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Will We Solve the Climate Crisis? If so, How?

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(@bright-opal)
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Topic starter  

I think we are going to survive Climate Change if we all do our part at home and in our immediate community.  By sharing the knowledge, by sharing tips and trick, this will go a long way.  And when we are facing a brick wall (like I do in my family), leading by example.   

I watched someone on YouTube who said saving the environment begins at home.  I believe it has been said here many times as well.  Everything she said made so much sense.  We are looking for big things to do to make a big immediate impact on the environment.  However, if we don't change our own way of life at home, it won’t be enough.  Just recycling is not enough, we all see what is happening with “recycling plastic”.  So, what can we do?

I’m starting this thread in the hopes that we can share the knowledge, tips, hacks on how to make the little changes we need to make in our daily lives so we can save the planet.  This has very little to do with psychic abilities, but I feel we can reach many people and help each other.

From buying local food to wearing cotton, from cooking our food from scratch to making our cleaning supplies, from recycling to upcycling.  Let’s face it, our grand-parents and great-grand-parents had some ways of doing things that were much better for the planet than what we are doing (although the reverse is also true).  However, our realities have changed greatly, we have a culture of the rate race: commute – work – sleep and repeat.  Unless we are retired, and even then, we are busy with too many things to do the simplest things.  So how can we make it work?

There is a wealth of knowledge in this forum.  Could we share our wisdom?  Keeping in mind no suggestion is too simple.  I had a “duh!” moment when listening to someone who said that when she has left over, instead of using saran wrap to cover the food in the plate, she put a bowl on top of it.  It is something incredibly simple, yet I kept wracking my brain on how to keep left over!  Or there is a lady making a fabric covers for pots and pans resembling shower cap.  Someone else is making watering tools with plastic bottles.  I’m showing my brother how much money can be saved in re-using useless plastic containers in the hopes of maybe one day convincing him that we have an impact on climate change. 

There are very simple things we can do but we sometimes don’t think of them. What do you think?


   
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(@jeanne-mayell)
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@bright-opal. Thank you for starting this thread!  

Our situation is like the last eight minutes of a major league sports game.  My husband likes to just watch those last minutes because he says it all happens then.

With the climate, it can all come down to what humans do during the final years that we have left to make a change. 

That's because the climate and all natural systems, including human activism and politics, evolve exponentially.  

Exponential growth means that the growth of something is invisible to us until the last minute, when it explodes. Like bacteria. 

Exponential growth is why knowledgeable people are so terrified about the global warming figures. They've known that what we are seeing now is mild compared to what is coming, and that by the time the planet becomes so hot and storms so monstrous that everyone realizes it is really warming, then it will be too late to avoid a catastrophe. If you don't understand exponential growth, then you can read about it here .

Okay so now I've scared you even more than you were before. Sorry but, yes, the situation is grim.

However, there is real hope. There is hope because innovation and climate activism are also growing exponentially. Also, youth activism, scientific activism, diversity, tolerance, the rise of women and progressive politics are all growing exponentially right now, although mostly below the surface.  Ten years ago, kids were largely apolitical.  I was dismayed at how indifferent GenX seemed when they were in high school.  But Friday millions of children marched all over the world.  

Also growing exponentially are the number of people and hours spent working to solve the climate problem.Meanwhile the climate deniers and the corporate forces driving climate denial are aging and dying out. 

Who will win?  The deniers are going to fade because even though their tactics are becoming more lawless, their numbers are not growing and they are aging and fading.  Charles Koch just died. Donald Trump looks and sounds really unhealthy and can't hold power much longer.  Putin is acting more desperate. McConnell is also aging and facing greater opposition.

Now look at who is coming up into power.  The youth in this country are largely liberal.   AOC isn't even 30 and she's barely got started.   I can already feel a growing frustration in the Democratic Party for moderate democrats.  Biden may be ahead now, but remember exponential growth means that you can't see it until it's about to explode. I feel Warren will overtake him and be the front runner. 

In my life, I have always been a little bit ahead of trends, not way ahead, but I have always gotten into things before the majority.  Then the majority explodes and every one is doing it. I can tell when something is going to take off if I'm into it.

The explosion of climate activism is almost upon us.   The Republican Party will be weak and dying by the late 20's if not before. It will end as a party by 2030. There will be more factions of progressives, but I believe the Republican Party is on its last legs. 

Back to the stop theports games that are won in the last few minutes.  Often you can tell who is winning a game even when the scores don't show it. I could do it with soccer matches. In the same way, I can feel we are going to win the climate crisis.  Not perfectly. Not with out damage.  I feel (although I can't really know) that Greenland will completely melt and a large piece of Anarctica. Storms will be so great that people won't be able to travel as much as they do today.  And many will migrate to the opposite hemisphere each year to stay cool. People will find below ground ways to stay cool in summer and warm in winter. Many have already died from global warming and many more will die. But we will make huge advances to adapt and to find sustainable solutions. 

 

 

 


   
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(@bright-opal)
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Topic starter  

Jeanne, I totally agree with you.  And by working together, we will have greater success.  Which is why I thought of starting this thread, so that we can work together, in our own little corner of the world, and if everyone do that, less suffering will be felt, less harm will be done. 

As a parenthesis, as I was reading your note about Greenland and Antarctica, I saw a volcanoe in Antarctica getting ready to blow.  Is it a metaphor or the real thing? I don't know.  I also know that by 2025 the Arctic permafrost will be mostly if not completely gone.

So what do we do or how are we going to survive this?  I know we can, we are smart and ingenious.  The youth rising is absolutely amazing, inspiring.  I want my girls to live a healthy, happy, long life. 

I'm a GenXer, and until I met you I was not really conscious of what was happening around me.  I, along with many of my fellow GenXer, are like frogs in a pot of water, slowly being brought to ebullition.  Well, I am jumping out of the pot.  But here I am, standing beside that pot freezing, not knowing what to do.  What knowledge and wisdom would you have for someone like me?

I am about to embark on an adventure with indoor gardening... In a small apartment.  I don't have a green thumb, it is actually so brown it's turning black.  But I will make an attempt.  I want to do it without using growing lights which will be a challenge since I live in Canada.  I'm thinking of upcycling Cocktail Garden juice bottles to make flower pots and greenhouses.  Using egg cartons to start my seedling.  

I believe some of you are planting different tress to help the environment and extinctions of certain species, some being the monarch butterfly.  What other things are you doing to help in this endeavour?

 


   
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(@jeanne-mayell)
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Here is an idea from the original climate activist that could stop fossil fuel companies:

Bill McKibben (founder of 360.org) knows what is at stake, how the science works, and he has published last week this article in the New Yorker about just such a Hail Mary pass that he feels could save us. It involves pressuring Chase Bank (the world's largest bank) to stop funding fossil fuel company drilling projects.  Chase funds most of the drilling in this world. See Money is the Oxygen on Which the Fire of Global Warming Burns.  

McKibben was the one who started the divestiture movement.  He got colleges, socially responsible mutual funds, like Parnassus,  and financial people to stop buying stock in fossil fuel companies.  The response was effective and put some fossil fuel companies out of business.  He writes about it in the above article.

The New Yorker also published a story last week about a savant entrepreneur who has been using imaginative means to solve problems in Africa and who is also trying to use his imagination to solve the climate crisis. 


   
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(@herondreams)
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Thank you for starting this discussion. ❤️ 

While I certainly believe we should take what individual actions are possible for us, we also need to push for systemic change. Getting the big banks out of the oil business, as Jeanne posted about, would be huge. Showing up to rallies like on Friday and putting pressure on our representatives to act will keep the momentum to generate enough political will to see substantive change. See what changes are possible in your local communities and what actions are being taken. We can't wait to elect national representatives who will do it for us.

That said, in terms of personal responsibility, consuming less is a good start, and buying used items whenever possible. For our family it helps that we live in a small house (800-900 sqft), so we have less space to store things, and our energy costs are lower. We're also good about monitoring our use, turning lights off, etc. Most of our clothing is from thrift or consignment stores. It helps to frame living with less in a positive way, knowing what you need and don't need, and taking pleasure in making choices that do less harm. We also look for and consider what other steps we can work in. One thing at a time until it becomes normal and then try another is a more sustainable approach to change.

My husband has an electric vehicle that he got a great deal on used, and so he can commute to work without burning gas. My car is a Corolla, which is small and fairly efficient. We couldn't afford a Prius and needed one car with indefinite range. Our city has limited public transportation, or we'd use that more, but that's an example of a systemic change that would make ecological individual choices easier. 

Our agriculture system contributes to climate change, loss of insects and other wildlife, pollution of our water, and so much more. We need structural changes so that more people have the ability to source food from eco-friendly systems. Local, organic, etc. is expensive! We do what we can by limiting packaged foods. I buy what I can afford from local farmers, particularly meat. (I have celiac disease and other food sensitivities and my husband has Lyme disease and other issues, so a vegetarian diet doesn't work for us. We eat smaller portions of meat and avoid factory farmed products.) We compost and waste little because I run a tight ship with meal planning. I'm able to do this because I work part time. It really is a rat race: work long hours to afford a big house, big car, lots of stuff, etc. I'm also a GenXer but I identified with the hippies fairly young. The less "plugged in" I am to the mainstream world, the happier I am! 


   
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 Werd
(@werd)
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If they can build things like factories that actually suck the greenhouse gases out of the atmosphere even if sea levels rise to reverse global warming or if they could build a shield in space to block some of the suns heat or invent nuclear fusion power plants to help solve global warming that would be good.


   
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(@lovendures)
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@bright-opal

I love your question about what we are doing to help.  I have always done "some" things, am currently doing more and realize I need to do a lot more.   For me, it is realizing that it needs to be more than small steps.  Small steps were good but we need bigger ones now.  Unfortunately, I am still taking small steps to get to the bigger ones.

 

Thanks for giving me the chance to think about this.  

 

What I have been doing for many years

-80% of my personal care products have been natural for years. This includes face cleansing products, deodorant, toothpaste, shampoo make-up, lotions and so forth.  

-70% of my household cleaning products  have been natural.  I use vinegar and water for my tile floors and fridge, natural detergent , essential oils for freshening the air. 

I read food labels.  I try to buy organic when when at all possible.  It is healthier for the planet and for my body.  When I can't but organic, I look for non-GMO products. When choosing conventionally grown,  I look for locally grown produce  for the smallest carbon footprint.  I look for heirloom produce too so I can support small farms that try to use non corporate seeds and  more diverse and often healthier product and not a GMO.  

We have 3 citrus trees in our back yard which produce a lot of citrus.  I squeeze lemons in the spring and freeze the juice in ice cube trays to use throughout the year for lemonade and for cooking.  Our tangelos make great juice which can also be frozen.  

Where I have begun to make different changes recently

Going deeper.  My city recycles.  Still.  That seemed a bit odd to me because many of the cities near me have stopped.  So, today I actually called my city to confirm that the recycle items in the containers are actually being recycled and not burned or thrown in a landfill as other cities have begun doing.  According to the person I spoke to on the phone, we still are in fact recycling.  This is mostly good, though we all know this type of recycling is not really what ultimately needs to happen.  What we need to be doing is reducing waste to begin with.  That begin said, I have began to reuse some to the glass containers we use on a daily basis like juice and tea  bottles and some jars .  Some are very pretty.  I plan to paint some to  use as seasonal decorative vases and containers.  Some are  being reused currently as drinking glasses.  Some I am making in to gifts for the holiday season, some for craft projects for young children.  I still  use more than I can reuse and our city does not recycle glass so it is still a problem.  But I am conscious about what I am doing, for the most part.

We are resurrecting our vegetable garden.  I will let you know how that goes.  I do know that making it organic and not supporting GMO companies by buying their seeds and plants is a priority.  I will let you know how it goes.  We currently have chocolate mint (smells so good) and strawberries as well as some tomatoes.  I am cooking more meals from scratch.  This keeps food costs down and I have more control over what is in the food I am eating,   I try to support restaurants which are aware of where their food is sourced and serve "real" and "whole" food.  When I eat meat, I try first to buy grass fed beef and wild caught fish. I do have a budget so I look for sales and will often cook double the amount and freeze half for a later date. I am trying to support zero waste shops and businesses.  This is a small footstep which needs to increase on my end.  My daughter had great success finding many ways to do this when she lived in England and already I am beginning to notice changes here in my hometown.  Products which are created with purpose regarding  their carbon footprint are growing.  I am using my reusable bags more often when I shop. If forget them in my car I often will go back to get them. It is a process of changing my habits.   I am seeing more stores like Sprouts have cloth reusable bags for bulk items available to purchase.  Trader Joes has an environmentally friendly bag for produce now which is similar to a plastic bag but made differently without plastic. I am trying to really reduce my food waste.  I put more thought into using the produce I have before it goes bad and using leftovers creatively so they don't get boring or go bad.  I am improving in this area but this can get better.

I am repurposing the water we use more often.  Unfinished glasses of water are used to water the plants outside.  Cooking water is beginning to be used to water plants now too.   I need to have this become more of a habit, not just a conscious thought.  

Our cars are hybrids.  I would love to have a fully electric car in a few years.  There are more charging stations popping up around town.  Having the   capability to easily charge an electric vehicle is very important  for people to consider buying an electric car.  

Where I need to improve or find new solutions

Not all of my cleaning supplies are natural, yet.  I still will use bleach for a few things.  I also use Cascade for my dishwater a few other household cleaners like Comet.  I have tried natural dishwashing  detergent but have not found anything which works well.  ( If anyone has a suggestion, let me know).  I have found an interesting alternative to Comet which works fairly well and has essential peppermint oil which is nice but I still need a Bleach cleanser from time to time.  

I need to learn how to compost.  I really do.  Especially since we have a garden.

I need to save enough to purchase solar panels or maybe something wind related.  I wish they were more affordable.  

My daughter has begun to repurpose her clothes.  She will make a purse out of a skirt or shorts from pants.  She only can sew a simple stick by hand.  If she learns how to operate a sewing machine I think she could get very creative. 

When I buy or create a product for a special occasion like a birthday, I would like to try to keep a few things in mind more often.  Can/is  it be made from recycled items?  Is it grown without pesticides?  Is it grown in a way that is beneficial to the environment or the people where the product originates from?  Does the company give back to it's employees with good benefits and a living wage?  Does the company use best practices?  Does it give back to society?  How will the purchase of my product impact the earth and the  community? Is there a better way to achieve my goal?  

I think a lot of you are doing much more than I am.  I have a long way to go.  I would love to hear what you are doing also. 

 

 

 

 

 


   
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 Timo
(@timo)
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Wow great thread! So positive and supportive. We are moving in the right direction. People are creating amazing new systems all around us. New Design is emerging forth. Our cities see the changes first.  From indoor hydroponic growing systems in giant commercial buildings, (produce not pot, though that too)so that we eat more locally, to farmers markets and organic produce dominating markets, to designing new homes with solar panels and grey water systems, teaching children to garden in schools,  community bikes with new bike lanes taking up entire street lanes to electric scooters in cities to electric vehicles becoming the new normal for families. Soon all homes will be built with plugs in the garages. Our creativity is happily coming forth, and the old suppression money intimidators are dieing out. It’s happening! Jeanne and Bright Opal, Werd and Herondreams, thank you for your tremendous insight and for bringing the focus on solutions. We are so very capable! And  the U. S. Is a creative force! Latin America brings its resilience. Europe brings passion.  China brings efficiency. India brings knowledge. Russia brings strength. Japan brings humility. The Middle East brings energy. And the indigenous tribes around the world give us all their wisdom. Our world is so beautiful! We are beautiful. And we have help! 


   
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(@michele-b)
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@lovendures

Love it! You're really putting a lot into this and giving lots of ideas and inspiration! Wonderful and multifaceted and i know others will read this and instantly see things they could or should be doing ?


   
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(@jeanne-mayell)
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Trees are enormous carbon sinks. They also providing cooling, shade, moisture, habitat for all creatures, soil enrichment and protection, and a mitigating effect on extreme weather. They also provide comfort and wisdom to us all. 

I had a vision once that at some point countries would make it an international crime to clear cut forests. 

One study found that planting  billions of trees could remove 2/3 of carbon emissions caused by humans since the start of the industrial revolution which in turn would remove 25% of CO2 in the atmosphere.  A new study in the journal Science found that planting billions of trees around the world would be the cheapest and most effective way to tackle the climate crisis. Since trees absorb carbon dioxide, which contributes to global warming, a worldwide planting initiative could remove a substantial portion of heat-trapping emissions from the atmosphere.

 


   
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(@jeanne-mayell)
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P.S. About divestiture:   if any of you have savings stocks or mutual funds (which put your money into stocks), remove any holdings in fossil fuel companies or banks (like Chase) that loan to fossil fuel companies. Parnassus is one of the best social responsible mutual funds in terms of size and success.  They have had above average market success because socially irresponsible companies don't tend to do as well these days. If your savings are tied up in a 401K that is run by your employer, find out who they are investing in and ask them to stop buying fossil fuel company stocks.  If you have money in Chase Bank, find a socially responsible bank, one that doesn't loan money to fossil fuel drilling or equipment projects. 

 


   
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(@bright-opal)
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Although I haven't responded to allthe tips and tricks yet, I want to thank you all for participating.  I've read them all.  It's amazing the things we can do.  I am sooooooooo far behind in this.  But I intend to pursue this, it is too important.  Slowly but surely, I will add on to my list of tasks to help in this climate crisis recovery.  I will pas on the knowledge to omy close ones in the hopes they will join me in this endeavor.  Please keep on sharing!


   
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(@lovendures)
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My daughter is a music teacher and was trying to teach a lesson about sound with plastic straws today to 4th grade.  It didn't go as planned because the kids started freaking out when it was their turn to get a straw.  They didn't want to kill sea turtles. 

So yeah, it would appear that our youth have mastered the "plastic straws are bad for the environment lesson".    Now if only we can teach them to plant trees...


   
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(@herondreams)
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This report on recent action by Extinction Rebellion gives me hope, even as it outlines the scope of the catastrophe we are in and ways people will be affected. Watch to the end if you can, when she talks of her recent conversation with Boris Johnson--it reminded me of something Jeanne said somewhere in this forum about how we need to lead with love in response to this crisis. https://www.democracynow.org/2019/10/8/extinction_rebellion_global_actions_climate_crisis?fbclid=IwAR1RI5InYUvK7kaL73-W5hp8rcYBIRXqxUrBdM8u2pMYStBXmYICskP6dic


   
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(@unk-p)
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    • A message from God: Love one another now more than ever, do not judge your neighbor, you are at fault too. Only together can we do what needs to be done to save the world. (Bright Opal)   
    •                                           
    • Every country will need to make their own Amazonian forests. It's urgent! (Bright Opal)
    •  
    • Trees in trouble. People see this and work save them. (Jeanne Mayell)
    •  
    • There is an extinction emergency for animals. (Baba)

 

        i  copied these points from the October 9 2019 Predictions that Jeanne posted upstairs.  These  really popped out to me, because they are already here, and active, and also extremely urgent.

    Every country, and every single house, needs to make it's own ''Amazon" forest'.  Whatever piece of land you live on, please make sure to forest it.   It all adds up in the end, it is cumulative. And the more trees that become established, the easier it becomes for the next round of trees to live and grow.  This will in turn, help some of the animals to also survive.

    But the most important thing, is for us all to really love each other now- we can save the world. 

thank you for listening

 


   
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(@triciact)
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Chuck Shumer wrote an opinion piece in today's NYT:

Chuck Schumer: A Bold Plan for Clean Cars:

"I have a proposal that is supported not just by environmentalists but also by labor and large automakers."  He wants to eliminate ALL gas powered vehicles by 2040.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/24/opinion/chuck-schumer-electric-car.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=edit_th_191025


   
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(@laura-f)
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I planted a few trees on our property here in SoCal, however I have stopped adding any because water use (and cost) is a big issue here. I feel guilty every time I put the sprinkler on my avocado tree. So I'm not too helpful on that front. I continue to plant as much native and drought resistant stuff as I can - sage, cacti and other succulents, aloe. And then I maintain the stuff that sprouts up on its own: wild fennel, plumbago, geraniums, nopales/tunas...


   
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(@jeanne-mayell)
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This is an awesome thread. You all have some great ideas.  I’m going to use plates to cover leftovers from now on.

For two years I stopped using my clothes dryer.  I found some baby crib enclosures at the town dump and turned them sideways and leaned them against the laundry room wall to hang the clothes in winter. They make great drying racks. In summer I hung everything in the sun. The clothes smell so fresh when dried that way. If I timed it to hang clothes at the height of the day the clothes would dry more quickly than the drier ever did! 

 Our town offers a wind energy option for electricity. I think many public utility companies offer this option. So now I have all but abandoned our gas stove and cook with electric powered appliances which are all powered with wind energy.

My car, a 2008 Prius, is a hybrid but it only now barely gets 45 mpg because it’s so old.  I need to upgrade but that means a newer car. When this car finally dies—it Has 250k miles but it’s a Prius and they can go to 400k, my next car will be electric and run on 100% wind!  

The biggest problem i have is heating in winter. I also need to cut back in other ways that I have yet to explore. I hope to get more ideas here. 

I am considering buying electric heat pump for largest rooms in the house so we can heat more with electricity which as I said is wind energy.  Heat pumps are very efficient and also provide cooling in summer.  

Due to GI tract issues I also have trouble with all vegan diet so we joined a consortium of local farms for humanely raised and local chickens and eggs. 

i started organic veggie gardening five years ago after reading Barbara Kingsolver’s amazing book Animal, Vegetable, Miracle.  We don’t use fertilizer just compost from leaves and grass clippings. The plants love it. We freeze the extra tomatoes and squash  and dry all the herbs and eat the butternut squash all winter long. 

if you don’t have land most towns and cities have community gardens which you can sign up for and have your own sunny plot. Our land is too shady so I use a community plot.  It is so fun.  You meet others there and learn from them. There’s a Chinese guy there who grew up on a farm in China. He’s a farmer rock star to some of us.  I’ve learned so much from him that now I’m teaching others. I love growing from seed then using the seeds from this year’s harvest for next year. 

Air travel is a big problem. I don’t travel a lot but when I do I am aware it is a big pollutant. 

I pray the government never starts trying to shield the earth from the sun. The earth is too big for stupid arrogant humans to think they can mess with it that way.  Discussions about it in scientific circles are terrifying. There is an idiot group of men at Harvard who got a grant and think they can pull this off.   Most likely outcome will be death to billions.  They could end out causing the monsoons to stop which would starve a

billion people in one summer. If it worked for a while but then was stopped, we could heat up ten degrees world wide in a few weeks time and everyone would fry.  But men such as they are, are pursuing this option.  Please do all you can to prevent humans from playing god this way. If anyone wants to discuss the dangerousness of this option then open a thread and we will show you why it is the worst idea. 

 

 

 


   
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(@lilinoe)
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Last month as I was thinking about how to save the Earth. I decided one thing I could do would be to reach out to someone big and urge that someone to make big changes. (And I mean big.) I decided to start with Costco. I sent the letter #1 pasted below to the CEO. I didn’t tell anyone because I was waiting to see if I got a response.  And then, a friend who lives on a different island posted on her FaceBook page that she had written a letter to both her local Costco manager and corporate headquarters concerning her objection to plastic waste. See letter #2 below. My friend posted an update a few days later: “UPDATE: I got a terrific call back from our Costco manager here in Kona— who is forwarding my letter of concern to their management headquarters. She let me know they are listening and to expect being contacted. Great customer service, let the dialogue begin.”

I am sharing in all this in the hope that some of the readers of this site will also contact Costco, as well as other establishments. The Costco website lists their corporate headquarter phone number as 425-313-8100 and their mailing address as 

@47.5475907,-122.0527994,15.25z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x54906f98ab476b5d:0xe74d9eaff52a16ec!8m2!3d47.548675!4d-122.050648">999 Lake Drive
Issaquah, WA 98027

One last note: In the interest of brevity one of the points I made in my letter was a story about the daughter of an “acquaintance”. That story actually came from someone on this site. (I’m sorry, I don’t remember who now.) Everything else in my letter is 100% true.

 

                                                          LETTER #1

To: Costco CEO Craig Jelinek 

From: A loyal customer (member #805419194001)

Date: 27-Sep-19

Subject: Taking a Lead

 

Hello,

I have been a Costco customer for a number of years now. I do most of my shopping at Costco, with some additional shopping at local health food stores and online establishments. I do not shop at Walmart because I know how poorly they treat their employees, among other concerns. On numerous occasions I have mentioned to friends, coworkers, and even strangers, that I don’t shop at Walmart because I don’t want to support their business practices. I tell these same people that I am happy to support Costco because of how well they treat their employees. I know I am not alone in this; my husband, sister, grown children, and many others, follow similar shopping patterns for the same reasons.

The purpose of this letter is to very strongly urge you to take a lead role in saving our Earth, by going completely green now. There is no time to waste. I shop at the Kahului, Hawai`i Costco. That store recently covered a portion of its parking lot with carport-type structures to support photovoltaic panels. Good! That is good for the environment. But there is so much more that you can do, and so very much more that needs to be done immediately. Not in ten years, or five years, but now. When I am walking up and down the isles at Costco I look for the green signs, indicating organic items. But why not only sell organic food items? Costco is one of the biggest companies in the world; you could work with your suppliers to make this so. I like the Jose’s organic coffee you sell, but I wish you sold shade-grown coffee. I also wish you worked with local farmers and consortiums to sell more local produce (non-GMO/organic, of course). These are a few suggestions, but there are many more things you could do. Minimize packaging as much as possible, don’t sell items that use petroleum-based plastics, encourage the use of electric cars, sell electric cars. The world is changing very quickly because people are very, very concerned about the planet, and rightly so. My daughter and I were recently on the mainland for a funeral. I wanted to stop at Starbucks for breakfast, but my daughter said “no”. Why? Her one word answer: “plastic”. The daughter of an acquaintance is a fourth-grade teacher. She recently gave the students some plastic straws to use in an experiment.The students were upset. They didn’t want to use the straws because they didn’t want to “hurt turtles”.  

Trump will be gone soon, along with those of his ilk. The petroleum-based economy will, and must, end soon. The younger generations will be (are) demanding new, environmentally responsible practices. They will not shop at Costco if there is little or nothing there they want to buy. For the sake of your business and the sake of our planet, I urge you to go green in a big way, and to do it soon.

Big change can happen very quickly.  The Empire State Building was built in one year and 45 days. Greta Thunberg became a climate activist just 13 months ago. What can you do right now, in these changing times, to help save our planet?

 

                                                               LETTER #2

 

Manager, Kailua-Kona Costco

Maiau Street

Kailua-Kona, Hawaii 96750

October 19, 2019

 

Dear Manager,

We have been loyal customers since you opened over 25 years ago. However, this morning we are debating how we can continue to patronize Costco in light of the plastic recycling crisis on Hawaii island.

Costco is likely the most significant contributor to plastic waste on this island. The time has come for Costco to respond.

We have watched, and complained in the comments box about Costco’s increasing reliance on clamshells in its bakery—with no response. We see produce increasingly packed in unnecessary plastic clamshells, paper/wax milk cartons with unnecessary plastic pour openings, eggs in plastic cartons, and huge plastic security packaging on tiny electronic items. Thousands of water bottles of single use plastic, and a water vending machine that further promotes these items that will now sit, for generations, in our landfill. It goes on and on and on. We haven’t purchased any bakery items since the plastic shift. And we used to buy many!

The time has come for Costco to respond and innovate. You could signal concern today by:

· Going back to the cardboard bakery items boxes

· Requiring non-plastic packaging from all vendors, especially the Kirkland Brand

· Ending the sale of single-use water bottles

Today, I will be in your store for my regular monthly run. But last night, I doubled my order from my local CSA produce vendor, and made a shopping list that excludes many of the items I might otherwise have purchased from the Costco Warehouse. That will translate to a 50% reduction in my spending in your store today. People in Kona are concerned, please be part of the solution. The more plastic, the less we buy. The more compostable/alternatives, the more we sustain our usual level of spending.


   
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(@triciact)
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@lilinoe

There is a company that has already created a biodegradable plastic water bottle too ? 

https://www.fastcompany.com/90304442/this-new-water-companys-compostable-bottle-fully-biodegrades-in-the-ocean

I'm betting that if one or two can create this more can follow!


   
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