my blog

"My friends, do not lose heart. We were made for these times…Ours is not the task of fixing the entire world all at once, but of stretching out to mend the part of the world that is within our reach." Clarissa Pinkola Estes

Background

in my apt, i have made more space for recycling and less for garbage.
in 2004, a friend of mine moved to ithaca. i helped her find a place to live called eco-village lECO VILLAGE WEBSITE i always wondered whether this was truly sustainable. the houses are very well insulated, so during winter, the houses need less energy to heat up. but ithaca is a very very cold place to live.

What matters to me?

i love riding my bicycle. i am casually interested in Transportation Alternatives , but am not involved. in 2004, i did a bike ride fundraiser for an environmental institute in israel. it was a great experience and inspiring, but my public involvement ended there. i became very discouraged with the political process while working in baltimore and DC during the presidential election

i was very fired up during class. i also realized how complicated it is to change people's habits.

in the US, it is very easy to justify pollution if it will save money or make money. I think our capitalist society favors short term solutions for short term problems.

Generally, I think capitalism is not a sustainable system.

It is quite important to have a connection with the products we consume. This relationship is now further eroded by the ability to purchase things without even seeing or touching them via an online store.

inspirations:

naqoyqatsi (def)1. A life of killing each other. 2. War as a way of life. 3. (Interpreted) Civilized violence.

though, these ideas are not new, i still have a connection with this movie: our life is mediated, whether by technology, our habits, or something else. our technological/virutal lives have created a rift between what we do and its consequences.

What annoys me most about this?

I think that sustainability is framed as an issue of recycling cans, paper, and aluminum. There is definitely more to sustainable living that recycling coca cola cans. The fact that NYC actually cut down the recycling program for some time still baffles me. Our society simply does not think what it costs to make AND consume something - the cost is only measured in dollars. The dollar does not convey the toll products take during their production and post-consumption. While something may be cheaper now, it may take a toll on our environment later.

It annoys me that it is often-times more expensive to repair something old than it is to "just buy a new one."

It also annoys me that I see this as a big PR / marketing campaign.

Project Idea

i believe i posted this elsewhere... i think it would be a great idea to recycle materials for the arts. while there is already a program like this in place, it is only available to the not-for-profit community.

the big ideas: after any show, production, or project, the artist or group would call our organization to either schedule a drop-off or request that we come pick up the materials. the organization would act as a storehouse for the materials. people could come and go with materials for their projects. With each pickup and dropoff, the artist would get information on how they can continue the cycle of give and take.

--- Jaki, you're aware of Materials for the Arts, right? Because they would seem like the place for you to start. Why not contact them and find out what value there is in a Tisch connection?

tigoe