Comments MAM has made

  • Tibet continued

    Patrick, I apologize if I gave the impression I thought America was any better than China. Not at all. I'm just as opposed to American imperialism as I am to Chinese. The same arguments I would apply to Iraq go for Tibet. The nature of the government that existed before the invasion did not justify the invasion, let alone all the horrors that have been committed since. All the good intentioned ameliorations you mention and which the US tries to implement in Iraq are trivial in comparison with the initial and ongoing harm. Whatever you may think of Buddhism, surely you believe that people ought to be able to practice their religion freely? Or maybe not.

    As far as the larger point you make about "feudal leaders," I can only say that there are hundreds of indigenous groups all over the world who are fighting development and the destruction of their cultures: from the Arctic to the Amazon to the Pacific. You don't have to be a feudal overlord to want to maintain your traditional way of life. I support a wonderful organization called Global Response, which supports environmental activists worldwide, who often come from people living in agrarian or even hunter gatherer communities. These are ordinary people who risk their lives to try to stop dams, deforestation, mining and pollution, etc., so that their people can continue to live in the way they have for centuries or millenia. If everyone was so gungho about working at Walmart, surely they wouldn't resist all that our wonderful civilization has to offer. (And when I say "our" I mean both American and Chinese.)
    RosemaryOn Can industrial civilization really become sustainable? Should it? posted 3 years, 3 months ago 40 Responses

  • Tibet and Development

    Actually this Tibet question relates in an important way to the larger one of whether development benefits or hurts "the poor." Think of all the ethnic groups in the world whose native lands would not now be developed industrially if it had not been for invasion and conquest by others. This list is endless. Tibet is one. Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia are others. Was it worth it? My guess is that the people who were killed, raped, tortured, imprisoned, starved, forcibly expelled, forced to flee, or otherwise made to change their lifestyle against their will would say no. Of course, if you have cancer in Tibet today, you might be glad to have decent medical treatment available that wouldn't have been in the old Tibetan world.

    As many have written in this thread, nothing is permanent. Some ethnic groups, like the former Soviet ones mentioned above, have succeeded in gaining independence, and Tibet may also. If Tibet is someday a wealthy independent nation, will it all have been worth it? I suppose the Irish might say yes (some of them). I can't think of many others who would.

    As a Quaker, I believe that people should be as free as possible to decide their own destiny, whether it looks like wealth or poverty to others. If you don't want development, you shouldn't have to have it. This is, ironically, why I agree with Patrick that McDonough is preferable to Jensen--because the changes he tries to make are voluntary and concrete (as opposed to structural.) Likewise, I agree that what we all need to do is make small, real changes to the world immediately around us, rather than developing big dangerous plans for the end of civilization.
    RosemaryOn Can industrial civilization really become sustainable? Should it? posted 3 years, 3 months ago 40 Responses

  • Tibet

    Patrick wrote, "Tibet is part of China, so I am not sure what you are talking about.  Do Americans invade Puerto Rica or Hawaii when they go there?  Samoa?  Virgin Islands?  Marinaras?"

    Please see this link for a history of Tibet:
    http://www.friends-of-tibet.org.nz/tibet.html

    Tibet was invaded by China in 1949 and has been subjected to colonization, displacement, and all the attendant horrors ever since.

    Of course, the US invaded and colonized most of the places you mention. It just happened further back in history, and we don't happen to be imprisoning and torturing any of their leaders without trial at the moment. Nor do we plan to move massive numbers of our population there and displace the current residents.
    Rosemary
    On Can industrial civilization really become sustainable? Should it? posted 3 years, 3 months ago 40 Responses

  • Driving to the gym

    So often these debates waste everybody's energy, when most of us here are really on the same page in our goals and beliefs about how people ought to live. The original argument about "the paradox of biking" was bogus from the start.

    Where's the evidence that enviros who start biking instead of driving will live longer anyway? I have many slender, healthy friends, who consider themselves pro-environment, who drive miles to the gym every week. If they rode bikes for all their transportation instead it wouldn't change their life expectancy because they're already fit.

    These analyses of relative impacts of various human activities are rarely carefully researched or well thought out. They're junk science. Common sense makes a better guide.
    RosemaryOn Repeat after me: Humans are part of the environment posted 3 years, 4 months ago 18 Responses

  • Other ways to pay

    Even if your farmer's market doesn't take EBT, many of the farmers may be willing to barter or exchange some amount of farm labor for food. If you are able to get to the farm, there are many ways to help out. CSA's, especially, often offer discounts in exchange for labor.On Umbra on farmers' markets and food stamps posted 3 years, 5 months ago 9 Responses

  • Today the kitchen

    Yes, we're getting started. The heart of our current plan is to come up with suggestions that we will regularly mail to readers on how to take small steps towards a more sustainable lifestyle. We're hoping to get together some readers right now who will test drive it for us as we develop it. Please join us!
    Rosemary On Grist's green moms setup new Yahoo! group posted 4 years, 6 months ago 2 Responses

  • Join Us

    Thanks to all the nonmoms who have written with encouragement! If any of you (Jay or Dave, for instance), would like to participate in our brainstorming, we could surely use ideas from people who have experience starting organizations and publications.
    RosemaryOn Are greens overlooking a key constituency? posted 4 years, 6 months ago 40 Responses

  • Tipsheets

    Jessica, that sounds like a wonderful idea. I like it a lot because it includes both lifestyle change and political advocacy. Are you the one who said earlier you do the Flylady program? I do, too. And we could use some of her ideas as a model. She keeps things positive, includes a lot of inspiration and applause. We could include quotes from poets and ecologists, hopeful news stories, interesting statistics. We wouldn't want to just send a "do this now" message everyday. People wouldn't last long.

    One thing I find frustrating as a mother is that I don't know which changes are most important. If we have so much money to spend this year, should be buy a hybrid or make the house more efficient? You know what I mean? Local produce or organic but shipped? If several of us worked together on it, we could take different kinds of tasks and do the research, write it up, send it to everyone.

    Melanie is interested in this, too. What do you think, Melanie?
    RosemaryOn Are greens overlooking a key constituency? posted 4 years, 6 months ago 40 Responses

  • Mother's Group

    It seems as if we have two different visions going here. Some of us are interested in a group that would target ordinary American lifestyle choices. We might make a support group sort of thing with chapters everywhere. Mothers getting together to talk about how to live more sustainably. That kind of thing seems likely to succeed. It's getting trendy.

    My idea (MAM) is more a grassroots lobbying organization to advocate for public health and safety against the coal industry. My eldest son is autistic and I live in sight of the Blue Ridge Mountains, which are being destroyed by acid rain.

    MAM could certainly have dynamite heartwrenching ads on tv. Imagine a shot of a cute little 2yo boy doing something strange over and over and his mother calling him and not getting an answer. Voiceover begins, "Colin was a happy baby who loved to play peekaboo. Now...."

    RosemaryOn Are greens overlooking a key constituency? posted 4 years, 6 months ago 40 Responses

  • Mercury

    I think we should keep it simple. Don't try to take on too many issues--ketchup, comet, etc. How about we create an organization called Mothers Against Mercury (MAM)? Very simple messages. Mercury causes brain damage in children. Where does mercury come from? Burning coal. Let's stop burning coal. What do you think? I can imagine some good bumper stickers (Yes, MAM!). Has the advantage of hitting fossil fuel emissions as well.
    Rosemary On Are greens overlooking a key constituency? posted 4 years, 6 months ago 40 Responses