Travel is sometimes a reality. Right now we are in that boat. There are a few ways we are attempting to limit some of the environmental impacts and maximize some of the human relationships that can go along with travel as we move from Halifax back to Edmonton.
1) We downsized big time to fit all our stuff in one car and have room for a passenger. All the proceeds from the sales going to a local charity.
2) We are driving the most fuel efficient car nwe could find. My wife is driving because she is better at driving slow and as such reducing fuel consumption. The car also gives instant feedback on how much fuel we're using to reinforce conservation habits. (check out the following for tips if you want some ideas on reducing the impact of driving http://www.ecodrivingusa.com/#/ecodriving-practices/)
3) we are not flying.
4) We are stopping in cities with friends and family to maximize the good times and take advantage of a rare opportunity to connect with people we really like that are strewn across the country. We are taking a little longer than needed to increase the connection opportunities.
5) We are still eating and living as consciously as possible while on the road.
unfortunately a drop in blogging goes along with this travel, stay tuned though :)
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Counteracting the Global FInancial Crisis
I just signed a petition and sent an email to the Managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a quick but hopefully valuable attempt at a better world::
http://www.one.org/international/gold/?rc=goldtaf
At the G20 summit in London, the IMF was tasked with coming up for a plan to sell some of their gold reserves to provide emergency funding for developing countries struggling through the financial crisis. I sent a letter to the IMF, because I want them to provide as much funding as they can, and provide it in way that won't create debt for developing countries, which may find their economic recovery cut short if they have to take high interest loans.
The issue of debt is an important one, and we need to let the IMF know that people care about it so they do the right thing. Please join me in taking action to let them know here:
http://www.one.org/international/gold/?rc=goldtaf
A ton of work has been done to try to get the world's rich nations to forgive the debilitating debts from loans 'given' to the worlds poorest nations to supposedly help them rebuild after years of exploitation and often tyrannical rule by the colonial powers. Cynics would say that these loans were just a new form of colonialism because they came with conditionalities which fundamentally undermined the recipient countries' economies and societies (called structural adjustment programs or SAPs). The interest rates on some of these former loans led to the vast majority of government's budgets going towards servicing the debt while the countries citizens went without basic necessities. Some of these debts were forgiven in the last decades, freeing up sorely needed funds for things like providing antiretrovirals to people suffering from aids, and providing primary schooling. To renew the debt burdens when claiming to be helping countries overcome the effects of the financial crisis would be incredibly ironic, unjust, and disappointing. So I emailed my buddy IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn, to share my opinion that I think its great that we are providing some capital to help poor countries cope with the financial crisis, but it should not be a loan. It should be stimulus.
http://www.one.org/international/gold/?rc=goldtaf
At the G20 summit in London, the IMF was tasked with coming up for a plan to sell some of their gold reserves to provide emergency funding for developing countries struggling through the financial crisis. I sent a letter to the IMF, because I want them to provide as much funding as they can, and provide it in way that won't create debt for developing countries, which may find their economic recovery cut short if they have to take high interest loans.
The issue of debt is an important one, and we need to let the IMF know that people care about it so they do the right thing. Please join me in taking action to let them know here:
http://www.one.org/international/gold/?rc=goldtaf
A ton of work has been done to try to get the world's rich nations to forgive the debilitating debts from loans 'given' to the worlds poorest nations to supposedly help them rebuild after years of exploitation and often tyrannical rule by the colonial powers. Cynics would say that these loans were just a new form of colonialism because they came with conditionalities which fundamentally undermined the recipient countries' economies and societies (called structural adjustment programs or SAPs). The interest rates on some of these former loans led to the vast majority of government's budgets going towards servicing the debt while the countries citizens went without basic necessities. Some of these debts were forgiven in the last decades, freeing up sorely needed funds for things like providing antiretrovirals to people suffering from aids, and providing primary schooling. To renew the debt burdens when claiming to be helping countries overcome the effects of the financial crisis would be incredibly ironic, unjust, and disappointing. So I emailed my buddy IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn, to share my opinion that I think its great that we are providing some capital to help poor countries cope with the financial crisis, but it should not be a loan. It should be stimulus.
Monday, April 13, 2009
You are what you eat
If this is true then hopefully I am healthy, ethical, conscious, and delicious.
I love food. I really, really love food. I would estimate that I spend about 10% of my waking time thinking about food, and I am not even ashamed of it, because food matters. Food is something we can always share, it is a window into people's cultures and values, it is a form of artistic expression. Sharing food is an important part of building relationships, showing gratitude, celebrating things that should be celebrated, and comforting people that need to be comforted.
Half of my thinking about food is purely about me- satisfying my hunger and cravings, impressing my wife and friends and family on occasions, and being good to my body. The attempt at a better world part though is a little bit deeper and also often more challenging, but in the interest of avoiding analysis paralysis I have a few questions I attempt to keep in mind while shopping or looking at a menu (and examples of things I like for):
- How was it made?
how much energy was needed to produce/harvest it? (non processed, locally appropriate foods)
what was the impact on the ecosystem? (sustainable seafood - http://bit.ly/cEAp)
Does it require a lot of chemical fertilizer and pesticide/herbicide/fungicide to produce? (organic or natural foods)
where the people who made it treated fairly? (Fair trade certified or local: http://www.playyourpart.ca/)
if animals were involved were they treated humanely (free range eggs, food from farmers I know and trust)
- How did it get here?
What was the impact of its transport (local foods or food that can be shipped slowly en mass to minimize impact)
-Is it an industry I want to support?
I try to avoid heavily subsidized and politically powerful foods - like US rice which farmers are subsidized to produce and then excess is dumped in foreign market undercutting the prices that people rely on for their livelihoods, or mass produced Dairy which has such a strong political lobby that somehow dairy is a food group (its protein and vitamins and minerals can all come from other foods)?!
I try to buy from local farmers/producers and small holder farms
-Is it Healthy?
I avoid fat, especially saturated animal fats, minimize sugar and maximize fruits and veggies to give me energy and health to attempt to make the world a bit better for a long time to come.
I love food. I really, really love food. I would estimate that I spend about 10% of my waking time thinking about food, and I am not even ashamed of it, because food matters. Food is something we can always share, it is a window into people's cultures and values, it is a form of artistic expression. Sharing food is an important part of building relationships, showing gratitude, celebrating things that should be celebrated, and comforting people that need to be comforted.
Half of my thinking about food is purely about me- satisfying my hunger and cravings, impressing my wife and friends and family on occasions, and being good to my body. The attempt at a better world part though is a little bit deeper and also often more challenging, but in the interest of avoiding analysis paralysis I have a few questions I attempt to keep in mind while shopping or looking at a menu (and examples of things I like for):
- How was it made?
how much energy was needed to produce/harvest it? (non processed, locally appropriate foods)
what was the impact on the ecosystem? (sustainable seafood - http://bit.ly/cEAp)
Does it require a lot of chemical fertilizer and pesticide/herbicide/fungicide to produce? (organic or natural foods)
where the people who made it treated fairly? (Fair trade certified or local: http://www.playyourpart.ca/)
if animals were involved were they treated humanely (free range eggs, food from farmers I know and trust)
- How did it get here?
What was the impact of its transport (local foods or food that can be shipped slowly en mass to minimize impact)
-Is it an industry I want to support?
I try to avoid heavily subsidized and politically powerful foods - like US rice which farmers are subsidized to produce and then excess is dumped in foreign market undercutting the prices that people rely on for their livelihoods, or mass produced Dairy which has such a strong political lobby that somehow dairy is a food group (its protein and vitamins and minerals can all come from other foods)?!
I try to buy from local farmers/producers and small holder farms
-Is it Healthy?
I avoid fat, especially saturated animal fats, minimize sugar and maximize fruits and veggies to give me energy and health to attempt to make the world a bit better for a long time to come.
For Easter this attempt meant a Lobster dinner (its local to Halifax, ethical, and delicious) with a lot of good veggies and good people to share it with.
Bon Appetit!
Monday, April 6, 2009
Critically engaging and thinking bigger
You have likely noticed that my posted attempts have not exactly been daily as intended. I am learning as I go and I have learned a couple important things so far:
1. This should not be a chore, it should be an exciting and worthwhile use of time. I made a bold commitment to try to shift myself more towards a bias of doing because I found that I was thinking a lot and not doing a lot. Nothing against thinking, I love to think, I just thought my balance was off.
2. Attempts that can be made daily are going to be limited in terms of depth, and potentially impact. I do want to daily attempt to make the world better, but some attempts might require a more time to come to fruition, but they may be very worthwhile still.
These two learnings will hopefully allow me to diversify my attempts and to be a bit more ambitious and deep in my attempts at a better world. Some will be quick still because sometimes quick, easy opportunities present themselves. Others will be multi stage actions requiring a lot of uninteresting back end work before the action takes place, or follow up in order to bring it to fruition. Like contacting the senate committees.
My attempt for today was along these lines. I will be in Ottawa in a little while and would like to take advantage of the opportunity for a personalized attempt at a better world. So today I contacted some people who I think are smart to try and plan a solid attempt for that day. So far I am just asking questions on the relative importance of a few issues. Stay tuned for coming stages:)
1. This should not be a chore, it should be an exciting and worthwhile use of time. I made a bold commitment to try to shift myself more towards a bias of doing because I found that I was thinking a lot and not doing a lot. Nothing against thinking, I love to think, I just thought my balance was off.
2. Attempts that can be made daily are going to be limited in terms of depth, and potentially impact. I do want to daily attempt to make the world better, but some attempts might require a more time to come to fruition, but they may be very worthwhile still.
These two learnings will hopefully allow me to diversify my attempts and to be a bit more ambitious and deep in my attempts at a better world. Some will be quick still because sometimes quick, easy opportunities present themselves. Others will be multi stage actions requiring a lot of uninteresting back end work before the action takes place, or follow up in order to bring it to fruition. Like contacting the senate committees.
My attempt for today was along these lines. I will be in Ottawa in a little while and would like to take advantage of the opportunity for a personalized attempt at a better world. So today I contacted some people who I think are smart to try and plan a solid attempt for that day. So far I am just asking questions on the relative importance of a few issues. Stay tuned for coming stages:)
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Access to medicine
My attempt for today was to try to volunteer for the local event promoting the following campaign which seems pretty awesome. Unfortunately the volunteering didn't work out so I had to settle for posting this on my blog and facebook and contacting my MP. I think I'll phone her since I emailed yesterday... I need to diversify my actions I think. Thanks to Anna for the lead on this one :)
From Cdn HIV/AIDS Legal Network site: http://www.aidslaw.ca/EN/camr/index.htm
April 1st, 2009 - National Day of Action and Awareness
April 1st, 2009 is traditionally April Fool's Day. This year, we are exposing the government's foolish delay in delivering life-saving drugs to people in developing countries who desperately need them.Do 1 or more of these 5 things - some of them will only take a few seconds!
Join others April 1st, 2009 at an event or start your own!Student and community groups in Halifax, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Winnipeg, and Vancouver will be holding awareness-raising activities on April 1st. Join one or start up your own activity in your community. Contact Eowynne Feeney at efeeney@aidslaw.ca to find out how you can get involved in the actions in your city.
Tell your MP! Phone, meet with or send a postcard or e-mailSend a postcard to your MP to ask them to fix CAMR and support the "one-licence solution" that would streamline it, making it much easier for developing countries to get medicines their people need. Follow it up with a phone call, an e-mail or a letter, or even a meeting with your MP, asking him or her to help fix CAMR. (Find your MP using your postal code.)
Join us on Facebook and 4Real The Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network is now on Facebook and 4Real.
Tell 3 friendsSpread the word. Tell friends, families and co-workers they can join in this important campaign to help get affordable medicines to people with HIV/AIDS in developing countries. Forward this simple link: www.aidslaw.ca/camr.
DonateEvery dollar you give helps create more awareness and ensure success. Whether it's $10 or $100, please consider financially supporting the CAMR campaign. Go to www.aidslaw.ca/donate.To get your free awareness kit and postcards, contact Eowynne Feeney, Outreach and Development Coordinator, at efeeney@aidslaw.ca.
From Cdn HIV/AIDS Legal Network site: http://www.aidslaw.ca/EN/camr/index.htm
April 1st, 2009 - National Day of Action and Awareness
April 1st, 2009 is traditionally April Fool's Day. This year, we are exposing the government's foolish delay in delivering life-saving drugs to people in developing countries who desperately need them.Do 1 or more of these 5 things - some of them will only take a few seconds!
Join others April 1st, 2009 at an event or start your own!Student and community groups in Halifax, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Winnipeg, and Vancouver will be holding awareness-raising activities on April 1st. Join one or start up your own activity in your community. Contact Eowynne Feeney at efeeney@aidslaw.ca to find out how you can get involved in the actions in your city.
Tell your MP! Phone, meet with or send a postcard or e-mailSend a postcard to your MP to ask them to fix CAMR and support the "one-licence solution" that would streamline it, making it much easier for developing countries to get medicines their people need. Follow it up with a phone call, an e-mail or a letter, or even a meeting with your MP, asking him or her to help fix CAMR. (Find your MP using your postal code.)
Join us on Facebook and 4Real The Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network is now on Facebook and 4Real.
Tell 3 friendsSpread the word. Tell friends, families and co-workers they can join in this important campaign to help get affordable medicines to people with HIV/AIDS in developing countries. Forward this simple link: www.aidslaw.ca/camr.
DonateEvery dollar you give helps create more awareness and ensure success. Whether it's $10 or $100, please consider financially supporting the CAMR campaign. Go to www.aidslaw.ca/donate.To get your free awareness kit and postcards, contact Eowynne Feeney, Outreach and Development Coordinator, at efeeney@aidslaw.ca.
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