•2:30 PM
Because we don't think about future generations, they will never forget us.
- Henrik Tikkanen, Finnish author and artist
When you are trying to read 100 books in 1 year, you are constantly on the prowl for good books. As I noted in an earlier post, I will be using The List as a guideline, and if something does not draw me in immediately, I will invoke the (self-described) right to substitute. So, I always want to have a substitute ready in the wings.
To be honest, I already have a very long list of substitutes started. Friends have sent me the names of their favourite books, and I have come across many titles that have grabbed my attention for one reason or another. For instance, have you heard of the Millenium Trilogy by Stieg Larsson? It wasn't really the books that drew me in, but the story surrounding the death of the author. This trilogy of books was not published until after he had died, and has gone on to become international best-sellers.
But, I digress.
One morning while drinking my coffee, I was browsing around the Yummy Mummy Club website, when I happened upon a contest for a free book. Win a book? A free book? Sounded good to me, so I entered my name, and to my surprise I won (by random draw). I never win anything, this was big news at my house. Hey if you like to win stuff too, the Yummy Mummy Club has many contests for all kinds of great stuff. Check it out sometime!
I just finished reading my free book that I won, called No Impact Man by Colin Beavan. My head is spinning with information and thoughts ... I hardly know where to start. When this happens, the only thing I can do is start at the beginning.
Colin Beavan is a writer who lives in New York City with his wife and toddler, Isabella. He is not a political activist, nor did he consider himself an authority on environmental issues. He is a regular guy who works for a living, but he began to question how he wanted to live his life. He started to take notice of the state of the Earth. He wondered about global warming, and emissions in the air, and what sustainable eating meant. He asked himself, not whether we use our natural resources, but what we could use them for.
After much thought, he decided that he couldn't be one of those people who talks about how terribly we (as a planet) sustain our natural resources without trying to do something about it. He made the decision to live for one year, exerting as little impact on the planet as he could. His philosophy can be summed as this ....
Negative Impact + Positive Impact = No Net Impact
So, he set out with his wife and his little girl in tow, to see what he could learn about living an environmentally conscious life and what he could learn about himself.
He broke the No Impact Project into seven phases. The first was to eliminate all garbage from his life. Can you imagine not creating one piece of garbage? It seems impossible, but he did it. You must be willing to give up many things and make some major changes to the way you conduct your daily business. Just as an example ... NO plastic bags. Sure, we are all trying to use the canvas tote bags, but it goes beyond that. If you will recall, I have declared my newfound love for the Bulk Barn? Well, how would you have your purchases weighed and how would you transport them home, if not for the use of plastic bags? I have tried to reassure myself that I re-use those (BulkBarn) bags for marinating meat, or storing muffins. But still, when I am finished with them, I put them into the garbage. But the part that really makes me take pause is that throw-away plastic bags are constructed of material that is designed to last forever.
The issue of plastic is overwhelming for me. It seems like a battle we cannot win, which is the wrong attitude to take ... but it is very overwhelming. Every piece of plastic ever created is somewhere on the planet right now. It just doesn't go away. And when in gets in the water, it breaks down into miniscule balls of plastic that are ingested by the fish and then ingested by us when we eat the fish. In fact, according to Beavan (and I have read this elsewhere as well) human beings have these miniscule bits of plastic flowing in their bloodstreams now. Along with many other foreign chemicals ... but we'll talk about that another day. I've got enough on my mind for now.
Plus, I love plastic straws. Some drinks are just not enjoyable without a straw ... Fruit Smoothies, for example. I make the most incredible Fruit Smoothies using just frozen fruit and juice, but you must drink it with a straw. My kids like ice water with a straw. Yes, we really like straws and Ziploc baggies at my house. Ziploc baggies are convenient and come in just the right size - which is whatever size you need. And I refuse to wash them; in fact, when I have tried to wash them it makes me annoyed and angry. Furthermore, they don't look pretty anymore because the soap never rinses out properly. So, I just don't do it. I buy more instead and live with the guilt. Again, this is just wrong.
To make matters even worse, now that I have read No Impact Man, I realize that in the water, plastic bags look like jellyfish to sea turtles. And, the turtles eat the plastic bags. But guess what? The bag cannot be digested, so it ends up blocking their digestive tract until they die from starvation. Just because I like to use plastic bags. So, now the guilt is becoming overwhelming.
I have also taken notice of how much "stuff" we throw out. Plastic bags and containers and meshing are used for so many products. Packaging is a huge problem for the environment. Huge. Because plastic is not as "recyclable" as you might think. Just this morning I threw away, two plastic food packages, a plastic (Bulkbarn) bag, four straws, a small piece of saran wrap and some toast crusts ... all before nine o'clock. Ugh.
So, for Colin Beavan and his family to produce no garbage for one entire year is really an incredible feat, without even considering all the other things he did for the environment. Think about it ... could you produce no garbage for one year? For one week? For even one day?
The only modes of transportation he allowed himself were walking, and his bicycle. This was easy for him because he lives in New York City, but it was a huge adjustment because they were accustomed to travelling by taxi. However, one of the biggest hurdles for their family was giving up travel by airplane, to visit family.
Basically, the Beavan family adhered to the principles of the 100-mile diet; although they allowed themselves a 250-mile radius based on the recommendation from an organization promoting local foods. They ate a lot of cabbage in the winter months and enjoyed a bountiful supply of many different foods in the summer months. This would be the easiest part of the Project for me to undertake, but having said that it would still be a challenge. Unless you can locate a local coffee bean grower, coffee is out; salt could be a problem; dairy products, if you eat them, could be difficult to find. However, once you start to look around, I bet you will learn about all the great local food sources in your neck of the woods. I'll be writing more about this on another day.
People like to buy stuff, don't you think? I mean, people are buying stuff all the time. And, they like to show off their new stuff.
Carlin's routine is funny and provides me with some much needed entertainment in this post. However, the rate at which people buy stuff and throw stuff away is ridiculous. Doesn't anyone try to fix things anymore? I can hear my mother snickering right now ... because didn't your parents tell you not to waste things? Mine did. However, I can see that my children have not learned this value. In fact, there have been several times where I have tried to explain that if something is broken, it is gone forever. But it doesn't work, because they have been to the stores with me.
"Addison, don't step on those CDs," I said, just this morning. "If they are broken, you won't be able to watch your movies any more."
"No, Mommy," she explains. "You can just buy more at the store." Sad, isn't it? But I bet your children have said the same thing to you.
Stuff today is designed to only be around for a short time. Cars are leased for only three years, we have purchased three vacuums in our sixteen year marriage, two sets of a washer and dryer, and I honestly don't know how many VCR/DVD players we have owned. Are the car makers trying to tell us that their cars are only good for three years? The fancy term is called planned obsolescence ... watch this video called The Story of Stuff and you will understand ...
I know, I know ... it's twenty minutes; but it is a twenty minutes well spent, in my opinion. What makes me angry is the fact that as consumers we are taken advantage of. I mean, there are some things that we do not need to replace ... like a blender or an i-Pod. Life will go on without these things - by that, I mean that you could survive. You might not be "cool" but you would survive. But a washing machine or a refrigerator must be replaced. And when you are forced to buy a new one every five years or six years, it's ridiculous. But, you'll do it because you need those things ... and that is what those big companies rely on.
The most ludicrous example of this is the home printer and replacement ink. You can purchase a new printer, which includes the ink cartridges, for less than the price of replacement ink cartridges. But what are you going to do with old printer? Throw it away?
The fifth phase of Beavan's Project is to give up electricity. This, of course, was the most difficult thing to live without. But he does it. What would be hardest for you to give up? Me? Ummmmm ... computer, refrigeration, and I would not live without a washer/dryer. I wouldn't. Or, a dishwasher. But I do not watch television very often, so I would not miss it at all. However, I will be very excitedly tuning in for the new season of True Blood starting in exactly five days. The promotional tag is "Do Bad Things" .... Oh my God, I cannot wait to do bad things with Alexander Skarsgard!! Uh-oh ... once again, I digress.
The sixth phase of the No Impact Project is to reduce his usage of water. So, Beavan and his wife do things like shower every other day, and turn the water off while brushing their teeth. But Beavan also wanted to reduce the number of pollutants in the water. So, they did not use shampoo or dish soap, or soap of any kind, as a matter of fact. Again, I would have a couple of problems in this area because I NEED shampoo and conditioner, which amounts to a lot of pollutants to the water, I think. But I need them ... I really do. In fact, I need to shower every day. It seems as though I may not be able to help the environment at all, at the rate I am going. But I want to, I swear I do.
And, finally, Beavan wants to take part in the movement to give back to the Earth. He wanted to help restore some of the damage that we have done. So, he planted trees and he cleaned up garbage. And, he learned a great deal about the state of our planet, and the ways in which we can work toward sustaining our natural resources.
What is environmentalism, really? Beavan describes it as follows ...
"... environmentalism is not about trying to use less but about trying to be more. It is not about sucking our tummies in but pushing our hearts out. Environmentalism is not about the environment. It is about people. It is about a vision for a better life - for people."
Beavan learned that there is one natural resource that people have chosen to ignore, and that is their life. He chooses to use his life as a resource that can give back to the Earth.
Think about what kind of place you want your children and your grandchildren and your grandchildren's children to have. Think about it and decide what you want to do to make their lives better. And then do it. Because maybe if we each do a little bit, we can actually do a lot.
- Henrik Tikkanen, Finnish author and artist
When you are trying to read 100 books in 1 year, you are constantly on the prowl for good books. As I noted in an earlier post, I will be using The List as a guideline, and if something does not draw me in immediately, I will invoke the (self-described) right to substitute. So, I always want to have a substitute ready in the wings.
To be honest, I already have a very long list of substitutes started. Friends have sent me the names of their favourite books, and I have come across many titles that have grabbed my attention for one reason or another. For instance, have you heard of the Millenium Trilogy by Stieg Larsson? It wasn't really the books that drew me in, but the story surrounding the death of the author. This trilogy of books was not published until after he had died, and has gone on to become international best-sellers.
But, I digress.
One morning while drinking my coffee, I was browsing around the Yummy Mummy Club website, when I happened upon a contest for a free book. Win a book? A free book? Sounded good to me, so I entered my name, and to my surprise I won (by random draw). I never win anything, this was big news at my house. Hey if you like to win stuff too, the Yummy Mummy Club has many contests for all kinds of great stuff. Check it out sometime!
I just finished reading my free book that I won, called No Impact Man by Colin Beavan. My head is spinning with information and thoughts ... I hardly know where to start. When this happens, the only thing I can do is start at the beginning.
Colin Beavan is a writer who lives in New York City with his wife and toddler, Isabella. He is not a political activist, nor did he consider himself an authority on environmental issues. He is a regular guy who works for a living, but he began to question how he wanted to live his life. He started to take notice of the state of the Earth. He wondered about global warming, and emissions in the air, and what sustainable eating meant. He asked himself, not whether we use our natural resources, but what we could use them for.
After much thought, he decided that he couldn't be one of those people who talks about how terribly we (as a planet) sustain our natural resources without trying to do something about it. He made the decision to live for one year, exerting as little impact on the planet as he could. His philosophy can be summed as this ....
Negative Impact + Positive Impact = No Net Impact
So, he set out with his wife and his little girl in tow, to see what he could learn about living an environmentally conscious life and what he could learn about himself.
He broke the No Impact Project into seven phases. The first was to eliminate all garbage from his life. Can you imagine not creating one piece of garbage? It seems impossible, but he did it. You must be willing to give up many things and make some major changes to the way you conduct your daily business. Just as an example ... NO plastic bags. Sure, we are all trying to use the canvas tote bags, but it goes beyond that. If you will recall, I have declared my newfound love for the Bulk Barn? Well, how would you have your purchases weighed and how would you transport them home, if not for the use of plastic bags? I have tried to reassure myself that I re-use those (BulkBarn) bags for marinating meat, or storing muffins. But still, when I am finished with them, I put them into the garbage. But the part that really makes me take pause is that throw-away plastic bags are constructed of material that is designed to last forever.
The issue of plastic is overwhelming for me. It seems like a battle we cannot win, which is the wrong attitude to take ... but it is very overwhelming. Every piece of plastic ever created is somewhere on the planet right now. It just doesn't go away. And when in gets in the water, it breaks down into miniscule balls of plastic that are ingested by the fish and then ingested by us when we eat the fish. In fact, according to Beavan (and I have read this elsewhere as well) human beings have these miniscule bits of plastic flowing in their bloodstreams now. Along with many other foreign chemicals ... but we'll talk about that another day. I've got enough on my mind for now.
Plus, I love plastic straws. Some drinks are just not enjoyable without a straw ... Fruit Smoothies, for example. I make the most incredible Fruit Smoothies using just frozen fruit and juice, but you must drink it with a straw. My kids like ice water with a straw. Yes, we really like straws and Ziploc baggies at my house. Ziploc baggies are convenient and come in just the right size - which is whatever size you need. And I refuse to wash them; in fact, when I have tried to wash them it makes me annoyed and angry. Furthermore, they don't look pretty anymore because the soap never rinses out properly. So, I just don't do it. I buy more instead and live with the guilt. Again, this is just wrong.
To make matters even worse, now that I have read No Impact Man, I realize that in the water, plastic bags look like jellyfish to sea turtles. And, the turtles eat the plastic bags. But guess what? The bag cannot be digested, so it ends up blocking their digestive tract until they die from starvation. Just because I like to use plastic bags. So, now the guilt is becoming overwhelming.
I have also taken notice of how much "stuff" we throw out. Plastic bags and containers and meshing are used for so many products. Packaging is a huge problem for the environment. Huge. Because plastic is not as "recyclable" as you might think. Just this morning I threw away, two plastic food packages, a plastic (Bulkbarn) bag, four straws, a small piece of saran wrap and some toast crusts ... all before nine o'clock. Ugh.
So, for Colin Beavan and his family to produce no garbage for one entire year is really an incredible feat, without even considering all the other things he did for the environment. Think about it ... could you produce no garbage for one year? For one week? For even one day?
The only modes of transportation he allowed himself were walking, and his bicycle. This was easy for him because he lives in New York City, but it was a huge adjustment because they were accustomed to travelling by taxi. However, one of the biggest hurdles for their family was giving up travel by airplane, to visit family.
Basically, the Beavan family adhered to the principles of the 100-mile diet; although they allowed themselves a 250-mile radius based on the recommendation from an organization promoting local foods. They ate a lot of cabbage in the winter months and enjoyed a bountiful supply of many different foods in the summer months. This would be the easiest part of the Project for me to undertake, but having said that it would still be a challenge. Unless you can locate a local coffee bean grower, coffee is out; salt could be a problem; dairy products, if you eat them, could be difficult to find. However, once you start to look around, I bet you will learn about all the great local food sources in your neck of the woods. I'll be writing more about this on another day.
People like to buy stuff, don't you think? I mean, people are buying stuff all the time. And, they like to show off their new stuff.
Carlin's routine is funny and provides me with some much needed entertainment in this post. However, the rate at which people buy stuff and throw stuff away is ridiculous. Doesn't anyone try to fix things anymore? I can hear my mother snickering right now ... because didn't your parents tell you not to waste things? Mine did. However, I can see that my children have not learned this value. In fact, there have been several times where I have tried to explain that if something is broken, it is gone forever. But it doesn't work, because they have been to the stores with me.
"Addison, don't step on those CDs," I said, just this morning. "If they are broken, you won't be able to watch your movies any more."
"No, Mommy," she explains. "You can just buy more at the store." Sad, isn't it? But I bet your children have said the same thing to you.
Stuff today is designed to only be around for a short time. Cars are leased for only three years, we have purchased three vacuums in our sixteen year marriage, two sets of a washer and dryer, and I honestly don't know how many VCR/DVD players we have owned. Are the car makers trying to tell us that their cars are only good for three years? The fancy term is called planned obsolescence ... watch this video called The Story of Stuff and you will understand ...
I know, I know ... it's twenty minutes; but it is a twenty minutes well spent, in my opinion. What makes me angry is the fact that as consumers we are taken advantage of. I mean, there are some things that we do not need to replace ... like a blender or an i-Pod. Life will go on without these things - by that, I mean that you could survive. You might not be "cool" but you would survive. But a washing machine or a refrigerator must be replaced. And when you are forced to buy a new one every five years or six years, it's ridiculous. But, you'll do it because you need those things ... and that is what those big companies rely on.
The most ludicrous example of this is the home printer and replacement ink. You can purchase a new printer, which includes the ink cartridges, for less than the price of replacement ink cartridges. But what are you going to do with old printer? Throw it away?
The fifth phase of Beavan's Project is to give up electricity. This, of course, was the most difficult thing to live without. But he does it. What would be hardest for you to give up? Me? Ummmmm ... computer, refrigeration, and I would not live without a washer/dryer. I wouldn't. Or, a dishwasher. But I do not watch television very often, so I would not miss it at all. However, I will be very excitedly tuning in for the new season of True Blood starting in exactly five days. The promotional tag is "Do Bad Things" .... Oh my God, I cannot wait to do bad things with Alexander Skarsgard!! Uh-oh ... once again, I digress.
The sixth phase of the No Impact Project is to reduce his usage of water. So, Beavan and his wife do things like shower every other day, and turn the water off while brushing their teeth. But Beavan also wanted to reduce the number of pollutants in the water. So, they did not use shampoo or dish soap, or soap of any kind, as a matter of fact. Again, I would have a couple of problems in this area because I NEED shampoo and conditioner, which amounts to a lot of pollutants to the water, I think. But I need them ... I really do. In fact, I need to shower every day. It seems as though I may not be able to help the environment at all, at the rate I am going. But I want to, I swear I do.
And, finally, Beavan wants to take part in the movement to give back to the Earth. He wanted to help restore some of the damage that we have done. So, he planted trees and he cleaned up garbage. And, he learned a great deal about the state of our planet, and the ways in which we can work toward sustaining our natural resources.
What is environmentalism, really? Beavan describes it as follows ...
"... environmentalism is not about trying to use less but about trying to be more. It is not about sucking our tummies in but pushing our hearts out. Environmentalism is not about the environment. It is about people. It is about a vision for a better life - for people."
Beavan learned that there is one natural resource that people have chosen to ignore, and that is their life. He chooses to use his life as a resource that can give back to the Earth.
Think about what kind of place you want your children and your grandchildren and your grandchildren's children to have. Think about it and decide what you want to do to make their lives better. And then do it. Because maybe if we each do a little bit, we can actually do a lot.
1 comments:
Good "food for thought", Jill. I will definitely try harder.