I copy emma, don’t know if she is on this list.  She has made my brain thunk quite a bit.  And by not going (SAY IT ISN’T SO), she has made me think deeply yet again.

stepping onto my soapbox <shuffling feet>:

IT IS NOT WHAT YOU BUY, but what you do NOT buy.  It isn’t offsetting carbon… it is NOT expending it.  Buying a hybrid doesn’t make you green.  Not buying another car when your first one works makes you green.

The nature of advertising and marketing is to make us feel us feel deficient of a product.  And however green, it is still a product.  The idea of consuming our way to a better world is asinine.

I think it is so important not to blindly ignore the duality and hypocrisy, but become aware of it.

I don’t mean to be dower, or a downer… but this is the way I am taking in the world.  It is a lot more complex than feeling like buying an organic stamped apple is saving the world, or that I can jet all over the world and $10 in carbon credits will absolve me of my guilt.

FIRST::  THIS IS PROBABLY THE MOST IMPORTANT ARTICLE YOU WILL READ.  Organic, fair trade, and local produce is WORSE for the environment (possibly.. but very difficult to refute):

https://www.decal.org/file/396

It is a very typical, and VERY American (not Canadian necessarily, guys) concept that we can “consume our way better”….. That we can actually consume electricity, and make it all better by buying wind credits, or buying certain types of veggies; all organic is doing is making something as prosaic as shopping for food denote your cultural, social, and educational class.  Most people are simply trying to eat and feed their families…. let alone worry about these issues.  Or afford the priviliged lifestyle that lets one “be green”.

“the green debate is for white people”
https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/5074214.stm

as if zombie like consumption and shopping for good or consuming natural resources could ever be considered forward thinking, green, or saving the world.

Consume to save! good luck.

Lorin Bassnectar had an article about wanting (and being) more than a club DJ.. being more about raising awareness and conciousness… you know?

ANYHOO… he mentioned our culture of consumption. AND….

The culture of drugs* coupled with consumerism is very interesting to me… hence why I love zombies (mindless consumption, massive consumerism in the form of impending, inevitable onslaught.. you cannot get away, they will eventually consume you.. society consuming itself)…

… and why I am having so many problems with the playa. And why this year is REALLY REALLY irking me. REALLLLLLY.

Does anyone find it sort of…. well.. frankly… disgusting about the concept of “greening the burn”???

I mean…. I dig raised consciousness, but with the “clients” at the burn, you are probably preaching to the choir about being green…

the simple fact is that Burning Man is possibly the MOST CONSUMPTIVE AND GLUTTONOUS EVENT ON THE PLANET.

And the idea of greening that is ludicrous. It bothers me a lot.

Like carbon credits. Carbon credits DO NOT WORK. It is well documented at this point….
two reports here:
https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/6378471.stm
https://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/sunday/commentary/la-op-dorsey1apr01,0,7611817.story

for some humour.. think of paying for a credit if you cheat on someone..
https://www.cheatneutral.com/

biofuels hurt the rainforests – not to mention 300,000 acre organic cattle farms that they are CLEAR CUTTING THE RAINFOREST to make way for…..

“the green delusion”
https://tribes.tribe.net/organicdebate/thread/17614a74-090b-4470-9284-1acd82cc76ad

CASTRO SLAMMING BIOFUEL… it impoversihes third world economies.
news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6505881.stm

This is in light of some of the most complex, interconnected, and important political, environmental, and social aspects of our day.

You heard about the tortilla protests? (I talk about them all the time!)
news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6319093.stm

organic food, local food, and fairtrade may be BAD for the planet…
https://tribes.tribe.net/organicdebate/thread/dcb5f316-2382-48d4-a9f4-68a4b15cb799
https://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/living/2003645399_astrid01.html
salon article on organics not being sustainable – https://tribes.tribe.net/organicdebate/thread/ba63d73a-6e41-4ff5-8413-2f19fd8b3d8f

easy facts on why organic, local, and fairtrade is worse than better for the environment
https://tribes.tribe.net/organicdebate/thread/85907a51-0b39-4e23-b996-b5f5c919b8b8

and food miles emit more carbon offload

I URGE ALL OF YOU TO JOIN THE TRIBE, and offer debate, data, information… ANYTHING to RAISE CONSCIOUSNESS!!!!!
https://tribes.tribe.net/organicdebate

It is time to truly care about fixing the world… and not buying into the bullshit marketing that has destroyed the positive environmental impact of our attempt to fix the world.

Instead of blindly letting ourselves be happy about consuming our way to a better world… let’s talk, understand, and work towards understanding the complexity…

*AND* that is why the green is cool.  Corporate sponsored technology, using the event as a sounding board world wide…

It is about raised consciousness… and this is what our wonderful friend angela is demonstrating.  And carrying that awareness into every step and breath… is where it’s at.

Let’s end with one of the most important people ever, saying one of the most important things ever

It is about being skeptical.. and taking that raised consciousness… and discussing some more.  In our effort to heal the world, this green movement may be making it more unstable.  SO… let’s get more data.  Let’s be skeptical… and let’s sit on the fence together.

“In any organization there ought to be the possibility of discussion… fence sitting is an art, and it’s difficult, and it’s important to do, rather than to go headlong in one direction or the other. It’s just better to have action, isn’t it, than to sit on the fence? Not if you’re not sure which way to go, it isn’t.”
-Richard P. Feynman

Well… now I am all down.  I am going to plant a tree.  Anyhoo.. if you grow your own veggies, ride your bike… etc… you are gold.  Cheers to you.
Fishbits aka skeptichumanistatheist

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