So have you heard about the “riot for austerity” (see blogroll for link)? I like to call myself an environmentalist, but this is dedication on a whole other, admirable, level. It’s certainly something to aspire to as I sit here decompressing from my day. I put my back out of whack this morning by sitting bent over my laptop on a metal stool. I’m not as young as I used to be, I guess. Went to the memorial service for James’ sister this afternoon which was very moving + reminded me of the importance of my family and the pure joy that my children bring. And thinking about my kids and their future leads me naturally to ponder the state of the environment.
The riot for austerity/90% emissions reduction project is simple in concept but challenging in reality. My current utter lack of salary has lead us out of necessity to reduce consumption and it has certainly made me VERY aware of how much a habit our lifestyle is. But to reduce by 90%! My first step will have to be to figure out the Canadian averages or at the very least, what our family averages are currently. I suppose I might be pleasantly surprised if our vegetarian diet/eating locally/me not driving back and forth to work anymore might add up to a somewhat more austere lifestyle than the average Canadian. But I know I can always do better and I’m sure I’m still using more planets than I should.
As part of our eating locally, this year we bought a working share in Sparrow’s Nest Organics (www.sparroworganics.com) and now that it’s July, we are awash in produce. The quality has been fabulous and there’s something wonderful about picking up the week’s distribution from a backyard in south edmonton. A complete absence of the fluorescent lighting, refrigerated shelves and metal carts that characterize a grocery store trip. Just an old beach umbrella, a rickety table and cardboard boxes overflowing with just picked produce. The strawberries are out of this world! The experience emphasizes how the big box stores that are ubiquitous to North America have sanitized our connection to commodity origins. Instead, I stop to give the resident cat a scratch, I delight in discovering what has been harvested this week, I feel the wind or rain or sun as I put my share into cloth bags….sometimes the absence of architecture is, in fact, the right solution.
