So, Wired has a couple of interesting articles this month. The first is just a one page article on the "green" choices. Now, everything has always taken a toll, but the paper vs. plastic debate has long gone on. So, rather than reproduce the entire page... here are Wired magazines' choices
1. Diapers-Cloth or Disposable? Go cloth if you wash at home, second choice is disposable last choice is a diaper service. Why? Look at not only the landfill use, but energy consumption to produce, dispose and launder diapers. And, draught prone areas should probably consider disposable.
2. Paper or Plastic? Paper takes more energy to produce, but are bio degradable, and take more room in landfills. Choice: Get your own cloth and reuse.
3. Coffee Cups? Ceramic may not be the best choice as it would take the equivalent of 294 paper or 1800 polystyrene cups to make just one ceramic cup. So, don't buy a new ceramic cup, use the one you have.
4. Hand wash dishes or dishwasher? Handwashing almost always uses more water. Go for the dishwasher.
The second big article is on biofuels. I need to finish this one and I will be back to post about it.
Tuesday, October 17, 2006
Monday, October 09, 2006
Chickens and Roads
just a little fun for your reading pleasure (from Tracy Roos' Blog)
Why Did The Chicken Cross The Road...
DR. PHIL: The problem we have here is that this chicken won't realize that he must first deal with the problem on "THIS" side of the road before it goes after the problem on the "OTHER SIDE" of the road. What we need to do is help him realize how stupid he's acting by not taking on his "CURRENT" problems before adding "NEW" problems.
OPRAH: Well I understand that the chicken is having problems, which is why he wants to cross this road so bad. So instead of having the chicken learn from his mistakes and take falls,which is a part of life, I'm going to give this chicken a car so that he can just drive across the road and not live his life like the rest of the chickens.
GEORGE W. BUSH: We don't really care why the chicken crossed the road. We just want to know if the chicken is on our side of the road, or not. The chicken is either against us, or for us. There is no middle ground here.
DONALD RUMSFELD: Now to the left of the screen, you can clearly see the satellite image of the chicken crossing the road.
ANDERSON COOPER/CNN: We have reason to believe there is a chicken, but we have not yet been allowed to have access to the other side of the road.
JOHN KERRY: Although I voted to let the chicken cross the road, I am now against it! It was the wrong road to cross, and I was misled about the chicken's intentions. I am for it now, and will remain against it.
JUDGE JUDY: That chicken crossed the road because he's GUILTY! You can see it in his eyes and the way he walks.
PAT BUCHANAN: To steal the job of a decent, hardworking American.
MARTHA STEWART: No one called me to warn me which way that chicken was going. I had a standing order at the Farmer's Market to sell my eggs when the price dropped to a certain level.
DR SEUSS: Did the chicken cross the road? Did he cross it with a toad? Yes, the chicken crossed the road, but why it crossed I've not been told.
ERNEST HEMINGWAY: To die in the rain. Alone.
JERRY FALWELL: Because the chicken was gay! Can't you people see the plain truth in front of your face? The chicken was going to the "other side." That's why they call it the "other side. Yes, my friends, that chicken is gay. And if you eat that chicken, you will become gay too. I say we boycott all chickens until we sort out this abomination that the liberal media white washes with seemingly harmless phrases like "the other side." That chicken should not be free to cross the road. It's as plain and simple as that!
GRANDPA: In my day we didn't ask why the chicken crossed the road. Somebody told us the chicken crossed the road, and that was good enough.
BARBARA WALTERS: Isn't that interesting? In a few moments, we will be listening to the chicken tell, for the first time, the heart warming story of how it experienced a serious case of molting, and went on to accomplish its life long dream of crossing the road.
JOHN LENNON: Imagine all the chickens in the world crossing roads together - in peace.
ARISTOTLE: It is the nature of chickens to cross the road.
BILL GATES: I have just released eChicken2006,which will not only cross roads, but will lay eggs, file your important documents, and balance your check book. Internet explorer is an integral part of eChicken. The Platform is much more stable and will never cra...#@&&^( C \\\\..... reboot.
ALBERT EINSTEIN: Did the chicken really cross the road, or did the road move beneath the chicken?
BILL CLINTON: I did not cross the road with THAT chicken. What is your definition of chicken?
AL GORE: I invented the chicken!
COLONEL SANDERS: Did I miss one?
Why Did The Chicken Cross The Road...
DR. PHIL: The problem we have here is that this chicken won't realize that he must first deal with the problem on "THIS" side of the road before it goes after the problem on the "OTHER SIDE" of the road. What we need to do is help him realize how stupid he's acting by not taking on his "CURRENT" problems before adding "NEW" problems.
OPRAH: Well I understand that the chicken is having problems, which is why he wants to cross this road so bad. So instead of having the chicken learn from his mistakes and take falls,which is a part of life, I'm going to give this chicken a car so that he can just drive across the road and not live his life like the rest of the chickens.
GEORGE W. BUSH: We don't really care why the chicken crossed the road. We just want to know if the chicken is on our side of the road, or not. The chicken is either against us, or for us. There is no middle ground here.
DONALD RUMSFELD: Now to the left of the screen, you can clearly see the satellite image of the chicken crossing the road.
ANDERSON COOPER/CNN: We have reason to believe there is a chicken, but we have not yet been allowed to have access to the other side of the road.
JOHN KERRY: Although I voted to let the chicken cross the road, I am now against it! It was the wrong road to cross, and I was misled about the chicken's intentions. I am for it now, and will remain against it.
JUDGE JUDY: That chicken crossed the road because he's GUILTY! You can see it in his eyes and the way he walks.
PAT BUCHANAN: To steal the job of a decent, hardworking American.
MARTHA STEWART: No one called me to warn me which way that chicken was going. I had a standing order at the Farmer's Market to sell my eggs when the price dropped to a certain level.
DR SEUSS: Did the chicken cross the road? Did he cross it with a toad? Yes, the chicken crossed the road, but why it crossed I've not been told.
ERNEST HEMINGWAY: To die in the rain. Alone.
JERRY FALWELL: Because the chicken was gay! Can't you people see the plain truth in front of your face? The chicken was going to the "other side." That's why they call it the "other side. Yes, my friends, that chicken is gay. And if you eat that chicken, you will become gay too. I say we boycott all chickens until we sort out this abomination that the liberal media white washes with seemingly harmless phrases like "the other side." That chicken should not be free to cross the road. It's as plain and simple as that!
GRANDPA: In my day we didn't ask why the chicken crossed the road. Somebody told us the chicken crossed the road, and that was good enough.
BARBARA WALTERS: Isn't that interesting? In a few moments, we will be listening to the chicken tell, for the first time, the heart warming story of how it experienced a serious case of molting, and went on to accomplish its life long dream of crossing the road.
JOHN LENNON: Imagine all the chickens in the world crossing roads together - in peace.
ARISTOTLE: It is the nature of chickens to cross the road.
BILL GATES: I have just released eChicken2006,which will not only cross roads, but will lay eggs, file your important documents, and balance your check book. Internet explorer is an integral part of eChicken. The Platform is much more stable and will never cra...#@&&^( C \\\\..... reboot.
ALBERT EINSTEIN: Did the chicken really cross the road, or did the road move beneath the chicken?
BILL CLINTON: I did not cross the road with THAT chicken. What is your definition of chicken?
AL GORE: I invented the chicken!
COLONEL SANDERS: Did I miss one?
Friday, October 06, 2006
Choices....
Or a riff on why I really need to make this commitment to my choice of lifestyle. Why, even if my DH gets a raise today (which I hope) we continue to live consciously and not spend more because we can, not consume more because we have the money.
The air quality in Singapore over the last week has sucked. The PSI index has been in the 60s daily and upto 73 one day. OF course they tell you it is not unhealthy until it reaches the 100 range, yuk. The air is smoggy, the air smells like smoke-like destruction, like the forest fires and slash burning in Indonesia that is causing the haze. Every year Singapore and Malaysia are plagued with the haze that is blown over from fires in Indonesia. Some of the fires are accidental, but most are slash fires. Fires caused when thousands of acres of forest land are converted into "fields". This bothers me to no end. Why? Because I am a farmer by love. An ag economics major. The granddaughter of a cattle rancher, a dry land wheat farmer, who made his living working land the way it was supposed to be worked. Taking into consideration the seasons, taking into consideration the fact that they did not have irrigation, so you laid half of your land fallow every year, allowed it to rest. You didn't make the land into something it is not intended to be. Of course I am sure he used fertilizer, but not even close to the levels used today. He worked with the land, not against it.
I could go on a whole long riff about the failure of modern agriculture, but not today. Today, it is about why I want to leave the world a better place for my kids. Why I want to live in a society that values the old as well as the new, that values the trees more where they stand, than on the ground as lumber. Why I won't buy teak furniture, even though it is beautiful and inexpensive and traditional to this region, but because it is now over processed and forests are being logged bare for the inexpensive furniture. As much as you may read about sustainable Teak harvest... I can tell you it doesn't exist. The trees are cut without replanting, it is all about the immediate sale, not the future. Not that the logger is entirely to blame. He has been sold a bag of dreams that can only be filled when he has a big screen TV, just like those rich people in the US.
So, for now, I am happy with my 19" TV, without cable. I am happy with my used furniture, I am happy with my microwave free kitchen. I am happy that my kids have some toys but not as many as others and I am happy that my biggest monthly "purchase" is almost always books and not crap. Every day is a step, somedays are better than others. Somedays I buy because it is there, but when the day is done, I KNOW that the purchase was not the best, I learn and I move on.
I still wish I had a food processor though ;-)
The air quality in Singapore over the last week has sucked. The PSI index has been in the 60s daily and upto 73 one day. OF course they tell you it is not unhealthy until it reaches the 100 range, yuk. The air is smoggy, the air smells like smoke-like destruction, like the forest fires and slash burning in Indonesia that is causing the haze. Every year Singapore and Malaysia are plagued with the haze that is blown over from fires in Indonesia. Some of the fires are accidental, but most are slash fires. Fires caused when thousands of acres of forest land are converted into "fields". This bothers me to no end. Why? Because I am a farmer by love. An ag economics major. The granddaughter of a cattle rancher, a dry land wheat farmer, who made his living working land the way it was supposed to be worked. Taking into consideration the seasons, taking into consideration the fact that they did not have irrigation, so you laid half of your land fallow every year, allowed it to rest. You didn't make the land into something it is not intended to be. Of course I am sure he used fertilizer, but not even close to the levels used today. He worked with the land, not against it.
I could go on a whole long riff about the failure of modern agriculture, but not today. Today, it is about why I want to leave the world a better place for my kids. Why I want to live in a society that values the old as well as the new, that values the trees more where they stand, than on the ground as lumber. Why I won't buy teak furniture, even though it is beautiful and inexpensive and traditional to this region, but because it is now over processed and forests are being logged bare for the inexpensive furniture. As much as you may read about sustainable Teak harvest... I can tell you it doesn't exist. The trees are cut without replanting, it is all about the immediate sale, not the future. Not that the logger is entirely to blame. He has been sold a bag of dreams that can only be filled when he has a big screen TV, just like those rich people in the US.
So, for now, I am happy with my 19" TV, without cable. I am happy with my used furniture, I am happy with my microwave free kitchen. I am happy that my kids have some toys but not as many as others and I am happy that my biggest monthly "purchase" is almost always books and not crap. Every day is a step, somedays are better than others. Somedays I buy because it is there, but when the day is done, I KNOW that the purchase was not the best, I learn and I move on.
I still wish I had a food processor though ;-)
Thursday, October 05, 2006
Things and consumerism.
I have said it before, this I know, but living in a consumer culture is always hard. Living in Singapore, where the consumerism is not only a way of life it is a hobby, is really hard.
How do you teach children not to expect new things every time a toy breaks. How do you teach them that a houseful of toys is still too many (even if they have less than friends?)
I just saw that the New Dream Org has posted a great brochure for free on their webpage about raising kids in a consumer culture.
You can download the brochure here.
For me it is a matter of reducing the amount of temptation-
1. No cable TV
2. No "Kids" magazines
3. Teaching family members about the types of gifts we want
4. Small family/close friend only birthday parties.
Then it is about teaching responsibility
1. While my kids are too young for allowance, they get "stars" when they do something like put away dishes. When the star sheet is full they get to buy one small present. (usually about 1 time every three months).
2. Teaching the kids that possessions need to be cared for and if it breaks you either fix it or do without.
3. Teaching values and honest money talk when the kids get older. I want to teach them about the time value of money and the ability to save. I wish I had learned this better as a kid-either it wasn't taught or I didn't get it.
4. I want them to save for college as soon as they are old enough to understand it.
This is way more important as we are paying for private school here in Singapore and our ability to save for college for them is well... not very high.
It is about choice. I choose to travel and spend my money on life experience, so when I don't have the big house or even a car, I need to remind myself this was my choice. I don't need to have a 5000 square foot house to be happy, my 1600 SQF 3 bedroom apartment should be enough.
Anyway, just some thoughts on consumerism today.
Now, the goal is to get to the grocery store and back today without buying more than just bacon and dried apricots.
How do you teach children not to expect new things every time a toy breaks. How do you teach them that a houseful of toys is still too many (even if they have less than friends?)
I just saw that the New Dream Org has posted a great brochure for free on their webpage about raising kids in a consumer culture.
You can download the brochure here.
For me it is a matter of reducing the amount of temptation-
1. No cable TV
2. No "Kids" magazines
3. Teaching family members about the types of gifts we want
4. Small family/close friend only birthday parties.
Then it is about teaching responsibility
1. While my kids are too young for allowance, they get "stars" when they do something like put away dishes. When the star sheet is full they get to buy one small present. (usually about 1 time every three months).
2. Teaching the kids that possessions need to be cared for and if it breaks you either fix it or do without.
3. Teaching values and honest money talk when the kids get older. I want to teach them about the time value of money and the ability to save. I wish I had learned this better as a kid-either it wasn't taught or I didn't get it.
4. I want them to save for college as soon as they are old enough to understand it.
This is way more important as we are paying for private school here in Singapore and our ability to save for college for them is well... not very high.
It is about choice. I choose to travel and spend my money on life experience, so when I don't have the big house or even a car, I need to remind myself this was my choice. I don't need to have a 5000 square foot house to be happy, my 1600 SQF 3 bedroom apartment should be enough.
Anyway, just some thoughts on consumerism today.
Now, the goal is to get to the grocery store and back today without buying more than just bacon and dried apricots.
Tuesday, September 26, 2006
I blew it :-(
I went shopping yesterday. I bought things I didn't need and frankly really didn't want. I had to get a new fan for the office. Living in Singapore is great, but it is hot. I try to spend the bulk of the day in my office without Aircon. But, I do need a fan. The old one (which was super cheap) lasted about 1.5 years longer than the 6 month warranty so I feel ok with that-but it wouldn't even turn on anymore. I also needed to get Declan a bigger backpack for school. That kinda ticked me off cause we got him a backpack just this summer that is still in great condition, but it is too small for his school books. Anyway, so I went to the store, and I got those.
Then, I went to my friend's store, the local scrapbook store in town. They have just opened up in thier new space, and it is all bright and shiney and flashy and I walked out with stuff I don't need. I have a scrapbook room filled with stuff I need to use, but when I see new stuff, I feel the need to buy it. Generally I just don't go down to the store very often, just to avoid tempation, but it was the grand opening you know-
Finally, I got a gelato. I spent 3 dollars on it and I took 2 bites. I realized I really didn't want it, it really wasn't that good and my butt is too big... so I trashed it. Bad waste of $ good health choice I think. So, I guess it is all about challenge eh?
Then, I went to my friend's store, the local scrapbook store in town. They have just opened up in thier new space, and it is all bright and shiney and flashy and I walked out with stuff I don't need. I have a scrapbook room filled with stuff I need to use, but when I see new stuff, I feel the need to buy it. Generally I just don't go down to the store very often, just to avoid tempation, but it was the grand opening you know-
Finally, I got a gelato. I spent 3 dollars on it and I took 2 bites. I realized I really didn't want it, it really wasn't that good and my butt is too big... so I trashed it. Bad waste of $ good health choice I think. So, I guess it is all about challenge eh?
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