Word of the day: Ecotopia

From Wikipedia:

Ecotopia: The Notebooks and Reports of William Weston is the title of a seminal novel by Ernest Callenbach, published in 1975. The society described in the book is one of the first ecological utopias and was influential on the counterculture, and the green movement in the 1970s and thereafter.

The citizens of Ecotopia shared a common aim: they were looking for a balance between themselves and nature. They were “literally sick of bad air, chemicalized food, and lunatic advertising. They turned to politics because it was finally the only route to self-preservation[2].” In the mid-20th century as “firms grew in size and complexity citizens needed to know the market would still serve the interests for those it claimed to exist[3]”. Callenbach’s Ecotopia targets the fact that many people did not feel that the market and the government were serving them in the way they wanted them to. This book was “a protest against consumerism and materialism, among other aspects of American life[4]”.

This word begs the question of the day : Will we ever reach that ecological utopia? Or at least find a balance between nature and our lives?

Whole Foods CEO John Mackey's Utterly Disappointing Worldview

Ethan Nichtern: Whole Foods CEO John Mackey's Utterly Disappointing Worldview:

"There is a Whole Foods across the street from the Interdependence Project in New York's East Village, the Buddhist-inspired nonprofit organization which I direct. Some nights, after teaching or participating in a class on meditation and Buddhist psychology, or after yoga practice, I head there on my way home, to buy convenient, healthy food for one of those 10 pm diners New Yorkers know all too well. Since our organization works directly with issues of responsible consumption and environmental activism, it's always nice to be able to find local and organic produce, even if it traumatizes my slender wallet to shop regularly at 'Whole Paycheck.' Five-dollar pre-washed spinach from the North Fork of Long Island! It's late, I'm exhausted; what could be better?

Of course on the surface, a Buddhist shopping at Whole Foods makes a lot of sense (almost to a degree of neo-hippy caricature). I practice, study and teach a tradition of mental health and wellbeing, a path for people to systematically learn to take care of our own minds and extend that care-taking to others around us. A healthy diet and an interest in eating both local and organic foods are -- for me -- the physical extensions of that mental mindfulness practice.

However, the Buddhist teachings on the truth of interdependence don't allow us to stop at the level of individual health and wellbeing. The more we pay attention to reality, the more we see the total impossibility of taking care of our own bodies and minds without taking care of others. The more we see interdependence -- that our lives do not happen in a vacuum, separate from the lives of others -- the more we realize that our own health is inextricably bound up with the health of others. If you are healthier, then I am healthier, and vice versa. This is true physically, this is true psychologically, and this is true comunally.

A few years ago I wrote a book about updating the Buddhist philosophy of interdependence for the 21st century, called One City: A Declaration of Interdependence. In researching where the term interdependence has surfaced outside of Buddhist thought, I came across Whole Foods' mission statement on their website, which, serendipitously, is also called a 'Declaration of Interdependence.' Read it -- it's uplifting and full of good intentions on taking care of oneself and taking care of each other. An excellent corporate mission statement for sure. At that time, I was heartened by the thought that -- during the dark and separatist cynicism of the Bush era -- interdependence was still making deep inroads into corporate America.

Then this week I read Whole Foods' CEO John Mackey's Wall Street Journal op-ed piece, which struck me as a highly fearful and regressive take on the healthcare debate, which is undoubtedly one of the most interdependently pressing issues of our time. Mr. Mackey's Wall Street Journal piece might alternatively be titled 'A Declaration of I, Me, and Mine.'

The world view on display in that piece of writing is one of selfish individualism, mistrust for the very notion representative government itself, and continued support for a system of profit on anabolic steroids. The piece is also amazingly dismissive of the most interdependently-minded president we've had in a long time, taking the term 'Obamacare' straight from Rush Limbaugh's play book. The cognitive dissonance between the worldview that seems to inform Mr. Mackey's views on healthcare, and the 'Declaration of Interdependence' on his company's website are too much for me to continue to support, at least for now.

As a Buddhist practitioner, I work hard to identify and slowly transform my own internal hypocrisies. Most of them take the following form: I declare good intentions to benefit myself and others. Yet, I fall prey to deep-seeded destructive habits and fearful self-obsessions instead. As a practice, whenever I recognize a destructive habit or a cognitive dissonance, I set an intention to work mindfully and diligently to open myself to a larger, more compassionate and less fixated worldview. This work is slow and difficult, and I look like a hypocrite myself a large percentage of the time. But unless I choose to recognize my own hypocrisies, the work of positive transformation never begins at all. An extension of this practice is to not support the obvious hypocrisies of a friend (and my wallet, at least, has definitely befriended Mr. Mackey for years), especially when the friend is in a position of enormous power and influence.

So until Mr. Mackey learns that truly declaring interdependence means we take care of each other no matter what - a declaration best furthered in the healthcare debate by supporting a single-payer plan, or, at the very least, a strong public option - I am not going to support his cognitive dissonance on interdependence with any more of my hard-earned local-organic-neo-hippie-spinach money.

We are all interdependent. And therefore we must take care of each other and support policies that promote real interdependence. Especially those of us who go so far as to proclaim interdependence as a corporate mission statement.

In the meantime, anybody have a good CSA in Brooklyn?

More on Wall Street Journal

And this just a few days after I gave Mackey a thumbs up for his truth in advertising statements about the junk they sell. Which Mackey will show up today?

"

Crazy Train derailed

ExxonMobil Pleads Guilty To Killing Birds

Exxon Mobil Corp. pleaded guilty to killing migratory birds in five states, and will pay about $7,000 for each bird killed, Justice Department officials said Thursday.

ExxonMobil pleaded guilty to causing the deaths of approximately 85 migratory birds, most of which died after exposure to natural gas well reserve pits and waste water storage facilities. Birds died in Colorado, Wyoming, Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas between 2004 and 2009.

Wonder if Forbeswill reconsider naming Exxon "green company of the year?" For some reason, I doubt it. The crazy train is derailed but will be uprighted and ready to roll in a few minutes folks.

How Far Does Your Bottle Of Water Travel To Reach You?

How Far Does Your Bottle Of Water Travel To Reach You?: "

We charted the miles per bottle for nine top water brands.

"

My water comes from my tap into my Sigg. How about you?

Riding the crazy train II

ExxonMobil: Green Company of the Year

Purely political: the grand announcement in July that ExxonMobil would put $600 million into algae farms that would turn sunlight into automotive fuel. It takes a leap of faith to think tanks of algae can compete with oil wells, even allowing for the advantage that biofuels would have in a world of carbon permits (or carbon taxes). But the algae project buys ExxonMobil some peace with environmentalists. Since taking the helm in 2006, ExxonMobil boss Rex W. Tillerson has worked hard to soften the company's stance on climate change; he is not as gruff and forceful as his predecessor Lee R. Raymond in dismissing global-warming alarmists.

The engineering solution to the matter of carbon in the atmosphere: Drill for natural gas. Per unit of energy delivered, methane releases 40% to 50% less carbon dioxide than coal and a quarter less than petroleum. Coal fuels half of U.S. power generation. Replacing all of it with methane would cut CO2 emissions by 1 billion tons a year. Could windmills come close to that in reducing greenhouse gases? Not easily. To get the same emissions reduction you would have to replace half of power plant coal with 80,000 giant turbines covering 400,000 acres of ground. "Natural gas is the answer to green-energy low-carbon concerns," says Neil Duffin, president of ExxonMobil's project development company.

I guess Forbes overlooked the oil spills, the perpetuation of a petroleum based life...

Is it April Fools Day?

Slow it down

From Slow Food to Slow Living: The New Green Lifestyle Trend

Slow living is about living purposefully, consciously, thoughtfully. Just here, instead of enjoying the al dente fresh pasta pomodoro (and at the risque of sounding cliche), you are just plain enjoying life. And it's not an original idea: If you do a quick Web search it comes up on the site Slowmovment.com, which defines it in slightly broken English as:Many of us, professionals and regular people, alike are feeling their lives are overly hectic or emotionally out of kilter, and are looking for ways to restore the balance. We are looking to leading a mindful life.

So what makes this green? When you are valuing quality over quantity, enjoying what you have, you are cutting down on the mega climate and landfill offender: consumption.

It's when we get in a hurry that we become wasteful: Say, for example, ordering take-out instead of cooking a fresh healthy meal at home (did you know a non-green lifestyle can actually make you fat?); not allowing enough time for public transportation, forcing the need for a cab; shopping without purpose or preparation (buying a sweater that really shouldn't be allowed in public or household furniture without measuring or taking into account your need); or rushing into decisions that force us to redo, remake, or reorder.

While it's great to have fashionable eco-geared brands in your closet (which fashionista friends will comment on, at a loss when it comes to guessing the label), it's just as great -- and sustainable -- to make a well-thought out decision to invest in quality, built-to-last style that you can wear for decades.

When it comes down to it, taking extra time to make each decision we encounter in life is not just good for the earth, it will also make us all a tad bit saner.

Take it easy, take it slow. Better for you and the planet.

Penn & Teller drop a peg

Penn & Teller claims organic food is “bullshit”, fails to mention that their expert is paid by Monsanto

Penn Jillette and Teller, from the Penn & Teller: Bullshit! TV show, calls in the latest episode organic food for “bullshit” (see video below). Penn and Teller’s main point why organic food is “bullshit” is simply because it “might mean you’re getting your food from giant corporations or China.”

But what Penn and Teller fail to mention is that the so called “Food Policy Analyst Expert”, Alex Avery, is paid by the Hudson Institute. The Hudson Institute is an American conservative, religious and free market think tank. Simply put, they are corporate lobbyists. And the prestigious-sounding Hudson Institute is funded by giant corporations such as Monsanto, the leading producer of genetically engineered (GE) food.

Hey guys, stick to magic and comedy.

Kudos to Mackey for speaking the truth

We sell a bunch of junk, says Whole Foods boss John Mackey

When Whole Foods arrived in the UK two years ago it was hailed as a mecca for those determined to follow a healthy diet. But today the struggling US store's chief executive will probably want to eat his words after admitting that, alongside the organic carrots and bags of granola, the shops "sell a bunch of junk".

The comments came in an interview in which John Mackey was attempting to outline plans for the store to put more emphasis on healthy eating – amid suggestions that it has recently indulged consumer cravings for more indulgent offerings.

He went on to say that Whole Foods was going to launch a healthy eating education initiative to encourage customers and employees to reduce obesity.

But Mackey told the Wall Street Journal: "Basically, we used to think it was enough just to sell healthy food, but we know it is not enough. We sell all kinds of candy. We sell a bunch of junk."

He said the store would now attempt to educate in the ways of healthy eating: "There will be someone in a kiosk to answer questions, they'll have cookbooks and health books, there will be some cooking classes. It will be about how to select food, because people don't know."

Mackey said Whole Foods would attempt to rid its stores of unhealthy food, starting with a campaign to get its employees healthier, and would be going back to its roots in selling healthy food.

"Right now, if you work for the company you get a 20% discount card," Mackey said. "We're going to create incentives for our team members to get healthier."

Mackey said Whole Foods is going back to its roots of selling healthy food.

"Healthy eating went on at Whole Foods from at least about 1980 to 1995. Now we've had a 15 year run for the foodie philosophy. We are launching a reversal now. We will be moving into food as health."

Not too many CEOes would be brave enough to make these statements. A high five to Mackey for seeing the truth, telling the truth and then trying to make a change for the better.

It's all pipes

Brazil Wants Residents to Pee in Shower

New TV ads are encouraging Brazilians to save water - by urinating in the shower.

Brazilian environmental group SOS Mata Atlantica says the campaign, running on several television stations, uses humor to persuade people to reduce flushes.

The group says if a household avoids one flush a day, it can save up to 4,380 liters (1,157 gallons) of water annually.

Why not? I can hear George Costanza now:

It's all pipes! What's the difference?!

Sure the Elaines out there will say:

Different pipes go to different places! You're gonna mix 'em up!

But a little never hurts and if it saves water...Take it a step further and go the Kramer routine - salad making while showering. Just don't mix the three together.

I know what comes out the other end...

Your Crap, Our Compost

Squat and the earth shall grow
.

Poop. 



A generally fecal-phobic society reacts to the thought with a mix of snickering interest and fearful aversion, all dispatched in a single flush. But Nance Klehm, 43-year-old urban forager and grower, transforms human excrement into nutritious soil one bucket at a time. 



Klehm’s Humble Pile, a local do-it-yourself human waste composting project, introduces a backyard alternative to the machine-churning, power-draining waste-processing facilities tucked away in remote locations. 



“I’m not treating it chemically. I trust microorganisms to do it for me,” Klehm says. 



In early 2008, Klehm sent letters and humorous surveys to households in six Chicago neighborhoods, calling on potential participants to help “transform waste into fertility, pollution into resource, and isolation into connection.”


With no need for “Compost 101” instruction, complex machinery, electricity or water, Humble Pile asked its 22 volunteer “nutrient loopers” to opt for dry buckets with snap-on toilet seats when nature calls. 



To the surprise of Lora Lode, whose household participates in Humble Pile, her two teenage children Kira and Charlie were the most eager to take part in the minimalist procedure. The family of four made room for a bucket in the bathroom and for storage drums on the back porch of their Logan Square apartment. “I was interested in this as an experiment,” says Lode, who works with artists to combine art, activism and environmental concerns. Her 19-year-old son Charlie is not put off. “I just think that if I didn’t have a house, this is what I would do,” he says.


In place of the routine flush, Klehm supplies the “nutrient loopers” with sawdust to cover stools after each deposit, both to dispel odor and to facilitate composting.


In the summer of 2008, Klehm personally collected the feces from the Lodes and other households and composted the material in 32-gallon drums, stored at a secret location outside the city so as to avoid prosecution for violating ordinances on waste disposal and storage. 
”As an ecologist, I don’t expect law to keep up with me—it’s more important to get this done,” Klehm says.



Nature doesn’t seem to heed law either: Shit happens, and then goes through a two-year-long natural composting process that burps out nitrate-rich soil that smells like wet basement. The soil will cycle back into Chicago gardens, which include a 5,000-square-foot greenhouse at a homeless shelter and several additional gardens scattered throughout the city. 



“I’m just interested in people understanding that their body is producing soil all the time,” Klehm says, “and there’s no reason not to return it back to earth.”


According to Klehm, the locally produced Humble Pile compost is as nutrient-rich as sludge “fertilizer” from municipal sewage plants. “Good soil is so hard to have in the city. I’m concerned about the state of our soil—they’re affecting our health, they’re depleted, or they’re contaminated or poisonous,” Klehm says. 



Deemed a fertilizer by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the controversial sludge is a concoction of everything that goes down the drain—a heavy-metal laden medley of industrial, pharmaceutical and human waste. (In an attempt at linguistic detoxification, the EPA renamed sewage sludge “biosolids.”)



Klehm’s composting method has another home: an abandoned World War II-era U.S. airbase. In the salt flats along the Nevada and Utah border, Klehm and other artists and researchers of the autonomous living system Clean Livin’ use urine-diverting dry toilets and a combination of composting and dehydration to process their waste for later agricultural use. 



Long before Humble Pile, the waste-to-fertilizer process was discovered inadvertently by our nomadic ancestors, who flung waste onto piles that eventually became fertile soil. Later, the Sumerians and Romans hired delivery boys to carry feces in “honey wagons” to nearby fields for fertilization. The Chinese even commoditized “night soil” from wealthier households as a valuable good—the feces of the rich being more abundant in nutrients due to their better diets. 



But now, just as the Western commode is making its widespread debut in China, Klehm is showing at least two U.S. communities that there may be a better option than the water-hungry modern flush toilet. Producing soil and fertilizer locally helps conserve energy and water, and whereas the composition of municipal sewage sludge is to a large extent a mystery, what goes into Klehm’s buckets are participants’ own work. What’s more, Klehm ensures that her DIY fertilizer is safe by testing it for E. coli bacteria. 



For Klehm, Humble Pile is not a novelty. “I’ve been doing this for four years,” she says. “Other people think it’s crazy. I just accept it as a way of life.” 

Hey why not. I know what I eat, I know what I am producing. Now will the family and neighbors be grossed out?

The Cove

But in a remote, glistening cove, surrounded by barbed wire and “Keep Out” signs, lies a dark reality. It is here, under cover of night, that the fishermen of Taiji, driven by a multi-billion dollar dolphin entertainment industry and an underhanded market for mercury-tainted dolphin meat, engage in an unseen hunt. The nature of what they do is so chilling -- and the consequences are so dangerous to human health -- they will go to great lengths to halt anyone from seeing it.

Whale wars - maybe it should be expanded to Dolphin and Whale Wars.

Avoid all chemicals

Home Pesticides Linked to Childhood Cancer

A new study of children in the Washington, D.C., area and published in the journal Therapeutic Drug Monitoring links one form of childhood cancer to exposure to common organophosphate pesticides used around the home to kill bugs. Children with lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and their mothers were more likely to have higher levels of organophosphates and their metabolites in their urine than healthy pairs, and mothers who reported household use of chemicals were more likely to have children with ALL. There is no evidence that the cancer is caused directly by pesticide exposure -- but it does present the first evidence of a linkage in a non-agricultural setting, according to the study's authors, researchers from the Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center at Georgetown University.

Why stop at pesticides. Avoid all chemicals. Look at how you are cleaning your sink. The paint you use. The carpets you walk on.

Do it not only for your child, but for every living thing in your house - even the four-legged variety. Yes for your health too.

Give me your business card...

for my compost pile.

There are 74 other items listed that can be added to your compost pile. From nail clippings to toilet paper rolls to stale cereal. You can even add stale beer - though it never gets stale in my house.

Take a ride on the crazy train

Wonder if Glenn checks under his bed every night. Never know when those monsters will get you.