honorable harvest

...the Native American concept of "taking only what you need, and using everything you took,"  needs no further explanation.  Also consider rereading a previous related blog post nose-to-tail.

inspirited

            I had encountered this word previously in an eco-spiritual context.  Now I read it again in Braiding Sweetgrass, Robin Wall Kimmerer's melding of her Native American background's eco-spiritual understanding of the natural world and her scientific education as a botanist.

            The best of both worlds, in my perception, involves indeed the broadening of our scientific worldview, which is naked and somewhat devoid on its own, and doesn't tell the whole story.  We are slowly coming around to understanding that.

            As an example, Kimmerer tells of a two-year scientific investigation into the link between depletion of sweetgrass in particular areas and the lack of harvesting it for the purpose of weaving baskets in that same area.  Put differently, there is a link between ongoing tending to and harvesting of sweetgrass, and its increased vigor and growth.  This is something science can't explain because, according to its paradigm, harvesting equals depletion, not the other way round.  Yet Native Americans, and all who have a green thumb and speak to their flowers, or pets for that matter, or biodynamic farmers who farm "spiritually" and "homeopathically," know that we are connected to Nature, we are in ongoing communication with Nature, and that Nature is inspirited in some way, not dead.  In order to live sustainably we must recognize the reciprocal relationship with Nature we exist in, and the inspiritedness of it.  It's a win-win for both side.

just vinegar

             Or almost.  Vinegar, water and a drop of liquid soap for wood floors, Bon Ami scouring powder for sinks and shower tiles, baking soda and vinegar for shower doors, vinegar for the toilets, wet sponge, and sometimes a drop of soap, for countertops and cabinet fronts, vinegar and water for glass tops. That's pretty much all I use for cleaning my house.

            No harsh chemicals, no artificial scents, no nonsense, and inexpensive.   And I bet you that my house is as clean as yours.

unlimited energy

            And by this I don't mean your personal level of energy, I mean energy to produce electricity for transportation and machinery/electronics as a basis for our economy. 

            Rob Hopkins founded his Transition Movement in England in 2005 based on the idea that we are coming to the end of the fossil-fuel era and need to revert to local economies to reduce our reliance on oil.   One element of this reasoning, the suggested need to decrease our energy requirements, is now changing.  While the local economies movement is stronger than ever, it is for different reasons than the potential lack of energy. 

            We are now seeing a strong movement towards renewable energies, much of it based on solar and hydrogen, but also wind, geothermal, and others.  My prediction is that we will actually have way more energy than we have available now, an overabundance of energy, and that geopolitical alliances will shift because everybody will have access to enough energy, not just a few.  We will never ever run out of sunlight and hydrogen.  So even if a country didn't have enough sunshine, well - nobody will ever run out of hydrogen.  Iceland is such an example that is already energy independent and produces all of its energy from hydro and geothermal sources.

            Volvo, no longer Swedish but long owned by the Chinese, bets on the future of electric cars, and is throwing their Chinese power and money behind it.  Hydrogen is unlimited and may become one of our foremost energy sources in the form of hydrogen fuel cells.  Meanwhile the return to local economies, away from globalization, will remain a strong movement because people want agency, they want responsibility for, and involvement in, their local politics, be it for reasons of local customs and culture, sustainability, landuse, or general policies.  But the return to village life will no longer happen due to a lack of energy.

photo credit www.livescience.com

saying no

           I never wanted to be a soccer mom and always told my children that their freedom ended where mine began because everyone's needs in a family had to be met.  We also said no two years ago when a college with a $60K tag and no proposed contribution accepted our son.  We've got to eat, too.   And I said no to my daughter to Barbies (and not because we couldn't afford one...).

            My parents set clear boundaries when it came to expenses.  They said no when I learned to drive and had visions of grandeur, wanting a Triumph Spitfire - I got to share a car with my mom; they also said "we will only pay for one year, you've got to manage after that," when I decided I'd had enough of the Belgian university system and wanted to continue my studies in the US (and it was way less expensive then than it is now....).

            Wednesday's NY Times article To raise better kids, say no explains that always saying yes "fosters a sense of deficiency that can never be fully satisfied," while learning to do with what you have fosters creativity, flexibility, resourcefulness, and inventiveness.  It turns out that receiving some pushback teaches children to "solve problems more effectively." 

            Creativity, flexibility, resourcefulness, inventiveness, and good problem solving are are all qualities we most definitely need in today's complex world.  So let's convey to our children that nobody's resources, most of all not our planet's, are infinite.  Say no every one in a while, you'll do them a favor.

H2O

             Fresh water will be the next oil in terms of governing our economies of the future.  A few decades ago I thought for sure that we would have run out of oil by now, or almost. And even though we haven't yet, we are in the last throws of the oil age, regardless of desperate fracking efforts and attempts to get to the Alaska oil reserves.  Our energy needs will eventually be met with renewable energies.

            More worrisome than the oil situation is the water situation.  With climate change we are getting too much of it in some areas, to the point of coastal areas and islands becoming submerged and diluvian rain storms, and too little in others.   On the one hand sea levels are rising due to melting glaciers and polar ice caps, while other areas are becoming more prone to temporary droughts, as we have seen in California for the past years, and downright desertification.  In the US our fresh water tables have sunk to half the 1960s levels, due to agricultural and economic activity. 

            Ocean water desalination will become the new  hot ticket in terms of investments and developments. The Middle East is currently leading with over 50% of the world's desalination capacity.   While you won't need to curtail your shower time anywhere soon the price of produce is likely to go up, and the mix of your investment portfolio could change.  Oil is out, water is in.

why live deeply

       Living deeply is about creating a meaningful life.  It's about putting the quality back into life by creating win-win scenarios.  This requires a shift in values, away from "profit above all," quantification, and our usual win-lose scenarios, to a value-based culture that is cooperative, sustainable, compassionate, and transparent.  It's about creating a good-for-all, not just a good-for-some, culture.       

      Any reason not to want this?

it's ok

I am so frustrated with these compostable trash bags.  They rip easily, humidity seeps through them, I can only fill them about halfways before they fall apart, and many times I need to double them up before bringing them out to the trash can.  Yet, I bought a big box of sixty twice - out of guilt, figured I couldn't give up so easily.  The environment is really important to me, I want to be responsible, be a good example, and do my share to save the world.   Plastic is an environmental

           I am so frustrated with these compostable trash bags.  They rip easily, humidity seeps through them, I can only fill them about halfways before they fall apart, and many times I need to double them up before bringing them out to the trash can.  Yet, I bought a big box of fifty twice - out of guilt, figured I couldn't give up so easily.  The environment is really important to me, I want to be responsible, lead by example, and do my share to save the world.   Plastic is an environmental nightmare that never (well, at least almost never) decomposes!  It swirls the Pacific in plastic islands the size of Texas, plastic shopping bags hang from our trees like rags and fly across roadways and fields, softdrink loops ensnare fish and seabirds, and fish and marine mammals ingest plastic bits and pieces that float in the ocean.  I don't want to be yet another contributor to this horror show. 

            Remember the days when we didn't care because we didn't know?  But sometimes life, and practicality, takes over and I think I'm done with these compostable trash bags because they just don't work and I really have tried and done my very best. For now I will settle for sturdy bags that are made from recycled plastic (at least something good), but, alas, are not compostable.  And I think the world will survive, and I will be ok.  What are your thoughts?

complex shopping logistics

             Thirty, forty years ago things were simpler.  You'd go to the big supermarket to one-stop shop for most things.  We weren't worried about pesticide residue, we didn't think much about where our foods came from,  we didn't see the bigger picture of the conflict between profit and growing food sustainably, and the Western Diet hadn't blown up in our face yet.

            Nowadays I spend quite a bit of time running around to different places to fulfill my many food philosophies:  local food from local farmers to support the local economy and get the freshest possible food, produce that has not been sprayed or at least as little as possible, foods that are grown sustainably, pasture raised meat and sustainably fished seafood, eating more vegetables and lots of greens, and of course being cost conscious of the higher cost these types of food command.  It creates an intricate and more time consuming web of food related errands. 

            While we still do eat meat we eat a lot less of it and every few months I stock the freezer at a local farm where the animals graze outside all year round.  We get our raw milk and yogurt from a farm that is twenty-five miles away and have organized with several other families to take turns picking it up for the group so each of us only has to drive every other month.  Eggs come from the family whose place serves as the local weekly milk pick-up point.  Once a month our buying club gets a grocery and produce delivery from our food coop - we buy in bulk and share and save.  Some of the things I buy from the coop are bulk legumes, seeds and nuts, bulk tea and spices, condiments, nut and seed butters, also some personal care items.  Since the coop produce only lasts for about two weeks I fill in from a whole bunch of local farmers, and sometimes the supermarket.  I buy my recycled paper goods at Trader Joe's, where I also get some other organic basics such as vinegar and oils, chocolate, frozen organic spinach, and organic canned tomatoes.  Most of our supplements I order online as well as some specialty items I cannot readily find locally or through the coop (like our favorite smoky tea lapsang souchong, which our daughter humorously calls lapsang sooch).  And, believe it or not, I recently found a 5.5lb container of organic chia seeds at Walmart of all places (yes, I admit that I go there, too).

the new values

         A few years ago we hired a bright young man who left our company after only three short months.   He decided that he didn't want to work as much, and proposed to work less hours for less pay (which didn't work for us at the time). 

            There is a new set of values around, and it's quality-of-life based.  The younger generation, of which many did not vote in this past election because they did not feel heard, has a different set of values from the profit-based, fast-paced, career-track oriented hustle for the next promotion and bigger salary of the twentieth century.   The new values are not about chasing the next buck, but about a better quality of life, sustainability, trust and transparency, as well as sharing, cooperation and creating community.

            We get a glimpse of these new values in the many grassroots movements that are popping up everywhere:  deeper awareness about food issues (such as veganism, reduction of food waste by way of redistribution, organics, the local food movement); increasing awareness of social values (fair trade movement, raising the minimum wage, shorter work hours); the many environmental organizations, whether awareness raising or preserving land for future generations;  transparency (such as promoted by Wiki Leaks) and pricing information available on the internet; free sharing of music, education, and information on the internet.  Skills and things are shared and swapped, without the exchange of money, in hour exchanges, seed exchanges, repair cafés, tool libraries, cooperatives of all kinds, clothing and book swaps, and via Freecycle.  Some communities are experimenting with local currencies, some employers with job sharing, flex time, paternity leave, summer hours, and more time off.

            In an earlier blog post I introduced the Cultural Creatives, the name Ray and Anderson gave to these people, including myself and many of us, who share these values.  Know that these impulses are glimpses of a new cultural-economic model breaking through from underneath.  It's incredibly exciting to know we are part of something bigger, and that we are experiencing this shift to new values in real time.