going broke is greener

something that's been apparent in the last few months since I've returned home, my belongings stashed in a storage unit a few miles west of here, is that I am unquestionably broke. my meager savings was depleted between moving, unbecoming legal battles, and the indulgences of my former life--organic food at Whole Paycheck Market, driving for miles to visit beautiful locales or people--and the like. I also confess that I had a weakness and penchant for all things Target, of course pronounced in the French accent. Many a simple trip to that mammoth vortex found me spending far more than I'd like to remember, mostly buying impulsive items along with the staples I thought I couldn't do without.
Now, safely ensconced in the muted luxury of my parent's home, I am less inclined to purchase toilet paper or soap, as my dear mom likes to stock up on all manner of toiletries in a decidedly Y2K type fashion. I wouldn't dream of bringing more than a bunch of organic bananas home from WFM (WPM), the occasional block of tofu that mom will curl her lip up at, and perhaps some Veggie Booty to keep the child satisfied in the cart as we do the thing that WFM is best for, graze the freebies. Yum, 3 year old aged gouda...I can still savor the crunchy bits that I enjoyed on our last trip.
Something that I used to do, almost unthinkingly, was spend money. Now that my goal is to rebuild my old nest egg that dwindled to naught in order to pack up and move home, I am not shopping for anything. My clothes are all hand me downs from my fashionista mom, my food is Trader Joe's anything that mom buys, and my nights out are limited to pretty much local, and pretty much hardly ever. The best things in life can be had for free, like hopping aboard a friend's boat and sipping a beer proffered by an old high school chum--no way would he ask me for a dime! Which is good, since I don't usually have more than a few bucks in the old red wallet that Sara made me a million years ago.
Yes, I've been relying on family to feed me, clothe me, and my friends--well, it's like that old Beatles song--I get by with a little help. Not exactly proud of the lack, but a kernel of pleasant promise has come from this seeming dearth of all things material: I don't shop anymore. And by way of not shopping, I am no longer compromising my strict environmental standards, the ones I had much trouble following in the clutches of a beckoning Target warehouse, goods from every corner of the undeveloped world gleaming on mile long aisles. I don't spend hours on the road, guzzling fossil fuels like the Corona I drank less than a mile away on Thursday night for free at a party, thanks to my generous hosts. Yes, a speedboat on Lake Michigan is consuming gasoline, and the bottle that my Corona was sloshing around in might have come from Mexico. The lime in my drink was hardly local, and the frozen meals I've been lunching on from TJ's are not local, organic, or even good for me most likely...but one thing I can say is that I haven't personally contributed to any of this with my own greenbacks.
I recently made a pledge to only buy things I desperately need. I've found that I desperately need nothing! And the side effect of that is that I don't support injustice in the world to obtain my needed goods. I simply go without, and each time I have an impulse to go to the bowels of Target, I remind myself that I just don't really need anything right now. We are lucky; reveling in the kindness of others is not something that everyone gets to enjoy. It's a bit of a second childhood. There are compromises, of course. I might not like eating more red meat than I'm accustomed to. I might not love that my stringent quality control for local food has been undermined by less conscious consumers like my folks. But like mom always said, you don't turn down a free lunch. And anyway, one less consumer is something that I feel offsets some of the damage. When I return from borderline poverty, I hope I can take this new found frugality and consciousness along, and find ways to stay out of Target once and for all.

bio-mess

below excerpt taken from democracy now

A daily TV/radio news program, hosted by Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzalez, airing on over 700 stations, pioneering the largest community media collaboration in the U.S.

7/7/08

World Bank: Biofuels Caused Food Prices to Soar 75%

The Guardian newspaper has obtained an unpublished World Bank report that found biofuels have caused world food prices to increase by 75 percent. The World Bank report was finished in April but reportedly not published in order to avoid embarrassing the US government, which has claimed plant-derived fuels have pushed up prices by only three percent. The report found that biofuels has distorted food markets by diverting grain away from food for fuel, encouraging farmers to set aside land for its production, and sparked financial speculation on grains.

here's my comment on this.

it just goes to show we're totally concentrating on the wrong solutions and making bigger problems for the world down the road. the more i learn about biofuel, the less i care to learn more. i think we should make concerted efforts to utilize public transit, rebuild our railways and ocean liners, eat, drink, work and socialize locally, and make electric hybrid cars that can charge at charging stations instead of refueling at biofuel stations. we're taking food from the mouths of those who grow it, to propel us around in cars and trucks, to ship our food from hither and yonder to thither and there. the proof is in the pudding, or the cornbread as it may be. i agree with james howard kunstler and hope that others see the wisdom in his writings before it's just far too late. until then, keep up with the only news you can trust from the world's only true female hero in our time, amy goodman from democracy now.

local vs. organic

we just paid a visit to the deerfield farmer's market, which was pleasant if spare. lots of flowers and plants, a few bakeries and coffee stands, and only two organic growers out of four different farm stands. i am not counting the fruit people in the mix since they are doing something different than the other farms. with the price of gas these days, i was perplexed as to which farm to choose--one organic grower was quite far out, the other only 20 minutes from our door. however, the non-organic grower said they do use IPM, and to tell the truth they had the best stand with the most variety. i was happy to see some lovely greens and broccoli from the closer farm, we bought a nice bunch of kale and broccoli from the farmer there. the next stand held some tempting summer squash, diego picked a small yellow crookneck and i chose a healthy looking cuke. as we sidled over to the next stand, i noticed their cauliflower was massive, a lovely creamy white, and not a sign of pests. so i asked about their practices and found they had a bit of bad luck trying out an acre of organic produce last season, so they are still using pesticides. for those who have never been on a pennypack farm tour with the former farm educator, a pesticide kills pests. ''cide'' means to kill, think of homocide, suicide, and you will understand where the root of that word comes from. so a pesticide will kill pests...but what many folks don't know, which is the heart of what we call IPM or integrated pest management. in simple terms that a child of ten could follow, we don't consider every bug in the field a pest. some are beneficial insects that actually help keep the unwanted bugs away. like most things in nature, there exists a delicate balance or ecosystem that handles itself mathematically and beautifully at once. of course, the rub comes in where homo sapiens enter, to do what we do so well...mess up the perfectly designed web of relationships between all other living creatures. our lack of awareness about the beneficial insects, about the dangers of mono-culture results in the typical american farm of one crop for acres, rather than a diversified field of rotating, seasonal vegetables that would also attract both types of insects rather than an overwhelming population of pests. the outcome of this lopsided system is pesticides, to rid the farmer of the unwanted bugs that would have had natural predators if there were other different crops growing nearby.
so back to the title of this post, i have been weighing the pros and cons of buying local vs. organic. being a former farm educator and a staunch eco-veggie head according to a certain friend from my college days, i am painfully aware that there are pluses and minuses on both sides for the environment and for our farming future depending on the choices we make. something about the extra contaminants on the more local, non-organic food makes me want to choose organic. for a small distance, say 50 miles, i would choose organic over local. the question becomes more compelling when faced with the choices typically seen at the store for organic produce. most of our produce, especially out of season here in the midwest, is shipped for the typical 1,500 miles or more before making it's appearance on your store shelves. that obviously is part of the reason that many people find buying organic to be daunting, if not impossible, to justify on a budget. however, the fact remains that the non-organic or what the store likes to call conventional produce is typically traveling just as far to reach you. in this case, i think you need to cast a green vote with your greenbacks and choose the organic, distant produce over the non-organic and still likely distant veggies at your local store. buy local, buy organic, and make the choices that will feed your body and soul with pure goodness from the place we all return to one day...the place we enjoy beneath our feet, our beautiful spinning blue ball of earth.

Birthday Epiphany

So, besides this being the best picture ever, it's also my newest aspiration. in these times of troubled economy, and renewed environmental concern, this is one home that requires no fossil fuels and needs no part of non-renewable resources. well, legs are non-renewable if pedaled right off a body...but other than that, this looks like a cozy, safe, and utterly recession-proof way to own a home in these rough times. hook up some solar panels, volunteer as a campground host, and enjoy your life rent free and in luxury for pennies. i think callaway and diego would dig it, too.

Teach my child to respect the Earth, please?

So I have a beef with Diego's new preschool. Seems as if tuition isn't high enough to cover the cost of buying reusable plates, cups and utensils for the children. Instead, at snack (2xday) or lunchtime, the children are served on Styrofoam plates, given plastic sporks and cups, and then are asked to throw their things away when finished. If I think about how many children in that school are throwing out that trash daily, I can see that we are responsible for a large portion of pollution, and creating trash that will not break down naturally over time. Also, it seems to me we're passing the message to our children that it's okay to just trash the planet. In these eco-conscious times, I am quite surprised that the affluent community we're living in is the last to care. I mean, these are people who think nothing of shopping at Whole Foods, known in some circles as Whole Paycheck. They wouldn't give their children non-organic milk, pumped with hormones and antibiotics. They wouldn't dream of allowing their child to play with toys that were lead-contaminated or phthalate-laden, so why are they doing this to my child.
My son has the benefit of living with me, a fanatical crusader for all things eco. But even I am forced to compromise my lofty ideals when faced with the reality of little money to buy wholesome, fresh foods for my child and I. Living with my baby boomer parents also changes the way I deal with trash: no composting, lots of pre-packaged and fast foods, nothing local unless it's accidental. My sphere of influence with these folks is zilch--they are the way they are, and no amount of nagging will change it. They'll always believe that because they have a bin for their recyclables, they've done their part for the earth. I commend them for even this step. I know people (well a person) who claims to hate recycling. I know another who says she doesn't care about the earth because she likes to drive an SUV. Well, that could change real quick with the ducats we're doling out at the pump...but my family is decidedly shades of lesser green than I. Suffice it to say, no one else in the family shares my dream of the bicycle-drawn Airstream trailer with solar panels (see next post for the skinny, very skinny), and we're not buying a solar farm either!
So it pains me that my son is now getting a clear message from the folks that I'm supposed to feel secure about leaving my child with for hours of his life; more time than I will spend with him from here on out. Make a mess, throw it away. Now it's garbage and you'll never see it again. They wouldn't allow my son to use cloth diapers--not sanitary. Is it sanitary to clog the pores of the earth with baby poo? Every day I have to pack a large plastic Ziploc bag for his wet clothes, even though at the start of the camp, we each were issued a plastic-coated gym duffel to hold the day's trappings. Is the cost of privilege that we know not what we do to our children?
In this day and age, green may be the new black, but like aphorisms cited without wisdom, there are those whose good intentions may be paving the road to our future hell.

New Beginnings

Welcome to my new blog, companion to the ever-popular oft-read Growing Up Spoiled. Here's where I'll do my best to share my eco-power with y'all, from solar energy to cob homes. It's a place where I might spout off about the dwindling eco-friendly commuter biking scene in China, why living deep in the woods without community and far from outside resources might be more of a carbon footprint than living in a smog-producing urban high rise, and how just focusing on one small task at a time could be the most important task of our generation.