Avatar and Deep Ecology

Sara and I finally succumbed to the ranting and raving and checked out “Avatar” over the weekend. I have a natural pre-disposition to sci-fi-esque movies, so I went in there biased. But what I left there thinking was more than skin deep.

While the story is somewhat predictable, any let down in plot was offset by the amazing quality of the production. Accolades abound and it will surely set the bar even higher for Hollywood. Clearly, that is part of the draw – and its reaping of over one billion dollars world-wide so far.

I agree with the critics that there is significant commentary on many fronts – political, social, environmental. But I see nothing wrong with that. Allowing creative expression – regardless of the muse – to be a vehicle for social commentary is nothing new. It’s healthy and needed.

So what does Avatar have to do with this humble little blog?

The film caused me to remember some research I had done years ago on the topic of ‘deep ecology’. A Google search will turn up more pages than you can shake a stick at. In a nutshell though, the deep ecology philosophy is one that places human kind on equal footing with the rest of the ecosphere. We are not above the environment or anything that calls it home (an anthropocentric view) but just another thread in the fabric of life. As such, the exploitation of nature for the gain of humankind is a fatal error that will lead to eventual demise.

Deep ecology sets forth eight basic principles around which the philosophy/movement is grounded*:

1. The well-being and flourishing of human and nonhuman life on Earth have value in themselves (synonyms: intrinsic value, inherent value). These values are independent of the usefulness of the nonhuman world for human purposes.
2. Richness and diversity of life forms contribute to the realization of these values and are also values in themselves.
3. Humans have no right to reduce this richness and diversity except to satisfy vital human needs.
4. The flourishing of human life and cultures is compatible with a substantial decrease of the human population. The flourishing of nonhuman life requires such a decrease.
5. Present human interference with the nonhuman world is excessive, and the situation is rapidly worsening.
6. Policies must therefore be changed. These policies affect basic economic, technological, and ideological structures. The resulting state of affairs will be deeply different from the present.
7. The ideological change is mainly that of appreciating life quality (dwelling in situations of inherent value) rather than adhering to an increasingly higher standard of living. There will be a profound awareness of the difference between big and great.
8. Those who subscribe to the foregoing points have an obligation directly or indirectly to try to implement the necessary changes.

Such a platform challenges most modern (in particular, Western) thought, living, religious belief, and supposed strategies and tactics for economic “progress”. 

This equality, balance, and interdependence within the ecosphere is nothing new, however. Native peoples have ascribed to it for millenia (clearly, the inspiration for James Cameron's Na'vi people). The Buddhist concept of ‘interbeing’, often espoused by famed monk, author, and peace activist Thich Nhat Hanh, also points us towards such a view. But alas, Western culture marches to the beat of a different, more ego-centric drum.

Of course, deep ecology has its critics and detractors. But at the end of the day, the details of who’s really ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ doesn’t matter. What’s important is the dialogue that surrounds it. Because no matter how you look at it, there is no way humans can keep on multiplying and consuming at the pace we’re at and not tap this proverbial well dry. My opinion is that we’ll start to see the beginning of this unraveling in my lifetime; our kids and grandkids – that’s a whole different story.

Man, the scope of all of this hurts my head. Where do we go from here? Maybe Hollywood can help. ;-)

Some additional resources for deep ecology:
Wikipedia
Foundation for Deep Ecology
“Introduction to Deep Ecology”, Context Institute


* Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deep_ecology#Principles 

Seeking Clarity and Direction

Mid-August already. So much going on that it’s tough to find the time for writing. Just like most of you, it’s a constant juggling of responsibilities and priorities. What has taken a backseat is clear though: My chutzpah for being Mr. Green.

We still do all those things that we’ve done in the past – your basic to-do list for sustainable living: limiting consumption, the Three R’s, composting, growing some of our own food, frequenting locally-owned businesses, etc. This manner of living has become the norm. When is enough enough? How are you to do more in your own day-to-day? Especially when you are confined by the reality of finances, budgets, free time, and sapped motivation?

I’m at a crossroads: Not sure what to do with this ‘passion’ for being green, for this blog, for all of it. Taking a step back, it’s clear that right now with three young children my priority (and free time) is with my family, where it should be. There are many things happening in town that are slowly pushing the sustainability agenda – some I’m aware of, some I am not. I’m OK with that. When I started this blog, there was little coverage of ‘green’ things, no opportunity for a conversation. Now, not a week goes by when even the (real) local media is not covering a story related to local food, renewable energy, etc. This is good progress.

I want to do so many things – big and small – that they get in the way of each other, stalling progress on every front. Perhaps you’re familiar with that feeling? As Sara likes to tell me, “You need to uni-task!” (the arch nemesis of multi-tasking).

What else is clear is that I need the proverbial shot in the arm to kick-start things. Mostly likely this will take the form of a career change or new job; something to sink my teeth into during most of my waking hours. The perfect scenario will be finding something in the for-profit green sector – marrying my strong business background with this personal passion of mine. Maybe I’ll start to blog about my trials and tribulations of trying to find that perfect white-meets-green-collar experience? Or maybe it's just as simple as a paid writing gig on the side?

This post is a bit more personal than I like to get. But it's done in the spirit of sharing. We've all been in this sandbox before, trying to figure out what to play with next. Here's to a virtual camaraderie. Be well.

Nature Makes You Smarter

Yet another reason to protect open space. Courtesy of The Takeaway.

I don't think we needed a scientific study to tell us this, but whatever helps makes the case.

Preoccupations

Again, almost a month since the last post. But alas, things have been busy. Last week, I wrapped up school for the summer, finally allowing me some free time to tackle that long to-do list, including catching up on the blog.

There are so many things to write about and I hope to bring them to you in the coming weeks. I’d also plan on reorganizing the site to better present the wealth of resources available to us in our efforts to become more sustainable. Stay tuned.

In the meantime – and in the spirit of Independence Day – I wanted to share a bit of our own attempts at small-scale food independence, a.k.a, the home gardens. This is the first year where we’ve gone all out. The pictures show our collection of raised beds where we’re growing peas, pole beans, eggplant, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, three varieties of tomatoes, zukes, cukes, summer and pattypan squashes, and finally some silverqueen corn. We’ve already harvested spinach, lettuce, and mesclun.

By the fence we put in blueberry bushes and raspberry vines. And on the far side by the stonewall is an attempt at a pumpkin patch for the kids. We’ll see how the latter turn out, as it doesn’t get a full day’s worth of sun. We still have a Concord Grape vine and some rhubarb to plant.

To me, it’s all an experiment. Trying to see what works and what doesn’t. I have a notebook filled with observations and thoughts about how to approach things differently next year. But the prospect of next year’s bounty is only one of the reasons why we’re having so much fun with this. There’s the fact that the kids are getting their hands dirty and looking forward to helping pick what’s ripe. And don’t forget that feeling of walking out your door and walking back with the makings of a fine salad. It just doesn’t get any more local than that.

Casually, I’ve observed more gardens this year – big and small. Maybe it’s nostalgia, maybe it’s high food prices, maybe it’s a yearning for some greater level of self-sufficiency. The gardening bug is definitely contagious. The more people I talk to about what we’re doing, the more I hear the refrain, “Hey, I want to give that a shot.” We’ve even given some extra tomato plants away as gifts. There is nothing more satisfying than sharing the bounty-to-be.

Here is to the long days of summer and the little bit of goodness that comes from a seed, a clump of compost, the quenching rain, and warm rays of sunshine. It’s a true recipe for slowing down and enjoying a bit of happiness close to home.

Change Agents

Why does one person feel compelled to do their part to lessen their footprint while another does not? The answer represents something of a holy grail to the environmental movement as a whole (myself included). The developing field of “conservation psychology” is devoted to it exclusively. Trying to get others to change their behavior – whether the dynamic is parent/child, boss/subordinate, teacher/student, or peer/peer – is a fascinating process all around (to me anyway).

“Change agent” is a popular term nowadays in the world of corporate-speak. It describes someone who is leading the charge to literally change behavior whether it is at the team, division, company, or industry level. Most often, the change is necessary – the result of some sort of burning platform – with the end result leading to significant improvements in performance.

For our topic of interest, I like to think of the change agent as a thing and not necessarily a person (unless you’re Al Gore, of course). That “thing” is slightly different for each person with the resulting change in behavior varying in intensity. You have your “light greens” installing a CFL bulb or using a reusable bag to your “deep greens” who are taking a hard look at how to fundamentally alter every aspect of their day-to-day.

The following stories offer some insight into these different drivers of change and the resulting shades of green:


• Kill-Two-Birds-With-One-Stone Green – “Atlanta Family Slashes Carbon Footprint” (NPR)

• Mainstream Green – “Shopping to (literally) help save the world” (MSNBC)

• Armageddon Green – “Energy fears looming, new survivalists prepare” (AP/Yahoo)


I like to think that here in Sakonnet our change agents are the patches of woods, the little streams, the beaches, the ponds, the neighborhoods, the farms, the conservation land, and all those other elements of our local environment that make our home so special.

So, what gets your green motor running? What shade are you?

Sakonnet Voices: KELLY KITTEL

Happy Earth Day. This just sounds funny to me. With everything going on around us, I no longer think “Earth Day” is just a day anymore. Green is everywhere. News, TV, radio, big government, small government, schools, kitchen tables, and everywhere in-between. While more reactive than proactive at this point, we are still witnessing the changing of an ethic all around us.

Kelly Kittel, co-founder of Step It Up Aquidneck Island, captures this nicely:

Earth Day is Tuesday, April 22, and I am wondering if we could all pause for a moment to think about this silently spinning orb we call home. Every day is Earth Day for the residents of this planet, all 6.6 billion of us, a staggering number and one that is taxing the carrying capacity of our planet in many ways. Have you thought much about it? Have you thought about the footprint you are leaving? How do you think our planet is doing, overall? Are we taking good care of it? I think the evidence is all around us that we have not been very good stewards. We have major issues facing us like global warming, resource exhaustion, endangered species, crop failure, and lack of clean drinking water to name a few. I keep looking and listening for the good news and am not hearing much in return. So, fellow earthlings, time to wake up and do some house cleaning.

There are many simple things we can do to help the planet and ourselves. Let’s start by making this island we inhabit 100% compact fluorescent. We can encourage our towns to change the traffic lights to LED which last for years instead of months. Look around your house. Have you had a home energy audit? Time to check that off the list. With heating oil prices rising every month none of us can afford to heat the outside. Take inventory of how many things you have plugged into the wall and try to eliminate one or two. Can you live without that hand lotion warmer? nd what is your room temperature? Could you put on another layer and lower the thermostat or open the windows and let the breeze blow through in the summer instead of shutting yourself inside with your air conditioner? How about your appliances? Are they all energy star rated?

Look around you. Is there a sunny spot in your yard where you could grow a tomato or some strawberries? Gardening is a wonderful activity to teach your kids and for your wallet, health and soul! Do you have a place to put a clothesline? The dryer is not only one of the biggest energy users in your house, all that lint you throw away is actually bits of your clothes wearing out. Do you really have a pest problem and is your lawn really not green enough or could you live without adding those chemicals to your house and lawn and, ultimately, the ocean. Are you doing as much as you can to reduce the waste you create, reuse what you can, and recycle what you can not? How much time do you spend outside listening to the birds and observing nature? The average American spends 20 minutes a day, including time spent in a car! Do the kids go out and play? Do you?

These are just some of the many things we can do to become better stewards of our home, the planet Earth. There isn’t another one we can move to when we’ve finished with this one. Remember, we did not inherit the Earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children. What legacy are you leaving?

Event Notice: Greening Your Congregation

Going green for God. The RI chapter of Interfaith Power & Light is hosting it's first annual "Greening Your Congregation" conference at Bishop Hendricken High School in Warwick. Details:

January 10, 2008, 7 pm - 9:30 pm
Bishop Hendricken High School
2615 Warwick Ave, Warwick, RI

According to the organizers, this is the "first interfaith conference on developing a religious community response to Climate Change in Rhode Island." Clergy, lay leaders, parents, educators, business people and other interested individuals are invited to participate. Speaker and workshop details here.

Mindfulness

The need to act today for the benefit of tomorrow is not a hard concept to grasp. Still, the imperative continues to elude a great number of us.

Many, many people write about it; argue the potential consequences; implore us to act. Why isn’t the message hitting home? Perhaps the approach is missing the mark. Maybe we’re looking at the problem the wrong way.

I recently came upon this quote from Thich Nhat Hanh, the Vietnamese Buddhist monk, poet, scholar, promoter of inter-faith dialogue, and Nobel Peace Prize nominee, while at tricycle.com. I've read several of Thay's books and have a great respect for him.

With All Our Heart
By Thich Nhat Hanh, "Our Appointment with Life"

When we throw a banana peel into the garbage, if we are mindful, we know that the peel will become compost and be reborn as a tomato or a lettuce salad in just a few months. But when we throw a plastic bag into the garbage, thanks to our awareness, we know that a plastic bag will not become a tomato or a salad very quickly. Some kinds of garbage need four or five hundred years to decompose. Nuclear waste needs a quarter of a million years before it stops being harmful and returns to the soil. Living in the present moment in an awakened way, looking after the present moment with all our heart, we will not do things which destroy the future. That is the most concrete way to do what is constructive for the future. 


Being truly mindful of the present moment. Clarity. Deep understanding. How many of us are there? How many of us are truly awake?

Rethinking the Land of Plenty

It’s the Fourth of July. Quite an apropos time to pause and ponder just what it means to live here in the land of plenty. The moniker itself brings on glorious visions of a bottomless pot of proverbial gold; resources to last a lifetime; a to-hell-with-Reduce-Reuse-Recycle mentality. Do you remember that bumper sticker, “He who dies with the most toys wins?” (Insert overt gagging sound effect here.)

What function does consumption – both our own and society’s collective – have to do with living a more sustainable lifestyle? If we do chose to buy more, does buying "green" make it any better? What impact does the stuff we buy have on the environment? What is a better means to a greener end – personal purchase decisions or broader policy or legislative initiatives (that just can’t seem to get much momentum)?

That’s the premise of a great article that recently appeared in the New York Times online edition. "Buying Into the Green Movement" gives a somewhat humorous at times, thought-provoking presentation of how far being eco-chic can get us. Not very far is the general conclusion.

To an extent, I agree. Think about it. From a socio-economic point of view, the reality is that most of us –whether here in Sakonnet or globally for that matter – just can’t afford to travel down the road of $250 organic jeans, pricey hybrid vehicles, or that $1000 reclaimed shipyard wood coffee table from the Sundance catalog to lessen our environmental footprint. Just no way, no how.

Lessening unnecessary consumption is a topic that could easily go beyond the scope of this blog. But at its core, there is merit to it. Let’s face it, we’ve become a society that equates quantity of stuff with quality of life – no matter the financial or environmental cost. Few people stop to think about all the resources (materials, energy, transportation) that go into making "X" or "Y". We’re desensitized to the true cost of things. Sooner or later, that’s going to come back to bite us.

Call it old fashioned, but it makes me yearn for yesteryear where a community pooled its resources and shared it amongst it citizens. Maybe it’s commune-like thinking, but why couldn’t we pull together a Community Free-cycle center, where instead of throwing that old chair away, we could try to give it a new lease of life. (Envision a local Free Market RI.) Or a Community Tool Center? Come on, do we all need six different shovels, two sizes of hedge trimmers, and I’m-only going-to-use-it-once-but-I-need-buy-it specialized tool that only the contractors have use for?

That’s my take. What’s yours? Is lessening consumption the yellow brick road we need to take to get to the new eco-emerald city? How could we foster that here in Sakonnet?

What's Your Idea?

Let’s start this conversation off on the right foot. Demographically speaking, the communities of Tiverton and Little Compton make up a decent sized footprint in this state. Consider this equation:

50.3 square miles of land + 18,853 residents + 7,552 households = The Potential for Many Good Ideas

So what’s that green idea you’ve been mulling around with for a while? Want to share and get some feedback? If you haven’t thought about it of late, here are a few to jumpstart your juices:

• Outfitting public buildings with renewable energy and energy conservation devices (Inspiration: Check out the headquarters of Rhode Island’s own Peoples Power & Light at www.17gordonavenue.com)

• Connecting our local farms with local schools to develop new curricula, appreciation for local food, and maybe even a more healthy school lunch program (Inspiration: Check out what local food advocate Alice Waters has created in Berkeley, CA, at www.edibleschoolyard.org)

• Creating a new public education forum to connect citizens and learn about how to live a more sustainable lifestyle (Inspiration: Check out the breadth of events being sponsored just across the border in Newton, MA, at www.greendecade.org/events.html)

• Supporting local business with our own municipal currency. (Inspiration: Forget Monopoly money, the real thing is happening in the Berkshire region of Massachusetts. Check out www.berkshares.org)

So ask your friends, ask your children, ask your neighbor. Then post a comment or email it to sustainablesakonnet@yahoo.com. We’ll share the results and see where it leads us.

Welcome to Sustainable Sakonnet

“You must be the change you wish to see in the world.”

And with those words of Mahatma Gandhi, Sustainable Sakonnet is born.

Why? Well in a nutshell, it’s time. Time to stop thinking about doing something about the problem and griping about the lack of progress and start taking action. “Think global, act local” is cliché, but it’s at the heart of how we as a community of concerned citizens will shape the future of our efforts here in the Sakonnet area. Think of it as the release of Sakonnet 2.0.

If you’re reading this, you have taken the first step. Maybe you know all about environmental sustainability, maybe you’re interested in learning more about how to do your part. Maybe you’re of the same inclination as myself and want to do something to help. To all, welcome. It’s my hope that this blog can all be the first step for our community as we journey towards lessening our impact on this corner of the world; that we can create a new community-based dialogue and bring people together to learn, inspire, and most importantly, act.

The seeds are being sown: Organic farms and community supported agriculture (CSA) programs, a wind turbine (across the river, but it still counts), newly evolved town planning strategies, land trusts, and renewed recycling efforts. Then there are individual efforts such as those to improve recreation and transportation with a new bike path; to bring together the worlds of art and recycling in our schools; plant tress and gardens; and build greener buildings. And kudos to those small businesses that are doing their part too to keep things local and create an ever-expanding local economy.

The time has come to connect these seeds of sustainability and cultivate even more. While the greater challenge of global sustainability seems daunting, it’s all about what simple steps we as individuals take here at home that creates a change for the better. So here’s what we’ll do on Sustainable Sakonnet:

• Talk about town activities regarding sustainability and what we can do to shape them
• Highlight other communities being successful and inspire new ideas in our own
• Give practical and simple advice for how each and every one of us can do a little bit to help
• Create an ongoing dialogue between all of us, foster new networking opportunities, and bring like-minded people together

I’m inspired by those words of Gandhi. I hope you are too. Here’s to a greener future for ourselves and generations to come.