Comments swan has made

Some of us old hippies have known for a long time that we were going to have to get back to the garden to survive. That's why some of us are still living communally and trying to teach the next generation about living lightly upon the earth. Thank you for your truth-telling. I have been having a hard time writing lately on my blog at http://goodwordswan.wildflowerstew.com I try to talk about the positive things we can do for the future. I am re-inspired after reading your good words.

I have spent a lot of time in wild, remote places and many years living on the land. I want to pass on the world I have known so the truth of it, the million stars that fall down all the way to the horizon nights in the desert, won't be forgotten.

I think this article and the discussion serves as a perfect example of what's wrong with the competitive attitude when critical issues are at hand. If all the people working on this issue would work TOGETHER - what a radical idea! - we would progress toward the goal a lot quicker. The only thing that is going to save this planet for humans is if we learn to co-operate . . . . learning to live in harmony with the natural world . . . goodwordswan . . . .

Eating Wild

Great article! I love the recipe, too. Being an urban nature mystic and loving the wild spring greens that grow here in central Texas I am always on the lookout for safe places to forage. Here's an article I wrote last summer on eating wild: http://goodwordswan.wildflowerstew.com/2008/07/09/eating- ...

I would like to add, though, that one must be very careful. I never pick herbs from the roadside because of herbicide use and contamination from exhaust fumes.

I have been disabled from a herbicide spill so I am also always looking for ways to educate about the dangers of those products and where to find sane alternatives. So I'd say enjoy the wild but be careful where you pick it!On When the season's first edible weeds poke through, it's time for gumbo z'herbes posted 9 months ago 8 Responses

Sanity!

Not to mention taking responsibility and caring about the future!On California unveils comprehensive 'green chemistry' plan posted 11 months, 2 weeks ago 2 Responses

Object lesson

Ask someone in San Diego today how they feel about having an airport in their backyard.On Anti-air-travel activists stage protest on U.K. airport runway posted 11 months, 3 weeks ago 1 Response

Energy efficient and safe, too

May I suggest that we make these environmentally correct public buildings also environmentally safe for the human occupants? Toxic exposures from indoor air pollution caused by the use of pesticides, toxic cleaning products, formaldehyde offgassing, and unsafe building materials are a major health problem and a major source of the asthma epidemic among school age children.

It's not that hard - or expensive - to use safe materials. It just requires a change. Are we ready for that? I changed my household to non-toxic, unscented personal care products, cleaning products and pest control. I spend less money than I did on fancy, toxic products that were doing nothing but making me sick and lining some CEO's pocket - and my house is really clean. I'm also having fewer asthma attacks.

Some school districts and municipal buildings have already adopted a fragrance-free, pesticide-free, non-toxic policy (thank you, Massachusetts). This is a change that it is time for. If you want something that smells good, try really fresh, clean air. When is the last time you smelled that?

swan

http://goodwordswan.wildflowerstew.com

Long time comin'

For a rundown on the first generation of electric cars (which was abandoned ten years ago - and not in Nebraska), see the lowdown from activist Doug Korthof in EarthSourceMedia at http://www.earthsourcemedia.org/3.html
On Utilities ponder big buy of electric cars posted 1 year ago 5 Responses

Well, duh

This is what I write about in my blog - living in harmony with the natural world. Yeah, it does make a lot of difference. We are of the earth and it does nurture us whether we recognize it with our left-brain minds or not. We need the touch of nature like we need love and music.On Green space lessens socioeconomic health gap, says study posted 1 year ago 1 Response

Good idea!

Welcome to the sunny side of the street, Arnold. It just smacks of intelligence and sanity to tax the thing that is causing the problem in the first place!On Governator proposes tax on California oil drilling posted 1 year ago 2 Responses

No drilling in Utah wilderness

Yea! That's what I want to hear!! Way to go, Obama!On Obama looks to reverse Bush's drilling efforts in Utah posted 1 year ago 2 Responses

What we all must do

I hope a lot of activists read this story. So many of us have fought the good fight and lost (at least for now) and I keep telling people to just go on and do what you believe is right even in the face of all that is being done wrong. That is bearing witness. People notice. They write about it. They pass it on. The good way lives to fight another day - and in the meantime we get to eat delicious food!

http://goodwordswan.wildflowerstew.com

Canvas cots & down comforters

I like those camping cots with the canvas (think organic canvas!) and the X-folding legs. Some of them also fold in two after you collapse the legs and then they are about the size of a card table - easy to store. You can put a single foam pad on top if you need to and sleep up off the floor in comfort.

I also have a double bed sized down comforter that, folded over, makes a great overnight mattress. My grandson loves it. So cuddly . . .On Umbra on air mattresses posted 1 year, 4 months ago 9 Responses

Yes

I think everybody's pretty much got the idea about the Wal Mart version of "local." I would just like to add that buying from truly local, small farm, farmer's market type growers keeps your money in your hometown and you can influence your local growers as far as what to grow, how to grow, when to grow, etc. Also, any time you have a middleman (WalMart) some of the money (probably a lot) goes in their pocket. Another reason to spend the money close to home.

WalMart is loyal first, last and always to their shareholders - Amen. However they can make the most money for the corporation is all they are about. Do not kid yourself.

And it's not a matter of holding your nose. The means ARE the end.On Wal-Mart gobbles up local produce posted 1 year, 4 months ago 23 Responses

Thank you

Ah, thank you Sharon - and Bruce for telling the story. Good for you! Thinking about the children of Belize loving wildlife makes my heart sing, feeds my spirit so I can keep on working too . . . thanks . . .
On An interview with author Bruce Barcott posted 1 year, 4 months ago 2 Responses

Cetacean Rights

Whales need a civil rights organization like the Great Ape Project which extends the inalienable rights of sentient beings to apes. I don't think  the issue of the killing of another being is going to be resolved by approaching it from an economic perspective.

Would you eat your family dog? Would you eat a monkey? Whales are obviously intelligent, socially organized, sensitive aware beings. Where do we draw the line?

Isn't it time for human beings to stop acting like we own the planet when we have trashed it so bad for ourselves and everyone else - and start showing some respect? The UN could create a Bill of Rights for sentient beings. Imagine that. . . . swan . . . .
On Whaling commission avoids controversial decisions posted 1 year, 5 months ago 2 Responses

Vacation at home

when I lived in Taos New Mexico - I already was where everybody else saved up all year to come visit! So I would stay home, clean out the guest room, cook up plenty of food and enjoy the visits. I got to live in the most beautiful place in the world year round. It was the least I could do.On How to green your vacation posted 1 year, 5 months ago 7 Responses

Repopulate the countryside?

So if the problem is long distance transmission and local generation of power is preferable but not possible in the case of some densely populated cities - does this suggest that the long term sustainable move would be to repopulate the countryside? How about a mass reverse migration to inhabit bioregions where food and fuel could be generated in a sustainable manner for the appropriate number of people?

There are huge unpopulated areas in the western half of the US and in other countries. Has anyone written about this? I would be curious to know.On Huge Calif. solar plant would run transmission lines through state park posted 1 year, 5 months ago 39 Responses

Alone in nature

When I was a child, in the 40s and 50s, growing up on a ranch in South Texas I had all the room to roam any nature-lovin' child could want. I walked for miles with my activist Audobon grandmother on Padre Island without seeing any sign of people - or any trash. I sat for hours beside a river, spent long afternoons in an old live oak tree, way beyond shouting distance from the house, with no fear. The worse things to fear were rattlesnakes and I knew how to watch out for them.

I've hiked in the natural world alone off and on all my adult life. I know people are getting more fearful in general. I don't let my grandchildren go outside alone in this urban neighborhood I live in now. But I had no idea, until I read this article, that it is so generally assumed that people are afraid to go out into the natural world alone. I find that incredibly sad.

Recently a new wilderness area was designated within two hours driving distance of two million people in the Northwest. I have a story about the new wilderness called "Getting It Right" in my blog at http://goodwordswan.wildflowerstew.com

I hope people will find (or create!) places like this near where they live and let their children have the opportunity to sit by rivers and walk on beaches without fear. If we are going to do the hard work we must to save this planet, we are going to need all the help we can get and the power of the natural world will feed our spirits like nothing else can.On This summer, form a family nature club posted 1 year, 5 months ago 3 Responses

You must be a mom,

Umbra, because that comment was right on. I raised 4 kids, now safely launched, and first having a heart to heart talk is best - mutual respect. And remembering that they are just passing through and to enjoy them as they are is the best advice there is. It's amazing what they will remember later on when they're not doing the proving their independence thing. I have had the pleasure of hearing my kids tell their kids almost word for word some of my admonitions. Put it out there with respect and it will come back. . . and keep the peace.On Umbra on long, hot showers posted 1 year, 7 months ago 21 Responses

Austin - the good and the not-so-good

Yeah, it's all true what you said, marvelle - and our congressman, lloyd doggett is for sure a saint - and we are blessed and lucky to live here compared to a lot of places i've been - BUT - i live in an urban apartment in a pretty nice neighbor but close to downtown and the air quality is AWFUL most of the time. i do live just around the corner from a busy street but i don't live next to any superfund sites or refineries, just busy-city air. everybody i know carries an inhalor, has asthma, coughs, etc.

Having lived for years in the country (way out in the country) i know the difference. if austin is the greenest city around, we'd better roll up our sleeves and get work and clean up this mess while we still can.On Portfolio magazine lists eco-saint and eco-sinner companies posted 1 year, 9 months ago 6 Responses

Alternatives

Boycotts work. I don't think it would be too hard to organize a boycott of gm foods. The first thing we'd have to do is identify which foods are free of genetically modified ingredients. This would obviously increase the market for local food producers. I would like to see premeditated, well-publicized boycotts against specific items just to show the power we have as consumers. I remember the green grape and iceberg lettuce boycotts of Cesar Chavez day - boy, did they work!

We can make our voices heard. The organic food movement is really taking off. We don't have to let them get by with this. I am writing about the local food movement and other ways of living in harmony with the natural world in my blog at http://goodwordswan.wildflowerstew.comOn Monsanto's latest court triumph cloaks massive market power posted 1 year, 10 months ago 18 Responses

You give us all hope

I am an old activist/journalist (in my 60s) sidelined by environmental illness. After almost 40 years of working on environmental issues it gives me great joy to see you guys taking the lead - and I'm going to keep on working over here on the sidelines and cheering you on!
Rebecca Swan
http://goodwordswan.wildflowerstew.com
On The youth climate movement proves itself at Power Shift posted 2 years ago 8 Responses

Safe for kids

I have a post about alternative cleaning tips, Coolest Summer Ever, in my blog at http://goodwordswan.wildflowerstew.com
and another post about safe bug control called Bug Free. Thanks for the good information.On An eco-entrepreneur's advice on kid-proofing your cleaning supplies posted 2 years, 2 months ago 2 Responses

Create your food supply

If you want to eat pesticide-free, fresh vegetables and fruit grown reasonably close to where you live, you can get out there and make that happen. Do whatever you can. Grow some, if you can, support the local farmers, petition local grocers, join organizations, picket, write letters, vote with your pocketbook - do something! Change county tax codes and zoning to give preference to small farmers, set up work/study programs in schools. Teach food production and preservation. Teach organic growing techniques.

We have to stop waiting for someone else to deal with this. Wherever you live, if you really want to, you can find a way to start making this happen. I put some ideas out there in my blog whenever I get the chance. See what we're doing in Austin, Texas at http://goodwordswan.wildflowerstew.com
On How globalization is smothering U.S. fruit and vegetable farms posted 2 years, 2 months ago 11 Responses

Bus People

My partner, who is a 60s style synthesizer musician, and I traveled all over the country for 5 years from 1996 to 2001 in a converted schoolbus. Here's a link to a page in my blog with a picture of the bus: http://goodwordswan.wildflowerstew.com/the-bus-people/

We traveled alone, not following a band or festival schedule, just on our own. We had all kinds of adventures, met all kinds of people, almost all of them kind. I'm writing a book about our adventures called, The Bus People. I love seeing the next generation keeping up the tradition of gypsy storytellers and I love that they are setting such a good example by how they are doing it.

"Us nature mystics got to stick together." Edward Abbey

You made my day!

How wonderful - a nature sightings board. How uplifting! I live in the city now and my nature sightings are widely spaced and very treasured. This year so far I have seen from my urban apartment window one great blue heron, one red tailed hawk, one nesting pair of cardinals in a small tree behind this apartment building and yesterday, oh joy, one small honey bee got in my apartment. I gently encouraged it back out the door and wished it well as it zig zagged away. In the evenings, many small swallows dip and swirl through the air and under the wide eaves over my balcony, doing their duty keeping the mosquito population down and my spirits up. I write about living in harmony with the natural world in my blog: http://goodwordswan.wildflowerstew.com

"Us nature mystics got to stick together." Edward Abbey

Sharing Space

Some musicians I know here in Austin, Texas, have built a stage and are setting up a place to have an open mic, potlucks, music events, workshops and whatever else they can think of on 3 1/2 acres on the south side of town. I write about grassroots communities like this, local farms, living in harmony with the natural world and small things we can do to help heal the planet in my blog at http://goodwordswan.wildflowerstew.com

"Us nature mystics got to stick together." Edward Abbey

What a dead zone feels and smells and tastes like

I grew up in South Texas near the gulf. The joy of my life was spending time on the beach and in the water off Padre Island. I grew up, moved away, lived up north for a long time. I always had a little place in my heart for palm trees and gulf breezes and swimming in the warm gulf waters.

I had some bad experiences. I got sick from the toxins in my environment and became seriously disabled with chemical sensitivities. After collapsing from respiratory failure and spending 2 months in a hospital I was told I would have to live the rest of my life on supplemental oxygen. My partner asked me where I would like to live. We were in cold, damp Oregon at the time and had decided to move. I said - oh, the warm Gulf of Mexico would be perfect.

So we went to the central gulf coast of Florida and indeed it was beautiful there. The climate was perfect, the beaches just like a postcard. I got to walk on the beach and wiggle my toes in the warm gulf waters exactly once before the "red tide" started. Everyone said - oh, it just lasts a couple of weeks. It lasted months. It's still not over. It's now part of the permanent dead zone.

When you have a dead zone, it's not just that there are not fish. The beach was littered with dead fish, crabs, everything living thing that had been in the water washed up dead. Boy, did it stink. Not only that, the warm gulf breezes become highly toxic and there were warning signs everywhere that it was dangerous to breathe THE AIR. And it is. People who have no respiratory problems sneeze and cough from the wind over these algae blooms.

It is scarey. It is not a tragic natural phenomenon like a big hurricane. It feels like some evil force has sucked all the life out of huge area, as far as you can see. If you loved the gulf as I do, if you came home to find that someone had killed her when you needed her most - what would you do?

I just read about a study that showed that organic farming could produce more than enough food to take care of everyone on this planet and then some. Support your local farmers and buy organic. I am writing about some things we can do to make a difference in my blog: http://goodwordswan.wildflowerstew.com

"Us nature mystics got to stick together." Edward Abbey

What We're Doing Here

Just moved to Austin, TX from Florida. We're moving to a place on the south side of town. The back of this 7 acre place connects with McKinney Falls State Park so we have a rural ambiance and a city bus stop across the street. It's a bridge for people wanting to work their way out of the urban scene and learn community and rural living skills. There's a communal garden and permaculture consciousness. Various artists make their home here including musicians, artists and writers. We have a vision - that people can live and work cooperatively and sustainably. My website is http://wildflowerstew.org That will show you a little of what we are up to. I just wanted to share this positive vision. I totally agree that we need to create our vision - and we can! . . . .swan . . . . .
On Drop that apocalyptic vision and start imagining a positive future posted 3 years, 4 months ago 56 Responses

Aransas Wildlife Refuge

Nobody seems to recall that the area most affected by this wind farm is home to the Aransas Wildlife Refuge - see http://www.fws.gov/southwest/refuges/texas/aransas.html

This is the wintering grounds of one of the rarest creatures in North America according to U.S. Fish & Wildlife folks - the whooping crane. My grandmother, who was a card-carrying member of the Audobon Society, was active in the establishing of the sanctuary for the whooping cranes in the 30s. The whooping cranes made a comeback from less than 20 to several hundred today. My favorite outings with my grandmother when I was growing up in South Texas were spent in the marshes around the refuge waiting quietly behind a stand of cattails hoping for a peek at the reclusive whooping crane. My nature lovin' grandparents inspired my life-long journey as a nature mystic, writer and activist. I also consider myself a responsible environmentalist. I see no need to disturb the important habitat of this rare and beautiful bird to put up a wind farm in that particular place. The wind farm is an excellent idea. It should work very well down near South Padre Island where the beach front condos that use up all the energy it would be producing can see their tax dollars at work. The name of my online magazine is Wildflower Stew - http://wildflowerstew.org - the subtitle is "You Can't Eat the View" - but maybe you can watch it go round and round . . . . . swan . . . . .On Wind farm follies posted 3 years, 6 months ago 47 Responses

Too cute

Mostly I like the clever headlines and the angle of the articles. In fact, I have an RSS feed for Grist in my not-for-profit online magazine Wildflower Stew http://wildflowerstew.org/mag but I definitely feel that the reference to peyote in the "party time" context is just awful. Thousands of people in the Native American Church consider peyote a sacred substance which is used for communion with the Creator. Whether you share that view or not, it is pretty disrespectful to refer to it as a recreational drug. If you want to address the subject of peyote, then by all means do so, but please don't casually refer to it as if it were on the same level as ecstacy or something. That is incorrect and unnecessarily insulting to some of your readers.On What to expect from the U.N. climate-change negotiations in Montreal posted 4 years ago 5 Responses

Incomplete

Sounds like a great book visually and intellectually but it is way too lopsided if it fails to include the interaction of technology with the natural world. How can you talk about lumber without talking about trees? That's like talking about oil without talking about dinosaurs!On Brian Hayes' Infrastructure offers a tour of the "unnatural" side of America posted 4 years ago 1 Response