recently on unplug

great minds think alike: blogs of note

unplug

unplug magazine asks you to unplug from your current modes of thought and look at life in a new way, whether this means unplugging from our toxic consumer culture, mainstream society, the tv, or a limiting mindset. author megan prusynski explores life's alternatives and discusses activism, progressive thinking, and moving towards a "green" & sustainable life.

Thursday, May 22, 2008

The Story of Stuff

In our consumer culture, stuff happens. It's hard to help it, but we buy, use, and throw away a lot of stuff. Mountains of stuff. And it's not just out of sight, out of mind - this stuff has to go somewhere, whether it's the ocean or the landfill. Even when trying to live as consciously as possible, it's hard to avoid stuff.

Today it seems we are defined not by what we do, or what we say, but by what we own. Our stuff. We accumulate and show off our stuff, play with it, lose it, break it, replace it. What did we ever do without it? Without a doubt, we are a materialist culture. We've become more consumers than citizens (much to the delight of the companies selling us all this stuff). This is just incredibly sad.

Since it's no fun to focus on the sad state of affairs that is society today, I turn your attention to The Story of Stuff. It's an informative, illustrated, and even entertaining look at stuff. Where it comes from, how it's produced, what it's made of, and where it goes after we're done with it. It shows quite nicely why our consumption based system just doesn't work in a world of finite resources. The site is made by the fine folks at Free Range Studios, a design/multimedia company fighting the good fight wile becoming mildly famous for Flash animated movies likeThe Meatrix and Store Wars. It's an eye-opening and empowering video, so make sure you watch the whole thing.

After watching The Story of Stuff, you'll probably be inspired to think a lot more about the things you buy, make, and throw away. You may want to start buying locally made products, boycotting big box stores, and re-using/recycling/composting every piece of waste that you can. Great, do it! The thought of a strip mall may make you ill once you learn about all the hidden, true costs of all the products that fill it. If not, watch it again. And then share it. Because we all use stuff, so we might as well know where it came from.

Consumerism and our own consumption are at the core of a lot of the problems we're faced with today: overpopulation, pollution, habitat destruction, worker exploitation, global warming, etc. We seriously need to get our consumption habits in check. Watching The Story of Stuff is a good way to start.

Thursday, May 08, 2008

Legalize It!

It's been a busy spring for me (hence my absence) and that means that while I wanted to write a nice "green" post for Earth Day, I was just too busy. So, I hope everyone did something nice for the planet Earth Day weekend. I was at Moscow Hempfest - amidst late April snow flurries - educating people about the misunderstood hemp plant and handing out PETA stickers all while selling my homemade hemp soap and jewelry. And although there are a million things I want to write about, I'm going to focus on one issue that's been important to me for some time: HEMP!

Hempfest 2008 Logo with Hemp Facts Cannabis sativa (aka hemp) is a plant that humankind has a long history with over 10,000 years. It is only recently that this plant has been demonized and its use criminalized by US drug policy. Cannabis was widely prescribed for many ailments and hemp grown domestically and used for many products, namely rope and canvas, in the US prior to 1937. In 1937, caving into pressure from lobbying groups that felt that hemp threatened their products (ahem, DuPont) and a media fueled by racism, the Marijuana Tax Stamp Act was enacted, effectively making cannabis and hemp illegal. What was once a lucrative, sustainable cash crop became an illicit substance, and a drastic eradication program began.

The penalties have grown harsher (gee, thanks Nixon, Reagan and Bush) and prison sentences today for cannabis-related "crimes" are now often longer than those for rape and murder. Prisons are overpopulated due to the drug war's insistence on arresting non-violent drug offenders and throwing them in jail instead of helping them overcome addiction. Marijuana is listed as a Schedule I drug, alongside heroin and other drugs that have "no medical value." This is despite the fact that science has shown otherwise. Many states have passed legislation allowing doctors to recommend cannabis to their patients. It has been proven helpful for many ailments such as cancer, glaucoma, severe pain, menstrual cramps, nausea, and many more. In fact, in 1988, DEA Judge Francis Young stated that "...marijuana is one of the safest therapeutically active substances known to man." He recommended it be removed from the list of Schedule I drugs and rescheduled, which it was not. In the "land of the free," we're not even free to decide what we can put into our own bodies.

Hemp gets lumped in with marijuana (they're both cannabis sativa, but different strains), which is unfortunate, because hemp can't get you high, but it can certainly be used for a million other things. Hemp seeds are highly nutritious, providing all the essential fatty acids humans need. Pretty much all parts of the plant are useful for something, whether it's paper that's stronger and can be recycled more often than tree paper, strong and soft fabric, various plastics, building materials, paints/varnishes, rope, or bio-fuel. Since it has so many uses, is naturally pest and disease resistant, and easy to grow, it could help solve a lot of environmental problems and provide more sustainable alternatives for many products. This sustainable crop could honestly help save the world, and that is why the powers that be fear it so much and want it to remain illegal. The pharmaceutical, paper, lumber, cotton, agriculture, and petroleum industries all feel threatened by this versatile plant, even though industrial hemp could be a boon to our economy and especially to small farmers. Like most things in politics, it all comes down to money.

So, what can we do to end the war on cannabis and re-legalize this useful plant? First of all, as a society we need a massive hemp re-education. Through the years the lies about cannabis have been drilled into our brains, spreading reefer madness and creating hostility towards a plant that has never killed anyone in thousands of years of use. It starts with educating yourself and sharing your knowledge with family and friends. Hemp advocacy can be as fun as attending a Hempfest or as important as starting a local petition to make marijuana use arrests the lowest police priority in your city. Do some research and you're bound to find many resources, organizations, and activists to get you going.

There is currently a federal bill before Congress to re-legalize the cultivation of industrial hemp. This bill, the "Industrial Hemp Farming Act", H.R. 1009, has been introduced by Ron Paul (R-TX) and co-sponsored by a handful of other representatives. Ron Paul has also recently introduced the “Medical Marijuana Patient Protection Act”, H.R. 5842, which would bar the Federal Government from intervening in doctor/patient relationships that violate no state law. For more information on hemp advocacy and legislation, see VoteHemp.com.

And in my local news, Mendocino county, California, is soon to vote on Measure B, which plans to repeal Measure G, protecting medical marijuana users and allowing law enforcement to focus on real criminals. Measure B is intended to reduce the amount of large-scale commercial cannabis production in a county with some of the most lenient cannabis laws in the nation. However, it will remove protections that Measure G provides medical patients (which was voted into law by a large majority of the public) and be a huge step backwards in hemp legalization. I find it silly that those supporting Measure B think that changing the law is going to affect commercial growers who obviously don't care about the law in the first place - they're already breaking it, so why would changing the law even affect them? So, if you're a Mendo local, please VOTE NO ON MEASURE B on June 3, 2008, and keep Mendocino County a leader in the fight for legalization!

In the words of Peter Tosh, quite simply, LEGALIZE IT!

Labels: activism, environment/sustainability, hemp

Monday, March 24, 2008

Tibet Needs Our Support

I have been following the recent events in Tibet, growing increasingly worried as China cracks down on what began as peaceful protests started by monks to commemorate the anniversary of China's takeover of Tibet (and the Dalai Lama's subsequent exile) in 1959. I have posted on Tibet and the Dalai Lama before, and it's an issue dear to my heart. The protests in Tibet have turned into violent riots, with the Chinese using their full might against Tibetans who want their freedom.

With the coming 2008 Summer Olympics, the communist Chinese government wants to silence the Tibetan uprising in their usual fashion - with brutality, brainwashing, and violence. China has long been involved in human rights violations and cultural genocide in Tibet, and now the people of Tibet are crying out for their voices to be heard. They need the world to know what is going on there, but China is trying to silence them. Foreigners and journalists have been kicked out of Tibet, so eyewitness reports are hard to come by. The Dalai Lama continues to urge non-violence on both sides, even threatening to resign as leader of Tibet in exile if violence continues. His position is one of compromise with China, autonomy for Tibet but not complete independence. And yet China accuses him of "masterminding" this violent uprising.

How can we help? The most important thing we can do is learn about the situation in Tibet and urge China to negotiate with the Dalai Lama and Tibet instead of silencing them with violence. What follows is a list of articles for more information, organizations you can support to help Tibet and Tibetans, and petitions to the Chinese government.

Beijing Wide Open: the blog of a Tibetan activist living in Beijing. Lots of great information and updated coverage of the events in Lhasa and elsewhere.

Stand With Tibet: a petition to the Chinese President calling for restraint and respect for human rights, from Avaaz.org. Sign to help them reach one million signatures!

International Campaign for Tibet: this organization works with Tibetans inside and outside of Tibet, bringing coverage of the situation and offering many ways to get involved in the movement. One of their campaigns is Race for Tibet, protesting holding the olympics in China. They are holding a series of events in San Francisco, April 7-9, when the Olympic Torch passes through.

Alternet has a collection of stories about Tibet and the current events there.

So, stay informed, get involved, and help the voice of Tibetans be heard. I am hoping for the best possible outcome and an end to the violence. China is hardly deserving of the Olympic Games if they fail to uphold basic human rights, so time is certainly of the essence.

Labels: human rights, peace, politics

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

"Eco-friendly" Cars are Coming

I've been watching the posts on gas2.0, a Green Options blog about the bio-fuel revolution, and I suddenly have the desire to get new wheels. Some companies, like ZAP and Hybrids Plus are working on converting hybrids to plug-in hybrids for gas mileage up to 120 miles per gallon. The ability to plug hybrids in is even closer to all-electric vehicles, which are also on the horizon. And volkswagen has just announced that it will be releasing a diesel-electric hybrid, which I'm very excited about, as I dream of volksvegan II. It gets nearly 70 mpg and it's about time someone took an efficient diesel engine and combined it with hybrid technology to make the best of both biofuels and hybrids.

But after looking at all these shiny "greener" cars, and their price tags, I can't help but feel like maybe car lust really isn't all that green, no matter what kind of cars we're talking about. The American Dream is heavily based on car culture, and many families have more cars than drivers in their households. I'm all about having more sustainable choices, and like to use them whenever possible, but along with new choices comes the dilemma of what to do with old cars that these new ones replace. Planned obsolescence has long been marketing gimmick used by the auto industry, making old models seem outdated just by rolling out the new ones. This leads to cars, and countless other products, being put to waste long before their useful lives are truly over. It also leads to cheaper products that aren't built to last as long as they should, and "replaceable" or "disposable" products that in previous generations were used for decades or longer. In reality, nothing is ever truly disposable. There is no such thing as "out of sight, out of mind" on this small planet. We can't escape our waste.

We rely on cars more than we realize, and I don't just mean to get around. The way our communities are planned and structured is based on roads and the cars that travel on them. Suburban sprawl is very much a car-centric problem. It's rare to be able to work, go to school, live, and eat all within a few blocks. Cities are compartmentalized into zones for industry, business, retail, and living. This is not how things used to be, it's evolved along with the automobile.

Unfortunately, living without a car can be difficult if not damn near impossible for many people. This is why I'm glad that there are more sustainable cars being developed. However, I think all too often car ownership is seen as a right, not a privilege, and one that is often abused. Reducing our fossil fuel usage and its disastrous effects is an important part of combatting climate change. But just switching to different cars is not going to solve the problem. We need to re-think our relationship with cars, our public transportation system, even the way our communities are designed. And we need to get over our obsession with shiny hunks of metal with wheels that guzzle petrochemicals and spew pollution.

Here are some ways we can start re-thinking our relationship with our cars and reduce our use of fossil fuels:

Walk, skate, rollerblade, or ride your bike for shorter trips. Gradually work your way up to longer and longer trips via bike or foot. Not only will it give you some great exercise, but there are no emissions! Don't be afraid to walk in the rain (what are umbrellas for anyway?) and in winter, try sledding or snow-shoeing.

Use public transportation if possible. If your town doesn't have much of a public transit system, write to local politicians, bring up the issue at city council members, and gather fellow citizens together to raise awareness. Democracy only works if you use it, so get involved locally and see what you can change.

Get a bike trailer. It's a great way to run errands you'd usually need a car full. I can fit a full load of groceries in mine.

Carpool or Car-share. Share rides with neighbors and friends. Travel with as many people as a car can hold whenever possible. Post something on the employee bulletin board at work about organizing carpools. Talk to your kids about which of their friends live nearby and trade off days with other parents to take the kids to school. There are even car share companies popping up. This is a novel idea that works well in large cities, where people can just reserve a car for as long as they need it, and the company maintains it. Just google "car sharing" and you'll be surprised how many of these companies there already are.

Plan and combine trips. Instead of running to the grocery store today and the mall tomorrow, try running all your errands at one time. Plan out which errands are close to each other and group them to save time and gas. Plan a list well in advance so you can buy all you need at once. Shop less often and buy in bulk so that what you buy lasts longer and you don't have to return as quickly for more.

Eat locally. Locally-grown food doesn't have to travel around the world, burning fossil fuels along the way, to get from the farm to your table. Read labels and research companies so you know how far your food travels. When you can't eat locally, eat regionally, state-wide, and nationally as a last resort. Go to farmer's markets or learn about community supported agriculture in your area. It's a great opportunity to meet your neighbors and support your local economy as well. Of course, if you want to eat really local, you could grow your own food right in your very own garden! Even if you just grow a few herbs in pots on your windowsill, you'll end up saving a little more money and trips to the grocery store.

Telecommute or work from home. Imagine having no commute. Americans are commuting more and more miles all the time, so why not reverse that trend (and get a chance to sleep in) by working at home? Talk to your employer about whether your position would allow you to work from home via the internet. You can start by suggesting just staying home one day a week, and work up from there. Many times, this can save your employer money on overhead, office space, and energy use. It also saves you time, money, and gas. Or, start your own home-based business.

Use an electric scooter or moped for your commute instead of a car. Even gas motorcycles get great gas mileage compared to cars.

Call before you go. If you have any question whether a place you need to drive to is open or has what you need, call first. You may save yourself a trip.

And, I knew you were waiting for this one... eat less meat! Since raising animals for food takes a lot of fossil fuels (between transporting feed to the farms, running tractors and farm machinery, trucking animals to slaughter, taking the meat to be processed and packaged, and then shipping it all over the place, it adds up to a lot of gas). It's rare that animals are raised, slaughtered, and processed all in one place. The majority of animals are shipped around several times in the stages between farm and grocery store, ultimately being driven home to your table. Reducing your meat consumption even a little can have a huge impact. Not only will you reduce fossil fuel usage, but you can reduce pollution (since raising animals causes a lot of it) and improve your health. In fact, going vegetarian may have a far greater impact than changing what you drive or not driving at all, since livestock is responsible for more greenhouse gas emissions than all transportation.

Keep your car well-maintained and your tires filled up. Making sure your car runs as efficiently as possible helps you get better gas mileage and helps your car last longer.

There are lots of little steps you can take to reduce your fossil fuel usage. After you've reduced the use of your car, you can consider upgrading to a greener model when it's time. Don't get rid of the car you have (unless it's a Hummer, then by all means, replace that evil thing and start reversing your karma) unless it is absolutely time to replace it, or unless you have more cars then you need. Make every effort to repair and maintain your car to keep it on the road longer. New cars take a lot of new materials and pollution to make, so buy used whenever possible. Consider getting a diesel (the engines are more efficient) so that you can run bio-diesel in, or a hybrid. Sadly, the dreamy diesel-electric hybrids are still a few years away, so we'll have to keep dreaming (and saving) for those.

These suggestions are based on the premise that reducing should come before re-using and recycling. If we reduce our demand for fossil fuels by using our cars less (and by using fewer cars), that will have a greater impact than simply changing the type of car we drive. Question yourself every time you reach for your keys: could I walk instead? Do I really need to make this trip now or could I combine it with another? Could I carpool? Do I even need to own my own car when I could share one? There are countless ways to reduce pollution and gas usage, all it takes is a little ingenuity and the courage to change the way we think and live. A small step in the right direction is certainly better than stubbornly doing nothing. Change is good!

Labels: cars, energy, environment/sustainability, lifestyle

Thursday, February 28, 2008

Starting a Green Business

I've always wanted to work for myself, and now I'm actually getting there. Of course, my business will be as green as possible. As I've come to find out, the process itself is a bit intimidating. But one of the things that is helping me keep on top of business planning is a series I just started writing on Green Options about starting a green design firm.

So, check out my first post about my dreams, and check in regularly where all my posts are archived if you're interested in starting a green business yourself or just want to see how the process is going!

Monday, February 11, 2008

Community Gardening and Local Food

It's been a while since I've posted, a lot has changed in the last month or so. I moved to the beautiful Mendocino Coast in Northern California and we're just settling in. So far I've been really impressed with the level of green consciousness here. There are quite a few organic and vegetarian restaurants, we actually get paid to recycle bottles (and we don't have to sort the recycling for curb-side pickup), and I've gotten involved with a great local non-profit group called Noyo Food Forest. My partner is taking a class on organic gardening from them, I am hoping to help them with some graphic design work, and they're starting a community garden near us that we are going to be a part of. We are really excited to be a part of the organization and get some organic veggies planted in the community garden. This area is certainly inspiring!

Being involved with Noyo Food Forest has been a great experience so far. They are an organization that began a learning garden next to the local high school where they teach classes on organic gardening, grow organic food for the high school cafeteria, and sell organic produce at farmer's markets in the summer. Their goal is to turn unused, empty fields in the area into thriving organic gardens that bring the community together.

Yesterday I volunteered with a group from Noyo to prepare a vacant lot for the community garden, where we hope to have a small plot of organic veggies and herbs. We cleared the land, shoveled poop (not a glamorous job but a big part of organic gardening and it really wasn't that bad), and started sheet composting over the garden site. The spot is beautiful and gets plenty of sun, and the workday went well. I met new people involved with the organization and learned a lot about organic gardening and what it takes to start a community garden.

Noyo Food Forest got me very excited about organic gardening and eating locally. Community gardens are a wonderful thing. Not only do they allow people to grow their own food (especially people who can't a garden at home), they're a great way to meet new people, get outside to commune with nature, and reduce your carbon footprint. Since eating locally helps reduce fuel needed for food transportation, it's a win-win situation. Many towns have community gardens and/or CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) programs, so even if you can't garden in your backyard, there are still lots of options for getting locally-grown organic food. CSAs are a great way to support local farmers. They usually entail subscribing to the program, and local farmers will provide a box of seasonal produce each week during the season.

In a world where even our food choices are political and every choice we make has enormous consequences, it makes sense to simplify our eating habits. Going back to agriculture's roots by gardening at home or in a community garden, buying locally-grown produce, and eating organic are all ways to simplify your food consumption all while reducing pollution and emissions. Green living has never tasted so good!

If you've ever had a garden, you know that not only is gardening a great stress-reliever and a way to connect with your natural environment, but garden-fresh produce tastes simply amazing. In your own garden (or a community garden that you're involved in), you know what is put into the soil and the plants. You have more control over what you grow, so you can grow organically to be sure there aren't any nasty chemicals getting into your body. There are so many benefits to being involved in a community garden or having your own. Stay tuned for more updates on our involvement with Noyo Food Forest and our forays into organic gardening. I hope that community gardens continue to increase in popularity and spark a true food revolution!

Labels: community, environment/sustainability, food, lifestyle

Sunday, December 23, 2007

The Importance of Gratitude

In my travels this summer, I visited many delicious restaurants and sampled all kinds of yummy vegetarian grub. But my favorite restaurant experience was Cafe Gratitude in Berkeley. This cafe serves mostly raw, vegan, organic food prepared with love. I first heard of it when my friend Crystal traveled to the Bay Area for a summer and got a job there. When she got back, I could tell she was a changed person. And she brought with her the recipes for some of the most amazing live food desserts I've ever tasted. I had to check this place out.

We visited Cafe Gratitude with our friend Jake when we were visiting the Bay Area. It is a unique restaurant in that it is based more on attitudes and beliefs than food itself. According to their site:

Cafe Gratitude is our expression of a world of plenty. Our food and people are a celebration of our aliveness. We select the finest organic ingredients to honor the earth and ourselves, as we are one and the same. We support local farmers, sustainable agriculture and environmentally friendly products. Our food is prepared with love. We invite you to step inside and enjoy being someone that chooses: loving your life, adoring yourself, accepting the world, being generous and grateful every day, and experiencing being provided for. Have fun and enjoy being nourished.

The restaurant is based on a board game called The Abounding River that the owners invented to teach others about their view of "being abundance." This view is based on the concept that you create your own reality and that your perception of the world shapes it. The game encourages people to think differently about what they have and what they want - to adopt a view that we live in a world of abundance, not scarcity. Most important to this viewpoint is gratitude (hence the name of the cafe). Giving thanks and being grateful for what you already have is key to getting what you want in life.

Not only is the food at the cafe extremely delicious and interesting, the entire experience puts a smile on your face. All items on the menu are affirmations such as "I am Beautiful," "I am Rejuvenated," or "I am Abundant." When you place your order, you say these affirmations out loud, sending positive energy into the universe. The atmosphere is welcoming and warm, the food is nourishing and healthful, and the philosophy behind the restaurant is a unique perspective that is very much needed in today's world.

During the busy Holiday season, I find this message of abundance and gratitude especially poignant. With all the stress, wanting what we don't have, overspending, and consumerism, it's refreshing to take a step back from it all and count your blessings. There are so many things in life to be grateful for, and it's important to take time to acknowledge the wonderful things you already have before complaining or wishing for things that you don't. There will always be someone with less (and someone with more) but the only way to break the cycle of desire that leads to unhappiness is to be truly content with where you're at.

I'd like to take this opportunity to share some of the things I am grateful for this holiday season: time with family, the sound of my lover's voice on the phone, old friends I haven't seen forever, the warmth of my pets when they cuddle on my bed, the big fat snowflakes falling as I walk, an over-abundance of my favorite Christmas goodies, all-weather tires that keep me safe, the many wonderful memories I have of our travels this year, the fact that we were able to find a new place to live in a little over a week, the excitement of change, getting my old job back with ease, the understanding and patience of others, free time, hot organic vegetable soup on a cold day, warm clothes, the new snowboard I have yet to ride, new books I'm excited to read, and people who read my blogs!

May you find much to be thankful for this holiday season.

Labels: gratitude, holidays, lifestyle