how big is your footprint??

This is another one of my environmental things which I know you may be tiring of, but I can't help it:) You can check to see how big your footprint on the earth is here (ie. the resources you use, etc. compared to the rest of the world). It is quite interesting (IMHO = in my humble opinion).

TV and other things

About the TV/electronics article.....

The article that I posted mainly dealt with TV/other electronics as a form of distraction, but that is only a part of it, I think. There are SO many other things that we can distract ourselve with, too. For me personally, I would interpret the article along the same lines as Mike, but add that for me it has to do with being at peace with God and going about my life as I think that He is leading (I know that you use TV so that you don't think about everything so much, but this is what I escape from). I am definitely not perfect at this (I believe perfection is impossible and trying to achieve it was, for me, very stressful), but have been learning a lot lately how to dwell in his peace and slow my life down (but yet, ironically, I am probably busier now than I ever have been in my life). My escape from the pressures of life and from doing what I should be doing is mainly reading - books, magazines, email, newspaper, stuff on the web especially - anything and everything that gains me knowledge. I don't think that knowledge is inherently bad, but I read to escape and forget about the pressure I am under . There are probably other escape tactics I use, but that is the major one that I struggle with. Mike can attest to this :)

As far as a response to your comments, Jodi, I think that you and Mike hashed that out sufficiently so that I understand your thoughts behind it.....if you want more than that, though, let me know. I just wanted to give my two cents on what distractions mean to me. I would love to reply to your other post right now, but Allison has been awake for twenty minutes and, um, quite noisily protesting the fact that I am not rescuing her from the confines of her bed.....

bag or no bag? that is the question.....

Sorry to be so long in replying......

Being that I am a soft-spoken person and that I very often say that I don't need a bag or that I have my own, I regularly experience the whole when to say "no bag, please" thing (I won't bore you all with my experiences, though, unless you request it:). I'm sorry that the cashier stuff offended you, Jodi (I don't think that cashiers are morons), and I will agree with you that, yep, it is silly to discuss how and when to decline a bag. Maybe that is why I found the illustration in the article so funny, though, because it IS so silly. It reminded me of me. I know that probably all of you think I am off the deep end with my ecological interests and maybe this article served to solidify that notion in your minds:) but your comments, Jodi, served to remind me that you guys aren't off the deep end like me and that's fine, too. Conserving a bag or recycling doesn't save the earth -- like the author talked about, paper or plastic doesn't inherently matter -- but I try to do the bit that I can, for the discipline and thoughtfulness aspect of it,even though I drive an SUV (it puts more pollution in the air than any of all ya'lls cars) and have a large house. In that regards, Jodi, you probably pollute less than me since you live so close to work, drive a smaller car, and share walls (thus cutting heating costs) even though I recycle everything I can and reuse grocery bags. Anyway, I'm losing my train of thought and won't be coherent much longer.....it's late, I need to sleep.....I'll comment on the other post later.....

hee hee....I relate to this one!!

This is another email that I got from the eco-justice mailing....I had to share because it is something that I TOTALLY relate to and it made me laugh....The web version of it is here...

When I go shopping, I experience a crucial moment at the cash register, a brief second in which to catch the clerk with the message: "I don't need a bag for that."

If I say it too soon, while the employee is focused on ringing up a small transaction, my unexpected words may not be heard. If I say it too late, the one or two items will have already been dropped into a sack. There's an element of sport in catching the perfect moment, delivering the words after the first piece of merchandise has been waved across the scanner , and before it has been plopped into the ubiquitous wrapping.
The technique depends on the store. At a grocery, the bagging doesn't tend to happen until after everything has been rung up. I can grab my purchase before it is shrouded in another layer of plastic. Unless, of course, there is a dutiful bagger poised at the end of the conveyor belt, in which case a pre-emptive "no bag" message must be announced well before the clerk has passed along the goods.
Most other stores have an approach of scan-n-bag. Right next to the cash register, there's a cleverly designed dispenser that holds the plastic sacks open. In a single motion, the product is swept from the counter, across the bar code reader, and into the bag. Often, the counter is built so that there's no place for the clerk to place the item except in a bag. This is the kind of store where split-second timing is so important.
I find a small feeling of satisfaction whenever I win at this game. As I leave the store, I know that I have managed to reduce the amount of waste by an infinitesimal amount, and I have taken a conscientious stand against mindless business practices which presume that we all want and need more packaging.
+ + + + +
"We buy a wastebasket and take it home in a plastic bag. Then we take the wastebasket out of the plastic bag, and put the bag in the wastebasket." -- Lily Tomlin
+ + + + +
When I meet with church groups, the question of "what can we do" almost always comes up in some form. My answer almost always refers to a book from the Union of Concerned Scientists, The Consumer's Guide to Effective Environmental Choices. The message of that book distills down to, "don't sweat the choice between paper and plastic bags, and don't agonize over the sort of coffee cups at your church fellowship hour." The scientists, working from hard data about measurable environmental impacts, urge us to make a few really important choices that will have dramatic and lasting effects -- to get a fuel efficient car, sign up for renewable energy, and live in a smaller home close to work.
After reciting the scientists' advice one day, I was challenged by a person that I respect deeply -- a truly wise man, a pastor, a theologian, and a committed advocate for social justice and ecological stewardship. Charles acknowledged the practical effectiveness of the well-researched recommendations, but he also named another sort of effectiveness. Making the choice about coffee cups and shopping bags, he said, is important in raising our consciousness, in defining our perspectives, and in helping us know that we can -- and must -- translate our values into action. Even if there's no discernable difference in the ecological impact between "paper and plastic," it is important for us to make a choice.
I found a similar message in Parker J. Palmer's book, The Active Life: A Spirituality of Work, Creativity and Caring. Palmer draws on wisdom from Taoism to develop the notion of "right action" and intentionality. Too often, he says, we allow others to shape our choices and define our habits, instead of choosing how and when to act. We are more centered in our spirituality when our actions are grounded in awareness and intention.
It is interesting to look at the "priority actions" recommended by the Union of Concerned Scientists from the perspective of "right action." Many of them are very effective because they call for a single decision (on a car, a home location, or the sort of electricity purchased) where the environmental benefits continue without the need to renew the choice. They are effective precisely because the allow us to be un-attentive on a daily basis. (Some of their other recommendations -- like walk, bike or use public transportation, and eat less meat -- do require ongoing awareness and choices.)
Palmer also differentiates between instrumental and effective actions. "An expressive act is one that I take not to achieve a goal outside myself but to express a conviction, a leading, a truth that is within me. An expressive act is one taken because if I did not take it I would be denying my own insight, gift, nature."
Sweating the small stuff, calling myself to an awareness of whether or not I need a bag at the store, brings me to awareness about myself and my world. It shapes me as a person of conscience, even if my perfectly-timed "I don't need a bag!" has no lasting impact on the clerk, the store, or the global environment. It does have a lasting impact on me.
Living as we do in a world where human impacts are overwhelming planetary systems -- where we are already in "overshoot" in our non-sustainable use of resources and our warping of the climate -- it is essential that we think instrumentally, and weigh the practical effectiveness of our actions. As the concerned scientists recommend, we need to make the most out of every decision. We must craft personal lifestyles and social structures which are effective in reducing human impacts. But that practical effectiveness will be far richer for us when it is joined with a spiritual centering.
Refusing a bag, turning off a light, picking up some litter -- these are spiritual disciplines that inform our awareness of relationships and responsibilities. May you find joy and fulfillment in these little things, even as you also seek large-scale effectiveness.
Shalom!
Peter Sawtell Executive Director Eco-Justice Ministries

the reason for a TV-B-Gone....

If you guys have never heard of the TV-B-Gone you can read about it here....Mike got Jana one for Christmas:) Anyway, I got an interesting email from eco-justice ministries that totally talks about the reason for having one of these gizmos....SILENCE! I now understand why I can't handle lots of music or people for long periods of time....You can read the email here (it doesn't copy and paste very well)...but here is a snippet....

Betsy told me about an unexpected "equipment problem" on a backpacking trip.

Her church youth group took a weekend trip to the mountains. The kids had been sent a packing list with the basic items of clothing and camping gear to bring. The list also detailed what not to bring, including cell phones, CD players, and other such electronic gizmos. There was some grumbling about those restrictions, but everyone agreed.

On the first day of the trip, about half an hour into the hike, one of the kids was getting quite anxious. After an hour on the trail, he was very seriously upset. As the adults tried to find out what was going on, the young man explained that he didn't know how to get along without a constant flow of music through his headphones. One hour in the woods without tunes was so anxiety-producing that he had to be taken back home. ........

AOL discs

If you get these lovely presents in the mail here is what I have read to do (and have had success with it! -- we haven't gotten any for over a year!)

Instead of building a new house out of your million discs, call 1-800-605-4297 to get off their list. Tell them your first name is "current" and your last name is "resident".

When I called them up, I had a lady tell me that I had to contact the post office to have them not deliver the discs since at that time they were to current resident, but I talked to somebody at the post office and they said that was baloney....hopefully your name is on them so you don't have that problem...

PS, Mom and Dad, I never had you sign those sheets for getting off junk mail lists....

squash

We had the most interesting squash ever tonight! It is called spaghetti squash....Take a look at these pictures and you'll understand why.....It is an amazing creation, I think:)

disturbing

This guy filed a few weeks ago to run for governor of Minnesota.