Green Encounter for a Blue Planet – Leading an Examined Life

Varied, Variable, Variety

It started as a green site, but there are much better sites that are more concise, eloquent and informative.  And i just don’t have enough to say that is smart and new and worth saying.  Honestly, I’d rather read what others say or experinec on the topic, I do drivel on quite enough.

So the new focus, in deference to my varied interests, sometimes crossing paths, and sometimes independent spheres  of influence upon me, this is my journal for me.

Environment, politics, religion (maybe not), special needs, technology, climate, wellness (mind and body), family and whatever else crosses my path.  I no longer enjoy writing by hand (too slow, too awkward) so typing is queen for now, podcasting would be best but my  New York thang just doesn’t sound great in recorded format!

So tonight, I reflect, for no-one but me, on Robert Chester Fabia.  We have named 2 cats after him, well not on purpose, so perhaps more an indirect name-sake than a purposeful decision to equate the man with the cat.  Bobby was not catlike, not stealthy, not cruel and not fluffy, though he wanted to be.

None the less, 2 cats in the life of our family, were named Chester, on a big black and white Tom.  he was fabulous and I adored him.  He would come home battered and abscessed and I would heal him, he had scar tissued cheeks to bear testament to the battles he would engage in, I fancied that his opponent looked the worse for the wear, in hindsight, I wonder if my big fat cat was getting whooped all over Tolleson.

Bobby came to visit us in Tolleson and when I introduced him to our fat, war-torn tom cat, he said ‘my middle name is Chester!’, and while I have forgotten most middle names and  many, many first names, Bobby’s middle name will stick for eternity.

When we left Tolleson to live in the deep, barren desert, our Chester was loathe to go.  When we left Tolleson for  the desert he was not a happy camper,  he liked the fields and the horses and the deep grasses in our small meadows of tall bermuda grasses and alfalfa.  In hindsight, I did too!  He sat on Al’s roof next door for weeks and we would keep coming back and eventually lassoed him into a box (hiss, snarl, think here of the cartoon with rabid Alexandre the cat)!  He dies in the desert and old man who probabbly took on a few wild creatures of his own, he died under the mobile home  that was first our house in the Sonoran.  I buried him under a wild mesquite that grows on 20 acres I now own, across form the place where our solar powered, straw bale home stood – on the site originally home to the mobile home.

But that is merely a Chester reference, what I really wanted to reflect on was my ex-brother-in-law, Bobby.  Bobby was found dead of a fire that has been deemed suspicious, his untimely death at 50, listed as a homicide, an unexpected terrible outcome of an arson of a ‘private bar /club’ in Dayton, Ohio.  I lost touch with Bobby many years ago, and carry some convoluted memories of him,  But here’s what others had to say, in death sometimes, we get to see a person we may not have gotten to know, but I remember Bobby well:

Guest Book for Robert Fabia

It’s been a bustling season – but here’s something to watch! As I continue my own graduate studies related to Technology Facilitated Educator Professional Development, I continue to seek ways in which authentic-experiential and outdoor learning can co-habitate, enrich and be enriched by technology.

Ironwood Tree Experience, Tucson, AZ

I hope they don’t mind me copying right off their website, but this is to whet the appetite of anyone looking for ways to improve the planet, one important step at a time. (all credit to the Dhruv’s and ITE)

And I quote (or copy/paste):

Intention

Ironwood Tree Experience (ITE) empowers young people through active, mindful and educational eco-programs that cultivate a holistic sense of community.

Vision

ITE envisions a future in which active, critically thinking, and compassionate young people view themselves as a vibrant part of their community and are empowered to forge a future that integrates values that are ecologically and socially just.

Audience

Ironwood Tree Experience serves adolescents, ages 12-18. Eco-programs are intended for adolescents of diverse socio-economic levels, cultural backgrounds, and spiritual beliefs.

Action

Towards this mission and vision, ITE provides young people with active, mindful, and educational eco-programs that integrate four learning and living strands: 1) Youth wellness, 2) Community Action, 3) Sustainable Practices, and 4) Youth Character Development.

Youth Wellness emerges from foundational lessons and practices in fitness, nutrition, and mindfulness.

Community Action is experienced through direct activities that encourage adolescents to voice their perspectives and solutions to contemporary environmental and social needs throughout the Tucson Community.

Sustainable Practices are fostered through personal choices that have long-term affect on the health and wellbeing of humanity, wildlife and ecosystems.

Youth Character Development is built up from personal and cooperative challenges and achievements and enhances leadership skills that will sustain through adolescence and continue into adulthood.

Shameless grab for content from someone else, eh?

While reading blogs coming out of Pakistan, following today’s tragic assassination of Benazir Bhutto, I encountered this symbol again and it reminds me of the frail yet resilient (and cyclical) qualities of the planet and the living things upon it – It does not appear that this New Year will bring PEACE but we should nonetheless continue to work toward this noble end.

This is a follow-up to my September 27 entry about Nike shoes for Native America feet. recently the story was on NPR again, I caught the tail end of it, but in a nutshell, someone was complaining that this was a for-profit scheme and a bit non-PC because it targeted Native Americans as different.

I am no geneticist and no anthropologist, but it seems to me that, based upon the original NPR interview with the shoes designer, this was developed with a very altruistic goal in mind – to help provide comfort and protection to the feet of Native Americans (being given out only in Native American Communities) in en effort to help reduce foot pressure leading to sores aggravated by diabetes.

Why is it ok to recognize that some populations of people have a propensity to certain health risks, but not OK to try to help – without it being suggested that it is racist or some other overstatement.

Indeed Nike probably woudl like to turn a profit, but perhaps not. Perhaps the designer actually initiated a sufficiently compelling dialogue that they did the right thing. Ridiculous? Maybe. Impossible? Hardly. Might they get community service brownie points? Sure, but isn’t that ok if in the end a very serious problem is resolved?

Does everything really have to be vanilla?

My September post

On that happy note – Happy Belated Hannukah or Chanukah (8 crazy nights, no matter how you spell it!) Happy Holidays!  Merry Christmas!  Happy New Year! Happy Kwanzaa!  There, was that PC enough?

(1) My father (Winn Chayefsky) has a brother Bill, (2) Bill marries (3) Saranne Cohen of Nashville, Saranne has a sister (4) Estelle (who marries Sidney Silverstone to become Estelle Silverstone), Estelle attends Vanderbilt University (One of the early female lawyers) and is sorority sister and friend of (5) Pauline LaFon, Pauline LaFon marries Al Gore, Sr, they are parents to (6) Al Gore, jr.

Here ’s one more(1) I marry (2) Guy – now the ex, Guy has a sister (3) Nadine, Nadine has a son (4) Chris Cole, Chris has met Al Gore (5) – Hmmm!  That didn’t work

I am adding a wonderful Autism resource (Arizona Autism Support) to the blogroll of important website. There is much discussion about the increase in autism spectrum disorders being linked to shots, environment, better recognition of the problem. While I have no idea and have not studied the matter (or followed the scientific research carefully) I have a vested interest and am throwing it into the mix.

Although i have suspected so since he was about the age of one year old, my 17 year old son was JUST formally diagnosed as autistic. Interesting the delay was not for lack of signs and symptoms and need of specific services to support him, his sibling, his parents (his family), it was rather that his disorder was easily missed due to a literal smorgasbord of other serious and functionally debilitating diagnoses:

• ADD, Tourette’s, Bi-Polar (rapid cycling), Emotional Disability, Learning Disability, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (often presents with Tourette’s).

So, I am loosely making this issue relevant to this blog due to the conversations of environmental impact on the health and welfare of children (beyond lungs), but to their minds, their development. But really, I just want to talk about it and celebrate that fact that afetr 17 years of Head Start and School District services, he may actually get additional services that address his inability to function in a progressively more competitive and fast paced world.

I watched a remarkable piece last night, on the Sundance Channel. By now any ‘AWAKE’ person is aware of indoor pollutants (carpet, pet dander, dust..) and the effects they may have on body adn mind health – but this piece was about clothing. It was very timely for me, lately I have been wondering where one finds the strong fiber of hemp in clothing – without looking like I am returning to 1969 Hippie roots! Would it be acceptable in the school district environment – would drug sniffing dogs sniff ME!

On Sundance last night, there was piece of renewable clothing (green clothes).

Patagonia ises recycled plastic bottles to create the fabric of their jackets. When the item has completed its useful life, the owner can turn it into Patagonia’s recycling bings, it is shipped to Japan (where the technology exists – Hmmm! we need that more local) and it is converted back to its molecular base and rewoven into fabric – AGAIN!

Linda Loudermilk (designer) had an epiphany several years back, following an important and successful Paris runway showing. She felt empty and unfulfilled. She began to design using natural and recycled fabrics.

So if you see me on the streets wearing ‘earthy’ clothes and shoes made form cloth, please do not laugh – I am trying to live a conscious and examined life!

I fell asleep listening to the rantings of Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soap Box. While he was bit unorthodox (why not?), his factories are conscious not only of their input and output and affect on the environment, they are equally conscious of their employees and respecting them. I was sleepy and missed a lot of it – but the jist was to treat the earth and all its things and creatures (including people) consciously and carefully and considerately.

UhOh! Getting preachy – time to go!

OK I am having an ADD day on this blog. I am bouncing between environmental tidbits and how one person can change it all. For my BD recently my nephew Chris sent me the book ‘Cradle to Cradle’ Remaking the way we make things! First chapter title: This Book Is Not a Tree’. I am still in the midst of FEAR and closing up Tipping Point – but hope this book can be next!

So, on NPR just now, I caught up with this story…

One man, his mother died of diabetes, he was raised by her – a single mom – on a reservation, through data collection discovered that Native America toe box area has a unique shape/depth.. you listen to the story (link at end).

Here’s the magic!

He developed a shoe and an idea and Nike is marketing the shoe at wholesale to Native American Community Health Centers. It is his hope that these communities will give the shoes to their members, and that this may encourage more community members to activity – a direct assault on the high numbers of diabetes in the Native Community.

Here’s the simplicity of inspiration! While he had access to NIKE brand, as an employee, the idea was a direct result of his mothers diabetes experience.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=14738144&ft=1&f=1003

Fry’s is selling fabric grocery bags for $1 each!!!

They have both long and short handles and open to a stable rectangle box bottom for fitting maximum groceries (about the dimensions of the classic brown paper bag). I picked up two then realized they open to such a wonderful size and went back for 2 more.

They are going on my Hanukkah and Christmas list for family and friends this year! they are black so you can use them for Halloween bags for the kiddies too!

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

Bag itself is recyclable and is manufactured by www.earthwisebags.com
Fry’s in Maricopa displays them at the entrance door by the shopping baskets and their lovely greeters!

Several weeks back Gina D’Abella of RAM and to ECO-Recycling, Maricopa gave her permission for me to list some ideas from an article published on line on CopaNews.com. Gina is a community member with her heart and soul focused on the good fight. Below are suggestions, from the article, on how each of us can take her personal challenge to GREEN, GREENER and very GREEN! It’s not so hard and WE CAN make a difference! Gina is one person who can teach us how!

Here’s link to full article link from CopaNews.com http://www.copanews.com/?c=141&a=1318

In the words of Gina D’Abella:

This year, 2007, we are consciously becoming aware of our “carbon footprint.” We are being inundated with the media attempting to educate us about how we can work towards a “carbon neutral” society to offset “global warming.” Are you doing everything you can to help our Maricopa community be “green” and sustainable?

We all can do more to facilitate our community’s “green” objectives, right? But, how do we get started in our own neighborhoods and within our own families? First, we must make an environmentally conscious commitment to change. Then, we have to make a decision on what we are going to change in our lives that will sincerely make a difference. And finally, we have to set up a target date of completion to accomplish those environmentally conscious goals.

So, I challenge you…..every man, woman and student in Maricopa…..to incorporate eight changes in your daily living by August 8, 2008 that will help support the sustainability of our Maricopa community and our Mother Earth.

The following is a guide to help you get started. These “green” suggestions for environmental change offer each of us simple actions we can commit to for the sustainability of our community. Make a commitment to think globally and act locally every day.

Green

1. Plant a native tree.

2. Wash your hands in cold water.

3. Turn up your thermostat a couple of degrees in the summer, down in the winter.

4. Unplug appliances in your home that are not in use.

5. Hang clothes to dry instead of using your electric/gas dryer.

6. Use re-usable cloth totes at grocery and retail stores instead of paper or plastic bags.

7. Familiarize yourself with your local recycling programs and recycle.

8. Buy products made from recycled materials.

Greener

1. Replace all of your light bulbs in your home with fluorescent bulbs.
2. Buy local, organic produce.
3. Support local businesses that have incorporated “green” policies & procedures.
4. Check your car/truck tires every month for proper inflation. Keep up with the routine maintenance on your vehicle.
5. Turn your water heater down to 120 degrees.
6. Educate your children about environmental issues. Take them on tours to local recycling centers, landfills, dairies and farms.
7. Conduct a water audit in your home to determine if you have any leaks. Simply locate your water meter and write down the numbers. Then do not use any water in your home for an hour (make sure to turn off irrigation systems, pool pumps and icemakers). Then check the meter again. If the numbers have increased, you may have a leak.
8. Help your neighbors and community by voting for environmental change.

Very Green

1. Walk or bike to the store and telecommute for work whenever possible.

2. Carpool – to work, for special events, or for daily errands.

3. Next vehicle purchase – buy a hybrid.

4. Select Energy Star appliances.

5. Commit to building “green”. There are more than 150 eco-friendly options builders can incorporate when constructing your new home or commercial building project.

6. Support clean, renewable energy sources. Buy solar for your home.

7. Support local, state and federal policies and programs that improve our gas mileage, utilize clean, renewable energy sources, increase energy efficiency and conservation.

8. Think global and act local – donate and volunteer your time with a local, non-profit environmental organization.

Gina D’Abella has a mission to make Maricopa and the world more self-sustaining through her work with the local non-profit organization, ECO. She can often be found at the Recycling Association of Maricopa (McDavid Road), which she established, on Saturday mornings where she volunteers for recycling efforts of our community. To get involved with recycling or other environmental projects, contact her at 1earth@cox.net.

From the ‘Alliance for Climate Protection‘

Video – Black Balloons  http://www.climateprotect.org/ah12