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unplug

unplug magazine asks you to unplug from your current modes of thought and look at life in a new way, whether this means unplugging from our toxic consumer culture, mainstream society, the tv, or a limiting mindset. author megan prusynski explores life's alternatives and discusses activism, progressive thinking, and moving towards a "green" & sustainable life.

Wednesday, March 28, 2007

Recent Sources of Inspiration...

I am getting ready to leave for a vacation to Spain (of course I offset the carbon emissions of my flights!) but I had to take a break from packing and finishing up projects to share two recommended sources of inspiration I have encountered recently.

The first is a film: The U.S. vs. John Lennon. It's about John Lennon (obviously) and Yoko Ono and their revolutionary art and music. Being a huge fan of the Beatles, I was surprised at how little I knew about John Lennon's political views and post-Beatles music. Let's just say he is my new hero! He was a self-described "Peacenik" and used art and music to open minds, reach out to others, and shed light on important issues. This film has renewed my belief that art can truly change the world. Of course, the end is sad, since such a wonderful, revolutionary, creative, and inspirational person was murdered and thus silenced (wait, you all knew John Lennon was dead, right?). But overall the film is uplifting and inspiring - and sheds some light on the 60's and 70's era of radical politics and music, but not enough change...

The second inspirational item is the book Diet for a New America: How Your Food Choices Affect Your Health, Happiness and the Future of Life on Earth by John Robbins, which I have been reading for months and just finished. This book is not new by any means, it was written in 1987, and I must admit that I wish I had read it years ago. This book is revolutionary. Robbins examines the typical American diet (namely an obsession with meat, eggs, and dairy products that pads the pockets of the industries that produce them while robbing everyone and everything else). Diet for a New America is very well-researched and based on solid science, all presented in digestible language. Basically, the point of the book is that our country's meat-centered diet is the hidden cause of many of today's biggest maladies: world hunger, overuse of water, the destruction of the world's forests, our deadliest diseases (including heart disease, many forms of cancer, diabetes, obesity, and many more), our reliance on foreign oil, pollution, soil erosion, depleting resources, unmeasurable animal suffering, and even a dwindling economy. After examining every possible effect of our meat-centered diet and especially the post-WWII industrialization of farming, Robbins ends on a positive note. There is a solution that will in time reverse many of the diseases we are afflicted with, make our lives more sustainable, boost our economy, and ensure clean food, water, air, and land for future generations: a shift in the American diet-style towards a plant-based diet. Even reducing our reliance on meat for food by 10% can have an enormous impact. Not that I really needed any more convincing to be vegan, but this book is life-altering and very enlightening (although I must admit parts of it were hard to get through and often left me in tears - yes, the truth is harsh).

I will end this post with a quote from Chief Seattle, which appears at the end of Diet for a New America and is one of my absolute favorite quotes:

The earth does not belong to man:
Man belongs to the earth.
This we know:
All things are connected
Like the blood which unites one family.
All things are connected.
Whatever befalls the earth
Befalls the sons of the earth.
Man did not weave the web of live.
He is merely a strand in it.
Whatever he does to the web,
He does to himself.

Labels: animal rights, art/culture, environment/sustainability, lifestyle, peace

Monday, March 19, 2007

4 Years and Counting...

The four year anniversary of US Involvement in Iraq has recently come and gone. It's hard to believe this conflict has been going on for over four years now, and sadly, the bodies keep stacking up. As of the time of posting, 3,218 US Soldiers have been killed in Iraq, as well as tens of thousands of Iraqi civilians. My heart goes out to the families shattered by this conflict, and I hope for an end very soon. I really don't want to see a fifth anniversary!

Pictured is my design for the Palouse Peace Coalition's peace rally commemorating 4 years in Iraq. I designed the graphic for last year's third anniversary rally, and updated it for yet another year. Since not much has changed in Iraq other than more bloodshed, the poster still rings true: "Too Many Lives, Too Many Tears, Too Many Lies, Too Many Years."

I participated in the PPC's peace rally this year and despite it being such a sad anniversary, the march was a lot of fun and very light-hearted. We marched from downtown Moscow down the highway to the mall and back, accompanied by live music from the "Peace Band" and lots of props. One man wore a Bush mask and pulled a barrel of "oil" with a sign reading "Mission Accomplished" in a wagon. He was certainly my favorite marcher that day! Others carried a wooden coffin honoring all those who have died in the conflict (my boyfriend even took a turn carrying it). There were lots of peace signs, American flags, and people in black funeral clothes. Several people led the march with a large dove, and we got a lot of responses (thankfully mostly positive, but there were a few mean-spirited war mongers too) from people driving by on the highway. I came up with a catchy new slogan to yell at people driving huge trucks and SUVs: "Burn Bio-fuels, Not Bodies!"

It was a beautiful day for a peace march! You can see the rest of my pictures in this photo set on flickr. Let's hope there is no need for an Iraq protest march next year...

Labels: activism, news/current events, peace, politics

Monday, March 12, 2007

Stop Canada's Seal Hunt

Baby Seal The Canadian government condones the killing of hundreds of thousands of harp seals each year. These beautiful creatures are bludgeoned to death and often skinned alive so their fur can be sold. Many of the seals killed are helpless babies. This year, Canada has given the go-ahead for hunters to kill 335,000 baby harp seals and Canada's ice floes will be covered in the blood of innocent animals for something as unnecessary as fur coats.

Please sign PETA's petition to Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper before this year's hunt begins. You can also help boycotting Canadian products and of course, refusing to wear real fur of any kind. For more information and ways to help, see StopTheSealHunt.com.

This cruel tradition needs to end. Thank you for your compassion.

Labels: activism, animal rights, news/current events

Monday, March 05, 2007

You Really Can't Be a Meat-Eating Environmentalist

Al Gore may be getting flack from the press lately about his energy usage, but why has no one brought up the fact that his meat eating is actually causing more environmental damage than his energy-guzzling mansion?

According to a new report published by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, the livestock sector generates more greenhouse gas emissions as measured in CO2 equivalent - 18 percent - than transport. It is also a major source of land and water degradation.

Says Henning Steinfeld, Chief of FAO's Livestock Information and Policy Branch and senior author of the report: "Livestock are one of the most significant contributors to today's most serious environmental problems. Urgent action is required to remedy the situation"

With increased prosperity, people are consuming more meat and dairy products every year. [You can download the report here.]

So basically, raising animals for food generates more greenhouse gases than all the cars and trucks in the world combined. This begs the question: why aren't more environmentalists vegetarian? Is changing your eating habits too difficult for even the most dedicated environmentalist? Apparently the addicition to meat is a tough one to break.

I've been researching this topic quite a bit lately, and have found that there really is no good excuse for eating meat if you claim any sort of envrionmental sensitivity. The factory farming industry is one of this country's top polluters, literally creating lagoons of shit that end up in our soil and waterways. In 1995 in North Carolina, 25 million gallons of excrement from a hog farm spilled into a river, killing millions of fish and damaging the river's ecosystem all the way out to sea. The modern industrial farming methods are not only horribly cruel to animals, they are contributing to the demise of the earth and all of us humans as well.

I've rounded up some excellent articles on the envrionmental costs of eating meat and the benefits of a vegetarian diet so you don't have to take my word for it. Here are some good reads on the subject:

So You're an Environmentalist; Why Are you Still Eating Meat? from Alternet

A Few More 'Inconvenient Truths' by Kathy Freston on The Huffington Post

Toward Happier Meals in a Globalized World from WorldWatch Institute

Meat and the Environment from GoVeg.com

The Global Benefits of Eating Less Meat (PDF) from the Compassion in World Farming Trust

Will We Still Eat Meat? from TIME Magazine's Visions of the 21st Century

Is Your Meat Fit to Eat? - environmental risks associated with meat production from factoryfarm.org

I have just learned that PETA sent a letter to Al Gore with information about how he can shut up the critics and do more to stop global warming at the same time: by going vegetarian. Hey, maybe he can lose some of those post-election pounds at the same time! So, Al, what do you say? Can you drop the meat? I've got a load of recipes I can share! :)

Labels: animal rights, environment/sustainability, lifestyle