Expansion of an unbound conscience
No matter how much the new President, your neighbor, your crazy uncle Gunther (or you?) denies it, the way we're treating the planet is causing problems of every possible variety. One thing I think everyone can agree on is that change is needed. Real change occurs with how people behave and with the choices we make; with how we choose to interact with one another and how we choose to interact with our environment. It’s no longer enough to simply not be part of the problem- we have to actively give more than we take in order to restore balance and heal the earth. Together, with our friends and family and neighbors, we can change the whole world. But you only need yourself to change YOUR world. Produce! (spot the double-meaning!)So how do you this? How do connect to the earth to heal yourself, solve world hunger, reverse climate change, create world peace, achieve spiritual enlightenment and be a self-sufficient bad-ass in charge of your own life? I’m glad you asked! There are lots of ways! First, get in the dirt! Better yet, create your own dirt! Heal the earth by growing your own moisture-holding, mineral and vitamin rich Earth-skin salve… also known as compost. Then use your homemade dirt to grow your own garden- You’ll create your own backyard grocery store which will feed you with wholesome, healthy, pure nutrients so that you don’t feed yourself with petroleum-wrapped, poison-infused, vitamin depleted, forest-mudering empty calories. AND it does it all for free after the small cost of initial installment so that your dollars aren’t going into the capitalistic industry running on petroleum that forces countries into political and economic instability, giving rise to terror-based rebel groups that justifiably direct all their hate at you. Not only that, you’ll also withdraw from reliance on petroleum because a) you won’t be buying food excessively packaged in plastic b) you won’t be buying food transported from across the country by petroleum-fueled trucks and c) you’ll use less petroleum since you won’t have to drive to the store as often to buy food. The last step is to save your seeds and compost your scraps back into the earth and look at that! You’ve created your own grocery store, healthcare system, political movement, waste management system, and a kickass example of the circle of life to impress your friends/kids with- all in your back yard! Go you! Oh wait… you don’t have a yard? No problem! community gardens are a thing in most urban areas- find one, volunteer, donate your compost and get a share of the harvest. Or just transform the otherwise useless grassy part of sidewalks and traffic meridians like this guy did: Ron Finley the Guerrilla Gardener. Or, find a neighbor who does have a yard and share a garden! Or just grow some tomatoes and basil inside- hang pots out your window. Grow stuff. Just do it. There’s no excuse. Reduce!It’s also a lot easier to give back more than you take if you stop taking so much. You know all that unnecessary plastic that things are wrapped in when you go grocery shopping? Just stop buying those things. You can survive just fine on the things that aren’t wrapped in plastic wrapped in plastic wrapped in cardboard. Shop in the produce and bulk sections- bring your own reusable bags to fill with food or for god’s sake at least reuse your disposable plastic bags. Disposable means that it doesn’t come with a warranty, but that doesn’t mean you have to throw it away after one use. If it’s dirty, wash it. It’s ridiculous to throw those things away and then go to the grocery store and buy plastic bags… why would you buy them when they come free with everything else you buy? Creating a trash-free lifestyle just takes a little bit of planning ahead and there's tons of easy changes you can make. For tips on easy ways to stop unnecessarily wasteful, check out this site: notrashweek,com If you're too overwhelmed to do it all at once, just pick two or three changes to start out with and then you can try to reduce more as you incorporate your new sustainable habits into your routine. Reuse!Recycle more. And upcyle. Keep things out of landfills that don't need to be there so we can stop producing an excess of shiny new things to dump in them. The world really doesn't need to be manufacturing as many new goods as it does, but since consumers keep buying, they'll keep making things until they run out of materials (i.e. until they run out of nature). So see what you can use that's already been used before you sign up to be a gluttonous consumer of "sweet" new products. That's also a good way to keep your kids occupied- just give them a bunch of trash, tell them to play with it, and then steal the great ideas for alternative uses of junk that come from those little imagination machines. Consider This- Your Body is Already Recycling...Now for the most controversial of sustainability topics...I call for a movement to replace the sewage system with composting toilets! They're not gross! Sewage flowing into our river and oceans is gross! Septic tanks backing up and flooding yards is gross. And toilets getting clogged and overflowing all over the bathroom is waaaay gross. Compost toilets do none of that…wouldn’t you rather let your poop feed a tree than feed toxic algae in the ocean that wipes out entire marine ecosystems? There are safe ways to compost anything since temperatures in compost piles can get as hot as 160 degrees Fahrenheit (temperatures that can easily heat your hot water and lower your energy bill if you set it up right!) Be ConsciousAnother thing you can do that I haven't mentioned yet- APPRECIATE. Might seem silly, but it is perhaps the most important thing of all. Appreciate everything you use. Think about where things come from. The fabric of your clothing was once a living, breathing, water-drinking plant. Your kitchen table is probably made of trees that were once members of a complex socialist community (yes, I just called trees socialist... I'm not crazy, it's science and the Hidden Life of Trees by Wohlleben and Flannery can blow your mind with wonder if you're interested in knowing more.) Your oven is full of metals that were mined, creating a whole slew of environmental impacts such as water and air pollution and disturbances in landscape (clearing of trees, building of roads, erosion, animal habitat disturbance, displacement of people inhabiting the location). Not to mention I bet you have a lot of plastic around you- it's in the paint that covers your walls, it coats your furniture, shades your lightbulbs, covers the buttons of your microwave, you even brush your teeth with it twice a day (...hopefully). All that from petroleum, not only destroying environments and threatening many more, but also wrecking havoc politically and economically (just ask Venezuela how they like being in the oil industry now...). If it causes so much distress, then why is it still used? Because you buy it and you use it in more ways than you care to imagine. All the "things", appliances, knickknacks, and necessities surrounding us were once living things or took the lives and energy of living things in order to be available for you. I hope that if you take the time to recognize this, you're not filled with guilt, but that you're bursting with graciousness and you don't take even the most mundane items for granted. The Short Version for Those of You Who Scrolled Straight to the BottomSo, in summary, you are the equivalent of a flesh-eating bacteria to this planet until you A) compost; B) grow things and eat from a local garden; C) Stop using plastic and petroleum-based products (including gasoline); also turn off lights, conserve water, use less paper and all that; D) stop putting your poop in the water. (Seriously, it's like someone pooping in a swimming pool and the lifeguards are like, "it's cool, the pool has chlorine in it, so everyone can keep swimming." Then, since apparently now it's an acceptable thing to do, EVERYONE starts pooping in the swimming pool, so they just add more chlorine... ew. No amount of chlorine could change the fact that there are a bunch of turds floating in the water...)
Aaaaand most importantly, E) Be grateful! Know what you're grateful for. It's harder to abuse and take advantage of the things we respect. *If you have any questions about the specifics (cost, time commitments, materials, etc) of how to take action and you're overwhelmed by google, like me, then just ask. Ask your friends, ask your neighbor, your boss, your mom, the guy at the hardware store, or your two-year old nephew, or ask me right here in the comments. It starts with you, but that doesn't mean you're on your own- I am more than happy to share what I already know and to help others in the discovery process for the many things I don't yet know the answers to.
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AuthorKaitlin Berger-Jones ArchivesCategories |