P.E.A.C.E. - orig. 07/26/05
A friend sent me the following in an email:
P.E.A.C.E.
Please
Evaluate
Actions
Causing
Extinction
It was a sign hanging in one of her neighbors windows. The same friend also added a post to the message board (NOTE: The message board is no longer active.) today entitled the first steps under the category Living Sustainably Now and one in the category Lots of Questions entitled What if the Earth were someone I loved .... I really appreciate her sharing what she’s been doing.
-----
I was a little worried that I had gone off the deep end last night which, of course, I totally have (lol). But I talked to a friend (the same friend as above) and she emailed me some quotes from a book she is reading. You will find below an excerpt from her email:
Beautiful. I like, “the journey of engagement itself,” which I would call process, but he puts so poetically. Here’s some more of the email:
I will have to see if I can set that up as a block quote as there are single quotes within double quotes in the email she sent.
-----
I want to talk for a second about fear. I know that I am afraid of being judged for my thoughts and actions in regards to living in a sustainable manner. I am also afraid of scorn in the event that I should backslide. But I believe that my friends and family are going to continue to love and care about me regardless of whether or not they agree with my actions just as I will continue to love and care about them regardless of their actions.
I think that we should work at overcoming our fear. It is incumbent on me to try and spread a message about sustainability and it seems to me the folks that I am most likely to be able to influence are those closest to me.
I am a shy person by nature which is why it is easier for me to convey this information in the form of a blog. If you want to participate you may take a look at the ways it is easiest for you to communicate with people and do so. You/I may also want to take a chance and try an experiment wherein we communicate with a person or persons in a way which is less comfortable for us.
One of the things that I would like to do is to study the art of persuasion such that I am more effective at sharing what I am doing and convincing others that they should start taking action in regards to sustainability.
-----
Here's a cartoon I worked up earlier this year. The art comes from a promotional comic book produced by a video game company. The writing in it was terrible but I thought the art was great.
-----
I am going to start a driving/transportation log on the message board associated with this blog. I believe that the last day I drove my car was June 16, 2005. I have not yet decided whether I should ride the bus or not. At this point, until I know more, I don’t think I will be traveling very much.
-----
Here are a couple of links a friend sent regarding water conservation. I have also set up a post on the message board (which is the same as the information below):
10 Easy Ways to Conserve Water
“The amount of drinkable water per person is dramatically shrinking. In fact, the availability of freshwater will decrease by 33 percent within the next 50 years due to an astronomical growth in population and a giant flux in weather patterns. While these statistics are quite daunting, there are plenty of simple steps that we can take to lessen the rapidly diminishing freshwater supply.”
Conserving Water: Rainbarrels, Cisterns and Gray Water
According to the WSU link it is currently illegal in Washington to use gray water for irrigation. I don’t currently have a garden nor have I been watering my lawn. My lawn is small and is situated such that I am the only one who can see it. It’s mostly green without my having to water it. It is not really grass, but a combination of weeds and ground cover with some grass in the mix.
I did take a much shorter shower today. Usually I like to take about a twenty minute shower in which I wash, brush my teeth, floss and shave. Today I just used the shower to wash and was in and out in less than 10 minutes. I brushed and flossed at the sink (just using water to rinse my mouth and toothbrush) and I used an electric razor.
It seems like there’s always a trade off. Instead of using my razor with disposable blades I used an electric razor. I was able to save water and will not have to buy blades any longer, but the electric razor uses electricity and requires a battery which at some point will have to be replaced. The blades will also need to be sharpened sometime down the road.
-----
I wanted to include some ideas from another friend of mine:
(I am paraphrasing.)
Reusing items in the home (paper scraps, furniture items, etc.).
Not consuming pointless novelties.
Other ways to curb consumption: Cloth napkins, larger loads of laundry, hang a clothes line, rethink some grocery purchases, reusable cloth grocery sacks.
-----
I asked my landlady today if it was alright for me to add my organic waste to her compost bin. She said it was alright and let me know at some point in the year that waste management would be giving away composters (currently the composting consists of a couple big plastic containers so it’s more like just open air storage right now?) I will try and remember to call waste management tomorrow and find out what the deal is.
I also received a water bottle and some safety pins from her. I gave her a plastic planter that I thought she might find a use for as it could not be recycled (plastic #5).
-----
One of the things that Paul Hawkens mentions in The Ecology of Commerce, is the fear of job losses in a changing economy. He believes that the loss of old jobs will be offset by new companies designed to compete in the changing market. I know that France has switched from an eight to a six hour work day to combat unemployment.
I would like to set up a hypothetical situation. Imagine that there is a job that pays $200 a day (the dollar figure is not really important). The job pays $200 a day whether the employee works six hours or eight hours. The employee cannot earn more money by working more hours in a given day. There is also no stigma or punishment attached to working a six hour day or political benefit in working an eight hour day. If you had your choice would you choose to work the six hour day or the eight hour day?
Remember also that Paul Hawken said recycling by individuals alone is not enough. We need to involve our corporations. What products do you think you absolutely have to have? Contact the manufacturer and let them know of their need for conscious awareness of the impact of bringing the product to market from design, to gathering of raw materials, to production, to shipping, to re-use and whatever else I have forgotten. Ultimately we're talking about a restorative production system with no waste at any point of the operation.
-----
A couple of times a friend of mine has mentioned a book called Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things, by William McDonough and Michael Braungart.
Here is an editorial review from Amazon, "Paper or plastic? Neither, say William McDonough and Michael Braungart. Why settle for the least harmful alternative when we could have something that is better--say, edible grocery bags! In Cradle to Cradle, the authors present a manifesto calling for a new industrial revolution, one that would render both traditional manufacturing and traditional environmentalism obsolete. Recycling, for instance, is actually "downcycling," creating hybrids of biological and technical "nutrients" which are then unrecoverable and unusable. The authors, an architect and a chemist, want to eliminate the concept of waste altogether, while preserving commerce and allowing for human nature. They offer several compelling examples of corporations that are not just doing less harm--they're actually doing some good for the environment and their neighborhoods, and making more money in the process. Cradle to Cradle is a refreshing change from the intractable environmental conflicts that dominate headlines. It's a handbook for 21st-century innovation and should be required reading for business hotshots and environmental activists. --Therese Littleton"
-----
Keep up the good work. :D
P.E.A.C.E.
Please
Evaluate
Actions
Causing
Extinction
It was a sign hanging in one of her neighbors windows. The same friend also added a post to the message board (NOTE: The message board is no longer active.) today entitled the first steps under the category Living Sustainably Now and one in the category Lots of Questions entitled What if the Earth were someone I loved .... I really appreciate her sharing what she’s been doing.
-----
I was a little worried that I had gone off the deep end last night which, of course, I totally have (lol). But I talked to a friend (the same friend as above) and she emailed me some quotes from a book she is reading. You will find below an excerpt from her email:
I was trying to find a good quote from this book I'm reading (The Impossible Will Take a Little While: a citizen's guide to hope in a time of fear edited by Paul Rogat Loeb) ... and there are lots of good ones just in the introduction. In these he's quoting excerpts that I assume come later in the book. Here are two from his introduction:
“...many entertain significant doubts about the value of their recent participation in the public sphere. Whether they find new avenues of engagement or withdraw permanently to private life depends in part on the creativity and vision of the nation's peace, environmental, and social justice groups. It depends as well on whether these new participants can adopt the long view and develop the patience essential to continue even when their actions bear few or no immediate fruits. And it depends on whether they learn to savor both the journey of engagement itself and the everyday grace that nurtures us during the most difficult tasks. In 'The Small Work in the Great Work,' the Reverend Victoria Safford advises us to 'plant ourselves at the gates of hope,' even in times or situations that would invite pessimism, because 'with our lives we make our answers all the time, to this ravenous, beautiful, mutilated, gorgeous world.' "
Beautiful. I like, “the journey of engagement itself,” which I would call process, but he puts so poetically. Here’s some more of the email:
"Perhaps humility is the most important lesson that this gorgeous world's interdependence teaches us. Among other things, it counsels restraint. It says that giving up on life and the living is a form of arrogance. In 'Only Justice Can Stop a Curse,' Alice Walker examines the politics of bitterness, the temptation to conclude that we're destined for extinction: 'Let the earth marinate in poisons. Let the bombs cover the ground like rain. For nothing short of total destruction will ever teach [us] anything.' But then Walker remembers the acts of others that have given her cause to hope -- and resolves that she will not be defeated by despair. What is this but a form of forgiveness? And everyone needs forgiveness -- ourselves for not taking on every cause and winning every battle; and others, our neighbors and coworkers, our relatives and friends, and especially those who disagree with our beliefs or accept the lies and misdirections now so commonplace in our culture."
OK, I just found one more that I want to include. This is from Howard Zinn's essay "The Optimism of Uncertainty."
"Remember that those who have power and seem invulnerable are in fact quite vulnerable. Their power depends on the obedience of others, and when those others begin withholding that obedience, begin defying authority, that power at the top turns out to be very fragile. ... When we forget the fragility of that power at the top we become astounded when it crumbles in the face of rebellion. ... Don't look for a moment of total triumph. See engagement as an ongoing struggle, with victories and defeats, but in the long run slow progress."
I will have to see if I can set that up as a block quote as there are single quotes within double quotes in the email she sent.
-----
I want to talk for a second about fear. I know that I am afraid of being judged for my thoughts and actions in regards to living in a sustainable manner. I am also afraid of scorn in the event that I should backslide. But I believe that my friends and family are going to continue to love and care about me regardless of whether or not they agree with my actions just as I will continue to love and care about them regardless of their actions.
I think that we should work at overcoming our fear. It is incumbent on me to try and spread a message about sustainability and it seems to me the folks that I am most likely to be able to influence are those closest to me.
I am a shy person by nature which is why it is easier for me to convey this information in the form of a blog. If you want to participate you may take a look at the ways it is easiest for you to communicate with people and do so. You/I may also want to take a chance and try an experiment wherein we communicate with a person or persons in a way which is less comfortable for us.
One of the things that I would like to do is to study the art of persuasion such that I am more effective at sharing what I am doing and convincing others that they should start taking action in regards to sustainability.
-----
Here's a cartoon I worked up earlier this year. The art comes from a promotional comic book produced by a video game company. The writing in it was terrible but I thought the art was great.
-----
I am going to start a driving/transportation log on the message board associated with this blog. I believe that the last day I drove my car was June 16, 2005. I have not yet decided whether I should ride the bus or not. At this point, until I know more, I don’t think I will be traveling very much.
-----
Here are a couple of links a friend sent regarding water conservation. I have also set up a post on the message board (which is the same as the information below):
10 Easy Ways to Conserve Water
“The amount of drinkable water per person is dramatically shrinking. In fact, the availability of freshwater will decrease by 33 percent within the next 50 years due to an astronomical growth in population and a giant flux in weather patterns. While these statistics are quite daunting, there are plenty of simple steps that we can take to lessen the rapidly diminishing freshwater supply.”
Conserving Water: Rainbarrels, Cisterns and Gray Water
According to the WSU link it is currently illegal in Washington to use gray water for irrigation. I don’t currently have a garden nor have I been watering my lawn. My lawn is small and is situated such that I am the only one who can see it. It’s mostly green without my having to water it. It is not really grass, but a combination of weeds and ground cover with some grass in the mix.
I did take a much shorter shower today. Usually I like to take about a twenty minute shower in which I wash, brush my teeth, floss and shave. Today I just used the shower to wash and was in and out in less than 10 minutes. I brushed and flossed at the sink (just using water to rinse my mouth and toothbrush) and I used an electric razor.
It seems like there’s always a trade off. Instead of using my razor with disposable blades I used an electric razor. I was able to save water and will not have to buy blades any longer, but the electric razor uses electricity and requires a battery which at some point will have to be replaced. The blades will also need to be sharpened sometime down the road.
-----
I wanted to include some ideas from another friend of mine:
(I am paraphrasing.)
Reusing items in the home (paper scraps, furniture items, etc.).
Not consuming pointless novelties.
Other ways to curb consumption: Cloth napkins, larger loads of laundry, hang a clothes line, rethink some grocery purchases, reusable cloth grocery sacks.
-----
I asked my landlady today if it was alright for me to add my organic waste to her compost bin. She said it was alright and let me know at some point in the year that waste management would be giving away composters (currently the composting consists of a couple big plastic containers so it’s more like just open air storage right now?) I will try and remember to call waste management tomorrow and find out what the deal is.
I also received a water bottle and some safety pins from her. I gave her a plastic planter that I thought she might find a use for as it could not be recycled (plastic #5).
-----
One of the things that Paul Hawkens mentions in The Ecology of Commerce, is the fear of job losses in a changing economy. He believes that the loss of old jobs will be offset by new companies designed to compete in the changing market. I know that France has switched from an eight to a six hour work day to combat unemployment.
I would like to set up a hypothetical situation. Imagine that there is a job that pays $200 a day (the dollar figure is not really important). The job pays $200 a day whether the employee works six hours or eight hours. The employee cannot earn more money by working more hours in a given day. There is also no stigma or punishment attached to working a six hour day or political benefit in working an eight hour day. If you had your choice would you choose to work the six hour day or the eight hour day?
Remember also that Paul Hawken said recycling by individuals alone is not enough. We need to involve our corporations. What products do you think you absolutely have to have? Contact the manufacturer and let them know of their need for conscious awareness of the impact of bringing the product to market from design, to gathering of raw materials, to production, to shipping, to re-use and whatever else I have forgotten. Ultimately we're talking about a restorative production system with no waste at any point of the operation.
-----
A couple of times a friend of mine has mentioned a book called Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things, by William McDonough and Michael Braungart.
Here is an editorial review from Amazon, "Paper or plastic? Neither, say William McDonough and Michael Braungart. Why settle for the least harmful alternative when we could have something that is better--say, edible grocery bags! In Cradle to Cradle, the authors present a manifesto calling for a new industrial revolution, one that would render both traditional manufacturing and traditional environmentalism obsolete. Recycling, for instance, is actually "downcycling," creating hybrids of biological and technical "nutrients" which are then unrecoverable and unusable. The authors, an architect and a chemist, want to eliminate the concept of waste altogether, while preserving commerce and allowing for human nature. They offer several compelling examples of corporations that are not just doing less harm--they're actually doing some good for the environment and their neighborhoods, and making more money in the process. Cradle to Cradle is a refreshing change from the intractable environmental conflicts that dominate headlines. It's a handbook for 21st-century innovation and should be required reading for business hotshots and environmental activists. --Therese Littleton"
-----
Keep up the good work. :D
posted by T-Bone_Jones at 7:04 PM
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