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.

Public Radio On-line

I listen to a lot of public radio on-line while I'm doing work around the house. In my virtual travels I've run across a few good programs.

Speaking of Faith, interviews/conversations about faith, religion, ethics, and culture. The two shows that I listened to and enjoyed immensely were the interviews of

Harvey Cox, a professor of Divinity at Harvard, topics included the recent atheism vs. religion debates and the interplay that can exist between faith and other forms of knowledge

Barbara Kingsolver about her book, "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life," in which she writes of her family's decision to eat only local organic foods.

I also discovered Mike McGrath's "You Bet Your Garden." Mike used to be the Editor of "Organic Gardening" and now has his own weekly radio show.

Consumer Culture on Public Radio

I hope everyone has had a chance to hear some of the series about American consumerism on NPR. It started last week and will continue through the end of this week. Topics include a town in the midwest that is attempting to become energy self-sufficient, where our garbage and recycling go, consumer debt, greed as a disease, and many others.

American Public Media Sustainability Be sure to check the archives for stories from a few days ago.

Where does our food come from?

I was pleasantly surprised last week when an old friend e-mailed to let me know that he had been reading the blog. Matt has been living in Idaho for a number of years now and writes on topics related to the outdoors and, of course, local food. Here are two of the pieces he e-mailed me.

They are both short editorials.
Look behind the label offers a brief introduction to the array of "eco-labels" we encounter at the supermarket and how one can begin to make some sense of them.

Where's the beef from? asks the fundamental question of the local food movement.

Both pieces relate to this basic idea of connection. I wonder if this local food movement is a reaction against the increasing disconnect and isolation in our culture. The illustrations of our individual isolation in our everyday lives abound: the solitary commute to work, cubicles at work, Moms and Dads who rarely see each other because they are on different shifts at work, kids running to a dozen different activities, automated check-out lanes at the store, on-line shopping, and hours spent in front of our electronic distractions (computers, television, video games, movies...). What could be more basic to life than air, food, and water? Is it possible that food provides a sense of connection that we may not even be conscious of? Connection to the farmer who grows the food. Connection to the people we meet at the farm or market. Connection to the plants, animals, and land that provide our food.

"There are some who can live without wild things, and some who cannot. These essays are the delights and dilemmas of one who cannot.
Like winds and sunsets, wild things were taken for granted until progress began to do away with them. Now we face the question whether a still higher 'standard of living' is worth its cost in things natural, wild, and free. For us of the minority, the opportunity to see geese is more important than television, and the chance to find a pasque-flower is a right as inalienable as free speech...
We abuse land because we regard it as a commodity belonging to us. When we see land as a community to which we belong, we may begin to use it with love and respect."
-- Aldo Leopold, A Sand County Almanac

If you have never read "A Sand County Almanac," it is one of the seminal works in wilderness literature. Along with Henry David Thoreau, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and John Muir, Aldo Leopold was one of the first European-Americans to clearly articulate an environmental ethic. I use the label European-American, because there were many Native Americans who had been speaking out against our careless use and destruction of the natural world for some time.

Stock Up for Winter

A few weeks ago I made a post and referenced two articles on Mother Earth News about eating with the seasons and storing foods for the winter. Here's a little update on what we've been doing to put some food up for winter.

First, we've been eating all of the fresh produce we can so that we do not dip into our winter stores. That means right now we're still eating a lot of salad greens, tomatoes, summer squash/zucchini, eggplant, and peppers. Even though we have potatoes, winter squash, and kohlrabi we're saving those for later.

Aside from our CSA, I've been supplementing our produce with stops at another local farmer's stand on Rt 11, just North of Chambersburg (near Green Village if you know where that is).Map of 2891 Philadelphia Ave Chambersburg, PA 17201-7904, US The address is actually for McDonald's which is across the road, but it'll get you there. They have a very nice selection -- not organic, but still local. Their farm is near Path Valley. I've been stopping every week and buying butternut squash, acorn squash, spaghetti squash, and apples.

I also stopped today at Shatzer's fruit stand on Rt 30 West (between Chambersburg and St. Thomas). I posted a map to their location in a post a month or two ago. Their apples are a little cheaper and better quality I think. While they are not organic, they also do not spray indiscriminately. Today they had several varieties of apples, pears, winter squash, pumpkins, cider, apple butter, honey, and a few other things I've forgotten.

Most produce needs cool temperatures for storage. Exact temperature requirements vary as do requirements for humidity, but it's not rocket science. See those articles I referenced for more info. If I get time, I'll post a little more later about storage ideas since most people don't have root cellars anymore.

Safe Household Cleaners

Over the past year I've been doing a little research on the chemicals in household cleaners. The problem is fairly simple. On a daily basis we come into contact with thousands of chemicals in our environment (consider the typical air and water pollution as well as chemicals used in the paints, finishes, carpets, insulation, and upholstery in our homes and offices); in products we use like household cleaners, automotive products, and pesticides/herbicides; and in the foods we eat and personal hygiene products. The catch is, we encounter a daily chemical cocktail that has never been tested. No one has any idea what this range, potency, and combination of chemicals will have on human beings. It could be innocuous, it could be the elixir of life, or it could be poison.

Consider a few bits of evidence. Farmers who handle pesticides and herbicides on a regular basis have unusually high incidences of cancer, birth defects, and other health problems. Recent studies have shown that our current obsession with antibacterial soaps, tissues, cleaners, air fresheners, and hand sanitizers actually contribute to bacterial resistance. We are essentially killing weaker bacteria and selecting the stronger, more dangerous bacteria to multiply. How many of the chemicals we use on a daily basis have warning labels related to misuse of the product? Pretty much every single product. As pointed out by Sheryl Eisenberg in her column for the NRDC, bathroom cleaners are a particularly humorous paradox as they are intended for use in areas where they will also be the most dangerous (small, confined, and poorly ventilated). I also find it disturbing that chemical manufacturers who find their roots in the military chemicals of every conflict since World War II are now selling their chemicals to the rest of us for household use, and what they can't sell to us often ends up polluting the environment with known carcinogens.

I'll post a few of the resources I've found below, but I first wanted to mention three safe cleaners that I use on a regular basis for almost all of our household cleaning. Baking soda, vinegar, and soap.

Baking Soda: for scrubbing just about any surface from a countertop to sinks, bathtubs, and toilets. You can make a paste of baking soda mixed with a little water that works great.

I often use vinegar in conjunction with baking soda. I usually use a little vinegar to rinse whatever I've just cleaned with baking soda. We also keep small spray bottle of vinegar that we use for general cleaning.

Hot soapy water is our other most often used household cleaner.

We also save old toothbrushes, rags, and sponges to use for cleaning so that we are not continually using paper towels for cleaning.

http://www.nrdc.org/thisgreenlife/0405.asp This is the article I mentioned above. Really great piece with more detail about dangerous chemicals and some alternative cleaners.

http://www.thegreenguide.com/doc/90/lundquist2 Article listing some common household cleaners and why they may not be as safe as we think. Look around on the Green Guide (which, by the way, is a National Geographic publication) for more info on safe/unsafe cleaners.

http://www.care2.com/greenliving/make-your-own-non-toxic-cleaning-kit.html Recipes and how to use some non-toxic cleaners.

Second Hand Thoughts

I'll admit this right from the start: I hate shopping. There are few things that will put me in a foul mood the way that going shopping does, especially for stuff that eventually wears out, ends up in the trash, gathers dust in the basement, or ends up in a yard sale. I become apoplectic at the sight of a shopping mall and begin sputtering nonsense about the evils of capitalism, consumerism, slave labor in Indonesia, paving over open land for malls, and dying gorillas in Africa (look up cadmium mining in Africa). It may seem odd, therefore, that I actually enjoy shopping at second-hand stores, yard sales, and the like. Believe me, I'm not thrilled about the things that some people cast aside, but at least their would-be-trash is getting a second life, and it is amazing what you can find.

The hunt is what I enjoy. You never know what you'll find. As one thrift-store shopper once pointed out to me, "Any good pirate will tell you that it's all about the booty." The hunt for treasure encompasses yard sales, auctions, and second hand stores of all shapes and sizes. Buying second-hand is like recycling but better, because there's virtually no cost associated with giving things their second life.

Buying second-hand prevents a veritable multitude of villainies:

• it keeps perfectly good stuff from entering the waste stream,
• doesn't require the harvest and manufacture of virgin natural resources,
• doesn't support harsh or illegal labor practices like childlabor that are common in sweatshops and manufacturing worldwide,
• because most second-hand shops are local businesses, it puts money back into the local economy,
• it prevents new stuff from being manufactured.

Imagine it. The unfortunate consumer of new products has the bad karma of environmental degradation and social injustice on their conscience, but buying second-hand is virtually karma-free.

The flip-side of buying second-hand is giving away or selling your things once their useful life has ended. Yard sales are one option. Sharing your old things with friends and family is another good idea. Most second-hand shops will accept donated items, and some will pay you for your things or sell them on consignment.

Here are a few local shops:

Act II Consignment Shops, 5248 Molly Pitcher Hwy, Chambersburg, PA 17202. (717) 375-4884. Located on Rt 11, just South of the Marion Exit of I-81. Great shop. Well-organized and very neatly-kept. I bought five button-down shirts, three dress pants, and two ties (all by very nice name brands and in like-new condition) for $37.

Act II's primary location is in Hagerstown. I've never been to this location but it is purportedly just as nice and about one-third larger than the one on Rt 11. 13625 Pennsylvania Ave, Hagerstown, MD 21742. (301) 739-0552.

Dress To A Tea, 17 W King St, Chambersburg, PA 17201. (717) 267-0603. Downtown Chambersburg. I've never been there, but feel free to add a comment if you have.

Kid To Kid, 15 Shippensburg Shopping Ctr, Shippensburg, PA 17257. (717) 530-5437. My wife and I love this place. We buy our son toys and books here. They have children's clothes, toys, books, strollers, etc. They are in Shippensburg just off of the King St. exit of I-81 near K-mart.

Play It Again Sports. Great shop with all kinds of athletic equipment. They have two locations in the area: Hagerstown and Harrisburg.

13102 Pennsylvania Ave # A, Hagerstown, MD 21742. (301) 790-1365.

4141 Linglestown Rd, Harrisburg, PA 17112. (717) 731-9899.

CD Warehouse, 3832 Union Deposit Rd, Harrisburg, PA 17109. (717) 657-5336. Why pay retail? Once again I love this place for the thrill of searching for hidden treasure and for its quirkiness.

Northwood Books, 59 N Main St, Chambersburg, PA 17201, (717) 267-0606. Used Books.

Twice Read Books & Comics, 42 S Main St, Chambersburg, PA 17201, (717) 261-8449.

Post a comment if you have any other shops to add, comments on shops I've listed, or other ideas about second-hand stuff.

Busy week

Just a quick post to say that we have had a busy couple of weeks. My apologies for the lack of posts.

We took a short vacation to Virginia Beach over the weekend and had some great local food and saw a lot of wildlife on our hikes and bicycle rides.

Food recommendations: Steamed hardshell crabs. Fantastic. Fresh. Local. A little on the pricey side, but how often do you get to have fresh crabs? We got ours at Bubba's on the corner of Shore Dr. and Vista.

Restaurant: Hot Tuna. Ask what their fresh, local catch of the day is. We had Tilapia with a spinach and crab "topping." Their "she crab" soup is incredible as well.

The wildlife we saw at First Landing State Park included Osprey, Green Herons, Chicken turtles, painted turtles, one huge cottonmouth, and a water snake.

I've also been busy researching improvements to our home's insulation (starting with increasing our attic's R value to at least 49 with blown in cellulose insulation), composting projects for my little garden, looking into local foods that I can store for the winter (potatoes, apples, onions, garlic, squash, etc.), and getting back into practicing taiji (tai chi) daily. My wife is also a professional opera singer. I help manage her business on the side and this is a busy time of year for her business as well.

If anyone has any recommendations in regards to where to buy large-ish quantities of local (preferably organic) foods for winter storage please leave a comment. I'm planning on checking out the farmer's markets in the area, but haven't had a chance to do so yet.

Happy Harvesting!

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

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.

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: 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