this year has 42,075,904 beats

Dharmahouse

2009-05-14T16:32:00.002-04:00

My home away from home from June 10- July 7.
Dharmahouse in the south of France.

One paragraph says it all

2008-11-05T22:12:00.004-05:00

This is the Coles Notes version of what my next two years of research look like:

My area of concentration centers in the domain of restorative green economies. A guiding question is: “How can re-envisioning the way humanity creates wealth and earns a living radically restore the well-being of the biosphere?” It is my goal to engage with methodologies that seek to transform our current economic systems by integrating ecological economics, transformative ecology, and indigenous knowledge as tools in this process . The study of of these possibilities requires bridging the fields of economics, ecology, aboriginal knowledge, and psychology. This study also bridges the theoretical, philosophical and practical. A path of exploration is the synergy between these areas in the face of their apparent surface disparity. How can the coming together of these realms culminate in a new reality? Out of these research questions, an area of interest that I plan to examine is the emerging field of “Green Collar” work. Green Collar work operates from the demands for green and sustainable development while restoring the biosphere. I see this as an emergent field that contains potentialities to address several concerns at once: a hunger in society for meaningful employment, society’s psychological need to reconnect with the natural order, and an ever-pressing need for ecological restoration and sustainability.

Back on the beat

2008-10-05T16:28:00.005-04:00

I wouldn't hazard to figure how many heartbeats since my last post- well into the tens of millions at least. Why come back now?

to put out ideas to an unknown audience and wait for a response.
to put out ideas and wait for a response and cohesion within myself.

The me who wrote the last post probably wouldn't have envisioned the current me more than a year later with swirling and disparate ideas on the brain, begging for connections.
The current me is in a Masters of Environmental Studies program at York University. I'm writing out my Plan of Study (yes, we determine what our own degree is going to look like). So I'm creating my own path here. Here's what I'm interested in:

Deep Ecology
Ecological Reconciliation of Humans to Nature
Green Economics through Biomimicry
Indigenous Ways of Knowing
Green Employment out of Poverty
Ecopsychology
Genuine Wealth and Genuine Progress

....basically transforming everything and endeavouring to be happy.

So it starts here and now.

hello, honeybee?

2007-05-21T19:00:00.000-04:00

Ever call a loved one honey, honeybee, or honey bear? Perhaps it's some tacit understanding that honey is pretty darn awesome, and well, bees are just amazing. A few years ago, I became fascinated with bees' complex social structures and the ways they produce beeswax. They make their homes out of their own abdominal secretions!!! Think about it, humans save up and pay off mortgages for decades just to have a house- bees just up and make their own :)
As humans, we also depend on bees, not just for the obvious honey and beeswax, but also to pollinate the following crops:
almonds, peaches, soybeans, apples, pears, cherries, raspberries, blackberries, cranberries, watermelons, cantaloupes, cucumbers and strawberries.
As well all know, bees are in serious trouble at the moment. Researches have numerous theories, but no one knows for sure why entire colonies are dying off. It's called "Colony Collapse Disorder."
Some of the culprits being considered are: environmental stress, disease, mites, pesticides, GM crops and emissions from cellphones and cellphone towers (or some combination of these factors).
Here's one fact that is seems to be highly telling. Checkout Wikipedia as well, as they corroborate. Wild and organically-raised bees do not seemed to be affected by the mystery die-off. The non-organically, commercially raised bees are dying.

Here's a quote from the wikipedia article:

A chilling prediction about the importance of bees to mankind popular in the press recently is "If the bee disappears from the surface of the earth, man would have no more than four years to live. No more bees, no more pollination, no more plants, no more animals, no more man." This quote has been attributed to Albert Einstein, however the original source for this quote has not been reported and the earliest known use of the quote is from 1994.^{[76]

I don't know what we as individuals can do to help the bees (and help ourselves). Once again, it appears that supporting organic practices is the way to go. The magnitude of the problem makes me hope it's not too late.}

Time 4 a Fash Bash!

2007-05-15T11:49:00.000-04:00

These are some friends from Ottawa; they're a pretty diverse group who's interests include play therapy, cuban music, graphic design, aboriginal rights, date squares, and prancing (!) They also happen to be some the participants in the FashBash I put on when I was still living in Ottawa! A Fash Bash is a party, in which we bring together a collection of stuff from our closets that we don't want anymore, and share it. Consumption of snacks and drinks are also a main feature.
It's a nice way to connect with friends, clear out the closet, and to keep clothes out of landfills.... all the leftover clothes are donated to charity when the party's over.
We all scored a few items that were really unique that night (a vintage dress/ shirt, a brand-new item that didn't fit the 1st owner, etc...) In the end, we ended up donating about 70-80% of the clothes we dug out from our closets.
Spring cleaning that's fun, and eco :)

(miss you guys!!!)

A sordid public confession (!)

2007-05-14T10:41:00.000-04:00

Let me begin with a true story. Back in the days when I worked at an organic coffeehouse in Ottawa (the incomparable, Bridgehead), a number of my colleagues were crossovers from Starbucks. One of these, let's call him Cameron* (ok, so it's his real name), told me of a group meeting held for Starbucks staff, in which slides were shown. So Cameron swore up and down that the following is true- even as I gasped "No! I can't be true!" One of the slides shown was an image of a landfill... and there were so many Starbucks cups, that they were visible to the naked eye, scattered everywhere in this landfill. Apparently this slide was not intended to talk about how Starbucks could improve, but rather to illustrate: "Look how big we are."

Next comes my twofold confession:
1. At various times I've resolved to stop supporting Starbucks (I rarely drink their coffee, but I have to admit liking their teas and soylattes). I've been not so good at upholding this! There is a Starbucks right in front of my yoga studio, and when I'm working there, I'll often go to Bucky's for a takeout tea and a pack of almonds.

2. The takeout cups!!! I was totally ashamed the other day as my boyfriend and I were out for a stroll (with takeout Bucky's cups in hands) and we walked behind a couple drinking from reusable stainless steel cups o' hot beverage. BAD AIMEE!!!

So on these too fronts, I've been a slacker! I'm posting this publicly as a motivation to improve.

The people don't want war

2007-05-11T17:05:00.000-04:00

"Of course the people don't want war. But after all, it's the leaders of the country who determine the policy, and it's always a simple matter to drag the people along whether it's a democracy, a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism, and exposing the country to greater danger."

-Herman Goering, Nazi leader, at the Nuremberg Trials

She feeds you tea and oranges that come all the way from China

2007-05-11T09:54:00.000-04:00

It seems unlikely that when Leonard Cohen composed his song "Suzanne," he had formaldehyde, textile dyes and borax in mind...

So guess who's coming to dinner???

As it turns out, our pets are not the only ones affected by tainted food from Asia. As you might recall, the recent poisonous pet food scare has been linked to Asian food companies adding Melamine (a plastic) to wheat gluten to boost the appearance of protein. Apparently the practice of "melamine scrapping" is considered an "open secret" in China. Unfortunately, it also appears that this sort of dishonesty is prevalent in Asian food production.

This comes from the May 9 2007, Wall Street Journal:

HONG KONG -- Formaldehyde, which has been linked to cancer, has legitimate uses in adhesives and embalming. But in Indonesia, Sutikno, a 35-year-old tofu maker in south Jakarta who goes by one name, uses it to keep the tofu he sells fresh.

"Formaldehyde is magic. There is no comparison," he said on a recent afternoon at the market. Last year, he switched briefly to a legal preservative, but his bean curd went bad in less than 24 hours. As for his customers, he doesn't tell them he uses formaldehyde. "There is no complaint," Mr. Sutikno said.

From Wikipedia:

Pesticide-Covered Vegetables

In early 2006, Greenpeace tested vegetables in two Hong Kong grocery stores , Parknshop and Wellcome, and discovered that over 70% of their samples were covered in pesticide residue. Thirty percent of their vegetable samples exceeded safe levels of pesticides and several tested positive for illegal pesticides, such as DDT, HCH and Lindane. Greenpeace explained that nearly 80% of vegetables in these grocery stores originated from mainland China. John Chapple, manager of Sinoanalytica, a Qingdao-based food analysis laboratory, supplemented Greenpeace's information. He was not surprised by the findings and explained that farmers in China have little knowledge of correct pesticide use. ^[57]

Some more examples:

Sudan I- a textile dye banned for human consumption, being added to foods such as chili sauce to boost colour (US companies in Asia such as KFC and Heinz have been found to use it)
Sudan I being fed to animals for brighter yolks
"frying powders" being added to deep frying oil (which allows for the oil not to be changed regularly- eeeeew!)
Borates (used in insecticides and flame retardants) used as food preservatives
Pervasive use of Formaldehyde as a food preservative where refrigeration is scarce

Need more proof to support and eat locally grown, organic food?

Da Ali G Show - Christine Todd Whitman

2007-05-10T04:22:00.001-04:00

Going the distance

2007-05-08T20:18:00.000-04:00

So the answer for our global food quandaries is to eat 100% organic, fair trade, and non-genetically modified foods, right? If you had asked me about a year ago, that's what I would have said. I still believe that these three actions are essential, but more and more, I'm also starting to understand the importance of distance in the food equation.
Yes, organic foods are healthier, tastier, and better for the environment then pesticide-sprayed ones, no question.
However, consider the following:
Being a conscientious and quality oriented consumer, you might pick up a tray of organic strawberries at the grocer, and pass up the Ontario-grown apples. Where have those strawberries been flown-in from? California? The fuel energy that went into flying those little guys into your precious palms far outweigh any caloric value you'll get from eating them!! Another example: buying cheeses that have been flown in from all corners of the world when local cheesemakers are struggling to find a market. Buying local cheeses,

supports your local economy
saves the planet a bunch of carbon emissions

Enter, the 1 00 Mile Diet:

This is from their website:

When the average North American sits down to eat, each ingredient has typically travelled at least 1,500 miles—call it "the SUV diet." On the first day of spring, 2005, Alisa Smith and James MacKinnon (bios) chose to confront this unsettling statistic with a simple experiment. For one year, they would buy or gather their food and drink from within 100 miles of their apartment in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Since then, James and Alisa have gotten up-close-and-personal with issues ranging from the family-farm crisis to the environmental value of organic pears shipped across the globe. They've reconsidered vegetarianism and sunk their hands into community gardening. They've eaten a lot of potatoes.

Their 100-Mile Diet struck a deeper chord than anyone could have predicted. Within weeks, reprints of their blog at thetyee.ca had appeared on sites across the internet. Then came the media, from BBC Worldwide to Utne magazine. Dozens of individuals and grassroots groups have since launched their own 100-Mile Diet adventures. The need now is clear: a locus where 100-milers can get the information they need to try their own lifestyle experiments, and to exchange ideas and develop campaigns. That locus will be here at 100MileDiet.org—turning an idea into a movement.

I recommend checking out this book, and especially their website: 100milediet.org/home/. Alisa and James offer a lot of thought provoking ideas, in addition to tips and tools for the inspired. In this instance, it's definitely worth going the distance.

Get a little closer

2007-05-07T11:18:00.000-04:00

Ever get ready to plant a particularly passionate smooch on your honey, only to hesitate? "How's my breath??" Don't think you're alone! Gum sales are a brisk business, capitalizing on your fears (founded or unfounded). But before you pop open that gum pack, think of all the over-packaging that went into it. Many gum products are individually encapsulated in plastic, covered in metal foil, and than wrapped in a paper sleeve. All those materials: metal, petroleum and trees (and the energy to process and transport them). Perhaps a little unnecessary, non?
There's a healthy, quick, eco, and economical way to deal with this. As usual, mama nature's got a solution.
So one of the best things for breath are certain seeds, Fennel and Anise -little breath warriors, in fact. You can find them at any health or spice store. Then, find a small container (ones made for lipbalm work great) and keep those trusty guys with you.
Aside from the ecological benefit, there's also a big health one too. If you look at the ingredients of most gums, they contain artificial sweeteners (aspartame and its cousins). Aspartame is seriously scary stuff; dig up enough research and you'll see that it got approved by the FDA only under very dubious conditions. It was also invented by the company, Searle (now Monsanto) that we have to thank for Agent Orange (man, I couldn't make this stuff up!)

From Indymedia.org : "For 16 years, the Food and Drug Administration denied approval of aspartame because of compelling evidence of its contributing to brain tumours and other serious disabilities. Donald Rumsfeld left President Ford's administration as Chief of Staff to become the CEO of aspartame-producer GD Searle Co. in 1981. Shortly after, Rumsfeld became the CEO, and the day after President Reagan took office, aspartame was quickly approved (...) over the objections of the FDA's Public Board of Inquiry."
So as not to end on a disturbing note,

Fennel and Anise seeds are actually good for you! They freshen the breath in your mouth, and additionally help your digestion.

Give it a try! And give your loved ones lots of confident kisses!

Wooping it up

2007-05-04T13:39:00.000-04:00

Ever wonder what becomes of everyday people who become green fanatics? Well... they rejoice in such things as high performance worm poop (Woop). Yes, friends, read this blog long enough, and it just might happen to you : )

The Globe and Mail featured Woop today! check out this link:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20070504.GREENTIPS04/TPStory/?query=green+living
(thanks to Shawn for drawing it to my attention).
Woop is the endproduct (hehee) of millions of worms fed on exclusively organic food scraps. It will add new life to your plants (mine have already perked up). Woop is also more enviro friendly than chemical fertilizers. Here's the clincher: the production of Woop keeps about 2-3 truckloads of organic waste out of landfills per day.
The whole Globe article is worth a read if you're a homeowner who wants to take green baby steps. Remember the Bill Murray/Richard Dreyfuss film, "What about Bob?" (so funny). As you might recall, "It's all about the baby steps, Bob."

Wondering where Woop is to be found? Harvesting your own high-performance worm poop might be a tad on the inconvenient side. I have to admit to being sneaky here... I've been enticing you with the Woop to lead into my favourite Toronto charity, Evergreen! Evergreen sells Woop to raise money for the urban re-greening work they do. Visit their website (in my links) and give their site a visit.

Even better, if you live in the GTA, you have a good opportunity see what they're all about in a hands-on kind of way.

As part of their re-greening and community enhancing mandate, Evergreen, has taken over the abandoned industrial Brickworks site in the Don Valley. They're transforming it into an eco-learning centre +farmer's market +native plant nursery + more! You can visit the site now, or wait for the last weekend of May when they're having a doors open event (again, check out their website).

A visit with the Un-lawns

2007-05-03T12:30:00.000-04:00

Thanks to many requisite hours of art history lectures, I became aware of the following fact: lawns were a creation of European aristocrats. Before the invention mowers, only the very wealthy could possibly maintain a vast expanse of unproductive land. Until the societal move away from personal agriculture, people needed all their land to grow food on (what a crazy idea!). Once again, only the uppercrust could afford such an unproductive use of fertile land.
In fact, grass lawns were designed to convey the following: "I'm pretty friggin' wealthy"

Looking around most North American neighborhoods, you'll continue to see the ubiquitous lawn, only now it's no longer a symbol of any particular wealth. A particular irony for those of us living in Canada is that such a large percentage of our country is inhabitable and not feasible for agriculture... yet, to look around our suburbs you'd never know it, given that this land is being... well... wasted.

Time for the Un-Lawns!

Time to reclaim these lawns! Lawns are being turned back into habitats for nature- birds, bees, butterflies, little critters. Some of the adventurous folks are going back to growing food. At the very least, people are simply planting groundcovers like thyme and ivy instead of grass, so they don't have to mow and spray with pesticides.

Here an example of a budding un-lawn I found in my neighbourhood:

Still in the works, but not too shabby! Once established all it needs is periodic weeding.
The benefits are:

these people can sell their mower (hello, $)
less (or no) watering
no need to fertilize
having a beautiful piece of nature outside their front window
trees and plants store carbon dioxide (hmmm....)
and say goodbye to pesticides!

A visit to the un-lawns is just what we need.

Hemp isn't psychoactive, but your coffee is!

2007-05-02T08:22:00.000-04:00

Let me begin this post with the full disclosure that I recently won a Hemp prize pack (Woohoo!) As it so happens, I won the prize fair and square, regardless of whether I would be writing about it! Winning the goodies only gave me the brainwave: "I should write about hemp!" :)

I've been a fangirl of industrial hemp for a while now. It's a highly sustainable plant crop, usually requiring less, ideally no, pesticides (look for certified organic). Unfortunately, there's been an aura of ambivalence around hemp for some people, who unfairly associate it with drug use. It's a plain 'ol fallacy! Industrial hemp is not psychoactive- only highly nutritious. It might come as a surprise to some folks that while the caffeine in their coffee is psychoactive, industrial hemp is not. Yes, caffeine is a drug. Literally.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caffeine

Why should you consume hemp?
Our modern diet is notoriously low in Essential Fatty Acids (EFAs). EFAs are essential (did the name give it away?!) because our bodies can't produce them. There three EFAs: Omega 3, 6 and 9.... and hemp has all three. Hemp oil also contains a rare and highly beneficial fatty acid: GLA. Because hemp contains all the amino acids, it's also a high source of protein.
Hemp products are also a substitute for people who are allergic to soy. Many vegetarians consume too much soy (yup, I'm guilty of this one). Soy crops are not always sustainably grown and can be environmentally detrimental if not organic and GMO free.

A fine hemp foods company is Ruth's www.ruthshempfoods.com

All of Ruth's products (including hemp oil, powders and bars and dressings) are non-gmo, and many are also organic. The bars are nummy! I find that a hemp bar and a fruit smoothie makes the perfect quick 'n healthy breakfast. Ruth's company works with family farms, and gives back to the community. And of course, Ruth herself, looks like a total sweetheart. Give the products a try!

The phenomenon that is Elizabeth May

2007-04-30T10:16:00.000-04:00

The highlight of Toronto's GreenLiving Show, aside from the Woop (see previous post) was Elizabeth May of the Green Party of Canada, and her impassioned plea for a call to action on climate change. That woman brought the house down. It was the best political speech I've witnessed in person. In fact, it was unique among speeches for its lack of image bolstering and posturing. Aside from the content of her ideas, the sheer power of her conviction was so overwhelming, I got shivers at times.

Joel Parkes' blog says the following, and I can only second what he wrote:

I just got back from the Green Living Show in Toronto where I saw Al Gore and many others speak but I have to say the speech that will stay with me the longest was Elizabeth May's speech during the politician's presentation part of the evening (...) Elizabeth came out and spoke with such emotion and sincerity and passion that she got two standing ovations. She was very upset about the minority Conservative government's anti-Kyoto stance and she let it be known in no uncertain terms. Her voice breaking and rising to a shout, she demonstrated true passion like I have never seen in a political speech before. It was the 'gloves off' Elizabeth that I had wanted to see for awhile. She even apologized for getting so emotional but she said that Harper had brought out the maternal instincts in her and that she felt like a Mama grizzly protecting her cubs. Someone from the audience said 'Don't apologize", and another person stood up and said 'What you showed us is what we need'. Such moving political drama. What a sincere and powerful speech! When the Stephane Dion video came on screen my friend and I just went home, we had seen the best that a politician could ever deliver. We, as a political party, are being guided by a truly motivating and passionate person (...)

This is a woman to watch.

More than just the hype?

2007-04-27T14:24:00.000-04:00

If you're living in the GTA, it's not too late to attend the greenliving show.
It appears to be the event for all issues around eco-commerce this year. Lots of people are talking about it and it has some money behind it. Big business has decidedly jumped on board.
Positively speaking, I still think the "greening" of the giants (or at least, their attempt to join in for the $) is still a step in the right direction. I think it shows just how deep-seated public concern is forcing recognition and change.
I'm truly looking forward to Greenliving, aside from the inevitable bandwagon jumping. Mostly, I'm inspired by the not-for profits, the speakers, and the committed small business owners (like Rob Grand's Grassroots store)... and you!
If you're a 42 million beats reader who's planning a trip on Sunday aft, come visit! I'll be representing the amazing urban re-greening charity, Evergreen at booth #1438- we'll be distributing a soil made of worm poop "woop" (me, a Booth babe? hardly!)

Hope to see you Sunday at the show- Direct Energy Center, Exhibition Place.
Come for David Suzuki, stay for the woop!

The Good Doctor

2007-04-26T15:52:00.000-04:00

I was thinking it would be a fun to periodically spotlight cool and environmentally friendly products here at 42 million beats. Special attention will be given to those longtime individuals and companies who were green-oriented before it was necessarily hip or profitable. These are the pioneers, visionaries, and perhaps the eccentrics, who have been kickin' it old school for decades :) Let's support them with our business and vote with our dollars.

Our first spotlight shines on Dr. Bronner- www.drbronner.com

Some of you may already know & love him and his products. For those unfamiliar, Dr. Bronner was a German soap chemist who immigrated to the USA during Hitler's reign (his family was killed by the Nazis) A Wikipedia search will yield some amazing stories about his eventful life. He created a line of pure castile soaps that are organic and ecologically friendly. While Dr. Bronner passed away in '97, his family has continued on. Their soap bottles are 100% post-consumer recycled, the products aren't tested on animals, and in addition to being organic, many of the ingredients are fair-trade... talk about feeling clean! You might start developing a halo after regular use.
For me, the most lovable part of the Dr. Bronner's brand is the heartfelt and grammatically incorrect proverbs on the bottle. The bottles are literally covered in Dr. Bronner's messages of peace and unity. Here's a sample (with no changes made):

The whole World is our country, our fatherland, because all mankind are born its Citizens! We're all Brothers & Sisters because One, ever-loving, Eternal Father is our only God, & All-One God Faith reunites God's legion!"Listen Children Eternal Father Eternally one

or how about:

Back with the full-truth I've gained, back to the way. Smile, help teach the whole human race, the Moral ABC of All-One-God Faith, lightning-like strong and we're All-One! All-One! ALL-ONE!

While Dr. Bronner's writing wouldn't have garnered a Pulitzer nomination, the message of "All-One!" unity is a quirky and positive way to start the morning.
Any product, such as his, that is so effective and concentrated as to last several months, is also a good value. A bottle will last you!
So congratulations Dr. Bronner! Our spotlight shines on you today! ALL ONE :)

Deforestation, say what?

2007-04-25T12:21:00.000-04:00

How about taming the relentless stream of deceased trees that fill our mailboxes regularly. In the past month, our home has received the following (unrequested) catalogues:

Land's End
LL Bean
Glow (Shopper's Drug Mart)
Harry (Harry Rosen, men's clothing)

That's just 30 days worth, and I think I'm forgetting some :) "Glow" and "Harry" were particularly thick and glossy paper, and I shudder to think of all the old-growth that went into making these "magazines" (actually ads for the said companies).
A quick phone call to both Land's End and LL Bean put an end to their catalogue sending. The phone representatives were friendly. They both mentioned they appreciated the savings of costs and postage as a result of the phone call.
Glow and Harry were a bit trickier. You need to jot them of a quick email to stop the stream... so while I was at it (grin), I thought I might as well give them a courteous nudging to switch to forest friendly paper and non-toxic vegetable-based inks.

So upon little further analysis...

Let's say several hundred of us put a polite stop to the catalogues (a quick, toll free phone call in most cases), we've:

-saved lots of trees (they're doing a pretty admirable job providing us with clean air, ya know)
-saved fuels used for shipping these thingys all over the continent to get to our door
-saved the mailman's back- give that guy a break, he's got enough to lug around!

Water and Cooperation

2007-04-24T11:01:00.000-04:00

Yesterday, I wrote a bit about looming water issues (please scroll down for a recap). Humanity is definitely in delicate relationship with water. Essentially, water is our life fuel. In Sanskrit, life and water are in fact the same word. Water seems to enable all life we know of.
And yet we are polluting this resource rapidly. If you look at this rationally, our actions constitute a self-destructive behaviour. Of course, it's not hard to become dispirited when we come to this rather grim observation . Our current systems of goods production, consumption and distribution tend to inherently pollute water- does that make our current systems "bad"? No.... it just means they are inefficient. They are acting against our ecosystem rather than with it.
Which leads me to the social insight I promised to talk about today. It's actually someone else's insight :)
A wise woman at the Water conference I attended at U of Toronto mentioned the following:
The precarious needs-based relationship all of humanity has with water puts us in a perfect position to Finally learn to Cooperate. Water is our chance, our opportunity.

Here are a few things you can do:

Start looking at water as a shared resource not a commodity
Fill your own reusable bottles with filtered tap water, rather than buying bottled water
Enjoy local, organic food (which wastes much less water than 'agri-business' food)
do not support big dam projects and rerouting of waters, streams and rivers
encourage and support people who are acting positively! Become the change you want to see.

The highest goodness is like water. Water benefits all things and does not compete. It stays in the lowly places which others despise. Therefore it is near The Eternal.

~ Lao-Tzu (6th century B.C.)
Chinese philosopher

Living Machines and Cooperation

2007-04-23T10:57:00.000-04:00

Today, and increasingly in the future, human destiny is going to be tied to water issues.

Yesterday, I attended a teach-in on the theme of water. Some alarming bells were sounded about the commoditisation, pollution and misuse of water. To add insult to injury, not only are we polluting and wasting our water at unprecedented level, the demand for it is only increasing exponentially. Luckily, many hopeful and insightful thoughts were also shared. I thought I'd focus on just two of them, one scientific and one social:

The Scientific angle: Living machines

This is a filter tank from the Living Machine at Oberlin College.

Dr. John Todd, a biologist born in Ontario, has developed living systems that clean and purify sewage water.... the purified water is better than EPA standards.

Wikipedia can explain it better:

Todd and colleagues have developed what they call "living machines." In principle, a living machine is an ecologically engineered technology developed to restore, conserve, or remediate sewage or other polluted water, by replicating and accelerating the natural purification processes of streams, ponds and marshes. In practical application, a living machine is a self-contained treatment system designed to treat a specific waste stream using the principles of ecological engineering. It does this by using diverse communities of bacteria and other microorganisms, algae, plants, trees, snails, fish and other living creatures.

John Todd developed a greenhouse waste treatment plant in Cape Cod that yields clean water from sewage. Bacteria consume the organic sewage and turn ammonia into nitrates. The nitrates are used as food for algae and fertilizer for duckweed. Zooplankton and snails consume the algae. Fish eat the zooplankton. Floating plants soak up the leftovers. Bulrushes, cattails, and hyacinths heavy metals. The byproducts are decorative plants and minnows, both of which are sold. The minnows are sold as bait fish. Aquatic plants, raised in the system's open-air lagoons for sewer treatment, are used in California, Florida, and Mississippi. Todd's "living machine" system makes it possible to do all this in the colder northern climates. The town of Harwich, Massachusetts began using Todd's system in 1990.

The example of living machines shows how nature-collaborative methods can solve problems so elegantly and effectively, rather than a nature-aggressive approach. Nature as an ally. Let's mimick it rather than fight it.... 'k peeps?

Insight #2 (the social insight) is to come tomorrow... check in!

Seeing the light

2007-04-20T09:20:00.000-04:00

Shoshuten (the Circulation of light) is a Japanese practice, I picked up from yoga teacher, Sarah Powers. It bears some resemblance to yoga techniques but appears to have developed independently by ancient taoists. Who knows? :)
What is Shoshuten and why give it a try?
According to Powers, Shoshuten gathers up dissipated energy in the body. Ancient wisdom traditions tell of a powerful corridor of energy in the body (i.e. the central nervous system along the spinal column). Yogis refer to it as the Shushumna and Taoists, as the Central Channel. This central channel carries vital life force and keeps it circulating throughout the vital energy centers, the Chakras.
What about modern science? Wouldn't it discount chakras n' stuff ?
Think again. If you look at a map of the Chakras and superimpose it with our current understanding of the endocrine/adrenal system, you will find an almost perfect match. In fact our current understanding isn't at all complete, and what we do know seems to match up pretty well, in fact.

With the practice of Shoshuten, we imagine light circulating through our central column, starting at the root of the spine, moving up the back, coming to a point between the eyebrows, and then flowing back down to the front of the body back to the starting point.
It works nicely to lie down comfortably
Long Inhale: send light from the base of the spine and travel it up the back slowly, continuing up along the neck, up around the crown- and end the inhalation at the third eye, Ajna chakra (space between the eyes)
Long Exhale: from the Ajna chakra, start to exhale as you travel the light down through the front of the body- down the throat, the heart centre, the digestive area, pelvis, ending the exhale back at the root
Repeat this for several long breaths
Start to envision and feel an energy "loop" of light circulate through you

Better than counting sheep before bed :)

A public enemy wrongly accused

2007-04-19T12:41:00.000-04:00

It's time to change our attitudes about dandelions. Yesterday, at Forty two million beats, we looked at ways to clean up the air in our homes with plants. Today we're looking at cleaning up our bodies with plants, and guess who's our new best friend: yup the weed we've been trained to loathe.
Well no longer.
Stop spraying these little guys with pesticides! They're trying to make nice with us :)
Dandelions are common in temperate climates and are native to the Northern Hemisphere of the Old World.
Their name comes from "dent de lion,"French for "lion's tooth," -the pattern seen in its leaves. Another French name for dandelions is "pissenlit" (pissin' in the bed!)
It's been long recognized that dandelions are a diuretic. Drinking dandelion tea purifies the blood and cleanses the liver. The leaves of dandelions are high in Vitamins A, C and several B vitamins. They have more iron and calcium than spinach.

Above, is an image of dried dandelion leaves and tasty dandelion tea. I was sipping on a cup whilst writing :) The fresh leaves are also a good addition to salad. Eating fresh dandelion flowers is said to cure chocoholics of their cravings.

Help to:

Keep pesticides off of lawns (they seep into our ground water supply and poison plants, animals and children)
Keep yourself healthy by digging out and consuming fresh dandelions
make a bouquet :)

Clean with greens!

2007-04-18T08:57:00.000-04:00

As many of us know, our indoor air quality can be dicey at best... dust, formaldehyde, benzene, carbon monoxide- yikes! The fact that stuff in our living spaces accumulates and breathes out noxious substances is well documented. Odds are your living space has some carpeting, furniture made from particle board, dry cleaning... and is likely quite airtight (i.e. all those fumes are staying in).

There's a low cost solution for you: GREEN GUYS!

NASA and the Associated Landscape Gardeners of America did a two year study about air quality and plants, and guess what they found: They clean it :)

Up to 87% of indoor pollutants were cleaned up by these bad boys, given ideal conditions (one plant per 100 sq feet)

Here are some green powerhouse faves:

Peace Lily (pictured)
Ivy
Bamboo
Ferns
Daisies
Mums (Love you Mum!)

Go green indoors and benefit from the following:

-A reduction in the pollutants that make us tired, cranky and sick
-a more beautiful and vibrant living space

O.k, isn't that enough?!
Here's another nice thing to do: pass on today's tip to someone you know with asthma to help them breathe a sigh of relief.

Fake plants don't count!!!

What is Wabi-Sabi?

2007-04-14T06:59:00.000-04:00

"Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering,
There's a crack in everything
That's how the light gets in."
-Leonard Cohen

What is Wabi-Sabi? It's a Japanese term that refers to the art of finding beauty in imperfection. I recently read a book entitled Wabi-Sabi, by Leonard Koren (a friend of Leonard Cohen's, perhaps?!)
Leonard K. defines Wabi-Sabi "as the quintessential Japanese aesthetic. It is the beauty of things imperfect, impermanent, and incomplete. It is the beauty of things modest and humble."
He refers in the book to Zen tea masters who had refined their art to such a degree, that they began to serve tea in modest, worn cups. They used rough wooden utensils and other objects that showed their age and "flaws"-- and they saw beauty and integrity in this.
Here's another example of Wabi-Sabi: a zen gardener spent hours tending to the grounds of a beautiful garden- grooming, pruning and raking. The garden was not perfect however until the gardener had the insight to add one finishing touch: he gently shook a cherry blossom tree until several blossoms scattered the ground. Just right.

Perhaps I'm not the first to draw the association with this aesthetic and ecology - but I'm the first person I know who has :)
From the first instant I heard of Wabi-Sabi, I loved it and wanted to learn more. Perhaps it was a reaction to the cult of 'newness' , the cult of throwing things away the instant they show the slightest wear. Would we give away beloved pets when they exhibit the first grey hairs or a hobbly leg? Emphatically Not! We love them even more and they become more endearing!
Now, when we have a bowl that gets a hairline crack, or a chair that starts to show its age, do we treat it with the same respect? Likely, it ends up in the landfill.

So here's the challenge: next time you're about to chuck away an item because it's lost it's shiny-new luster, ask yourself "Does this item still work, is it functional, do its imperfections make it more beautiful?"

A Wabi-Sabi style rundown! Here's what you'll achieve to changing your outlook:

-more items kept out of landfills
-an enhanced appreciation and joy in what you already have
-saving money
-a living space inhabited with meaningful objects, that grow in their own beauty and uniqueness

On the flip side: No need to feel guilty about the occasional fancy for something bright and new. Just remember to Freecycle your old items- your local charity will likely appreciate them.

Do have a Wabi-Sabi item? Leave a comment :)

As promised....

2007-04-13T09:09:00.000-04:00

At Forty two million beats, one of our passions is the environment. We're going to explore eco-logical tips for better living.
What is"eco-logic"? It's using your bean:) Eco-logic tips are usually creative and thoughtful. They consider ways to reduce your environmental impact, save $$ and rejoice in creativity and sheer ingenuity.
Some of my best tips have been handed down from my gram... looks pretty good for her eighties, non? Well as attractive and lovely as my gram is, she won't be chaining herself to an endangered redwood anytime soon. Having lived through Great Depression however, she's learned to be creative with resources. She is generous with family and at the same time very frugal.
The following tip is one of hers. So without further ado:

Today's eco-logic tip, inspired by grammy k.

Lip Love!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ever get to the end of a particularly scrumptilescent lip product and notice that there's still lots remaining- stuck in the bottom of the tube? That simply won't do!
O.K. let's get serious. One of my guilty pleasures is Aveda liptints and those suckers are like $15 bucks! Why throw away about 15% of the product?
What I've done is hang on to the "finished" tubes until I have about three of them.
If you look at the example above, all that's needed is a small tin or jar leftover from a previous makeup item (in this case, a Burt's Bees snappy metallic tin). I then harvested (i.e. scrapped out) the contents of a couple tubes of the "finished" lipbalms and lipsticks, blended it together with the back of a spoon and put it in said container- ta da! brand new product!
This new creation is amazing! Because it's a mixture of my favourite lipbalms and lipsticks it moisturizes and provides just a bit 'o colour... I love it more than what I started out with!

Here's the rundown, by doing this tip yourself, you're:

-keeping a tin or jar out of a landfill
-extending the life of products you thought were used up
-bringing down your consumption
-expressing your creativity and lip artistry
-also, once you've gotten all that good stuff out of the old tubes, many of them are recyclable

Have fun! Tell me how it goes:)