deconsumption

"A Deeper Shade of Green"

Hey, I'm published!

If you're interested, a couple months ago I penned a piece for an excellent new magazine here in the Upper Mississippi Valley region called Natural Communities, which is devoted to chronicling what I've taken to refering to as the emerging "culture of responsibility". The article is entitled "A Deeper Shade of Green", and it argues that just as the term "Organic" was co-opted by big-business, so "Green" is going to be as well. But that's alright, because just as true organic food buyers have deepened their understanding and become more informed and discerning about what makes food healthy, so too will those who wish to create healthy, responsible homes.

Or to put it another way, nobody really goes to Wal-Mart to buy healthy food, and nobody goes to Home Depot to buy truly "green" building materials either. They go there for "cheap". And this newly emerging culture of responsibility is by it's nature inherently incompatible with our dying culture of "quantity and consumption". Yes, I'll grant you it doesn't always seem that way, but it is.

"The green building revolution will pursue a practical course, which starts by re-examining the existing materials in our homes and workplaces and asking ourselves whether they might actually be harming us. Then, over time, we should replace these things when feasible, and explore ways to seal their toxins in when it’s not.

As a good rule of thumb though, just as with the organic foods movement, we should probably maintain a healthy distrust for any solutions we’ll be offered by the very corporations and industries that put us into this mess in the first place."

Of course don't get me wrong--the Big Box stores will still do huge business catering to the majority of people, since the majority of people--by their very nature--don't really give a shit. I mean why do you think Wal-Mart even bothered to go "Organic®" in the first place? Because they know that when push comes to shove, most people prefer a comforting lie to actually making any real effort to do the right thing.

Time Magazine book excerpt: "The Assault on Reason" by Al Gore

I've always prided myself on not identifying with any particular political party, and in high-level elections over the last decade or so I've made it a point to avoid either of the establishment parties altogether. But whatever your politics may be I'd recommend reading this Time Magazine excerpt of Al Gore's new book The Assault on Reason.

After a bumpy start (to my mind) in which he claims "We are all responsible for the decisions our country makes. We have a Congress. We have an independent judiciary. We have checks and balances. We are a nation of laws. We have free speech. We have a free press"--he almost lost me on those accounts--Gore goes on to hit the nail squarely on the head:

"Many Americans now feel that our government is unresponsive and that no one in power listens to or cares what they think. They feel disconnected from democracy. They feel that one vote makes no difference, and that they, as individuals, have no practical means of participating in America's self-government. Unfortunately, they are not entirely wrong. Voters are often viewed mainly as targets for easy manipulation by those seeking their "consent" to exercise power. By using focus groups and elaborate polling techniques, those who design these messages are able to derive the only information they're interested in receiving from citizens—feedback useful in fine-tuning their efforts at manipulation. Over time, the lack of authenticity becomes obvious and takes its toll in the form of cynicism and alienation. And the more Americans disconnect from the democratic process, the less legitimate it becomes.

Many young Americans now seem to feel that the jury is out on whether American democracy actually works or not. We have created a wealthy society with tens of millions of talented, resourceful individuals who play virtually no role whatsoever as citizens. Bringing these people in—with their networks of influence, their knowledge, and their resources—is the key to creating the capacity for shared intelligence that we need to solve our problems. "

Ultimately Gore comes to a conclusion that might have been lifted word-for-word from Jacob Needleman's excellent The American Soul: Rediscovering the Wisdom of the Founders:

"So the remedy for what ails our democracy is not simply better education (as important as that is) or civic education (as important as that can be), but the re-establishment of a genuine democratic discourse in which individuals can participate in a meaningful way—a conversation of democracy in which meritorious ideas and opinions from individuals do, in fact, evoke a meaningful response."

Gore touts the internet as "supporting decentralized processes that reinvigorate democracy". Needleman suggested we actually make the time to begin coming together physically in public assembly once again.

I won't sit in judgement of either idea. It's "any port in a storm" at this point...

"Latest Chinese missile to target US carriers: report"

Via The Raw Story, from a Japanese paper:

"China plans to equip its upcoming missiles with infrared technology to give them the ability to hit US warships in Asia, a Japanese newspaper said Wednesday.

The upgrade is part of preparations for a potential conflict over Taiwan, which China considers part of its territory and which has a security pact with the United States, the Sankei Shimbun said."

This reminds me: I'm due for an annual follow-up to the Timeline for the Unfolding Crisis, where I'd prognosticated the following for the 2007 - 2010 period:

"Worldwide, a void will start to be felt by the beginning decline of the US as a superpower. The signal for this won’t be hard to miss: China will “repatriate” Taiwan."

And now that I've got the Timeline out again, another prediction for the current period jumps out at me:

"...there is a high likelihood of a derivatives crisis triggering global bankruptcy in the financial world during this period, probably initiating in the US mortgage industry."

Which came on the back of my just having read this piece in the OC Register:

"The same problems shaking up the subprime market are now emerging in the Alt-A industry....Ramirez said it's "eerie" how the subprime correction appears to be repeating in Alt-A."

....and this weblog entry....

"Where are all of those experts who said the subprime problem was contained, and that it would not spill over to the Alt-A and Prime markets? Where are they as Alt-A lender after Alt-A lender goes belly up or suffers huge profit losses?"

"Wal-Mart Sales Are Worst in 27 Years"

Mainstream news, but worth citing...largest publicly traded company, selling perhaps the broadest range of products to the broadest range of people:

"Wal-Mart Stores Inc. posted its worst monthly same-store sales results in at least 27 years, tallying a 3.5% decline in April due to this year's early Easter as well as generally challenging economic conditions for consumers."