Green Oasis

Willie Smits shows what it takes to regrow a clearcut rainforest, restoring economic prosperity in the process.

This American Life recently broadcast an episode about the financial crisis that made the situation comprehensible to this non-accountant.

For every complex problem, there is a solution that is simple, neat, and wrong.—H. L. Mencken

I have been growing increasingly disenchanted with the local food movement. It strikes me as a simplistic solution to a complex problem.

Consider our love affair with food miles. In theory, locally grown foods have traveled shorter distances and thus represent less fuel use and lower carbon emissions—their resource footprint is smaller. And yet, for all the benefits of a local diet, eating locally doesn’t always translate into more sustainability. Because the typical farmers market is supplied by dozens of different farms, each transporting its crops in a separate van or truck, a 20-pound shopping basket of locally grown produce might actually represent a larger carbon footprint than the same volume of produce purchased at a chain retailer, which gets its produce en masse, via large trucks. (Spoiled: Organic and Local Is So 2008, MotherJones)

Thank you! It’s easy to buy something labeled organic and take no more thought to whether our actions are helping to solve anything. It’s time for us to tear down some of these icons that we’ve been worshiping.

On a mildly related note, I’m feeling my beans today, so I hereby commit that I’ve eaten my last beef, pork, and shrimp. I’m not advocating that everyone do likewise. Taking smaller actions like eating no meat before dinner can help build a sustainable system.

(via Bitten)

It’s natural but counterproductive to feel resentment that irresponsible homeowners may be bailed out.

The wise man built his house upon the Rock,
The wise man built his house upon the Rock,
The wise man built his house upon the Rock,
And the rains came tumbling down.

The rains came down and the floods came up,
The rains came down and the floods came up,
The rains came down and the floods came up,
But the house on the Rock stood firm.

The foolish man built his house upon the sand,
The foolish man built his house upon the sand,
The foolish man built his house upon the sand,
And the rains came tumbling down.

The rains came down and the floods came up,
The rains came down and the floods came up,
The rains came down and the floods came up,
And the house on the sand fell flat.

The wise man felt smug about the foolish man’s plight,
The wise man felt smug about the foolish man’s plight,
The wise man felt smug about the foolish man’s plight,
So he learned the meaning of schadenfreude.

The prices came down and the interest came up,
The prices came down and the interest came up,
The prices came down and the interest came up,
And he cut off his nose to spite his face.

Years ago while driving to work, I saw something that made me want to cry.

All over town in Las Vegas, there are little metal boxes along the sidewalks. In other cities, these would dispense your run-of-the-mill newspapers. In Las Vegas, many of them dispense advertisements for adult entertainment. Naked women with stars or hearts covering strategic portions of their anatomy sell their wares. It is Sin City after all. We wear our vices on our sleeves for all the world to see.

While waiting at a red light that morning, I glanced over at a mother walking down the sidewalk holding her daughter’s hand. The girl was probably only four years old. When they came to some of those notorious boxes, the little girl’s eyes went wide as she stared at something that I couldn’t see. She kept her eyes glued to that something as they walked past. I had a pretty good idea what she saw.

I had a newborn daughter of my own. It struck me that my little girl would probably see those same things as she got older. It broke my heart to realize what that little girl was learning and what my daughter had ahead of her.

When I saw the following video from Dove’s Campaign for Real Beauty (the same people who brought us evolution), I immediately remembered that little girl on the sidewalk.