Trash Talk

Unfortunately, a little too late, but you’ll have plenty of time for next year, and for many other occasions. My friend had sewn up reusable bags made with decorative cloth. This time it was Christmas and winter scenes. She sewed up a number of different sizes and make them like pillow cases. Enza had beautiful ribbons that were tied to hold the contents in, but you could also make a drawstring through the bags and just have the end of the ribbon visable.
The difference in “opening the presents” was the missing sound of paper tearing. If you care about the environment, you know that most of the garbage in landfills is wasted paper from TREES!! How great will you feel when you can give a gift that also protects the environment! It sounds like a Win-Win to me!

Just think, you can now make a beautiful cloth reusable gift bag - and that too, can become part of the gift.
Remember, Valentine’s day is coming up soon! Mother’s day, father’s day, graduation, birthdays…. WOW, just think of all the paper we can save. REDUCE is the important words here!

I think by now most people are able to recite the 3 Rs: Reduce, Recycle, and Reuse. Most of the school children I’ve worked with believe that recycle is the most important “r”. However, I truly believe that we must REDUCE the amount of “stuff” that we think we need.

George Carlin did a funny comedy routine about “stuff”, and how we need to get a bigger place to put all of our “stuff”. Before going and buying more, which is the American way, perhaps we can think about what we can do without?!

One of the greatest ways of feeling like you’re getting new “stuff” without creating a need to produce new “stuff” is to use Craig’s List, or Freecycle. Both of these free services keep tons of “stuff” out of landfills, AND SAVE RESOURCES because we are reusing a product that has already been created.
Do you want a new look in your house? Why not sell your things and or trade using Craig’s list. You’ll have “new” stuff, but it won’t contribute to the depletion of the environment!

So, remember, we don’t NEED a lot of stuff - think before you buy something that’s essentially depleting the limited resources of our planet! Although we don’t sell used bags, we are still doing our best to limit the manufacturing of excess plastic bags by encouraging the use of reusable bags. Once you have these, they will last for years. Think of all the plastic bags you will NOT have used! Less STUFF in the landfills!

As I listen to the list of corporations getting on line for a bailout, I become more an more angered. Most people don’t even understand what got us into the trouble - and they are ready to blame the problem on the people who took out mortgages: NOT THE PEOPLE WHO MADE THE MONEY ON THEM!!

This “bailout” is NOT going to help the people who got mortgages. They don’t own their houses - probably most of them who are paying interest only for a house that is assessed for 40% more than it is worth don’t want to pay for it now (would you? NO - the BANK OWNS IT ANYWAY!!) The banks made their money on closing costs - the banks are going to make more money on these people when they go bankrupt as well!

The bailout is still about helping the CEOs and corporate thieves who are planning on handing out big bonuses to their company executives - laughing all the way to their offshore accounts on which THEY pay no tax!

The essential message that is missing in each one of these bailout programs is the same: They are still focusing on TRICKLE DOWN economics. Have the government and Americans learned nothing in how we got into this trouble since Reagan?? Money doesn’t trickle down - it grows up from the bottom!

People can’t pay for their mortgages because of HEALTH CARE COSTS which have doubled and tripled - and are causing people to go into tremendous debt!! We are the ONLY non-third world country without UNIVERSAL HEALTH CARE for all its citizens! Between insurance, co-pays, deductibles, drugs, etc… we’re ALL going broke! Think about how much more money you’d have to spend if it didn’t have to be spent on health care! Where would you be spending an extra $500 + a month??

TRICKLE UP is the way to solve the problems and the simplest and best WIN-WIN solution is right in front of our eyes! It’s SINGLE Payer Universal health care!

The way to solve the current economic woes in the US across the US by instituting single payer health care - INSTEAD of bailing out companies. The way it would work is that instead of companies paying for health care for their employees, the FED pays for everything instead. (You get to chose your health care professionals - they make no decisions about that - only paying the bills). All dental and vision and medication should also be paid by the FED as well.

Then, the payments that companies are sending to “Health insurance” companies should be sent directly to employees. All past debts to hospitals, doctors, dentists, and pharmacies will be paid by the federal government. Then EVERYONE in this country has extra money in their pocket - to SPEND IMMEDIATELY, and MONTHLY. Of course, the majority of people will SPEND it locally - and thus the TRICKLE UP EFFECT will be immediate and all through the country. People can start buying food, clothing, cars, houses, etc… This is a magic bullet!

I believe this is the opportunity for every person and organization to make universal single payer NON-PROFIT health care law to start pushing this idea through the internet and to Congress. It makes SENSE and includes EVERYONE- not just the rich bankers and investors. This is the way to save our country.

I’m wondering what your thought are about this ad campaign? We can make this a grassroots effort - throughout the internet. I think we really have a chance to capture the hearts and minds of people with this approach right now while everyone is so excited with Obama becoming President

I’m disgusted… You’d think with everything you hear every day that less people would be using plastic bags? I went to the drugstore - you know that place that has aisles and aisles of items that are NOT medications, but you still call a “drugstore”? I bought one item, and the clerk went to put it into a plastic bag! He didn’t even ASK me if I wanted one.
Using plastic bags are such a lazy habit of Americans - both the people who are packing, and the people who take one- even for a chocolate bar!
I’m disgusted with the so called: Eco or green businesses that are selling bags made with plastic, to replace the fly away plastic bags. They are BOTH going to end up in the same place: the landfills, the sewers, the gutters. Yes, people tell me: Oh I can get that bag for $1. RIGHT? no WRONG! You’re getting a “woven” bag made with polypropylene: and that’s Plastic. Oh, it’s probably made by someone who is making $1 a day, works 7 days a week and lives with 14 people in a place the size of your one car garage. Oh yes, they share the beds because they all work different shifts - so that Americans can pay $1 for a “reusable” bag that is NOT going to save the use of foreign oil. Do you wonder why “they hate us”?

Are you looking to meet like-minded kindred spirits? We discovered Green Drinks - (click below for the link to find a local group)
It’s a good way to have a relaxing evening meeting new people and for business and social networking. It helps me to be more optimistic in today’s world to find so many people who are interested in helping the planet. People are all at different points on this journey, and frequently, you can learn about something new that’s happening in greening the world. It also lets you know that all news isn’t terrible: my good friend who is a green architect is busy designing and building new homes - despite all the bad news on the housing market in the corporate news!
So, go and check them out in your city - Green Drinks is even international!

It’s pretty frustrating when environmental activists are jumping on board the compact fluorescent bulb (CLF) wagon, and not realizing that we’re just putting off another polution problem. Sure, CLF bulbs use less electricity, but they contain MERCURY. LEDs do not. So, I think there should be a “green tax” that’s put on every bad bulb that is given towards research to improve LED bulbs that do NOT pollute, and use less electricity.

This is one of my issues: WHY are we encouraging buying the lesser of 2 evils? (just like politics - ha ha) The companies that are making and selling CLFs are making a fortune selling this toxic bulb, and have NO INCENTIVE to develop something safer and better.

I’ve been using a big expensive LED bulb over my art desk. I’m designing the artwork to go on our organic fairtrade reusable shopping bags. But the light from the LED is not sufficient alone, and I have to combine it with a fluorescent bulb. But at least I know that it’s TOXIC, and has to be disposed of properly (with other toxic waste).

So I propose that we all start writing to the manufacturers of CLFs and tell them that we want them to develop a bulb with NO mercury - and write to the environmental groups that are pushing these things as well. Use the power of the dollar (as small as it seems - it adds up - just like the mercury!)!

I’m reading ODE Magazine’s latest issue which is dedicated to the topic of “Silence”. It is brilliant in concept, because it is something that effects us all, but we are rarely aware of the effects that noise has upon us - until it’s turned off!

I am blessed, AND cursed with wonderful hearing. It’s a blessing to be able to hear well: the ability to discern tone, inflection, patterns, accents and from very low to very high pitch. My partner Tim describes my ability as akin to a “wolf”, but alas, it is also a miserable thing. I hear every car on the main street 1/2 mile away to much further; aircraft that goes by, every dog from miles around that barks, the refrigerator chilling down, electrical sounds, and at night, every snore(!! - even my own!!!)… In fact, my method of meditation utililzes sound: I follow every sound that comes into my space - and of course, do my best not to judge it, just observe it.

What gives people the right to ride noisy motorcycles that wake up hundreds of thousands of people as they speed in the city by at night? What gives people the right to play music (generally the bass sounds are the loudest) that makes my heart attempt to join the pattern? The military officers I frequently complain to about the change in practice patterns on their “Thunderbolt” aircraft don’t seem to care that it feels like I too, am living in a war zone. I see the use of this noise as a power play - that with their sound power, they are all in some way controlling others. Loud and continuous noise has been used as torture. When I don’t deliberately distract myself, or close my windows on lovely days, it can become very miserable for me.

Nature can also been loud - all you have to do is sit outside after the cicada bugs have hatched; or a thunderstorm, waterfalls, waves crashing on the beach…. but of course these natural sounds don’t have the same effect on us, do they? They are “natural”.

Have you ever gone out in nature trying to get away from civilization and noise, only to find that noise pollution finds you anyway? Recently, when Tim & I were in Maui in this magnificent park (Ios Needle), it was so disconcerting to be in the presence of a person who thought it acceptable to allow his dogs to be barking constantly, destroying the peace that would have been so meaningful to others & myself. I was not the only one complaining. I think of myself as a non-violent person, but I was conjuring up some violent method to shut up those dogs, and let the owner know what I thought of his insensitivity to others!

Isn’t it nice to sometimes just shut off everything - music and news, and my books on tape, and just bathe in silence? All I can say is, the person who invented the earplugs that I rely on deserves the Nobel Peace Prize! Is that why they say: Silence is Golden?

Summer is here in Tucson, and although it’s a “dry heat” as the people like to say, it’s hot as hell. When I open my door to go outside it reminds me of opening the door of a pizza oven right in your face! If you’re going outside to exercise, the best time is definitely in the EARLY morning - from sun-up to about 7:30 am. It’s the opposite of the winter time for most of the rest of the country - we stay in during day. In the evening, even with the sun down, it still takes a while to “cool” down.

You’d expect that there would be a lot of solar collectors, but it costs a lot of money to set up a solar system, and unfortunately there aren’t many high paying jobs in Tucson. I was thinking during my walk to the grocery store (with my reusable bag, of course), about alternative energy, since I had to walk past a gas station where today the lowest grade of gas was selling for $3.74. One of the problems here is that there is limited public transportation - try sitting outside in 108º waiting a half hour in the sun for a bus. NOT fun. NOT even healthy, unless you have a big bottle of water, and an umbrella, or at least a hat, and are wearing sunscreen! Most people drive in big SUVs and trucks - I wonder how long they’ll be able to continue to do that?

There are people who don’t even have air conditioners here. There’s a less expensive alternative that works for a good part of the season - it’s called a “swamp cooler” which uses an evaporative system with water to cool down the air. But coming from NY where it’s a lot more humid, that “coolness” from a swamp cooler feels like a day in NY heat. ugh!

Even if you do have the money to put in a solar system it’s important to first make your house more energy efficient, so that you won’t need so many panels! One of the most important ways is to caulk your windows and doors. If you can afford it, replacing old inefficient windows is also a great investment. It makes it a lot more comfortable in your house too, and it works in both cold and hot seasons. Insulation in your attic is so important - as is having venting so that the hot air can rise and escape out of the attic space. You can also plant trees on west facing areas to shade your home. There are some agencies that give away shade trees in Tucson. Maybe you can find something like that where you live.

Another good alternative is to use awnings to block the sun from hitting your west facing windows. We keep small fans going - the “wind chill factor” allows us to keep the a/c set at 80º, and I’m comfortable. Sometimes I go outside to heat up, and then come back inside to really feel chilled again!

I take solar showers when I can - in fact, the water in the hose is TOO hot! I’m doing my best to save water, and look forward to putting in cisterns to collect water with the monsoon season coming up (we hope!). Happily, I can report that we do have a solar panel to make hot water, and I’m thinking about getting a solar oven for cooking - but they’re still pretty pricey. Maybe I’ll look online for direction on how to make our own.

The point is, we have to pay attention to where we are wasting energy, and come up with creative solutions - and share them with others. Remember, we have to be the change that we want to see!

It’s really hard on anyone who’s NOT rich in this country to watch the gas prices and the resulting rise in prices of EVERYTHING that’s related to our petroleum based economy. I hate to see these already rich pigs who are benefitting from their obscene profits make even more money, and not care about the personal effects on people. However, it’s also important to realize that while oil prices were low in the US, they have been high in other countries for YEARS! AND, now that the prices are so high, a new generation of inventors and creative people are doing research to find better, less polluting ways to fuel our energy needs.

Perhaps people will see a concomitant increase in their personal health when they start walking, biking, and cutting back on wasteful habits because they can’t afford them anymore. Just think about this: when I was a youngster, I took public transportation (I lived in Brooklyn, NY). So, I had to walk to the bus, and then to the subway, and then to where I was going. That took some muscle energy - not a lot, but more than when I had a car! Because, by the time I was an adult, things had changed so much that I not only had my own car, but, I used an electric garage door opened, clicked open the locks, used electric windows to lower the window, and drove right out from my house. My more fortunate friends worked in jobs where they had a parking spot assigned to them! No energy expended.

Think of kids today. Their parents are buying them motorized toys! They sit in front of TV sets watching other people live their lives, while the kids vegetate eating fast foods with trans fats and corn syrup sweeteners: getting fatter and less fit than ever before! AND their parents drive them to all their “activities”.

Maybe with the oil prices rising so high, the air may become cleaner because less people will be riding in cars…. less use of petroleum based fertilizers poisoning our food…? Who knows what positive effects will come out of these greedy actions on the part of the oil companies?

Most people don’t realize that those ubiquitous plastic bags that are all over the planet stuck in trees, storm drains and killing animals, are made from oil! It’s been said that making 14 plastic bags uses the same amount of oil as it takes to move an average car 1 mile. Now that gas is so expensive, I bet it’s down to 7 bags! And that’s another good thing: let’s find alternatives to plastic that we use for nearly everything in our lives!

I’m starting a project to take photos of everything that I’m touching during 1 day that’s made from plastic. Why? Because plastic NEVER biodegrades, and it’s time that we start realizing that all this “stuff” is going to be on this earth long after we’re gone and biodegraded! We must start looking for alternatives. So, join me by either sending pictures, or ideas of where plastic is present in your life! It should be very illuminating!