... The Church of Stop Shopping, that is.
The new documentary "What Would Jesus Buy" is at the Ross through Dec. 6. The point is to take a leap of faith -- a flying leap off the consumer bandwagon.
Knowing (hoping) I'm headed for Africa next spring has really killed my desire to acquire, and that's an awfully good side effect. Suddenly, I don't need anything.
To that end, I've tried to talk my family into not buying each other Christmas presents. None of us needs anything or even wants anything -- it's a struggle even to think of what to get each other. I'd much rather we just spend a slow, comfortable day together ... eating too much, laughing at the kids ... that'd be gift enough for me. But they refuse to buy in, so to speak.
OK, so go get yourself a cup of organic, free trade coffee ... I've been saving up several similar opportunities to proselytize ...
Bag the bags.
The Journal Star had a good story on a Doane College project to recycle plastic bags into more permanent totes. There's more info and even a how-to video here. A truly great idea, no? They make it sound easy to try at home ...
Why waste it just because you can?
Treehugger.com is always a great resource for useable tips on reducing consumption and waste. One of their latest drives is to promote the use of an email signature that says something like: "Save a tree. Don't print this email."
Believe it or not, according to this L.A. Times article, this small idea has created controversy. Is it just sanctimonious liberalism, the idea that using less paper can make a difference?
When I look at the overflowing pile of papers no one even bothers to pick up from our office printers -- several reams' worth, every single day, I can't help but think it can't hurt to try and be a bit less wasteful. Fewer trees killed, fewer landfills clogged, less electricity/energy/ink used ... what could be wrong with that?
Freecycling.
Along with wasting less, we could all be re-using more. The Freecycle Network aims to make that easier -- it's kind of a Craig's List of things people don't need anymore and are willing to give away locally. I haven't signed up to see if there's much Lincoln action, but I plan to. I'll let y'all know what I find.
Do you want to play a game?
Are you up to the challenge of testing yourself to see just how sustainable a life you're living? Consumerconsequences.org offers just such a test. I measured a 4.1 -- not nearly as good as I'd hoped. But collected some good tips for improvement in energy use. It's kinda fun, if you have five minutes to kill.
The Journal Star had a good story on a Doane College project to recycle plastic bags into more permanent totes. There's more info and even a how-to video here. A truly great idea, no? They make it sound easy to try at home ...
Why waste it just because you can?
Treehugger.com is always a great resource for useable tips on reducing consumption and waste. One of their latest drives is to promote the use of an email signature that says something like: "Save a tree. Don't print this email."
Believe it or not, according to this L.A. Times article, this small idea has created controversy. Is it just sanctimonious liberalism, the idea that using less paper can make a difference?
When I look at the overflowing pile of papers no one even bothers to pick up from our office printers -- several reams' worth, every single day, I can't help but think it can't hurt to try and be a bit less wasteful. Fewer trees killed, fewer landfills clogged, less electricity/energy/ink used ... what could be wrong with that?
Freecycling.
Along with wasting less, we could all be re-using more. The Freecycle Network aims to make that easier -- it's kind of a Craig's List of things people don't need anymore and are willing to give away locally. I haven't signed up to see if there's much Lincoln action, but I plan to. I'll let y'all know what I find.
Do you want to play a game?
Are you up to the challenge of testing yourself to see just how sustainable a life you're living? Consumerconsequences.org offers just such a test. I measured a 4.1 -- not nearly as good as I'd hoped. But collected some good tips for improvement in energy use. It's kinda fun, if you have five minutes to kill.
This shit, it is bananas.
I've stopped buying bananas that aren't organic from the local health-food coop. Here's why:
Chiquita sued over killings in Colombia
Chiquita paid off guerillas to protect their "interests." Chiquita and Dole both have a long history of infiltrating, then decimating, local Latin American communities. For an only slightly ficitionalized history, see the opening chapters of Marquez's "One Hundred Years of Solitude." I can't knowingly support a company that considers human lives expendable.
More food for thought.
Related to the bananas, I recently came across this New York Times article:
Five easy ways to go organic
Milk and apples were already deal-killers for me -- they have to be organic. Too much bad stuff in the commercial stuff. Bananas, too -- for political rather than health or environmental reasons. Peanut butter's one that hadn't occurred to me. Miz K has suggested I try making my own ... a good winter project!
Still more food for thought.
Last weekend's book club focused on "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle" -- the Barbara Kingsolver book I reviewed last spring about growing/making one's own food or, when that's impossible, buying only from within a 100-mile radius. Unfortunately, most of my fellow bookies found it rather guilt inducing. I'm as guilt-prone as the next bleeding heart, but it didn't make me feel guilty at all; rather, I found it inspiring for the many possible small changes/choices I could make. A few snippets that may, in turn, inspire you:
-- “If every U.S. citizen ate just one meal a week (any meal) composed of locally and organically raised meats and produce, we would reduce our country’s oil consumption by over 1.1 million barrels of oil every week.”
-- “Each food item in a typical U.S. meal has traveled an average of 1,500 miles. … Energy calories consumed by production, packaging, and shipping far outweigh the energy calories we receive from the food.”
-- “(T)here-quarters of all human food now comes from just eight species, with the field quickly narrowing down to genetically modified corn, soy, and canola.”
-- “Six companies – Monsanto, Syngenta, DuPont, Mitsui, Aventis and Dow – now control 98 percent of the world’s seed sales. These companies invest heavily in research whose purpose is to increase food production capacity only in ways that can be controlled strictly.”
-- “The business of importing foods across great distances is not, by its nature, a boon to Third World farmers, but it’s very good business for oil companies.”
-- “Government quality standards are stricter for tap water than for bottled.”
-- “In 1965, U.S. farmers used 335 million pounds of pesticides. In 1989 they used 806 million pounds. Less than ten years after that, it was 985 million. That’s three and a half pounds of chemicals for every person in the country, at a cost of $8 billion. Twenty percent of these approved-for-use pesticides are listed by the EPA as carcinogenic in humans.”
-- “Because they grow underground, conventional potatoes are among the most pesticide-contaminated vegetables.”
Next up: I'm reading "The Omnivore's Dilemma," so expect more proselytizing soon.
Quote of the day.
“Speak your mind even if your voice shakes.”
– Maggie Kuhn (founder, Gray Panthers)
I've stopped buying bananas that aren't organic from the local health-food coop. Here's why:
Chiquita sued over killings in Colombia
Chiquita paid off guerillas to protect their "interests." Chiquita and Dole both have a long history of infiltrating, then decimating, local Latin American communities. For an only slightly ficitionalized history, see the opening chapters of Marquez's "One Hundred Years of Solitude." I can't knowingly support a company that considers human lives expendable.
More food for thought.
Related to the bananas, I recently came across this New York Times article:
Five easy ways to go organic
Milk and apples were already deal-killers for me -- they have to be organic. Too much bad stuff in the commercial stuff. Bananas, too -- for political rather than health or environmental reasons. Peanut butter's one that hadn't occurred to me. Miz K has suggested I try making my own ... a good winter project!
Still more food for thought.
Last weekend's book club focused on "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle" -- the Barbara Kingsolver book I reviewed last spring about growing/making one's own food or, when that's impossible, buying only from within a 100-mile radius. Unfortunately, most of my fellow bookies found it rather guilt inducing. I'm as guilt-prone as the next bleeding heart, but it didn't make me feel guilty at all; rather, I found it inspiring for the many possible small changes/choices I could make. A few snippets that may, in turn, inspire you:
-- “If every U.S. citizen ate just one meal a week (any meal) composed of locally and organically raised meats and produce, we would reduce our country’s oil consumption by over 1.1 million barrels of oil every week.”
-- “Each food item in a typical U.S. meal has traveled an average of 1,500 miles. … Energy calories consumed by production, packaging, and shipping far outweigh the energy calories we receive from the food.”
-- “(T)here-quarters of all human food now comes from just eight species, with the field quickly narrowing down to genetically modified corn, soy, and canola.”
-- “Six companies – Monsanto, Syngenta, DuPont, Mitsui, Aventis and Dow – now control 98 percent of the world’s seed sales. These companies invest heavily in research whose purpose is to increase food production capacity only in ways that can be controlled strictly.”
-- “The business of importing foods across great distances is not, by its nature, a boon to Third World farmers, but it’s very good business for oil companies.”
-- “Government quality standards are stricter for tap water than for bottled.”
-- “In 1965, U.S. farmers used 335 million pounds of pesticides. In 1989 they used 806 million pounds. Less than ten years after that, it was 985 million. That’s three and a half pounds of chemicals for every person in the country, at a cost of $8 billion. Twenty percent of these approved-for-use pesticides are listed by the EPA as carcinogenic in humans.”
-- “Because they grow underground, conventional potatoes are among the most pesticide-contaminated vegetables.”
Next up: I'm reading "The Omnivore's Dilemma," so expect more proselytizing soon.
Quote of the day.
“Speak your mind even if your voice shakes.”
– Maggie Kuhn (founder, Gray Panthers)
