Good morning folks.

The video for today is from Ted Talks, an online video collection from annual lecture events that I highly recommend. Like almost all of the videos there, the lecturer in this one took some of our most troubling issues and looked at them with fresh, intelligent eyes and reviewed an active solution. How we obtain and process vital resources as a species – our energy supply, our food supply, our water supply – is unsustainable on almost every level. Thankfully, there are alternatives, and they are better every way.

This video is about a fish farm, but it is also about how we must approach our basic resource challenges in this new century. Study nature. Emulate nature. Create local solutions, not mega-corporate solutions. Produce smart, grow smart, and you can enjoy a mighty tasty fish.

Remember everyone, buy local or grow it yourself!

Love to all,

Millard

While I prefer to confine my blog posts to issues that are clearly identifiable as sustainable, one current event has moved me to the point where I feel I have to discuss it. Human rights must be a cornerstone of sustainability, so I do not apologize to people who are navigating here to read about composting and solar panels.

The event I am talking about was the boarding and seizing of humanitarian aid ships attempting to break the Gaza Strip blockade by Israeli armed forces, and the subsequent deaths of 10 peace activists. This action was the latest episode in the tragic string of violence that has continued since Israel declared its independence in 1948. This particular event seems to have changed the fundamental dynamic of the greater Israeli-Palestinian issue in some way that I am sure will be clearer in the days and weeks ahead.

What I find most interesting are the parallels of this maritime encounter with other events in Israel’s history. 65 years ago, thousands of Jewish immigrants desperate to build a new life in their ancient homeland attempted to run the British blockade of the Palestine Mandate, which was the name of the British -controlled Palestinian territory at the time. These refugees may have been on the wrong side of British law, but they were on the right side of the moral imperative, and there actions helped change an unjust law and found a nation. Unfortunately their descendants are now the blockaders and their aggressive actions are just as morally unjustifiable as those of the British from in the 30s and 40s.

I don’t have any Jewish blood, but when I was a kid I had tremendous admiration for Israel, and I loved their underdog story of reviving an extinct nation after 2000 years. I think I read Exodus 7 times. The story of the birth of Israel against tremendous odds is truly amazing, and the Jews’ courageous blockade running was a key turning point on their road to independence.

The modern repopulation of Palestine by the Jews took places in waves, which in Hebrew are referred to as Aliyahs. The First Aliyah is considered to be from 1882-1903, and until the beginning of World War II in 1939 there were four more. These five immigration waves raised the Jewish population of the Palestine to over 450,000.

In the mid-1930’s Britain placed increased restrictions on the immigration of Jews to Palestine, and from 1933-48 much of the population movement was illegal and clandestine. This underground human pipeline was facilitated mostly by ship, using old, overcrowded vessels, and was referred to as the Aliyah Bet. Aliyah Aleph describes the limited legal immigration that was allowed by the British at this time.

The Aliyah Bet had two phases. Between 1934 and 1942, in the first phase of the Aliyah Bet, several Jewish organizations attempted to get as many Jews out of the way of the Nazis as possible. As German discrimination and atrocities increased, these efforts became more desperate and overwhelmed, as people wanting to avoid the death camps of Hitler sought refuge in a land the Bible said was their ancestral home.

In the second phase, from 1945-1948, thousands of Jews who had survived Nazi crimes found themselves in the tide of displaced persons in refugee camps in post-war occupied Germany. Many refugees who attempted the voyage to freedom ended up in British detention camps. Nevertheless Jewish attempts to settle Palestine saved lives and was entirely justified. It was very unfortunate that British law turned desperate but honest men and women seeking asylum into criminals, and the policy of strict quotas was morally indefensible.

Yet the greatest success of the Aliyah Bet was not in the number of people it transported to Palestine, but its tremendous propaganda value. Bear in mind that at the time the state of Israel was far from a given. There was significant political opposition, particularly in the Arab nations. World opinion became focused on this small patch of the Middle East, as well as the refugees who had already survived the holocaust rather piteously trying to get into the Mandate. The British were made to look like a heartless Goliath to the Jewish immigrants’ David. The Aliyah Bet was wildly successful as a propaganda tool, a fact that was not lost on the Jewish leadership, and its importance in the push to create the Jewish nation cannot be overstated.

It is indeed ironic that it may be a peaceful blockade breaking campaign that will decisively turn the tide in favor of today’s David, the Palestinian people of Gaza. While they do not have the financial resources or the blind support of an inconsistent superpower that the Israelis have, in many respects their story is just as compelling as Jewish one, and they certainly have every right to an independent homeland. I just pray now that the people of Gaza and all the Arabs of Palestine will get out of their own way and cease all violence. No more suicide bombers, or rocket attacks or mortar attacks. Aside from the immorality of violence, these senseless attacks will only hurt your cause.

While my heart breaks at the loss of life in the waters off the Gaza shore, I feel strongly that the people on those boats accomplished more for lasting peace in the Middle East than all of the military and guerrilla actions, on both sides of this conflict, since the founding of Israel, combined. I sincerely hope Free Gaza is brave enough to continue to peacefully break this illegal and immoral blockade, because I strongly feel this campaign will turn the tide. Frankly, the majority of Israelis, Palestinians and the rest of the world are completely sick of assholes with guns in their hands telling us that their guns will bring us peace, when all war and violence has ever brought us is more war and violence.

I salute peaceful resistance to unjust power.

Love to all,

Millard

Good afternoon folks.

The posts have been a bit sparse here lately, primarily because I have been putting together a new business selling garden boxes. While the business has steadily grown, there is a ton of work to from administration and marketing to making the boxes themselves, and streamlining the process along the way.

I truly feel that growing a portion of our own food at the home and the community level is a very important part of food sustainability, which I believe is synonymous with food independence. While it is impossible for most of us to grow even a majority of our own produce individually, our garden boxes and vegetable gardens do contribute significantly to undercutting the power of our corporate food delivery system.

The cornerstone of food independence though will be consumer support of food producers who are local and organic. As responsible consumers we have to know where our food comes from, and understand the all of the costs associated with transporting food long distances from massive corporate farms.

This concept can be very easily overdone. There are some foods that can and should be imported, particularly regional specialties and luxury foods. Trade is a vital component of a sustainable community. What is important is that the majority of our basic food staples originate locally, and that all of our food is produced responsibly.

I am going to be going back to posting regularly, so please check in often.

Remember everyone buy local or grow it yourself.

Love to all,

Millard

Good morning folks.

Today’s video showcases an electric car owner in Oregon with a need for speed. This guy’s gas free vehicle dusts everything on the local race track, and makes one wonder what could be accomplished with electric motors and batteries if we put the same amount of energy and capital toward them as we did the internal combustion engine. The main reason we became a petroleum based society right now is that John D. Rockefeller happened to be the most heartless and cutthroat businessman on the block, and an all-around asshole. The continuing greed and self delusion of our oil industry is to blame for the perpetuation of our silly fossil fuel system. Why else are we digging under a mile of ocean to extract a substance that requires significant refining and burns dirty, when we can create energy far more efficiently and cleaner?

Our shortsighted decisions as a nation and a species have created a spaghetti bowl of very troubling intertwined problems that can only be solved when we confront their root cause – our day by day choice to feed our monsters.

Remember, buy local or grow it yourself!

Love to all, Millard

Good afternoon folks.

Today I am highlighting a very innovative architectural project on the big island of Hawaii. It was among the Top Ten green projects for the American Institute of Architects in 2007, and has the kind of features architects just love to geek over.

Possibly the most interesting feature is the passive cooling system, which employs air drawn over cold seawater pumped from 3000 below sea level. The air flow is generated passively through stack ventilation. The project is definitely worth a look.

Remember everyone, buy local or grow it yourself!

Love to all,

Millard

Good morning folks.

Having studied sustainable issues for over 12 twelve years, I have come to understand that our sustainability as a species on this planet is dependent upon our relationship with plants. I am not saying this in an esoteric or fluffy way, nor am I suggesting that we find new ways to merely exploit and profit from the plant world. Plant life is a common thread in almost all of the issues related to our ability to live – food, energy, construction, oxygen production – ,and we must learn how to create synergistic relationships with the myriad manifestations of this profoundly complex technology in order to survive and thrive.

The video above briefly explains how certain species of plants can clean, humidify and oxygenate the air, processes collectively known as phytoremediation. This property of plants has been known since the 1970’s, when NASA conducted extensive research on plant’s air and water scrubbing capabilities for use in space capsules. Dr. Bill Wolverton, one of the NASA engineers involved in the research, has published several books on the subject, including How To Grow Fresh Air.

How To Grow Fresh Air details how plants, particularly tropicals, have the ability to remove toxins from air, as well as oxygenate and humidify it. Dr. Wolverton actually developed hydroponic planters with inline fans that magnify this amazing capability by a factor of 200.

Phytoremediation is extremely important now in our energy conscious world. In order to maximize the efficiency of our building’s heating and cooling systems, we are creating airtight building envelopes. One downside of this though is the increased stagnation of interior air. Using plants to offset this adverse side effect is the ultimate in “going green”. Aside from cleaning the air, indoor plants look great, and add to the living energy of spaces.

Using plants to clean air is only one of the ways in which we can employ these incredible biomachines. Dr. Wolverton’s planters are an excellent example of how we can use simple technologies to work in harmony with nature to amplify its benefits. This basic model is applicable to waste water disposal, food production, building construction and a host of other applications that we humans have only begun to scratch the surface of.

Showing some humility by admitting that our technologies are infant’s toys compared with the sublime depth of natural biological systems may be the smartest we ever do.

Remember everyone, buy local, or grow it yourself!

Love to all,

Millard

Good evening folks.

For a relatively short video, this one packs a powerful punch, touching upon several key sustainability issues. Its primary focus is on how the use of local currencies can keep capital resources local and encourage meaningful interaction among community members.

This is idea is not new, nor is it isolated. Local currencies are being used in over 200 communities in the United States. Considering that our current banking system, including and in particular the Federal Reserve, is a complete fraud, local currencies are not just a viable alternative, they are essential tools for weaning us away from the corporate teat.

Remember everyone, buy local or grow it yourself!

Love to all,

Millard

Good morning folks.

The video for the day is basically a promotional production for a European solar cell manufacturer. It is not the most thrilling video I have ever posted. In fact, what is most interesting about it is not what it shows, but what it does not show.

In the production of photovoltaic cells, how likely is it that 29 of the workers will be blown to pieces in an instant because they work in a dangerous, gas and soot filled, confined space hundreds of feet underground? How possible is it that solar industry employees will lose their lives in an explosion in the middle of the ocean, and that the loss of life will be compounded by a massive environmental disaster resulting from the substance they came to extract? How many environmental catastrophes have you heard about that have resulted from the production of PV cells? How many wars?

In the last few weeks there have been two disasters resulting from the extraction process for fossil fuels. In West Virginia coal miners lost their lives because mine owners flout safety regulations. The oil slick from the drilling platform explosion in the Gulf Of Mexico may reach environmentally sensitive marsh land, and has already claimed 11 lives. British Petroleum has assumed responsibility for the cleanup, and was not insured for a catastrophe of this type. Do you know why? They make billions of dollars a year. It is an economic hit, but in the long term it is just a bump in the road.

For the families who have lost loved ones in these disasters, it is impossible to overstate the tragedy they are facing. The loss of a father in the prime of his life can devastate a family, as I can personally attest, and these folks will be paying for these disasters long after BP’s stock has recovered from this economic glitch.

How many more lives are we going to throw away for profits on an obsolete technology? If we were to divert the effort that we put into oil and coal energy to producing wind and solar energy, our “energy crisis” would be over. Our real reasons for continuing our military presence in Iraq and Afghanistan would evaporate (both are fossil fuel wars). Our current energy model is making a few hundred people obscenely wealthy and powerful, and for this they are holding the rest of the 7 billion people on earth in a toxic prison of oil and coal.

That solar cell video may be a bit boring and cheesy, but boring and cheesy sounds much better than tragic and criminal to me.

Remember everyone, buy local, or grow it yourself!

Love to all,

Millard

Good afternoon folks.

This is a nice quick video on why we need to stop using plastic or paper bags and buy the tote. As a nice bonus, the narrator is pretty hot.

In addition to the continent sized trash island in the Pacific that is mentioned in the video, there is a similar one developing in the Atlantic. Boy do we suck.

Remember everyone, buy local, or grow it yourself!

Love to all,

Millard

Good morning folks.

One of the most commonly cited issues related to sustainability is overpopulation. There have been numerous experts, some very well meaning and others not so much, who have pointed to birth rates in developing countries as evidence that catastrophe is just around the corner if we don’t stop making babies and start voluntarily culling our herd.

There are a few things driving statements like this. The first is ignorance. The fact is that we do not know what the comfortable maximum population for this planet is, because we have never bothered to figure it out. I know of no comprehensive assessment of the world’s natural resources to determine how many people our cities and bioregions can hold. It is easy to look at pictures of the terribly overcrowded slums of Mumbai, India or Lagos, Nigeria and assume that there is a global overpopulation problem, but it would be just as ignorant as looking at pictures of the central Sahara and assuming the planet is empty.

Clear evidence of lack of human life on planet Earth

Another facet of the overpopulation myth is our addiction to Armageddon scenarios, which humans can’t seem to get enough of. After the Cold War ended, the threat of our being vaporized at any moment by nuclear war was significantly diminished, and for a while we had trouble getting our fix. The fear porn industry was only happy to step in though, and now we have terrorism, 2012 and alien invasion to help us get our apocalypse on. Fear peddlers are only too happy to supply lurid media and videos showing us in graphic detail just how screwed we all are. I talked about our Armageddon addiction in a previous post, and it is worth mentioning again, because someone has to talk us off the ledge.

Our most troubling addiction though that grossly skews the overpopulation discussion is our gross overconsumption of consumer goods. Are we ever going to take responsibility for our situation and assess the clean renewable resource of the planet? Are we ever going to stop using antiquated, polluting technologies to fuel our lives? Are we ever going to reduce our consumption levels in developed countries? It’s mighty convenient to be able to go to a store filled with goods and just walk away with our pick, but our disconnect from the real cost involved in bringing these goods to market is what is really causing us problems.

Saying our planet is overpopulated right is like putting a bunch of balloons in a trashcan and saying the can is almost full. If you use the resource consumption of the average American as a gauge, of course we are reaching critical population levels. We consume a lot, and we throw away even more. The energy used in the average American household could power an African village of 2000 people. Our addiction to meat, which requires 10 times the amount of grain to feed the livestock as opposed to just eating the grain, is hopelessly resource intensive.

Our atrocious mismanagement of our resources is what we have to get rid of, not people. Let’s start producing and consuming with some moderation and forethought, and do the work required to have an accurate gauge of maximum population capacity, before we start talking about depopulation.