Where'd Last Week Go? and a To-Do List for Today

Those of you long time readers know that last week was much more typical of my usual blogging style....and honestly will probably be more typical until this summer again. How I wrote so many posts in January floors me---except obviously my brain is back to constantly going again and I have a lot on my mind. My mental check-out/hiatus time in Louisiana is apparently over. Well, and I'm sure the fact that I'm trying to be more authentic in my writing has to help also! 

So what have we been up to? Oh you know, the usual busy busy. 

--Did I mention that hub is volunteering in the vet office on his campus and he's still been acing his exams? 

-- Mondays are now an extra catch-up day (read: everything I can't do in the actual office gets done & any leftover grading/prepping). Plus house work and errands.

--Week 6 of the term---which means students are stressed. Love my jobs but Tues-Thurs is usually very draining. Last week had many more meetings and lots of isolated issues to solve. 

--Thursday evenings have continued to be his and my catch-up nights...and we're living for our weekends of downtime. We're trying to continue to be engaged with others, but I'm not going to lie, for the most part I've been feeling purposely anti-social lately.

Extra busy: 

--Friday was the Northwest Environmental Health conference. Most the information I'd already read..but networking within the environmental health scene was great. A current colleague is a friend who I don't get to see enough, and she and I were able to grab (many) drinks after the conference.

--Saturday the health dept I teach in had a volunteer afternoon at Oregon Food Bank. We were part of a larger group, and together we sorted & bagged over 9,000lbs of frozen green beans! Afterward we had a casual dept meeting.

The weather has had a few bright moments so we've started thinking of all the yard projects to tackle this spring/summer. Also need to start thinking about the garden...and hub is looking at used food dehydrators. Obviously the good weather gets us back out running/hiking too! We've been letting the chickens wander around outside more during the days we're home. Pretty funny to see them at the backdoor with the dogs, as if they think they want in too:

Hub is seriously cracking me up with this whole "one-green-change-a-month" thing, which apparently has changed into a challenge between us at being "greener." Um, hub, I hate to tell ya but I was queen of the green & simple living scene before we got together...ahem, ahem. I'm not going to lie---it's been AWESOME because he's doing many of the little things I didn't want to nag about, except on his own accord. Our Feb challenge items (biking and green cleaning) are so-so, but bigger picture wise, I'm really proud of where we're moving toward...together. Just for your entertainment,  here's a recent convo in our house:

Hub: Did I see that you've finally started following my smart green trick of using the quick wash cycle in order to save water?

Me: Yes, weirdo, for most things I am....AND I almost always use cold water to save energy....beyond the green detergent we use.

Hub: Hmmm....(wearing an expression of "damn, she's got one on me....), well I just might have to start trying that.

As mentioned we focused much weekend energy on organizing and cleaning the house. Got word this morning that the new coworker will arrive Wednesday night---his room is ready! Hub and I have been joking that it feels like we just moved in with each other honestly: first time we've shared a closet and a bathroom in two years. With how much we like change, this house overhaul has been great so far. Hub rearranged the kitchen, we moved the desk into the living room, and the entry way shelf will be used as a bar in the dining area. Much cleaning and rearranging of pictures has occurred. And I'm not going to lie, I'm actually liking being in the back bedroom:

Which leaves me to today's docket. The system delete/recovery just completed on my old laptop, so it and two bags of stuff will be taken to Goodwill for donation/recycling. Need to make a return to Freddies and get groceries. Need to buy a bale of hay for bedding for the chickens. Need to grade the online assignments. Need to finish two picture collages and finalize cleaning the guest bathroom.  There's a bag of random recycling to be donated, and about 15 items I should take care of for my other job. Plus a few other things: but we'll see what all gets done!

Hope you all have a great week ahead of you! More than likely, I'll catch ya next weekend :)

One Green Change

So I have to say---our one green change challenge totally rocked our worlds in a good way last month. Honestly, I had envisioned that we'd make lots of smaller changes and it would be challenging. Ironically, in January I feel like our one green change got the wheels a'spinnin' and we incorporated many of the other ideas I'd intended to use throughout this year.

Our green change in January was to only buy used for items beyond personal care products and groceries.....and we both did amazingly. We both only bought one new thing a piece (hub bought new clips for the dumbbells and I bought a new set of leashes for the dogs), and I honestly don't think I bought anything else the whole month. Hub ordered a few other used things but his overall spending was cut way back.

So what else in January did we do?

--Hub started to take his own lunches---this was going to be another thing for me to try to tackle and he did it all on his own accord. I've heard him mention at least three times how much money he's saving and it's great to hear. (He used to buy his lunch and sometimes dinner from the food carts---probably $5-$10 each go.) It's only really cute AND cool to see him packing his lunch of left overs the night before.
---Leading to: we've started actually eating left overs again!
---I started taking lunches period--making sure that I'm eating during the work day.
---I've started using my collapsible tote bag almost every single time I go to the grocery store OR carrying out items in my hands if I can.
---We've also started grocery shopping just once a week on Sundays---one list, one trip.
---We cancelled catalogs and a few magazines that we don't have time to read.
---Hub got himself set-up to be able to ride his bike to public transport to go downtown to campus.
---I've stayed out of Target.....and focused on using and reusing items already in my wardrobe.
---We are switching the dogs to dog food in recyclable packaging and that supports the local economy.

And honestly, I've been struggling to think of something realistic and energizing for February.....and it's now the 4th day of the month. I thought about not eating out---but we like it on occasion as a treat, it's a great social outing, and in reality we always eat places that support the local economy. I could choose some less-preserved foods or something else to benefit me on that level, but I'm not going to lie...right now time and energy for most things are lacking. So I asked hub the other day what he thought we should do for February. Our original idea had been not to buy anything this month, but I think we're going to stick with January's version of buying used...and also just trying to do without period. But anyway.....

Hub reported that his green change goal for February is to ride his bike to public transport to go downtown at least twice a week. A good goal and one I hope he sticks with.....especially if it starts raining again! :) So tonight, for me, I'm thinking beyond not trying to buy much of anything, I'd like to try returning to greener cleaning products in the kitchen and bathroom----mainly vinegar and baking soda. If I make it my greener challenge, then I'm more likely to follow through with it!

Our green change for March might just be plain sharing the house with the new housemate(s)....and yes you saw that "s" right. There might be two--as we've also agreed to open our guest room up to a potential new hire for my college who would be moving out here from NY, should he desire to take it. Don't worry.....I'll keep you all posted. Sharing square footage is one of the greenest changes we can make---and with how particular I can be, it just might truly be a real challenge! :)

Any new green changes for any of you out there?!

One Green Change a Month

Sometime during the last two years our "green" behaviors have greatly reduced. Sure we're still doing some green things:

-We're enrolled in renewable energy options for our electricity sources
-We mainly buy organic dairy products
-Most frequently my personal care products are safer alternatives (Burts Bees & Alima make-up)
-Our recycling bin is frequently more full than the trash
-Hub canned his own salsa and we've made a few soups from scratch
-We planted & harvested from our raised beds this summer
-We bought the chickens to hopefully have good eggs
-Kitchen scraps go in the compost bin
-We switched to a HE front loading washer & eco detergent
-We buy about 1/5 of our food & home products in bulk
-The heat is set at 62 at night and no more than 64 during the day if we're home
....and I'm sure I could list a few others

However I/we have gotten out of the habit of a few things like:
-Cleaning with non-toxic products
-Using reusable tote bags rather than plastic
-Only using safer alternative personal care products
-Choosing second-hand rather than brand new
-Driving less
-Buying less
-Using less disposables (ziplocs, razors, paper towels, etc)
-Using less plastic everything
.....and I'm sure I could list a few others

Now I can't remember which blog it was where I saw the idea, but somewhere in the enviro blog-o-sphere someone wrote about the idea of trying to embrace a new "green" change for an entire month in the coming year. One change each month for the twelve months. You could continue that change beyond the month or you could just move on to a different one. I thought it might be a good idea (especially to try to re-embrace some of the behaviors that we already know are better) so I approached hub with the idea, and we've decided we're going to give it a try. I'm not entirely sure how it will work, but hopefully it'll help push us back into the right direction.

We haven't exactly laid out any plan, but the month of January is supposed to be "Only Buy Used" except for food & personal care products. The month of February is supposed to be "Buy Nothing Extra." And so far, that's as far as we've gotten.....but I did happen to pull out my reusable shopping bag for my grocery run last night, so hopefully that'll be one of the months too.

We'll see how it goes, but hopefully we'll stick with it and get back into some of our healthier and greener behavior patterns!

We've Got New Friends!

Three lil' chickies sitting in a box. The poor things had quite an eventful first few hours in my care as I bought them in Vancouver, WA when I was picking up my bridesmaid dress and meeting the bride-to-be for conversation/lunch. I couldn't exactly leave them in the hot car during lunch, so I attempted to sneak them into the bar/restaurant, although their peeping soon made them not-quite-so-hidden. Luckily the manager gave me the go-ahead to keep attempting to hide them, and then when there was about 10 minutes left of lunch and their chirps were getting louder, I took them outside to chill out in the shade until we were done. Thanks to the bride-to-be for being such a good sport for my chickies today! ;)

Major and Anna were quite intrigued by the chickies. In fact, Major didn't leave the cage for the first hour that they were here, hence why they are in a locked old puppy kennel....no critters can get in at them!

Anna and I laid in front watching them for quite a while. The lil' chicks are pure entertainment!

Of the three, we have one that is quite smaller than the other, one that is much more vocal than the rest and already had a blocked poop vent that I had to clear, and then another larger and more adventurous gal. Well at least we're hopeful they're all girls, really and truly.....AND that they make it to adulthood in my care. 

I've dove back into the chick-care book and already made some slight changes. The water dispenser is sitting on a plate to make it harder for them to contaminate their own water with their feces. I've instructed hub to help monitor the-poo-in-the-water situation so we decrease their chances of getting sick. I cleaned off the lil blocked vent chick so she hopefully won't croak this soon on us, and I'm monitoring where they are in the kennel in relationship to the heat lamp. 

We did spend about an hour with the three of them tucked up in my curled up shirt, snuggling on the couch and they actually were pretty content with that situation. Now they're passed out--hopefully for a while and hopefully content in their little abode! They're incredibly sweet and seem to like when I pet their lil heads. ;)

And in case you're a chicken lover, they are Blue Laced Red Wyandottes, which means they might look like these when they're older:

Pretty no?! Picture taken from FeatherSite.com. 

Now I've just got to get hub to build them a coop ;) 

Pollan's Words of Food Wisdom

As much as I have mixed feelings about my undergrad institution, I have to admit that the education and many of the exposures it granted me were pretty phenomenal. As a college student, I was lucky to be offered free tickets to hear both Jane Goodall and Maya Angelou speak, and this evening my alma mater hosted the prestigious and well-loved foodie Michael Pollan (although my free ticket tonight was provided by my current employment/institution). Pollan always gives us food for thought (pun intended!) and tonight was no exception. Having read several of his works, tonight was a wonderful reminder of the food tenements that I should be keeping.

Here are some of the notes that I took from his presentation/speech this evening (some paraphrasing included):

Last month Oregon had 240,000 people receive food boxes with 22% of those recipients being children. (Actually presented by our representative Earl Blumenauer.)

"You can't have a healthy population without a healthy diet, and you can't have a healthy diet without healthy agriculture."

Pollan had purchased two bags of groceries from our local grocery stores prior to the talk. The groceries included many food items which he terms "edible food-like substances."
--There are 17,000 new products added to the supermarket every year, which one example was a fruit pizza with cheese.
--Most common cereals (such as chocolate cheerios) are 40-44% sugar.
--20% of eating in the US is done in our cars
--Generally low-fat foods actually have more sugar and calories (here he had the example of low-fat Tillamook yogurt having 33g sugar and regular Dannon yogurt having less calories and 25g sugar)
--Putting health claims on soda is an example of "nutritionism" hitting a new low (ginger ale w/ ginseng and green tea extracts)
--$69 billion dollars last year was spent on food packaging (which was more than the amount actually paid to farmers)

He discussed the new concept of nutritionism which includes America's fascination and obsession with nutrients rather than of food itself. Nutrients rule the food market and we frequently see nutrient claims on all sorts of packaging, even in foods where they have no business making the migration (ex bread with calcium, fiber in milk). We don't see food, instead we obsess on nutrients, leading to an unhealthy obsession with "healthy eating." Since we don't receive real guidance and there isn't much regulation on food/nutrition, we instead try to figure it out ourselves. Since nutrients are invisible however (and when we look at an apple we don't see the apple but rather the nutrient components we worry about...), then we feel we need "experts" to explain the hidden reality of all the good vs evil nutrients that exist. We view eating's purpose to be protection of our health...rather than enjoyment, community, culture, etc.

The regulation/guidance has been skewed by industry. In the 70s regulators tried to come out and say "eat less red meat," a very simple to understand statement. However meat industry was upset and was allowed to enter the conversation, skewing the message to state "choose meats with less saturated fats," which is a less easy to understand statement. From that point on, industry was a part of the "nutritional guidance" conversation, and it set the precedent that the government can't tell the public to actually eat less of any FOOD but it can tell it to eat less of any NUTRIENT. It also set the stage for us to get fat on low-fat, ie we ate more because it was low-fat, and it allowed us to feel that when one nutrient is demonized it allows a free pass for another nutrient.

Industry thus loves nutritionism, which is evidenced by the fact that corn and soy can be found in a large percentage of our processed foods. Corn is used in various sweetners, soy is used in fats and fillers. Two-thirds of our calories tend to come from four plants with 30% of our calories estimated to be from corn and/or soy.

The Western diet is based on a radical change in human eating and has lead to the development of our common Western diseases. Approximately 1 trillion dollars of our health care spending is estimated to be going toward prevention and treatment of chronic disease due to our dietary choices. 80% of heart disease, 30% of cancers, and the majority of Type 2 diabetes is estimated to be from dietary choices. Whereas our current low-fat, nutrient-focused diet has lead to enormous negative disease outcomes, the traditional human diets did not. The irony of this fact is that traditional diets are/were incredibly diverse (ex Inuit diets were limited and based on high fats, Mexican diet was based in beans and corn among many other items), but our nutrient-focused culture would view their diets as lacking via balanced nutrition. This demonstrates that there is NOT one way to eat for all even as we try to develop one diet.

Chronic disease is in fact becoming a lifestyle factor for us (ex Diabetes Today magazine in check-out aisle), especially when 1 in 3 kids is likely to be diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes in their lifetime. We really have two choices:
1) Surrender to the Western diet and hope for evolution to eventually adapt humans.
2) We can change backward in both eating AND lifestyle toward the choices of our ancestors.
The difficulty is that as Americans we prefer whatever is cheap and easy. Currently we spend less on food today compared to other developed nations and compared to our own history (currently 9.5% of our income).

Really we need to remind ourselves that we CAN "feed ourselves without nutritionism." We had a food "culture" long before we ever had a food "science." Culture is routinely passed down through the generations (ex via grandma and mom) but science in this case undermined mom/culture. We need to relearn. So what do we do?!

---Eat Food. Not too Much. Mostly Plants.
--Make sure you recognize the ingredients in what you're eating. Give it the grandma (or great-great grandma test), would she recognize it?!
--Shop the perimeter in the grocery store.
--Don't eat foods that make health claims or that advertise on TV.
--Eat meals with people. (Healthier families are those that cook and eat together.)
--Remember the meal as a sacred institution.
--Eat til you are 80% full. (Language difference: we ask if we're full, other countries/languages ask if one is satisfied or no longer hungry.)
--Put your money where your mouth is. (By buying local, basic foods we promote agriculture change, funding, and regulation. Diverse diet leads to diversified growing (rather than monocultures), which decreases pesticide, water, and fossil fuel usage. For every calorie based on the industrial food model (monoculture), 10 calories are spent on oil/fossil fuel for energy. Industrial food=fossil fuel. Local food increases the experience of community.)

What's best for our health is also what's best of agriculture.


Definitely some food for thought....if you have never read any of Pollan's works, I encourage you to do so--always insightful.

Portland's Better Living Show

The hub and I have been hearing the radio ads for the Portland Better Living Show aka Sustainable NW, so we had decided to head on over to the Expo Center today to check it out. You can't beat free admission and a wealth of free information from local resources and vendors. We did pay $8 for parking as it would have cost more for us to take public transport, but we came home with lots of great info and samples.

Six long rows of booths set up just like this and this one was one of hub's favorite as they had a lime plant for sale from One Green World. :) Also on display were concept and available hybrid and electric vehicles from Ford, Lincoln, Toyota, and the Smart Car. We watched a 20 minute presentation from OSU's Extension Services department on worm farms/composting and got some of our final questions answered in order to finalize our bins hub started a year ago. I finally saw what a G Diaper actually looks like---pretty cool in comparison to the old school cloth and pin set! We checked out some amazing products in the live sustainable home built and displayed in the middle of the venue.

Some of the other awesome booths:
--We were given a free tote bag by NW Natural
--Talked to Community Warehouse about donating excess furniture and goods for low income individuals to set up homes for free
--Provided a lil bag of free compost and seeds by Recology
--Saw amazing leaf artwork and design by Sage Designs
--Chatted with a guy about donating/disposing of household construction projects via The Rebuilding Center
--Got postcards from Metro to send out to stop junk mail
--Learned about Oregon Wild protecting Oregon's wilderness
--Picked up free recipes from Northwest Veg
--Tasted amazing samples from Dave's Killer Bread
--Were given a free EarthPot marigold
--Observed a new concept for raised beds using GreenBed
--Entered to win a wine tasting trip via Willamette Valley Vineyards
--Bought a reduced price Chinook Book......

....among many, many other amazing venues and resources.

Definitely a great re-introduction to the wonderful resources available here in our green Pacific Northwest!

New to Us Finds!

The hub and I have been on the look out for a new to us dryer. I'm sure I've mentioned that the last set we had was purchased for $100 from another soldier's wife. The set was pretty old but for $100 they definitely served us well! Although the last year, the dryer suffered from an extreme shriek and eventually the door was held shut by applications of duct tape. ;) We attempted to "door prize" purchase a new energy efficient set via the after Christmas sales, but didn't make it in time to Sears (apparently 4am wasn't early enough!!). So we've soldiered through with the old set and decided we'd keep our eye out on craigslist for a new dryer once we'd returned.

Well, the hub was talking about craigslist as we laid in bed waking up yesterday morning, so for the first time I set up and searched using the craigslist app on my Iphone....and what do you know....an unmatched but fairly new washer and dryer set for sale $350 for the both and within a 10 minute drive of our home. Hub put in the phone call and within an hour we drove over to check them out! The gentleman selling them had several other appliances for sale and is an appliance repair man by trade....he guarantees his used appliances for up to two months, switched out the plug on the dryer to the one we'd need for this older home (for free), taught us a few basic fixes that he gets a lot of calls on, AND told us where we can drop off (and get paid for) the old washer and dryer set.  A deal or what?! Needless to say, our new washer and dryer are amazing....and I don't know that we've ever enjoyed catching up on laundry as much as we have the last two days! Did I mention they both have increased energy efficiency features as well?!

Our second awesome find so far happened when we stopped off at Goodwill to look for some used furniture (we're in the market for a buffet/liquor cabinet option, a solid desk, and an entry way table......). One of the things I always used to look at in thrift stores/Goodwill was the art selection....and in this particular store we happened upon two faux paintings of Italy (which was where hub was stationed originally when he joined the Army). $11 later and we now have two decent pieces of "art" that hold meaning for the hub. LOVE IT!

Between craigslist and the major availability of Goodwill and thrift stores around here I have no doubt that we'll score some more great deals on the other items on the list.

The other awesomeness about the visit to Goodwill was that I asked the gentleman at the front door to verify that Goodwill accepts functioning and broken electronics for re-use/recycling. His response was that indeed they do and in fact, it's a necessity to keep electronics out of the landfill as harmful chemicals can easily leach into the environment.....SO GOOD TO BE BACK IN OREGON!!!!!

Portland Resource Awesomeness

So I recently found another blogger from the PDX area and from her site had seen some pretty neat links, some of which I had never heard of before....and all of which leave my little heart so glad to be returning to earthy, health minded Oregon. So then I started thinking, researching, and stockpiling links to all sorts of great resources that will be available to us locally...including all the great recycling opportunities that my husband will be glad to deposit all of the items I've been collecting for proper disposal in Oregon. ;)

So here are some of the highlights:

FOOD:

You've heard me mention Organics to You before, which uses biodiesel vehicles to deliver organic food boxes to your door step in the greater Portland area.

We'll have both Hillsboro Farmers Markets and the Beaverton Farmers Market nearby.

McMenamins brew pubs/restaurants/entertainment are within easy distance.

And although this includes multiple resources, I just learned of the Chinook Book which I may have to look into the app and/or print version of this resource. Usually I'm not into coupon books but much of the information in this resource seems usable to our situation.

RECYCLING:

Beyond the fabulous reality that we will again be able to recycle glass and more plastics just from curbside service...

Two thumbs up that since Jan 2010, Oregonians have had to recycle electronics. Due to the prevalence of electronic recycling options back home versus here (where I haven't found any in a 3 hour radius), we're bringing back a few extra TVs from a coworker for recycling/reusing, two TVs of our own that are broken, and two old laptops for recycling/donation.

Additionally, for any hazardous waste disposal needs (aka used car oil from hub changing it when needed) there are regular weekly neighborhood collection dates and locations. Beyond this within 15 miles of the home (using Earth911), we can easily access drop off recycling sites for single-use batteries, CDs, hard to recycle plastics, and smaller electronics.....good thing I've been stockpiling our batteries in a bag since I moved here.

METRO also is where you can recycle paint and pick up recycled paint options (including colors!!). Oh how I love my green state.

OUTDOOR PURSUITS:

Tualatin Hills Park & Recreation District maintains several short trails, acres of parks, the dog park, and recreation facilities for use in the surrounding area.

REI hosts a variety of free and low charge classes and events via their local stores.

Over 5,000 acres of hiking and woods via Forest Park.

And via a little research Hagg Lake is a 45 minute drive away.

Beyond our home stomping grounds of the beautiful and majestic Oregon Coast, of course and one of my favorite hikes at Silver Creek Falls.

OTHER RESOURCES:

And for once, we'll be able to tie into more environmentally friendly resource options via Portland General Electric.

What I'm For SA---Part 2

Sometimes there is a thin line between being authentic, being empathetic, and being PC.

So just what am I for, all things considered, I thought to myself as I drove home from work yesterday with a lil Pat Green blaring from the CD the hub made for us.

I, Simply Authentic, take great heart and mean no offense to the emotions and life situations of others when I say that I am for the following:

I'm for dancing barefoot in the kitchen with the dogs up on their feet,
Environmental regulation and global outlooks,
I'm for smart population growth and increased adoption up front,
For committed marriages and rights of domestic partnerships.

I'm for turning out the lights when you're no longer in the room,
Tailored educational programs and renewed job training focus,
I'm for strong family values and increased parental involvement,
Organic, home cooked meals on a shared table each night.

I'm for equal access to basic life needs,
Health care as a human right,
I'm for increased physical activity,
Pets as an extension of your heart.

I'm for decreasing toxic exposures and increasing public knowledge,
For getting kids outside and technological reduction,
I'm for respecting our soldiers even if we don't agree with the fight,
Empathy for the little man on the wrong end of the corporate "right."

I'm for multilingual abilities,
Acceptance of cultural differences and global travel,
I'm for appreciation of Mother Nature,
The unconditional love message of Jesus Christ.

I'm for respecting elders and active family participation,
Fine arts appreciation and human evolution,
I'm for taking time to smell the roses,
Reintegration of gardening and preservation traditions.

I'm for paying off my debts both emotional and financially,
For free higher education and increased professional maturity,
I'm for reduced work week hours,
For increased financial giving and volunteer productivity.

I'm for reduced overall consumption and for increased mpg,
For needed alternative fuel and energy sources,
I'm for natural personal care products and integrative health care options,
For leave for adoption, maternity, and paternity cases.

I'm for natural child care choices and for free contraception,
For hunting, fishing, and vegetarianism,
I'm for family farms and CSAs,
For lifetime friends and smiling at strangers.

I'm for secured privacy rights and confidentiality,
For storing up treasures in Heaven rather than on Earth,
I'm for supporting small town football,
Enjoyment of bonfires and beer on the beach at night.

I'm for total recycling and cradle-to-cradle production,
For GMO regulation and local economic development,
I'm for art and personal creativity,
For furry friends and bird songs in the morning.

I'm for exercise causing sweat to pour from pores,
Delicious organic, free trade coffee brewing into my cup,
I'm for reducing plastic usage,
Design and construction sustainability.

I'm for giving the homeless scarves and apples,
Care for veterans and non-mandated drug treatment programs,
I'm for people first, government second, corporation last,
And for changing my mind based on the circumstances.... 

Just Call Me Negative Nancy (But w/ a Little Bit of Last Minute Hope Too)

So prepare for a word vomit as an old friend from high school would say:

Hub and I are sitting here watching the Green Zone, which is a fictional movie depicting the issue of the lack of weapons of mass destruction during the invasion to Iraq....and I have to say the movie has gotten me all fired up. Something about being reminded of the lack of intel and what may have been dubious reasons to invade Iraq. Something about the loss of so many soldiers and countless other lives just rubs me raw tonight. SO even though I just posted saying I wasn't going to say too much about my thoughts in this direction: I'm just going to say it...I whole-heartedly embrace our military personnel but I don't always embrace all the reasons why and locations where they are putting their lives on the line. And when I look into the face of soldiers every day, sometimes it gets to be a little too close to home.

Beyond that....these types of movies break my heart just in regards to all the different human rights violations that exist throughout the world. (Ie remember how I got started on all this anyway.....Blood Diamond.....)

So without holding back, I'm going to share a few more doomdayish thoughts running around in my head tonight--mainly in the form of two confessions:

Confession #1: Moving to Louisiana has made me realize just how sheltered and naive I have been about some things during my life. Moving to Louisiana also makes me realize how far the environmental and public health movements need to go for any massive change to be visible.....and I'm not so sure that it's going to be possible anytime soon (aka in the next couple hundred years) to turn the tides. Chemicals are too infiltrated into our bodies and our ecosystems. Land, water, climate, and biodiversity devastation has made it too far. But I truthfully believe in the reality, which is my father's final argument, that in one way or another the Earth will be the last thing standing and in time it will heal itself.

Living in Oregon I was surrounded by easy recycling, appreciation for the outdoors (even if not everyone actually took care of them), and individuals who were for the most part politically inclined citizens. Moving to Louisiana, I've learned that styrofoam actually does exist and gets used many times over daily, there are places in this nation where no garabage pickup happens so people burn it all, and even though there are laws mandating children attend school they aren't enforced and education does not always appear to be a top priority. Now, I realize I'm passing judgment. There are tons of things that Louisiana does have that Oregon does not, but one thing I will always appreciate about Louisiana is that its given me a sustainability comparion based on what many other areas of the nation can be like.....and it's let me see just how far people need to change in order for large-scale environmental and public health devastation to be prevented. It's also let me know that just passing regulation isn't going to fix the problems either as there seem to be plenty of regulations already in place that don't get followed. For example (again I don't mean to pick on the state) Louisiana has an anti-littering regulation yet the hub and I heard an annoucement on the radio a few months back that the state pays 4 million dollars annually just for litter pick-up from its public lands (you can find trash along almost every shore and land within the state).

Confession #2: I will also admit that being here in a less "green" state of mind, even with how much I care and know, I have slacked in many of my choices. We rarely use our tote bags anymore, there's regular shampoo alongside our hippy shampoo in our shower, almost all our produce is far from organic, our house is full of new furniture that's busy off-gassing all sorts of chemicals into our air, and the AC is always on at some level. I know we're huge steps ahead of many of our neighbors and friends here, but I still feel myself faltering more and focusing less the longer we're here.

But I guess in some way, even with all the falling down and doomsdayish thoughts....I still haven't given up hope. I don't know that individual choices are the right answer and I don't know that large regulation is the right answer. And I don't even know that I believe that the two together will be enough. While its hard to envision SO much change being accomplished, if I don't look forward then I don't know what other direction to look nor head in. So I must keep trudging ahead, trying to care enough to make a difference, but maybe not care too much to constantly let the big picture get me down. Because if I focus on the big picture sometimes......it does get me down. But here I go, plodding one foot in front of the other..sending emails to my reps, recycling what I can..and maybe, just maybe focusing on the values of my faith. While us Presbyterians are sort of an old crowd, I staunchly belive in the values of social justice, love, and stewardship which are key to our interpretation of the Christian faith. So rather than be a check-book sort of believer, then I just need to remember that my daily demonstrations of values are in fact a daily demonstration of my faith. Do what I CAN do to help others and the planet, and leave the rest up into the hands of someone greater than me......

Personal Enviro and Health Highlights

Just some wonderful environmental and healthy highlights:

1) We got our monthly electricity consumption report today. If you remember, our housing covers all of our utilities, but recently the privatized company has decided to pay up to a certain amount of usage and charge/reward for differences in the average consumption amount. (While I definitely agree with energy conservation, I don't agree with how they are calculating averages on this nor the fact that there's no true baseline amount but rather the rates of usage of some of the other homes like yours. PS Have I mentioned our homes have old, leaky alumnium windows and no insulation?!) The hub and I do a really good job of attempting to conserve energy: keeping lights off in rooms that we're not in, drawing most of the blinds during the day to keep down cooling/heating costs, hanging 60% of our wash on clothes lines to dry, washing in warm/cold, filling the dishwasher to the max before running, turning off the outside porch lights except when needed, recently flipping a power cord switch for the TV some nights, and this summer we're keeping the AC at a much more reasonable temp. While we're definitely major conservers in comparison to most of our friends here, we're still always within a few dollars of the comparison amounts---some months we're over and some we're under. Today we finally broke away from the pack and our consumption difference equalled about $20 less!!!  While I can't guarantee it'll stay low, I'm thrilled to at least finally see some proof in the pudding!

2) It dawned on me the last few weeks that very slight environmental changes have been happening at work. While there's no official recycling program on post for offices, I did drop a recycling container in the kitchen. I've never really mentioned it, but even my coworkers who aren't huge recyclers are dropping their plastic bottles (I haven't exactly lectured on this to all of them! :)) into the bin. There's still a lot of what I consider to be recyclables that end up in the trash, but it's so nice to see the contributions and attempts!  Every other week, I bring home the bag of recyclable plastics and a bag of paper from our shredder. And usage of the real plates and silverware is up too!

3) So far this week, I've ran 7 miles in three days. Not big to some, but a huge step in the right direction toward my newest goal and I'm definitely proving to myself that having a motivational goal is the ticket! I haven't exactly figured out how to approach the working out conversation with my coworkers, but I think I've realized that solo running after work is part of my individual self-care needs. I need the time to be alone, to think and process, to focus and yet meditate, to breath and pace as necessary......and its hard to do that when I'm not running (or swimming) or when I'm trying to meet the work out needs of another.  I'm sure it'll come up sooner rather than later however. ;)