Cow Powered Treadmill? 04/13/2010
 As humans get fatter and use ever more energy to remain comfortably numb, we seem to be losing our sense of irony. And our humanity. Latest evidence, cow-powered treadmills. Supposedly an eco-friendly source of energy production, this device invented by William Taylor of Northern Ireland traps a cow on a tilted non-powered belt. The cow slides down if it doesn’t continue to walk forward. As it walks the belt moves, spinning a gearbox that drives a generator which produces small amounts of electricity. A feed box at the front of this cruelty chamber, er Livestock Power Mill, supposedly motivates the cow. The May 2010 issue of Popular Science crows about the idea in an article titled “The Energizer Cow.” At first the piece alleges that most cows “mill around aimlessly in pens” but a paragraph later says “cows walk as many as eight hours a day while grazing.” Apparently cows aren’t popular enough to qualify for more science in Popular Science. Confine any creatures (including science writers) in pens where they’re deprived of their natural activities and chances are you’ll see them “mill around aimlessly.” The device has a very modest energy output of “up to” two kilowatts, hardly worth Taylor’s pricetag of $100,000 for a 50 cow system. Popular Science envisions confining the world’s cattle as living generators. The magazine ends the piece with this exuberant idea: “If the planet’s 1.3 billion cattle used treadmills for eight hours a day, they would provide 6 percent of the world’s power.” Sorry Popsci. Studies showing cows make more milk when they get exercise aren’t based on trapping animals naturally inclined to socialize with fellow herd members as they forage for the most nutritious plants in a grassland together. In fact studies indicate that a cow’s happiness, yes happiness as it can best be determined, goes a long way toward increasing health and milk output. Cows are perfectly suited to walk through pastures feeding on grass, converting this substance (inedible to humans) into protein-rich foods. Pastured cattle are environmentally beneficial for many reasons. The pasture itself reduces greenhouse gasses via carbon sequestration which more than offsets the cattle’s methane, especially when compared to feedlot animals. In fact pastures do a much better job of retaining topsoil, improving soil fertility and removing carbon dioxide from the air than cultivated farmland. Not to mention that grassfed cattle live healthier, more natural lives. It’s a win-win, easier on the environment as well as the conscience. For two-kilowatts, try a cheap solar panel. This technology doesn’t moo sadly as its calf is taken away nor smell the grass just beyond a lifetime of confinement. Try some humanity.  Setting a Place for Kindness 11/28/2009
 Years ago my friend Liz described a dream of walking into an expansive dining room set with plates and bowls of amazing artistry. She realized each one was unique and compelling, but there was something more. As she looked closer it occurred to her that each place was specific to an individual. She wandered from place setting to place setting marveling at the color, design and shape of each plate and cup while seeking her own place at the table. If I recall correctly, she woke before finding that place. She also woke with the gift of wonderment. Here were some questions that dream evoked. Do we all have a place at the table? Are we aware of the nourishment we give and receive? How do we honor these vessels, our bodies, which take in life’s sustenance? We may answer those questions for ourselves in our own ways, but the answers are more complicated for people who struggle with unemployment, illness and family crises. Those who have made it their life's work to set tables around the world with hand made ceramics both beautiful and useful are Steve and Debra Bures, of Bures Pottery in Peninsula, Ohio. But their concerns extend to wider issues of sustenance. Last year they challenged artists to face down hunger by starting Cups of Kindness.This art show and sale benefits The Akron-Canton Foodbank In its first year 150 pieces of artwork were donated by both local and national artists. The logo, photography, site design and hosting---all donated. Publicity came from bloggers and local press. Thus far, Cups of Kindness has raised enough money to purchase 28,000 meals through the Akron-Canton Foodbank. It’s time again. This year’s show will open Saturday, December 5th, 10 to 2, at the Elements Gallery (home to the Bures Pottery studio) and across the street at the Peninsula Art Academy. The show will continue through January 10, 2010. Check Cups of Kindness for details about online purchases and other ways to help. And enjoy Debra Bure’s blog, From Skilled Hands. She's one of those people who finds an extra helping of beauty and meaning in what others might see as an ordinary serving of life. . The Beauty of Repurposing 08/26/2009
"Repurposing" is a strangely awkward word. Our ancestors didn't need a name for the frugal and often creative uses they found to reuse objects. My grandfather set a door across file cabinets for a work table. When making repairs he did calculations on an old piece of cardboard. Then he fished used screws and bolts from neatly labeled tin cans, chose from coiled loops of wire and string hanging from hooks, and proceeded using tools his own father once used. My grandmother was a talented seamstress who reworked clothes until they were no longer functional, then took off the buttons and used the fabric for anything from hooked rugs to dust clothes. She made do with everything she came across, from leftovers to plant cuttings. My parents carried on in the same way, although by the sixties and seventies such traditions were regarded as eccentric, even bizarre. They tore junk mail into notepaper, saved wrapping paper to rewrap, used bread bags and even foil over and over. When our hot water tank had to be replaced my father kept the old one in the garage. He cut metal from it for years to use in various projects. These tactics were a source of amusement to their children, except when our chores included polishing silver using the soft cloth of tattered men’s briefs or some similarly embarrassing task. As an adult I take a particular delight in repurposing. A wine decanter holds mouthwash in our bathroom and geodes collected by my children are our toothbrush holders. I’ve tucked plants into worn workboots and cracked mixing bowls, made children’s pajamas from their father’s flannel shirt, and take special delight in wrapping presents in something reusable. Here’s a little stuffed guy made from a child’s sweater:  And here are two baby toys made from socks:   After my mother died we were left with many beautiful things, but it wasn't bearable to toss out the broken beautiful things. So I incorporated them into a bit of yard art. My husband and son cut a large piece of iron into the shape of a crescent moon and welded it on a post. Then I made a mosaic on it using broken plates, bits of bright glass, even bisque amputee dolls. Here it is, with two wonder dogs Jedi and Cocoa Bean posing underneath:  Now my husband has made another of his handcrafted sinks out of repurposed materials. He took apart, reglued and recoated an antique kitchen table. Into it he affixed an antique copper candy-making vessel to serve as the sink. A leaf from the table provides a mount for the faucet and the drawer still works. Our friend Rebecca has this for sale in her store, Planet Green Goods which offers locally made products, earth friendly cleaners, organic apparel and more.    It feels good to save sweaters, broken plates and old tables from the landfill. It feels even better to make something from them to serve a new use. Repurposing is liberating. It frees us from the oppression of wanting, opening us to a greater freedom. Journeying god, pitch your tent with mine so that I may not become deterred by hardship, strangeness, doubt. Show me the movement I must make toward a wealth not dependent on possessions, toward a wisdom not based on books, toward a strength not bolstered by might, toward a god not confined to heaven. Help me to find myself as I walk in other's shoes. (Prayer song from Ghana, traditional, translator unknown) A Moment in the Great Turning 04/01/2009
 On the counter where I expected to find space to make soup and cheese there are books and unidentifiable metal objects. As soon as I clear the counter my sons will surely appear, insisting that those parts were arranged in some inscrutable order necessary to fix, reassemble or create something. As I get carrots, cabbage and other ingredients from the refrigerator I notice it happens to contain plastic bags filled with dirt balls called dorodango, part of an ongoing project my kids’ friends. And while I drain the whey off cheese made from this morning’s milking, I look at the new comments written on the wipe-off surface of the world map on our kitchen wall. Everywhere around me are signs of my family’s lively engagement in the moment. Don't be Afraid of the Dark This is a dark time, filled with suffering and uncertainty. Like living cells in a larger body, it is natural that we feel the trauma of our world. So don't be afraid of the anguish you feel, or the anger or fear, for these responses arise from the depth of your caring and the truth of your interconnectedness with all beings. To suffer with is the literal meaning of compassion. Dare to Vision Out of this darkness a new world can arise, not to be constructed by our minds so much as to emerge from our dreams. Even though we cannot see clearly how it's going to turn out, we are still called to let the future into our imagination. We will never be able to build what we have not first cherished in our hearts.. Roll up your Sleeves Many people don't get involved in the Great Turning because there are so many different issues, which seem to compete with each other. Shall I save the whales or help battered children? The truth is that all aspects of the current crisis reflect the same mistake, setting ourselves apart and using others for our gain. So to heal one aspect helps the others to heal as well. Just find what you love to work on and take joy in that. Never try to do it alone. Link up with others; you'll spark each others' ideas and sustain each others' energy.. Act your AgeSince every particle in your body goes back to the first flaring forth of space and time, you're really as old as the universe. So when you are lobbying at your congressperson's office, or visiting your local utility, or testifying at a hearing on nuclear waste, or standing up to protect an old grove of redwoods, you are doing that not out of some personal whim, but in the full authority of your 15 billions years. Anticipating Ever Greater Peace 01/03/2009
 We are looking forward to a peaceful year in 2009 and beyond. Why? There are excellent reasons everywhere we look. In part it has to do with amplifying the good rather than spending so much energy on the negative. A little proof helps too. Here are three factual examples of our intrinsic interconnectedness and our beautiful tendancy toward cooperation. Seeing the Higher Good 12/09/2008
 These are challenging times. Yet through struggle we can break through limitations, identify our core values and find ourselves more aligned with our true purpose. The limiting structures around us are breaking down as well. We see this as inflexible corporate structures collapse. Awareness increases that there are more egalitarian and honest ways to do business. The change is painful but ultimately good.  | Laura
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