

Energy Quest Booklet
This is a 26-page PDF printable booklet from California's "Energy Quest" with puzzles, word games, and crafts.

National Geographic Recycle Roundup
Online game where you have to help "Gus, the gorilla" clean up the park.

Action for Nature
Two online flash games called "Clean Up" and "Recycle".

Recycle Guys

This website offers an online quiz, PDF coloring book, Activity Book and Bingo game.

Ollie's World

From Australia’s Sustain Ability International Party

Have fun exploring the crafts links and playing the games!

RECYCLE (over and over because once is not enough)

Don’t Play with Your Food

2011-11-14T14:04:00.000-08:00

Before I even open up this topic, I have to admit that I am prejudiced.
I DO NOT accept that technology always equals progress. If you think it does, then I'm asking you,“WHAT exactly are we progressing toward?”

JUST BECAUSE WE CAN…SHOULD WE?

By 2050, we will need to have figured out a way to feed nine billion people, found a solution to protect our drinking water from pollution, and -almost certainly- adjust to some kind of drastic climate change. All this at the same time, and in less than 40 years!

Given this alarming set of problems, let’s just limit ourselves to the first challenge and ask “What is the quickest, least expensive way to develop higher yields of drought-, flood- and pest-resistant crops?” How are we going to feed that many people?

Some people think that genetically engineered (GE) crops are the answer. However, classical breeding programs (the system that has supported mankind since we began growing our own food) introduce new varieties just as fast as genetic engineering, and use ecologically sound methods. GE foods are not better. Why? Because genetically engineered seeds do not increase overall crop production. Most of the “genetic engineering” that is done is just to help the seed survive being drenched with chemicals. That’s all.

Monsanto and DuPont, the two largest chemical companies in the world, are also the two largest seed companies in the world. What a coincidence! The main source of seeds for all our major crops are being patented by these two corporations. Instead of being an answer to world hunger, genetic engineering could actually be a major contributor to starvation! How?

READ THIS PART TWICE

There are now patents on genetically engineered 'terminator' seeds. These seeds are designed by biotech companies to produce a sterile seed after a single growing season! This is done to make sure that farmers cannot save the seeds to use the next planting period, but will have to buy them from corporations every season instead. Does anyone believe that the solution to world hunger is to make the crops of the world sterile?

Seeds of Change Terminator Seeds Ban This Technology

JUST BECAUSE THEY CAN…SHOULD WE LET THEM?

Can you picture the starvation that would occur should these “sterility genes” escape from the engineered crops and contaminate other local crops, unintentionally sterilizing them? It would be catastrophic, since most of the world's farmers DO rely on seeds saved from one season to use in planting the next years' crop.

Facts regarding Natural Food Vs. Genetically Engineered Foods:
1. EXPENSE - Genetically engineered crops are significantly more expensive to develop.

2. CONTROL -The world's food supply will be in the hands of a few large companies.
Self-sufficient farmers will be driven off their land. (Monopolies are never good.)

3. TESTING TIME IS THE SAME - Just as in classical breeding, new GE varieties must be tested in the field for several years to ensure they perform as expected.

4. FOOD SECURITY -Will we know what we are eating?

5. POLLINATION – GMO’s (genetically modified organisms) can’t control honey bees! Insect pollination is the main way plants are propagated. Insects will move genetically modified material around, spreading it in unexpected ways and to unwanted places. The insects themselves may also be affected by the differing qualities/quantities of nectar from these plants – and in the case of honey bees – it may be passed on to us when we eat their honey!

6. DECREASED NUTRITIONAL VALUE - Brightly colored, fresh looking GE foods may actually be weeks old, with poorer nutritional value.

7. INFERIOR PROPERTIES- Plant breeders have already produced drought tolerant varieties of sorghum, corn, rice, cassava and pearl millet - all critical for poor farmers in developing countries. Meanwhile, Genetic engineering has yet to commercialize its first drought-tolerant crop.

8. BIODIVERSITY - Biotechnology will destroy biodiversity by limiting the types of foods grown – we need more kinds NOT LESS!

9. NO RECALL - Once genetically modified organisms have been introduced into the environment, they can't be called back. It’s permanent.

For Example: Researchers at Purdue University found out that the release of only a few genetically engineered fish into a large native fish population could make the original species extinct in only a few generations. Scientists at Cornell University discovered that the pollen from Bt corn could be fatal to the monarch butterfly and other beneficial insects.

10. GENE TRANSFER- Is it possible that human genes could be introduced into the food supply? ABSOLUTELY!!!!

Gene Transfer

11. HEALTH CONCERNS -Researchers at the USDA are currently experimenting with inserting human growth genes into pigs, in a Maryland project at the Belchville Agricultural Research Center. The problem? If you introduce human genes into pigs, viruses that only affect pigs could adapt to affect humans! If viruses are able to cross the species barrier, then we could have devastating worldwide epidemics in the human population!

Our ability to play with genetics gives us the power to alter our biology and radically change our environment. Forever. This kind of power should not be given to -or wielded by- those seeking profits. That we allow this power to be unregulated is unbelievable, but true.

If we don't take a stand now, our future is already set.

Check these links for library books available

Seed, Soil, Sun: Earth’s recipe for Food by Peterson, Cris

Uncertain Peril: genetic engineering and the future of seeds by Cummings, Claire

A seed is sleepy by Aston, Dianna Hutts

Plant (DVD) by Mortimore, Morton

Seeds of Change: the living treasure: the passionate story of the growing movement to restore biodiversity and revolutionize the way we think about food by Ausubel, Ken

Growing plants from seed by Abraham, George

Starved for science: how biotechnology is being kept out of Africa by Paarlberg, Robert L.

Genetically engineered food: a self-defense guide for consumers by Cummins, Ronnie

From the good earth: a celebration of growing food around the world by Ableman, Michael

The everything guide to foraging: identifying, harvesting and cooking nature’s wild fruits and vegetables by Shufer, Vickie

The dirty life: on farming, food and love by Kimball, Kristin

Four Fish: the future of the last wild food by Greenberg, Paul

Can We Recycle Energy?

2011-10-19T12:21:00.000-07:00

Nikola Tesla

Thomas Edison gets the credit for discovering the light bulb, but it was his former assistant, Nikola Tesla, who made the breakthrough in alternating-current technology that now provides electrical power to us.

When Tesla began working for him, Edison had just invented the electric light bulb, but he needed a system to distribute the electricity. Edison had designed a DC (direct current) system, but he couldn't make it work right and offered $50,000.00 to anyone could fix the machine! When Tesla solved the problem, Edison took back the offer saying that “it was just a joke.” So,Tesla quit. Edison immediately took out the patent for the (now working) direct current motor in his own name!

In school, we were taught that Edison was some kind of genius, but from what I’ve been reading, it seems to me that Edison was really a greedy, opportunist who became rich by claiming the inventions of his employees, cheating them out of the profits due them, and then vindictively smearing those who stood up to him.

Since Tesla knew about the problems with DC electrical power, after he left Edison he came up with a better idea – Alternating Current or AC. Today, everything runs on the A/C system.

Did Tesla get rich off this idea and get his revenge on Edison? Nope. Unfortunately, Tesla was working for George Westinghouse when he came up with this invention. Just as Edison had done, Mr. Westinghouse provided the funding for the inventor’s research and then stole the patent for himself.

Men like Thomas Edison and George Westinghouse have always been around to interfere with the development of something new or something better. Why? If someone is financially invested in the status quo, there is no incentive for them to embrace any kind of change. It’s all about politics and money. That’s why the use of solar power still hasn’t kicked in.

Big Fossil Fuel Industries lobby to stop any subsidies for alternate energy because they are making huge profits from coal and oil. They’d rather drill in Alaska, run pipelines under the river in Yellowstone and spill oil in the Gulf of Mexico,even though the most abundant resource available to us is the Sun – because sunlight is free! The cost is in manufacturing the solar cells.

Without the government subsidies available to fund the production of solar cells, we are forced to depend upon coal and oil. Legislation follows the money. Most people can figure costs, but few can measure values.

After Tesla left Westinghouse he came up with a lot of other great ideas. He solved problems in engineering, physics, steam turbines, magnetism and robotics. He used the power from Niagara Falls to make the first hydroelectric power plant! He created a 130-foot long bolt of lightning in his lab and wirelessly lit 200 light bulbs from a power source 26 miles away. He even came up with a way to clean the human body of germs using electricity! But, unfortunately, he kept most of the designs for his inventions in his head. After his earlier experiences with sponsors do you blame him?

One of his ideas was for something he called “Free Energy”. He thought that a generator could pull electrostatic energy from the Earth’s atmosphere, which could then be broadcast to other locations through the ground.

“We are whirling through endless space, with an inconceivable speed, all around everything is spinning, everything is moving, everywhere there is energy. There must be some way of availing ourselves of this energy more directly. Then, with the light obtained from the medium, with the power derived from it, with every form of energy obtained without effort, from the store forever inexhaustible, humanity will advance with giant strides. The mere contemplation of these magnificent possibilities expand our minds, strengthens our hopes and fills our hearts with supreme delight.”

- Nikola Tesla

If true, this invention could have produced a never-ending supply of power for the entire planet! However, when he died in 1943, the FBI confiscated all of Tesla’s paperwork. I guess we may never know, but the idea and the possibility is still ...exciting.

“When the great truth accidentally revealed and experimentally confirmed is fully recognized, that this planet, with all its appalling immensity, is to electric currents virtually no more than a small metal ball and that by this fact many possibilities, each baffling imagination and of incalculable consequence, are rendered absolutely sure of accomplishment; when the first plant is inaugurated and it is shown that a telegraphic message, almost as secret and non-interferable as a thought, can be transmitted to any terrestrial distance, the sound of the human voice, with all its intonations and inflections, faithfully and instantly reproduced at any other point of the globe, the energy of a waterfall made available for supplying light, heat or motive power, anywhere — on sea, or land, or high in the air — humanity will be like an ant heap stirred up with a stick: See the excitement coming!”

- Nikola Tesla

Links to Library Books Available on This Subject:

The Five Fists of Science by Matt Fraction

The Invention of Everything Else by Samantha Hunt

Empires of Light: Edison, Tesla, Westinghouse and the race to electrify the world by Jill Jonnes

The Tesla Papers by Nikola Tesla

Wizard: the life and times of Nikola Tesla:biography of a genius by Marc J. Seifer

Pandora's Box

2011-09-27T10:01:00.000-07:00

I was recently lured into watching the latest disaster movie "Contagion" because Matt Damon was starring in it. This is a story about a future global pandemic. As these types of movies go, it was well done,entertaining and fairly accurate. However, even cute Matt Damon won't tempt me into seeing it twice. I mean, what would be the point? I figure that ( just like the movie) by the time the World Health Organization issues a statement about an upcoming plague, it will be too late. Nobody opens an umbrella until after it has begun to rain. If you are already wet, what good is the umbrella?

We have had enough stuff happening locally lately - fires, earthquakes and hurricanes - to deal with. I know that the possibility of widespread infectious disease is certainly real, but we shouldn't waste our time worrying about it. When they tell you a hurricane is coming, you stock up on supplies and prepare yourself as best you can. You won't get a warning before an earthquake strikes. The only thing you have any real control over is yourself. (And sometimes, even that is questionable!)

It's a dangerous, unpredictable world. But, I'm not going to fret about possible future events that I have no control over. Neither should you! Besides, most of the disasters predicted have never actually happened. Or, if they did, things didn't turn out like they said it would. Remember these?

CLICK ON THE LINKS

Killer Bees

Y2K

Mad Cow Disease

SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome)

MRSA (Flesh Eating Bacteria)

While all these are of some concern, I think a greater immediate danger to us is global terrorism and an unstable world economy. These are things that we can solve.

While I can't pretend to be an expert in politics, my view of terrorism is that it exists simply because people are trying to fix something that they perceive to be an injustice, and they can't see any other way to bring that change about except by violent actions.

Al Qaeda - wants to remove current leadership and foreign influence in Arab countries in order to promote their version of Islam.

IRA - wants to create a unified Ireland under Irish rule, not British.

Animal Liberation Front (Associated with PETA) - wants to end animal abuse.

All these groups have what they think are legitimate causes. The methods they use to promote those causes is what determines how legitimate the rest of the world feels their claims to be. Their success utimately depends upon support from others, and you can't gain sympathy for your cause by following a negative path. As Mahatma Gandhi said, "An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind."

We have an unstable economy because humans are basically greedy. We take what we want/do what we want, with no thought of the consequences. We pollute the air, poison the land and the water, and treat each other with disdain. We want wealth without work, we practice commerce without morality, science without humanity, and politics without principles.

The difference between what we do, and what we are able to do would be enough to solve most problems. We have to be that change we want to see in the world. Peace, to have meaning, can't just be a word. It must be translated into food, shelter, health care, education, freedom and human dignity. If you want peace, you must work for justice.

There is no way to peace, peace is the way.

---
Check out these links: BOOKS AVAILABLE AT OUR LIBRARY
The Agricultural Link: how environmental deterioration could disrupt economic progress by Lester R. Brown

Deep Economy: the wealth of communities and the durable future by Bill McKibben

100 Ways to Save the World by Johan Tell

The End of Nature by Bill McKibben

One With Nineveh by Paul Ehrlich

Enough: staying human in an engineered age by Bill McKibben

Wild Solutions: how biodiversity is money in the bank by Andrew Beattie

Doh! RE: me

2011-08-01T09:00:00.000-07:00

Doh!

While browsing through one of our “New Books” displays at the library, a title caught my eye. It was called “Don’t Throw It Out.” I quickly scanned my eyes across it to see if my husband was listed there as author, but it was Lori Baird.

If you lived at my house, you’d know why I might have thought this. “Don’t Throw It Out!” is my husband’s mantra. When I first met him I thought it was “cute” that he had a cardboard box full of old doorknobs under his bed. It was “amusing” that he belonged to a Bottle Collector’s Club and dug for these glass treasures at dump sites with other quirky people. I was “impressed” that he built a fireplace from recovered cobblestones. The carved wooden figurehead of a mermaid that stood in his living room was “artistic”.

How many doors?

Fast forward 30 years later….

We have a garage, a workshop and a barn - all completely full of stuff. And I do mean full! (And I'm paraphrasing the word "stuff"!) We have a wooden church pew, a dentist chair, 2 jukeboxes, a 1947 Farmall tractor, a baby crib, a unicycle, several wall-mount bull horns, a giant plastic Corona beer bottle, bunkbeds, a rocking horse, 45 Westinghouse oscillating fans (I counted them), a rowing machine, a drill press, 4 lawnmowers , and a huge red neon sign that says “Ruby’s Barbershop”. All are in excellent condition and just waiting for a day in the distant future when we might have need of them.

I am all for re-purposing, re-using, and recycling things. That’s what this blog is about. I hate waste. But, one thing I hate worse than waste is clutter. But, you’d never know that if you saw my house. Clutter starts innocently enough. No one intends for it to happen. It just comes about gradually. Then one day you look around and you realize that you can’t find your dining room table!

This is why "open storage" is a bad idea!

I have books. BOOKS! Lots of books. OMG BOOKS! I just love books. I have craft projects. EVERYWHERE! Most are unfinished …and most likely they will remain unfinished. If you ask me why, I will probably tell you it is because I don’t have the time, but that’s not true. The real reason is:

A. I have lost interest because it takes too long and/or is too difficult

B. I have run out of or don’t have enough of a key ingredient

C. I have lost the instructions and/or screwed it up somehow

D. I’m reading. Go away.

I should just throw everything out! Yet, I keep telling myself that “I’ll finish it later” and I hang on to it. Yeah, right! I’m going to finish sewing that size 8 skirt that no-way-in-hell I’ll ever be able to squeeze into now? Do I even want a latch hook rug of a tiger if I complete it? (Did I ever?) I’m going to finish that baby quilt with the hand embroidered panels that I started for my daughter? She is 19 years old. Give it up!

My husband has a wide variety of interests. That’s one of the things that make him so appealing. In addition to the antique bottles, he has a 3-shelf barrister’s bookcase filled with toy tractors, one corner of the den floor is crowded with old flat irons and the living room mantle and adjacent area is stacked with clay pots.

A place to hang your hat?

I also have a few collections – like cookbooks, (Hey, they’re BOOKS!) Alright? I have a ceramic frog collection too. Can I just stop and point out that even though they take up more space than my husband’s stamp hobby, they take up a lot LESS space than the Westinghouse oscillating fans! I’m just saying.

One of my dear co-workers, when visiting my house for the first time, said "Wow, you could have a great yard sale!" Well, we could if we could agree on what to get rid of!

The last yard sale we had was over 20 years ago (just before we bought our current property). I am still hearing complaints about the Hawaiian grass skirt I inadvertently sold along with a ostrich-feathered Shriner’s hat. Though both were “obviously” priceless items that we somehow have managed to stumble along without, I have never been able to drive past a yard sale with my husband in the car since, without him mentioning this blunder. Apparently, there is no statute of limitations on the mishandling of such revered objets d’art!

There comes a point where you need to eliminate non-essentials. Simplify! If you don’t use it, you don’t need it. If you don’t love it, why have it around? I know this.

     “I’ll do it later.”
     “I might need it one day.”
     “It was given to me by someone. -or- It belonged to someone.”
     “It cost a lot of money. –or- It’s worth a lot of money.”
     “It brings back memories”.

These are just excuses for not taking action. Reduce! If you can’t bear to throw it away – donate it! I guarantee that no matter what it is, someone somewhere will want it. I just hope it won’t be my husband!

Start small - clean out that junk drawer!

Interesting Links:
http://www.baabaazuzu.com/
http://www.homemoviedept.com/
http://www.couchsurfing.com/

Girl Gone Wild

2011-07-08T09:49:00.000-07:00

One of the most common themes in the Science Fiction genre is that of a future remnant of Mankind struggling to survive after a cataclysmic disaster. Countless books and movies have used this storyline.

Books

The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood – Humanity becomes infertile due to pollution

Fallen Angels by Larry Niven – Mankind causes an Ice Age

The Other Eden by Ben Elton – Earth’s residents must live under domes

Dust by Charles Pellegrino – Every insect on Earth dies

Film

LOGAN’S RUN – overpopulation forces governments to kill citizens once they reach the age of 30

WATERWORLD – Global warming has caused the land to disappear as oceans rise

THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW – A superstorm covers the Earth with snow

2012 - Solar flares cause the temperature of the Earth to increase

There is even a Disney animated film for children called WALL-E about a future Earth that is abandoned by mankind and left in the care of robots. For teens, there is the anime film series COWBOY BEBOP which recounts the man-made disaster that causes the Earth’s moon to break apart. And, for everyone’s enjoyment (?), there is a video game called THE FALL: LAST DAYS OF GAIA, which chronicles the end of humanity.

Does it really have to be this way? Is this our true destiny? Has mankind accepted this scenario as inevitable? If you are reading this and nodding your head “Yes”, then SHAME ON YOU!!! If you want to just lay down and die, then go ahead. Good riddance! But, you are not taking me with you! I’m not going down without a fight!

A Better Philosophy

There is a movement afoot called “Re-wilding” which urges us to return to a more natural state of being. The idea is - that if we could adopt and maintain a sustainable way of life as hunters, gatherers and gardeners - we could unfasten the chains that bind us to a fate no one wants. This “Restoration Ecology “ calls for us to undo our domestication and become the creatures we were originally intended to be. Yes, it’s true, we WERE …Born to be Wild.

YES

Most people think of humanity’s evolution as a straight line of steady progression and increasing complexity. They see Man as the ultimate goal. But, evolution doesn’t really work that way. From any starting point, variation moves in all directions. There is no straight line. Evolution drives diversity.

Think about it -If evolution forced complexity, then (by now) all life on Earth would be multi-celled organisms much more complicated than us! Instead, the most abundant life on Earth consists of one-celled bacteria; and there are many, many different kinds of them. The number of species actually lessens as it becomes more elaborate. There is more plankton than there are whales.

We humans are the product of evolution, just like every other organism on Earth. Nature does not exist to serve us. We are not the objective. We are only part of this world. We are bound to nature as it is bound to us. Did you know that the substance that human blood resembles most closely in terms of chemical composition is salt water?

If we foul our air and water with pollution, cut down our forests, hunt animals to extinction or destroy their habitat, consume more than we produce, then we are ultimately destroying ourselves. We depend upon the Earth to live, but it could very easily get along without us. In fact, Earth would probably be better off if we disappeared entirely!

But, let’s not go just yet!

Different World - Same Idea

Look at some of these links below and think about what you could do to help save species by restoring their habitats, what you could do to support legislation to revive migration corridors, stop soil erosion, participate in re-forestation efforts, undam natural waterways or even little things like re-introducing native plant species in your yard. Join or support a group that promotes restoration ecology. Maybe a person’s time would be as well spent raising food as making money to buy food?

Rewilding

Urban Restoration

Society for Ecological Restoration

World Wildlife

Let’s change the world back to the way it works best. Let’s act as good stewards, guarding our planet from the things that would do it (and us) harm. We must stop the insanity that permits bad decisions to go unchecked.

Another Oil Spill

Like allowing Exxon to run underground oil pipelines through Yellowstone!

When we “rewild”, we give Earth a chance to recover some of its biological diversity. This will insure that there will be more food (because there will be more varieties), more fuel (if we use renewable sources like sun, air, and water), more timber (because we won’t be cutting down the trees). The air and water will be cleaner. Wastes will decompose naturally without man-made toxins. Soil will be fertile and pollinating insects plentiful. Animal habitats will be restored. Balance will be achieved.

“In wilderness, is the preservation of the world.” --- Henry David Thoreau
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Library books on this topic:
The Sixth Extinction by Terry Glavin
Rewilding The World by Caroline Fraser
Chesapeake Bay Blues by Howard Ernst

Wanted: Housekeeper

2011-06-13T14:02:00.000-07:00

When I read the paper or watch a news program concerning environmental issues, I sometimes become depressed. The problems we face - global warming, air and water pollution, hunger, over-population and the energy crunch seem never-ending and unsolvable.

I'm just one person. You are just one person. Even if we band together to solve these problems, there are so many more out there that it almost seems hopeless. Yet, that's what we have to do. We have to clean "our house" room by room.

Different things matter most to each person.  Take two people who both like the great outdoors: One of them enjoys hiking and wants to preserve the nature trails by making them off limits to traffic. The other person enjoys fishing. He wants to be able to use a vehicle in order to bring his boat to the water.

Both of them want to enjoy the same area, but they have different views as to how it should be used. Because they both enjoy nature, they probably have more in common than they think. It may be just this one issue they disagree upon. They will have to compromise in order for both of them to get what they want.

The unfortunate fact is that neither of them will probably even realize that this is something they need work on together until something goes wrong. This is human nature. Until a paper company moves in and begins cutting trees, they will view each other as foes.  And, of course, by that time it may be too late to form a united opposition.

Once the bigger problem is recognized by all, they will waste time arguing over the cause, who is to blame, who should take responsibility for fixing it, and how it should be addressed. They will form a committee to study the problem, discuss the findings and propose regulations. Meanwhile, the paper company is steadily chopping trees.

If only they had recognized their common interests from the first, instead of focusing on their disagreement over one little issue.  As allies, they could have worked together and drawn up a plan to protect that area of wilderness that they both love. Together they could have formed a strong, organized unit capable of taking on any challenge.

This is why we have "renegade" groups such as Greenpeace and PETA. People get tired of waiting for the regulations to be set in place and/or enforced, and so they take matters into their own hands.

Yet, even just one person can make a difference if it is the RIGHT person! For example: Rachel Carson, who wrote Silent Spring back in 1962, realized that the use of pesticides (DDT) was causing the death of non-pest insects and being passed along the food-chain to birds and other animals and also contaminating our water supply. She carefully documented the evidence and published a book about it. People in government, industry and even academia told her that she (a non-scientist) could not possibly know what she was talking about!

But, the facts were real and she put them out there for all to see. Because of her, DDT was banned. It is possible to change things. You just can't allow yourself to give up or be discouraged by others. You have to be like the turtle...steadily plodding toward the finish line. You can't be distracted from your goal.

This morning, my house is a disaster! If I look at it as a whole, I am daunted by the amount of housework I have to do. The clutter, the laundry, the yardwork are overwhelming!

I'll begin to tackle it room by room, and by suppertime, it will be under control. Not perfect, you understand, but I will at least be able to imagine again that perfection is attainable.

BOOKS AVAILABLE AT OUR LIBRARY
One with Ninevah: politics, consumption, and the human future by Ehrlich, Paul R.

Wild solutions: how biodiversity is money in the bank    by Beattie, Andrew J.

The third chimpanzee: the evolution and future of the human animal Diamond, Jared M.

Collapse: how societies choose to fail or succeed by Diamond, Jared M.

Something New Under the Sun by McNeill, J. R.

Silent Spring by Carson, Rachel

The gentle subversive: Rachel Carson, Silent spring, and the rise of the environmental movement    by Lytle, Mark H.

Writings and Drawings by Audubon, John James

Field notes from a catastrophe: man, nature, and climate change   by Kolbert, Elizabeth

Rewilding the World: dispatches from the conservation revolution Caroline Frasier

The Wilder Life

2011-05-09T14:03:00.000-07:00

I just finished reading The Wilder Life by Wendy McClure. This author traced the pioneer path the Ingalls family took from the Big Woods of Wisconsin to the plains of Kansas as described in the “Little House” book series by Laura Ingalls Wilder. Just like me, Wendy McClure read and loved the stories as a child. I, like most readers, identified with the spirited “Laura”.

I admired the way the Ingalls family lived so cleanly with nature. They bravely traveled across the grassy plains in a covered wagon seeking to make a home for themselves somewhere “out west.” They were self-sufficient. Because there were no big trees to build a cabin from on the prairie, Pa built a sod house in the banks of a river, Ma cooked wonderful meals from whatever Pa was able to hunt or she was able to plant. The little girls sewed nine-patch quilts from clothing scraps and played with corncob dolls. The family was close and loving and happy. It was easy to imagine yourself to be inside the book.

Storybook Sod House

A Real Sod House

The life of the pioneer was “green” because that’s the way people lived back then. All the labor-saving devices the modern world uses weren’t invented yet! They recycled because of necessity. Worn clothing was used to make quilts and “organic” food was grown because there were no pesticides. All livestock were “free-range”. It sounds glorious!

Little House on the Prairie

Real cabin on the prairie

Ms. McClure thought so too. We have to remember, however, that the Little House books were fiction! Yes, there was a real Laura Ingalls and she wrote the stories about her family, but they are akin to Norman Rockwell paintings – the gritty realities have been sanitized. In Laura’s real life there was disease [Mary became blind] and death [A baby boy died] due to poor medical care. There was pestilence [grasshoppers] and drought that caused crop failure and starvation [The Long Winter]. We tend to forget those parts.

Sod House

As an adult, I have done some of the things Laura did, but because I wanted to–not because it was a necessity. No matter how much I have gardened, or canned, or cooked or sewed I don’t think I’ve ever been as obsessed about it as Mrs. McClure, who bought a churn and made her own butter. I began to notice her mania early on before she herself recognized it.

churning milk into butter

For throughout her journeys into “Laura’s World” I got the sense that she was searching for something much bigger than insight into Laura. Something was missing from her life and she didn’t know what it was. Like many people, she felt a sadness that could not be named. She thinks she wants to find “Laura”, but it is herself that is lost. She is disconnected from her own life.

Norman Rockwell

She has yet to learn that until you make peace with who you really are, not who you WANT to be, you’ll never be content with what you have or the life you are leading. There is only one journey–going inside yourself. You have to discover yourself first. She has not discovered that there is something inside each of us from which we can extract everything we need to live joyously and abundantly.

If you are unhappy about killing animals for food, then become vegetarian. If you are concerned about chemicals in your food, grow your own. If you are dismayed by waste, then re-cycle. Prices too high? Go without or seek an alternative solution. The only things that are necessary for your life are those that make you happy.

Please listen to Jane!

While reading Laura Ingalls Wilder’s books, I wanted to be a pioneer too. So did Wendy McClure. Neither of us has really ever outgrown that wish. A part of me has often thought that, when I retire, I’ll “go pioneer”. I’ll wear long cotton skirts (with flip-flops), quit wearing make-up and stop dying my hair. I’ll let it grow long again and plait it. I’ll expand my vegetable garden, drink herbal tea and bake bread. I’ll sew. I’ll read more (if that’s possible).

But, another part of me is sensible enough to know that it’s really the SIMPLICITY that I am longing for. And nothing is ever really as simple as you think it is. I already do some of those things and it hasn’t actually made my life any easier. I’ve had fun. I’ve learned a lot. It’s been interesting. But it might be “simpler” to keep my hair cut short, buy my veggies at a farmer’s market and my bread from the bakery.

I’m willing to let go of that life I originally dreamed, so that I can have the life that is waiting for me. Whatever it turns out to be, I’m sure it will be a wilder life than I can imagine right now. I know that because it will be my own story – not Laura’s. And I can live with that.

Life’s Organizational Chart

2011-04-12T12:21:00.000-07:00

Most people are familiar with organizational charts. They are diagrams that show the structure of an organization. They illustrate the relationships between the parts that make up the whole. If you tried to make one for planet Earth, you would quickly discover that it would not be a hierarchical chart. That would require a single entity to be at the top and everything else to be subordinate to it.

Oh? You think that humans are at the top? Well, if we were charting the one organism with the power for the most destruction to the planet, then yes. Yes, that would definitely be us! However, if we were charting the one group upon which all other groups depend for their existence, then that would not be us. It would be plants.

Plants, with their ability to change sunlight into food, are the PRODUCERS. All green plants turn carbon dioxide and water into carbohydrates and oxygen, using the light energy trapped in chlorophyll. This is called photosynthesis. So plants make the oxygen that we need in order to breathe. I’d say that should make them number one.

Animals (including us) survive by eating plants, or other animals that eat plants, or other animals that eat animals who eat plants. [Our food sources all go back to a plant eventually.] Animals are the CONSUMERS. Producers don’t need consumers, but consumers sure as hell need producers. That ought to make animals number two.

Now we come to an often overlooked group, the DECOMPOSERS. They consume dead plants and dead animals. This is important to be sure, but they wouldn’t exist without the other two groups. I suppose this puts them in third place.

In nature, the varieties and quantities of plants in any one particular area determine the group of consumers and producers. Removing any one species from the community threatens the survival of the whole. This is why we can’t really number the three groups according to importance. Everything is intertwined.

There is wise saying attributed to Chief Seattle of the Squamish Native American tribe that states this perfectly. “The Earth does not belong to man, man belongs to the Earth. Man did not weave the web of life; he is only a strand in it. Whatever he does to the web, he does to himself.”

Iron Eyes Cody

A connection also exists between the size of the food resources and the species population. In other words, the small food sources must be the most productive and the most plentiful. The food consumers must be smaller in number. (Think of Plankton versus Whales.)

Microscopic view of Green Algae

Each summer, when the ocean’s water warms up, tiny plants and algae called plankton bloom. They in turn feed tiny animals called zooplankton (krill and other small crustaceans). Fish, shellfish and whales feed on these. Seabirds and seals eat the fish and shellfish. Polar bears eat the seals. The timing of this harvest of plankton is programmed into the reproductive cycles of these animals.

So, you can see that any disruption of this cycle of plankton production – such as global warming - can have devastating effects upon the rest of the planet’s species. Each living thing, no matter where it fits in the food chain, fills a place. Each has a job to do.

Lastly, in one community, no two creatures can fill the same position. You can’t have two consumers needing the same food source. One of them is going to die because there will not be enough to go around. (Think of Neanderthals and Cro-Magnon.)

Our Ancestor

You can’t have an over abundance of plants without enough animals to consume them either.

When there are too many plants in an ecosystem competing for the same resources, the superior competitors do not always win because herbivores may only eat one plant. If there is no one higher up on the food chain to prey upon them, that population will increase and will eat the preferred plant to extinction. When that happens they will, of course , die and the inferior plant will thrive.

Do you recognize humanity's fate in that last paragraph? What with the diversity of our natural food crops being replaced by genetically designed foods, our increasing dependence upon fewer and fewer food sources, and the overpopulating of the planet, can we last much longer as a species without making changes?

Bill Bryson, author of A Walk in the Woods says this about Mankind. “We have been chosen…by fate or providence, or whatever you wish to call it. As far as we can tell, we are the best there is. We may be all there is! It’s an unnerving thought that we may be the living universe’s supreme achievement …and its worst nightmare simultaneously.”
Amen.

Books of Interest

The Food of a Younger Land by Mark Kurlansky

Earth: A visitor's guide to the human race by Jon Steward

On Thin Ice:The Changing World of the Polar Bear by Richard Ellis

With speed and violence : why scientists fear tipping points in climate change by Fred Pearce

Designer Genes: A new era in the evolution of man by Steven S. Potter

What Darwin Never Knew DVD Videorecording

Not Green Enough? Don't Panic!

2011-03-17T12:30:00.000-07:00

There is a problem with trying to live "a simple life" - it's alot of work! There was a time (20 years ago) when I was motivated to be totally self-sustaining. I had the energy back then, you see.

With the purchase of our "farmette", my husband was eager to use his carpentry skills. He built a grape arbor and planted apple trees. He bought a tractor and plowed up pasture. I planted a big garden. I canned. I baked bread. With the arrival of our daughter, I hauled out the sewing machine. I crocheted. I embroidered. I painted.

My husband and I went to auctions and bought furniture that he then re-finished. We made jack-o-lanterns from pumpkins we grew ourselves. My daughter picked strawberries and hid in the corn. We planted cotton, okra, gourds and peanuts for fun. I grew beautiful zinnias.

I envisioned a future with chickens in the yard (like our neighbors) and goats to milk. I wanted to learn how to make cheese. I wanted to make wine from our grapes. I wanted a loom to make my own cloth. I NEEDED A VALIUM!

I don't regret any of the work because it brought us so much joy. But, I had to stop. It simply became too hard to do all that and continue to hold down a 40 hour per week job at the same time. There weren't enough hours in a day to do everything that such "self-sufficiency" required and still be able to participate in the outside world. We live and learn. (Well, at least we live!) Sometimes you have to step back to get perspective.

I've gradually come to understand that I don't have to live so intensely. I don't have to try to cram it all in. There will be things I miss, but there will also be other things I will discover (now that I have the time). As Douglas Adams, author of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy said, "I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be." I can breathe now. I don't have to exhale through clenched teeth anymore.

We all want a simple life. We are all on a journey to figure out our existence and make the right choices. It's alot of work. We humans, are rare creatures, who having the power to learn from each other, are strangely reluctant to do so. Everything is harder than it looks and takes longer than we thought it would. And sometimes, it doesn't turn out the way we expected it to.

We shouldn't be afraid to make mistakes. Because, fearful or not, we will. That doesn't mean we should stop trying. We should always try.

Adam's has a theory which states that if ever anybody discovers exactly what the Universe is for and why it is here, it will instantly disappear and be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable.

There is another theory which states that this has already happened.

Books in our library that will help you become self-sufficient
Keeping Chickens by Jeremy Hobson
Wines from a small garden: Planting to bottling by James Page-Roberts
Cheesemaking by Rita Ash
Living with goats: Everything you need to know to raise your own backyard herd by Margaret Hathaway
The River Cottage Bread Handbook by Daniel Stevens
The Farm Tractor by Ralph Sanders
Spinning, dying and weaving: Self sufficiency by Penny Walsh
Back to Basics by Abigail Gehring
Flea Market Furniture Makeovers by Mickey Baskett
Grow Your Own Vegetables by Carol Klein

Make cheese at Home

Cows Cause Global Warming?

2011-03-09T05:36:00.000-08:00

When I started this “green” blog it was supposed to be about how we can all pitch in to make small changes in our lives that (over time) will help to make it a better world for everyone. It has always been my assumption that though one person just can’t do it all, that everyone working together can.

It’s true that not everyone is able to carry the load equally or in the same way, but each of us can surely contribute something for the good of the whole. Each person has ideas and talents to offer. And now is the time to do so. We need to step up.

We are living in a time when the negligence with which the human race has always treated the Earth has been revealed. We are beginning to see the consequences this indifference has caused. Global warming is real. Pollution is real. The Energy Crisis is real.

Who caused all this? We did. That’s real too.

What’s the solution to these problems? Unfortunately, there isn’t one. That is to say, there isn’t just one solution – just as there isn’t just one cause for the problems we need to solve.

While there is no written manual for us to follow (because if there was we wouldn’t be in this fix to begin with), we can take the steps needed to solve these issues just as we do when trying to correct any other problem we encounter.

I believe that if we start with the goal and work backwards toward what we already know, and then break each part that isn’t working into a smaller piece, we can figure it out.

The Energy Crisis
Use alternative energy sources. Sunlight, wind and water are never going to run out and they are safe.

OIL                        COAL                       NUCLEAR

S ociety of              S ociety for              K ey

P etroleum              M ore                       A tomic

I ndustry                 O xygen                    B benefits

L iquid                   K illing                    O f

L eaks                     E nergy                    O bliterating

M ankind

Solar Energy

Wind Farms

Water Power

Pollution
Enforce the existing pollution laws and make them even tougher.

This can't be good.

Global Warming
Drive Less (Walk, bike, carpool, use mass transit.)
Plant a tree (A single tree will absorb one ton of carbon dioxide over its lifetime.)

Blame It On Cows

It took some time for us to mess things up to this point. It didn’t happen overnight! And neither will the recovery. We all know what to do. How we do it doesn’t really matter. It just needs to happen.

Recycled Valentines

2011-02-01T13:14:00.000-08:00

Valentine’s Day originated as a Roman festival called Lupercalia which celebrated fertility. Symbolizing the deity Faunus, protector of crops and herds; young men clad in goatskins would run around the city slapping people for good luck.

Later, Pope Gelasius II changed this pagan holiday into a Christian feast day honoring St. Valentine in 496. St. Valentine was a priest who was put to death by Emperor Claudius II for performing marriages for Roman soldiers in secret. Claudius forbid marriage as he thought bachelors made better soldiers.

Valentine’s Day was linked to romance in the 14th century when Chaucer composed a poem in honor of the engagement of Richard II and Anne of Bohemia called “The Parliament of Fowls”, in which he compared their engagement to the rural English belief that lovebirds choose their mates on February 14th.

In the 1800’s, gift-giving on that day transformed into exchanging hand-made cards.

Which brings me to this post! Below are some examples of home-made cards and gifts to exchange this year using recycled material. Thanks to http://www.purlbee.com/ and http://www.marthastewart.com/ for these great ideas.

Crocheted Valentine

Crocheted Valentine Card

Valentine Pins

Sewn Paper Valentines

Fabric Valentine Cards

Valentine Potholders

FROM OUR SHELVES
Roses are Red, Violets are Blue. Read, Return, Repeat. Please Do.

Eco Books: Inventive projects from the recycling bin by Taylor Terry

Kilobyte Couture:geek, chick jewelry to make from easy-to-find computer components by Forks, Brittany

Mixed Mania: Recipes for delicious mixed-media creations by Crane, Debbi

Garden of Life

2011-01-21T08:09:00.000-08:00

Everyone knows the story of Noah’s Ark. When flood threatened mankind, God appointed Noah as his steward. Noah was instructed to build a place of refuge and gather together two of each species (male and female) in order to prevent their extinction.

Today high energy demands and commercial development are driving us to cut down our rain forests,pollute our waterways, encroach upon our wetlands and destroy our coral reefs. We pave over fertile farmland to build shopping malls while people go hungry. Mountain tops are blown off in order to mine the ore; leaving the landscape barren. Toxic wastes are buried in the ground to poison our water supply. Mankind is changing the very climate of the Earth with our CO2 emissions.

Like Noah, we have to act quickly to save ourselves. The only problem is that this time WE are the flood!

Humans are part of Earth’s complex web of life. We evolved here along with all the other animals and plants. We were tailored to fit upon this Earth. It made us what we are. Everything here is connected in ways we don’t even fully understand. If we don’t take care of our home, what will become of us? And what will that say about us?

The stewardship of the Earth is our responsibility. Perhaps, like Noah, we need to be given a set of instructions to follow. Author Thomas L. Friedman gives us a formula in his book “Hot, flat and crowded: Why we need a green revolution-and how it can renew America.” It is this:

REEFIGDCPEERPC < TTCOBCOG

Deciphered below it simply means:

“A Renewable Energy Ecosystem, For Innovating, Generating and Deploying Clean Power, Energy Efficiency, Resource Productivity and Conservation LESS The True Cost Of Burning Coal, Oil and Gas.”

The true cost of fossil fuels is not just what we see at the pump! The cost for using them also includes the pollution they generate, assessing the climate changes they cause, and the energy wars they bring about.

Many recent extinctions are clearly related to human activities which change or damage habitats. Although death is unavoidable and (I suppose) that all species will die eventually; I just hope that when it's mankind's turn to go, it’s not because we were stupid.

Back in 1972, there was a science fiction film called “Silent Running” that made a big impression on me. Set in a dreary future where all plant life on Earth is dying, specimens have been preserved on a giant, floating greenhouse in outer space manned by astronauts. When the crew gets orders from Earth to destroy the greenhouse and return home, Bruce Dern (father of Laura Dern who starred in Jurassic Park - another story involving extinct species) goes nuts and kills the other crew members and hijacks the ship, thereby saving Earth’s plants for posterity.

I’m hoping that we will never have a need for this type of modern-day Noah.

The only way to change our "race toward destruction" is for the world’s governments to work together to set in place policies that draw the lines that are needed. We have to protect certain areas of the Earth from exploitation. We have to provide economic opportunities for people to keep them from harming the environment. We have to have investors for long-term projects to discover and promote alternatives to the destructive ways we currently operate. We have to have good local governments to enforce these changes. We have to educate people to act in their own best interests.

Some say that worrying about your mortality is a sign that you are insecure about your life’s value and worth. That may be true. Then again, living in denial doesn’t change the truth either.

BLOG LIST

Visualize Whirled Peas
Treehugger
No Impact Man
The Future is Green
Organiblog
Little Blog in the Big Woods
Life Less Plastic
It's the Environment Stupid
Ardous Blog

M7ZGJ6UT79V4

Give, and it will be given to you.

2010-12-20T12:50:00.000-08:00

Before you go out and buy that present....

If you are thinking of giving a gift to a person who enjoys gardening or someone who loves to cook, why not consider a donation in their name to The Dinner Garden a non-profit group whose goal is for people to establish food security for their families by planting their own food to eat and also sell for income. End Hunger. "The solution is in your own backyard." Give light and people will find their own way.

Do you know someone who loves jewelry? Bead for Life fights poverty in Uganda by teaching women skills they can use to start their own business. You can buy their products from the website or make a donation to the program. He who obtains has little, he who scatters has much.

Do you love animals or do you have a pet at home? Donate to your local SPCA. Norfolk or Virginia Beach Seek joy in what you give, not in what you get.

Do you like people and love to give parties? Why not give a gift of love to Architecture for Humanity which supports a network of architects, designers and building professionals to lend their talents to communities where their services are most needed and can least be afforded. You make a living by what you get, but you make a life by what you give.

Here in Tidewater there are many of us who spend a lot of time in and on the water. The Ocean Foundation is fighting to repopulate the ecosystems of the Gulf Coast - a region recovering from the recent British Petroleum oil spill. The generous man will be prosperous, and he who waters will himself be watered.

Do you have children or grandchildren? Replace a stuffed toy you would normally purchase with a donation to The World Wildlife Fund Symbolically adopt a panda, tiger, polar bear or humpback whale for $50.00 and they will send you a stuffed animal, a photo, adoption certificate and information about the animal. Teach your children that it is impossible to love without giving.

This season especially, please remember that it is more blessed to give than to receive.

The Swinging Pendulum

2010-12-01T12:26:00.000-08:00

This morning as I was pouring milk into my second cup of sugared coffee (having just finished a breakfast of bacon and eggs). I sat down and reached around my husband's newspaper for the strawberry jelly to spread on my buttered biscuit, when I realized (with a guilty pang) that sitting in my refrigerator were 4 cups of YOGURT, a bowl of leftover FRUIT SALAD, and that I had GRANOLA cereal in the cupboard!

After all the reading (and preaching) I've done lately about the importance of eating fresh, whole foods I still can't seem to break my inclination to reach for the stuff that tastes good, but isn't necessarily good for you.

I suppose I could blame it on my upbringing, but I did later live a very healthy, natural foods type of life for many years. So, I do know better - and I know I CAN do better. I just don't anymore and I guess it's laziness.

I was raised by an educated mother who enjoyed her career and hated cooking . Her meal plans were determined by what was quickest. This was in a time before prepackaged meals, so weekday suppers usually meant boiled potatoes, a can of corn and fried Spam doused with ketchup.

On weekends, when she had more time, she might (over)cook a roast or put on a pot of beans. I don't remember many salads, unless you count her shredded carrots in Jello concoction. We ate sliced tomatoes, but I don't think I ever tasted a cucumber that wasn't in pickle form. Fruits were limited to apples, oranges and bananas.

My sister and I ate lots of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches washed down with Kool-Aid. Our parents lived on coffee and cigarettes.

In later years, when my parents finally retired, they bought my Grandmother's old farm house and property, planted a garden and raised chickens. My Mother would call me and proudly say, "We're eating like poor folks!" Meaning, of course, that she had gone back to her roots and was once again eating sweet potatoes, turnip greens and black-eyed peas she had grown herself and was cooking cornbread and drinking iced tea.

But, it was too late for my sister and I, who were raised on Fruit Loops, frozen fish sticks and Tang.

However, in that statement of hers, I finally got a flash of insight. My mother grew up in a large family during the depression. They depended upon their garden to eat. They canned what they grew and baked their own bread by necessity. So success -to her generation- was having a career that gave you enough money to buy your food from a store. You didn't have to nurse your babies! You worked and, therefore, could afford to buy canned formula that caretakers could feed your child in a bottle.

Those bottle-fed babies (my generation) grew up to become "hippies". We rejected our parents way of life and went back to the land. (Well, for awhile anyway.) We identified with our grandparents.

Our children, tired of living on bean sprouts and tofu, swung the other way. They craved Happy Meals and rejoiced in grandparents (our parents) who bought them Slurpees and served Pop Tarts for breakfast and Chef Boyardee Spaghetti and Meatballs in a can for lunch.

Their children (our grandchildren) - those now in high school and college - have tipped back towards us. They are the vegetarians.

It all depends on your point of view.

In between all these generations are lots of confused people! How else can you explain the simultaneous popularity of Starbucks with its unnatural, flavored coffees and Sushi - the ultimate fresh food? There has to be a happy medium out there somewhere.

Maybe I'll just put a dab of Cool Whip on that fruit salad.
-----------------
Please Read:

Twinkie, deconstructed: my journey to discover how the ingredients found in processed foods are grown, mined (yes, mined), and manipulated into what America eats by Ettlinger, Steve

Dr. Earl Mindell's Unsafe at any meal: how to avoid hidden toxins in your food by Mindell, Earl

Fast food nation : the dark side of the all-American meal by Schlosser, Eric.

The paleo solution: the original human diet by Wolf, Robb

Manna Mania

2010-11-22T09:35:00.000-08:00

With the approaching Thanksgiving holiday, which often seems to be celebrated by gluttony and over-indulgence, it may now be appropriate to talk about food and the politics of food.

Manna was the name of the food God sent to the Israelites during their 40 years in the desert. It fell from Heaven upon the ground as small white grains resembling coriander seeds. It tasted like honey.

Some are still searching for a perfect food source to feed us all. With the increasing world population, it sometimes seems we need another phenomenon like manna. For awhile, TVP (textured vegetable protein) was the “miracle” scientists held up to the light.

I’m suspicious of any “food” that has to be processed, disguised and then mixed with other foods in order to be palatable.

TVP is made from proteins that are EXTRACTED from soybeans, cotton seeds, wheat and oats. It is pressed into various shapes (flakes, chunks, strips) and sizes. It looks like dog kibble! A similar taste comparison for meat eaters would be baked chicken versus chicken McNuggets, for vegetarians it would be a fresh ear of roasted corn versus a can of niblets.

Vegetarians, who are concerned about cruelty to animals, or humans eating certain species to the point of extinction, may be quick to endorse this product. However, there are a few things they should know about TVP.

• TVP is not a complete protein. You can’t use it as a substitute for the complete protein you would get from eating animal foods (meats, fish, poultry, cheese, eggs, yogurt, and milk) that contain all 9 essential amino acids. Proteins derived from plant foods (beans, rice, grains, and vegetables) are incomplete. Incomplete proteins have to be combined in meals to make a complete protein (for example by combining rice and beans). TVP is incomplete.

• TVP lacks isoflavones (which are in other soy products such as tofu, miso, and tempeh). Isoflavones are the whole reason for the health benefits in eating soy.

• TVP is not organic. Under organic production, use of pesticides (including insecticides, fungicides, and herbicides) on plants is prohibited. Livestock must be raised with regular access to pasture and without use of antibiotics or growth hormones. Neither animals nor produce can be genetically modified.

• TVP has one of the highest percentages of contamination by pesticides of any food that is eaten. We may as well be lotus-eaters like those in Greek mythology, who ate the narcotic plant and ceased to care about anything or anyone.

To find out how much protein you need daily, divide your body weight in pounds by 2.2 (which gives you your weight in kilograms) and then multiply that number by 0.8 - then check the charts below to discover the amount of protein in each food.

Animal Sources of Protein Serving Size Protein (in grams)

Meat/Poultry/Fish 3 oz. 21

Cottage cheese ½ cup 14

Milk 1 cup 8

Yogurt 1 cup 8

Cheese 1 oz. 7

Egg 1 whole 6

Egg white only 1 3

Plant sources of Protein Serving Size Protein (in grams)

Tofu, raw, firm 3 oz. 13

Legumes: (Black beans,

Kidney beans, Chickpeas, etc.) ½ cup 7 – 8

Peanut butter 2 T. 8

Nuts 1 oz. 5

Bread 1 oz. (1 slice) 3

Cereal 1 oz. 3

Vegetables ½ cup cooked or 1 cup raw 3

Pasta or rice ½ cup 3

Just as you don’t need a Nicoderm patch to quit smoking, there is no reason that you ever need to eat TVP if you decide to abstain from eating flesh. It's not hard to satisfy your protein needs, as long as you eat a variety of foods.

Another food source that scientists hope is akin to biblical Manna is green algae. Algae are simple photosynthetic plants that live in water, most often known as plankton. You think you would never eat seaweed? Chances are you already have! Algae has found its way into many commercial products. There are four algae products: Agar (found in Hostess Fruit Pies), Alginic acit (found in Mrs. Butterworth’s syrup and Sunny Delight Orange Juice), Carrageenan (found in Johnston’s Pumpkin Pie and Baby Ruth Candy Bars) and Diatomaceous Earth (found in Sensodyne Tooth Paste and most swimming pool filter powders.) Pond scum? Yummy!

Alginic acit

Carrageenan

Diatomaceous Earth

Agar

People are going to keep looking for that one perfect food source, but I don’t think they are going to find it. Our hope in the ability to feed future mankind lies in our politics, not our science.

The Earth COULD certainly provide us with the variety and quantity of plants and animals needed to feed us all. And, people SHOULD certainly be able to figure out how to distribute this bounty evenly.

Now, if we just WOULD.

Otherwise, the alternative is “Soylent Green”.

Books About Politics of Food:
The Third Freedom by McGovern, George S.

The crazy makers : how the food industry is destroying our brains and harming our children by Simontacchi, Carol N.

The hundred-year lie : how food and medicine are destroying your health by Fitzgerald, Randall

Food politics : how the food industry influences nutrition and health by Nestle, Marion

The Maker's Diet by Rubin, Jordan

Relapse

2010-11-05T19:37:00.000-07:00

The crunchy part of the year has begun. You know, when everything is smushed together into

"halloweenthanksgivingchristmasnewyears"?

From October until the start of the new year, my life is just too busy. I'm always trying to squeeze extras into my routine and inevitably other things are neglected. (Such as blog posting!) So, let me play some catch up.

I've posted pictures below of my "recycled" clothing experiment. The skirt that was too long was shortened and a ruffle added to the bottom with the excess material, along with a matching ribbon trim.

skirt

sweater

I crocheted red cap sleeves on the sleeveless brown sweater and also made a little flower pin with some of the skirt material.

blouse

The blouse that was too low cut has been made modest by the addition of some pink crocheted lace stretched across the neckline.

"plarn" (plastic yarn) bag

I thought I'd also show a picture of the finished "plarn" bag from several posts ago.

I have not gotten around to the aprons yet (though they would have been the simplest project) because I had to make two Halloween costumes first and I ran out of gas. The Halloween outfits both had aprons though!

Halloween Dress 2

Halloween Dress 1

The purple apron was made from an old shirt I had and the white one was made from a pillowcase. I took two bridesmaid's dresses I bought at a thrift store and reconstructed them using lace and netting I had at home.

There has been enough "recycling" going on here that I really should speak of something else for awhile. But, no matter how hard I try to think of something else, recycling seems to be dominating my life right now both at home and at work.

At work, we have several projects going on and some that we recently finished that involve the re-use of materials. We have put up new display shelving for our paperbacks that came from a book shop and our wooden cupboards came from a department store that went out of business. Our old revolving bookracks have been given to another branch library for re-use.

cupboards on red wall and display tables

paperbacks

We are in the process of building a "coffee shop area" in the library that will have vending machines, tables and chairs, wooden floor, beautiful lighting and piped in music! While new to us, this is a re-cyled concept stolen from Barnes and Noble that we hope to copy successfully.

future coffee shop area

The "Big Shift" project (where every non-fiction book at Central is re-shelved and every shelf has been adjusted) is almost complete. Now instead of the Dewey numbers running horizontally across the aisles, they flow down each column as they should - making books so much easier for patrons to locate.

reshelved non-fiction

The GD Moving Crew can truthfully say they have physically touched each book in the collection at least once (and sometimes twice). Word up....the Chilton Auto books are really heavy!

At home, I cooked a big ham with pineapple for supper on Sunday - then recycled it into sandwiches the rest of the week. Ugh! I'm even reading a book called "Juliet" by Anne Fortier which is a updated, recycled plot from Shakespear's "Romeo and Juliet". Earlier this week I watched the old musical "West Side Story" - which is [guess what?] another re-telling of "Romeo and Juliet". Seriously, I just now realized that!

OMG! Have I finally reached the age where there truly is nothing new under the sun?

Maybe not. Recently, my daughter made me listen to this song she liked by someone called "Shaggy". It was set to a Jamaican beat, but the lyrics and tune were basically stolen from the old Juice Newton song (who BTW stole it from Nina Simone!) called "Don't Call Me Angel". Well, okay there was one little difference - instead of singing "just touch my cheek before you leave me", he sang "closer than my peeps you are to me". Hopefully, this is one song that won't be played in the coffee shop area. (Sigh)

Slowly turn away.

I won't beg you to stay.

(Maybe the sun's light will be dim and it won't matter anyhow.)

Binge and Purge

2010-09-30T12:57:00.000-07:00

I’ve been going through my closet. I’m getting rid of everything that doesn’t fit, I don’t wear or I don’t like anymore. I may end up naked! What to do with the items I remove? I usually take everything to Goodwill (where I then sometimes end up buying replacements – which defeats the whole “reduce” idea.)

This time, however, I’m going to take some of the items and “reuse” them. I’ve checked out a book called “200 Sewing Tips, Techniques and Trade Secrets” by Lorna Knight which I’m hoping will help me do things like alter existing pieces or turn some flowered skirts into aprons . I’m going to perform some sweater surgery too and see what I can reconstruct . SEE LINKS BELOW

If all goes well, I may then tackle my daughter’s closet (where I am sure to find tons of sparkly things that she no longer wears). These can be turned into cute, little dresses for our sweet 3-year old neighbor or her new baby sister who will arrive in December. I’ve already got some patterns and this part should be fun.

Fix a V-neck blouse

Fix a sleeveless sweater and a long skirt

I have to confess that I have a Love/Hate relationship with sewing. I grew up in a rural area and time when girls sewed. I had sewing lessons in 4-H Club and also as part of (required) Home Economics classes in High School. I hated it. I wasn’t good at it.

I’ll tell you how bad I was; I sewed the sleeve of the blouse I was wearing to the hem of an A-line dress I was making in Miss Moody’s 9th grade class. Everyone laughed. Then all the girls came over in a giggling cluster to watch Miss Moody whip out her seam ripper and disentangle me. How humiliating!

Flash forward several years: I took a summer job at a garment factory where they sewed coats. (I know! What was I thinking?) Well, I guess I didn’t think they’d actually put me on a sewing machine – but they did. They sat me down and gave me a big bolt of corduroy which I was to hem in one long, continuous stitch – and a hook that you wore on your finger like a ring. When you came to the end of the bolt, you were supposed to use the hook to cut the thread.

I was young and had long hair that hung below my waist. Sometime during the sewing process, I reached back to flip my hair out of the way and damn near cut off my ear with that hook! It’s amazing how much blood a cut to the ear generates. Needless to say, they took me off the sewing machine and put me in the steam press room – where I had other adventures.

Since those days, I’ve had numerous occasions to sew. I’ve had some successes and some hilarious failures. (Such as the baby dress for my daughter where all the little red tractors were upside down because I turned the pattern the wrong way.)

I use as my inspiration for trying this “green” project a friend I had back in high school named Mary Ann Capelle, who took drama and theater classes. She could take something out of her closet, tear off the collar and sleeves, and turn it into something new and pretty. When she bought clothes off the rack it was with the idea of cannibalizing them for parts! She would take a plain blouse and embroider a little flower on the cuff, add lace to a V-neck dress, or dye her sneakers.

This is what I’d like to be able to do, but I’m not Mary Ann. I don’t expect perfection. I just hope I don’t end up looking like Blossom.

Library books to consider:

SWEATER SURGERY by Girard, Stephenie

Subversive Seamster:Transform thrift store threads into street culture" by Alvarado, Melissa

Alchemy Arts: Recycling Is Chic by MacKay, Kate

The Weekend Sewer's Guide To Dresses by Matthews, Kate

Make Your Own Clothes: 20 Custom Fit Patterns To Sew by Clayton, Marie

Sewing With Fabulous Vintage Fabrics by Franklin, Arden

Resistance is Fertile!

2010-09-03T11:55:00.000-07:00

Today I actually got to do something I haven’t done in awhile (because of the heat, the rain and my hectic life). I sat out on my deck early in the morning, before the neighbors were up. (That would be the ones on the right with the kids and barking dog and the one on the left who loves to crank up his boat in the driveway and play Beach Boy music.)

I could hear the birds and feel the breeze and the grass was wet. My little dog was busy snuffling around exploring trails left by rude squirrels with his nose.

I’m usually pretty social – or at least I’m always surrounded by people. Mostly, I really like people. This morning though, I enjoyed the hushed, gentle sounds and the rare solitude. My happiness was to linger over a cup of coffee, breathe deeply and just BE.

It made me wonder what it would be like if there were no people at all. There would be nothing or no one around to make demands upon me. Would it be this peaceful? If it was, would I be able to appreciate it? Would it even matter?

Maybe that’s the only reason we are here; to appreciate it. Consider this thought. We’ve only got one Earth, so we should take the time to appreciate it. You don’t have to be standing on the rim of the Grand Canyon to know how majestic our world is.

Look around your neighborhood. Is it filled with noise, flashing signs and strip malls? Could it be improved? Has the beauty of the natural world disappeared completely? Does it reflect the way the world was intended? It doesn’t have to be that way. Even shop owners can plant a flower in a clay pot or hang a wind chime.

When my parents lived in New Mexico their town had an ordinance requiring all new construction to be made of adobe brick and landscapers could not plant grass. Why? Because of water restrictions to be sure, but also because locals wanted to preserve the integrity of their ecosystem …and their cultural heritage.

You see, a lot of folks from back East retire there because they’ve “always wanted to live out West” or because the dry desert air is good for their health.

Once they are there, however, they start planting grass – in a climate that does not have the water to support it. They start building Cape Cod houses and log cabins in an area that has never had enough trees for those types of dwellings to develop. Locals have always used mud bricks (adobe) to build their homes.

Pretty soon the scenery changes; the very reason people moved out West disappears. No more adobe homes with swept yards and cactus. Taco Bells spring up and restaurants serving authentic Mexican foods struggle. Quaint little shops go out of business because everyone shops at the Super Walmart down the road.

It’s not progress exactly, but it is a progression. The natural world and all the things that make one place unique from another, merge into a unified blend of vanilla monotony.

Even here in Chesapeake wooded areas are stripped of lovely, mature trees – the undulating ground graded flat and developers build ugly, squat “communities” and give them ironic names like “Green Tree Villas”. How sad!

I know there is still beauty in the world, but it is there in spite of us – not because of anything we’ve done. Usually.

There is an underground movement of people who call themselves “Guerilla Gardeners” who roam about the cities surreptitiously planting flowers, shrubs and trees in blighted areas.

LINKS
http://www.guerrillagardening.org/

http://www.greenguerillas.org/

http://www.worldchanging.com/archives/011420.html

This is the only kind of revolutionary group I’d actually like to join.

In fact, if anyone can help me locate one around here I’d be grateful. Together we could turn the city of Chesapeake into Emerald City. Maybe if I can’t find one, I could start one? Anyone interested?

VIDEO http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/video/2008/apr/25/guerrilla.gardening

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/video/2008/apr/25/seedbombing

Cheap, Cheap, Cheap

2010-08-18T19:39:00.000-07:00

Our family was “green” before it was cool. We weren’t called “green” back then; we were called “cheap”. I don’t consider us to be tightwads. I prefer to think of us as thrifty. We’ve always shopped at consignment stores, bought 2nd hand cars, cooked at home and (YIKES!) even eaten leftovers. Refrigerator Soup Recipe. There’s not much in my house that isn’t pre-owned, but I don’t feel deprived. I feel liberated.

We save our money not because we’re greedy, but because we have chosen not to be. We don’t have to purchase the newest toy on the market to be happy. We’re “under-buyers”. We have the money to buy it; we just don’t feel the need to.

A cheapskate is not someone who is miserly. It’s someone who spends less than they earn. It’s someone who lives below his means. It’s not a bad thing. It’s our preference. We have no debt. We have savings.

Here’s how it works:
Figure out what your take-home pay is, and then spend LESS than that each month. (OMG how simple!)Take what you didn’t spend, and save it for long-term goals like sending your child to college or retirement. Use it for things you can’t afford to pay for out of your regular paycheck, like trips to Europe (or flat-screen TV’s). Save it for emergencies. If you do this, I promise you will not be troubled about money anymore.

When you put off your purchases by saving up for them first, YOU are choosing how you spend your money. You give yourself time to think. You are not being enticed by slick advertising campaigns into believing that you can’t live without whatever it is they are selling. YOU are in control. YOU are determining just how much you need or want each item. It’s called delayed gratification.

Some easy ways to save money
1. You don’t have to give your kids everything they want. An indulged child has the worst possible preparation for life. Seriously. Don't spoil them!

2. Eat at home. Plan your meals. Shop for groceries once a week. Brown bag your lunch. Drink tap water. Family meals are powerful!

3. Don’t replace items unless they are broken. Buy used or discount. You don’t have to empty the grocery store shelves buying “green” products to do this either. It’s just as green to use what you already have on hand or cheaper versions of the green line. Use natural products!

4. Go low-tech. Wash your clothes in cold water, use clotheslines, wash dishes by hand, use crockpots, sweep & mop the floor instead of vacuuming. Rake the yard instead of using a leaf blower. For entertainment, GO TO THE LIBRARY for your books and movies – attend free events there too.

5. Reduce the size of your lawn by using ground covers. You’ll save water and mow less. You can get free plants at http://www.plantswap.net/ or call a local landscaper – they usually discard the plants they uproot from landscaping jobs.

I mention all of the above first to promote “cheap” living as an incentive for you to try fiscal fasting. There is, however, also a second reason. It’s the connection between spending /consuming less and saving the planet.

I’m not saying you have to become a FREEGAN for goodness sakes! (That sounds a little too scary for me!)

But you could take this test to see how green you are, and then read some of the books listed below.

Available at Chesapeake Public Library

Thrifty: living the frugal life with style by Harris, Marjorie.

This green house: home improvements for the eco-smart, the thrifty, and the do-it-yourselfer by Piven, Joshua.

Cheap talk with the frugal friends: over 500 tips, tricks, and creative ideas for saving money by Zalewski, Angie

Chick living: frugal and fabulous by Koederitz Melcher, Kris.

Baking soda: over 500 fabulous, fun, and frugal uses you've probably never thought of by Lansky, Vicki.

Frugal families: making the most of your hard-earned money by McCoy, Jonni.

The frugal gourmet on our immigrant ancestors: recipes you should have gotten from your grandmother
by Smith, Jeff.

Bottom Line's household magic: 2,022 money-saving, time-saving, make-it-last solutions and suprising new uses for everyday products! by Wilen, Joan.

Better groceries for less cash: 101 tested and proven ways to save on food by Putala, Randall

When changing a lightbulb just isn't enough by Anderson, Emily

52 easy weekend home repairs: a year's worth of money-saving projects by Time-Life Books.
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The planet might be too big for you to save, but at least you can save your pocketbook.

Raindrops

2010-07-28T10:58:00.000-07:00

Learn about the many uses of a rain barrel and how to build one.

Workshops sponsored by

Chesapeake Department of Agriculture, Chesapeake Master Gardeners,

and Chesapeake Public Works Department

Discounted workshop fee of $40, due at time of registration

(Fee includes barrel, help with assembly, and handouts)

Collecting rainwater in a barrel can save you money

and eliminate the problems of eroded foundations, soil erosion

and water pollutions caused by runoff.

Join next classes:

Saturday, August 28th at 10:00am at Indian River Library

or Saturday, September 25th at 10:00am at Central Library

Call 382-6348 for additional information

ROOTS (Leaves, Nuts and Berries)

2010-07-28T05:57:00.000-07:00

I just finished a book called “The Origin Diet” by Elizabeth Somer that seemed to make some valid points. She claims that by eating like our stone-age forefathers did, we could live longer, healthier lives. What does this have to do with being green? Two words - “Processed Foods”.

Our ancestors preserved their food by drying, salting, fermenting, smoking and freezing. Today we reconstitute, hydrogenate, emulsify, puff, defoam, and fortify our food. Processing has turned low-calorie, nourishing foods into low-nutrient, calorie-rich foods. (For Example: Apples into fried apple pies, potatoes into Tater Tots and Yogurt into pudding with candy sprinkles.)

Our food labels list ingredients such as xanthan gum, aspartome, dextrose glucose and sodium benzoate.

The ancient farmer cultivated an assortment of corn, wild rice, and other grains. Now farmers plant only brand name crops that have been genetically engineered to produce higher yields. (Such as Silver Queen corn and Better Boy tomatoes.) These types of foods are called GMO’s, which stands for Genetically Manufactured Organisms.

When the only thing we plant is one specific variety, we lose our ability to prepare for an uncertain future. What happens when that one special crop fails or becomes diseased? Ever hear of the Irish Potato Famine?

If we depend exclusively upon these “Superfoods”, we will lose the diversity of our natural food supply. Unless we save the seeds, some plant species will die out forever because they are no longer being cultivated. SEED SAVERS Who knows what nutrients, what medical benefits, and other useful qualities we will lose if they disappear?

Having a variety of crop species ensures that we have the genetic resources needed to face future climate changes, and will be able to combat diseases that develop a resistance to old defenses.

It took thousands of years for man to evolve from ape. We went from hunting and gathering, to farming, to fast-food windows in the blink of an eye. These last few hundred years have not allowed our bodies time enough to adapt to our present environment. Our biology is still conditioned toward diets and activity levels that existed in the past.

Our bodies crave water, nuts, seeds, leaves and wild game. We give them soda pop, cheese doodles and hot dogs. Our diets are killing us because it’s not the food we need.

Part of being green is taking advantage of what nature offers us without depleting the source and in using less energy to produce goods. It, therefore, makes sense to plant or buy natural food products.

If being green also means to conserve, then by feeding ourselves the types of foods we need to stay healthy and avoiding the foods that cause us problems, we are conserving mankind’s future.

I hereby promise myself that I will begin to treat my body better (again) by avoiding fast foods and giving up soda. If anyone sees me lingering by the snack machine contemplating the purchase of a Reese’s Cup, feel free to grab me by my hair and drag me away. It’s what any honorable caveman would do. Thanks!

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Books to Read by Jean M Auel
The Clan of the Cave Bear
The Valley of Horses
The Mammoth Hunters
The Plains of Passage
The Shelters of Stone
The Land of Painted Caves

It’s Not EZ Being Green

2010-07-16T13:36:00.000-07:00

Having to spend each day the color of the leaves

When I think it could be nicer being red or yellow or gold

Or something much more colorful like that

The idea of a “green” society is compelling, but easier said than done. We are all so accustomed to the horn of plenty that we have been living in for the past 40 years that it’s hard to accept that ours is a lifestyle that is increasingly unacceptable to the rest of the world.

It seems you blend in with so many other ordinary things

And people tend to pass you over

Socially unacceptable because many have so little while a few have so much, but economically unacceptable too as the world’s resources are being depleted. Kermit the frog was right. It ain’t easy. Pursuits that are worthwhile never are.

Cause you’re not standing out like flashy sparkles in the water

Or stars in the sky

Look at all the lists that are put out about how to "live lightly" and how to "reduce your carbon footprint" .

Some of these suggestions seem pretty obvious; others make you slap your head and say, “Why didn’t I think of that?” Well, most of us don’t think.

But green’s the color of Spring

And green can be cool and friendly-like

We live our life emulating King Sisuphus of Greek Mythology. (He pushed a rock up a mountain every day, and at the end of each day, it rolled back down.) Sound familiar? We can get stuck in a loop that’s hard to break. We do the things we do because we’ve always done them that way. We’re on auto-pilot.

And green can be big like an ocean

Stop!

Reconfigure!

Today is when everything that’s going to happen from now on begins!

Before you go to work tomorrow consider these ideas:
Take a shower rather than a bath. (I haven’t bathed in years!…hehehe.)
Buy clothes from thrift stores. It’s fun.
Use biodegradable cleaning products. biodegradable cleaning products"
(Thanks to Mike Andruczyk, VCE-Horticulture Agent for the City of Chesapeake for this link!)

Avoid clothes that need to be dry cleaned.

Buy recycled products.
Run the dishwasher only when it’s full.
Turn down your thermostat.
Take public transit.
Bike or walk to work.
Carpool.
Drive more slowly.

Or important like a mountain

While you are at work try some of these:
Send emails instead of letters.
Convert to PDF for paperless document sharing.
Scan documents instead of copying them.
(The more you do online, the less paper you need.)
Print on both sides of the page.
Reuse your binders and folders.
Use misprints as notepads.
Encourage employees to use payroll direct deposit.
Use Instant Messaging or video conferencing.
Use natural daylight as a free source of lighting for the office.
(It has been proven to improve worker productivity and satisfaction.)
Add plants to your office.

Or tall like a tree

It’s lunch time. Did you do any of these?
Bring lunch to work in a reusable container.
Grow your own vegetables or buy local produce.
Do not buy foods containing genetically modified organisms.
Say NO to GMO's!
Break the bottled water habit, use a mug or glass. Drink tap water.

It could make you wonder why

But why wonder why?

The afternoon rolls by:
You see that many tasks are still undone. You may begin to wonder where all the time went. Take some comfort in knowing that scientists studying the Earth’s motion say that the planet has been spinning faster in recent years, and thus the days ARE shorter. It’s not you.

I am green and it’ll do fine.

It’s time to leave for the day! Did you remember these?
Switch off lights you don’t need.
Unplug machines when not in use.

It’s beautiful!

Now before you pull in your driveway, swing by the library and check out some books!

READ, RETURN, REPEAT

And I think it’s what I want to be.

Books on Recycling
Sneaky green uses for everyday things by Tymony, Cy

Don't throw it out by Baird, Lori

Re-creative: 50 projects for turning found items into contemporary design by Dodds, Steve

High tech trash by Grossman, Elizabeth

Redux: designs that reuse, recycle and reveal by Roberts, Jennifer

Taking out the trash: a no-nonsense guide to recycling by Carless, Jennifer

Green Acres

2010-07-02T12:21:00.000-07:00

It was a book put out by the U.S. Department of Agriculture called “Living on a Few Acres” that started it all.

Having grown up in the “urban” area of downtown Norfolk, my husband had always longed to live on a farm. He was a gritty Vietnam vet.

Ban Me Thuot 1965-66

And I was a young, idealistic "hippie". So we bought a rundown house that had some land around it and a barn. While both working full-time jobs, we lived in our old house and renovated the new one. (Paying 2 mortgage payments!) He bought a tractor, I planted a garden and we had a baby.

Life was very busy and very fulfilling.

What we realized later, was that there were portions of that agriculture book that we must have skipped over. Did it mention how tired we would be? It glossed over the way projects would suck up all our free time with phrases like this one , “ You will be provided plenty of opportunity for creative and useful work.” Boy, were we ever!

The chapters on the economics of it all were pretty short too. Did you know that you can almost go broke “saving money”? While my husband was busy using his DIY carpentry skills, I got into “growing our own food” in a big way. I tilled a 40 x 25 foot garden plot in the backyard and, over the course of the next 15 years, planted an amazing assortment of vegetables, flowers and herbs.

However, if you added up the cost of the various tools and equipment needed for our projects (the books, charts, seeds, plants, lumber, fertilizers, canning supplies etc...) and measured the time and effort involved, was it worth it? I think so.

Could we have saved money by just hiring someone to do the carpentry work and bought our food at a farmer’s market? Maybe. I don’t think it would have been the same though. The satisfaction we got from doing something by ourselves would have been lost.

We opened a door into an unknown world. It started out as fun. Later, as we got older, it started feeling more like work than adventure. It was time consuming. I began to resent the fact that after working 40 hours a week at my job, my evenings and weekends were being spent tending the garden. My husband was tired of home improvement projects. We had no "free time".

We wanted to lay on the beach or shop at the mall; which was what my (by now) teenage daughter was doing. We wanted to just read books, watch TV and sit on the deck sipping ice tea.

So, my garden got smaller and smaller and finally ceased to exist. I feel guilty about it and many days I miss it terribly.

My point in telling you all this, is so that you will know that the reward you’ll get in growing your own food is not from the money you will save. It’s good because you are eating fresh produce that you raised yourself. It’s “green”, but you’re not going to save the world doing it. Sorry.

What you will do is gain some small measure of independence from the urban world and re-discover the simpler joys of the real, NATURAL world.

There is satisfaction in doing something by yourself, whether it is tiling a floor, planting a garden, building a deck, baking bread or sewing curtains. It’s fun going to yard sales or browsing through second-hand shops. I hope you all discover these small pleasures.

Don’t, however, become self-righteous about how “green” you are because you are doing these things. Because I promise you this; one day you will crave a greasy, fast-food meal, a trip to the mall to buy a pair of shoes you don’t need and a day frittered away at the beach.

Trust me, I know.

---------------------------------------------
Books in our collection that may interest you are:

A Thousand Acres by Smiley, Jane

The Good Earth by Buck, Pearl S

Prodigal Summer by Kingsolver, Barbara

Farmer Boy by Wilder, Laura Ingalls

Mudbound by Jordan, Hillary

The Encyclopedia of Country Living: An old fashioned recipe book by Emery, Carla

The Off Season by Murdock, Catherine Gilbert

A Painted House by Grisham, John

Hit by a Farm: How I learned to stop worrying and love the barn by Friend, Catherine

Homesteading: A backyard guide to growing your own food, canning, keeping chickens, generating your own energy, crafting, herbal medicine, and more by Gehring, Abigail R.

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Kingsolver, Barbara

The Botany of Desire: A plant's eye view of the world by Pollan, Michael

Plenty: One man, one woman, and a raucous year of eating locally by Smith, Alisa

The Omnivore's Dilemma: A natural history of four meals by Pollan, Michael

Fast Food Nation: The dark side of the all-American meal by Schlosser, Eric

The World Without Us by Weisman, Alan

Big Oil, Big Problem

2010-06-22T17:37:00.000-07:00

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)

2010-06-15T09:10:00.000-07:00

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?

2010-06-09T11:36:00.000-07:00

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

2010-06-01T08:30:00.000-07:00

Less Is More

2010-06-01T06:55:00.000-07:00

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