Poverty Reduction, Environment Protection and Community Building
A Call to Town Hall - 2010 - Plant Veggies, not Flowers
Goal
Reduce poverty, involve community, promote healthy lifestyles, reduce personal and city spending, create a well connected and safer community, add natural nutrients back to top soil, and educate about healthy living and healthy food.
Most cities and towns have multiple flower gardens that are taken care of by city workers. Call your local city hall, ask them to plant hardy vegetables in garden spots instead of the usual flowers. Vegetable plants produce very beautiful flowers that turn into edible veggies like Squash, beans, sun-chokes, tomatoes, cucumber, and zucchini, just to name a few of the basics.
You can still enjoy the beauty of all the flowers the vegetable plants produce and even add a few seasonal flowers in the mix.
A few times a year, the community can get together for a harvest. The harvest can then be sold at farmers markets, donated to needy families, or whatever idea someone else may have.
Poverty Reduction
Many types of Vegetables can be stored for quite a long time. we can help reduce poverty if the harvested food is donated to those who need it.
Community Involvement
Involving community members by allowing everyone to participate in weeding, watering, and harvesting.
Promote a Healthy Lifestyle
There are currently hundreds of millions of dollars spent on Marketing campaigns each year. These vegetable gardens will help to promote healthy eating with people walking by a bunch of veggie gardens all day.
Save Money
Reduce city spend by having community volunteers do some work such as weeding, and general garden maintenance.
Education
Demonstrations, informational tours, and meetings can be held at garden spots for educational events related to growing your own garden in the city.
Harvesting
Harvesting the crops can be a community event bringing individuals and families together a few times a year to sell and/or give away the crops. Harvesting your own seeds will eliminate purchasing expensive annual flowers that die and wither each year.
Rebuilding for future Generations
Over time each garden spot will rebuild itself to a more natural state and balance itself to support the types of vegetables being grown. Adding natural nutrients such as it's own compost to top soil each year will build a healthy garden for future generations.
Safer Community
Creating a well connected and safer community is always on the top of the list for most families and singles these days. Getting to know more people in your community will create a safer atmosphere by having more people watch out for each other more.
The infrastructure for maintaining these gardens already exists in most cities and towns across North America. Some gardens even have automatic sprinkler systems. Very little needs to be done to make this idea possible. Help make 2010 a year of community and health. Plant Veggies!
Goal
Reduce poverty, involve community, promote healthy lifestyles, reduce personal and city spending, create a well connected and safer community, add natural nutrients back to top soil, and educate about healthy living and healthy food.
Most cities and towns have multiple flower gardens that are taken care of by city workers. Call your local city hall, ask them to plant hardy vegetables in garden spots instead of the usual flowers. Vegetable plants produce very beautiful flowers that turn into edible veggies like Squash, beans, sun-chokes, tomatoes, cucumber, and zucchini, just to name a few of the basics.
You can still enjoy the beauty of all the flowers the vegetable plants produce and even add a few seasonal flowers in the mix.
A few times a year, the community can get together for a harvest. The harvest can then be sold at farmers markets, donated to needy families, or whatever idea someone else may have.
Poverty Reduction
Many types of Vegetables can be stored for quite a long time. we can help reduce poverty if the harvested food is donated to those who need it.
Community Involvement
Involving community members by allowing everyone to participate in weeding, watering, and harvesting.
Promote a Healthy Lifestyle
There are currently hundreds of millions of dollars spent on Marketing campaigns each year. These vegetable gardens will help to promote healthy eating with people walking by a bunch of veggie gardens all day.
Save Money
Reduce city spend by having community volunteers do some work such as weeding, and general garden maintenance.
Education
Demonstrations, informational tours, and meetings can be held at garden spots for educational events related to growing your own garden in the city.
Harvesting
Harvesting the crops can be a community event bringing individuals and families together a few times a year to sell and/or give away the crops. Harvesting your own seeds will eliminate purchasing expensive annual flowers that die and wither each year.
Rebuilding for future Generations
Over time each garden spot will rebuild itself to a more natural state and balance itself to support the types of vegetables being grown. Adding natural nutrients such as it's own compost to top soil each year will build a healthy garden for future generations.
Safer Community
Creating a well connected and safer community is always on the top of the list for most families and singles these days. Getting to know more people in your community will create a safer atmosphere by having more people watch out for each other more.
The infrastructure for maintaining these gardens already exists in most cities and towns across North America. Some gardens even have automatic sprinkler systems. Very little needs to be done to make this idea possible. Help make 2010 a year of community and health. Plant Veggies!
Hunting vs.Torture
In a commercial cattle ranch cows are typically weaned at 6 to 10 months, live 3 to 5 months on range, spend 4 to 5 months being fattened in a feed-lot, and are typically slaughtered at 15 to 20 months.
The slaughter process is one that will make your stomach turn and bring tears to your eyes. Most cows are not killed immediately even though the outdated process ensures they are. After living a life of cramped spaces, disease, and mistreatment by those who really should not have anything to do with this process (Mentally challenged aggressive people who abuse the animals), they are given a small bolt in the skull which does not kill most of the animals but just stuns them, they are strung up by their back legs, hung upside down, and their throut is slit to allow for the bleeding process. Unfortunately, the animal is usually still alive and very aware of what is going on. This is the time that they drown in their own blood while hanging upside down. Those waiting in line witness this happening and become very afraid and panic.
Gee, that sounds so much better than living outdoors in the wild your entire life eating natural food, playing with friends, and breathing fresh air until a respectful hunter comes along and ends the life more naturally. Death is usually instant or very quick when using a high powered riffle or bow.
Just because you do not witness the act does not make it better. Happy meat comes from happy animals, not tortured animals.
I look forward to your comments.
The slaughter process is one that will make your stomach turn and bring tears to your eyes. Most cows are not killed immediately even though the outdated process ensures they are. After living a life of cramped spaces, disease, and mistreatment by those who really should not have anything to do with this process (Mentally challenged aggressive people who abuse the animals), they are given a small bolt in the skull which does not kill most of the animals but just stuns them, they are strung up by their back legs, hung upside down, and their throut is slit to allow for the bleeding process. Unfortunately, the animal is usually still alive and very aware of what is going on. This is the time that they drown in their own blood while hanging upside down. Those waiting in line witness this happening and become very afraid and panic.
Gee, that sounds so much better than living outdoors in the wild your entire life eating natural food, playing with friends, and breathing fresh air until a respectful hunter comes along and ends the life more naturally. Death is usually instant or very quick when using a high powered riffle or bow.
Just because you do not witness the act does not make it better. Happy meat comes from happy animals, not tortured animals.
I look forward to your comments.
Most cities and towns have multiple f...
Plant Veggies not Flowers
Poverty Reduction and Environment Protection
Randall Wright, Wright HookPublished Wed Oct 06
Goal
Reduce poverty, add natural nutrients to top soil, involve community, promote healthy lifestyles, reducing city spend, create a well connected and safer community, get educated.
Most cities and towns have multiple flower gardens that are taken care of by city workers. Call your local city hall, ask them to plant hardy vegetables in garden spots instead of the usual flowers.
A few times a year, the community can get together for a harvest. The harvest can then be sold at farmers markets, donated to needy families, or whatever idea someone else may have.
Poverty Reduction
This idea will help reduce poverty if the harvested food is donated to those who need it.
Rebuilding
Adding natural nutrients to top soil building a healthy garden for future generations.
Community Involvement
Involving community by allowing everyone to participate in weeding, harvesting, etc...
Promote Healthy Lifestyle
It will help to promote healthy eating with people walking by a bunch of veggie gardens all day.
Save Money
It will reduce city spend by having community volunteers do some work.
Education
Demonstrations and informational tours and meetings can be held at garden spots for educational events related to growing your own garden in the city.
Harvesting
Harvesting and using your own seeds will eliminate purchasing expensive annual flowers that die and wither each year.
Safer Community
Recreating a well connected and safer community. Getting to know more people in your community will create a safer atmosphere and more people will watch out for each other more.
The infrastructure for maintaining
these gardens already exists in most cities and towns across America.
Some gardens even have automatic sprinkler systems. Very little needs to be done to make this idea possible. Help make 2010 a year of community and health.
pacificwestedge@gmail.com
Over Consumerism in your area
Carry your digital camera with you and send me some examples of over consumerism in your area.
Hard Economic Times Bring More Scams
I know it is easy to panic and sell off your valuables when there is little or no income. Remember that there are individuals and companies who make there living and thrive off of the hardship of others.
Do your research and do not be fooled by people taking advantage of the hard economic times. There are a few great websites that you can use to look up these so called scammers and just plain old bad business practices.
http://www.complaintsboard.com/
If you need to off load some off your un-needed items take the time and do the research on where you can sell it and get the most out of it.
I use Craigslist, Etsy, and Ebay
A good bookmark to keep around is the Consumerist. Shoppers Bite Back and explain their personal consumer experience.
http://consumerist.com
Do your research and do not be fooled by people taking advantage of the hard economic times. There are a few great websites that you can use to look up these so called scammers and just plain old bad business practices.
http://www.complaintsboard.com/
If you need to off load some off your un-needed items take the time and do the research on where you can sell it and get the most out of it.
I use Craigslist, Etsy, and Ebay
A good bookmark to keep around is the Consumerist. Shoppers Bite Back and explain their personal consumer experience.
http://consumerist.com
Illegal Dumps
An Illegal Dump is a concentrated pile of debris that is purposefully dumped. Illegal dumps are often located on wooded hillsides, in alleys, and on vacant lots. Commonly dumped items include: appliances, construction debris, mattresses, car parts, and tires.
Most of the time there are items found that are in perfect working order. I do not understand why someone would just throw it out... at least give it to someone who needs it.
Illegal dump clean-ups can be very dangerous and sometimes require a lot of planning. In some cases, the clean-up may be too risky for volunteers and will sometimes require a City crew to do the job with heavy equipment.
Solution #1 Give your unwanted and broken stuff away. CraigsList has a "Free Stuff" section that I use from time to time and every time I have used it, my unwanted stuff had a new home within a few hours.
http://vancouver.en.craigslist.ca/zip/
Comment your solution...
Most of the time there are items found that are in perfect working order. I do not understand why someone would just throw it out... at least give it to someone who needs it.
Illegal dump clean-ups can be very dangerous and sometimes require a lot of planning. In some cases, the clean-up may be too risky for volunteers and will sometimes require a City crew to do the job with heavy equipment.
Solution #1 Give your unwanted and broken stuff away. CraigsList has a "Free Stuff" section that I use from time to time and every time I have used it, my unwanted stuff had a new home within a few hours.
http://vancouver.en.craigslist.ca/zip/
Comment your solution...
The Good Life
This is a well known story that I first read from Timothy Ferris's book "The 4 Hour Work Week" which is an amazing book and an even better experience if you let it become one.
"The Good Life" takes you to a chance meeting between an MBA and a fisherman on a small island. As the MBA tries to teach the fisherman about business, the fisherman teaches him about life.
Thank you Tim for the inspiration to start changing my life.
http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/
The Story of Stuff
The Story of Stuff is a 20-minute, fast-paced, fact-filled look at the underside of our production and consumption patterns. The Story of Stuff exposes the connections between a huge number of environmental and social issues, and calls us together to create a more sustainable and just world. It'll teach you something, it'll make you laugh, and it just may change the way you look at all the stuff in your life forever.
http://www.storyofstuff.com
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gLBE5QAYXp8
The day after Moving Day
Incredible amounts of furniture, electronics, appliances, clothing, and home décor are prematurely disposed of each day which contributes to the creation a self consuming species (Human).
Source: http://blog.fagstein.com/2008/07/02/the-day-after-moving-day/
Source: http://blog.fagstein.com/2008/07/02/the-day-after-moving-day/
Over consumption
Over-consumption is a theory related to overpopulation, referring to situations where per capita consumption is so high that even in spite of a moderate population density, sustainability is not achieved. The theory was coined to augment the discussion of overpopulation, which reflects issues of carrying capacity without taking into account per capita consumption, by which developing nations are evaluated to consume more than their land can support. Green parties and the ecology movement often argue that consumption per person, or ecological footprint, is typically lower in poor than in rich nations.
CO2 emission per capita per year per country
Energy consumption per capita per country
CO2 emission per capita per year per country
Energy consumption per capita per country
Consumerism and Over-consumption
Consumerism and Over-consumption
3. Consumerism and Over-consumption:
Uncontrolled consumerism is a colossal problem and a wide field of study. The harmful tobacco industry and extravagance in celebrations, are but two aspects of the much larger problem of consumerism.
a) What is consumerism?
Consumerism is…
(i) The theory that an increasing consumption of goods is economically desirable.
(ii) A preoccupation with and an inclination towards the buying of consumer goods.
As human beings, we have basic needs like food and shelter, which are the bare necessitates of life. We require more than this to live more productive and comfortable lives. Progresses in science and technology have made available to people, more than ever, goods and services that benefit mankind and become a means towards better living.
Technology and material goods should be a slave to mankind that help him reach his true goal. If these roles are reversed, or as someone said, 'The victor belongs to the spoils'; then we have big problem at our hands. That, which was meant to enhance our life, becomes its misery. In the words of Herbert Marcuse, 'The more 'materialistic' society became in the advanced industrial countries, i.e. the higher, the standard of living rose for broad strata of the population, the clearer became the extent to which this progress stabilized misery and unhappiness. Productivity bore destruction within it and turned technology from an instrument of liberation into one of new enslavement. Faced with a society in which affluence is accompanied by intensified exploitation, militant materialism remains negative and revolutionary (even where exploitation becomes more comfortable and does not penetrate into consciousness). Its idea of happiness and of gratification can be realized only through political practice that has qualitatively new modes of human existence as its goal.' [Herbert Marcuse, Negations]
Consumerism has become the heart of our modern world, whereby endless shopping malls stretch from corner to corner of the planet. Products that no-one in their right mind could truly justify as necessary, adorn every shelf and showroom, enticing towards wasteful and thoughtless consumption. Regrettably, this is considered part of the acceptable goal of 'economic growth.’
