Fighting the good fight

Book Review: Not Buying It

2006-08-06T09:05:00.000-07:00

Not Buying It, Judith Levine

I had never read anything by Judith Levine before so I wasn't familiar with her writing style and I was unsure what to expect. I liked the format of the book and, being a person who reads everything she can on voluntary simplicity, very interested in the subject matter.

In a way I guess my reading this book was like preaching to the choir. I already try to buy very little and to spend as little time in malls as possible. Often the book was funny and I could understand Levine and her partners frustration as they tried to decide the rules of what is necessary and what isn't. Levine keeps her hair short so $50 haircuts with her stylist are necessary to her. Her partner, Paul, is Italian and believes that wine is an absolute necessity. Levine is a real culture junky - always going to movies, plays and concerts so I think that was one of the hardest things for her. However, I was really surprised when she said she paid off her credit card in June, the bill was $7,956.21! That is, I am almost embarrassed to admit, very close my entire earnings for last year. So I guess my simplicity isn't so voluntary afterall.

Even though it didn't really teach me anything I didn't already know I really enjoyed this book. She spoke to a number of different people on the subject, joined a voluntary simplicity circle and spent a lot more time looking for free things to do. My only real problem was a ton of editing errors - how did they get past the editors? I think the publishing house should give me a job.

Water

2006-02-06T09:57:00.000-08:00

A very interesting article:

Consumers spend a collective $100 billion every year on bottled water in the belief--often mistaken, as it happens--that this is better for us than what flows from our taps, according to environmental think tank the Earth Policy Institute (EPI).

For a fraction of that sum, everyone on the planet could have safe drinking water and proper sanitation.

Winter Solstice

2005-12-21T10:26:00.000-08:00

Another holiday rant, this time not by me: The Tyee

Book Review: Hundred Dollar Holiday

2005-12-10T08:03:00.000-08:00

Hundred Dollar Holiday by Bill McKibben

I read this short and sweet little book (95 pages) yesterday in two sittings and it has made me excited for Christmas again. Mostly I want to go out and buy it for everyone in my family, although I am not sure how well that would go over.

The sub-title of the book is: The case for a more joyful Christmas. McKibben proposes that everyone limit their gift-giving budget to $100. It isn't a strict rule, the premise is to make Christmas fun and meaningful and by limiting the amount you spend you have to be more creative in your gift giving. It isn't about not giving at all but about giving more of yourself. It is about making Christmas less stressful and fun again.

McKibben goes into the history of Christmas, tracing its roots and explaining how important gift-giving once was to a society who worked hard and had little rest or entertainment except on special occasions. The history is fascinating and he doesn't use it as a finger-wagging exercise about why we don't need Christmas anymore - quite the opposite.

To read a version of the book, in an article he wrote for New American Dream go: here.

Book Review: Voluntary Simplicty

2005-12-09T05:46:00.000-08:00

Voluntary Simplicity by Duane Elgin

Originally published in 1981, it quickly became one of the books to read about sustainable living. In the revised edition (1993), Elgin has found that many of the environmental stresses he spoke of in his earlier book have become more urgent.

Something Elgin tries to make clear from the beginning of the book is that voluntary simplicity is very different from involuntary poverty.
"Poverty is involuntary and debilitating, whereas simplicity is voluntary and enabling." It is learning to live with what you need to live comfortably and being conscious of what you are taking from the earth. This isn't something people living in developing nations need to worry too much about - they are on subsistence living out of circumstance. Many people think they need to sell everything they own and move to the woods to live simply but a life of self-imposed deprivation will only lead you to constantly miss the things you gave up.
Another important point is voluntary simplicity isn't about turning away from progress but about using it to advantage of all. At the end of the book Elgin talks about who the media could be used as a medium to educate people. You can't get rid of the television but you can try and move it away from its focus on consumerism and use it to make people more aware.

The most fascinating part of the book, for me, was based on a survey Elgin did in 1977 asking people who read the Co-Evolution Quarterly (where the questionnaire was printed) about what simple living meant to them. Obviously Elgin has chosen some of the best answers and the people who read the magazine were mostly converts to the simplicity movement already. However, the answers don't seem dated and it is interesting to hear how people have made changes these changes in their lives in their own voice. The common theme seemed to be that they were much happier now, they found that it is hard to live consciously all the time and that it will always be something that needs to be worked on but they thought it was worth it. No one talks about missing "stuff."

A quick and easy read and a good introduction for anyone interested in voluntary simplicity.

In the news

2005-12-06T15:46:00.000-08:00

This is an interesting article about how Ottawa is trying to become a city not focused on environmental sustainability. Not a very good image for Canada's capital.

The article raises an interesting point with Ottawa raising transit fares. Calgary is also raising their transit prices; hopefully it won't push people back into their cars and away from transit. I can't imagine that it will make that much of a difference because gas prices are so high and parking downtown is so expensive. While a six dollar bus ride (round trip) is a lot of money it is probably still cheaper than the wear and tear commuting does to your car. And, the amount of single-occupancy cars driving in and out of the downtown core everyday is astronomical. Many of them are SUVs too. It would be nice if Calgary would put in a high occupancy vehicle lane to promote carpooling.

There are a couple carpooling websites that Calgarians can go to but they aren't well known.

http://www.carpool.ca/
http://www.erideshare.com/carpool.php?city=Calgary

The "Merry Christmas" vs "Happy Holiday" debate

2005-12-03T09:19:00.000-08:00

I find it comical that there is a debate going on in the corporate world about whether or not stores should say Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays when talking to customers. The Gap made the news with this a couple of years ago because they wanted their employees to do away with Merry Christmas for the more politically correct Happy Holidays. They made the news again when they changed their mind because of all the press they received.

The Starbucks Christmas blend coffee has alternative stickers to change it to their Holiday Blend in case customers are offended by the assumption that everyone celebrates Christmas.

I suspect the real reason behind this push for political correctness isn’t a concern for the feelings of customers but the fear of losing a sale. The powers that be don’t want to exclude anyone and so they try to include everyone.

Growing up in a quasi-Catholic family and attending Catholic school I assumed the rest of the world was Catholic too. It always baffled me why my piano teacher wouldn’t put up Christmas lights or a tree. However, I noticed the menorah and the other subtle changes in her home (mostly the foreign-to-me treats that she would tempt me with). I always wanted to give her a Christmas card and she would accept it graciously and then remind me about Hanukkah.

The more commercialized Christmas gets the more non-important things get blown out of proportion. People spend more time shopping than spending time with their families reflecting on what the season should mean to them. The book Affluenza says the average American (and we can probably include Canadians in here too) spends six hours a week shopping and only 40 minutes playing with their children.

Buy Nothing Christmas is an organization started by Canadian Mennonites and open to anyone who wants to make the “Holiday Season” more meaningful – no matter what holiday you might be celebrating. BNC promotes not getting swept up in the over-blown consumer culture and reminding yourself what the holidays mean to you. If “it’s the thought that counts” is really true then what does spending countless days in a mall really say?

As a non-Christian, I still like and celebrate some aspects of Christmas. I like to go out and get a tree and sit with my husband stringing cranberries to decorate it, I like to bake endless amounts of cookies, and I like be reminded to call up old friends and get together. Buying absolutely nothing isn’t really an option for me because I feel pressure to buy presents for people who are buying them for me. I try and make as many gifts as I can (lots of people get baking). My nephews appreciate my homemade cd’s, secondhand books and knitted scarves

When I do go out and buy something I try and consider its shelf life and how much packaging in comes in. Will the packaging be recycled? Is this something the person is going to use or will it end up in a garage sale – or the garbage – six months from now.

Maybe, for those of us who feel too much pressure to Buy Nothing at Christmas we can have a movement called Conscientious Christmas. This involves staying away from all-day mall sessions where you wander aimlessly and end up buying more than is probably necessary.
Conscientious Christmas involves thinking through every gift carefully: where it came from, how it was made, how much packaging it uses and where it will be a year from now.

At least when I am knitting those scarves (no matter how wonky), with each stitch I am thinking about the person who is going to receive it. I think about their favourite colours when I pick out they yarn, I wonder if they will like the pattern and if it is thick enough to keep them warm. If it is for the younger nephews; I try to guess how long it will be before they inevitably lose it and I hope the scarf gets picked up and passed onto to someone else.

After all, a scarf is just “stuff” and that’s not what Christmas is about.

Links

2005-11-30T08:12:00.000-08:00

Websites to take notice of:

Local:
Clean Calgary
Their mission: Clean Calgary will provide quality, timely programs and services to support Calgarians of all ages in achieving an environmentally sustainable community.

I wish I had know about this before Buy Nothing Day. This organization was showing the Affluenza video in honour of BND in their Eco-store but would not be performing any transactions.
They also have a very interesting Christmas Shopping Checklist on their site to make people stop and think about what they are buying this Christmas. Check it out.

National:
Green Communities of Canada
Their mission: Green Communities Canada is a national network of community-based non-profit organizations that deliver innovative environmental programs and services, with a focus on household and community action. Green Communities Canada supports member organizations in working together to achieve environmental sustainability, including healthy ecosystems and communities, sustainable resource use, and clean air, water, and soil.

A good resource for anyone wanting to know more about living sustainably in Canada with links to other environmental organizations like the One Tonne Challenge.

International:
Commercial Alert
Their mission: To keep the commercial culture within its proper sphere, and to prevent it from exploiting children and subverting the higher values of family, community, environmental integrity and democracy.

This website posts news stories and press releases about advertising they feel is harmful to their values.
A particularly interesting story involves a Texas town that is changing it's name to DISH because it is being sponsored by a satellite dish company.

Buy Nothing Day

2005-11-24T22:08:00.000-08:00

The day after American Thanksgiving is well know in the

U.S.

for something other than turkey leftovers - it is the start of the Christmas shopping season. This day has been dubbed “Black Friday” by retailers because it is the day they move out of the red and into the black financially. Many stores open as early as 5 a.m., some have 24-hour-madness sales and open at one minute after midnight.

The AdBusters Media Foundation takes a different view of Black Friday, they call it Buy Nothing Day. Their goal is to make people realize just how much of a consumerist society we live in and to try and get everyone to take a holiday from shopping.
Their credo: “For 24 hours, millions of people around the world do not participate -- in the doomsday economy, the marketing mind-games, and the frantic consumer-binge that's become our culture. We pause. We make a small choice not to shop. We shrink our footprint and gain some calm. Together we say: enough is enough. And we help build this movement to rethink our unsustainable course.”
While many think buying nothing for one whole day isn’t going to change the world, for some it is an impossible task.
Many people are addicted to shopping. In 1997 the Public Broadcast Service (PBS) came out with a one hour special, and later a book, called Affluenza, making a tongue-in-cheek term out of what is a serious problem in both the United States and Canada.
According to the book, on average we shop six hours a week shopping, and only 40 minutes playing with our children.
The book wants people to consider why they spend so much time shopping and found that people will go to the mall when they are bored or depressed and are looking for material ways to fill an immaterial void in their lives.
In a recent report by the Vanier Institute of the Family (VIF) spending is up on everything in Canada and bankruptcies remain near record levels. In 2004 consumer bankruptcies totaled about 84,000.
Even in a rich province like Alberta over 8,000 people filed for bankruptcy last year.
Counseling Supervisor at Credit Counselling Services of Alberta (CCSA), Marion Kelly, said they do see a number of university students who come in for advice.
“We deal with any people, students, seniors who can’t manage their financial situation,” Kelly said. “Anyone can call into our toll free line.”
One of the services the CCSA offer is a government sanctioned debt repayment program which prevents people from having to declare bankruptcy.
“We do run the Orderly Payment of Debts program – some people can go on and pay their debt in full and the interest is five per cent.”
However, the trick is to not get into debt in the first place, which can be hard for students.
“My word of advice is once they finish school they really need to stay on top of their student loans,” Kelly said.
“Lots of students, if they don’t have sufficient funds will consciously or unconsciously ignore their loans. If they are in a low income situation they would qualify for interest relief.”
Communications Coordinator for CCSA, Lily Nichols says they teach people how to keep track of their money which is often a problem students have.
“That is the biggest part of budgeting, to figure out where your money is really being spent currently,” Nichols said. “It is all the little expenses that you don’t count, the extra coffee.
“You can lose track really quickly.”
This year Buy Nothing Day is on November 25, challenge yourself by keeping your change in your pocket.

Not-so Fun Facts

2005-11-22T10:38:00.000-08:00

Taken from the book Affluenza: The all-consuming epidemic by John De Graaf
And The Current State of Canadian Family Finances – 2004 Report put out by the Vanier Institute of the Family

The average new house has grown larger every decade. Family size has grown smaller.
Many new homes have three-car garages, almost 900 square feet of garage which was the average size of a home in the 1950s.
Since 1950 Americans alone have used more resources than everyone who ever lived before them.
“Shopping malls have really become the centres of many communities. Children, as well as adults see a shopping centre as just a natural destination to fill a bored life.” -- Michael Jacobson, co-author Marketing Madness
On average we shop six hours a week and only spend 40 minutes playing with our children
By the age of 20 the average American has seen a million commercial messages
Survey’s show that most Americans, regardless of income think they would find happiness if they only had twice as much money. But they also show that we are no happier than we were 40 years ago when we only had half as much or less.
Each year more than a million and a half people in the U.S. file for personal bankruptcy, more than graduate from college. That’s been the case since 1996. Every fifteen seconds, an American goes bankrupt. On average, the debt load for such filers equals twenty-two months of income.
“It’s a very socially acceptable way to be addictive, to get a temporary high, to feel good. I’m feeling depressed today – let’s go shopping. As far as society goes, it’s sanctioned.” -- Terri Pauly, family counselor
A recent Ipsos survey found that 75 per cent of Canadians have less than three months worth of savings in the bank and that 42 per cent of Canadians admit to having no “rainy day” money.
In Alberta, the richest province in the country, 8650 people filed for bankruptcy in 2004. Slightly higher than in B.C. which has a higher population
From 1980 to 2004, total spending in Canada advanced by about 29 per cent per household while total after-income tax incomes per household advanced by a rather miniscule 4 per cent.

Movie Review: The Future of Food

2005-11-19T20:02:00.000-08:00

The Future of Food

A scientific and scary account of what genetics and big business are doing to our food. Particularly moving was the story of Percy & Louise Schmeiser, farmers from Saskatchewan who were taken to court by Monsanto for having patented Monsanto genetically altered canola on their land. The Schmeisers had never bought seed from Monsanto, they saved their own seed year after year and reused it. They ended up destroying a lot of their seed because it had come into contact with the Monsanto seed and had been altered (as far as I understand it). The courts ruled that it didn’t matter how the seed got onto their land (wind, birds, passing trucks carrying seed), the Schmeisers were in the wrong. The Supreme Court of Canada ruled 4-5 in favour of Monsanto.

What was lacking in the movie was the presence of Dr. Vandana Shiva, a well know ecologist and seed activist. Many people will remember her from The Corporation. It is surprising that a movie about seed engineering didn’t have her voice.

Overall an eye-opening account of what is going on in the world of genetically modified food and the quest of big business to make a profit at any cost.

To learn more about Percy Schmeiser and his case go here
To find out where you can see this movie go here

Tearing down the house

2005-11-14T20:47:00.000-08:00

This following article was taken from Saturday’s Calgary Herald. It is a good example of the problems going on in the city right now. The owners of this house paid $800,000 for it only to rip it down and are planning on paying more than that to build a new house on the land.

TEARING DOWN the HOUSE

Calgarians buy pricey homes — only to replace them

MARTY HOPE ,CALGARY HERALD
It wasn’t that long ago the sale or construction of a million-dollar house was really big news in Calgary. These days, consumers are routinely buying resale homes in these nose-bleed price ranges — only to tear them down and build even larger and more expensive ones on that same piece of dirt.
From January to September, sales of luxury homes in Calgary tripled compared to the same period last year, says a survey by Royal LePage Real Estate Services.
Calgary Real Estate Board figures support this, showing that, so far this year, there were 140 deals for homes valued at more than $900,000, up from just 45 last year — a 211 per cent increase.
In fact, sales to the end of September outdistanced combined $900,000-plus sales for the previous three years. It’s not uncommon any longer to see a “for sale” sign go up and then have demolition equipment roll onto the site shortly after.
About 30 per cent of this year’s used home sales have turned into demolition/reconstruction projects, says Ted Zaharko, broker/owner of Royal LePage Foothills.
“The house isn’t relative — the buyers are interested in location,” he says.
“They’ve got the money and they can always build what they want, so down comes the house,” says Zaharko. “It’s all about location and being close to the downtown.”
Cameron Kraychy, president of four-year-old Rocky Point Custom Homes, has a growing file of clients who have purchased high-priced older properties in upscale neighbourhoods with the intention of tearing them down and rebuilding.
“We’re seeing houses valued at $800,000 to more than a million coming down and, in some cases, two-million-dollar ones going up,” he says over the noise of heavy equipment ripping down a 40-yearold home in Eagle Ridge.
The 6,000-square-foot home, backing onto Heritage Park, will be replaced by a walk-out bungalow with 3,800 square feet on both levels.
Never having been renovated, it was bought by a young professional couple with a family who was looking to live in an established area.
“People are looking to grow roots,” says Kraychy. “They’re done moving around and want to settle down in a location they consider desirable and accessible.”
Zaharko agrees. He says homes located along ridge areas overlooking the city are in high demand, as are those in prestigious communities like Mount Royal, Britannia, Lakeview, Eagle Ridge, Lake Bonaventure and Scarboro.
“It’s also a function of lot availability for the size of the home some people are looking to build — and a growing number of them don’t want the suburbs,” says Kraychy. “Besides, there are some things a renovation won’t fix.”
A growing number of jobs undertaken by Burke Builders Inc. are largely such homes, says president Clarence Burke
“I had one client who bought a place for $1.2 million and just knocked it down,” he says.
“It’s the land. People want to be close to downtown and are willing to pay for the privilege.”
Heather Waddell, who has been working the high end of the housing market with Royal LePage for a couple of decades, says the appeal of the high end says plenty about Calgary’s economic well-being.
“Inner-city knockdowns are a function of the demand for land,” she says. “People used to spend a million dollars for a home to live in. Now, a lot of them are spending it to knock it down and build something newer.”
In other major Canadian cities, sales increases have not been as strong.
For the first half of this year, Calgary is up 197 per cent, followed by Winnipeg at 107 per cent, Toronto with 48 per cent and Vancouver up 18 per cent, while Ottawa slipped seven per cent, says Royal LePage.
The growing number of highend purchases are an expression of confidence by consumers in both the national economy and housing as an investment, says Phil Soper, president and CEO of Royal LePage Real Estate Services.
“But we are also finding that luxury buyers initiate a significant amount of upgrades and renovations, improving their lifestyles while adding to the equity in their homes,” he says.

Introduction

2005-11-14T19:59:00.000-08:00

*Af-flu-enza n. 1. The bloated, sluggish and unfulfilled feeling that results from efforts to keep up with the Joneses.

Lately I have been interested in the subject of Affluenza and the Voluntary Simplicity movement. Years ago I read Simple Living by Janet Luhrs and since then I have been inspired by stories of people who feel that time well spent is more important than time spending money. Currently I am reading Affluenza by John deGraaf which was based on a PBS special that aired in 1997. Both books give good examples of how to simplify your life and how to reduce the amount waste you create but reading about it is easier than doing it.

In this blog I hope to examine how Affluenza affects the world around me, the people I know and the city I live in.