Rethink Your Life!
Finance, health, lifestyle, environment, philosophy 		The Work of Art and The Art of Work
Kiko Denzer on Art


Cob: making a difference

Arlie Haig ajhaig at sonic.net
Mon Sep 23 23:24:32 CDT 2002 

This is from a list I am on, written by a friend of mine, marguerite of Turtle Island Institute, and I felt it expressed my thoughts exactly and was well written enough to forward. Apologies to those cross posted and this IS a one-time only email.
Best regards, 
Arlie

Here is a list of groups we feel are 'making a difference'.  

Creating CoHousing, CSAs, Food Co-ops, Farmers' Market, Local Scrips,
EcoVillages, Homesteads, Holistic Health Centers, Homeschooling Support
Groups, Learning Communities, Bicycle Trails, Peer Lending, Organic
Gardens, Capital Tithying, Community Loan Funds, Locally owned Corporations and
Cooperatives and other social innovations that empower people at the
grassroots and produce community solidarity will.

What has been left out here are vegetarian, vegan and raw food groups,
alternative construction groups, e.g., straw bale, cob, recycled
materials, earth and adobe, solar and other alternative energy groups,
permaculture groups, employee-owned and operated businesses, and,
ecotravel groups.  

I would like to point out that of all of the groups, two stand out in
importance.  The first is the vegetarian, vegan, and raw food groups as
meat production, including poultry and fish, is the third largest
industry in the world in terms of revenue generation -- thus voting our
dollars in the marketplace thru joining those who already embrace eating
lower on the food chain as a way of life. This shift in lifestyle could
do more to preserve our environment and our personal health, while taking
back our control in the financial markets, than any other activity.  More
land is used to feed beef cattle than is used to feed humans.  The
ocean's fisheries are almost depleted.  Instead of doing whatever it is
we want to do, we need to look at what the critical issues are and begin
to address these first.  Fortunately, the vegetarian movement is growing
with more and more people realizing the affect that we can have by
refusing to patronize the supermarkets and instead choosing to go to
local farmer's markets and/or growing our own food.  Edible landscaping,
organically grown, can replace the green lawns that require hundreds of
gallons of water and pounds of chemical fertilizers to keep them green.
For those who need more protein, meat substitute products made from NGO
soybeans is much better for one's health and protects the environment as
well.      

Another important issue is travel.  The travel industry is now the number
one revenue-producing industry in the world with 1 billion people
traveling each year for pleasure alone.  Do we really need that vacation
for which we must jump on a plane and travel half way around the world to
stay in an 'American-model resort'? Or could we vacation at nearby parks
in the areas near where we live?  Many of the people who travel in
'eco-friendly' ways spend their vacations making a contribution to those
in poverty-stricken regions in developing countries and staying at less
than comfortable resorts.  Must we hop a plane to go to a convention,
workshop, seminar, or business meeting, or can we now conduct these
activities via the Internet or through teleconferencing?  Airplane travel
is the #6 most environmentally-polluting activity we do today, with food
production being #2, (under food production, meat-raising is #1) and auto
travel being #1 according to the Union of Concerned Scientists in their
book, "Effective Environmental Choices for Consumers".  Isn't it time we
began to make 'smart choices' based on valid information?  

The choice to save the human race is ours as individuals.  How shall we
choose?  Dr. R. Buckminster Fuller, asked the following question:  'If
the survival of the planet today is dependent upon who you are and what
you do, who will you be and what will you do?'  

marguerite

"Be the change you envision" - M. Gandhi
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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>This is from a list I am on, written by a friend of 
mine, marguerite of Turtle Island Institute, and I felt it expressed my thoughts 
exactly and was well written enough to forward. Apologies to those cross posted 
and this IS a one-time only email.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Best regards, </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Arlie</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV>Here is a list of groups we feel are 'making a difference'.  
<BR><BR>Creating CoHousing, CSAs, Food Co-ops, Farmers' Market, Local 
Scrips,<BR>EcoVillages, Homesteads, Holistic Health Centers, Homeschooling 
Support<BR>Groups, Learning Communities, Bicycle Trails, Peer Lending, 
Organic<BR>Gardens, Capital Tithying, Community Loan Funds, Locally owned 
Corporations and<BR>Cooperatives and other social innovations that empower 
people at the<BR>grassroots and produce community solidarity will.<BR><BR>What 
has been left out here are vegetarian, vegan and raw food groups,<BR>alternative 
construction groups, e.g., straw bale, cob, recycled<BR>materials, earth and 
adobe, solar and other alternative energy groups,<BR>permaculture groups, 
employee-owned and operated businesses, and,<BR>ecotravel groups.  
<BR><BR>I would like to point out that of all of the groups, two stand out 
in<BR>importance.  The first is the vegetarian, vegan, and raw food groups 
as<BR>meat production, including poultry and fish, is the third 
largest<BR>industry in the world in terms of revenue generation -- thus voting 
our<BR>dollars in the marketplace thru joining those who already embrace 
eating<BR>lower on the food chain as a way of life. This shift in lifestyle 
could<BR>do more to preserve our environment and our personal health, while 
taking<BR>back our control in the financial markets, than any other 
activity.  More<BR>land is used to feed beef cattle than is used to feed 
humans.  The<BR>ocean's fisheries are almost depleted.  Instead of 
doing whatever it is<BR>we want to do, we need to look at what the critical 
issues are and begin<BR>to address these first.  Fortunately, the 
vegetarian movement is growing<BR>with more and more people realizing the affect 
that we can have by<BR>refusing to patronize the supermarkets and instead 
choosing to go to<BR>local farmer's markets and/or growing our own food.  
Edible landscaping,<BR>organically grown, can replace the green lawns that 
require hundreds of<BR>gallons of water and pounds of chemical fertilizers to 
keep them green.<BR>For those who need more protein, meat substitute products 
made from NGO<BR>soybeans is much better for one's health and protects the 
environment as<BR>well.      <BR><BR>Another important 
issue is travel.  The travel industry is now the number<BR>one 
revenue-producing industry in the world with 1 billion people<BR>traveling each 
year for pleasure alone.  Do we really need that vacation<BR>for which we 
must jump on a plane and travel half way around the world to<BR>stay in an 
'American-model resort'? Or could we vacation at nearby parks<BR>in the areas 
near where we live?  Many of the people who travel in<BR>'eco-friendly' 
ways spend their vacations making a contribution to those<BR>in poverty-stricken 
regions in developing countries and staying at less<BR>than comfortable 
resorts.  Must we hop a plane to go to a convention,<BR>workshop, seminar, 
or business meeting, or can we now conduct these<BR>activities via the Internet 
or through teleconferencing?  Airplane travel<BR>is the #6 most 
environmentally-polluting activity we do today, with food<BR>production being 
#2, (under food production, meat-raising is #1) and auto<BR>travel being #1 
according to the Union of Concerned Scientists in their<BR>book, "Effective 
Environmental Choices for Consumers".  Isn't it time we<BR>began to make 
'smart choices' based on valid information?  <BR><BR>The choice to save the 
human race is ours as individuals.  How shall we<BR>choose?  Dr. R. 
Buckminster Fuller, asked the following question:  'If<BR>the survival of 
the planet today is dependent upon who you are and what<BR>you do, who will you 
be and what will you do?'  <BR><BR>marguerite<BR><BR>"Be the change you 
envision" - M. Gandhi</DIV></BODY></HTML>