But just barely. I wrote several months ago about my ongoing fight against bronchial infections, since I have experienced bronchitis, usually lasting weeks but occasionally months, almost every year since I was twelve (the exceptions were the first two years of my marriage, when my husband was selling antioxidants and I was taking them regularly). I started taking antioxidants again last fall with the goal to see whether or not they would keep me free of illness for a year. The year officially ended yesterday, so yes, I succeeded.
However, on Friday evening, my daughter spiked a 101 degree fever, and has been sick since then.* It might be swine flu, since the fever is accompanied by a cough, headache and body aches; I'll take her to the doctor tomorrow to know for sure. Thankfully, so far her illness seems mild.
Of course, I woke up sick this morning. I know this is probably not the case, but sometimes I think I have a latent germ that lives in my lungs, just waiting for my immune system to become occupied trying to fight off some other infection. When that happens, my latent germ takes advantage of the situation to kick into full gear. I say this because as always, I'm hacking my lungs out. I don't seem to have caught what my daughter has, since I don't have any of her symptoms except the cough.
Now the question is, will the antioxidants and such treatments as Airborne help me get over the cough quickly, before it turns into full-blown bronchitis that knocks me out for weeks or longer?
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* Being sick, my daughter missed trick-or-treating (misery for a four-year-old!), and about seven in the evening on Saturday, she started crying her eyes out. So my husband ran out to the store and bought some candy and came home, pouring it into two bowls. He and I stood in different corners of the living room holding our bowls, while my daughter carried a bag and walked back and forth between us, saying "Trick or treat!" and having us drop candy into her bag. It wasn't the real thing, but it put a smile on her face, and hubby's and mine as well.
======================
Condo Blues recommended a book, Practically Green, as a common sense approach to finding ways to green up your life. I'm linking her post here to help me remember to seek out the book at some point.
Showing posts with label Blog roll. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Blog roll. Show all posts
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Friday, September 4, 2009
More on The New Yorker and No Impact Man
The New Yorker article I wrote about is getting quite a bit of attention. Grist, a major online environmental magazine, wrote about it two times (and my blog post was linked in paragraph 4 of the second article!). Crunchy Chicken also weighed in, and I'm sure others around the blogosphere have been discussing it.
The consensus seems to be that the article's author, Elizabeth Kolbert, a leading journalist who writes about climate change and the environment, was rather unfair in her assessment of No Impact Man. And now the man himself, Colin Beavan, has added his own voice to this discussion. He makes a few primary points: that individual and collective action are both necessary--and indeed, the two often feed each other. Individuals who try to live more sustainably in their personal lives often become more aware and motivated to get involved in collective action. And collective action will be ineffective if we as individuals do not go along with the changes that it requires. He also notes that with so many forces aligned against environmentalism and sustainability (such as modern consumerism, climate change skeptics, and enormously profitable non-green industries), we can't afford to have people on the same side in-fighting like this.
The consensus seems to be that the article's author, Elizabeth Kolbert, a leading journalist who writes about climate change and the environment, was rather unfair in her assessment of No Impact Man. And now the man himself, Colin Beavan, has added his own voice to this discussion. He makes a few primary points: that individual and collective action are both necessary--and indeed, the two often feed each other. Individuals who try to live more sustainably in their personal lives often become more aware and motivated to get involved in collective action. And collective action will be ineffective if we as individuals do not go along with the changes that it requires. He also notes that with so many forces aligned against environmentalism and sustainability (such as modern consumerism, climate change skeptics, and enormously profitable non-green industries), we can't afford to have people on the same side in-fighting like this.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Thoughts on hypocrisy and "No Impact Man"
The current issue of The New Yorker has an article by Elizabeth Kolbert titled, "Green Like Me," that's a critique of the recent crop of confessional memoirs by people who are striving to live in more environmentally conscious ways. The article makes some good points, but I found the overall tone distasteful and counterproductive.
OK, the good points Kolbert makes:
1) Individual action and changes aren't enough to save the environment. Collective change is what is needed.
2) Sometimes eco-conscious people miss the forest for the trees, or focus on small changes while rationalizing the really big changes they aren't making. Kolbert cites Vanessa Farquharson, author of Sleeping Naked Is Green, as one example: Farquharson resolves to use no more toothpicks and to use natural lubricant instead of K-Y, while purchasing a new house and flying around the country to pursue relationships with various men (the problem there is the air travel).
The primary examples in Kolbert's article, however, are Henry David Thoreau and his somewhat modern counterpart, Colin Beavan of No Impact Man, and here's where I think her arguments really become unfair. For example, she writes:
A more honest title for Beavan’s book would have been “Low Impact Man,” and a truly honest title would have been “Not Quite So High Impact Man.” Even during the year that Beavan spent drinking out of a Mason jar, more than two billion people were, quite inadvertently, living lives of lower impact than his. Most of them were struggling to get by in the slums of Delhi or Rio or scratching out a living in rural Africa or South America. A few were sleeping in cardboard boxes on the street not far from Beavan’s Fifth Avenue apartment.
If she had spent any time reading Beavan's blog or book, she would know that he knows he's not living with no impact; no impact living is impossible for any living thing. The name is just a clever way to call attention to what he's trying to do. His goal is also to try to balance out his and his family's impact, by reducing their negative environmental impact as much as possible, while increasing their positive impact through environmental activism.
Second, it's also nearly impossible for anyone in a western developed nation to live with as little impact as people in the most impoverished parts in the world. That doesn't mean we should do nothing in response, or denigrate the efforts of those attempting to live more sustainably.
Kolbert ends the article with this statement:
What makes Beavan’s experiment noteworthy is that it is just that—a voluntary exercise conducted for a limited time only by a middle-class family. Beavan justifies writing about it on the ground that it will inspire others to examine their wasteful ways. ... [However] the real work of “saving the world” goes way beyond the sorts of action that “No Impact Man” is all about.
What’s required is perhaps a sequel. In one chapter, Beavan could take the elevator to visit other families in his apartment building. He could talk to them about how they all need to work together to install a more efficient heating system. In another, he could ride the subway to Penn Station and then get on a train to Albany. Once there, he could lobby state lawmakers for better mass transit. In a third chapter, Beavan could devote his blog to pushing for a carbon tax. Here’s a possible title for the book: “Impact Man.”
Again, although she's quoting from his book, I wonder how much of it she's read, or if she has visited his blog at all. Throughout the two years I've been following No Impact Man, I have read countless posts about times in which he has:
-- written about environmental issues on a local, national and international level. I especially appreciate that he has addressed issues of poverty while doing so;
-- called his representatives (and encouraged others to do the same) about local and national environmental issues;
-- visited some of his reps in person to address such topics as making the streets safer for cyclists and preventing the air pollution that makes New York City one of the worst places in the country for childhood asthma;
-- swum in a benefit swim meet to raise funds to clean up polluted waters, and he will soon participate in a Climate Ride for Change;
-- spoken to groups of students about how they can work together to address their own personal impacts as well as that of their schools;
-- and organized the No Impact project "with the goal of engaging citizens in our cultural response to the crises in our environment and our way of life."
In other words, Beavan's story has been anything but simply the limited personal journey of a middle class family. The family stuff is in there, because that's what makes it personal and relatable to most people. But Beavan's goals and actions go far beyond that, so I find The New Yorker's belittling attitude shameful.
OK, the good points Kolbert makes:
1) Individual action and changes aren't enough to save the environment. Collective change is what is needed.
2) Sometimes eco-conscious people miss the forest for the trees, or focus on small changes while rationalizing the really big changes they aren't making. Kolbert cites Vanessa Farquharson, author of Sleeping Naked Is Green, as one example: Farquharson resolves to use no more toothpicks and to use natural lubricant instead of K-Y, while purchasing a new house and flying around the country to pursue relationships with various men (the problem there is the air travel).
The primary examples in Kolbert's article, however, are Henry David Thoreau and his somewhat modern counterpart, Colin Beavan of No Impact Man, and here's where I think her arguments really become unfair. For example, she writes:
A more honest title for Beavan’s book would have been “Low Impact Man,” and a truly honest title would have been “Not Quite So High Impact Man.” Even during the year that Beavan spent drinking out of a Mason jar, more than two billion people were, quite inadvertently, living lives of lower impact than his. Most of them were struggling to get by in the slums of Delhi or Rio or scratching out a living in rural Africa or South America. A few were sleeping in cardboard boxes on the street not far from Beavan’s Fifth Avenue apartment.
If she had spent any time reading Beavan's blog or book, she would know that he knows he's not living with no impact; no impact living is impossible for any living thing. The name is just a clever way to call attention to what he's trying to do. His goal is also to try to balance out his and his family's impact, by reducing their negative environmental impact as much as possible, while increasing their positive impact through environmental activism.
Second, it's also nearly impossible for anyone in a western developed nation to live with as little impact as people in the most impoverished parts in the world. That doesn't mean we should do nothing in response, or denigrate the efforts of those attempting to live more sustainably.
Kolbert ends the article with this statement:
What makes Beavan’s experiment noteworthy is that it is just that—a voluntary exercise conducted for a limited time only by a middle-class family. Beavan justifies writing about it on the ground that it will inspire others to examine their wasteful ways. ... [However] the real work of “saving the world” goes way beyond the sorts of action that “No Impact Man” is all about.
What’s required is perhaps a sequel. In one chapter, Beavan could take the elevator to visit other families in his apartment building. He could talk to them about how they all need to work together to install a more efficient heating system. In another, he could ride the subway to Penn Station and then get on a train to Albany. Once there, he could lobby state lawmakers for better mass transit. In a third chapter, Beavan could devote his blog to pushing for a carbon tax. Here’s a possible title for the book: “Impact Man.”
Again, although she's quoting from his book, I wonder how much of it she's read, or if she has visited his blog at all. Throughout the two years I've been following No Impact Man, I have read countless posts about times in which he has:
-- written about environmental issues on a local, national and international level. I especially appreciate that he has addressed issues of poverty while doing so;
-- called his representatives (and encouraged others to do the same) about local and national environmental issues;
-- visited some of his reps in person to address such topics as making the streets safer for cyclists and preventing the air pollution that makes New York City one of the worst places in the country for childhood asthma;
-- swum in a benefit swim meet to raise funds to clean up polluted waters, and he will soon participate in a Climate Ride for Change;
-- spoken to groups of students about how they can work together to address their own personal impacts as well as that of their schools;
-- and organized the No Impact project "with the goal of engaging citizens in our cultural response to the crises in our environment and our way of life."
In other words, Beavan's story has been anything but simply the limited personal journey of a middle class family. The family stuff is in there, because that's what makes it personal and relatable to most people. But Beavan's goals and actions go far beyond that, so I find The New Yorker's belittling attitude shameful.
Monday, July 20, 2009
The power of blogging
One of my favorite bloggers, Ta-Nehisi Coates, wrote this today:
"Here is something else: Institutions are essential. But to me, writing, and the tools it depends upon (creativity, intelligence etc.), belongs to the people, not the institutions they create.
The power of blogging is that it takes back writing, it takes back public thinking, it seizes it from the bishops and archons and gives it to the people. It is the bane of credentialism. We just need more people to take up the fight in earnest. Grab your shield. Let's go."
Hey, I'm not just blogging, I'm fighting a populist battle!
All kidding aside, I wanted to write this blog because too many environmental sites I've read are either a) all about living off the land, off the grid--something unrealistic for people who live in urban communities and hold down regular jobs; or b) all about the expensive stuff--replacing all your furniture with sustainably grown wood and clothing with organically grown cotton fashion, for example--which is unrealistic for anyone on a budget.
No Impact Man is a sterling exception, because he writes about living low-impact in New York City. But after reading his blog for a while, I noticed a refrain that often came up in comments, and in my own mind--frustration when someone touts something that people should be doing to go green that many readers feel is out of their reach. I came to accept that not everything that works for one person or situation will work for another (although we can always do better). Some of it's temperament: what we're willing to do or tolerate in our quest to go green will differ from person to person. In many other cases, however, it's an issue of cost or access. So, as someone who has almost always lived and worked in urban areas and has always been on a budget, I wanted to add my voice and story about my own eco-efforts in hope that it will make a difference.
I realize that the things I do won't work for everyone. For example, I love to cook, so making my own hair and skin products is not much different. I also happened to discover a few stores here in Tacoma, such as Super Supplements, Grocery Outlet and Value Village, where I could buy natural products fairly cheaply and quality used goods (don't get me started on how much better Value Village is than the local Goodwill back in Boston). I know that not everyone has such stores in their area. I also have a car to use to travel to these places, and to a lesser extent, the bus (it would take a few hours of walk and transit, but it's doable)--again, not everyone has those options either. So if anyone is reading this and thinks, "But I can't do that for x, y or z reason" -- it's OK, I understand. I just want to offer my voice among many others, and if it can help someone else, I'm happy.
"Here is something else: Institutions are essential. But to me, writing, and the tools it depends upon (creativity, intelligence etc.), belongs to the people, not the institutions they create.
The power of blogging is that it takes back writing, it takes back public thinking, it seizes it from the bishops and archons and gives it to the people. It is the bane of credentialism. We just need more people to take up the fight in earnest. Grab your shield. Let's go."
Hey, I'm not just blogging, I'm fighting a populist battle!
All kidding aside, I wanted to write this blog because too many environmental sites I've read are either a) all about living off the land, off the grid--something unrealistic for people who live in urban communities and hold down regular jobs; or b) all about the expensive stuff--replacing all your furniture with sustainably grown wood and clothing with organically grown cotton fashion, for example--which is unrealistic for anyone on a budget.
No Impact Man is a sterling exception, because he writes about living low-impact in New York City. But after reading his blog for a while, I noticed a refrain that often came up in comments, and in my own mind--frustration when someone touts something that people should be doing to go green that many readers feel is out of their reach. I came to accept that not everything that works for one person or situation will work for another (although we can always do better). Some of it's temperament: what we're willing to do or tolerate in our quest to go green will differ from person to person. In many other cases, however, it's an issue of cost or access. So, as someone who has almost always lived and worked in urban areas and has always been on a budget, I wanted to add my voice and story about my own eco-efforts in hope that it will make a difference.
I realize that the things I do won't work for everyone. For example, I love to cook, so making my own hair and skin products is not much different. I also happened to discover a few stores here in Tacoma, such as Super Supplements, Grocery Outlet and Value Village, where I could buy natural products fairly cheaply and quality used goods (don't get me started on how much better Value Village is than the local Goodwill back in Boston). I know that not everyone has such stores in their area. I also have a car to use to travel to these places, and to a lesser extent, the bus (it would take a few hours of walk and transit, but it's doable)--again, not everyone has those options either. So if anyone is reading this and thinks, "But I can't do that for x, y or z reason" -- it's OK, I understand. I just want to offer my voice among many others, and if it can help someone else, I'm happy.
Friday, June 19, 2009
A kindred spirit who's funnier than I am
From a link at Crunchy Chicken, I discovered Condo Blues today. Her tagline is, "Green Frugal Living That's Big on Style and Small on Budget." So the blogger is a kindred spirit in trying to go green on the cheap!
But even better, unlike my usual serious tone, she's funny! And totally relatable. Here she is in "Eco-confession," talking about the things she does that aren't green. She has a point: some things she does that aren't green are necessary in order to prevent worse eco-sins, e.g., wearing fleece so she doesn't have to turn up the heat, or buying non-organic and non-local because to get the local, organic stuff would require a lot more driving. In another great post, she talks about fighting green fatigue, and she's driven nuts by irritating green tips to!
But even better, unlike my usual serious tone, she's funny! And totally relatable. Here she is in "Eco-confession," talking about the things she does that aren't green. She has a point: some things she does that aren't green are necessary in order to prevent worse eco-sins, e.g., wearing fleece so she doesn't have to turn up the heat, or buying non-organic and non-local because to get the local, organic stuff would require a lot more driving. In another great post, she talks about fighting green fatigue, and she's driven nuts by irritating green tips to!
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Informative web site
Green Eco Services -- as it describes itself, "Your One Click Source For All Things Green." Not only does it give tips and information, you can also search for products and services by state.
Monday, April 20, 2009
Because hauling water is too much work for anybody
No Impact Man is my favorite environmental blog, one that has provided much inspiration on my own green journey. The blogger, Colin Beavan, along with his wife and daughter (same age as my own), spent a year trying to make as little impact on the environment as they could, while living in New York City. After the year was up, they evaluated their experiences and decided which modern conveniences they wanted back, and which ones they would continue to live without. They chose to continue to live without TV or air conditioning, deciding that those were luxuries, not necessities.
They chose to bring the washing machine back as a necessity. As Colin explained it, doing laundry by hand is drudgery, and therefore some sort of equipment to make laundering easier is a necessity, not just for wealthy Westerners, but for everyone on the planet.
I got a sense of this yesterday. I was doing laundry, including handwashing several dry-clean only items in the bathtub. (See Ask Annie on how to wet-clean dry-clean only clothing). I washed the items with castille soap, a very mild natural liquid soap, leaving me with gray water when I was finished. Gray water is water that is dirty, but not toxic.
I've read several green tips that suggest recycling gray water by using it to water plants.* Since we're trying to take care of the yard now and we haven't had much rain lately, I decided to try this. After about six trips in which I carried a bucket and my daughter a watering can, we'd only watered a few plants in the yard, the tub was still full, and we were tired. To finish the job might take several hours.
I'm not sure whether those who recommend using gray water this way are talking about watering a couple of houseplants, as opposed to your landscape; and I don't think I've ever read any suggestions about easy ways to haul the water. In any case, I feel about hauling the way Colin feels about doing laundry by hand: it's drudgery for anybody.
In case you're thinking about the fact that in many places in the world, people have to haul water or else they have none: this is true, but it is also why many non-governmental agencies work to provide such communities with close-at-hand, easily accessible water sources, because hauling water is so much work. In places where hauling water is necessary, generally it's women and girls who do it, preventing the women from doing other productive work, and keeping the girls out of school. Most NGO's also know that one of the best ways to help a community rise from poverty is to make sure the women can earn a living and the girls can go to school. So unless I can figure out a better way to move this gray water,** I don't think I'll be using it to water the plants in the yard anymore.
==================
* Some people recycle gray water by using it to flush their toilet. If you pour enough water into a toilet bowl, the pressure will force anything in the bowl down. An advantage to this method is that if the gray water is from the tub, you don't have to haul it anywhere.
** Given the fact that water shortages are a real problem in some places now, and maybe everywhere in the not-too-distant future, it might behoove me to try to find a better way to haul it.
They chose to bring the washing machine back as a necessity. As Colin explained it, doing laundry by hand is drudgery, and therefore some sort of equipment to make laundering easier is a necessity, not just for wealthy Westerners, but for everyone on the planet.
I got a sense of this yesterday. I was doing laundry, including handwashing several dry-clean only items in the bathtub. (See Ask Annie on how to wet-clean dry-clean only clothing). I washed the items with castille soap, a very mild natural liquid soap, leaving me with gray water when I was finished. Gray water is water that is dirty, but not toxic.
I've read several green tips that suggest recycling gray water by using it to water plants.* Since we're trying to take care of the yard now and we haven't had much rain lately, I decided to try this. After about six trips in which I carried a bucket and my daughter a watering can, we'd only watered a few plants in the yard, the tub was still full, and we were tired. To finish the job might take several hours.
I'm not sure whether those who recommend using gray water this way are talking about watering a couple of houseplants, as opposed to your landscape; and I don't think I've ever read any suggestions about easy ways to haul the water. In any case, I feel about hauling the way Colin feels about doing laundry by hand: it's drudgery for anybody.
In case you're thinking about the fact that in many places in the world, people have to haul water or else they have none: this is true, but it is also why many non-governmental agencies work to provide such communities with close-at-hand, easily accessible water sources, because hauling water is so much work. In places where hauling water is necessary, generally it's women and girls who do it, preventing the women from doing other productive work, and keeping the girls out of school. Most NGO's also know that one of the best ways to help a community rise from poverty is to make sure the women can earn a living and the girls can go to school. So unless I can figure out a better way to move this gray water,** I don't think I'll be using it to water the plants in the yard anymore.
==================
* Some people recycle gray water by using it to flush their toilet. If you pour enough water into a toilet bowl, the pressure will force anything in the bowl down. An advantage to this method is that if the gray water is from the tub, you don't have to haul it anywhere.
** Given the fact that water shortages are a real problem in some places now, and maybe everywhere in the not-too-distant future, it might behoove me to try to find a better way to haul it.
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Other "green for the rest of us"* blogs
I just discovered a new blog today, called, "Black and Into Green," on going green from an African-American perspective. And the blogger's from my hometown, Cleveland! I commented on one of her posts and gave her my blog url, and I hope we can start communicating. She also has a blog roll that includes other African-American environmental blogs, so I'm excited.
* When I say "Green for the rest of us," I don't define "rest of us" as exclusively black or African-American. I mean "rest of us" in terms of anyone who wants to be greener, but has felt as though they couldn't or were limited in their ability to do so because environmentalism seemed to be a white thing, a wealth thing, an access thing, etc., as a result of real or perceived barriers. I want to talk about solutions to those issues, so that green CAN be something all of us can participate in and benefit from.
* When I say "Green for the rest of us," I don't define "rest of us" as exclusively black or African-American. I mean "rest of us" in terms of anyone who wants to be greener, but has felt as though they couldn't or were limited in their ability to do so because environmentalism seemed to be a white thing, a wealth thing, an access thing, etc., as a result of real or perceived barriers. I want to talk about solutions to those issues, so that green CAN be something all of us can participate in and benefit from.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
You can only do the best you can
That is something I used to tell myself frequently when reading, "No Impact Man," one of my favorite environmental blogs. NIM, aka Colin Beaven, is a New Yorker who, along with his wife and young daughter, embarked on a year-long experiment to see if they could make no environmental impact. Since no impact is literally impossible, they wanted to make as little negative impact as possible, and counteract any negatives with positive impact (i.e., doing such things as environmental cleanups and advocacy). The year is now over, and they are retaining many (but not all) of the habits they developed during their no-impact year. A documentary has been made about them, and a book is forthcoming.
So I'd read his blog, and sometimes I'd go nuts, thinking, "How in the world could I ever do that!" I remember commenting on one entry in which he described the solar panel used to power up his laptop. I said something like, "The average person can't afford solar panels." Someone commented back, "The Beaven's can't either! Someone donated that to them!" Um, OK. The average person isn't likely to have someone donate solar panels to them, either.
Another issue that came up for many readers (not me, living in public-transportation friendly Boston at the time), was Colin's discussions of taking public transportation and biking instead of driving. A lot of readers lived in rural areas, or in urban areas with poor or no public transportation and with such heavy traffic that biking is very hazardous. These readers often responded with the same anger/ guilt/ defensiveness that I often felt when a green idea seemed impossible for me.
Anyway, I finally decided that I could only do the best I could do, given my circumstances, and to stop feeling guilty about the things I can't do (although I want to keep learning new ideas). For me, cost is a big issue. One of my reasons for starting this blog is that I am always searching for very cheap ways to go green, and I want to share what I discover. For example, I can't afford to buy expensive organic clothing. But I can buy all of my and my daughter's clothing second-hand, except for underwear and socks. (Hubby is a different story. He's 6'7" -- it's nearly impossible to find used clothing in his size).
"Crunchy Chicken" is another environmental blog I read, based in Seattle. She often issues challenges to her readers, and the current one is the "Sustainable Food Budget Challenge." The goal is to eat sustainably on the same budget allotment as food stamps. For my family of three, it's $463/month. The goal is to eat almost everything either locally-produced or organic within that budget.
Several people wrote in saying that that was totally doable, and were excited to accept the challenge. Then I wrote about the fact that my grocery budget is already below that amount (about $300/month), and I can't afford to increase it, and at this point, only about 25% of what we eat is locally produced and/or organic. After I wrote, several other people said something similar, including questioning the assertion by both Crunchy and several commenters that produce at farmer's markets is cheaper than in supermarkets. (That was true in Boston; it is NOT true in Tacoma). Others commented that to travel to the farms or farmer's markets where they could then then buy the local and organic foods, they'd have to drive a considerable distance; all the driving then cancels out the sustainability of the food they purchase.
So what can I (or anyone) do if they want to go green in an area, and find it's not feasible for their circumstances? I'll use the Sustainable Food Challenge as an example.
1) Don't feel guilty about it. Guilt is generally counter-productive.
2) Decide what you can do. In my family's case, we are eating less meat (less meat being less poultry in our case; we already almost never* eat red meat). We stock up on non-perishable organic foods when they're on sale. And we can try to grow our own.
3) Work with others for more collaborative solutions. In Boston, there is an urban gardening and youth development program called The Food Project (thefoodproject.org); the Dudley Street farmer's market run by the kids was one of the affordable ones where we shopped in Boston. I currently work in a Tacoma neighborhood called the Hilltop; my husband has an idea for a Food Project-like program that he's calling Hilltop Farms. We are also members of the not-yet up and running Tacoma Food Co-op, and we can see how we can do more to help that group get started.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
* "Almost never" is literal. We'll eat red meat if it's being served at someone's home, and two or three times per year, my husband gets a hankering for steak or ribs.
So I'd read his blog, and sometimes I'd go nuts, thinking, "How in the world could I ever do that!" I remember commenting on one entry in which he described the solar panel used to power up his laptop. I said something like, "The average person can't afford solar panels." Someone commented back, "The Beaven's can't either! Someone donated that to them!" Um, OK. The average person isn't likely to have someone donate solar panels to them, either.
Another issue that came up for many readers (not me, living in public-transportation friendly Boston at the time), was Colin's discussions of taking public transportation and biking instead of driving. A lot of readers lived in rural areas, or in urban areas with poor or no public transportation and with such heavy traffic that biking is very hazardous. These readers often responded with the same anger/ guilt/ defensiveness that I often felt when a green idea seemed impossible for me.
Anyway, I finally decided that I could only do the best I could do, given my circumstances, and to stop feeling guilty about the things I can't do (although I want to keep learning new ideas). For me, cost is a big issue. One of my reasons for starting this blog is that I am always searching for very cheap ways to go green, and I want to share what I discover. For example, I can't afford to buy expensive organic clothing. But I can buy all of my and my daughter's clothing second-hand, except for underwear and socks. (Hubby is a different story. He's 6'7" -- it's nearly impossible to find used clothing in his size).
"Crunchy Chicken" is another environmental blog I read, based in Seattle. She often issues challenges to her readers, and the current one is the "Sustainable Food Budget Challenge." The goal is to eat sustainably on the same budget allotment as food stamps. For my family of three, it's $463/month. The goal is to eat almost everything either locally-produced or organic within that budget.
Several people wrote in saying that that was totally doable, and were excited to accept the challenge. Then I wrote about the fact that my grocery budget is already below that amount (about $300/month), and I can't afford to increase it, and at this point, only about 25% of what we eat is locally produced and/or organic. After I wrote, several other people said something similar, including questioning the assertion by both Crunchy and several commenters that produce at farmer's markets is cheaper than in supermarkets. (That was true in Boston; it is NOT true in Tacoma). Others commented that to travel to the farms or farmer's markets where they could then then buy the local and organic foods, they'd have to drive a considerable distance; all the driving then cancels out the sustainability of the food they purchase.
So what can I (or anyone) do if they want to go green in an area, and find it's not feasible for their circumstances? I'll use the Sustainable Food Challenge as an example.
1) Don't feel guilty about it. Guilt is generally counter-productive.
2) Decide what you can do. In my family's case, we are eating less meat (less meat being less poultry in our case; we already almost never* eat red meat). We stock up on non-perishable organic foods when they're on sale. And we can try to grow our own.
3) Work with others for more collaborative solutions. In Boston, there is an urban gardening and youth development program called The Food Project (thefoodproject.org); the Dudley Street farmer's market run by the kids was one of the affordable ones where we shopped in Boston. I currently work in a Tacoma neighborhood called the Hilltop; my husband has an idea for a Food Project-like program that he's calling Hilltop Farms. We are also members of the not-yet up and running Tacoma Food Co-op, and we can see how we can do more to help that group get started.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
* "Almost never" is literal. We'll eat red meat if it's being served at someone's home, and two or three times per year, my husband gets a hankering for steak or ribs.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Razor7 and my other peeps :) !
In my blog roll post, I got a comment about another blog/forum on which I participate: Razor7. So here's a shout-out to the site and its message board, a great place to discuss a range of topics from politics to gardening to popular culture.
Also, the forum's owner, Andre Coleman, is a published author. Since I am a budding writer, I think it's probably a good thing to promote my friends who are already published. A journalist by profession, Andre is also the author of two novels, A Liar's Tale and Blackbirds.
And while I'm at it, here's info on a few other friends. A friend from high school, TR Locke, is a former screen writer and now the author of I Followed My Bliss to Bankruptcy -- What I Wish I Knew Before I Moved to Hollywood.
A friend from high school and college, Sophfronia Scott, is a former writer for Time and People. She has published both a novel, All I Need to Get By, and a non-fiction work, Doing Business by the Book: How to Craft a Crowd-Pleasing Book and Attract More Clients and Speaking Engagements Than You Ever Thought Possible.
All are available at Amazon.com.
Also, the forum's owner, Andre Coleman, is a published author. Since I am a budding writer, I think it's probably a good thing to promote my friends who are already published. A journalist by profession, Andre is also the author of two novels, A Liar's Tale and Blackbirds.
And while I'm at it, here's info on a few other friends. A friend from high school, TR Locke, is a former screen writer and now the author of I Followed My Bliss to Bankruptcy -- What I Wish I Knew Before I Moved to Hollywood.
A friend from high school and college, Sophfronia Scott, is a former writer for Time and People. She has published both a novel, All I Need to Get By, and a non-fiction work, Doing Business by the Book: How to Craft a Crowd-Pleasing Book and Attract More Clients and Speaking Engagements Than You Ever Thought Possible.
All are available at Amazon.com.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Blogs and web sites I enjoy
OK, I have a bunch of diverse interests, so here they are (since I don't yet know how to create a blog roll):
Ta Nehisi Coates (politics, race relations): http://ta-nehisicoates.theatlantic.com/
Slacktivist (politics, religion, fiction): http://slacktivist.typepad.com/
Shakesville (politics, feminism): http://shakespearessister.blogspot.com/
Jack and Jill Politics (politics, race relations): ttp://www.jackandjillpolitics.com/
Balloon Juice (politics): http://www.balloon-juice.com/
No Impact Man (the environment): http://www.noimpactman.typepad.com/
Crunchy Chicken (the environment): http://www.thecrunchychicken.com/
A Happy Assembly (Jane Austen fan fiction): http://www.meryton.com/
Graceful Mothering (parenting, religion): http://www.gracefulmothering.com/
Tacoma Mama (local parenting guide): http://www.tacomamama.com/
Harvest Boston (religion): http://harvestboston.wordpress.com/
The Black Snob (politics, race relations, and culture): http://blacksnob.com/
Ta Nehisi Coates (politics, race relations): http://ta-nehisicoates.theatlantic.com/
Slacktivist (politics, religion, fiction): http://slacktivist.typepad.com/
Shakesville (politics, feminism): http://shakespearessister.blogspot.com/
Jack and Jill Politics (politics, race relations): ttp://www.jackandjillpolitics.com/
Balloon Juice (politics): http://www.balloon-juice.com/
No Impact Man (the environment): http://www.noimpactman.typepad.com/
Crunchy Chicken (the environment): http://www.thecrunchychicken.com/
A Happy Assembly (Jane Austen fan fiction): http://www.meryton.com/
Graceful Mothering (parenting, religion): http://www.gracefulmothering.com/
Tacoma Mama (local parenting guide): http://www.tacomamama.com/
Harvest Boston (religion): http://harvestboston.wordpress.com/
The Black Snob (politics, race relations, and culture): http://blacksnob.com/
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