please don't take my sunshine away

The whole controversy about sunscreen and skin cancer has made us scared to be out in the sun without a thick layer of white sunscreen on our face, long sleeves and a hat. However, this prevents us from soaking up vitamin D through the skin, which the body needs for calcium absorption and a healthy immune system.   So we put ourselves between a rock and a hard place and take vitamin D supplements (and make the whole supplement industry very profitable along the way), although those supplements are not the same as sunshine au naturel.

In addition, we need at least 10 minutes of real sunshine a day to reset our circadian rhythms, which promote a healthy sleep cycle.

And, talking about the absence of sunshine in our life, people have gotten so used to wearing sunglasses for fashion looks that their eyes are becoming overly sensitive (have you ever seen an indigenous person with sun glasses?), when in reality our eyes were made for sunshine (other than extremely bright conditions, such as a walk in the Sahara, skiing in the mountains under a sunny sky, or a sunshine filled glacier walk).

Get some real sunshine in your life by going out at lunchtime, parking your car a bit further on a sunny day and walking that extra half mile, sitting on a park bench and soaking up that sun, getting off the subway or the bus one stop before your's to get that extra bit of sunshine, and a bit of hiking and biking on the week-end.

organic soil and flowers?

A lot of people are now aware of the notion of growing food organically. But did you know that there is organic potting soil and that you can buy organic flowers? "Huh," you might say, or maybe "enough already with all this organic stuff." But if you recognize the value of organic food - to your health, to the environment's health, and to the farm workers' health - buying organic potting soil for either your houseplants or perhaps, more importantly, for your vegetable garden, makes a lot of sense. Organic potting soil doesn't contain pesticide and fertilizer residue, ergo better for your houseplants or the vegetables you grow in it. In addition, this soil is much richer in natural nutrients and minerals, as it hasn't been chemically enhanced and "propped up."  The vegetables or houseplants you grow in this soil will be more resilient and the former more nutritious to eat.

Now, what about organic flowers? Even more far fetched? The cut flower industry uses huge amounts of fertilizers, fungicides and pesticides, the same way conventional agriculture does for growing produce. Furthermore, when the cut flowers come from outside the US - and most of the cut flowers in this country are imported from huge Central American cut flower farms - they were likely grown with chemicals that have been banned in this country for their high toxicity. These poisonous chemicals leech into the soil and groundwater, are lethal to bees and other pollinators, and are of course toxic for the farm workers. We are less aware of this problem because it happens so far away, but it's worth a thought.

climate marching

Our family climate marched this past Sunday 9/21 - yes, it's a verb now. And I think we must do this every year from now on until We The People get the message to our politicians to act now, not later, because later is too late. Together with 300,000 to 400,000 fellow protesters in NYC, and tens of thousands more in all corners of the world from Paris to Melbourne, from Berlin to London and Rio, we participated in what MIT researcher Jesse Jenkins calls "one of America's largest mass protests," and Amy Davidson from the New Yorker "the largest climate change protest in history."

It was powerful and emotional to experience so much synergy and togetherness on the single most important issue of our times, climate change, which, if we are successful in shifting, will propel us beyond the singularly profit oriented oil age into a more cocreative and aware age of earth stewardship.

From the perspective of our evolving human consciousness this is the first time in history that we are awakening to the incredible realization, empowering but also sobering, that we can actually change and steer our existence, that our consciousness and drive are what creates everything around us. We don't all have to become activists. But we all can do our bit to help this momentous evolutionary process along, whether by buying more organics, insulating your house, getting a more fuel efficient car, eating less meat and only the sustainably raised kind, buying less stuff and recycling more, voting environmentally aware politicians into office, and on and on.

I'd love to hear what you are doing to help since, as one of the signs said, "There is no Planet B."

on quietude

We have been living in a very old house in the countryside on a fairly busy road for the past two decades. Before that we lived in New York City, where you hear car alarms and fire trucks at all hours of day and night, and where there is always background noise. As a matter-of-fact, except for a few years when I was young, I have always lived in big noisy cities. You do get used to the constant background noise, but it becomes like a chronic illness. After a while you only notice how noisy it is, when there is silence in between. I know they say that quiet comes from within. But then they also say that we create what we connect with, what we need, what we are attracted to.  When I was young I was always looking for inspiration from the outside - travel, experiences, moving to yet another place, or starting another career. You can create a certain amount of inner quiet, but at one point or another, peace and quiet around you are helpful for tuning out chatter, staying grounded, concentrating on your work, and promoting peace and balance.

It is wonderfully grounding and balancing to just sit in nature with no other noises than chirping birds, buzzing bees, the wind quietly sweeping through the grass, or the waves of a lake lapping at the shore - and in between utter silence, nothing. No electronic beeps and alerts, no planes overhead (just heard one), no cars passing by (several just drove past), no phones ringing (yep, just rang), no kitchen machines running in the background (I hear the faint noise of the dishwasher humming). All those mechanical human made sounds are less harmonious to our ears and grate at you after a while.

Inner and outer silence make room for creativity, for concentration, for going deep within. It's what they mean by a pregnant pause - the in-between space, the space that came before the Big Bang. This space is empty but so full of potential.  I am looking forward to this quietude as a basis for increased creativity in the coming years.  When I open the windows in our new house all I hear is birds singing, the wind swishing through the trees, and occasionally the neighbor's rooster crowing (ahh, such a European countryside sound to my ears, love it).  Pure bliss.

when to sow and harvest

While native inhabitants, intimately knowledgeable with their local soil and weather conditions, have oftentimes known to plant in harmony with the lunar cycles (see more info here), Maria Thun, a leading authority on biodynamic agriculture, took this idea one step further. She did extensive research on the planetary influences on all produce growing phases.

Biodynamics (see here a previous blog posts on biodynamics) has often been criticized by skeptics. However, as it is dawning on us that the agriculture we have been practicing for the last 50 or so years may be doing more damage than good on a long-term basis, all kinds of alternative models are being resurrected and researched. These models all require a deep knowledge of local conditions - weather, soil, and native plant combinations.  So it behooves us to be open to all kinds of old and new, gentle and cocreative ways to grow out food.

So back to where I'm headed, which is a more connected way to grow your veggies and when. Based on her research, Maria Thun came to the conclusion that different planetary phases influence the growth of plants in different ways. Based on her research she came up with optimal timings for sowing certain types of plants, depending on whether they are root based (i.e. beets, carrots), leaf based (i.e. kale, spinach), fruit based (i.e. tomatoes, eggplant), or flower based (i.e. marigolds) and harvesting.

You can buy the annual illustrated biodynamic Stella Natura calendar, which has many interesting articles and is easy to read and use, but a very consumer friendly version is also available online at rhythmofnature.net (see blog illustration on top).

It has been demonstrated that produce sown into healthy rich soil and sown according to this calendar makes for a much stronger and more resistant plant (I would still recommend buying organic heirloom seeds, though) and a more prolific harvest.

Give it a try.

with nature, not against it

The present (waning) industrial petro-energy age, while having afforded us an enormous leap in standard of living, is also unfortunately characterized by domination and exploitation of nature, which we not only rape but also use as a dumping ground for the ensuing waste of the technologies we have developed - a win-lose situation all around. The dire consequences of this belief system are at our doorstep now. A new way of seeing ourselves is embedded and part of nature, not apart from nature. This perspective is birthing a whole new way of looking at technology. Science writer Janine Benyus calls it biomimicry and wrote a book about it. Biomimicry looks at how nature does things and then emulates it for our human applications.

A terrific example from architecture & engineering is a huge building complex in Zimbabwe whose cooling system was inspired by termites' design of their weird looking desert dens that maintain a constant 86 degrees F, even though the outside temperature may range from 30 at night to 110 in mid-day.

An example from agriculture is permaculture.  Permaculture is a man made food growing system that integrates local weather and soil conditions, native and predominantly perennial plants (that don't require tilling the soil), possible integration of animals into the system design, all in a circular wasteless process. Therefore, permaculture has no negative impact on the surrounding environment and it produces food for us.

Win-win all around!  What a great new paradigm.

watching my plants grow

I grew up in big cities and I still have somewhat of an issue connecting with nature in a big way. Big nature as in wild water rafting, mountain climbing, several-day bike trips, overnights in a lean-to in the woods and stuff like that. I don't feel comfortable in big nature because of a lack of guidance and experience.   Instead, I connect with little nature in the form of my houseplants or my vegetable garden. I get really excited when seedlings emerge from the soil in early spring, and I love accompanying them on their growth journey through the season towards becoming fully grown vegetables.  It's a bit like watching your children grow and develop and change and come into being.  

Discovering little green tomatoes among the greenery and then seeing them grow grow grow into big red ripe juicy fruit we can actually eat is awesome and so rewarding.  The whole process is a bit magical to me.  When I find a ripe zucchini lurking under its big protective leaves it is like finding a present or a prize.  And I love bringing the flowers from the vegetable garden into the house, a bouquet of purplepink chive flowers, or perhaps a few sprigs of white and gangly arugula flowers together with a few sage flowers.

I don't think it matters how you come to appreciate nature, how you connect with it, how you come to respect it - as long as you do it in your own way.

Happy Earth Day

Today, I am wishing you a "happy" Earth Day with the caveat that our worldwide window to tackle climate change is beginning to close.  A few days ago I read something about 15 years.  If we don't achieve a definite downward curve on carbon emissions within that time frame our lives will change drastically, and not for the better. We can't keep shrugging our shoulders and putting the onus on "the government," because "the government" gets its nudge from all of us.   Things change when true pressure is exerted on "the government" from all of us.  Change comes from within, moves from the bottom up and out, and government is a reflection of us.

Why am I saying all of this?  Because the onus for drastic change is on each one of us! Now!  Don't throw your arms up in despair at the enormity of our challenges.  Instead, make a conscious effort to embrace what needs to be done by fully accepting our environmental calamity and committing to make a difference.

So, what can you do?  Here are lots of ideas, and the more of them you incorporate into your life the better for all of us.

Recycle and compost your kitchen scraps, plant a garden, buy an energy efficient vehicle (or at least consolidate your trips, or car pool), insulate your home to the max. and consider installing new tight windows, read all you can about climate change and the environment in general, buy local,  bring your own bags to the supermarket (no more plastic bags!  there is a plastic swirl in the Pacific Ocean the size of Texas!!! and plastic does not, I repeat, does not disintegrate in hundreds and hundreds of years),  drink well water and forego buying water in plastic bottles (and who knows what leaches into that water from the plastic anyhow),  read all you can about industrial food production, then make a drastic change in where and what you buy to feed your family,  install solar panels on your home (30% incentive state tax credit until 2015), consider a geothermal heating/air-conditioning system  (after tax credits, cost is similar to a conventional system and you'll be off fossil fuels), switch your electric supplier to one who provides 100% electric from renewable sources, eat less meat (it's better for you anyways), spread the word to other people and inspire them to make a difference, most of all - inform yourself and become aware.

Don't be surprised that none of this is for free. However, you have a choice of making these investments now on your own terms (consider them an insurance premium for environmental health), or shortly being forced by environmental circumstances into a very ugly reality that money and technology will no longer be able to improve.

If you love your planet make it a happy Earth Day by making a difference for yourself and your children and grand-children.

April showers bring May flowers

The grass "popped" and went green from one day to the next this past week-end when the weather suddenly turned warm.  This is when I truly know that spring has sprung.   A warm rain was falling outside.  The next day it snowed and night time temperatures dropped to winter levels.  Now it is pleasant again.  That's April. Spring is about a fresh start, a bit like New Year's, but tied to nature, as opposed to a man-made calendar.  The cycle begins anew.  As a matter-of-fact, when I was little in Germany the school year used to begin in the spring with Easter.  In April the grays and browns of winter slowly give way to spots of color - a bit of tender green here, a white Snowdrop or yellow Narcissus there.  Still timid, but so refreshing.  I open the windows to let the crisp outside air in, so nice after the warm dry indoor winter air.  I look forward to yellow forsythia and soon the pink of luscious magnolia and whites of the fruit trees.  The bolder colors come later, I have to be patient.

The never ending cycle starts again - how reassuring in a chaotic world.  Happy Spring!  Happy Renewal!  Happy Easter!

eat less meat!

How preposterous of me to tell you so?  Not.  Surprisingly, this is a huge environmental issue that goes way beyond the potentially ethical question of killing (they call it harvesting now, to make it sound more harmless) a living being and eating it. Don't get me wrong, I'm not a vegetarian.  However, in the Western industrialized world meat consumption has skyrocketed from eating meat once a week or so to just under 200lbs/person/year in the US since the advent of cheap meat!  This enormous meat consumption in combination with the rise in world population and the increasing numbers of people able to afford the cheap meat has become a recipe for disaster.

The environmental calamity arises from "cheap" and "too much."  Why?  Because the CAFOs (concentrated animal feeding operations) that these poor animals are raised in are among the biggest greenhouse gas emitters on this planet - generating about 18% (!!!) of greenhouse gases.  In addition, the huge amounts of animal waste leach antibiotics into our ground water.  And to top it off, the conditions under which these sorry souls are being raised, then killed and processed are so horrendous that it is literally unbelievable (read Jonathan Safran Foer because you must know).

There is nothing necessarily wrong with eating meat per se.  As a matter of fact, especially during childhood and adolescence animal protein helps to grow the brain.   But like with anything balance is the key and industrialized nations have become meat addicted.   Food researcher and author Marion Nestlé has advocated eating meat in condiment quantities.

How can we help?  First and foremost by resisting to buy cheap supermarket meat, which comes from CAFOs.  Instead, buy your meat at or from a local farm where the animals have been raised sustainably.  Yes, it will cost more.  But we ought to consume much less of it!

It's in the quality, not the quantity.

You may also want to revisit a series of three posts on meat eating.