Eco-act 029: support local

This week, we’ve been reading this excerpt of Wendell Berry’s article “The Idea of a Local Economy” — and we highly encourage you to read it. Berry articulates so well how and why local economies matter in the big and small scheme of things. We invite you to consider a few quotes, as big corporations and multinational companies continue shaping our world (inequitably for the poor and people of color…and inevitably for all of us who share the land and its resources):

One begins to ask, What is here, what is in me, that can lead to something better?

…So far as I can see, the idea of a local economy rests upon only two principles: neighborhood and subsistence. In a viable neighborhood, neighbors ask themselves what they can do or provide for one another, and they find answers that they and their place can afford. This, and nothing else, is the practice of neighborhood. This practice must be, in part, charitable, but it must also be economic, and the economic part must be equitable; there is a significant charity in just prices.

…The “free trade” which from the standpoint of the corporate economy brings “unprecedented economic growth,” from the standpoint of the land and its local populations, and ultimately from the standpoint of the cities, is destruction and slavery. Without prosperous local economies, the people have no power and the land no voice.

This example of the practice of neighborhood has us wondering in what ways are we operating out of equitable subsistence…out of providing for and receiving from our community (burritos - food security and care, our garden box - hands in the dirt and free food, tutoring - education and connection). The ending of this excerpt highlights the colonial economy that we all find ourselves in, which is poignant (especially as we try to decolonize our lives…see our recent post on accounting truthfully for Thanksgiving). How does this show up in your life and other spheres? What hits you from this article? Let us know in the comments.

shop local

keeping here vibrant✨

So, here’s where our holiday series gets practical. What better way to stand up to climate change than by supporting the hardworking businesses and people in our community?! Reduce shipping and transportation emissions and pick up your items in person (maybe even walk or bike there?). As Black Friday approaches next week, we encourage you to opt-out of the fanatical deals/consumerism that really only benefits “big box” corporations — many of whom have gotten a whole lot richer in this pandemic. And for you online shoppers, we were displeased to find out that many online shopping returns do not in fact get restocked…they often end up in the landfill in the tune of 5 billion pounds!

Anyway, as we head back into greater covid restrictions, our small businesses need our help (and if the federal gov’t won’t help…we will show up for our beloved small biz community!). So, we invite you to shop small and shop local on #SmallBusinessSaturday, 11/28 instead of Black Friday, and in addition to REI’s call to #optoutside (which by the way, they have great ideas about safe outdoor activities to get you reconnected with Creation!).

We especially recommend the Seattle-based company, Intentionalist, whose search tool you can use to find BIPOC-owned, veteran-owned, LGBTQ+-owned, disability-owned, family-owned, and women-owned businesses. You can sign up for some of their games and play bingo by frequenting certain stores — they even have a curated gift list to help your impact go further this holiday season. In the ways of food, may we suggest supporting Seattle Restaurant Week (errr, month), happening until 11/21. Finally, here’s an updated list with covid-updated eateries. You can also refer to previous Eco-faith posts for more local farmers, book stores, etc!

So. Vote with your wallet by re-circulating your money in your local economies and let us know how you are practicing neighborhood in the comments below!

Eco-act 028: thankfulness, and thoughts about two traditions

With mid-November and colder weather, we anticipate Native American Heritage Month & also Thanksgiving. But in 2020, is this just “muscle memory?” After all, this month falls at a dark moment in a dark year. Holiday travel will be curtailed. Family gatherings will be smaller or relegated to zoom—or even canceled. The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade will be a TV-only event, featuring no high school or college marching bands, no live spectators.

In all of this, we must also acknowledge the truth about Thanksgiving — that Native people showed generosity to settlers yet their treaty rights, land, and ways of being have not been honored — they have been decimated. Still, some 400+ years later, we hope that you might learn more about Native American Heritage Month and find ways to practice gratitude to the Indigenous tribes whose land we occupy. (As Kitchen Table Conversations discussed this week, often good meaning “woke” people get things wrong — it is messy. Check out this poignant, satirical play by Larissa FastHorse for more: The Thanksgiving Play).

While our present moment is one of complexity, there are still many reasons to be thankful: our health, for most of us. Our veterans. Our friends and family, resilience, the promise of vaccines, warm memories of better times. Jojo’s release. Our community’s care for food security.

living grateful

decolonizing Thanksgiving, celebrating climate wins

We can also find reasons for gratitude regarding our environment and climate change. Consider …

• Young people everywhere who are setting aside panic, indifference or despair and acting to support climate justice. And not just Greta Thunberg. How about high schooler Tseng I-Ching and her discovery of a Styrofoam-eating bacterium? How about Julia Bennett and Isabella Schaak and their efforts to remove single-use plastic from their Minnesota high school? And how about so many more young people, known and unknown to us, in school and after graduation, working to make the world a better place even before they inherit it?

• Walmart's on-track project with its partners to remove 1 billion metric tons of greenhouse gases from its supply chain by 2030 — hopefully not just a move of corporate green-washing but of genuine commitment to our collective future.

• Apple's commitment to achieve carbon neutrality by 2030; and since the company’s own electricity requirements are already being met 100% through renewable sources, further progress will be accomplished through its suppliers.

• The growing role of wind and solar in meeting global electricity requirements

• Lyft's plan to operate a 100% electric vehicle fleet by 2030

• The efforts of Seattle/King County and other government bodies to tackle recycling and climate change more broadly

By themselves, of course, these and similar efforts will not be enough to stop or reverse climate change. Much more needs to be done — especially at the policy/institutional levels. But these developments point to a broader understanding of and response to climate change. They do give us reason to hope and call us to gratitude this month (and always).

As we plan our Thanksgiving dinners, perhaps we can also take a moment to reflect on the story of the first Thanksgiving—specifically, the fact that two groups attended. Our traditions are likely built around grandma’s cranberry sauce or Aunt Jane’s pumpkin pie, or …. But does any part of the feast honor the Native people whose food and traditions were shared — might we decolonize our Thanksgiving meals? In addition to the tips listed, note that Three Sisters Salad uses ingredients demonstrating companion planting, an earth-wise technique employed by Native American planters for perhaps 10,000 years. Food, land, history, sustenance. Something to think about as we plan our gardens for next growing season!

And here’s one final thought as we approach Thanksgiving: the following day is Black Friday, the unofficial “tradition” that kicks off the Christmas shopping season. Before we jump into it, perhaps we can take a deep breath and think about how to tailor our gift-giving (and gift requests!) with climate change in mind. How can we reduce the greenhouse gas emissions generated by our own shopping trips, and by the UPS/FedEx/Amazon vehicles that will deliver our gifts—and handle our returns? Can we reduce the wrapping materials that would normally clutter landfills in the holiday aftermath? Can we repair/repurpose/re-gift a piece of furniture or clothing to avoid recycling or disposing of it? Can we think of recycling as the last resort? (The best case is having nothing to recycle in the first place!)

We have reasons for gratitude this Thanksgiving, personally, and with respect to climate change. Governments and corporations have begun to act in, larger, more responsible ways. A host of individuals are rising to the occasion, and each of us can contribute in a variety of ways. In fact, maybe this is the biggest thing we can be thankful for: our ability to act. What a blessing! The game isn’t over … it’s still on. Happy Thanksgiving!