One Thing Per Week

positive and negative day

2009-12-12T17:52:45+10:00

So, I’m feeling really ashamed of myself. Today I yelled at someone. In public. well, I think I did. it was all very loud and confusing. I definitely had a very heated argument. With a climate change denier.

And it has thrown me off, after what was a very good day otherwise, with a fansastic turnout at the Brisbane Walk Against Warming.

There were a number of ways that the yelling could have been avoided. And it was a useless thing to do. And if I’d just stopped for a second and thought about it, I would have come to the conclusion that common sense and all my experience have told me- arguing with delusional people is useless and stupid.

oh, how embarrassing. and counter-productive! And it doesn’t matter how rude someone else is- that is no excuse for me being rude.

So, instead of being calm and a) walking away, or b) talking in a rational manner, I did c) get all riled up and just yell about reading the science – resulting in a ‘read the science’- ‘I have! you read the science’ ‘well, I don’t think you’ve read enough’ red faced yelling match with me shaking and not coming up with anything intelligent, even to complete clunkers of lies like ‘the sea level isn’t rising, the islands are sinking into the sea!’ (I didn’t even come up with ‘why?’ or ‘what, all at once?’)

I wish I’d been my normal self- I never (really really rarely) yell. I try to listen and respect everyone’s opinion! Though I do tend to avoid rather than confront difficult issues. Because usually I realise that it’s not worth it, and have better things to do with my

So I wish I’d just asked sat the woman who was yelling at me to sit down and have a talk - and not reinforced her stereotype of ‘alarmist’ activists. As I’m sure she is a reasonably sane person (which is a good description of me also) in normal life, and we could have agreed to disagree on some issues, and maybe found some other common ground. What does she think about renewable energy? Better public transport? Air pollution and health problems? What about overconsumption and the huge levels of personal and organisational debt we have? There are things to talk about still. Yelling about the things we disagree on is worse than useless.

I guess I’ll just have to learn my lesson, remember to breathe, and not do it again. And read some of those great articles about things you can say to those kinds of arguments.

argh.

Lost Bees art and Colony Collapse Disorder

2009-09-25T12:49:34+10:00

I've been on sick leave/sabbatical for a long time again, but things have been moving along slowly within those constraints... my friend Rozina and I collaborated on a scientific art piece for a show last week, which I'd like to include some information about.

From the ART|PLAY|SCIENCE exhibition 18-22 September 2009, put on by the Environmental Art Collective, and curated by Rozina Suliman, our Lost Bees in the Biosphere installation (Rozina Suliman and Anna Cooke)

for more pictures go to my flight paths blog post .

the following is the text and pictures of the booklet we included with the piece.

Colony collapse disorder

Millions of bees, particularly bees in colonies used for pollinating food crops around the world, have been affected by Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD), where bee colonies suddenly die out after all adult bees leave the colony over a few days and don’t come back, dying away from the colony.

While there is much confusion and many theories about the cause of CCD, recent research has tentatively concluded that many factors contribute, either directly, by killing or paralysing the bees, or indirectly, by cumulatively stressing the immune systems of the bees. The factors that may contribute include poor nutrition (which can be due to the bees being used to pollinate crops with low nutritional value, or from not having access to a variety of food sources), drought and other environmental condition changes, migratory stress (when bees are transported long distances so they can pollinate many crops), viruses, mites, and pesticide build-up in colonies.

Honeybees are the primary pollinator of food producing plants, and as such are incredibly important for agriculture. All bees, and all pollinators including birds and bats as well, are vital for biodiversity, as they allow plants to reproduce, and spread genetic material between plants, preserving the gene pool. Bees alone are essential for the pollination of 130,000 plants, and so CCD has implications for many species.

“A few species were locked together in forms of symbiosis so intricate that to pull one out would bring others spiralling to extinction. Eliminate just one tree out of hundreds…and some of its pollinators, leafeaters, and woodborers will disappear with it, then various of their parasites and key predators, and perhaps a species of bird or bat that depends on its fruit – and when will the reverberations end?” -Edward O Wilson

Biodiversity

Biodiversity refers to the variety of life on Earth, from the diversity of species of all kingdoms including all plants, animals and microorganisms, to the genetic diversity within this multitude of species, and to the vastly varying ecosystems all over the planet.

Biodiversity is often used as a measure of the health and resilience of an ecosystem. One example of the value of biodiversity is that a larger range of species, and larger numbers of individuals within those species, will mean it is more likely that some species or some individuals will have genetic adaptations to meet threats to and stressors on their ecosystem, such as disease or drought.

Biosphere: The sum of all life, in all ecosystems on Earth

Biospheric awareness: An awareness that all life is connected and that actions can have far reaching, sometimes unintentional and unknowable consequences.

Connectedness

The connectedness of ecosystems means that damage to one species will most likely damage other species, and the ecosystem itself. But connectedness is also where the strength and resilience of the systems come from, as the co-evolution of species has resulted in ecosystems perfectly suited for their environmental conditions.

However, no environment is resilient enough to deal with the rapid changes to environments that are occurring due to human impacts, most pervasively from climate change.

Through an awareness of the connectedness of life and our reliance on natural ecosystems, and by making an emotional connection to the natural environment and the plants and animals around us, we can develop ways of living which minimize harm, and build our personal resilience by seeking experiences of nature to restore us.

Connectedness is a fundamental human need, and through building strong connections within our own species we build resilience and competence for action. With the knowledge that all of our actions have consequences, and can set off chains of events long past our knowledge or direct influence, we have the opportunity and choice to set positive events in motion.

“and when will the reverberations end?”

Earth Hour! March 28! 8.30pm!

2009-03-18T16:45:06+10:00

Hey, it's that time of year again, Earth Hour is coming up! I love EH, last year I had a lovely party by candlelight, and much cheese was eaten. This year I'm very sad, I'll actually be at an unrelated Art event (I'm writing haiku on demand, scarily!), but be sure I will have unplugged everything before I leave. Mum and I were talking about doing Earth Day, where we try not to use electronics for the whole day, which would be fun.

And maybe I'll write some earth hour/environment related Haiku.

Earth Hour is spectacularly massive this year too, so many cities participating! So many people! Yay!

Anyway, here is the email I'll be sending around our department at uni to promote and expand on Earth Hour.

Vote Earth this Earth Hour!

Vote Earth by turning off your lights on March 28 at 8:30 pm, and joining hundreds of millions* of people around the globe, sending a powerful message to leaders around the world that we, as communities and nations, are ready to fight climate change!

And if you want to Vote Earth every day, here are two other easy steps you can take.

1. Sign up for the Qld Government’s Climate Smart Home Service

at http://www.climatesmart.qld.gov.au/or by calling 13 20 40

The ClimateSmart Home Service is specifically designed to help Queenslanders contribute to addressing climate change by reducing their carbon footprint.

During the ClimateSmart Home Service, a licensed electrician will visit your home, install a wireless energy monitor for you to keep, and conduct an energy audit of your home.

Where suitable, the electrician will supply and install a free water and energy efficient showerhead, and supply and install up to 15 free energy efficient light globes - all in less than an hour.

The service costs $50, but if you live in Brisbane there is a $50 rebate available from the Brisbane City Council.

2. Switch to GreenPower

Through your current energy provider you can switch to renewable energy, which is usually as easy as applying online, and costs as little as $4 dollars a month (for 25% GreenPower) up to about $22 a month extra (for 100% GreenPower).

GreenPower is electricity that comes from a new renewable energy generation source like solar or wind. Sources must have been built after 1997 to be accredited, encouraging continuing investment in Australias renewable energy.

Origin Energy -

http://www.originenergy.com.au/1544/Origin-GreenPower

Or call 13 GREEN

Thank you!

* Earth Hour organisers are hoping for 1 billion people in over 1500 cities to take part this year! http://www.earthhour.org/

Craft Therapy vs Retail Therapy or, Embroidery as peaceful protest.

2009-02-20T14:41:14+10:00

Consumerism is insidious. Sometimes I have to really fight to resist its lure.

Because I do like novel things. They don’t necessarily have to be new, just new to me. It’s exciting to have a new dress! But then within a couple of weeks, I’ll be back looking through my (overstuffed) wardrobe thinking that I don’t have anything interesting to wear, and the desire to buy something new returns.

But I fight this, because

1. buying new clothes is against my beliefs. I feel that strongly about it. Most new clothes are sweatshop made, and all contribute to carbon and other pollution outputs. There’s always an environmental cost of goods, no matter how cheap in dollars they are. My wardrobe is stuffed with second hand, handmade from vintage, and hand-me-downs (plus some old stuff I bought before I made this decision).

2. I hate feeling that I’m not in control. That pull to shop? That’s been ingrained in us through years of living with advertising and popular media. It’s a cultural thing, and it’s wrong! We hardly ever ‘need’ new things, we’re just told that, because retailers want more profits.

so FIGHT THE SYSTEM! (I get a bit riled up about these things).

3. plus most clothes in shops are boring and I don’t like looking like everyone else.

This is where craft therapy comes in!

Much more satisfying that shopping is creating. Oh so much more. Plus you get more compliments (reinforcing the satisfaction) because things are unique.

See www.craftzine.com for ideas, and links to many more pages full of ideas. And of course http://flightpathsforpaperbirds.com

And that is how embroidery can be a peaceful protest against consumerism. Long term, it really adds up.

(I’m making this more overt- designing embroidery with slogans, but they aren’t ready yet. soon! ‘I mend my clothes and I vote’, ‘Nannatech over nanotech!’ …?)

Here is some of my freeform embroidery… I’m learning!

Babies, life, the world...

2008-12-11T22:33:52+10:00

Hello all, long time no see...

I'm getting back into the swing of things after a long time on sick leave/sabbatical, so more posts will start trickling through soon.

this one is a comment I wrote on Colin's No Impact Man Blog- about the issue of procreation, and the strain it puts on the environment, and the way this is a kind of taboo issue for many people/groups. It is a difficult one, here are my (pretty personal) thoughts.

you can see the original post and other comments at http://noimpactman.typepad.com/blog/2008/12/individual-acti.html

Thank you for the post Colin, I think it is an issue which needs a lot more discussion, and like many such topics, it is hard to approach- it is incredibly emotional and personal, but I think, equally important.

This question is one that I have grappled with a lot, and actually led to one of my lowest points in the last few years, when at one stage I decided that I would not have children, because as well as not wanting to add to the strain on the earth’s resources, I didn’t want to bring a small person into a world where I might not be able to protect them, or provide them with a stable environment where they could lead a happy and meaningful life… and this was a very sad decision to come to. It makes my heart ache.

And a friend accused me of giving up on the world, she saw it as not investing any of myself in the future. I took some offence to this, as my career and most of my personal life is spent in researching and promoting pathways to sustainability. I saw it as a decision from a realist point of view. We don’t know what the future holds, and many predictions look bleak, at least.

But loving children and wanting to be part of the life of one of my own is such a huge part of how I picture my future, how a lot of us picture the future I think- that thinking about this was incredibly painful.

So I have decided to wait a few more years and if I feel the same way, and if I still decide not to have children, definitely give my love and the knowledge I’ve gained over my life to children I bond with, possibly through fostering children or adoption (if this is feasible), as well as to my cousins and the babies of friends. I think I would burst otherwise. Too much love!

on a separate note, I think we should continue to celebrate the motivation and passion that parenthood brings to so many people in this area- my mum, who has been my greatest inspiration in environmental action, was initially motivated to seek information and take action when I (her oldest child) was born- and this is a story we hear over and over- that it is the point for many people when denial or distraction is no longer viable- having a baby is when long term futures become real in our imagination- and we are suddenly hugely invested in them. And this is a fantastic thing.

Ps. Happy Birthday Mum! thanks for being so inspiring. and for just being you.

email subscribers= whoops!

2008-07-08T15:24:02+10:00

Yesterdays post was mainly for the pictures, so if they are not showing up in your email (and you are curious about the captions I have given, possibly frustrated because that email didn't make sense...) , please click on the post title to go to the site and see!

Also, I have included some photos of the building of the greenhouse in my photo album here-

http://onethingperweek.typepad.com/photos/greenhouse/index.html

thanks!

People vs. Wildlife, or, The Greenhouse

2008-07-07T19:09:13+10:00

Round 1- leaving anything on the table out the back - Result- Wildlife 1, Anna and Britt 0

Round 2- mixing compost. Result- Wildlife 2, Anna and Britt 0.

Round 3- The seedlings were under the house while the greenhouse was built... still not safe. Result- Wildlife 3, Anna and Britt 0.

Round 4- The end of the longest living parsley. Result- Wildlife 4, Anna and Britt 0.

Round 5, Take that wildlife! Checkmate!

Action #9- stay optimistic!

2008-07-02T22:32:42+10:00

Hello all,

Action #9 is about the ways I use to keep happy when thinking about some big, sad stuff. I think I need to actively practice this a bit more. Studying climate change and behaviour change (a difficult part of psychology), I can feel that it's all too much sometimes. And I don't want to get burnt out yet (I mean, at all!), I'm only 4 months in to this degree! I think we all feel pretty overwhelmed when thinking about climate change, and this can cause numbing and apathy... not good.

I have an fantastic friend (Hi Mel!), who I catch up with quite often, and we have very inspiring conversations, which sometimes drift back to talking about when some people's disinterest in the environment or other progressive issues gets us down. Our talks on this topic are usually about how to keep our energy up, how to keep motivated to try and make a difference.

And while I do sometimes get disheartened, I think I've cracked it, and worked out a way to stay positive most of the time. It has two parts.

Part 1. You have to attend to the world in a selective way. People do this all the time- often not by choice. We take in biased information ALL THE TIME, think about advertising! Think about glossy magazines! Lots of advertising is designed to make you feel bad- about yourself and your appearance, so you buy more makeup and clothes, or self help books, or food! Or they make you feel insecure about your social status so you buy more cars and more branded clothes... We are meant to compare ourselves to the unattainable images in pictures and on television, find ourselves coming up short, feel bad, and look to the props in the ad as a solution, and buy them.

And think about commercial television- no storylines about credit card debt, (or environmentalism, for that matter), because maybe that would make people less likely to spend money on the items shown in the ad breaks!

So the key to staying positive- is to choose which information to attend to! And there is a lot of crap that can be avoided. If I watch commercial television I don't watch the ads, or end up yelling at the television (or billboards- Your stupid bag is not going to make me happy, Target!- sorry, that's a pretty specific rant) and I stick to ABC as much as possible (ooh, I'm missing Spicks and Specks!). Glossy magazines are depressing, literally, that is the aim of some of the marketing - in fact, I think the only magazines worth buying are Dumbo feather, pass it on, and The Big Issue. I read my favourite blogs and environmental news sites every day (treehugger!- and see that link for instructions on joining the twitter greenstream), which means I am interacting with people who are doing amazing and exciting things, and at least some of the time I live in a world where the environmental paradigm shift that is coming has already happened.

It is important to still engage with the mainstream media, if only to be able to argue against things, but... it's good to balance this, and look after your own mental health first.

And as well as getting a bias of environmental innovation news, it makes it possible to avoid the environmental doom and gloom a bit, which seems to be the angle played by most news outlets, especially commercial ones. Playing on fear to get ratings. Very unhelpful! I really do not like being manipulated like that (see above, re: angry at television).

Part 2. is seeking out and giving positive feedback. This is where my inspiring conversations come in. Talking about things to do, and why, and what differences we have already made, and how everything is going. Being part of groups of people who do this, as much as possible. This kind of mutual encouragement creates a social environment which is empowering and encouraging of change.

So this action is about seeking out interactions with other people who have an interest, and are doing interesting things in relation to the environment. Or just talking with people who make you feel good. My friend Josh has a Mutual Appreciation Society, which sounds awesome. He's one of the ones who leaves lovely comments for me too, which really help.

So thanks Mel, and Josh, and Fiona, and Steph, and Mum, and everyone else who is happy to talk to me about this passion of mine, you are awesome. I hope to hang out with you all soon.

Love Anna

Action # 8 Organic vegetables the easy way!

2008-07-01T18:49:38+10:00

Going organic (for vegetables, at least) has been on my list of things that I’d like to do for a long time. It’s always been a bit too difficult, or expensive (especially at the big supermarket chains), or I just didn’t know how to find them.

But then a friend of my mums told me about community supported agriculture (CSA), and food co-ops! And I’ve known about food co-ops for a while (and been envious of friends who were part of them), but never really considered joining one before. I don’t know why. Sometimes a good idea takes a long time to take seed in your mind, I suppose. Anyway, our household has recently joined Food Connect, a CSA group for brisbaneites, where fruit and veges and some extras are sourced from organic or transitioning farms within a five hour radius of brisbane

It’s not quite a 100 mile diet, but it’s definitely better than the food shipped enormous distances (and thus having a huge carbon footprint) offered at the chain stores. Cutting down on the carbon footprint of food! (Though the best way of doing this is cutting down on meat or switching to kangaroo… hint hint)

And I am all for making things easier on myself- if behaviour change is going to be maintained, it has to fit with my lifestyle. It has to be sustainable.

And all that this change takes is picking up a box of veges once a week, from a designated ‘city cousin’ who has kindly volunteered to be the pick up point for the boxes driven in. Luckily, ours is a 5 minute walk from the house, so I can do this on my walk home from uni.

And I am in love! Have you ever eaten organic pears? They are AMAZING. My mouth is watering at the thought of them. Seriously. And everything else has been lovely too. Getting through the box has meant we are doing more cooking (and saving money through bringing lunch to work), and also means I am now probably getting the recommended 5 serves of veges and 2 of fruit per day. Yay for healthiness.

I’m also hoping to supplement this with some home grown veges- I go through a lot of tomatoes. Photos of my greenhouse coming soon! It's more of a fortress to protect from possums and scrub turkeys, really.

Sustainable dreams

2008-06-25T16:06:03+10:00

So often when we hear about the environment, and climate change in particular, we are hearing warnings or predictions of what will happen if we continue consuming and wasting at the levels we are now, telling us that everyone needs to change, right now, but not telling us how. And warnings are important, but I think people have heard that message many times now (or avoided listening to it many times, changed channels, skipped that story in the paper). And in many cases, it's not helping us to actually change- it's not empowering.

I'm designing my PhD research at the moment (well, actually, finalising my research questions), so have been thinking a lot about why people are generally living with unsustainable habits- not healthy, not happy, worried about money (but paradoxically, going further and further into debt), and damaging the environment. I've been thinking about all the things that keep us in the patterns we live in, the barriers to a sustainable life. Apathy, fear, physical barriers (time, money), habits, lack of understanding the ways that basically everything we do is related to our carbon output... to name a few.

And then I started wondering what success would look like- what would a sustainable life, a sustainable community at all levels, look like? If we overcame those barriers (and the how of this is what I want to do research on!), and people were taking control of their lives and living sustainably, what would our country (or world) be like? Basically, what are we aiming for?

Scientific goals are in terms of maximum carbon parts per million (350!), and for many people there are personal goals of living simply, opting out of the rat race. But that carbon goal doesn't give us anything to aim for personally, and doesn't say anything about the potential of living sustainably to improve lives on a number of dimensions- health-wise, mental health-wise and economically as well as environmentally.

We need a low carbon economy, is what all the carbon goals translate to, but in real terms, what could our lives be like? I think the huge amount of change which is going to occur is scary for a lot of people, and I think that fear is a barrier to thinking about it or planning changes. Which leads to them acting in the same way we have been, which means that the changes will have to happen sooner, as we run out of fuel and climate changes start to impact on our lives!

So that's what I'm asking myself at the moment- could this lack of a dream to aim for, lack of a future that we would like to live in, be a barrier in itself? And what world would I like to live in, what am I aiming for?

This is my sustainable dream... and it is rough, so probably can be interpreted in lots of different ways. And it's incomplete, there are many issues I haven't considered. But I don't want to qualify it! Too many qualifications are very bad for the imagination! and without imagination we probably can't move forward.

I don't think our lives would have to be fundamentally different from the way they are now, to be a lot better.

I want to live with stronger local communities of politically active, empowered, passionate, healthy and happy people. Where people know exactly where their food and energy is coming from, because in many cases they are helping to generate it, and the rest of the time it is produced locally, through sustainable, renewable methods. Where people don't have to work so hard, because they are working better, in jobs that are intrinsically satisfying instead of being a means to consumer goods which help them to escape their work lives. People are closer to being self sufficient, so they don't have to earn as much, so have more time at home, with their families and friends, and are less stressed and worried. Because everyone is less stressed and worried, and has more time, friendships in the community are stronger, and so much more support is given between families and in neighborhoods, for the young, the elderly, the sick, the sad and lost.

Economists will realise that it's quality of life that is most important, not economic growth, (that above a certain level of GDP more money does not mean better lives), and so start using health, happiness, education, justice and equality statistics as outcome variables, as goals. When human health is put at the forefront, it will be obvious that the true environmental cost must be included in prices of consumer goods (because the health of the planet and health of the people are inextricably linked), so (through something like a carbon or environmental impact tax) prices of sustainable goods and services will go down, and goods that are unsustainable and damaging, or that are damaging to produce, will go up.

This reevaluation of 'success' will also lead to many policy changes, including to an open and accountable democratic system, where people have a lot more power (because powerlessness is also bad for our health!).

Cars are used much less, and only when absolutely necessary. Public transport is quick, cheap and convenient. People are healthier, because they get more exercise getting around, and they eat fresh foods, with a vegetable based diet, where meat is only a supplement, and not the main feature. High quality health care and education are universally available, and nurses, doctors, social workers, carers, parents, teachers and educators are respected and valued as essential to a strong and happy community. Unions are strong, as workers rights and safety are once again a high priority.

The history of the land and the people who cared for it for millennia, our indigenous peoples, are respected, valued and celebrated. Aboriginal Australians constitute strong, healthy and politically powerful groups and nations within the Australian community. Reconciliation has successfully improved our society as a whole, and Australia has matured as a nation. Lessons about sustainability in Australia have been adopted from our first people into the whole, and as a nation, we are looking after country.

And that's my daydream currently. It's a future I think is worth fighting for.

I'd really like this to be something that people think about- what do you want your world to look like? Instead of accepting the injustice which really is all around us, question it, and speak up!

And how could we achieve our sustainable dreams? well, I think it's all about making connections and strengthening local communities- as the saying goes- thinking globally, acting locally, and participating personally. (Though there's nothing against acting globally as well, through extensive online activism!).

Thanks for reading!