Is it March 4th yet?

I really wish the Texas and Ohio primaries were already done and we knew the result.

I also wish the candidates would stop being so nasty. The kids on the elephant team don't get as much press, but they also don't get caught up in bullshit debates about whose mamma did what to whom or whatever petty crap they fight about.

I wish the whole superdelegate system were fair and accurate. Somehow, I think it falls short of those lofty goals.

I wish I understood why it takes over 4 months to complete a primary/caucus season when it only takes 1 day for a general election.

Green Consumerism, Investing, Living, etc.

I think it's not just me. And I think it's not just the people I work and am friends with. I think that people all over the country and the world are starting (and continuing) to seriously reconsider some of the ways we choose to live. That's a good thing. However, like any mass movement, the mass-ive version is less attractive than the original idea -- it gets a little watered down.

Sometimes that's a good thing. Not everyone can wear haute couture (because we can't all look like 14 year old girly boys forever), but nearly everyone can wear prêt-à-porter. Likewise, not everyone is ready to commit to keeping a worm bin and going off the grid, but they can make changes like recycling, switching to CFL light bulbs, and turning off the water while they brush. When great masses of people take small steps, it's as or more powerful than when a few take some giant leaps.

All of this focus on the environment is welcome in my book, but it has its limitations. What is the environment if not the place where we (and many other forms of life) live? The thing that environmentalism, as it is typically defined, leaves out is the social system.

Environmental factors like carbon emission, chemical pollution, energy use, etc. are relatively easy to measure with the tools of science and therefore easier for us to attach numbers to and wrap our minds around. However, those factors don't exist in a vacuum. They exist in a very messy world of societies, states, emotions, and other human realities. Social issues like poverty, community unity, education, justice, labor rights, and diversity are not so easy to measure. Sure we can get data on these issues, but they're much messier and more interconnected. Plus, improvements might take a while to show up in the numbers. But this doesn't make them less important. Just because science/math can't test for them as individual variables doesn't mean that they don't exist.

That's why I like the concept of sustainability. It's not as limiting to "green" things as our typical definition of environment. But if we start using that word to replace just the scientifically measured side, we'll miss something.

If you're interested in other concepts of what we call environment, No Impact Man has some great posts about the philosophy behind what he calls "human health, happiness, and security." He also has some great things to say about bringing the environmental discussion home -- to air pollution on your street -- not just polar bears trying to find icebergs.

I clearly need to read more fiction.

Departure

In a departure from my usual electricity-saving choices, I tried something I've always conceived of as wasteful and stupid today. I went to the tanning bed. That's right I got naked, up-close, and personal with a plastic bed filled with ultraviolet light for 10 minutes. And you know what? It was a departure in more ways than one. I was hot and sweaty, and except for the lack of sand in my swimsuit, felt like I was at the beach. Ok, that might be a stretch, but on a snowy February day in New York City, it was kind of nice. The funniest part was the surprise I experienced when I saw snow outside...

Energy Policy

I find that many pundits separate energy policy and food policy, but end up categorizing them as two major concerns of our era. Are they really so different? They're even similar linguistically. When was the last time you talked about being hungry in terms of having an "empty tank" or needing more "fuel"? Are these not terms more often associated with cars?

It seems to me that we should think of these things as two parts of one whole. We need food to give our bodies energy and fuel. We need energy to produce this food--energy produced from fossil fuel, wind power, solar power, natural gas, nuclear power, and, of course, other food.

Petroleum products not only help to generate much of the food that we eat, but they actually make their way into our food. And if you think of it again, you realize that food (corn, sugar, seaweed, etc.) are being made into fuel. At that point, it all seems to come much closer together doesn't it?

Food is just the edible form of energy... not that you didn't already know that.

Speaking of things you already know: Read Michael Pollan's new book In Defense of Food. It tells you a bunch of stuff you already know, but actually might convince you to take action (like quitting high fructose corn syrup and other processed foods).

Compost Craze

I keep hearing little peeps from friends and family who are saying things like "Hmm, I really don't see that grapefruit peel in the trash the same way anymore. I keep thinking that it would make excellent worm food. How many worms did you say you have? Do they multiply? Does it stink? How do you harvest it?"

Oh I encourage you! The worm bin makes you feel super wholesome... and if you want to feel a little less wholesome, think about it this way: worms are hermaphrodites and therefore have both sex organs -- they can do anyone! And from the looks of the baby worms we have, I think they do!

I'll find and post some more practical tips soon. I'm just happy that it's catching on without any direct attempts to convert people.

Winter Joys

It's finally cold here in New York, and that brought with it one thing I had forgotten about winter in the city: frozen puddles of dog pee. It's pretty nasty.

State of the Universe

This morning I walked down the street with a tangible sense of justice and fellowship and even patriotism. I woke up early and made myself farm fresh pastured eggs, toast with almond butter and red raspberry jam, a french press of coffee, and a tall glass of OJ with lots of pulp. It was pretty wholesome and fulfilling.

I'm sure it sounds entirely cheesy, but it really felt good. I walking down the street was smiling for no reason other than I just felt happy. I even laughed a little. This isn't entirely related to the fact that today was my first time using one of those fancy old machines with a curtain and a lever (they have paper ballots in MA), but also feeling a little more square with some personal issues as well.