Dirt!, the Movie

(Just to let ya'll know I have been trying to watch some movies to help with my motion sickness & seizure problem before I have to move to my new house... I don't know if it's working.)

So this movie arrived in my mailbox called DIRT! and even though after watching Into The Wild the other night and swearing off all drama, documentaries, tear jerkers etc --- I was tempted to go ahead and watch what I thought would not make me cry. I was wrong.

Let me just say this movie goes through 3 cycle plot points, and here is my summary of what they are:

#1. Ya' find out what dirt really is and all the cool awesome things it does (like filtering all water on earth, feeding us, being pieces of fallen stars...) - by the end of this first cycle you are so crushed on dirt you want to marry it. (One guy in the movie feels the same way, cause he licks it.)

#2. Ya' find out modern man has no respect for dirt, or understanding that without dirt we die. Period. And hence the violent, tragic visuals explode across the screen. (This is where the movie took my breathe away, turned my stomach, I stifled crying, and got abdominal cramps from the stress of reality.) ---(FYI: some of my reaction might be related to PMS though.)

#3. Redemption on a small scale. In fact, as awesome as the last cycle of the movie is of showing ways to make positive changes, ways that work, stories to inspire (cool programs in jails where inmates garden)... my abdominal cramps didn't go away though because the destruction was bigger, more massive, faster and more jarring THEN what we are doing to fix things. Still, this part of DIRT! is uplifting and ends on a good note.

WHAT THIS MOVIE MADE ME THINK:::
That I need to get solar panels right away and stop using electricity. I wish so bad I had enough money. So what really needs to happen is solar & other alternative energies need to be affordable, and all mass scale farming needs to be changed over to a method that won't eventually lead to starvation. ~~~~

This will sound dorky but is entirely true - when I was growing up in suburban New Orleans (Harahan HAwks Baby!) I was a bit obsessed with dirt. More then a normal child because my mom has Obsessive Compulsive Disorder which mostly manifested itself in cleaning. Not just regular cleaning, I am talking you could eat off the floors, do surgery on the kitchen counter, lick the bottom of the tub, and drink the water in the toilet sort of "clean". Think museum meets open heart surgery. Back then she thought dirt was the cause of everything that could ail a human being and we were scarcely allowed to touch it, play in it, or mention it(wonda' why i have auto immune?) - it was the evil thing that kept my mom dust mopping and vacuuming 10 times a day.

But I loved dirt. I could not help myself and everyday I would sneak over to the side of our house where dirt still existed in the shade of a neighbor's pecan tree, and i would dig holes. Diggin' holes was my favorite thing to do because I wanted to see when I would hit water or China, and which one I would hit first. One time I even stopped my school principle in the hallway with a dire important question I had been waiting to ask her (the smartest lady eva' of course cause she was even bossing teachers around), I got a hold of her arm and asked with urgancy "how far do i have to dig before i hit water?" and she said "6 feet"... and I believed her.

This is when bad things began happening to my parents cable and electric lines, because I began digging those wires up to get them out of the way of my digging till I hit water project. When i failed to ever hit 6 feet with my hand shovel, I just said F' it, I am filling these holes up with hose water.
Hence my dad banging the cable box and screaming at the TV.

BTW- I even ate dirt once when i was a kid cause i thought, Why Not??? I got worms and had to take some sick pink medicine from the doctor.

OK- did I digress?

PS_ I am going to donate this movie to the madison county (NC) library... hopefully it doesn't give other peeps stress cramps too.

xoxo

My First Ride On The Electric Bike!

Oh yeah baby.

I finally got the tires pumped, there was no snow, no rain, and the temperature being all the way up to 40 degrees I figured it was time to learn how to operate my new electric bike named "peewee". If I had to describe my first experience with peewee in one word it would be "hilarity" , if I had to do it in two words it would be "holy shit!" and three words "somebody help me...!!!"

So after my neighbor kindly filled the tires with some air blowing machine he happens to have in the back of his truck for his tools, we all took turns riding up and down the muddy road. I let everyone else go first since I am a big scared-y cat like that, and I rather watch everyone else make mistakes first. :)
Getting on the bike and starting the throttle was a bit like your stereotypical teenager learning to drive... stop... start... brake...start....slide...stop.... start. All jerky and wack.
When I took it to the end of the gravel road and onto the paved main road the freaking chain on the bike started falling off- after someone else (i won't name names) had kept switching the gears too fast. Bort *ehem* helped me put the chain back on about 10 times when my mailman pulled up to the mailbox! I happen to love my mailman and we are good friends, so he rolled down the window to see what kind of trouble I was brewing.
Then he said this "You know, I think yer' tire is on backwards! Look at yer' front tire, it's turned around the wrong way..."
Well.... shit. it is. ha. To which my only reply was "this is why I don't belong on the road!"...as I proceeded to turn the darn tire around for the millionth time. (This was the second time I had been told this, and thought I had fixed it the first time. See the pink arrow pointing to my turned around wheel as I unknowingly cruise around in the pic above.) Duh.

A few more times of the chain falling off (and a minor fit of cursing the bike wishing for a donkey), and I finally got the hang of the bike's uphill movement. Although slightly jerky and shocking - when you pedal the bike it forces the electric motor to kick in - which surprised the hell out of me and suddenly I was cruising like a born to ride harley davidson biker... but smaller, less hardcore, and less graceful. And not in enough leather to look "cool". (Remember when Pee Wee Herman went to the biker bar looking for his lost bike, and knocked over their rows of motorcycles? That's more my style.)
Once I was going good on the bike, I could not stop myself - and just kept moving along up the mountain even though I could feel the air upward dropping to colder temps, my hands already freezing under my gloves and in the back of my mind thinking downhill might be a bit f-ed up since I noticed the brakes were... um... sensitive to touch. But hey- the chain stopped falling off and I WAS FREEEEEEEE!!!! Freedom!!!!!!
Till I got to a squished up mailbox, pulled over and realized the battery gage is like really fishy when going uphill. In fact it acted JUST like a tank of car gas - when going uphill it said it was almost empty, when going flat or downhill it said it was full! Since there's no gas in peewee, I don't have a clue how to understand what he's communicating... I mean, is electricity sloshing around to the back of the battery? lol
I decided to turn around and cruise back home.
I wanted to poke my own eyes out on the way. The brakes were SooooosooOOOOoooOOOOOooooooooo sensitive that even the indication of touching them brought the bike to a slamming halt which resembled an insane 10 year old driving a car, jerking to go and stop so much I figured I would vomit by the time I got to the bottom of the valley again. It was single handedly one of the most horrid annoying terrible no good very bad rides back ever - and I still had so much fun!!! The icy wind was blowing straight through all 5 layers of wool and cotton clothing, my fingers were numb, I was going down hill at either death defying speeds causing me to scream and grit teeth or the speed of a slug holding the breaks down almost falling off the bike from lack of inertia.
So... in conclusion. I think peewee is something I have to get the hang of, AFTER somebody helps me fix those control freak brake pads. And maybe it's way less spazzy to ride on a warmer day.
(It's not me, it's the bike... i swear.)
ding ding!
XoXo

My Visit to the Long Branch Environmental Education Center

I am super excited to say I got to visit the LBEEC here in Big Sandy Mush - I didn't even know there was an environmental education center 3 1/2 miles from my house until a week ago. Sometimes the best places, with the greatest cause are hidden in the woods, unknown to those who don't often go off the beaten path. This is an off road path worth exploring for anyone who comes to or lives in the Western North Carolina area. The Enviro Center is not like some hippie haven/eco village but rather a logical, functional, and information packed community resource for anyone interested in learning about native plant species, perma culture, growing heirloom trees (such as chestnuts and fruit), solar heating, composting toilets, raising bees, trout, and a plethora of green building techniques that utilize on site materials (natural and upcycled). The center resides on 1,635 acres of conserved and protected mountain land and is 100% dedicated to preserving native flora and fauna. It goes much deeper then just saving an endangered plant or animal though, as the head of the center Paul Gallimore pointed out, " it's a whole ecosystem we are protecting".
When you first pull up the bumpy gravel onto the Long Branch Center there is an old chestnut wood barn with an incredible amount of bee boxes all stacked up against the outside wall. Honey bees are vital componants to pollinating the 5 acres of organic gardens, berry bushes, edible fruit and nut trees. What you see next is the green house & welcome center (see very top pic) and the awesome solar hot water heater standing on an angle right in front (see pic above). The solar heater can get up to approximately 175 degrees, which is plenty hot for a good shower and some squeaky clean dishes - it stays hot even during the winter, only cooling down on a string of cloudy days. The tanks appeared to be metal, painted black and nestled in a cushy silver insulated padding.
There's a very zen & quaint trout pond with relaxation friendly benches and chairs, begging you to sit and watch the wildlife come to the water. The pond is about 8 feet deep, and when Paul threw in some supplimental trout pellets the fish where jumping right out the water!
It was a feeding frenzy. A small 2 foot long water snake swam right through it too - Paul explained that this kind of snake looked alot like a copperhead and is commonly mistaken for one, but are not venomous. It did look almost exactly like a copperhead (sorry it wasn't in the picture below when I took it.)
We moved along into an area I was very curious about and that was their Chestnut Tree restoration project and heirloom fruit tree & shrub production. The American Chestnut Tree had been a major source of food for wildlife across the US until a disease called Endothia parasitica wiped out nearly all the trees, beginning in 1904. Even the ones that tried to grow back from stumps still to this day will die back after growing to a certain height (usually not over 30 feet.). The only way to fully restore the chestnut is to cross breed them with the blight resistant japanese chestnut tree - it's a solution that will help wildlife have the right sources of food in a delicately balanced eco system. Paul explained that acorns from the Oak Tree took the place of the chestnut when that food source was wiped out, but now the oaks are being threatened too by disease, 'sudden oak death' & pests - making it imperative for us to plant the blight resistant chestnut varieties. There are small pieces of our ecosystem that have huge impacts on life, things we may not notice during our busy lives- but without the acorns or the chestnuts many animals like the black bear will not have enough to eat and would likely starve during winter months.
Me and Paul spent a long time talking about the state of the world in relation to nature and possible solutions to the problems we have been creating as a species, all while he pruned his 'family' of blueberries. He keeps special blue plastic cylinders around the new growth to protect it from freeze and being stepped on - he felt that this was one case were plastic seemed to work in a beneficial way and uses it extensively in order to ensure he can grow alot of healthy trees and bushes (the cylinders are all re-usable!). His philosophy is greatly entwined with conservation and restoration, using organic techniques that won't damage the earth and some modern techniques that will ensure there's a food source for humans and animals alike.They keep mulch and cardboard patches on the ground to attract tons of earthworms. There are also coffee grounds added to the soil to create better acidity for the blueberries and also they attract more heat into the ground due to the jet black color.
There was an entire hill terraced with berries and right on the other side of it were fruit tree orchards - apple, peach, pear, nectarine, etc... (all my most favorites!)
Paul shared an extensive knowledge of native edible plants and invasive species in a short amount of time - he even ate some newly opening poison ivy leaves "to prevent catching poison ivy" next season and said the Native Americans used to eat one poke berry a day for their heart health (even though poke berries now are considered poisonous to humans.) He offered me some leaves to native plants to eat, but due to my damaged digestive & immune system from Celiac Sprue I decided to safely sniff on them, touch and feel them and save the eating for a different day. A moment like that really drove home the point of the LBEEC, which is that preserving the earth in it's natural state, keeping a safe and chemical free eco system promotes health - not just for the soil & food we grow and not just for the animals we love, but for optimal health of our own human bodies.
And good health leads to good spirits!
I can't wait to go back to the Enviro Center again to see all the things I missed this time - the passive solar composting toilet is something I need to try out!
Bye Ya'll!
XoXo

Eco Porn: Get Your Rocks Off and Donate To Charity

If only all major vice related industries would donate to the environmental cause we would be breathing some clean air, enjoying more trees, and shopping at only solarized stores! If you are already a member of FFF because you wanted to save the delicate biodiversity of the planet and be voyeuristic all at once - then you are in luck... a new eco charity driven site called Organic Smut is going to rock your organic socks off! As membership grows at O.S. so will the percentage donated to all ecologically based organizations carefully chosen for their outstanding record to create change.

Now if only beer companies, casinos, & strip clubs would start donating - the world would be cleaned up lickity split. ;)

"Eco Porn.
Organic Smut is driven by an eco passion to satisfy both our intellectual and primal needs, incorporating our giving nature with sexual nurture. When you join Organic Smut you are giving a donation to our list of environmental charities & organizations which will help save our planet!
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COMING SOON!!!!

Nasty Things I Do That Probably Help The Environment

We all have some habits that are less then acceptable by society, especially if you are single and don't have anyone to compromise with. This morning I was reviewing a few of mine and thinking- are some of our nasty less acceptable habits good for the environment? Like my X boyfriend who didn't like to bathe or wash clothes, it could be said that even though his hygiene was off he probably saved shit tons of water and energy. It's debatable but I will throw a few out there, and then hope to hear some of your dark secrets that make a low impact.

1. When crunched on time and all my undies are dirty, you better believe I just turn them inside out.

2. I do not use any care products, such as shampoo, conditioner or soap - when I want my hair to have a good rinse I wash it with boiled lavender & lemons, and I use a body brush for my skin.

3. I wear my clothes several times (basically till stretched out and saggy) & use towels for a while before washing.

Here is a true story: A lady who used to live next to me a few years back was very obsessive about saving every little bit of food. She would come over and be horrified by my compost pile which had food in it that had either spoiled or I just couldn't eat...she would say "wow, your compost is so very beautiful, it looks yummy". Finally one day this lady straight up asked "Can I take some food from your compost home to eat"..............uh.........she starts digging in the rotten pile, mixed with big pieces of cow manure, worms, and various dripping compost slime! She pulls out half rotten dripping lettuce and puts it in her bag, with some other things and thanks me.

Time to confess your nasty planet saving habits.....

Why Lawsuits Are Bad For The Environment

(Photo Asheville Courthouse: Jim Jamesson)

With everything I do, every step I take in my life, including when being sued for a ginormous amount of money I think about how it impacts the planet. A lawsuit going through it's litigation stages is a totally wasteful process and I can hardly comprehend what impact all the frivolous court cases around the world add up to!

1). PAPER WASTE - this has to be hands down the thing that bothers me worse. 20 pages of documents will be printed out 3 times and signed and then the next day one line must be changed for purpose of some law and all three re-printed, hence huge stacks of paper that now must be used as scrap or recycled. I always print on 100% recycled paper myself- but most legal documents are not printed on recycled paper. Which leads to more waste....

2). PRINTING INK - everyone knows how the makers of ink cartridges barely put any ink in there so it runs out all the time. When on either side of a lawsuit, specific law language must be used to describe the circumstance and it's a whole lot more long winded then "not guilty"!

3). COURT ATTIRE - Good Gawd! When I went to the court house library the other day I was clothes watching (how can I resist!) I realized that most everyone has to go out and buy something to wear when they appear in court, as proper attire is essential to your case (many unspoken rules apply). What I saw was tons of cheap synthetic mall clothes, much of which was nylon & polyester containing fabrics... not that I expected people to be parading out in hemp and organic cotton suits, but I noticed there's a huge amount of socially dictated consumerism going on.

4). FUEL & ENERGY - this is just in general ... during a lawsuit there is alot of mailing of documents (if in different states), people having to attend court hearings over and over again, and then for those who can afford a lawyer they have to pay TONS of money. Money wasted defending or offending, that I see better used as donations to the Nature Conservancy, native landscaping your yard, supporting green energy, driving a hybrid or electric vehicle, eating organic and local, or basically giving to any charitable organization.

***

I am "greening" the lawsuit against me as much as possible by only printing necessary documents on 100% recycled paper, recycling paper that doesn't get used, & I'm riding my bike or walking to run lawsuit related errands.

Baby Spiders

Aren't these guys too cute? I found them on one of my sunflowers, which was looking all wilty and weird all of a sudden. On closer examination it was a newborn litter of spiders! So now we have baby robins, kittens, preying mantis and spiders all in the yard...
At least it's not like last summer when I came home to hundreds of black widow spider babies hanging off my door in one thumb sized blob! Yikes!

Pollution Is A 'Sin': The Pope & Green Bible

Back in March 2008 Pope Benedict XVI decided there were a few new 'sins' that needed to be urgently addressed due to modern times a changin'. One big shocker was that he declared pollution a sin! The reason I am shocked is because I went to Catholic school for 12 years, at which time I was completely pro active about saving the planet and got nothing but riducule and teasing, including from local priests, teachers, and students (aka-the community). I recently read various debates about whether declaring pollution a sin would force any ripple in the Christain world, which is notoriously thought of as environmently unfriendly. This led me to imagine children teasing each other on the playground -> if one kid didn't put the recycle in the right bin the other kids could tell them they were going to hell.
I kid not though- the ripple has begun...I just got word of the new GREEN BIBLE from earth first. This bible sets out to show where the good word tells us exactly how to care for the earth by being an environmental steward and not a destroyer. It contests the whole attitude that the Christian God handed us the earth to use up as we please, and points out passages from the bible that say God directly asked Adam to care for his garden of Eden - not rape it of every resource for your pleasure and shrug it off till the rapture comes. Amen!
From Business Week:
This fall The Green Bible will be published, complete with cotton/linen cover, partly recycled paper, soy-based ink, and passages about caring for the earth highlighted in green. The $29.95 edition of the Good Book also includes essays and a study guide about the spiritual mandate to protect the environment. Hoping to sell 25,000 to 30,000 copies a year, he plans to market The Green Bible to eco-aware churches and influential thinkers. Essay contributor Calvin B. DeWitt, a University of Wisconsin environmental professor and an evangelical Christian, says the Bible is “a kind of ecological handbook for right living on Earth.”

Photo: Business Week

Bye Bye Clunky Solar Panels, Hello Thin Solar Strips

Remember what a big deal it was to go from 8-track cartridges to cassettes, and then from big records to CD's and then CD's to an I-Pod ?!! As with all technology things just keep getting smaller, and thank gawd for the environment that this is such a hip thing to do. Computers, phones, music devices have all shrunk. All the more reason for gadgets made with the environment in mind to shrink in weight also - and finally the big clunky solar panels have done so. A huge advance in solar technology has lead to thin solar strips for your roof- no more giant installation projects that put holes in your roof to be harnessed. Read this article from Low Impact Living to get the techie scoop !

Image: Low Impact Living