Vicarious Happiness

Today, I pulled some siteplans off the web for inspiration and sat down with my colored pencils and started to sketch out my ideal community. It included lots of green and blue not so much tan, peach and gray. In other words, lots of open space and water features and not so many buildings and paved surfaces. There was a garden large enough to feed 35 people--my maximum human count for an eco community where you know everyone, rather than just nod at them from a distance--a safe level of intimacy without overcrowding. My design has a common house, a large vegetable garden, citrus orchards, two herb gardens, a water tower, small barn with chicken coop and a bee keeping area. There are enough buildings to house 12 families, from 2 to 4 people each (roughly 35 people). Half of these homes are over store fronts, so that the community has an external revenue source and central access to basic sundries. I imagine pods of such communities connected together, each specializing in production of one or two items that neighboring communities would like to purchase or trade. "How many acres?" you might ask. "What is the average square feet of the homes?" I have no idea. I'm not a landplanner. In fact, I don't even have the landscape in which to lay my plans. But like the Beatles "I've got a driver, and that's a start", its in my imagination, and in my coloring book, and that's worth something.

Speaking of worth something and ideal community, two dear friends just purchased a home in Maine. One sibling and his partner will live upstairs and the couple with their baby will live downstairs--a tiny community of sorts. Both couples are so loving and great, that I am overjoyed for them! The two story home the size of a medium mansion in Santa Barbara is a mere $199,000 in Maine. Why am I still here? Oh yeah. The beach, the people, the ecological mindedness of so many residents. I digress. It feels so good to be happy for my friends! I can't say that I always revel in my friend's accomplishments. I'd like to claim to be so selfless, but its not always the case. I wonder what makes it easy to appreciate some people's successes and not others? It must be the dynamic of each relationship. Here's to experiencing happiness in everyone else's accomplishments.

Elizabeth Kolbert & my Friends

I arrived at the lecture excited to hear an author speak about a book that I had actually read in time. The book in question, Field Notes from a Catastrophe by Elizabeth Kolbert, was not a light work of fiction, but a thoroughly researched presentation of studies across the planet stongly indicating human caused climate change--a grave topic. Yet as I located my seat saving poet friend in her bright neon cycling jacket, a little wave of excitement went through me like what you experience when meeting up with friends for a party, or a much anticipated film. Big Bill was there, Dan the Man, the great Earl of SB, I'm not one to George and many others. It was down right festive--especially because this cross section of friends all have concerns about global warming and do things like ride their bikes, buy bio diesel vehicles, grow vegetable gardens, host Moveon.org parties and write letters to congress.

By the end of the evening, the small group of 800 attendees probably felt little party in the atmosphere. When asked what we should do to stop global warming, Kolbert indicated it may already be too late, but to really address the issue, we could start by not just reducing our use of automobiles, but by ceasing driving altogether! Plus, we'd need to cut our energy consumption by 80 percent. She admittedly left this opinion out of the book, as she knew the alarmist sound of such statements would ensure sluggish sales. So basically, we're all scorpions on the back of that frog crossing the river--we want to change, but its just not in our nature to let go of our energy consumption patterns--and like that scorpion who stings the frog, leading to its own death, we too are on that path.

Boy I hope the next lecturer at UCSB has some fresh, optimistic ideas!

But of course, I actually am one to believe there is always hope. How else could I have had a child in this day and age?

I'll

Favorite Quote of The

My favorite quote this particular time period between blog entries is from George:

". . . Classy Fred Blassie, who seems to have been the Dick Cheney of wrestling--he even was rumored to have filed his incisors down to points (in Cheney's case, that makes it easier to eat puppies)."

No I already knew I didn't like Dick Cheney, but now that I've learned that he is also a puppy eater, my disdain has deepened!

I hope to have favorite quotes on a weekly basis, but of course, that would mean I have to actually make an entry every week, and perhaps even more often than that, so my blog isn't just about other's thoughts.

A week without the Internet

Moving to a new place can present its challenges, but technology dependency has raised the bar in challenge impact. For instance, our new home is located next to a large hill, and although this hill is beautifully covered in untamed vegetation that is relaxing to gaze upon from our back yard, we have terrible cell phone reception! So, since we're of the ilk that abandoned the land line in favor of having low doses of RF* beamed at our heads on a daily basis, I now miss most of my phone calls. In addition, we took our time transferring our cable internet connection from old abode to new--thus another level of technological isolation! How am I to know what my friends are doing, blogging, thinking, reading? I can't call, I can't e, I've lost any intuitive abilities, such as those ascribed to the aboriginals in Mutant Message (of course this happened long before cell phones and internet), and to top it all off, the LA times didn't get my change of address notification because I forgot and I couldn't get online, and . . .

It was really terrible. I had to read books, play with by baby more, unpack my boxes uninterrupted by my life as I know it, and life as it is filtered to me through media. Hmmm . . . perhaps I enjoyed this low tech experience.

*RF, Radio Frequency. Exposure limits are set by the FCC for cell phones, using a measurement called a Specific Absorption Rate, or SAR, which measure sthe rate of absoprtion of RF energy by the human body expressed in units of watts per kilogram. The safety limit for a human is 1.6 watts per kilogram. I wonder how many kilograms my baby weighs and what is his SAR of RF. Perhaps its a good thing our new home has poor reception.

Signing Off.

12 year old inspiration

Being in the 30 something stage of life with just an infant to my name, I don't have many opportunities to interact with junior highers. Tuesday evening we invited the next door neighbors over for dinner, consisting of a 40 something mom and a 12 year old daughter. We talked about dance trophies, Universal Studios, babies, seeing as we have one, food, school, swimming, spring break and movies. The evening was going along as predicted until the 12 year old (who I'll just call Danielle for the sake of not having to write the 12 year old another hundred times) said she liked writing and public speaking, and wanted to do a report on something important. In the back of my mind, my "important" topics starting lining up and waving their arms--global warming, pulling out of Iraq, reintroducing morality into our culture. I bit my tongue to see what was important to a 12 year old.

"You're really into the environment," her mom said. It was like a dream come true! Danielle's face lit up and she said, "Yes! That would be perfect. I'm really into global warming. We're melting all the ice caps and destroying our planet. Its not a choice. We have to change." Okay, those aren't her exact words, but that sums up her opinion.

I jumped into action. I grabbed "Field Notes froma Catastrophe; Man, Nature and Climate Change" by Elizabeth Kolbert.
"This book is all about global warming, and its explained in a way that really makes sense. You could totally use this for a report and its available at the library."
"Cool!" She said.
"It's a Santa Barbara reads selection, and the author will be speaking at UCSB at Campbell Hall on April 19th. Its a free lecture."
"Awesome!" She said. Danielle is a pretty girl, dance muscles emerging beneath baby fat. A perfect smile, bright blue eyes, blonde hair and a constellation of freckles across her nose and cheeks. Her enthusiasm about any topic is catching. The date rang a bell for her.
"I think I have a dance competition that day.What time does it start?"
"I believe it starts at 8pm." I said.
"I could probably do that."
That's something I'd forgotten about being 12--a schedule that makes most CEOs appear as indigent bums in their comparative lack of activity.

Before the neighbors left, I'd written down a book title, loaned them a DVD of Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth" and introduced them to the book "World Changing; a User's Guide for the 21st Century."
I wonder if it was too much when I put a flyer on their door the next day, like a Dominoes pizza ad, about the environmental talks scheduled in April in honor of Earth Day. They did say hello enthusiastically the next time I saw them, and I hoped that grin on her face was one of hope for the future, rather than a smile of sympathy for the 30 something over enthusiastic environmentalist--if I even deserve such a title.

Fair Trade link update

My last link to the UK fair trade page didn't work--you know, the one I got from the Co-op America article. So I'm not sure if this is the same site, but sure sounds like it:
http://www.fairtrade.org.uk/

First US Fair Trade Town

For a pint, who can tell me the name of the first U.S. Fair Trade Town? Is it A) Deluth, Minnesota B) Media, Pennsylvania C) Ithica, New York or D) Bakersfield, California?

You guessed it, Bakersfield! Okay. Just kidding. According to Co-Op America's Fall 2006 newsletter (yes I'm just reading it now!), Media,Pennsylvania became the first "Fair Trade town" in the U.S. What does it take to become a fair trade town? Britain has a Fairtrade Foundation that sets the guidelines, which Media, PA modeled to declare such status;

Here's the basics:
Town/city council promises to serve Fair Trade products at meetings and functions
set mandates for a percentage of media retailers and institutions to sell and use FT products
Encourage support and media coverage of FT
Create a steering committee to keep it going on!

Europe is a ways ahead of us, but I bet we could catch up if we made it sexy to be a FT town. Can you imagine Fair Trade Hollywood? How about Fair Trade Flint, Michigan? For the full scoop on Britain's guidelines, check out www.fairtradefoundation.org.uk

That's what guys night out does for a woman. At least in my town. At least on this night!