Luckily the grapes were delicious

The other day we were supposed to have some people over to play Settlers of Catan.  It was our anniversary and Josh loves Settler so I figured I would be the best wife ever and host an epic game in honour of our three years together.  Guests means snacks so Clare and I went to Safeway to buy treats.  I had gathered a pretty awesome assortment when I made my way to the self checkout.
As I rang through items I was shocked by one purchase in particular.

Organic grapes= $12.89

Excuse me!?!?  Assuming I had made some kind of rookie error as a non-professional checkout girl I inquired with staff.
"this can't be the right price."
"No that's right.  Grapes are expensive when they're not on sale."

At Dairy Queen I could get two burgers, two orders of fries, two medium drinks and two ice cream sundaes for less that this measly bag of grapes.  How is that possible?  What does that say about our society and options available for low income families?

It's hard enough to make healthy eating choices without factoring in prohibitive food costs.  Josh can probably add some figures about evil subsidies here that are the cause of the current food situation.  I don't have the facts to back up my outrage right now.  Still, what can we do to eat well and not go broke?

Maybe worrying about it is a bad idea.  When we made a pretend budget (which we never consult) Josh and I allocated a large portion of our monthly income to food.  We agreed it is worth it to invest in good quality food.  For awhile last year I was riding my bike down to Wascana Lake to pick up bi-weekly vegetable bins from Heliotrope.  That was really great.  I think I will start up again once I'm on maternity leave.  The bins obviously aren't available in the winter.

Does anyone know of other affordable, local, healthy food options?

Then there's the question about the impact of eating grapes in Canada in the winter.  Is it realistic and sustainable to expect we can eat whatever we want, whenever we want?

It's weird that so much of my life, and blogs posts, revolve around the grocery store.  I like eating.
Also our tomatoes are almost ripe!!! The last carrot we pulled was microscopic and the broccoli is long gone.  The kale has been eaten by some kind of bug but the beets look promising.  Has anyone had success with urban garden peas?  Ours have been sad two years in a row.

I heard this quote that reminds me of the environmental movement and gives me some hope for the future.

"First they ignore you,  then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win." - Ghandi

I think we're in the third stage.

Also, the expensive grapes were delicious.

Sweep it to... London Drugs??

Today while cleaning out my brother-in-law's garage I ran into a classic consumer conundrum: What to do with old stuff (electronics, wood, furniture, etc.)? Staring at all of the household items, the thought of putting them all in the large red LORAAS garbage can behind me just didn't sit well. Why? I guess it was just the thought of them sitting in a landfill that really bothered me. Or even worse, being shipped back to its birthplace in China where it can leach toxins into poor peoples waterways (for more on this watch the short doc Exporting Harm—https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yDSWGV3jGek). Some of the items in the garage that I really didn't want to see go to a landfill were an old bicycle, a microwave, three computers, two vacuums, and a fan. I immediately called Sarcan, Saskatchewan's recycling organization, which has the tag line, "Sweep it to Sarcan." I really appreciated the friendly service that I got over the phone from a guy named Dwayne. Unfortunately, they could only recycle the computers. When I asked him about some of the other items, he suggested that I go to London Drugs. London Drugs! Really! Since when did they take-in recycling?! I decided to look into it and here is what I found out:

http://www.edmontonjournal.com/Doing+good+good+business/8294264/story.html

This is a story entitled "London Drugs Emerald Award 2013: Doing good is good for business" that I found in the Edmonton Journal. It talks about an electronic recycling program that London Drugs got on board with that has the basic premise, "If we can sell it to you, then we should be able to recycle it for you." Makes sense. What impressed me was that one London Drugs store in Edmonton had a 93% diversion rate for waste which also included the organics from staff lunches! It makes me wonder what our product diversion rate for waste is here at our house and, most of all, why the City of Regina collects garbage once a week and recycling only once a fortnight (if you don't know what this term means ask a Brit).

London Drugs sends all of its recycling to GEEP (http://www.geepglobal.com/) which has six Canadian locations, two of which are in Alberta (I'm guessing this is where Sask recycling goes). GEEPs mission is to encourage consumers and businesses to reuse whenever possible, with a near zero landfill goal.

A couple of things come to mind as I mull over this: First of all, think of how ridiculous it is that most of our e-stuff comes from China, only so that through planned obsolescence (for more on this see this 3-min portion of a great short film called "The Story of Stuff" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2KLyYKJGk0), we can export it back to Chinese e-graveyards?! Like, are we really that inert that we would transfer our waste to dumps thousands of miles away? What is wrong with us? Sorry... Back to my point: I am happy to see that companies like LD recognize how stupid this is and are looking to, at the very least, break the e-waste export cycle.

Secondly, think of all of the jobs that opening these kinds of facilities in Canada creates! I just don't understand how anybody can see that the green shift and the economy are enemies? But then again, these are likely the same people who believe in the carbon spewing merry go around of cheap goods from producer to consumer and back to producer. Alas... I am venting again.

To wrap up, I would like to say how encouraged I was with LD taking the microwave, fan and computers. I also want to give props to Western Cycle in Regina, who took a piece of junk bike in as part of program in which they fix them up and donate them to marginalized people. I also want to thank the Hillbilly Vac Shack for taking in the two vacuums. And lastly, I would like to thank Rodney Sidloski down at Help International outside of Weyburn (http://www.help-international.com/). Rodney taught me a lot about the concept of zero-sum waste and how even the word "waste" is often a misnomer for "resource".

P.S. The London Drugs recycling program is called the Green Deal (http://greendeal.ca/)

One of the vacuums that was Made in China

Sorry ma'am

Last night I walked to the grocery store to buy late night snacks. I took a back alley route down south Albert St because I am slow and pregnant. On the way I was grossed out by how much garbage was lying on the ground. I found myself scanning the trash for things that could be recycled. On the way there I spotted a magazine and thought....I should pick that up and put it in that nearby recycling bin.  Just as the idea crossed my mind a car drove by. I panicked not wanting to look weird and kept walking.

At the grocery store I came to the till and gave the cashier my reusable bag. She scanned my food items and placed them inside. I had also bought some conditioner.
Side bar... It took forever to decide on which one and I settled on a $7 bottle that says its sulphate free and 100% plant derived. Those labels are hard to understand sometimes.
Anyway, finally satisfied with my choice I went to the till and the cashier swiftly pulled out a plastic bag for the conditioner to put inside my reusable bag. I guess to stop possible contamination?
I yelled- "no! Please don't!"

It was much louder and more desperate sounding than intended but she was so quick. I wanted to stop her. I politely explained that I understood it was probably grocery protocol to have separate bags for meat or dairy or produce or soap but that I didn't care. "I'm only going a few blocks." I said. "I think I can manage with everything together."
She looked at me understandingly and said... "You really love the environment."
"It's just I already have a huge drawer of plastic bags I'm meaning to recycle and I keep forgetting." I tried to explains self further.

On my way back I picked up the magazine and put it in the blue bin.
I didn't even spill any conditioner on my food.

I swear I also have things that actually matter to talk about too.  Josh and I have been talking a lot lately about investing in an electric car. That opens up a whole can of worms about where our power comes from and the need for solar panels. That brings up the talk about how we need an extra $50 thousand dollars....

For now though, josh is doing well with the well researched, "big idea" portion of the blog. I'm happy to fill in the gaps.

SOLASTALGIA

Have you ever felt an ache in your heart when a certain landscape has changed or been affected by  ever-encroaching civilization?

Years ago, when I lived in Calgary, I would often escape to Mount St. Francis Retreat Centre just outside of Cochrane. It would usually be the odd Sunday when I would hop in my truck and make the 25-minute drive from NW Calgary. Driving along Highway 1A I could sometimes feel the muscles in my neck listen to gravity and fall down into my back. It was as if my body knew that the beautiful mountain views would lead me to a place where I could decompress from the "rat-race" of the city. Often, after arriving, I would walk a loop that took you around the large, near 500-acre property. Part of that walk included a path through some beautiful spruce trees that waved majestically in the Chinook winds, whatever the season. There were certain points along that path through the trees where you could sit down and admire a view that included the Rockies to the west and the rolling hills of the Bow River valley to the north. While the views were amazing, it was the way that those spots affected the other senses that I really remember. Peace whispered through the wind in the trees while vitality spoke within its fresh aromas. It would at once give me the feeling that, if only for a moment, I was Adam, the only person on earth.

Fast-forward a few years later when I returned to visit that same pathway. Cochrane is a bustling little city with more and more people eager to fill new subdivisions. As I am walking down the path, I hear the distant sounds of hammers, saws and advertisement laden radio stations coming from the hill on the nearest northern valley. Looking across, my heart sinks, feeling that in some way this place will not be the same for me anymore. Why does this bother me so much? Is it jealousy that other people are enjoying what I thought to be just for me (aka. I am not Adam anymore)? Is it disgust at the lack of variety in the new housing constructed? This past week I heard a new term that may have described my condition.

Solastalgia, a term coined Aussie Glen Albrecht, is a form of homesickness one gets when one is still at home, but the environment has changed. It's true—homesickness would be exactly the word to describe what I felt as I looked across that valley. What I find interesting is that its not only changes in natural landscapes that produce this feeling. Only a few years ago a large red grain elevator was removed from Wilcox, Saskatchewan where I lived seven years. This sounds really weird, but it really left a gap in the town—and I'm referring to the feeling of the place, not the look of it.

Anyways, I'm not sure what exactly this has to do with our eco-journey, but I know its something. Maybe its this: like changes in our closest people, changes in familiar places can really effect us, more than we think.

Those are my thoughts anyways... I would love it if you would be willing to share an example of solastalgia from your life and your views on how this is connected to what's happening in our local environments.

P.S. I am including a link to a paper I wrote for a Soil and Salvation theology class called Home. It talks about how my understanding of geographical places in our lives shaped my ecological relationships. Feel free to read if you wish:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B19nMR4zmP1Gc0RENXRpMXhwXzVzVEtFYkN6Y3hEd0FNelJn/view?usp=sharing

Cecil the Lion: Missing the forest for the trees

Watching the news the last couple of nights—you don't have much choice when your spouse works for a television news network—I couldn't help but notice the enormous amounts of coverage on the "Decapitation of Cecil the Lion". Seeing clips of protesters, petitions online, and graffiti on the dentist's property responsible for the killing confused me. Yes, I agree that poaching is bad and that animals should be protected, but if people are really mad about the killing of animals, shouldn't they be up-in-arms about climate change? We are now living in what is becoming known as the earth's sixth mass extinction. The Center for Biological Diversity websites states that:

"We’re currently experiencing the worst spate of species die-offs since the loss of the dinosaurs 65 million years ago. Although extinction is a natural phenomenon, it occurs at a natural “background” rate of about one to five species per year. Scientists estimate we’re now losing species at 1,000 to 10,000 times the background rate, with literally dozens going extinct every day. It could be a scary future indeed, with as many as 30 to 50 percent of all species possibly heading toward extinction by mid-century."

While past mass extinctions were caused by natural catastrophes like asteroids, volcanic eruptions and natural climate shifts, this one is unique in that it is entirely caused by humans. The website continues:

"In fact, 99 percent of currently threatened species are at risk from human activities, primarily those driving habitat loss, introduction of exotic species, and global warming."

My point is that if we don't do something about climate change, there likely won't be any Cecil's to cry over fifty years from now. I feel like we're missing the forest for the trees here. 

My other point on this is how people can get so upset about Cecil, while fellow human beings are being exploited and killed the world over. For this point I highlight paragraph 91 from Pope Francis' recent encyclical on ecology:

"A sense of deep communion with the rest of nature cannot be real if our hearts lack tenderness, compassion and concern for our fellow human beings. It is clearly inconsistent to combat trafficking in endangered species while remaining completely indifferent to human trafficking, unconcerned about the poor, or undertaking to destroy another human being deemed unwanted. This compromises the very meaning of our struggle for the sake of the environment... Everything is connected. Concern for the environment thus needs to be joined to a sincere love for our fellow human beings and an unwavering commitment to resolving the problems of society."

Well said. Just yesterday I was listening to Naomi Klein's This Changes Everything while at work (I'm painting for my brother-in-law so need something to occupy my mind). In the intro she talks about how a discussion with an Bolivian government environmental representative changed her view on climate change's impact. She said that many indigenous Bolivians living in the Andes mountains relying on fresh water from glaciers are seeing direct consequences of global warming. Their water sources are being drastically reduced and the worst part of it is that most of this is being caused by richer developed nations like us. In other words, direct consequences of our emissions are impacting people who already have much lower standards of living than us. 

So while I applaud peoples anger and frustration with Cecil's death I would encourage us to dig a little deeper into the bigger issue that threatens all of earths species---including us.

Vehicles: Less is More?

For the past year Morgan and I have been discussing whether or not we really need more than one vehicle. One U.S. stat shows that cars and trucks account for nearly one-fifth of all their emissions. StatsCan says that in 2005 private vehicle emissions accounted for 63% of our total household emissions (Saskatchewanians were the worst car polluters in the country, emitting 2,184 kg per capita). Naturally, an easy solution would be to decrease our driving and/or get rid of one of our vehicles. Turns out, that its not been that easy for us...

Currently we have two 2010 vehicles: one a Hyundai Elantra (aka Howie), the other a Ford Escape (aka Jimmie)—does anyone else name their cars?

There was a period of time earlier this year where we only had Howie because Jimmie was not yet in the picture and Fernando, our 2007 Honda Fit, had sacrificed himself to save me in a severe car accident this past December (another story for another time). During that time we decided to try living our lives with just one car. I would take Morgan to work, then drop of Clare at day care, and then drive to my work. At the end of the day, I would get Clare, and Morgan would find a ride home with a colleague since her job finished later than mine. This was doable, but resulted in a lot of driving for me, to the point where I wondered if we were even saving more money or more emitted C02. One day, I tried taking the city bus to work so that Morgan could have the car. It was somewhat inconvenient. The route included one transfer and a wait. Its poor that I complain about this when I saw so many of my students on the bus that day. They must take that route everyday! The other thing was that if I took the bus then no one could pick up Clare at the end of her day from daycare. All of this inconvenience led us to look into getting another car.

And that's just it: being without a car in a city like Regina is very inconvenient. I know that the city is trying to make the bus more accessible, along with bike lanes, but I feel there is so much more that can be done in this area.

Nevertheless, with me going back to school this September and Morgan on mat leave, our vision of living with one car may be more realistic. There are both good bike and bus routes to the University of Regina and that will leave Morgan with a car. And with this in mind the topic of dropping one of our cars came up again. Call it providence or serendipity, but after suggesting that we lend Howie out to someone who needs it within our community, someone in our neighbourhood recently approached us with a need for an interim vehicle. We are now considering this and trying to decide how it would work. It seems that God is smiling on our new attempt to cut down on our driving carbon footprint.... We'll keep you posted.

P.S. Recently I read this comment in a New Internationalist magazine that a reader had to a story on climate change. They said that the big things that need to happen start as simply, and as difficultly, as the places where we live and work. For example, what is the walking score of our homes in relationship to grocery stores, schools, and the big one, our places of work? And if that score is low, are we really willing to consider making changes that will increase that score. For me, I have taught for the past four years at LeBoldus High School which is a 10 min drive, 15 min bike ride and a 30 min walk from home. I have been considering asking for a transfer to Miller High School which is a 3 min walk from our front door. Think of how much this change would decrease my carbon footprint. I would not have to drive to work hardly ever! Now, I realize that there is a little more flexibility with a teaching job since there are schools scattered throughout the city. But lately I have been thinking about all of the advantages that one would have if they work, rest and play within the same general area. Not only would this decrease your carbon footprint but I am pretty sure it would increase your connection with your neighbourhood and general well-being. Again, another topic for another time...

In the dark

Do you ever leave the lights off on purpose even though it's hard to see what you're doing? Or turn the light off behind you in a public washroom, just to save a bit of energy, even though you realize that it's silly and it probably doesn't make any difference in the big picture? No? Neither do I.....

My dad used to always yell at us when we were little for leaving the lights on. I'd be in the basement and he'd make me come all the way up to my room on the second floor to turn off my light. I'd always ask why he didn't just turn it off himself but the message he was trying to get across seems to have sunk in.  I hate when someone leaves the lights on now.  I think for my dad at the time the lesson was about waste, maybe wasting money that he had to pay for the power bill.  Still waste is a big problem for most of us today.

Part of the reason I fumble around stupidly in the dark from time to time is to see what it would be like if we didn't have electricity. Lots of people don't.  It really bothers me how much I take things for granted, not enough to stop taking them for granted though... I am constantly trying to remind myself how lucky I am.  Only to be pulled back down into self entitlement and restlessness again and again.

A few weeks ago a water main broke on our street. I woke up at 3am to go pee....(pregnancy problems)...when I went to wash my hands, nothing came out of the tap.
I was stunned.  I called the city to complain and found out we would be without service for about five hours. Five hours! What a major inconvenience to my conveyance filled life.  Having no water really makes you appreciate how precious it is though.
Even if only for a day.

Yes, I am writing this while sitting on the bathroom floor in the dark.
Maybe we are all in the dark.
Too much?
I couldn't resist.