I had a great discussion with a friend about David Orr’s essay, “Loving Children: a Design Problem“. She concluded that the breakdown of education is one of the many results of an unfettered capitalistic economic system. It sounded like the end of our conversation, because, you know, The Economy: what can I do about that? …
Category Archives: future worries
Riot Fatigue: I Feel Like I’m Slacking
This is only our third Riot month and I feel like I’m slacking already. I realized this when last week I volunteered to drive Amie and a preschool buddy to their field trip. This was legitimate, I think: the preschool needed volunteers. On the way back – just Amie and I – I decided to …
The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act
A new law will be coming into effect on 10 February, called the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA). It demands that all products for children aged 12 and younger be tested for lead and phthalates, and that those that haven’t been tested yet are considered hazardous and may not be sold. It’s about time …
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Riot for Austerity: Month 2 – Some Ouches
We finished our second month of the Riot while not at home, so my meter readings are a couple of days off. These numbers are for the period from 1 December 2008 to 4 January 2009. 1. Gasoline: OUCH! We did so well last month: 7.939 gallons of oil/person or 19% of the US National Average. …
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Riot for Austerity: Month 1 – Chippin’ Away!
We have one month of Rioting for Austerity under our belts. Let’s see how we did. 1. Gasoline: down but still a long way to go: 19% We’ve been extra careful with our driving. DH has gone into work a little more often than usual, but for the rest we’ve managed to consolidate our driving …
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Nature Study for a Three-Year-Old
Though I am still feeling sick, we went outside. It was a good day for it and Amie really wanted to. It was bright, with some clouds moving in, a few gusts of wind but otherwise not too blustery, and unseasonably mild (mid 40s). We bundled up and went for a long walk around the …
Riot Update on Trash, and Compost
Trash Trying to establish our trash baseline for the Riot was pretty easy. I weiged the garbage as it was being transferred from the small pail under the sink to our boxes outside (handy for taking to the landfill once a month). In one week – and it was a pretty typical week – we …
The War of Consumption and What to Say to Friends about “the Good Life”
Yesterday one of the headlines in Google was “Economy Contracts as Consumers Retreat“. There is a nice rhythm to that phrase, don’t you think? And, also like a good line of poetry, it says a lot in the most subtle of ways. The bellicosity of this phrase reveals what we all really know about consumption …
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Sewing for Beginners
Amie has taken up sewing. So far we’ve kept it simple: I fold a piece of thick paper several times across and along the folds I cut some holes. Then I put some colorful yarn in a huge plastic needle, tie a knot at both ends and off she goes. She’s not always sure where …
Riot updates on Water and Heating Oil
Update on WATER I found the water meter reading from when we bought the place at the beginning of May. We only moved in at the end of June, but we’ve had house guests – sometimes 1, mostly 2, and sometimes 3 – for most of the time since then, so I will let those …