Peanut Butter, A Love Letter

Oh peanut butter, how do I love thee? Let me count the budget-friendly, time-friendly, environmental-friendly, ways.

My personal life has been in upheaval lately, leaving me busy and emotionally stressed. Frequently I don't take the time to, or don't feel up to, eating a meal, especially breakfast. What do I do then? Why, make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, of course! Quick, easy, cheap, and eminently digestible, peanut butter cures a multitude of ills. If you use the full 2 tablespoon serving, and use whole-grain-hippie-multiwhatever-5-g-protein-per-slice bread, you get 18 g of protein in one measly veg*n sandwich. Wash it down with a few swallows of milk, and you have a meal's worth of protein, which goes a long way towards offsetting the perils of not eating regular meals.

Never leave me, peanut butter.

The Illusion of Being Powerless, pt. 2

I find it very easy to focus on the things I haven't done instead of the things I have done, both in general and in terms of making a positive difference in the world. For example, I tend to dwell on my diet, specifically on the difficulties of producing food in a shoebox-sized urban flat with no balcony or patio. It's difficult enough that I haven't tried. But in dwelling on that, I forget that I've gone vegetarian in the past few years and reduced my consumption of dairy products. I have trouble with some things like butter and cheese, but overall, most of the dairy and eggs I consume comes from sustainably raised animals. And in dwelling on not growing food, I forget that I walk or take public transportation nearly everywhere I go, at least when I'm at school; I forget about the things I've done that don't cost money, like having line-dried nearly all my clothes this year, or having run the heat less than 24 hours total all year.

This isn't me boasting. It's me giving myself a pep talk. It's so easy to forget about the changes we've made once we get used to them, and get caught up in focusing on how much there is still ro be done.

The Illusion of Being Powerless

One reason why people give up on causes is because they feel powerless. If you can't change anything, why bother trying? It's just wasted effort, right? The world is too big, and too messed up, so best pull your head into your little shell and look after yourself and yours.

On which I cry shenanigans, bullpucky, and utter ridiculousness.

I am an American. Though I am a student with no steady employment, I am still one of the richest people in the world. I have free access to clean water, good food, a roof over my head, clothes on my back, and even spending money. I have enough of an education to allow me to comprehend arguments and make my own. I have access to various forums to exchange opinions with others and make my voice heard. Unlike many other people in the world, I have elected officials who ostensibly represent my interests, and the freedom to lobby them without fear of reprisal. The government to which they belong is one of the most powerful in the world. The economy in which I participate in a day-to-day basis is one of the most powerful in the world. My political decisions, and my economic decisions, have an enormous amount of weight compared to those of most of the rest of the world. I suspect this is true for residents of most developed countries.

With great power comes great responsibility; I can use my dollars to help fix the world, support low-impact food sources that are fairly traded and ethically sourced, buy clothes made by employees paid a living wage, and contribute to public transportation. I can lobby my elected officials to support renewable energy products, end tax breaks for polluters, and increase foreign aid. Or, I can use my dollars to have a less positive impact, to buy toys, gadgets and luxury items that I don't need, foods that contribute to the clearing of the forests and the pollution of our waterways, and lobby my elected officials to make sure I get mine, to make sure we cling to the increasingly indefensible and unsustainable status quo.

No matter what I do, my actions will have an impact. I am not powerless. The question now becomes, what kind of impact do I want to have on the world with my power? Do I want to have a positive impact... or a negative one?

Failure is Not Getting Back Up Again

"So do all who live to see such times. But that is not for us to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us."-- Gandalf, "The Fellowship of the Ring" (film)

Obviously, I haven't been blogging for a while. Partially I've been too discouraged by the idea that whatever I do, it's not enough. I came across a draft post that I never published about all the changes I've made in the last year and a half, and most of them are still true, but trying to avert massive catastrophe by individual action seems sisyphean. As I learn more about the science behind climate change, and how much there is that it is too late to avert even if we make drastic changes, it's incredibly discouraging.

But simply sitting on my butt and doing nothing is not a viable option. So, back to blogging, I think.

Actually, Fathers Count As Parents Too!

Hi, I'm temporarily back from an unexpected two-month hiatus. Sorry about that; I can't promise it won't happen again.

The Wall Street Journal published an article today called (trigger warning for child and verbal abuse on the link) Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior. The author, Ms. Amy Chua, details how Western parents are too soft on their kids and too concerned about their self-esteem, and how berating your kid harshly for anything less than perfection is really the way to go. It's really quite appalling, on a number of levels. Many of the commenters seemed to have noticed the horrid racial stereotyping, and that what the author is describing and recommending is child abuse; what's more subtle but also really bad is how Ms. Chua uses the words "mothers" and "parents" interchangeably, and how the entire article implies that mothers are the ones who really matter in how a kid turns out.

Peppers

I dried another batch of peppers. If I dried them all properly and they don't go bad, that gives me four small jars, which should get me through winter. I used this guide from "Straight From The Farm"; it's got good advice, and I recommend taking a look.

Eating Local

As another addendum, though I've been really busy and not eating as I like to do, I have noticed that more and more of my meals are local-- this is because I've been buying more local staples, like dairy, eggs, bread, and fruits. I think I've seem to hit a plateau; if I wanted to do things like get local flour, local nuts, etc., I'd have to actively search them out, and that would be nearly impossible without a car. Alas, winter is upon us, which means my local produce options will dwindle significantly. I have dried one batch of local peppers and have more peppers sitting on my table (I do hope they're not rotting by now...) and I have a little fruit frozen. I will dry some more fruit later in the month.

Also, I've discovered the thing known as the "day-old bread bin," which is a wonderful thing for college students and anyone on a budget.

Exit Polls

As an addendum, CNN's exit polls provide some fascinating information.

I was especially struck that equal numbers of people want to expand the new health care plan or leave it like it is, as want to repeal it; significantly more people blame Wall Street and President Bush for the economic situation than President Obama; most people are not in favor of keeping President Bush's tax cuts for everyone (these results are all on the 3rd page); favorable/unfavorable ratings for both parties are within one percentage point of each other (page 2).

The breakdown of political parties by education level is also fascinating: people with high school degrees or who have attended or graduated from college as their highest level of education tend to vote Republican; people without high school degrees, as well as people with postgraduate experience (that is, they attended or graduated from some sort of masters', doctorate, or professional program) tend to vote Democratic (page 1), though the margins are pretty close in each case.

You can even break it down for individual races in individual states. Go have a look!

Of course they didn't ask any questions about the environment. Apparently preserving the planet for ourselves and future generations is a luxury that has to take a back seat to the economy. I will only trot out the old adage that infinite growth is impossible on a finite planet.

Peak Oil Hausfrau: Hell Colonizing Earth

If you have a spare moment, I recommend heading over to Peak Oil Hausfrau and reading her very funny and very disturbing Hell announces Pilot Colonization Program.

I've been very busy with school, and many of my local eating/eating principles have fallen by the wayside. I have food in my fridge that is going bad, even ethically raised meat (!) I considered sneaking that one out into the woods so the animals could get it, but then I considered what would happen if I was stopped by security while carrying a bag of blood and raw flesh...

No 'poo continues, though, and it's pretty successful. At some point I'll claw my way out from under the stack of books, notes, homework and lab protocols, and resume regular posting and eating my fruits and vegetables. (I did discover a restaurant that does a lot of local sourcing, and it's not far off and the food is delicious. I think I'll be going back.)

Anyway, if you read all this, go read the link!

Bad Stewardship

I was watching this video about big cats and catnip, produced by Big Cat Rescue of Florida, and there's something I really, really don't get: how can anyone look at an animal like that and think it's better off as a coat-- or an aphrodisiac?? That's such a waste of what God has given us.

I think as Christians, we make big mistakes about what being a steward of the earth means. Remember all those stories in the Gospels about bad stewards who mistreat their master's stuff when the master is away? I have to wonder what we'll say if and when God asks us what we did with his stuff-- "Where are my big cats?"-- and all we have to point to is a pile of skins and some poached meat. "Where are my rhinoceroses? Where are my thylacine? What did you do with the wetlands I created to beautify the planet, purify the water, and nurture the young sea animals?"

I live in a city. I am not anti-progress. I'm not advocating that we all go live in grass huts-- clean water and window screens have saved millions, if not billions, of lives. But, when God made the planet and gave us dominion over the creatures on it, it didn't have any skyscrapers, malls, concrete parking lots, or oil spills. Why are we trying to make the planet over in our image? Why are we playing God?