Documenting the constant struggle of soul transformation
So the G Living network is an all encompassing “green living” magazine that tries to cover everything from green design and technology to fitness and uh, green music?
Not sure why there needs to be green music but apparently it’s something that people care about?
The magazine looks cool, but as for content? I’m not so sure. Of course I’ve only glimpsed over the site so I have some more browsing to do.
Ever since I started thinking more ecologically consciously I’ve felt guilty for buying… well, anything really. If I purchase something it will eventually end up in a landfill somewhere and that really bothers me. It hasn’t stopped me from consuming, I don’t think there’s any way I can really stop, but once I buy something I eventually think through it’s life cycle and it almost always ends in a “bad” way.
I know there’s no way to halt or keep people from continuing to live how they do now, and I really dont think that’s how we should go about taking steps toward living greener. I think the solution is more about changing the way we do and make things, as opposed to stop doing what we’re doing. For example, people aren’t going to stop driving cars. I know I wouldn’t want to. Taking a step backward in technology isn’t really the best solution. Changing the fuel the cars run on, how they’re made, and their environmental impact would be a much better solution, I think. It’s a step forward in a good direction.
Anyway, with that sort of mentality, I don’t think I could stop shopping. Yes, it’s an unnecessary desire caused by modern society, but the act of shopping is sort of like therapy for me, but this is a conversation for a later time. I’ve decided that, from now on, the purchasing decision thought process will include thinking about the processes in which the items were made, what they are made of, and where they will end up before I buy them. This is obviously something I should have thought of a long time ago but I figured now was a good time to put it in writing so I’ll stick to it. Continue reading “Thoughtful Consumption”
The E2 is a new documentary series on PBS that explores changes that people are making “for a greener planet.” (I really hate that phrase, it sounds so cheesy and commercial, but that’s what they’re doing). The episodes will also be broadcast on the internet via the E2 website which is pretty cool for those who maybe don’t have a TV or can’t watch when it’s on. Each week a new episode will be made available on the website a week before they air it on PBS.
The first set of shows seem to be about alternative energies. It looks like they have about three “seasons” or series with episodes slated to go live weekly through the fall all the way into next year. Personally, I’m very much looking forward to the design series of the shows that will be released from November to January.
I’m actually pretty impressed with how the website was built. The video player can be taken to full screen. I like the way the show is shot as well. Plus Morgan Freeman is narrating so how could it not be good? I definitely will be watching these shows each week as the new episodes are released. Quite looking forward to them too.
hat tip: EcoGeek
On the way to Disneyland last night I looked out the window and saw one of the things I love most about LA. The freeways of Los Angeles and their overpasses, underpasses, highways, and byways (I have no clue what the fuck a byway is). There is a section of the 710 freeway that goes under several other connecting ramps like separate directions of the 105 and some others that I don’t know because I’ve never been on them.
I love the way the freeways are lit up at night when everything around is dark you can’t see the graffiti, the debris along the shoulder and in the landscaping, the broken windows of abandoned factories along the freeway. You only see the dance of the red and white lights and how they glide along in formation. It’s like a dance, a ballet, a circuit board alive with the sparks of a million connections per second. Like a group of wild mustangs galloping through the last unclaimed lands of the Midwest… altogether with speed and grace, one fluid movement.
The inventors of the automobile…
It must have been so exciting for them to be on the brink of inventing a machine that would change the face of transportation forever. How did it take for a car to be parked in the driveway of almost every house in America? And more in others to compensate for those without? What would they say if they would see what cars and exhaust have done to the environment? If they could see the list of names of people killed by drunk drivers? or even those killed in car accidents not related to alcohol? If they could see what happens to drunk college girls in the back of a van full of drunk college guys? If they could see the trash thrown out of car windows as they speed through cities on their way to work? The cigarette butts, the empty bottles and cans, the used napkins?
What would they say? Would they even care? These devices of modern society could not have been their intentions…and could not have been foreseen…but what would they have to say about it now, if they could see this?
Working at a car dealership I see people buy cars all the time. They walk out with smiles on their faces…well, if they got a good deal. Most of the patrons of this dealership are pretty well off, these are Mercedes-Benzes after all. Everyone always says “Congratulations on your new purchase”. They leave in their new cars and drive away. It seems so weird to me to congratulate someone on buying a car…nobody ever does it for buying clothes…or toilet paper.