7 un-shopping days left

fact: americans throw away 25 percent more trash between thanksgiving and christmas than during any other time of year which is an additional million tons of garbage per week!

so you can call me ho ho humbug, but i am again going the anti-consumer route for the holidays. i am over the stresses of traveling at this time of year, of running around malls, of swimming in miles of to-do lists and sales hype not to mention debt. i prefer to slow down and sip my vegan egg-nog while grasping onto the bits of sanity that i have left.

last year i celebrated christmas in the beautiful redrocks of nevada which was far more nurturing than being in a congested airport or a spiritless mall. this year i will be staying warm in el lay. i am not planning to buy any presents except for a copy of an inconvenient truth for my parents. the presents that i am making for my closest loved ones are personalized and straight from the heart. they will arrive wrapped in used magazines and newspapers.

for those of you looking to put more meaning into your holidays, treehugger has put together an extensive green gift guide. i also recommend the holiday survival guide from the center for a new american dream. if you are traveling to loved ones, consider offsetting your flight through conservation international.

the dunn county news published these questions to ask yourself as a conscious consumer at the holidays, and year-round (via the worsted witch)

• Where was this product made? What alternatives might there be locally?

• Is this really something the receiver needs or is it just something to give and forget?

• What impact did the production of this product have on the environment? Look back at the sustainable principles. Were fossil fuels wasted in production or distribution? Were people taken advantage of to produce this product, as in third-world countries? Is this product a result of environmentally sustainable practices or is it something that will never decompose or be recycled or repaired?

• Who is reaping the benefit of the sale of this product … a multi-national corporation or a worker receiving fair compensation and the ability to earn a living?

• How far did this product have to travel to make it to your doorstep? What were the energy costs in getting it to you?

The article ends with something many of us can appreciate: “The most sustainable gift of all is to give of ourselves. Make time to be with those you care about, and make time for those who may be alone. Volunteer locally. Create coupons for time to spend together. These are the best, least expensive, and most sustainable items possible.”

word.

buy nothing day today

i was in san francisco last year for the annual buy nothing day (always held the day after thanksgiving on what is known as the biggest shopping day of the year). malou and i took part in my friend rene's performance piece downtown right in front of the gap. here are photos from that day and below is a letter from adbuster's bnd campaign. and if you are wondering what on earth else there is to do besides shopping today, treehugger has put together this handy bnd list.

*******************************************************************

Dear Jammers and Cultural Creatives,

This year's Buy Nothing Day has a special poignancy. Never before have
our emerging environmental crises been planted so firmly on the lips of
the policymakers and the general public. Rather than screaming from the
fringes, high-profile economists and scientists are sounding the
warnings in respected journals and the halls of parliament -- warnings
that our oceans are dying, that the ice shelves are melting, and that we
are setting ourselves up for the most massive and widest-ranging market
failure the world has ever seen.

All of this points to a profound need for a shift in the way we see
things. Recycling, protecting our waterways, driving hybrid cars -- all
the old environmental imperatives -- are great, but it's becoming
obvious that they don't address the core problem: we have to change our
lifestyles, we have to change our culture, and we have to consume
smarter and consume less.

This is the message of this year's Buy Nothing Day, and there are only a
few days left to get that message out onto the streets. From the quietly
sublime to the crazily anarchic, the ways in which you can mark BND are
only limited by the imperative not to spend. Strut your stuff as if the
fate of whole planet is resting in your hands, because even if each of
us only does one small things to contribute, 96, 847 small things sure
add up!

At the BND campaign headquarters - that's www.adbusters.org/bnd -
we've already featured upcoming actions in Japan, the UK, Canada, and
the USA, with more to come from all over the world, including Brazil,
Colombia, Denmark, Hungary, Spain and Sweden. You can also download
posters and other resources, as well as connect with activists in your
own little corner of the globe.

Remember: Make a scene. Make people laugh. Make them think. If you have
to, make them angry. Just get out there.

Cheers,
THE BUY NOTHING DAY TEAM


Shopping and consumption facts:
* Per capita consumption in the U.S. has risen 45 per cent in the last 20 years.
* Although people today are, on average, four-and-a-half times richer than our great-grandparents were at the turn of the century, Americans report feeling “significantly less well off” than in 1958.
* A recent article in New Scientist featured research suggesting that the more consumer goods you have the more you think you need to make you happy. Happiness through consumption is always out of reach (New Scientist, 4th October 2003, Vol.180, Issue 2415, p44. Available online after registering at www.newscientist.co.uk).

back! from outer space

sorry for the gap in posts...i've been up to my ears in moving and working the past days. i have been clearing out the non-moving energies in the process and have found myself with a pile of stuff to hand over to the donation gods...

i have to say though that i'm loving the new digs...and for good reasons...it's a co-op!! yay, i love co-operative living! i haven't been in one since n-street up north, so i was stoked to come across such a sweet situation here in el lay. whereas n street was a grouping of 16 individual houses that broke down their fences to form a community, my new co-op is a 10 bedroom house and each roommate has their own room. there's a large communal living space and big front and back yards with a food garden :) we also have 1 chicken, 1 duck, and 1 piglet. the house gets together on tuesday evenings for meals and meetings and i have a weekly chore to keep up on. aside from that, i get a great room in a sweet house and an amazing support network of 9 other fabulous and conscious roommates...yay!

i took a walk around the new hood thursday night to check out my neighbors and get a bite to eat around the corner. on my way back home, low and behold, i ran into something that i have dreaded being sent to: reform school. i was relieved to discover that this reform school is a crafty little shop with a focus on indie artists who "reuse creatively." it's full of sustainable goodies. here you can find local art, recycled pencils and sketchbooks, re-used skateboard purses, and their children's section is a-dor-a-ble! the woman working told me that they had just opened the store about a month ago, so we welcomed each other into the neighborhood, and i assured her that i would be back to see them soon...and you should too!!

get edumacated at reform school:
4014 santa monica blvd. (@ sunset blvd. in silverLake)
los angeles, ca 90029
(323)906-8660

hump day news

"if everyone around the world lived as those in america, we would need five planets to support us" wwf warns that at this rate, earth's resources gone by 2050. (via bbc)

el lay beach water tested dirtiest in the state...still

el lay eco-warriors, pasadena-based path to freedom have a lot to teach the homesteaders of the world. check them out on treehugger tv as they describe their path to urban sustainability...a "homegrown revolution ... using their hands as weapons of mass creation."

the 8th international permaculture conference set for san paolo, brazil may 2007. any one else want to go and check out curitiba along the way?