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This one’s going to be quick! Because I’m working on how to change the world! No just kidding, but I am working on doing what I can to lower my impact of my own garbage and huge carbon footprint while expanding my powerful and more useful thought bubbles instead.

This pretty much sums up what I’ve been working on, thinking about, and engulfing my head on in the past few weeks – well, that and fattie bluefin TUNA and its depleting sources in the Atlantic – more on that later…

Props to the makers of the twenty min easy to digest and understand videos on the way we consume and how it’s going to kill us all if we don’t make some changes soon.

I always say, mother nature has the power to wipe us all out if we piss her off enough, and I think it’s time to stop doing just that.  We’ve been poking the dragon with money and hiding behind the big clouds of carbon smoke for a while now, and all we’ve proven is that we can’t fool anyone, even ourselves. One can only distract, insist, and entertain their own fancies for so long.  But what is going to happen later?

Sure sure, my generation is and has always been tagged as the “INSTANT GRATIFICATION” generation — but we’re learning to look forwards now culturally as hard as it is.  Question is, what about the next?  Will there be any resources left for them to even gratify on, or will they simply be walking drones that plug into a larger online world of consumption and reality further disconnecting themselves from organizing, working, living, and bonding with each other?

Were are we headed with this capitalistic consumption pattern that is soaking up every bit of resource left and spewing out garbage mountains?  Hmm, I feel like I walk through such a garbage mountain every day — it’s called Manhattan.  It smells, it rots, vermin and rodents are stronger than humans in fighting off disease, and the only good food left is bought at a high price because it’s been shipped in from somewhere that still has soil, grass, clean water, and air.  That or it’s made in a factory somewhere.

What a bleak future I’ve learned to see and want to protect my future kids if I ever have kids from.  Such is also a common thought amongst our generation because this is the first time our culture has hit rock bottom in our very own lifetime.  But it can be done! In seeking for inspiration like I know how to do best when things get tough, I look to movies — What a fabulous one this was: Earth Days in looking back at how the environmental movement was born in America, and how americans banned together to stand up to their leaders who weren’t doing a good job, to convince their leaders to economically provide incentives in order to protect the people, by banning pollution to improve the air and water quality – between the 50′s to the late 70′s.  So much work was done in that time period!

So, can we do it now?  Can we band together to make small changes together?  Can we convince others too in a way that frames the argument in a less offensive – “everything you do is wrong” kind of way?

The most interesting part about the way my generation grew up in a world where spreading capital wealth and neoliberalism from the 80′s to now was the sole reason for extracting what we thought would be an endless supply of resources and sourcing efficiency from all over the world is that the moment we became a “GLOBAL SOCIETY” – we took on all the bad stuff too.  Like a marriage, countries started to share each other’s burdens whether they could organize and get along or not, and is now trying to divorce themselves from the social justice problems that where hidden in the package.  It’s like the money blew the problem to a much bigger proportion than we would all handle together to begin with, and created a system rooted in a bad foundation based on greed and the idea of MORE is MORE.  So what now?  How does one individual or nation “find themselves” again, like post breakup when you’ve totally lost your way because you were distracted by all the shiny things that you thought loved you back?  How does one go on to influence a ripple of change that is systemic and global?

Well I guess it starts with my own habits, right? Yes!  Let’s start here. from within. and within my own community of networks and people.

So…

What if for one day, I turned off all the lights that I don’t need in order to see, for a moment, an hour, or twelve.

and turned off the tv, and my idle sleeping computer,

what if for one day, I used less water, generated less waste, and composted what can no longer be eaten,

what if I only used things that I can recycle and reuse again?  If I stopped drinking bottled water?

what if I shared my food, heat, and warmth with others,

walked, biked, carpooled or took public transit (when I’m not in NYC of course) or worked up to buying an electric car instead?

Would that be enough?

What if for one day, we all collectively with held from BUYING things, and reused or asked someone to share?  Does one really need more than five? ten? twenty shirts? — what would that do to our inherently theoretically failed economy? to our earth? and to ourselves?

Question is — what would it not do instead?

What if, we all counted our blessings of having clean water and air to breathe instead of expecting it to be owed to us like we’re entitled to it.  What if we asked more questions and taught the younger ones around us to ask questions too?

for one day, we could all come together and just

breathe.

like we do when the entire city is blanketed with snow, or out of power. (or when it rainstorms in Cali and no one goes outside…hahaha…)

What would that feel like if it was more than one day? more than a week? a month? (how long does it take to break bad habits?)

over 30 years ago, the very first Earth Day was the LARGEST movement of marching people that this nation had ever experienced all over the country.  30 years later, instead of cleaning up the garbage we’ve made, we are encouraged to go out and buy more even if they are ‘eco friendly products’ instead of reduce the amount we all don’t need to spend on.  Think about it.

Shopping is not and should not be the national identity of this nation — you do not need to be a consuming monster in order to survive.  Besides, who even has the money now these days?  Shopping doesn’t solve any of your problems, in fact it creates new waste and new problems, and a million more of those stupid “I’m not plastic bag” bags that are ridiculous and costly to produce.

and if you must and are so inclined to buy or need — vote with your dollar, buy smart – support those who are working hard at sustaining themselves through sustainable practices in order to feed you and their families.  Eat REAL FOOD.  I know I work on this actively everyday. I try my best not to buy what I don’t need anymore, and lordie knows I love to shop…

I am human, I try my best too.  But it’s because ‘I care about the World we share.’

and I want my kids to have a world to want to change too.  If I promise to not trash your home, to feed you, and take care of you, can you promise to take care of me and my home too?

It’s time for a new relationship, one with the earth and with other real people who all need to eat too.  Need extra inspiration? be FRESH –

xoxo Happy No Shopping because I love my Earth Day xoxo

J