Counterculture Holiday Ideas

Why sell out for the holidays? Here are a few holiday ideas that might actually help cultivate peace on earth and good will to all. Most of these are ideas that we have picked up somewhere along the way and use in our family holday celebrations. If you have any ideas, pass them along.

Gifts:

• Buy locally made goods. You can find local products at farmers' markets. Look around on your daily travels; you'll probably find more local stuff than you think.
• Buy second hand. Reduce your impact on the use of natural resources for manufacturing new products. Books, CDs, video games, electronics, clothes, toys, and athletic equipment can all be easily found second hand. If you can't find it in a local shop, try e-bay.
• Buy fair-trade products. Check out Ten Thousand Villages. They have locations nearby in Mechanicsburg and Hagerstown. They carry beautiful handmade products from around the world for which the artisans are paid a fair wage.
• Set a limit for your holiday spending. Your friends and family don't want you to go into debt buying presents for them.
• Be creative with gift-giving. Some gifts don't cost anything but have a lot of value: a night of babysitting, a home-cooked meal, a massage, mowing the lawn, a poem, a tai chi or yoga lesson. We all have something to give.
• For the person who has everything, give a charitable donation on their behalf.
• As a gift to yourself and your community, find an organization that is important to you and volunteer.

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

• Don't forget about regifting! That brand new picture frame that your coworker gave you last year that doesn't match your decor might be perfect in someone else's home.
• Save and re-use that wrapping paper. Yeah, sometimes it's more fun to just tear into a gift, but sometimes it's OK to take your time and carefully unwrap a present. Think of it as savouring the joy of unwrapping the gift. Really though, we rarely have to buy wrapping paper, because we're able to reuse so much of it.
• Be creative with wrapping gifts. We have used colorful newspaper; it has a very chic, green look. We have covered gift boxes in the previous years' Christmas cards. Any other ideas?
• String-up popcorn and cranberries instead of lights (electricity = coal-fired power plants = no more North Pole for Santa's reindeer or the polar bears).
• Save clean pieces of aluminum foil that are too small to use for anything. Fold them into homemade tinsel/icecicles. I'll post a picture if I have time.
• Get a Christmas tree with the roots balled and plant it after the season is over.
• If you use a cut tree make sure that it is chipped for mulch or used as wildlife shelter and not landfilled.
• Consider how much packaging comes with gifts and where that packaging will end up. Look for alternatives with less packaging.
• Look into solar-powered Christmas lights as an alternative to the conventional.

Local Feast!

• Don't forget to get your turkey and holiday fixin's locally.

Finally, celebrate your holiday traditions with friends and family. Beneath the commercial, plastic surface of the holiday are ideas and traditions worth sharing.

That's it for now. I'll post more ideas later, if I think of more. If you have ideas of your own or would like to comment on these please post a comment.

I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday.

Dairy Labeling Changes

See Painted Hand Farm's comment under the earlier post on this topic. The essence seems to be that the State wants to prevent dairy producers from putting on their labels whether or not the milk was produced with the use of hormones, antibiotics, and other chemicals. It looks like yet another attempt by our government and big agribusiness to blur the difference between local, sustainably produced food and food produced using conventional means.

Native Landscaping

I just thought I'd post a couple resources as I've been researching landscaping with native plants. Everyone knows what a waste of time, energy, space, and resources the typical American yard is, and they are generally pretty boring to look at. I've become tired of trying to maintain my yard, so I'm researching how I can landscape with native plants that will need little maintenance and no watering once they are established.

Here are a few resources that I've run across:
Landscaping with Native Plants in Pennsylvania -- Perfect place to start! I've been cross-referencing their lists with "National Audubon Society, Field Guide to North American Wildflowers"

There are also links to a few other places on the DCNR website.

I also found these videos on Treehugger.com with similar ideas about making better use of space:
Edible Estates
Urban Homestead

Since what we're talking about is really a part of the whole concept of permaculture here is a great video series about permaculture featuring Bill Mollison (who is credited with originating the idea of permaculture):
The Permaculture Concept is a series of videos. I'm only linking to the first one, but I think there are 6 parts total.

What Does Democracy Look Like?

What does democracy look like? This is what we chanted as 100,000 of us marched toward the Capitol Building on September 15. Democracy looks like 100,000 people coming together holding signs ranging from "Impeach Bush", "End the War Now", to "Free the Jena 6" and the ever present, yet pithy slogan "How did our oil get under their soil?"

We were led by the Iraq veterans against the war and joined by groups as varied as Christian Clergy Against the War, college activists, Buddhist monks and young mothers holding anti-war signs while pushing their babies in strollers. I followed a young man who held the United States flag high and let the writing on his tee-shirt do the talking. The words painted on his shirt were: "Just because I'm a patriot doesn't ever mean you have the right to silence me." I tend to like Camus' version,"I would like to love my country and love justice at the same time." I thought of all the times I've been silent while my rights or the rights of someone less fortunate were taken away. Do you know that if we are all silent when these things happen that means we are complicit in the wrong doing?

I want to cite a few things that really motivated me and got me on my feet and involved in this march.

1. The Bush Administration issued an executive order authorizing military commissions to secretly try and execute civilians.
2. Foreign citizens have been imprisoned at Guantanamo Bay without charge or the right to counsel.
3. False evidence was used that Iraq sought yellowcake uranium from Niger to justify attacking Iraq.
4. We were all deceived about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.
5. Our government launched a war of aggression against Iraq, resulting in the deaths of 5000 Americans and an estimated 1,000,000 Iraqi civilians. These civilians have been referred to a "collateral" or "collateral damage." That implies that our government regards their lives as expendable or that these people simply got in the way. What humanitarian can sit by and swallow this callous rhetoric? Don't you ever ask yourself who the terrorists really are?
6. The Iraqi prisoners were tortured at Abu Ghraib, in violation of the Geneva Conventions.
7. The Bush/Cheney administration has been involved with openly, brazenly wiretapping telephone conversations of American citizens without a court warrant.

I'm going to add one more because it is so big and speaks to the existing caste system in America. Here it is: 8) Our government failed to rescue and recover thousands of American citizens after Hurricane Katrina. Last April, when the United States submitted a report to the United Nation's International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, Hurricane Katrina was omitted. The State Department mentioned Katrina nowhere in its report nor the racial disparities that turned the disaster into a humanitarian crisis.

Can you see why I am marching? Early warning signs of facism cannot be ignored either. If you sense that our government has a great disdain for human rights, the mass media is feeding you the "party line" and you know that there is a great disdain for intellectuals and the arts, then write, march, share your opinions. We are marching. Siyahamba.

--Susan Mull, writing from the peace march in Washington D.C.

Susan Mull is a teacher, writer, and human rights activist living in Quarryville, Pennsylvania. Mrs. Mull has attended international conferences on AIDS/HIV, most recently in Toronto. She has participated in forums on women living with HIV in Philadelphia. She also travels with Disaster Response teams to rebuild homes following natural disasters.

for more info and pictures from the march go to:http://answer.pephost.org/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=8663

Corporations Are People Too

They have feelings. They really care about us, and it hurts their feelings when we pass laws to prevent them from spraying sludge (a toxic chemical sewage brew) on farm fields, building gargantuan hog processing plants in our communities, and operating limestone quarries and asphalt plants within a few hundred yards of elementary schools.

Well, OK. That's an exageration. Corporations don't really have feelings, and the only thing that matters to a corporation is profit. Anyone who says differently is selling something. However, corporations are people, according to the U.S. Constitution. Not only are they people, but they are really a "super" person with rights that can trump the will of entire communities. They have at their disposal sums of money, so vast that you and I can barely dream of, which can be used to hire the best lawyers, to lobby legislators and other public officials to alter our democratic processes, and to pay fines for breaking the law as just another cost of doing business.

What can we do in the face of such behemoths? Organize. Learn about our government and take back our rights. Here are a few resources:

http://www.celdf.org/ The Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund. More than just an environmental organization. CELDF helps communities organize and bring power back to the people. If the links below don't work just do a search for "Democracy School" on You Tube.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_Nx9VxW0IA Intro to the Democracy School
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=16Wwypc2Lvg Thomas Linzey of CELDF and The Democracy School Lectures in Seattle
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LuWf9e66K_M Richard Grossman Lectures in Seattle

Also check out the film "The Corporation." I haven't seen it yet, but apparently it addresses similar issues.

If anyone has other resources or ideas, make a post. Some people have said they've had trouble posting comments. I think all that you have to do is to set up a user account with Google (it's free). Then you will be able to log on and make a post.

Water Conservation Tips

These tips would have been a bit more timely at the beginning of the drought we're dealing with, but it's never too late to start making a difference.

1. When washing your hands, turn the water off while scrubbing and back on to rinse.
2. Don't leave the tap running while brushing your teeth.
3. Collect water from washing dishes, washing hands, washing vegetables, and other water at the sink to water outdoor plants.
4. Water outdoor plants in the morning or evening rather than in the heat of the day when more of the water evaporates.
5. Try landscaping with native and drought resistant plants.
6. Resist the urge to water your lawn.
7. Sprinklers aren't the most efficient way to water. A lot of the water you spray into the air evaporates before it ever reaches the plants. Try drip irrigation or soaker lines instead.
8. Try a water saver in the back reservoir of the toilet: a brick or closed water bottle to take up space. Just make sure that it doesn't interfere with the toilet's proper function.
9. If they're still clean, try wearing clothes more than once.
10. Flush toilets only when necessary: "If it's yellow, let it mellow. If it's brown flush it down." Or, even better, buy or build a composting toilet.
11. Shower or bathe when necessary and not out of habit. Try washing or sponge bathing only the essentials sometimes.
12. Use low-flow shower heads and faucets.
13. Fix dripping faucets.
14. Take shorter showers. Also try this: Turn the water on to get wet. Turn the water off when you lather up and put the shampoo or conditioner in your hair. Then turn the water back on to rinse.
15. Use rainwater to water your garden and flowerbeds. http://www.cwp.org/Community_Watersheds/brochure.pdf http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/gardening/article/0,1785,HGTV_3546_2165903,00.html http://www.rainbarrelsandmore.com/
16. If you use the dishwasher, run only full loads.

"If there is magic on this planet, it is contained in water." -- LORAN EISELY, The Immense Journey, 1957

"All the water that will ever be is, right now. " National Geographic, October 1993

“Nothing in the world is more flexible and yielding than water. Yet when it attacks the firm and the strong, none can withstand it, because they have no way to change it. So the flexible overcome the adamant, the yielding overcome the forceful. Everyone knows this, but no one can do it.” Lao Tzu, The Dao De Jing

Fabulous summer foods!

I hope everyone is having as much fun eating local summer produce as my family is. Lately, I've been getting our milk and cheese at Trickling Springs, bread and baked goods at Lulu's Bakery, veggies from our CSA and Maplewood Produce, and fruit from Shatzers Orchard and Maplewood. I have info on these other places elsewhere on my blog, and here's a little info on Shatzer's.

Shatzer's is not organic, but at least they're local. It still beats having fruit shipped from California. They are really friendly and have a little shop where they sell their fruit and other local items. Here's a map to their fruit stand on Rt 30 west of Chambersburg:Map of 2197 Lincoln Way W Chambersburg, PA 17201-8655, US

I'm still looking for a reliable source of local organic fruit. If anyone has any info let me know. I hope that I'll soon be able to check out the Windmill Farmer's Market in Shippensburg. They advertise organic produce.

If you're having trouble figuring out some new and different ways to prepare all these great veggies, here are some ideas.

Last night I made Eggplant caviar. Don't fear it has nothing to do with fish eggs. The dish is named for its texture which is like a coarse dip. Basically you bake an entire eggplant in oven at 400 degrees for 35 minutes. Roast a few cloves of garlic in their skins wrapped in a piece of aluminum foil in the oven along with the eggplant. When done let the eggplant cool until it is cool enough to be handled. Cut the eggplant into slices and remove the skin, but be sure to get all the little bits next to the skin as these are some of the tastiest. Puree the peeled eggplant. In a large mixing bowl, combine the eggplant, a handful of chopped parsley, 3 scallions or small onions, 2 tbsp olive oil, 2 tbsp lemon juice, salt to taste, and garlic (just squeeze the roasted garlic from its skin into the mix). Mix and mash as thoroughly as possible. Serve with crackers or on slices of toasted baguette.

Tonight we had omelettes with sauteed onions, garlic, tomatoes, summer squash, and cheddar cheese (all mixed into the omelette). Then we had fresh peaches for desert.

Some nights we have ratatouille, which is basically just grilled (or sauteed) veggies drizzled with olive oil and italian herbs.

As tomatoes are beginning to kick in, I often have tomato sandwiches and some fruit for lunch.

I'll occassionally post a recipe for seasonal foods. I love to cook, but I know not everyone enjoys searching for that perfect recipe.

Here's a good start. The Wilson CSA has a weekly newsletter and includes some great recipes. http://www.wilson.edu/wilson/asp/content.asp?id=815

Beating the Heat

It is a little known fact that homo sapiens require a very narrow temperature range for survival. We thrive between roughly 20°C and 24°C (68°F - 75°F). A degree or two warmer or cooler and we begin to wilt like flowers in the scorching sun or enter the beginning stages of hypothermia. At least that’s what you’d believe if you examined how most homes and offices manage their heating and cooling.

There are two clear reasons why how we use our heating and air conditioning matters. The first is economic, and the other is environmental. There are a few other potentially more important reasons, but let’s start with those two. The economics is easy. Electricity costs hard-earned money. Air conditioning requires electricity. The more you use air conditioning the more of your hard-earned money goes to the electric company. The environmental impact is directly related to electricity generation. As energy demands spike, electricity generators increase their production and, therefore, pollution. Remember, power generators are among our dirtiest polluters.

My other reasons for disliking AC are related to how air conditioning may affect our culture. Before the days of central air, I remember spending Sunday evenings sitting on my grandparents’ front lawn with my family. We’d talk to neighbors and friends when they passed by. It’s only anecdotal evidence, but I suspect that air conditioning may contribute to a culture in which individuals are increasingly insulated and alienated from one another. My other concern is about what happens to a culture whose every whim is satisfied. Yes, some people with medical conditions truly need AC. For the rest of us, I think it would do us good to experience a greater diversity of temperatures. I find that when I spend too much time in the air conditioning, I have more difficulty working outside in hot weather and become more susceptible to minor illnesses that seem to be related to shifts in the weather. I also share Teddy Roosevelt’s concern that many of the comforts of modern life are making us weak and less independent.

So where do we start? Nobody (unless you’re as crazy as I am) wants to just turn off their AC. Here are the highlights from a few sites that I'll link to below.

Set your thermostat as high as is comfortable during the summer.

Use a programmable thermostat. Allow the AC to turn off or the temperature to go up when no one is home. You’ll save more than maintaining the same cool temperature 24/7.

Turn off the AC and open your windows in the evenings and mornings when it's cool outside.

Close your windows and draw the shades during the day to keep the sun from heating up your home's interior.

Drink lots of water.

Rest during the heat of the day, and plan physical activity for the cooler mornings and evenings.

Avoid caffeine and alcohol.

Eat light and eat what's in season locally. Fruits and veggies are exactly what your body needs in hot weather.

Use the stovetop or oven less.

http://www1.eere.energy.gov/consumer/tips/air_conditioners.html U.S. Dept. of Energy website.

http://michaelbluejay.com/electricity/cooling.html Great website on energy conservation. This page is on cooling.

http://financialplan.about.com/od/savingmoney/a/CoolingCosts.htm?terms=save+on+cooling An about.com page on saving money on air conditioning.

Great Local Food Articles

Joel Salatin, farmer and writer, published the following article in Mother Earth News about eating locally. The article begins with a great section about eating local meat and eggs in season. Most of us non-farmers have no idea that there is even a season for meat and eggs. Mr. Salatin goes into great detail about that topic and offers tips on finding and eating local produce as well.

http://www.motherearthnews.com/Whole-Foods-and-Cooking/2007-08-01/Seasonal-Eating.aspx

By the way, two easy places to get local eggs in the Chambersburg area are Trickling Springs Creamery and The Wilson/Fulton Farm CSA. I've also noticed Trickling Springs carries some local beef.

Here's another great article that Mr. Salatin linked to at the end of his article. This one describes methods of storing and preserving local foods for the winter.
http://www.motherearthnews.com/Whole-Foods-and-Cooking/2007-08-01/Fresh-Local-Food-All-Year.aspx

Our Recycling Project

Over the years, I've experimented with different ways of handling my recycling. I'm sure that I've spent an inordinate amount of time and energy working on my recycling project, so, in the spirit of trying to save others some time and effort, this is what we're able to recycle and how it is organized.

Under our kitchen sink we have 7 separate containers (from left to right) for compost, mixed recyclables (glass, plastic, and metal), corrugated cardboard, paper, newspaper, grayboard (paperboard), and magazines.

In case you were wondering, those are milk boxes. I just took three half gallon boxes, washed them thoroughly, cut out some sides, and taped them together with gorilla tape. The containers under the sink provide a convenient location to sort recyclables without having to take everything to our larger recycling bins in the garage everyday. (Our trash can for what can't be recycled is separate and located elsewhere in the kitchen.) I empty these small containers into our larger recycling bins in our garage once each week where they stay until we take them to our community recycling program once each month.

This is about a month's worth of recycling.

In addition to the categories I mentioned above, I also have separate containers/bags for batteries, electronics, grocery bags, telephone books, and printer cartridges that I keep in the garage.

The key to successful recycling is finding a system that works for you. It must be simple, clean, and out-of-the-way. This system only requires a few minutes every week. I've never actually weighed our trash, but I'd say we recycle roughly 75% of our household waste.

Drug-makers recall AIDS drugs from Africa

Summary: Swiss pharmacy company Roche recalled a low-cost drug used to fight AIDS due to contamination. The drugs were contaminated with a chemical known to cause cancer in high doses and genetic mutations in low doses. Therefore, the relatively small number of people in the developing world who had access to life-saving pharmaceuticals just had them taken away. The same drug is manufactured by Pfizer and is sold in wealthier countries. Due to licensing and regulatory issues Pfizer will not release this life-saving drug to the undeveloped world. In other words, Pfizer doesn't find it profitable to provide the drug at an affordable cost to people who are dying in the developing world. By the way, Pfizer raked in 48.4 billion dollars last year.

Write your congress person. Ask for meaningful healthcare reform, access to life-saving pharmaceuticals, and access to medical procedures for this country's poor and working class and for meaningful solutions to the healthcare crisis in developing countries. Pharmaceutical companies are making hundreds of billions of dollars by inflating the cost of medications here and denying life-saving medications to the poor worldwide.

Here's the story from the New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/23/health/23recall.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

Pharmaceutical company implicated in childrens' deaths

Here's a story that sounds like it came right out of the movie "The Constant Gardener," (a movie which I highly recommend). If this case has made it to the point of actually being filed and CNN (a pretty conservative news company) is actually carrying the story, it's a safe bet that Pfizer is responsible for a lot more than what they're being charged with.



http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/africa/07/20/nigeria.drugs.ap/index.html In short, Pfizer may be responsible for the deaths of at least 11 children and the severe injury of other children in Africa who were being used to test an experimental antibiotic. Pfizer, of course, denied wrong-doing but would not comment.


Does anyone think it's a bit barbaric and immoral that Western pharmaceutical companies, or any pharmaceutical company for that matter, are testing experimental drugs on people, let alone children, in Africa? If this took place in the U.S., Americans would be screaming for justice, Pfizer's stock would be plummeting, and Pfizer would be on the verge of going out of business. But because it's happening in Africa, the story isn't even being carried by the majority of American news media.


Hit them where it counts. If you currently take a drug made by Pfizer ask your physician if you can take something different. Then write to Pfizer to let them know exactly why you stopped using their product. Also write to your congress-person. Tell them about the case and that you are concerned about American companies who not only conduct dangerous experiments on children but who also are responsible for the deaths of millions of people in developing countries by denying them affordable, life-saving medications and less-expensive generic medications.

Action: Carbon Offsets

You've done everything you can possibly do to reduce the amount of pollution that you're responsible for pumping into the environment, but you are bothered by what's left. Face it. Unless you are willing to live a primitive lifestyle, you will be responsible for some environmental degradation and human rights abuses.

That's it, right? We've done everything we can do. Time to go on about our merry way.

Maybe not. There's another idea that has been gaining support recently. They are called Carbon Offsets. The idea is that you can balance (or offset, if you like) the carbon dioxide you release into the atmosphere by supporting the production of clean energy.

Initially, I had reservations. It sounded an awful lot like the Catholic Church's practice of selling indulgences in the Middle Ages; in this case, a license to pollute. After doing some research though, I think carbon offsets can be used wisely. For example, my family does everything we can to reduce our negative impacts on other people and the environment. We change the way we drive and walk to work to conserve gas. We rarely use the air conditioning at home. We use sunlight to illuminate our house during the day and compact flourescent lightbulbs the rest of the time. We buy most of our food locally. We recycle. The list could go on, but in the end we still use some electricity, natural gas, and gasoline.

Until our society catches up to our ethics, carbon offsets appear to be the best way to close the gap. By purchasing carbon offsets, we help new windmills, solar arrays, and farm methane projects come to realization, and we support the generation of sustainable energy from already existing producers. Most importantly, we reduce the demand for energy from some of our heaviest polluters like coal-fired powerplants.

Native Energy http://www.nativeenergy.com/ is a company in which the majority of the shareholders are Native American. From their website: "NativeEnergy helps you help build Native American, farmer-owned, community based renewable energy projects that create social, economic, and environmental benefits." Most of their projects help build windmills on Native American lands that will then be owned and operated by the local community. The rest of their projects direct funds toward sustainable energy projects on family farms across the U.S. (There are several projects in Pennsylvania.)

Check out their website. Even if you don't decide to purchase any offsets, it's very informative.

If you do a search on "The Grist" you'll find a plethora of articles and discussions about carbon offsets. Perhaps surprisingly, not all of the opinions are on the side of offsetting. http://www.grist.org/

NPRs Scott Simon recently interviewed Al Gore and quized him about carbon offsets. This was the interview that got me interested in researching the topic. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=11789919

Great website from the Stockholm Environment Institute and the Tufts Climate Initiative. They have many resources about the practices of carbon offseting and carbon trading, and they have a review/rating of the major companies who sell carbon offsets worldwide. http://www.tufts.edu/tie/tci/carbonoffsets/ratings.htm

"If you think you're too small to have an impact try going to bed with a mosquito in the room." -- Anita Koddick

"The begining is the most important part of the work." -- Plato

Swim a little out from the mainstream

Every news outlet has a bias: liberal, conservative, pro-big business, pro-status quo… etc. The most popular media outlets are notorious for their biases, and most people aren’t even aware of them. (Most of our usual news sources are extremely conservative and sensationalist -- lacking in any real content or analysis.) The other danger of our mainstream media is that they are all reporting from the same point of view. That is the American point of view. There’s nothing wrong with the American point of view, but it is only one of many. Sometimes it helps to see the world and events through someone else’s eyes.

National Public Radio: http://www.npr.org/ You can listen on-line to current and archived programs. I often listen on-line as I'm cooking, washing dishes, or working on my blog. If you do listen please make a pledge to your local station. Our recent republican congress made an effort to chip away at their funding. Some say that NPR is liberal biased. I find their reporting even-handed and thorough in contrast to the typically vapid headlines and soundbites of most other outlets.

WITF 89.5 is Harrisburg PA's NPR station. http://www.witf.org/
WAMU 88.5 is American University's NPR station out of Washington D.C.
WVEP 88.9 Martinsburg, West Virginia's NPR station
WNYC New York City's NPR station has a lot of great programming accessible on-line http://www.wnyc.org/

The Christian Science Monitor http://www.csmonitor.com/ is recognized for the quality of its reporting around the world.

Grist, Environmental News and Commentary. http://www.grist.org/ No bias there right? If you're into environmental issues like me and like a little bit of dry humor to boot, you'll love it.

C-span http://www.c-span.org/ the inner workings of our federal government on cable T.V. and on-line.

Mother Jones http://www.motherjones.com/ Good reporting and analysis. Liberal bias.

The BBC. http://www.bbc.co.uk/ Internationally recognized for the quality of its journalism.

Please post if you have any other good news outlets or comments about the ones I've listed.

"In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act." -- George Orwell

"Naturally the common people don't want war; neither in Russia, nor in England, nor in America, nor in Germany. That is understood. But after all, it is the leaders of the country who determine policy, and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy, or a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is to tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in any country." -- Hermann Goering

"In true democracy every man and women is taught to think for himself or herself." -- Mohandas K. Gandhi

Action: Get Out and Get Some Exercise

What does exercise have to do with the environment or social justice, you ask?

In my opinion, exercise has a lot to do with these issues – in particular, our desire and ability to have a positive impact on the world. There’s a story in Chinese martial arts folklore. A Buddhist monk by the name of Boddhidharma traveled from India to China sometime around the 6th century. When he arrived at Shaolin temple he found that the monks there weren’t able to endure the hours of prayer, meditation, and study that he prescribed. After some time in contemplation, Boddhidharma devised exercises to improve the health and strength of the monks. According to legend, these exercises were the foundation of what later became Shaolin Kung Fu and many other styles of martial arts.

The idea is simple. Our bodies are the vessels that contain our minds and spirits and have a profound effect on how we experience life and the world around us. Ultimately, we hope that we can rise above the limitations of our physical existence. Until that happens, what we do, what we eat and drink, and how we care for ourselves has a great impact on our minds, emotions, spirits, and ability to do the things that are important to us.

Numerous studies have demonstrated the benefits of regular exercise. Exercise can prevent or help reduce the severity of AIDS/HIV, arthritis, some types of cancer, depression, diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, obesity, and osteoporosis to name a few. Exercise makes our bodies and minds stronger, more flexible, and more agile. It also boosts our energy, reduces stress, and helps us live longer.

If you don’t know where to start, nearly any physical activity could be considered exercise depending on how you approach it. Gardening, walking, riding bicycle, running, lifting weights, hiking, yoga, tai chi, pilates, dancing, softball, soccer, basketball, fishing… The list could be endless. My point is that there is something out there for everyone and for every level of physical ability.

If you still don’t see the connection between exercise and social and environmental issues, here are my top 6 connections:

6. Group exercise classes foster a greater sense of community and encourage participants to form relationships with others in the class.

5. Outdoors activities like hiking, gardening, fishing, and hunting develop a greater awareness of nature.

4. Once we start exercising, we naturally begin to look for more ways to be healthy such as turning off the television and eating more fresh fruits, vegetables, organic, and local foods.

3. Exercise breaks the inertia of a sedentary lifestyle.

2. Exercise makes us happy (caused by endorphins released during exercise). Happy people promote peace.

1. Exercise energizes us to lead more active, more fulfilling lives.

Can anyone find some more connections, so that we can make it an even 10?

Links:
My martial arts (tai chi aka taijiquan) instructor. His school is in Harrisburg, PA. He is one of the best instructors in the country and trained me to my 2002 National title followed by two more years as one of the top competitors in the U.S. http://www.dowellness.com/ Here's a map:Map of 2233 Paxton Church Rd Harrisburg, PA 17110-9646, US The center also offers pilates, yoga, children's fitness classes, and massage.

A site by the American Academy of Family Physicians with lots of information about physical activity: http://familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/home/healthy/physical.html

Action: Make Democracy Work

Write, e-mail, and call your elected officials about issues you care about. Let them know you are aware of the decisions they make. Democracy only works when we all speak up.

Many of our problems today were created or at least helped along by our silence. Successful democracy requires all of us to be involved.

Most social justice and environmental organizations have letter writing campaigns on a regular basis. Take advantage of these opportunities to add your voice to the voices of others.

Here's a government website that will help you find out who your elected officials are and how to contact them: http://www.usa.gov/Contact/Elected.shtml

"The price good men pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men." Plato

My Favorite Sun Tea

Always looking for ways to have a smaller eco-footprint*, I've taken to making sun tea. No energy required to heat the water other than the free energy of the sun.

You can easily create your own flavors with the vast variety of teas and infusions out there. My favorite is 2 or 3 bags of Lipton tea and 1 bag of Earl Grey to a half gallon of water. Place your tea bags in a glass container filled with water. Put in the sunlight to brew for at least 2 hours. Sweeten to taste.

*Eco-footprint: short for Ecological footprint, an illustration that compares our impact on the environment to a footprint.

Action: Replace Standard Lightbulbs with Compact Flourescents

According to the government's Energy Star website Compact Flourescent Lightbulbs (CFLs) last 10 times longer and use 75% less energy.

They are initially more expensive, but will save between $30 and $45 in electricity over their lifetime.

When a CFL burns out (depending on use that should about 7 years later) they should be disposed of properly because they contain a very small amount of mercury. From the Energy Star website: "CFLs contain a very small amount of mercury sealed within the glass tubing – an average of 5 milligrams, which is roughly equivalent to an amount that would cover the tip of a ball-point pen. No mercury is released when the bulbs are intact or in use. By comparison, older thermometers contain about 500 milligrams of mercury. It would take 100 CFLs to equal that amount."

Because CFLs are so much more energy efficient they result in overall less pollution. Much of our household electricity comes from coal-fired power plants, one of the dirtiest forms of energy production, and burning coal emits mercury into the environment.

Check out http://www.earth911.org/ for proper disposal options. There are local and national companies that will handle the lightbulbs correctly.

Here are a few resources for more information:
http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=cfls.pr_cfls
http://www.ncgreenpower.org/media/newsletters/2005/newsletter_fall2005_page6.html
http://michaelbluejay.com/electricity/lighting.html One of my favorite sites on energy efficiency.

"Whenever you see darkness, there is extraordinary opportunity for the light to burn brighter." -- Bono

Action: Eat more vegetables, fruits, and grains

Yes, that also means, eat less meat and animal products (or none at all).

Most of the meat consumed in the United States is produced on factory farms. Aside from the horrendous living conditions for the livestock, factory farms are heavy polluters. Whether the waste leaks and overflows from concrete holding ponds or runs off of the fields it’s sprayed onto as fertilizer, the manure contaminates waterways and drinking water with E. coli, salmonella, and other pathogens. (If you live in the country and have well-water, I recommend getting your water tested.) Contaminated water also causes algae blooms which deprive aquatic wildlife and plants of oxygen, devastating ecosystems.

Also, for every pound of meat on the plate, the animal ate roughly 16 pounds of grain. Some of the grain that it took to produce that pound of meat could have gone to feed some of the world’s hungry.

Eating more produce and grains and less meat is also better for your health. I can speak from experience that from May through October, when there is so much fresh produce available and I eat much less meat, I feel much better. This time of year I might eat meat twice a week.

The best part is that you are not the only one who benefits from eating less meat. Eating less meat also means less demand for factory farms and less polution here; less demand for meat from overseas -- less clearing of the rainforests and other natural areas to create pasture for livestock.

Here are some resources:
http://www.nrdc.org/thisgreenlife/0603.asp
http://www.audubon.org/bird/at_home/chefs_web.html#diet Check out the Audubon Society's section on the vegetarian diet.
http://www.betterworldhandbook.com/action6.html Great, well-researched piece on eating less meat. The author even cites her/his sources. As a former English major, I love it when authors cite their sources!

What can I do?

Ever since I was a kid "50 Simple Things You Can Do To Save the Earth" has been one of my favorite books. Direct. Hopeful. It's message is fundamentally democratic: we all can make a difference.

I'm glad that issues like global warming, AIDS, poverty, and health care have been getting so much attention lately. The attention is long overdue. Before addressing any problem we first have to know that the problem exists. It's the next step that's often missing from most of the reporting done on these topics: what you can do. Without knowing what we can do to help, we are often left with vague feelings of sympathy that never result in positive action. What good does it do to know that millions are dying of AIDS without knowing what you can do to help? It does no good whatsoever.

I spend a lot of time researching topics that I care about so that I can find out what I can do. The primary goal of this blog, really, is to empower others to take action as well. In that spirit, I'll post actions we all can take to promote peace and preserve the environment (which, by the way, are inextricably intertwined).

"Change only takes place through action. Frankly speaking, not through prayer or meditation, but through action." -- The Dalai Lama