CONSCIOUS LIVING

Living consciously means not only buying less and smaller but also recycling every component of the things we do buy and the containers in which they are packaged.

Americans consume more than their share of the world's goods and contribute a lion's share of environmental pollution. In good conscience, how can we as individuals and a nation continue to perpetrate our selfish, greed-ridden lifestyle?

One example of our behaviors is our quest for newer, faster gadgetry. Our choices have created a staggering amount of toxic, high-tech trash, including computers, televisions, cell phones and more. Dumped or inappropriately recycled e-waste is extremely hazardous. It contains arsenic, beryllium, lead - a neurotoxin and cadmium - a carcinogen that damages lungs and kidneys.

In the United States, cell phones are often discarded after 12 months use. For many, their phones have become a "status symbol." The owners want this gadget to be an expression of their personalities.

No object defines us. To live consciously, our choices must change. So recycle and buy smaller and less of everything. Tend your needs and not your wants.

HANNAFORDS

As one approaches the entrance of New England's Hannafords' Supermarkets, signs are posted asking, "Did you remember your reusable bags?"

Upon entering, customers are greeted by five recycling bins, each designated for a specific category, such as glass, cans, paper, plastic containers and plastic bags.

Hannafords' shelves are stocked with organic foods, biodegradable cleaning products and paper products derived from 100 percent recycled paper.

The stores' bathroom mirrors and glass refrigerator doors bear decals stating that the store is naturally illuminated by skylights and solar tubes.

On leaving, one feels as though their consciousness has been elevated to a more sustainable lifestyle.

Oklahoma's supermarkets appear oblivious to environmental needs. I'd like to beam down into our state and elevate its social consciousness.


Addendum: This piece concludes my New England Travel Series. I hope it was meaningful to you.

We are all travelers along our internal and external life pathways. I now return to my primary venue of holistic health and healing, in hopes my experiences and observations will be helpful in your life's journey.

SEAWALL

York Harbor, Maine,
Seawall bolstered by billion-year-old boulders,
Containing stripes, curves and variegations.
These runes, like the sea,
Emanate immortal truths.
We humans, how trivial our plans;
How delusional our "wealth" and social posturing.
The clock is ticking,
Recycle, revitalize, replant or die.

GRAFT OR LOBBYING, IS THERE ANY DIFFERENCE?

General Electric, the nation's largest corporation, has a "giant tax department" and employs former IRS and Treasury Department officials and former members of Congressional tax-writing committees. Of course, these "employees" have knowledge on many levels and very powerful political connections. Then you add to this mix, millions of dollars for "lobbying," and what do you have? Tax loopholes to G.E.'s advantage.(1)

Since 2002, G.E. has eliminated a fifth of its U.S. workforce and moved the jobs overseas. During that time, G.E.'s offshore profits have risen from $15 billion to $92 billion, with no tax paid on funds kept "offshore."(2)

In 2010, G.E. made $14.2 billion in world-wide profits, but its tax bill was zero. In fact, G.E. claimed $3.2 billion in tax credits, which leaves the average American worker to shoulder the nation's tax burden.(3)

With Wall Street's shenanigans and high U.S. unemployment over the last two years, Americans have lost jobs, homes, savings and sometimes their lives.

When a U.S. citizen purchases items in Target, Walmart, Hobby Lobby or any large U.S. corporate chain, over 90% of the goods are manufactured abroad, usually in Asia or the Middle East, occasionally in South America or Africa.

These manufactured goods are then shipped to the U.S., at an enormous environmental cost, and priced to undercut goods manufactured in the U.S. A hefty carbon tax on products manufactured abroad would help the environment, level the economic playing field and increase U.S.employment.

Eliminating tax loopholes for corporations, would enormously increase Federal tax revenues and fund education and other social services.

G.E. employs "former" political insiders of the IRS, Treasury Department and Congressional tax-writing committees and stacks the deck in its and other corporations favor. Then, you add millions in "lobbying." It sounds like graft to me.


Notes 1-3: New York Times, 3/25/11, A-1,A17.

RECYCLE JUNKIE

I am a self-confessed recycle junkie. On my morning walks, I look like a bag lady as I pick up trash and recyclable objects. Even though I drink only tap water, my recycle bin looks like I am a big boozer and drink every kind of bottled or canned liquid on the planet.

On trash days, I can be found routing through the trash barrels of those who do not recycle to obtain their treasures for the next available recycle bin.

To diminish my environmental footprint, I live in a small, greenly-remodeled, inner-city home, within walking distance of my shopping needs. My neighbors are hard-working folks, without pretensions or airs. We also have many homeless walking through our neighborhood and, as they see me digging through the trash, they think I am one of them - and I am. As I gather plastic containers, they often ask, "How much do you get for them?" I tell them, "Nothing," and they look disappointed. Their income often comes from the sale of aluminum cans.

One day, as I gathered collectibles from the trash barrel near my grocery store, a man sat on a nearby bench. He obviously hadn't shaved or bathed in the recent past, and his clothes had gone many a day without seeing water. He looked like he could use a helping hand. I offered him money. With dignity, he said, "No, thank you. I'm in the recycling business too."

To say the least, I am passionate about recycling. It is one thing each of us can do to safeguard the planet for future generations. If we recycle all items no longer in use and the packaging in which our purchases are contained, we would add less to the world's trash heaps and diminish the toxic pollution entering the soil and atmosphere.

For your health and the health of the environment, consider buying fewer items packaged in plastic bottles and aluminum and tin cans. These containers release toxic chemicals into their contents. Besides, fresh and frozen juices, fruits and vegetables are much higher in nutrients and are often packaged in biodegradable cardboard containers. In addition, tap water is free and is actually held to much higher quality standards than bottled water.

Recycling decreases the consumption of energy generated by fossil fuels, thereby decreaing emissions of the global warming pollutant, carbon dioxide. Also, when recycled materials are used instead of harvesting and processing virgin raw materials, it conserves natural resources. It also reduces the pollutants derived from the amount of waste that must be burned or buried.

In the search for precious metals, mining companies have destroyed natural ecological systems, gutted mountains and ripped enormous holes int the Earth. Recycling of aluminum food containers, foil and cans diminishes this rape and pillage and reduces energy consumption by 95 percent. Recycling steel has an energy savings of 60 percent.

Recycling plastic has a 70 percent energy savings. Statistics show that about 1.5 million gallons of oil - enough to run 100,000 cars for a whole year - are used to make plastic water bottles. In addition, transporting these water-filled bottles also burns thousands of gallons of oil. Even worse, only about 10 percent of plastic water bottles are recycled. The remainder is deposited in landfills where it takes thousands of years for them to decompose.

As plants consume carbon dioxide and water and harness the sun's energy to produce stems and leaves, they release oxygen. According to the National Resources Defense Council, forests could help save us from global warming. Currently, worldwide, mass deforestation accounts for over 20 percent of the annual greenhouse gas emissions. Recycling sheets of paper, envelopes, newspapers, magazines and cardboard boxes has a 40 percent energy savings and can help prevent deforestation. Furthermore, when we purchase tissues, toilet paper, paper towels and other paper products made with recycled paper, we help save forests.

Each year in the United States, 100 billion plastic bags are used, consuming 12 million barrels of oil. Recycle bins for plastic bags can be found at Wal-Mart and other grocery stores. Or, better yet, don't use plastic bags. Every item manufactured requires and energy expenditure and its associated by-product - pollution. Carry your own cloth bags. China, Taiwan, Australia, and many European countries have outlawed the use of lightweight plastic bags. In the United States, only San Francisco has followed these countries' lead.

There is a 30 percent energy savings in recycling all forms of waste glass. Along similar lines, compact fluorescent bulbs (CFL) use less electricity and therefore effect less greenhouse gas emissions. Because they contain a small amount of mercury, inquire in your community for recycling locations.

Lastly, our quest for the newest, latest model of electronic gadgetry has created a staggering amount of extremely toxic, high-tech trash. There are many hazards of dumped or inappropriately recycled "e-waste," which contains arsenic, beryllium, lead - a neurotoxin, and cadmium - a carcinogen that damages lungs and kidneys.

HERE ARE SOME TIPS FOR RECYCLING E-WASTE:

CELLPHONES: Donation bins can be found at electronics stores, wireless carriers and libraries.
BATTERIES: Often retail stores selling rechargeable batteries will accept used ones, including small, sealed, lead-acid batteries.
COMPUTERS: Many companies refurbish and resell computers. Most makers accept their brand with the purchase of a new one, and the National Christina Foundation www.cristina.org connects computer donors with the needy.
PRINTER SUPPLIES: Spent toner cartridges can be refilled or traded for discounts. Collecting used cartridges can be a profitable fundraiser. Many manufacturers include postage-paid envelopes for consumers to return empty cartridges.

To recycle televisions, radios and stereo equipment, inquire at your local distributor and your city's recycle centers.

Our health and the health of our children and the children of future generations depend on the health of the planet. As your hand reaches out to throw an item in the trash, ask yourself, "Can this be recycled?" If the answer is yes, hotfoot it to your recycle bin. While you are at it, separate your recyclable materials. Nobody likes going through the trash of others. But, if you don't recycle, I or one of my friends may be checking out your dumpster.

BACK TO BASICS

I grew up on a farm, where we lived off the land and raised cattle. At various times, I slopped hogs, fed chickens, gathered eggs, brought in the cows for milking and worked in the fields. I also helped my mother tend and harvest the garden and can or freeze its produce. As a teenager, I cooked the meals while the rest of the family baled hay.

Much later, I lived for five years in Alasha and spent time in the rugged Bush, where I was definitely back to basics. I lived in a log home with electricity, propane for cooking and a wood stove for heat. I had no indoor plumbing. Instead, I hauled water and had an outhouse for necessities. Believe me - at 20 below - I made quick night-relief runs. However, on my return trips, I often saw an aurora borealis.

In the Bush, warm clothes and food, shelter and a hot bath are premium commodities. With no plumbing, water was heated in a large pot on the stove, and bathing often consisted of a dishpan of hot water.

While in Alaska, my life was synchronized with the ebb and flow of the seasons.

During the sun-drenched summers, my garden abounded in cabbages, cauliflower, broccli, rhubarb and potatoes.

In the fall, I gathered wild blueberries and low-bush cranberries. Bears like berries. I kept a watchful eye.

Also, at this time of year, most Bush residents fish for salmon and hunt moose and bear. Being generous, they shared.

By winter, I had a full pantry and stockpile of wood. When the snow settled in, I sewed in my spare time and made quilts by hand. I was peaceful and content.

Alaska taught me that my needs are few. On my return to the Lower 48, I bought a farm and lived off the grid in my RV. On the farm, my main crops were brush and stray dogs. I kept hens for eggs and a rooster for his morning wake-up call. To avoid the dreaded laundromat, I often washed my clothes by hand and dried them on a clothesline.

During my first summer on the farm, I converted an old cow pen into a garden. The manure from the previous occupants worked its magic. The soil yielded an abundant growth of lettuce, onions, squash, green beans, peas and okra.

While in the Bush, I visited many delightfull simple homes built by their owners. I wanted to do the same on the farm. With hammer in hand, nail by nail and board by board, I did.

Simple ammenities are taken for granted in our society. We rush hither and yon in our quest for activities and possessions, living in the fantasy they will make us happy. However, the ancients taught that happiness could be found in the ordinary stuff of life.

In the United States, we have created an instant and disposable society that pollutes the Earth and squanders Her resources. We have invented a plastic and cellophane existence, with instant food, instant houses and instant messaging. By doing so, we deprive ourselves of the substance of life, such as preparing our food, building our homes and working with wood, metal and the soil. In this lifestyle of instant gratification, we are in disharmony with the Earth and estranged from Her healing and life-sustaining power.

A few years ago, I moved into the city. I now live in a small, greenly-remodeled, inner-city home, within walking distance of my shopping needs.

Last summer, I started an organic garden. The soil was enriched from my compost, and I added a special blend of organic fertilizer. I had a bountiful harvest of green beans, okra, beets, tomatoes, potatoes, cucumbers, lettuce, cantelope and herbs. I canned green beans and froze herbs and other produce. I munched on them all winter and am now preparing for spring planting.

There is a wealth of information on green building, organic gardening, renewable energy sources and recycling. In or out of a recession, one person at a time, we can make a difference. By choosing to fulfill our basic needs, not our wants, each of us can help heal the planet.

GLUTTONOUS CONSUMPTION

We Americans are a society of gluttonous consumers.

We consume far more than our share of the world's resources, as we live in large homes, which drastically exceed our needs. We then proceed to consume diminishing energy supplies to heat and cool our warehouses of lavish furnishings and electronic gadgets.

We drive automobiles that guzzle gas at one end and belch pollution from the other, while much of the world's population walks or rides bicycles. Of course, the latter are far healthier forms of transportation for the human body and the world's environment.

In our gluttonous consumption of food, others starve, and our girths expand, our arteries harden and our blood sugars skyrocket.

We Americans consume a lion's share of the world's goods and spew forth a similar share of the world's pollution.

In contrast, countries like Chad experience the effects of diminished rainfall, a direct result of global warming. Since 1973, Lake Chad, previously one of the world's great "inland seas," has shrunk by 90 percent. Without water for fish and agriculture, people starve. In empty river beds, women and children dig for muddy water to drink and with which to wash. With diminished crops of maize and sorghum, they barely subsist.

With nominal donations, organizations, like Heifer International, help the people of Chad and similar countries help themselves. With gifts of tools, education or a lamb, goat or heifer, people can grow crops and raise animals with which to nourish their bodies and earn money to send their children to school.

We, the members of a gluttonous society, don't need another bauble with which to adorn our bodies, homes or vehicles. We can choose to use our financial resources for the good of all humanity. One person at a time, we can trim the fat in our lives and help others live.