The Experiment - orig. 07/20/05
The experiment is that I am going to try and live my life in a more restorative and sustainable manner.
I drank my last cola two days ago and I have been feeling it much more today than I was yesterday. I never was a big coffee drinker, but I have traditionally drunk 3-4+ cola type drinks a day. The reason I cut them out of my diet is:
A. Packaging and Waste
Two half-racks a week means 24 cans and two pasteboard boxes.
B. Production Impact (Human and Environmental)
I am not sure of the production impact of cola brand I was drinking
C. The Marketing of Addictive Products
Cola is caffeinated and I don’t want companies profiting from caffeine addiction
D. Cost
Sodas are relatively cheap, but I need make my economic vote count
E. Health - Physical/Psychological
It is my understanding that drinking sodas all day is not good for me
Until I find something better I will be drinking water. (Is there something better than water?) Hopefully the water coming out of my tap is not toxic as I cannot currently justify buying a personal water filtration system. I wonder if there is a program in this area to test a person’s water.
I found this morning that I had less fervor towards this project than I had the previous days. This is because the effect of “The Corporation,” is wearing off. I knew that this was going to happen and prepared for it. It is the reason that I made sure to follow up with some action right away such as checking out The Ecology of Commerce: A Declaration of Sustainability, by Paul Hawken. I read some of the book earlier in order to become reinvigorated.
I took a class a few years back called The Sociology of Deviance which I believe had a book by the same title. One of the items that came up in the book was the effect of highly publicized events. The two examples studied were executions and boxing. An execution that is highly publicized has the effect of reducing violent crime for approximately two days (to the best of my recollection). A highly publicized boxing match has the effect of increasing violence for two days. The reason I bring this up now is because it is similar to the loss of enthusiasm I experienced this morning and I have also experienced this at other times in my life when working on projects.
Thus, it is important for me to reinforce regularly (at least every couple of days I would think) the ideas that I have been exposed to by the documentary. I am attempting to consciously recondition my thinking. I am curious to see if there is a tolerance effect in regards to subjecting oneself to environmental literature.
-----
Saving the World seems like a funny title to me. It conjures images of super-heros and super-villians.
Side Note: Nietsche originally coined the term Uber-Mensch which translates to Supermen (In one of his books he talks about writing in a way that is like jumping from peak to peak of a mountain such that only exceptional individuals are able to understand what is being said). Hitler co-opted the term for his superior race and of course DC used it for Superman.
-----
Although I am already days behind in recording my thoughts I need to take a quick bike ride to make a deposit in the bank machine. BRB.
-----
One of the things I am trying to do to conserve is to quite using my printer. I am starting to realize that the distribution of paper is pervasive. I went to the bank machine to make a deposit and in return I got two slips of paper. I think that I will try to use all the paper that comes into my possession as much as possible before recycling it. I received some junk mail today from my cable company that was so covered with information that there is no space left on it to take notes. One main use of paper is as a mnemonic device. I think that I will try to rely on my memory and other mnemonic devices more. This should also help in combatting thinking problems related to aging as I grow older. I would like to see the use of paper reduced to legal contracts that require signatures.
-----
Which brings us to Art. The creation of Fine Art is perhaps the first worthwhile passion I experienced. I feel that is important to have something to be passionate about. It adds so much meaning to ones life. How can I reconcile creation of artwork with a low impact ideology? It’s clear that I can’t finish the series of paintings which I was working on. I had to brainstorm and come up with some ideas that had little or no permanent impact on the environment. Here is a digital comp that I created a study from and eventually had planned to turn into a fairly large painting (3.5’ x 5’ or so).
I decided on a series of small happenings. I intend to publicize them by word of mouth (no flyers or postcards). I am also going to ask that people either walk or ride a bike to the event. I would like to hold them at the pavilion downtown, which is the equivalent of a town square. I need to look into whether I need a permit or not.
The first piece I intend to gather objects from the nearby environment. I am going to ask the audience to help me remember where I found each object so that it can be put back where it came from. I will not ask the audience to remember where each piece came from as that may be to much. I can manipulate more objects by asking each audience member to memorize the location of a different object such that each person only has to keep track of one object.
I will then arrange the objects in an artistic manner (lol). Hopefully I can come up with something aesthetically pleasing that we can all admire for a moment or two. Then with the audiences help I will return each object to where I found it. The arrangement of the objects is less important in this piece than the overall concept.
I have a couple of other ideas in mind, but I would hate to ruin the surprise. I will post the results.
-----
I received a gift certificate for my birthday which I used to purchase two copies of the DVD “The Corporation”. I plan to hold on to one and pass the other one on with instructions to the recipient that they should also pass it on when they have finished watching it. I sent a thank you ecard to the brother who sent me the gift certificate and let him know that I had purchased the DVD’s and letting him know that he should check out the DVD.
-----
I am going to keep a log of my purchases starting today. I have set up a category on the message board if you would like to track my purchases. It should be fairly easy for me to reduce my consumption as I am used to living poor. I think it would be more difficult if I had middle class consumption habits. I do believe that a reduction in consumption is necessary aspect of the developing paradigm.
A friend has suggested buying used products which I think is an excellent idea. My only worry in regards to this idea is that it will encourage those discarding unwanted items to purchase new items. I know that I already have more stuff in my possession than fit in my house. I have a bunch of stuff that never gets used stored in the garage.
One of the ideas that Paul Hawken puts forth in The Ecology of Commerce, is that the majority of products produced today are waste that has not yet been discarded. He talks about reducing waste not just in regards to the byproducts of the manufacturing process, but that the very products themselves are created from materials that cannot be returned to nature and are actually harmful to the environment.
-----
I think that the commercial news media is failing us. If I turn on PBS late at night there is some significant programming which I appreciate, but how many people are watching PBS at three or four in the morning? It seems like every network should be screaming about ecological disaster all day every day. It’s not that I don’t care about kidnapped children or shark attacks. I just think that these topics are a little trivial compared to total ecological collapse.
I did catch a congressional hearing on C-Span the other day addressing this issue so there are other people concerned about it.
-----
Have I talked about population growth yet. It doesn’t seem to be a very popular topic right now. I haven’t heard much about it since the Chinese had their program running. I believe in negative population growth. If we had fewer people living in an ecologically restorative manner I think that it would reduce a lot of human suffering. I prefer birth control over starvation, disease and ecological devastation as a means of population control.
I plan to have either one child or no children. I currently have no children. I would like to thank all the women I have dated for being so responsible about birth control. (Any conservatives reading this may be thankful as well.)
-----
On page 28 of The Ecology of Commerce, Paul Hawken says about the number of species that are becoming extinct, “...we are losing 27,000 species a year, seventy-four per day...” that and the frog discussion reminded me of the recent disappearance of salmon in Washington State. I will try to find and link some news articles:
The Seattle Times - Wednesday, June 22, 2005
Trying to solve the mystery of the 200,000 missing salmon
By Warren Cornwall
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2002344228_sockeye21m.html
Associated Press - June 22, 2005
Warm water temps may be harming sockeye
http://www.king5.com/localnews/environment/stories/NW_062305WABsockeyesalmonLJ.39b38ff8.html
Here is another interesting article I ran across relating to Salmon:
Zoogoer - January | February 2004
Struggling Against the Current
by Robin Meadows
http://nationalzoo.si.edu/Publications/ZooGoer/2004/1/Pacific_Salmon.cfm
I don’t normally write protest songs, but today I wrote a verse of a song for the Salmon. It is to the tune of “Where Have All the Flowers Gone”. Wanna hear it here it goes.
http://earth.toryj.com/audio/salmon.mov
C Am
Where have all the salmon gone,
F G
Long time passing,
C Am
Where have all the salmon gone,
F G
Long time ago,
C Am
Where have all the salmon gone,
F G
No one knows why they don’t run,
F C
When will we ever learn,
F G C G C
When will we ever learn
It’s silly I know.
-----
It’s getting late so I need to upload this, but I want to put down a few ideas real quick to keep myself honest.
I would like to email everyone I know and ask them to watch “The Corporation”. I need to follow up on those emails and encourage them to read my blog.
I need to contact businesses and corporations asking them for sponsorship.
I need to contact businesses, corporations and elected officials encouraging them to view “The Corporation,” as well as reading The Ecology of Commerce: A Declaration of Sustainability, (even though I haven’t finished it myself yet).
I need to email other sites and ask them to exchange links with my site.
I need to call my power company and find out how my electricity is being generated.
I need to call my recycling company and see what numbers of plastics they accept.
I will keep you posted on the results.
I drank my last cola two days ago and I have been feeling it much more today than I was yesterday. I never was a big coffee drinker, but I have traditionally drunk 3-4+ cola type drinks a day. The reason I cut them out of my diet is:
A. Packaging and Waste
Two half-racks a week means 24 cans and two pasteboard boxes.
B. Production Impact (Human and Environmental)
I am not sure of the production impact of cola brand I was drinking
C. The Marketing of Addictive Products
Cola is caffeinated and I don’t want companies profiting from caffeine addiction
D. Cost
Sodas are relatively cheap, but I need make my economic vote count
E. Health - Physical/Psychological
It is my understanding that drinking sodas all day is not good for me
Until I find something better I will be drinking water. (Is there something better than water?) Hopefully the water coming out of my tap is not toxic as I cannot currently justify buying a personal water filtration system. I wonder if there is a program in this area to test a person’s water.
I found this morning that I had less fervor towards this project than I had the previous days. This is because the effect of “The Corporation,” is wearing off. I knew that this was going to happen and prepared for it. It is the reason that I made sure to follow up with some action right away such as checking out The Ecology of Commerce: A Declaration of Sustainability, by Paul Hawken. I read some of the book earlier in order to become reinvigorated.
I took a class a few years back called The Sociology of Deviance which I believe had a book by the same title. One of the items that came up in the book was the effect of highly publicized events. The two examples studied were executions and boxing. An execution that is highly publicized has the effect of reducing violent crime for approximately two days (to the best of my recollection). A highly publicized boxing match has the effect of increasing violence for two days. The reason I bring this up now is because it is similar to the loss of enthusiasm I experienced this morning and I have also experienced this at other times in my life when working on projects.
Thus, it is important for me to reinforce regularly (at least every couple of days I would think) the ideas that I have been exposed to by the documentary. I am attempting to consciously recondition my thinking. I am curious to see if there is a tolerance effect in regards to subjecting oneself to environmental literature.
-----
Saving the World seems like a funny title to me. It conjures images of super-heros and super-villians.
Side Note: Nietsche originally coined the term Uber-Mensch which translates to Supermen (In one of his books he talks about writing in a way that is like jumping from peak to peak of a mountain such that only exceptional individuals are able to understand what is being said). Hitler co-opted the term for his superior race and of course DC used it for Superman.
-----
Although I am already days behind in recording my thoughts I need to take a quick bike ride to make a deposit in the bank machine. BRB.
-----
One of the things I am trying to do to conserve is to quite using my printer. I am starting to realize that the distribution of paper is pervasive. I went to the bank machine to make a deposit and in return I got two slips of paper. I think that I will try to use all the paper that comes into my possession as much as possible before recycling it. I received some junk mail today from my cable company that was so covered with information that there is no space left on it to take notes. One main use of paper is as a mnemonic device. I think that I will try to rely on my memory and other mnemonic devices more. This should also help in combatting thinking problems related to aging as I grow older. I would like to see the use of paper reduced to legal contracts that require signatures.
-----
Which brings us to Art. The creation of Fine Art is perhaps the first worthwhile passion I experienced. I feel that is important to have something to be passionate about. It adds so much meaning to ones life. How can I reconcile creation of artwork with a low impact ideology? It’s clear that I can’t finish the series of paintings which I was working on. I had to brainstorm and come up with some ideas that had little or no permanent impact on the environment. Here is a digital comp that I created a study from and eventually had planned to turn into a fairly large painting (3.5’ x 5’ or so).
I decided on a series of small happenings. I intend to publicize them by word of mouth (no flyers or postcards). I am also going to ask that people either walk or ride a bike to the event. I would like to hold them at the pavilion downtown, which is the equivalent of a town square. I need to look into whether I need a permit or not.
The first piece I intend to gather objects from the nearby environment. I am going to ask the audience to help me remember where I found each object so that it can be put back where it came from. I will not ask the audience to remember where each piece came from as that may be to much. I can manipulate more objects by asking each audience member to memorize the location of a different object such that each person only has to keep track of one object.
I will then arrange the objects in an artistic manner (lol). Hopefully I can come up with something aesthetically pleasing that we can all admire for a moment or two. Then with the audiences help I will return each object to where I found it. The arrangement of the objects is less important in this piece than the overall concept.
I have a couple of other ideas in mind, but I would hate to ruin the surprise. I will post the results.
-----
I received a gift certificate for my birthday which I used to purchase two copies of the DVD “The Corporation”. I plan to hold on to one and pass the other one on with instructions to the recipient that they should also pass it on when they have finished watching it. I sent a thank you ecard to the brother who sent me the gift certificate and let him know that I had purchased the DVD’s and letting him know that he should check out the DVD.
-----
I am going to keep a log of my purchases starting today. I have set up a category on the message board if you would like to track my purchases. It should be fairly easy for me to reduce my consumption as I am used to living poor. I think it would be more difficult if I had middle class consumption habits. I do believe that a reduction in consumption is necessary aspect of the developing paradigm.
A friend has suggested buying used products which I think is an excellent idea. My only worry in regards to this idea is that it will encourage those discarding unwanted items to purchase new items. I know that I already have more stuff in my possession than fit in my house. I have a bunch of stuff that never gets used stored in the garage.
One of the ideas that Paul Hawken puts forth in The Ecology of Commerce, is that the majority of products produced today are waste that has not yet been discarded. He talks about reducing waste not just in regards to the byproducts of the manufacturing process, but that the very products themselves are created from materials that cannot be returned to nature and are actually harmful to the environment.
-----
I think that the commercial news media is failing us. If I turn on PBS late at night there is some significant programming which I appreciate, but how many people are watching PBS at three or four in the morning? It seems like every network should be screaming about ecological disaster all day every day. It’s not that I don’t care about kidnapped children or shark attacks. I just think that these topics are a little trivial compared to total ecological collapse.
I did catch a congressional hearing on C-Span the other day addressing this issue so there are other people concerned about it.
-----
Have I talked about population growth yet. It doesn’t seem to be a very popular topic right now. I haven’t heard much about it since the Chinese had their program running. I believe in negative population growth. If we had fewer people living in an ecologically restorative manner I think that it would reduce a lot of human suffering. I prefer birth control over starvation, disease and ecological devastation as a means of population control.
I plan to have either one child or no children. I currently have no children. I would like to thank all the women I have dated for being so responsible about birth control. (Any conservatives reading this may be thankful as well.)
-----
On page 28 of The Ecology of Commerce, Paul Hawken says about the number of species that are becoming extinct, “...we are losing 27,000 species a year, seventy-four per day...” that and the frog discussion reminded me of the recent disappearance of salmon in Washington State. I will try to find and link some news articles:
The Seattle Times - Wednesday, June 22, 2005
Trying to solve the mystery of the 200,000 missing salmon
By Warren Cornwall
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2002344228_sockeye21m.html
Associated Press - June 22, 2005
Warm water temps may be harming sockeye
http://www.king5.com/localnews/environment/stories/NW_062305WABsockeyesalmonLJ.39b38ff8.html
Here is another interesting article I ran across relating to Salmon:
Zoogoer - January | February 2004
Struggling Against the Current
by Robin Meadows
http://nationalzoo.si.edu/Publications/ZooGoer/2004/1/Pacific_Salmon.cfm
I don’t normally write protest songs, but today I wrote a verse of a song for the Salmon. It is to the tune of “Where Have All the Flowers Gone”. Wanna hear it here it goes.
http://earth.toryj.com/audio/salmon.mov
C Am
Where have all the salmon gone,
F G
Long time passing,
C Am
Where have all the salmon gone,
F G
Long time ago,
C Am
Where have all the salmon gone,
F G
No one knows why they don’t run,
F C
When will we ever learn,
F G C G C
When will we ever learn
It’s silly I know.
-----
It’s getting late so I need to upload this, but I want to put down a few ideas real quick to keep myself honest.
I would like to email everyone I know and ask them to watch “The Corporation”. I need to follow up on those emails and encourage them to read my blog.
I need to contact businesses and corporations asking them for sponsorship.
I need to contact businesses, corporations and elected officials encouraging them to view “The Corporation,” as well as reading The Ecology of Commerce: A Declaration of Sustainability, (even though I haven’t finished it myself yet).
I need to email other sites and ask them to exchange links with my site.
I need to call my power company and find out how my electricity is being generated.
I need to call my recycling company and see what numbers of plastics they accept.
I will keep you posted on the results.
posted by T-Bone_Jones at 8:11 PM
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