Saturday, January 20, 2007

Globalization, Etc. - orig. 08/11/05

I was talking to a friend and she mentioned that she didn’t feel she would experience the effects of the many ills I’ve been discussing in her lifetime. I kind of agreed with her at first, but I think that as a people and as individuals we are already feeling the effects; we are just not connecting the effects with the causes. We are in the midst of what’s being called a “cancer epidemic”. I have a hunch that it may be related to living in a toxic environment. The food we eat, the water we drink, the air we breath are all tainted with manmade chemicals. What is a safe level of toxin?

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Laissez faire should be a carnival for people with a lack of motivation.

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Here’s an analogy: I don’t know what damage my footsteps might inadvertently cause, therefore until I know more I am going to try and stand as still as possible.

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A friend sent this to me. It's me riding a bike.


I especially like the motion lines.

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I read a brief blurb in yesterday’s paper that said in Flagstaff, Arizona residents are being offered money to remove their grass lawns and replace them with either rocks or native plants in an effort to reduce water consumption. This seems like a pretty good idea.

To implement this idea on a personal level all a person would really have to do is to stop watering their lawn. I am pretty sure that the grass would die and native plants would take over with no effort on the part of the landowner.

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Globalization means that we need to start thinking globally as opposed to nationalistically. When we’re talking about wealth most Americans are wealthy in relation to the truly poor in the world. The economy is global now. Corporations are global now. Where is the world government that should act as a check for corporatism. The United Nations is toothless. The other global ruling bodies appear to consist of an elite oligarchy whose interests are not the welfare of humanity or the ecology as a whole.

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I am still enamored by the idea of mindfulness. We can try to be more aware of the impact of our actions in regards to consumption and our other daily activities.

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I have tried to find a solution for the hornets nest in the wall of my house. Traditionally I would fill the hole with an aerosol poison. One solution other than poison is to use a special vacuum to suck them out of the wall.

What I am currently doing is using a trap filled with meat (both provided by my landlord). This does not destroy the nest, but it may reduce the number of hornets defending the nest. (I previously tried a sugar solution, but apparently hornets will only go for sweets in a trap late in the season.) The meat has attracted and trapped at least one hornet so far.

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I believe in democracy. We have the illusion of democracy, but democracy implies choice. Choosing between two virtually identical candidates that are both tied financially to big business is really not a choice.

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If you purchase Maxwell House, Kraft, Miracle Whip, Oscar Meyer or Jell-O products know that you are supporting Phillip Morris the same company that withheld information regarding the health risks of cigarettes as well as adulterating cigarettes to make them more addictive and marketing cigarettes to children. (This information comes from a book called [u]Corporation Nation[/u], written by Charles Derber.)

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Here’s a quote from Maria Shriver, “If you stay afraid you stay paralyzed.”

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I just sent an email to my Mom telling her to check out “The Corporation,” and mentioning this blog. If you don’t think that it’s scary to share a radical blog with friends and family then you should try it.

I am saying that you should try it. Start an environmental blog and share it with your friends and family.

I don’t know if I have mentioned before why it I try to introduce “The Corporation,” at the beginning of the discussion. There are a couple of reasons. First, it gives us a common base from which to discuss the issues. Second, I believe that it is designed to break down a person’s resistance, to deprogram them if you will, such that an individual will be more receptive to ideas regarding living in a more sustainable manner.

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Here's "What's the Point #5":

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