Sacramento's Sustainable Future

It's Ok to Be Chicken, But Let's Keep Our Heads On.

2010-11-16T08:24:00.000-08:00

The last time Law & Leg discussed backyard chickens in Sacramento, concerns about avian flu were a key sticking point. So it will be very interesting to hear from Dr. Glennah Trochet, the County of Sacramento Public Health Officer this afternoon, beginning after 3pm at council chambers in city hall.

I asked Christine Heinrichs, the environmental journalist and author of "How to Raise Chickens" and "How to Raise Poultry" about avian flu. Apparently, avian flu comes in 2 broad categories: Low and High Pathogenic. Crossover of highly pathogenic avian flu to the human population is rare, and usually happens near factory farms, which Wendell Berry calls "disease-breeding operations." Moreover, the US Geological Survey has yet to find any bird flu on this continent, even the low-pathogenic kind, after having tested 326,000 migratory birds between 2005 and 2008.

She quoted Bruce Levin, a biology professor at Emory University, "In the more than 15 years since it was first recognized, this bird flu virus has yet to cause very much mortality in humans or evolve to be readily transmitted between people."

The dangers of endemic strains of influenza are much higher; we would mostly be better off staying away from the mall and in the backyard with our chickens, ducks, pigeons, and other enthusiastic pest-control assistants.

So ask the Law & Leg Committee to act on Agenda Item #4 by directing staff to draft a backyard chicken ordinance for council discussion.

As for regular old flu (presumably including low-pathogenic avian flu if it ever gets here), Christine reports that public health research has discerned 4 major differences between our understanding of it now and in 1918:

We know a virus is responsible.

We have vaccines.

We have antiviral medications to mitigate the flu and discourage transmission

We have antibiotics and/or vaccines to address the secondary bacterial infections which appear to be the proximate cause of most flu deaths.

Is Economics Really the Dismal Science After All?

2010-10-17T07:33:00.000-07:00

Reportedly, Japan's economy has lost heart. Years of monetary contraction have left people fearing to risk, borrow, invest or build much of anything.

However, the reporter may have overlooked new green sprouts growing out of the decay of winter, which reliably yields to the fertility of spring.

But what's the real problem? There's no good mechanism in place for the monetary system to re-adjust to fit the economy again.

It's time to revive an ancient custom, developed by people who are widely reputed to understand financial affairs exceedingly well, probably because their acquaintance with money's behavior is so ancient. Another ethnic group whose economic aptitude is the equal of any lacks, unfortunately, the corrective religious custom that the Japanese - and any city, state or country that is in the same pickle - could profit from just now.

Thinking Outside of the Box on Green Jobs

2010-10-12T09:40:00.000-07:00

This morning, the Bee warned us that green job growth isn't going to save the economy anytime soon. But there are many many more kinds of green jobs than just "work to install solar panels and build electricity-powered cars."

And there are more green jobs than I listed 2-plus years ago, such as:

Urban farming

Rural farming

Graywater system design & installation

Rainwater storage system design & installation

Greenhouse design, manufacturing & installation

Rainwater tank design & manufacturing

Mulch broker

Bicycle-power design & manufacturing

Redesign of electric appliances to be manual, such as sewing machines and washers

Tool sharpening

Replacing other unnecessary appliances with more civilized alternatives

Caretaker for oldsters who have an extra room and need help

So rest assured that the potential growth of green jobs, that minimize our energy used for meeting our needs for water, food, and warmth, is much greater than realized by those still thinking inside the box of conventional technologies.

Chickens & Other Forms of Urban Farming

2010-10-05T08:57:00.000-07:00

The staff report for today's city council law & legislation committee discussion of urban chickens mentions chickens’ pest control potential. Turning mosquitoes and ticks into eggs seems like a win-win. But dandelions are extremely nutritious and should not be considered a weed when it’s actually lawns that are highly unsustainable and harmful as typically managed.

Chickens are so effective at turning kitchen scraps to eggs that “The municipality of Deist in Flanders, Belgium, gave 2,000 households a gift of three chickens each as an economic solution to the costly problem of recycling biodegradable trash. A chicken can consume approximately nine pounds of kitchen garbage a month. The encouragement of urban animal husbandry can help erase the artificial barriers between the urban (non-agricultural) and the rural (agricultural). Additionally, increased composting can also help to diminish waste.”

Concerns about noise seem very biased, since the city never takes any action to reduce nuisance noise from leafblowers and viciously loud motorcycles. I would much rather have a rooster next door than either of these two widespread urban hazards.

Slaughtering, like most things, depends on whether or not you are doing it right. While it may be premature for this ordinance revision, it should be kept on the back burner.

Concerns about complaints and staffing are valid. The financial stresses we all face can be reduced by becoming more ‘Greenwise’ and increasing local self-sufficiency and sustainability. Perhaps neighborhood associations can help keep things on an even keel. Another possibility would be a sort of streamlined standardized variance process for prospective urban farmers.

There are other general helpful actions the committee can consider for Sacramento.

Reconsider all the unlawful animals listed in ordinance section 9.44.340. Currently, “it is unlawful to keep, harbor, or maintain any bovine animal, horse, mule, burro, sheep, goat, chicken, duck, turkey, goose or other domestic livestock or poultry on any parcel of property located in the city.”

Given the fact that most of these are smaller than the largest dogs which are considered completely okay, they should all be reconsidered on their merits (as well as disadvantages). There are a variety of miniature breeds of larger animals. The importance of size can be seen in 9.44.320 which allows swine such as the pot-bellied pig. It may also be appropriate to review 9.44.710 and include methods of animal attack in addition to biting.

Each species has its own general personality, which may require specific requirements tailored to successful management of that particular animal. Thus, the research required to define success for each species can be taken sequentially, with chickens serving as the case study for a process that should be repeated. Personally, after creating the proper space for urban chickens, I would proceed to consider ducks, geese, goats, sheep, turkeys, and miniature burros and cows.

Please note that the poop of carnivores such as cats and dogs is more likely to be a problem than that of vegetarians, all other things (such as amount) being equal. I recently completed a Permaculture Design Certificate, and one of the key principles I learned was about ecological diversity. It is extremely convenient that a biologically healthy environment has adapted to dealing with poop by eons of evolution. By recreating the proper conditions, poop can be managed much better than at present, when it usually ends up in wastewater or landfill where its fertility is not just wasted but transformed into pollution.

Create a new zoning category for urban agriculture. An analogy for this would be the Single-Family Alternative Zone, which was also designed to support Sacramentans’ economic welfare, by allowing more residential diversity.

Supporting more diversity in urban agriculture will both assist the many Sacramentans whose backs are now to the wall, economically, and make Sacramento more sustainable over the long term as petroleum-based modes of transportation all become more problematic.

Currently, Sacramentans living in residentially zoned neighborhoods are unable to sell excess produce at a standard farmers market. An alternative urban agriculture zoning could offer additional economic support now and in the future.

Chickens & The City Council

2010-10-01T21:15:00.000-07:00

Next Tuesday afternoon, the city council's law & legislation committee will hear a staff report about the pros & cons of backyard chickens. The committee will consider whether to ask staff to draft a proposed ordinance for the council to consider.

If you would like Sacramentans to have access to the increased food security that backyard chickens offer, you can ask the committee to proceed with a draft ordinance, either online (click on "eComment") or in person on Tuesday.

If you have any suggestions about how to manage backyard chickens so as to ensure a peaceful and pleasant neighborhood, please share them with the committee. Although some residents may have concerns about nuisance or blight, the fact that Fair Oaks residents have been living harmoniously with free-roaming chickens for many years suggests that such concerns are unfounded.

What I Learned On My Summer Vacation

2010-09-28T16:37:00.000-07:00

Well, it's true that summer started a long time after my last post. But my mother passed away February 24, and after that I spent most of April rearranging my house making room for my new roommate who looks after things when I am gone.

I left in May to spend most of the summer near Eugene, Oregon, at Lost Valley Educational Center, taking their three key courses, Permaculture Design, Eco-Building, and Community/Eco-village Design. And to top it all off, I got to spend the summer living in community, sharing meals, etc., after 22 years of living alone. I had a wonderful time.

What did I learn about permaculture? First, permaculture isn't just about edible gardening, it's also about self-winding houses that blend into the local biology rather than contradicting it like a crewcut green lawn in California. Rainwater storage, graywater irrigation, composting privies, passive solar climate control, solar hot water, greenhouses, and food forests are key green technologies for sustainable housing.

At a deeper, more philosophical level, 12 permaculture principles have been formalized. They reflect the way biology operates, as opposed to the way engines and machines operate. The machine metaphor permeates our culture, and is reflected in unconscious assumptions. Contrasting the philosophies of life and mechanism makes old assumptions conscious and offers a basic way to understand a new way of thinking. Thinking like a tree, perhaps.

Eco-building methods are diverse, including post & beam and other timber framing, straw bale, adobe, and a few others. Local climate and materials determine what makes the most sense.

Typical eco-villages are also intentional communities of people who want to live an alternative lifestyle. Many villagers are interested in food security and relocalization. But when you didn't grow up together there's lots of potential for conflicting customs or expectations, so fair and effective self-governance processes are crucial, especially when you are starting from scratch.

So as you can imagine I learned a lot. I really had a wonderful summer out in the country - once it stopped raining, that is.

Is Competition Sustainable?

2010-02-09T15:44:00.000-08:00

I keep hearing that we need to be more competitive to make it in the global economy, but I can't believe the multinational corporations that dominate the global and industrialized economies will ever let anyone else win.

Plus which, I've been reading some great stuff about how we are at least as cooperative by nature as we may be competitive. What if Nature Herself were cooperative too?

Rebecca Solnit's book "A Paradise Built In Hell" describes how disasters seem to attract lots of ordinary people who just pitch right in the start cooperating to help in whatever ways make sense. In fact, it turns out that often official disaster relief and security actually get in the way and make things worse by imposing their bureaucratic and hierarchical plans on what is already spontaneously underway, as was seen not just after Katrina but after the 1906 San Francisco earthquake.

"Elite panic" is behind official efforts to control the situation, whether it is caused by fear of being unnecessary or fear of vengeance by the have-nots. Elite panic is why people who are taking necessities from stores after a disaster are seen as looting if black and as requisitioning if white, as happened in New Orleans and Haiti.

I've also been reading about Open Space Technology, guidelines from originator Harrison Owen. He shares some of his philosophy about jobs, a view that's very relevant to economic competitiveness.

"After all, if we did only what we cared to do, not much would get done. Or would it? Isn't it true that jobs done by people who don't care are not worth much? Is it not also true that people who care greatly accomplish incredible things? And fortunately, there are a lot of different people who care about a lot of different things, which means there is a high likelihood that the majority of things needing to be taken care of will be taken care of--by someone who cares."

What if we could all, worldwide, have economies where we took on the tasks we care about the most? We can all have work that matters, if we care about doing first what matters most.

And we can still compete--with ourselves, to just keep improving.

Dear readers, please ignore the comment below which it turns out leads to porn-spam. I will delete it as soon as I figure out how.

Ban Styrofoam & Be A World-Class City!

2010-01-19T19:54:00.000-08:00

Seattle did it a year ago, and we can too. Check out this chart of replacement products.

And we could also start charging by weight or volume for regular garbage, just as Seattle does for businesses. That would be a really effective way to reduce tipping fees.

Colonial Ecology Rules?

2009-12-14T08:24:00.000-08:00

On the news last night I heard about doctors doing cutting-edge research on helping old people live longer and accident victims regain the use of various appendages. The problem here is the amount of money being spent on doing this when so many babies and mothers are so poor and hopeless as they are now. These doctors must be as clueless as Wall Streeters about people's daily reality around the world, for them to be patting themselves on the back when so many lack the basics of survival - clean air and water, healthy food, and snug shelter. It would be far simpler and cheaper for them to just write prescriptions for these necessities, whose absence sabotages more expensive health care.

Then in the paper this morning I read about Monsanto's uber-Frankenstein desire to not just imitate but monopolize Mother Nature. According to the classical theory of hubris, the plans of men are the jokes of the gods. And karma suggests that monetizing bits of the ecology, as Monsanto continues to do, is rather asking for it. Still, as Prof. Shapiro suggests, ordinary people en masse are already buying in to technology that is equally opportunistic, narrow, and risky.

But what does all this have to do with colonialism or ecology? Well, colonialism is when one entity infects another somehow, acting from within as well as without. And ecology is a system, a network, where the effects of such actions are seen. Both entities, as well as their surroundings, can be seen as systems, definable and interdependent. And so much intercontinental biological cross-contact and colonialism has already occurred, I think we need to talk about how to somehow reintegrate ecologies from where they are now.

For example, I still mourn the eucalyptus, a few giants cut to the ground at a newly-formed nature preserve south of Sacramento. The idea was to eliminate non-natives, but in a place where there were few trees, I didn't like the idea of getting rid of what was there without having something comparable to replace it. When I do that in my garden, I get self-invited botanical invaders.

So what principles should we use to make such decisions? How can we co-evolve with what's here to be more sustainable and less opportunistic, as a species?

Sustainable Business in Sacramento?

2009-12-11T08:30:00.000-08:00

I read in the paper this morning that the chamber of commerce backs the strong mayor. Apparently the chamber thinks that sustainability is bad for business, and that a strong mayor will be good for business. But what does KJ think about sustainability?

The recent meeting of his new arena task force suggests he doesn't think much about it. I went to their kick-off town hall meeting last week, and they started off saying the task force was all about economic development. But it really is just about the arena, and jobs for developers.

Most of the people in the room were men, and I was the only woman who spoke to the panel. It's time for the men in the chamber of commerce to refocus on the true and original purpose of business, which is to serve consumers. And consumers' most basic needs are clean air and water, healthy food, and snug shelter. These are the first priorities of economic development for human welfare.

Sports and entertainment arenas are not a basic consumer need. And we don't need to spend a lot of money on them. If we want basketball, we can have a city league. If we want entertainment, we have local and state politics at our doorstep.

CA's Unsustainable Legislature

2009-11-14T08:37:00.000-08:00

Why should our dysfunctional, money-addicted legislators get to dodge the pay cuts that have cratered the budgets of so many ordinary Californians?

Offhand, I can't think of any reason that we would not be better off with the part-time legislature we used to have, and I am not alone. But I am sure there are reasons, even if I'm not sure that survey results are based on discussion of complete and rational pros and cons.

Let's start talking!

Looking Busy

2009-11-13T20:54:00.000-08:00

I don't understand why KJ's call for a tent city for the homeless hasn't been as popular with developers as his latest effort to make Sacramento safe for the NBA.

If developers want to do something that's really useful for the community, they could build more affordable housing for the homeless. They could build housing that ordinary people could afford to buy.

Or they could try to save some of Sacramento's money, like SMUD, instead of spending it on more sprawl.

Sports Arenas Of, By and For The People?

2009-10-30T07:26:00.000-07:00

Mayor Stork announced a new task force to figure out how to get a sports arena at Cal-Expo, I guess because the old task force didn't work it out.

Or maybe it's because this task force will announce its results just about the time we get to vote on KJ's strong mayor proposal. Given the expected members of the task force - "City Hall officials, business leaders and attorneys" - I think one can pretty much predict that they will say what insiders dressed in fancy suits usually say. 'We're wealthy so if you follow our advice you will be too.'

Right.

Sustainable Health Care & Evolution

2009-10-24T09:30:00.000-07:00

On UCTV this morning, I happened to tune in to Prof. Lucy Shapiro sharing some sobering information about some health care issues that are more boring and more important than the public option.

I am reminded of Pogo's warning about our true enemy - it's us. Our own search for individual security and survival lead us to take pills we don't really need, and then when we really need them they don't work because the germs have evolved.

Shapiro says that natural genetic engineering is far more hazardous to our health than what we cook up in the lab. She discusses the realities of quarantine, which would limit our personal freedom far more than the terrorists can. But she doesn't address the question of the effect of human genetic engineering on the ecological systems which provide our food and water.

For example, one recent proposal alleges we can protect ourselves from almonds contaminated by salmonella by sterilizing the almonds with heat, but then they are no longer raw and some of the enzymatic value of live food is lost. Similarly, bagged lettuce that has been contaminated by e. coli has led to scorched-earth plans to genocide all natural plants (that could harbor actual wild animals and their dangerous poop) if these plants are growing anywhere near the monocultural lettuce, even though this eradication will make farms less healthy overall.

But food that is fresh and grown in a natural way is healthier than food grown in an ecological desert and then incubated in a plastic bag. And healthier food is required for healthier people whose immune systems are strong enough to resist germs.

To paraphrase a quote often attributed to a famous musician, "evolution happens." It happens to germs and humans alike. And it happens to individuals.

And it is what makes or breaks a species. Germs can only make us strong if we let them, if we are strong enough to face the entropic economic reality of diminishing returns. Perhaps a modern-day Pogo can help.

Investing for the Future

2009-10-18T08:30:00.000-07:00

There's good advice in the newspaper this morning about separating investment proposals which are too good to be true from those that rely on the real economic value that is always the foundation of actual monetary returns.

Discounting fancy restaurants and expensive suits is an excellent idea. Although Arden Fair recently banned hoodies, it's a fact that men dressed in expensive suits are responsible for far more monetary losses than those dressed like bums.

It's only under unusual circumstances that publicly-traded investments need personal scrutiny, and I believe we are now back in circumstances where attention to general market conditions is enough for the average person to invest safely. Private investment proposals, however, always require caution. Educated and personal examination is appropriate in these situations. If you can't see the tangible thing that you are investing in, be extra careful.

At all times, an understanding of the real economy - which is the foundation of the monetary economy - is the safest approach. Economic shocks are most likely to occur when the monetary economy fails to accurately reflect the real economy.

Recently, I visited an eco-village which is still growing that seems to me like a good place to put my money. And I am sure I will find more as I continue to travel around ecotopia. Be aware, however, that this kind of investment requires even more personal participation, because communities require co-operation.

Economic Efficiency?

2009-10-15T12:44:00.000-07:00

The problem with economic efficiency as defined by economists is its widespread interpretation as "maximiz[ing] the production of goods and services." This unfortunate phrase overlooks the physical limits to growth on a finite planet. It would be more efficient to optimize the production and consumption of goods and services.

The basic philosophy of classical economics offers a deeper definition of economic efficiency. The concept of value is the key concept, rather than maximum production or profit. And value is a qualitative, subjective, individual estimate. The economy - and all transactions - are based on all our individual estimates.

Since we are all human, we share similarities in our needs and wants, and thus in what is valuable to us. Needs have a higher priority than wants, and we have a variety of needs - physical, emotional, social, spiritual, etc.

The physical needs that pertain to our perceived need for fossil fuel energy are: clean air and water, healthy food, and snug shelter. Although we are used to paying money and using fossil fuel to meet these needs, all of these - money, fossil fuel, food, water, etc. - actually come from the planet.

The engineering efficiency of using fossil fuels to work for us is a ratio of output to input:

Useful Work (e.g., miles driven)

--------------------------------------

Fuel Used (e.g., gallons)

But this ratio distracts many people from looking at the big picture. A more useful ratio would be framed in terms of our true priorities:

Clean Air and Water, Healthy Food, and Snug Shelter

----------------------------------------------------------------

Resources: Sunshine and Planet Earth

Naturally, a healthy planet will be the most efficient way to meet our needs.

God/s Make Men, Men Make Trouble

2009-10-05T16:51:00.000-07:00

Just finished reading about what's now possible with engineering of genes and organisms. It's pretty creepy.

Not so much because it's necessarily more dangerous than existing GMOs, or nano-pollution, or climate change, or rusting nuclear weapons. They're all capable of freaking out most optimistic and sensible people.

The real problem is human nature. I just don't think we have the emotional sanity and spiritual stamina to avoid the corruptions of power. And many technologies offer too much power.

Power corrupts just the way the Ring of invisibility corrupted Smaug in the Lord of the Rings, just the way it would have corrupted Frodo had Sam not intervened.

Many human religions warn of hubris, of the vanity that built the tower of Babel, of the yang than always overextends itself to become yin, that pride goeth before a fall. And the only time Christ is known to have been angered was by spiritual pimps profiting in the temple.

Can spiritual wisdom enter into political decisions? Can we possibly learn the kind of peacefulness and cooperation that would solve the problems we have always known how to solve if we weren't so selfish and competitive?

For example, what good will it do us to design better children when we do such an overall lame job of taking care of them all and bringing them up happy and healthy? We can't even offer most of them the traditional benefits of old-fashioned breast-feeding and healthy food and water.

Until we learn how to do well the things we already know how to do, we aren't going to do that well with the new things either.

Watch Out! Mr. Bloatware Promises to Fix Education

2009-09-30T09:28:00.000-07:00

Bill & Melinda Gates are on a mission to fix U.S. education. It amazes me that anyone who has witnessed Mr. Gates' obsession with profits would trust his opinions about their children's education.

I mean, here's a good programmer who happened to be in the right place at the right time when IBM needed an operating system for the PC they were getting ready to sell. Then, after he has control of the operating system, he milks it for all it's worth with constant upgrades, bells and whistles that clog up software operation, not to mention all the unnecessary hardware with toxic chemicals and plastic cabinets now littering the landscape worldwide.

If Microsoft software had been designed with the functional user in mind, it would be a cleaner and more efficient world world, and Bill Gates would be about as rich as your average Silicon Valley engineer.

Good education is the opposite of Bill Gates' recipe for success. You have to put students first, and really meet all their needs, not just the ones that are convenient or profitable.

The result of a good and sustainable education would be youth who can do what's needed to take care of themselves and others.

Who Gets the Victim Prize?

2009-09-11T08:48:00.000-07:00

Local news has so far portrayed poor Mr. Hernandez, the neighbor of the Safe Ground campsite, as the persecuted victim of the homeless campers. But according to a Paula Lomazzi, a formerly homeless person who is involved in organizing SHOC and safe ground for living, the campers "have apologized to Mr. Hernandez and have tried many times to make friends, even sent a priest to his house and Spanish speaking ambassador." Apparently the Bee doesn't have enough reporting staff left to talk to enough people to get a fair and balanced understanding. It's also extraordinarily naive to blame the campers for all illegal activities in a problematic neighborhood.

Mediation would be an extremely sensible way to pass the time while waiting for the court hearing. Solving our own problems ourselves is far more cost-effective than paying for lawyers and judges, jails and probation.

Of course, that requires some emotional discipline. People have to sit down and actually listen to each other. They have to acknowledge that all parties have the same rights and needs. They have to take the time to completely understand the problem, instead of jumping to the first solution that wanders through their head.

And that's the only way I know of to find the win-win solutions that mean no one gets the prize for whining.

A Fate Worse Than Death

2009-08-31T15:26:00.000-07:00

I don't understand why a Christian like Sarah Palin, or for that matter anyone who says they are a Christian, thinks a death panel would be evil. I mean, I thought Christians believed in eternal life. (Not to mention the fact that God, or whatever Immanence created this world, evidently meant death to be the end of every organism.)

So if Christians really believe that, then talking about how best to manage and experience life's end is just the doorway to eternal life. And no one, be he medical, political, or spiritual, can preempt another's personal right to decide when one's time has come. Living too long can be a fate worse than death.

And similarly, after a new life is sparked, sometimes omens are not favorable. While Life itself is robust like weeds in the concrete, some seeds fall on the compost and some on the asphalt. Some Christians think every fertilized seed must be nurtured, but then they want other people to take all the risks and do all the work. They don't understand that to garden properly, you must prune.

Especially when you keep cheating death on the other end, with all kinds of fancy gizmos that aren't in the Bible.

Breathless in Sacramento

2009-08-27T08:01:00.000-07:00

The nattering nabobs of negativism are predictably upset by Matsui's plan for a telephone town hall. Maybe they're worried their message won't get through if they have to play 'telephone' and talk to staff or other voters. At least Barney is Frank enough to tell them the government is not their mom and they should show some leadership.

I think she just wants to save a lot of taxpayers money that would be needed to pay for security to protect sensible people who want to have a constructive conversation from the adrenaline-addicted kindergarten dropouts we have all seen way too much of on TV.

More hyperventilating was also reported between the mayor and the city attorney, more time and energy wasted on this strong-mayor restructuring distraction. Joe Serna showed us you don't need to change the rules to be a strong mayor. You just need to know how to do grassroots community organizing.

Last night's workshop about putting motor vehicles back on K Street raised more questions than it answered, which is not a bad thing at this stage of the process. But the idea of spending $2 million and up on rearranging the furniture can't be the most cost-effective way to spend the money. K Street will never be like it was, because back then there were no malls in the valley. And there also wasn't so much stuff already so available in thrift stores and garage sales. We are swimming in stuff, so more retail is not a good candidate for economic redevelopment.

Converting some storefronts to residential would put more eyes on the street, and 24/7, not just a few minutes here and there. Stop expecting state workers to spend their money on K Street; even post-furlough they won't stop being a cautious bunch, self-selected for a safe working life.

How about opening a hospitality storefront in one of the empty buildings the city owns and doesn't know what to do with? Instead of acting like people who are homeless or ride Greyhound are no longer members of the human race, how about providing some kind of community center, staffed by volunteers, where everyone from tourists to kids can get the information and networking that responds to their needs and desires.

We have plenty of stuff, plenty of square footage that's fallow. Instead of tilling again and again, let's plant some seeds and water them. It's the relationships between people that make a community; the buildings are just a place to get out of the rain and put your stuff.

Smart And Sustainable Growth?

2009-08-24T12:04:00.000-07:00

Today's paper discusses the outlook for smart growth and renewable energy in Sacramento. But more compact housing in and of itself overlooks the important detail of - where's the food coming from? Smaller dwellings closer together is only smart when surrounded by sub/urban farms and local distributed energy generation.

If we were really smart, there would be housing for ALL income levels, including the hapless homeless who must always keep moving. Makes it hard to dress for success, let alone get an actual job-and-apartment, or is it apartment-and-job? Hard to tell which comes first, especially when a homeless person needs both of them to cross the freeway to get to the other side and to economic equilibrium.

And we would also be using local renewable energy rather than building new transmission capacity (and probably using fossil fuels in construction) and bringing in renewable energy in a nonrenewable way.

Entrepreneurs Who Reduce, Re-Use & Recycle

2009-08-11T15:18:00.000-07:00

Business is rough these days. Layoffs, defaults and bankruptcies of all kinds sprout like weeds. Repo men work overtime selling crammed-down houses, and all the stuff left behind by the dispossessed gets trashed.

We all know there's a better way. It can't be more economical to just trash everything at the dump rather than reclaiming what's useful and offering it to Goodwill. We can no longer afford such wasteful attitudes, especially when we can kill two birds with one stone.

There are plenty of entrepreneurs in Sacramento who could help us maximize our collective wealth, by sorting all the orphaned stuff thrown off by our consumerism. Are we too foolish to ask them?

Reform For Sustainable Health Care

2009-07-25T09:13:00.000-07:00

There are at least two big elephants that too few of us are talking about in the rooms nationwide where the political discussion about health care reform are going on. One is named triage. The other one is for-profit.

Triage is the kind of prioritization required in effective emergency rooms. You treat the asthma attacks before the broken bones. Then you treat the broken bones before the poor person who has no other form of health care. And few would not admit that our health care system belongs in the emergency room. Reform is urgently needed.

For-profit is the kind of health care we can’t afford if we are serious about reform. Making money the ultimate purpose of any endeavor means you will get more money out of it, more than any official purpose of the endeavor. But money greases the skids in legislatures across the nation, as well as in the families of health industry employees. And since so many other jobs have already been off-shored, health care is one of the few domestic industries left that pension funds can invest in.

So far, the discussion I have heard about has been rather polarized. Too many people are talking past each other, rather than really listening to each other’s underlying needs. But to be sustainable, we have to live within our planetary means, and we have to share. Universal health care will also allow us to reduce the work week and create more jobs to do the same total amount of work. We can work to live, rather than living to work.

But I think there is a win-win solution, based on a two-tier concept. We should have a basic tier that covers things like tooth decay, broken bones, acute infections like pneumonia, asthma attacks, eye exams and glasses, diagnosis, and prenatal and pediatric care. All the really cost-effective procedures belong in this category, and should be covered by a single-payer system similar to (but not exactly like) Medicare.

Then in tier two, we call on the insurance companies to cover ailments that are expensive, elective, or the result of unhealthy lifestyle choices. And we regulate them to make sure they live up to their actuarial promises; if the for-profit corporations take your premiums they can’t cancel you in a crisis.

Also, there several topics that seem so far to have been missing in action. One is the role of complementary and alternative medicine, aka CAM. Another is the sliding scale. There is absolutely no reason for someone like my financially secure mother to be getting subsidized health care from Medicare. Any premiums or co-payments for a basic Tier One must be means-tested. We have to share. Sharing is not socialism, it’s Christianity. And it’s also good for us.

As for alternative medicine, we need to integrate those aspects which are effective and inexpensive into both tiers. Some herbal remedies work as well or better than some modern pharmaceuticals. Acupuncture can help in some situations. Healing touch like massage can easily replace drugs in certain cases; and, like healthy food and exercise, it helps maintain really good health, rather than merely fixing the symptoms of bad habits or misfortune.

Alternative medicine also calls on people to become their own doctors, as much as possible. We need to take responsibility for our own bodies, for getting acquainted with them, and taking care of them. One cost-cutting measure would be to make each adult responsible for their own medical record and file. If a doctor’s handwriting is illegible, write down what they say and ask them to initial it. This would be a lot cheaper than a nationwide computer system, although it would not make anyone much money.

Lastly, the public health perspective has apparently also been MIA. Some kinds of medical treatment are reasonably close to being a public good, the kind of investment or activity that benefits everyone. Timely treatment of infectious diseases like TB, syphilis, and malaria are examples of public medicine that protects the rest of us. Let’s consider expanding this existing function into some functions of a Tier One.

And of course, living a sustainable lifestyle would improve public health dramatically. If we used no fossil fuels, we would get plenty of exercise. And we would have to eat local food fresh from the garden, because we couldn’t afford to ship it across the planet or use a lot of energy to store it in a giant American fridge until it turns into a science experiment that you can't eat anyway.

Two Reasons Why Bagged Salad Is Bad For You

2009-07-14T08:22:00.000-07:00

Even if it's organic, that doesn't mean it's natural. Yesterday, Carolyn Lochhead reported on how food safety concerns are leading to anti-organic over-reactions.

And just because packaged produce may legally be labeled organic, that doesn't mean it's raised on anything resembling a family farm. Organic agri-biz is still agri-biz, and that's bad for workers and bad for farm communities.

So the next time someone offers you some plastic salad or other produce, just say no. Say no for the birds, bees, ants, mice, and all the other critters who God may have asked us to care for. Hold out for food that is alive and healthy enough to entice birds and bees to want some too. Only dead food has a long shelf life, like all store-bought California almonds, now that growers can only sell raw ones at farmers' markets.

Fortunately, there are plenty of farmers' markets nowadays, so we don't have to buy the products of corporate pushers, even 'organic' ones.

Sustainable Marriage & Family Rights

2009-06-26T18:57:00.000-07:00

There's a certain irony in the gay marriage movement for feminists like my younger self who viewed marriage as a suspicious patriarchal trap. And truthfully, I wonder if the GMM has fallen into a trap - the nuclear family ideology.

Let's step back and ask ourselves: What is marriage for? Is it a romantic ideal or an economic institution? In fact, both functions are inevitable and desirable, though tricky to reconcile, as we see on Jerry Springer. (And those who doth protest too much the sanctity of marriage really ought to just take a deep breath; dictionary definitions have long since included partners which were nonhuman, even inanimate.)

So let's make it easier on ourselves by pulling them apart and creating two institutions. Let the couple institution carry the romance and let the family institution carry the household welfare. Both forms should be legal institutions, each with its proper rights and responsibilities.

The rights and responsibilities of the family would be focused on the welfare of its members, particularly children. A couple who conceive a child would have the responsibility of designating a family that would raise the child, either by the couple entering into a family contract or by selecting an existing and mutually agreeable family.

Thus, a family could contain any number of singles and couples, which would address the problem that the nuclear family is just too small (unless you're rich) to do everything everyone (especially the religious right) wants it to do. And both romantic couples and family members would have the same rights of hospital visitation, inheritance, and so forth.

Another reason for restructuring family in this way is for better consumption efficiency. Currently, big corporations' only criteria is production efficiency, and their size and organization enables them to attain legal and financial powers that now overwhelm nuclear families. But families of up to a dozen adults could get a far better consumption capacity factor by buying fewer appliances and other domestic capital investments, as opposed to one per person or two living apart.

As for sex, we should really just take Miss Manner's advice and not presume to inquire into and pass judgement on the private affairs of others. After all, very few adults wish to conduct their affairs in public. And I know of no one who would benefit more by examining the speck in his neighbor's eye rather than the beam in his own.

Expecting straight sex to provide a strong foundation for all of society is a red herring that distracts us from actually constructing such a foundation. Is that an abomination or what?

Sustainable Safety

2009-06-25T09:26:00.000-07:00

Ralph Carmona from Gold River thinks we "are losing all sense of local public governance" because law enforcement staff are getting a budget haircut along with everyone else. He suggests that street chaos will result. But according to Tom Tyler, "people obey the law if they believe it's legitimate." He suggests that law enforcement "would do much better to make legal systems worthy of respect than to try to instill fear of punishment."

There are 5 principles of effective deterrence; the classic requirements of severity, certainty, and speed of punishment have been identified by many, and more recently 2 more have been added: provision of acceptable alternatives (to crime) and the credibility of punishers to those punished. Without these factors, deterrence won't influence potential offenders.

When people are deprived of the basics of survival, such as healthy food and shelter, 2 of the most important alternatives to crimes (such as shoplifting bread in Gold River) are MIA. Making sure people have enough good food, and a place to get out of the heat and the cold, are much more at the "heart of Sacramento County's social compact."

Providing for the survival needs of people who are homeless, unskilled, and/or unemployed will be more effective at avoiding chaos than protecting current law enforcement budgets. Community gardens, affordable housing, and a role in society are surely more cost-effective ways to prevent crime. We could even declare a truce in the War on Drugs, perhaps the most counter-productive law enforcement strategy ever devised.

After all, when this country was founded, we did just fine without any cops at all.

Confessions of a Plastiholic

2009-06-08T16:21:00.000-07:00

The only way to avoid plastic abuse in this country is to be a hermit like the Unabomber or never buy anything at any store.

I used to use plastic picnic cups, forks and spoons as unthinkingly as anyone, but by the time plastic plates showed up, I had started to resist using them. And they're the standard for almost every potluck or party you go to. So I made a solemn vow that I wasn't going to use any plastic stuff to eat with. I put together a mess kit with stainless steel utensils and a reusable plastic container from the thrift store - it works great because when I'm done eating I just put the lid on and no mess.

But then I realized that I'm still using lots of other plastic. Some of it I can re-use, but a lot of it gets trashed. You just can't help yourself when your whole country is abusing plastic.

Making throwaway items of plastic when it is 99.44% impossible to truly recycle is abuse. About 2/3 of all plastic packaging is made from natural gas, and 1/4 from oil. If we are going to just throw that gas and oil away, we might as well use it to keep someone warm in the winter instead. Next time you whip out another garbage bag, even if it's the grocery bag, think about it.

A lot of people have heard about the plastic in the ocean that's killing more than a million sea animals every year. If there are truly 46,000 pieces of plastic trash per square mile of ocean, as the U.N. says, it's a wonder there aren't more dead bodies. Your old Barbie doll could be a killer.

The plastic bag industry claims that plastic packaging saves energy because it's lighter than glass, wood, and other things that actually are recyclable. But they don't mention that a lot of plastic containers are used for beverage products, which are extremely heavy. Drinking soda pop in plastic bottles rather than glass ones isn't really going to save any energy - for that you need to drink tap water.

There are actually some cool ways to re-use plastic, even though it just postpones the inevitable trash.

The easiest way to truly recycle it would probably be to burn it, the way utilities burn natural gas and coal. And even though plastic probably has fewer contaminants like chlorine and sulfur than oil and coal, burning plastic trash will probably produce a minute amount of dioxins and some other things that could smell like the tailpipe of a car that's burning oil.

I think I'd rather take my chances with plastic combustion than with nuclear, or mountain-top rape - like the permits for coal strip mining that Obama recently approved.

City Council All Wet?

2009-05-13T10:34:00.000-07:00

If I had known the council was proposing a one-size-fits-all, zero-tolerance policy, I would have suggested some sustainable amendments.

Food gardens are an obvious exemption here, since growing your own food displaces a certain amount of water use that would otherwise be required for transportation and display for sale. Gardens that are shaded by trees retain water far longer than those which are naked in the Sacramento summer sun. And of course, houses where composting toilets are installed and graywater systems route household wastewater to thirsty plants are conserving water automatically.

Rumors that we are in a drought have been called into question but as usual politicians ignore impertinent critiques.

And of course this ordinance, like so many, depends on complaints for enforcement, which means more of the sort of anonymous complaints and neighbor snitching that sabotages true and sustaining community.

Rural Resistance To Green Veneer

2009-05-12T16:37:00.000-07:00

People who live in the country didn't move there so cities could build high-voltage towers in their fields and farms, as was pointed out in yesterday's Bee.

Large-scale, energy-intensive projects like this are not green. Sorry.

One alternative to meeting Sacramento's sacred future energy demands would be to ban all Sacramento's inefficient and polluting fossil-fuel leafblowers and lawnmowers, and divert all that fuel to one highly efficient stationary turbine with good pollution controls. This would make a sizeable dent in the 'demands' for electricity that are expected for the next few years.

Another alternative would be to take a close look at our 'demands,' which sound to me like the selfish whims of spoiled children. How much electricity is used for anything we actually need? How much is used for things we like but can actually live without?

You can't be green, or sustainable, if you don't know the difference.

Downsizing Government & Minimizing Pain

2009-05-09T07:45:00.000-07:00

Councilmember Ray Tretheway's op-ed in today's Bee advocates energetic enforcement of petty misdemeanors, based on the debatable 'broken-windows' theory that blight causes crime. Elsewhere, WEAVE reports that rape-crisis support for victims will be cut as part of the budget crunch. I hope Tretheway would give higher priority to addressing violent crimes such as rape, than to petty offenses such as graffiti, self-medication, or penny-ante theft.

Minimizing pain can't happen if we stay inside the box of business-as-usual, which includes law enforcement retribution for underclass street crimes but old-boy bonuses for the upper-class suite crimes that continue to rape public budgets.

The business-as-usual box also insists that we must fight blight by sticking to certain very unsustainable practices, such as having lawns and landscaping that are over-fertilized, over-pesticided, over-watered, and so manicured by fossil-fuel mowers and leafblowers as to appear made from plastic. No wonder the bees are dying.

Any use of a fossil fuel is another small attack on Mother Earth, and on our long-term survival, not to mention future property values.

Swine Flu Spreads Terrorist Germs!!

2009-04-29T08:13:00.000-07:00

Like any flu, swine flu can kill, especially people who are weak. There are sensible things you can do to strengthen your immune system, like eating healthy food (no white flour/rice/pasta/sugar or processed ready-to-eat products), and getting plenty of sleep, and exercise outdoors in the fresh air. And if you do get sick, there is no shortage of natural substances, like medicinal herbs and fresh garlic, that germs don't like.

Many people are ready to blame hog farms in Mexico for this threat of a pandemic. But even if there turns out to be a connection, these farms are only one symptom of the presenting problem. What kind of farming is unhealthy and why are people working that way? What are the trade-offs? What role does mobility play when half the world is jetting around and the other half are illegal immigrants?

We don't know if this flu makes people sicker than other flu bugs. If mortality is higher in Mexico, it could be due to poor health due to economic exploitation.

And could the black market drug trade be a disease vector? If law enforcement can't stop illegal drugs, how can public health officials stop germs from hitchhiking on them? And while this flu is probably not that dangerous, other diseases are. The most cost-effective way to track such vectors is to decriminalize, the only way to shine a light on a black market.

Newsflash! TV Makes You Stupid!

2009-04-23T08:03:00.000-07:00

A concerned parent, Allen Kanner, wrote in the last 2008 Tikkun describing his (and his wife's) decision to raise their kids without TV. They want to shelter their children from the blizzard of corporate capitalist advertising, what Zappa called "the slime oozing out of your TV set." In particular, it's the "corporate materialism" the Kanners object to. Others have demonstrated a link between materialism and low self-esteem.

But there seems to be another scary effect of TV programming, which is that kids don't know how to play. Teachers report kids don't know what to do with themselves when left alone during recess. Research indicates kids playing with toys they have seen on TV shows limit their play to just the stories shown on those TV shows.

However, I'm not sure I totally agree with the Kanners' solution of total isolation, particularly as the child progresses toward puberty. I would install exactly one TV, and inoculate my kids by making fun of the ads - a form of play that will empower and sharpen growing minds. Pointing out the hypocrisy and greed that goes along with all that money seems a far more effective way to prepare children to avoid another market meltdown.

I'm also not sure TV is the only villain here. Kids can't learn to play - or act - on their own if parents never leave them alone. Too many parents are too afraid to let their kids travel alone in their own towns, not to mention out in the woods. Again, inoculation is a better defense than too much protection. Gavin de Becker's book, "Protecting the Gift," has some great ideas about how to do this, from an author with substantial professional experience.

Campaign Finance Reform

2009-04-09T08:27:00.000-07:00

I cannot tell a lie. I am a bad progressive who doesn't believe in public financing of campaigns. I think it's a waste of money that doesn't really address the problem. The last thing we need is more ads when the nature of advertising has gradually been rotting our brains and our schools.

The problem is locked in place by Supreme legal precedence that any personal money spent on one's campaign is protected by the principle of free speech. The constrained freedom to contribute is also protected. Unfortunately, pandering speech enjoys equal protection not just under the law but by customary acceptance and approval. Such acceptance is close kin to people's approval of local pork.

Many years ago, I advocated in a letter to the Bee that half of all campaign contributions be allocated to local general funds. Another great idea would be requiring more open-ended, calm, and equal time access to be provided by all news media. We could limit campaigns to a month or 2, as in Europe.

Another campaign reform available to everyone is to never vote for anyone you see advertised on TV.

Free Health Care! No Insurance Required!

2009-03-22T15:14:00.000-07:00

The best way to get free health care is to learn how to take care of yourself. Of course, it helps to have the good sense to eat right, exercise regularly, and get plenty of sleep.

Eating right means eating healthy food - protein and fresh vegetables from healthy sources, not from factory farms and not from multinational corporations. No white flour, rice, pasta, etc. No sugar. No soda pop. "Eat food, mostly plants, not too much." Luckily, healthy food is often the most economical.

Exercise is readily available when you grow even some of your own food, and bicycle even some of the time instead of driving. Luckily, healthy exercise is often more economical than business as usual.

Getting plenty of sleep enables you to think clearly, and it also enables your body's immune systems to work properly.

When you get a cold or minor infection, you don't need all the stuff advertised on TV, and you usually don't need to go to the doctor. You just need to take the time, and feed yourself the healthy food, that your body needs to heal itself. Fevers and congestion are part of the healing process; let your body do the job it's evolved to do.

Trust your body. Learn to listen to it, and it will tell you what it needs. Learn to be your own doctor.

Don't be afraid of death. The death rate is always the same - one per person.

The true tragedy is realizing on your deathbed that you were afraid to live your life to the fullest, and to be the best person you could be.

What To Do About GM

2009-03-06T10:19:00.000-08:00

It's time for the creative destruction Schumpeter described. Rather than propping up the dinosaur with subsidies, it should be reformed into many small independent R&D manufacturing companies. If GM workers were put in charge of many small independent factories, they could liberate the creativity currently stifled by GM management's delusion that it's still 1950.

Remember who killed the electric car. Those are not the people who are going to design and build affordable sustainable cars and trucks. What if the GM staff who did design the EV-1, and who really cared about their baby, had been an independent company?

How many other ordinary people have great ideas that they could share with each other, and work together to come up with truly elegant designs that meet people's need for affordable alternative transportation and other sustainable tools? I'm sure the people who work for the parts companies (that politicians say we need to save GM for) could help out too.

Heck, we could use some of the subsidy to hire some laid-off workers to drive the buses that transit agencies can barely afford to hire drivers for even though fares have been raised so high driving and parking is cheaper.

A Rule of Law

2009-03-02T08:17:00.000-08:00

One of the basic principles of making laws is that if the law contradicts cultural norms or human nature it will be an unenforceable joke. It's too bad the city council will doubtless make a mockery of this rule of law on Tuesday by approving the anti-scavenging ordinance, yet another ordinance that contradicts human nature. This will only diminish respect for the laws that already exist.

Of course, many people who believe emotional reflexes are actual rational thinking will support the council's expected reflex approval. But people who are hungry, tired, and more or less desperate, are always going to heed their survival instincts rather than a foolish law based on wishful thinking and fear of an unlikely event.

If Sacramento's laws allow cops to evict homeless people from their cars just because the registration is expired, or allow repo companies to trash perfectly useful items that have been left behind by former homeowners who have been foreclosed and evicted, then it is only poetic justice for those who still have houses to get ripped off too.

If we allow these injustices to continue to injure other Sacramentans, we deserve the karma of victimization that this ineffective ordinance is designed to look like it will prevent.

March 3rd, 2pm Final Chance to protest the proposed Ant-Scavenging Ordinance in Sacramento

2009-03-01T20:48:00.000-08:00

Please show up to oppose the passage of the proposed Anti-Scavenging ordinance that would criminalize scavenging from dumpsters. I believe this legislation is the wrong direction for the Sacramento City Council to be moving, as it shows a lack of compassion for those who need to scavenge for sustenance and is inconsistent with the ideals of reusing, recycling, and sustainability.

Please show up: 2pm Tuesday, March 03, 2009 at City Hall 915 I Street, 1st Floor Council Chamber

Sacramento City Council Agenda for March 3rd, see item 14
030309-14-Scavenging (PDF-255 KB)

"Trash or treasure?, Sacramento City Council considers ban on Dumpster diving", By Sena Christian in the "Sacramento News and Review"

Repo Trash

2009-02-26T14:04:00.000-08:00

I was shocked to see on Oprah yesterday all the perfectly good useful stuff that gets hauled off to the dump now that so many houses are getting repossessed. Apparently there's just too much for Goodwill or the Salvation Army. Amazing. And shameful.

We have so much stuff that nobody can be bothered taking care of repo leftovers. But it's crazy to trash stuff that was made from pieces of Mother Earth, using energy taken from her without giving anything back - except of course, trash. We should be ashamed of ourselves. This isn't the market's failure, it's our failure.

Most people have heard of the velveteen rabbit, the stuffed pet that was loved so well, and well-worn, that he came alive. Every piece of repo trash deserves to be as cared about as the velveteen rabbit.

Every piece of Mother Earth deserves to be loved. Can you love them?

City Council Plans Almost $12 Million in Corporate Welfare

2009-02-23T16:21:00.000-08:00

A winter of economic and budget meltdown seems like a peculiar time for the city council to be spending this kind of money on projects that are far from essential, when it could instead use that money to save perhaps 120 jobs for next year (or 60 jobs for 2 years), rather than slashing almost 300 city staff as the Bee reports is expected tomorrow night.

Claims that moving the Greyhound terminal will improve inter-city transit services are sabotaged by the fact that RT bus service there is spotty, the eventual light-rail station may be a 10-minute walk away from the new location, and there's nothing to stop Greyhound from staying in this 'temporary' location for 20 years. This will not improve services for those actual passengers who don't have cars or money for taxis. The $6 million plus destined for this project would be much better spent on things that are more essential for the unemployed, like food and shelter.

The plan to spend $5.7 million on developing 4 entertainment venues at 10th & K, while selling the properties to the developer for $1, only adds insult to injury for citizens and taxpayers who might prefer something a little more useful for their money. Perhaps the reason this item was postponed to March 3 was that even the council was too embarrassed to approve a whole $12 million in corporate welfare Tuesday afternoon before slashing city staffing Tuesday evening.

The class war is alive and well, unlike capitalism.

Sustainable Sacramento Blog Partners

2009-02-19T16:35:00.000-08:00

Recently, Ming asked to join this blog and post about local sustainable topics. Others are warmly invited to also join, and actively participate in the discussion.

I have also started another blog at www.bullshitfreezone.blogspot.com, for philosophical comments on a variety of topics. For example, on Feb. 17:

Why is everyone so worried about Blagojevich, Burris, Daschle, Geithner, and other garden-variety funny business that's just about money? Why are we giving the international war criminals, Bush & Cheney, a pass? Where is our perspective?

Do we really care more about traditional Chicago political games or cutting corners on one's tax return than we care about spending (eventually) $$trillions killing millions of Iraqis and destroying their infrastructure as well as the financial health of our own nation?

Pretty pathetic.

Feb 10th at 2pm (tomorrow) is the proposed Anti-scavenging Ordinance for the City of Sacramento. Please show up and protest this proposed ordinance.

2009-02-09T11:17:00.000-08:00

Hello

This week, in Sacramento, the Sacramento City Council, will decide upon adopting a proposed ordinance that would make it illegal to scavenge from the waste receptacles. I believe that this is a wrong direction for the City Council to be putting enforcement of the law. 1) In tough economic times, criminalizing survival methods of the impoverished seems just wrong. Compassion seems more appropriate. 2) Sacramento takes pride in being a "Sustainable City". The passage of this proposed anti-scavenging ordinance encourages landfill waste in that it criminalizes recovery and reuse of another person's trash which could be potentially useful to someone else.

Would you be willing to show up at the Sacramento City Council meeting, 915 I St., on Tuesday, February 10th at 2pm to speak against this draconian measure that would criminalize a survival method for the impoverished and would criminalize a method of recovery and reuse of less-than-new products ?

As background, the city seems to be worried about "identity theft" which they feel is caused by people going through trash. I believe there are better, more effective methods to counter "identity theft" than criminalizing and penalizing homelessness and methods to find and reuse reusable items.

Thank you for your consideration,

Ming
Sacramento Sustainability Action Group

More specific excerpted information is below:

http://sacramento.granicus.com/AgendaViewer.php?view_id=8&event_id=74

"(Pass for Publication) Ordinance Amendment: Scavenging from Solid Waste Receptacles

Location: (Citywide)

Recommendation: 1) Review an Ordinance repealing Section 13.10.160 of the Sacramento City Code relating to the removal of recyclable materials placed for City sponsored program and adding Section 13.10.160 of the Sacramento City Code relating to scavenging from solid waste receptacles; and 2) pass for publication the Ordinance title as required by the Sacramento City Charter 32c to be adopted on March 3, 2009. Contact: Edison Hicks, Integrated Waste General Manager (916) 808-4949, Marty Strauss, Integrated Waste Planning Superintendent (916) 808-4934, Utilities Department."
http://sacramento.granicus.com/MetaViewer.php?view_id=8&event_id=74&meta_id=169925 021009-11-Scavenging (PDF-340 KB)
------

How To Make Your Own Sustainable Job

2009-02-04T07:45:00.000-08:00

If you used to be a GM executive, you should prepare to radically refocus your perspective on what's economical. If you used to wash dishes in a restaurant, you are probably already in the ballpark of understanding the real economy.

First, be very clear on what you need: clean air and water, healthy food, and warmth. The first two are already in the bag; they are basically free and not that bad for you. Food is essential, and the healthier it is, the lower your health care costs will be. So in the short term, some kind of food-related job can put you ahead of the game. A kitchen job for a natural food restaurant would be ideal; people who work in kitchens are rarely hungry (unless they work for a fast-food chain). Even dishwashing has potential.

Other places where food can be found include family farms, farmers markets, grocery stores, and dumpsters.

Having a roof or a tent over your head is a key factor in staying warm, since they protect you from wind and rain. We could solve the housing crisis by taxing empty bedrooms, but don't wait until politicians come to their senses. Look around yourself for a cost-effective room to rent or barter for. Older people often live alone in houses with empty space, and often feel challenged by all the upkeep. Their fixed incomes often don't allow them to hire the kind of help they could use. If I were an single mom, I would be looking for an adoptive grandmother.

Clothes are not such a problem. They aren't as inexpensive as air and water, but we are awash in a sea of clothes that overflow thrift stores and garage sales. And since most of them have some synthetic fiber content, they won't really wear out for an awfully long time.

Once you have gotten back to basics like this, you are tuned in to the real economy. The real economy is just the sum total of what is actually happening underneath the "veil of money." The trick about money is that it works best when the players all have their eyes firmly fixed on what's real, and not on the veil of money. Looking at the man behind the curtain is a good idea.

Now, things can only get better from here. To expand your economic horizons, start by thinking about the economy as a whole. Basically the economy has 2 parts:

1) the human race takes resources from the planet, and

2) human beings take in each other's washing, i.e., take care of each other.

Currently, our economy is overweight on the resource part, and underweight on the caring part. So looking for some excess resources that you can use to take care of other people is a good strategy. Assess your skills, and compare them to people's needs and wants. People will always need clean air and water, healthy food, and warmth. Once they feel secure about those basics, they start thinking about social activities, which are free for those who are creative. They start thinking about education. What can you teach that is useful?

Look for a job doing something that people need often, like cooking or farming, rather than something they only need occasionally, like construction or stock-brokery. Look for ways to get outside of the money economy, such as barter.

If everyone who is unemployed put themselves to good use, by means of these principles (and those outlined by other sensible people) the economy will recover as quickly as possible. But if we persist in thinking that we need Wall Street or Congress to fix it for us, we will get what we deserve. They can't fix it, because the real economy depends on millions of people living individual sustainable lives.

We Don't Need A Mayor on Steroids

2009-01-15T14:01:00.000-08:00

Why did KJ run for mayor if he really wanted to be king? He hasn't done anything yet that really helps anyone who's not already rich, and already he wants more power. He's acting more like Bush - 'If the President does it it's not illegal' - than anything like Obama.

He's already created a conflict of interest with his volunteer advisors, who work for local developers and their lawyers, sitting in on city meetings. Where is the city attorney?

Who's paying for all these clueless signature-gatherers, at $1.50 per signature? I don't think he's spending any of his money. In my youth, people like his deep-pocket pin-striped cronies were called "outside agitators."

Why are the signature-gatherers lying to people, telling them it's an initiative for a full-time mayor when that was passed back in 2002? Or misleading them by implying that the main purpose is to make the city manager our chief administrative officer? Where's the referee?

And how did he manage to get away with these people gathering signatures out in front of Raley's, the same store that told me to get lost when I wanted to table there myself, the actual candidate, during the mayoral campaign last spring? I guess some people are just more equal than other people.

I'm sure there are many other things to do with all this money that would be more useful to the community. Just Say No to the Steroid Mayor idea.

A Bad New Year's Resolution from the City Council

2009-01-05T10:22:00.000-08:00

Sometime soon, the council will hear a proposed ordinance revision which makes it illegal for the underclass to remove anything from your garbage and greenwaste containers, in addition to the recycling container which is already off-limits. Thankfully, residents are still allowed to retrieve items mistakenly thrown away and to allow extremely-low-income entrepreneurs to cherry-pick.

This proposal is alleged to offer all kinds of vague benefits. Many terrible things that can happen will, it is implied, not happen because marginal people will be further restricted. But no data is presented about injuries, pests, identity theft or other crimes.

Have there really been any cases of identity theft by scavengers? If they are that sophisticated, why are they on the street? And fighting blight is like fighting terror; both are ideas and incapable of direct data. If the council wants to protect the public, how about cracking down on the many viciously loud motorcycles which blight our streets and assault our ears? Or we could ban leafblowers and create jobs.

This ordinance should only be amended to make it illegal for anybody to throw away anything that's still useful. Reportedly, some neighborhoods are excellent hunting grounds for gathering perfectly edible food from garbage cans. Donation to Sacramento's hungry should be required for edible food.

More durable goods, many still perfectly useful, can be found in the junk pick-up piles. This is an ideal opportunity for the city to demonstrate its commitment to sustainability, by making sure we minimize waste by using what we have and only landfilling things that are actually no longer useful to anyone. (Council items could be presented on much less paper than this one uses.) How many trips to Nevada could be reduced this way? Why don't we have an Urban Ore outlet here?

This ordinance is as likely to solve the scavenging problem as for a rich man to enter heaven. Bandaids don't work for gaping wounds like PTSD, starvation and homelessness. The rationale for this proposal includes protecting scavengers from illness and injury, but until the city protects them from starvation and freezing I can't take their concern seriously.

If the city is serious about reducing crime, reducing hunger and hopelessness will be their first priority. Passing stupid ordinances will be off the list.

Confessions of a Conformist

2008-12-31T13:44:00.000-08:00

I realized the other day I too was misled into thinking that Bush was the evil decider who has led this nation so far astray. Like most people, I too suffer from leader-itis, even if it's a mild infection. So like most of us, I underestimated Cheney's political skills, ruthless ambition, and commitment to sneakiness. But Prof. Shirley Warshaw of Gettysburg University is on to him.

A panelist in a discussion about presidential transitions recently shown on C-SPAN, she summarized her upcoming book "The Co-Presidency of Bush and Cheney," from Stanford University Press (www.sup.org).

Bush only wanted to lead on moral and faith-based issues, leaving everything else, like business, energy, environment, health care, civil rights, foreign policy, etc., to Cheney, who wasted no time during Bush's transition putting in place the foundation of eight years of totalitarianism in democratic clothing.

"Warshaw convincingly concludes that the legacy the Bush administration will leave is a testament to why two presidents equal one massive failure," says Stanford on the website.

Transparency can prevent such corruption, but only if no one is above the law. And there is still the underlying problem that few want to hear that their leader is evil, bad for them, or even just a slacker. Government of, by and for the people only works well when everyone is vigilant and vocal. Which is of course far easier when government is relocalized.

So I hope KJ figures out soon that people actually do expect more of political leaders than they do of NBA basketball stars, even though viewing audiences are smaller. I don't have to buy tickets, but I do have to pay taxes.

I think I deserve a refund from Cheney.

Confessions of a Cootie

2008-12-28T07:22:00.000-08:00

Being a cootie means the other kids either bully you (the boys) or ignore you (the girls). I was lucky; somehow my spirit was never broken, although I became very defensive.

But just punishing bullies, even gang members, especially via our adversarial criminal 'justice' system, just teaches them that might makes right, and that bullying is okay for adults and the government. This is really dumb, unless you like shooting yourself in the foot.

Suspension solves nothing either. I would rather sit that bully down with the victim/s, and facilitate the cooties' explanation to them of what they are doing until they are embarrassed enough that they will never forget to think about how others feel.

As a matter of fact, I would like to do that to our way-overdue-for-indictment President. He deserves to be tied up and be forced to listen to the anguish of the millions of lives his idiocies and our country have irrevocably destroyed. And continue to destroy, in Palestine.

It is equally important for victims to remember that bullies are people too, and bullying them back is really unclear on the concept. As Gandhi said, "An eye for an eye, and soon the whole world is blind." We can refuse to tolerate scapegoating without being mean or violent ourselves.

Justice is not vengeance, which latter I have been told belongs to the Lord, or to karma.

Charity & Sustainability 2

2008-12-25T08:02:00.000-08:00

In the Bee's Christmas newspaper, EJ Dionne wrote about liberation from the tyranny of material possessions, by sharing rather than accumulating. A few pages later, I found an AP story, "What happens to all that unsold stuff?" It admits some of it might end up in the dump.

I wish we could liberate our economy from the tyranny of the GDP, from the idea that the volume of monetary transactions is an accurate measure of economic health and well-being.

Until we understand that real economic health is based on meeting everyone's actual needs, rather than just churning through more purchases of more stuff, we won't be smart enough to avoid another financial meltdown. Or more ecological disasters such as coal ash floods, decapitated mountains, and freeway construction.

Awhile back (65 years to be exact) Maslow developed his "Hierarchy of Needs" which can help us put material possessions in their place. Our material needs are, as I may have mentioned, clean air and water, healthy food, and warmth.

Additional material things are more or less essential for modern lifestyles, such as telephones, cars, and antibiotics. But they are not essentials for life. And they are less essential than more ordinary things like pots and pans, blankets, or shovels.

Of course, a blanket will keep you just as warm if it new or used. But people who have mostly only ever had 'previously-owned' blankets feel more special when they get something that is new and just theirs, not someone else's adopted heirloom.

I suspect our economy would be a lot healthier if every piece of stuff we have were as dear to us as our old velveteen rabbit.

Charity & Sustainability

2008-12-21T07:52:00.000-08:00

I'm sure some will find me Grinchy, but I have a problem with some of the requests in the Bee's Book of Dreams. WIND Youth Center wants more cooking utensils, but the picture shows unused equipment in the background, and hot dogs served on plastic plates in the foreground. Do they really need $$thousands to fill the gaps in their equipment? And no, I'm not interested in buying disposable diapers for someone who probably doesn't want cloth ones.

Similarly, only new toys are acceptable donations for poor kids. But quality is more important than newness to any rational consumer. (Plus which, when I was a kid, one of our absolutely favorite toys was a packing barrel. We would take turns getting inside, rolling and being rolled.)

Back in 1988 I helped start the local Greens because they were serious about integrating social AND ecological sustainability. (An example is my April post about "Soaring Food Costs.") So please don't settle for less. I certainly won't.

Inaugural Invocation & Hypocrisy

2008-12-19T10:04:00.000-08:00

The link (at right) to the video about President Moral Midget's International Medal of Peace (!!) awarded by Rick Warren adds another dimension to Obama's choice of Warren to give the invocation on January 20.

This discount version of Gore's Peace Prize comes from the P.E.A.C.E. coalition of over "400,000 churches in 162 countries." This stands for Promote reconciliation, Equip leaders, Assist the poor, Care for the sick, and Educate the next generation. According to Warren, Bush deserves this award for his "outstanding contribution in attacking the 5 global Goliaths of spiritual emptiness, corruption, extreme poverty, pandemic diseases, and illiteracy."

Listening to Bush talk about God, freedom, etc., I feel I am in looking-glass land. Whatever Bush may have actually done to help African AIDS victims is dwarfed by his criminal wars and all the death and destruction, past and future, that this unlawfully selected president bears responsibility for. What will he say to God? Will he get the karmic reflection of what he has inflicted?

What does this choice say about Obama? I guess he wants to be a uniter, not a divider. But what is the moral way to unite with people who are apologists for terror? Choosing Warren is the next thing to pardoning Bush II for his international war crimes.

As for us, we have another month to send a picture of the shoes we would like to throw at him to: President George 'Moral Midget' Bush, 1600 Pennsylvania Ave, Washington, DC 20006.

How To Train Great Teachers

2008-12-14T15:45:00.000-08:00

According to Malcolm Gladwell in the Dec. 15 New Yorker, the "expensive, time-consuming credentials that almost every district expects teachers to acquire" turn out not to make a difference in the classroom. As with pro quarterbacks and financial advisors, it turns out that the best way to get good teachers is to screen out those with known ineffective traits, put the rest to work and winnow them after a few years.

"Teaching should be open to anyone with a pulse and a college degree - and teachers should be judged after they have started their jobs, not before." The payoff is that really good teachers can cover the same material - and properly - in half the time a mediocre one will take. A really great teacher has "withitness," and can offer instant relevant feedback as needed.

www.virginia.edu/vpr/CASTL/?q=node/5

www.newyorker.com/reporting/2008/12/15/081215fa_fact_gladwell

Cutting Government Fat

2008-12-14T09:00:00.000-08:00

Steinberg and KJ both want to root out waste. Hiring a no-bid outside consultant isn't a good sign for KJ, but Steinberg's project is off to a better start. But the problem is the power of the people.

How many people want to work themselves out of a job? How many people work just as conscientiously without a raise? Who wouldn't spin the truth for an extra $20? Answer: Somebody who knew that someone they know is watching.

So the best way to root out waste is to relocalize, because it's always easier to notice mischief that's visible to the naked eye. Most authority and responsibility should be transferred from federal to state to county jurisdiction. The only question is what criteria to use to decide which few functions really require centralization.

Do-It-Yourself Economic Recovery

2008-12-09T08:24:00.000-08:00

Yes, you can do this at home!

Reduce your expenses in the many ways that you hear about or read elsewhere. But don't stop there. Proceed to radically reconsider your true economic security, and review future plans for obtaining your real economic needs: clean air and water, healthy food, and warmth.

You have the ability to act now. You can convert your lawn to food production. (If you don't want to garden, invite someone else to grow there and share.)

You can replace your flush toilet with a composting toilet. (But you probably can't get a rebate on wastewater fees, because the Sacramento building code doesn't yet recognize this advanced technology.)

You can make your own job, by analyzing what you can make or do that people need or want. The economy is really nothing but people taking energy and resources from the planet, and using them to do things for each other.

How to Bail Out Detroit And Not Lose Your Lunch

2008-12-04T08:37:00.000-08:00

The only way to make this a good investment for the average U.S. consumer is to absolutely require the vehicle manufacturers and suppliers to radically retool and switch to products that are more useful and more diverse.

Vehicle manufacturing is simply the last really big manufacturing industry left in this country. The rest, like textiles and bicycles, are all pretty much already offshore. Reclaimingand relocalizing the traditional basic processes at the base of the industrial pyramid can only reduce greenhouse gas emissions by reducing freight transport, and increase economic security by making sure nothing is too big to fail.

But back to the auto manufacturers. They need more discipline to get them in line with the mission of creating economic security for consumers. For instance, why can't the Detroit CEOs persuade the recently bailed-out financial institutions to lend them some of the hundreds of billions they have gotten from Congress and the Federal Reserve? Why is this a good deal for us taxpayers and not for Wall Street? Where are the vehicle finance companies? They seem to be financially healthy. What about the profitability of freight vehicles, not just passenger?

If, like Paulson, they can't answer questions like these in a responsive way that deserves our trust, we should administer more analytical discipline before loaning them any money.

The best way for U.S. taxpayers to not lose on this deal is to make sure we are investing in green enterprises that make things like food, lunches or shirts that *directly* provides for our needs. We don't *need* to drive.

Theme Song for Buy-Nothing Day

2008-11-26T18:22:00.000-08:00

Amazing Earth how sweet the air

Her children breathe each day

Blest be Her blue inspiring care

May we be worthy we pray.

Amazing Earth with water clear

That washes every sin

Blest be Thy blood O Mother dear

Through Thee our lives we win.

Amazing Earth we greet Thy Son

Who shines on all each day

His fire can burn at highest noon

For forest shade we pray.

Amazing Earth how good Thy food

In garden, grove and field

So full of thanks for Thee we would

Bless each and every meal.

Amazing Earth whose every race

And bug and bird not least

Are called by Her Amazing Grace

In kinship with each beast.

Amazing Earth we count Thy Blessings

Many more than we deserve

A sin to think we own such things

Forgetting Whom we serve.

Wall Street Reality TV Disorder

2008-11-25T07:33:00.000-08:00

Paulson just said that solving people's mortgage crises and small business credit crises will really solve the financial crisis, and bring back consumer confidence.
But that won't solve the real economic problem. Almost all our actual production (except cars) has emigrated, so there is hardly anything left for local workers to make that thrifty consumers will buy. And even if corporations had jobs to offer here, they would only be making unsustainable products.

The financial system is not the economy any more than TV is reality. So smart workers and consumers will confer, get real about their local situation, and organize basic production to meet local needs like clean air and water, healthy food, and shelter from the elements.

The only way to rebuild an economy is from the grassroots, because if the grassroots can't run their own economies, the pyramid will collapse.

Can Paulson Even Make Coffee?

2008-11-19T16:58:00.000-08:00

Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson's testimony yesterday before the House's Financial Services Committee was pathetic. How did he ever manage to get an MBA from Harvard, let alone become a big cheese at Goldman Sachs? If neither of these august bodies, nor the Congress who approved his appointment, noticed that he was incapable of answering even one simple question with a straight answer, what hope is there for the dream of meritocracy? (And aren't they worried about their reputations as institutions of higher learning or investment analysis?)

The automotive CEOs didn't get very far either, partly because they weren't willing to give up their company jets and drive like the rest of us.

None of them realize that true economic value is primarily about meeting people's actual needs--clean air and water, healthy food, etc. Cars can drive us to the store, and investment funds can offer annuities when the economy is in equilibrium. But moneymen and engineers know little about living off the land, which is the only dependable foundation for any of these pyramid schemes. The store has to have food before you can drive to it to spend your pension.

The holy grail of economic growth is nothing but a wild goose chase.
'It's not the money, stupid.' It's the clean air and water, healthy food, etc.

Religious and Civil Rights

2008-11-07T09:57:00.000-08:00

I can't help wondering about the motivation of the blacks who voted against homosexuals' civil rights. Was it religion or misogyny?

(Of course, it can be hard to distinguish between misogyny and fundamentalist religions.)

But the video url posted to the right makes it clear that not all abominations elicit the same gut revulsion that motivated these voters. Then what is so disturbing?

I believe it is unconscious misogyny, which is a fancy way of saying those men hate or fear women.

To a fundamentalist man who thinks women should be subservient to men like the church is subservient to Christ, I am sure the mere idea of men as lovers means one of those men must be subservient. Patriarchal men (and women) are emotionally allergic to this idea.

What evidence do I have that fundamentalist men think they should always be tops and never bottoms? The difference in their reaction to gay men and their reaction to lesbians. It's always ok for women to be bottoms.

(Of course, the main cause of any modern feminization of men is all the organic industrial chemicals that we have inserted into our environment since 1945.)

Anyway, it is not totally surprising that black people, whose ancestors were enslaved, might be more allergic to the idea of their men being subservient. But I say to them that oppressing homosexuals tells me they are not yet completely free.

Women, who are the mothers of all sons, cannot be oppressed and abused without also oppressing and abusing sons, whether those sons are gay or not.

Yes on 5, No on 6 & 9

2008-11-01T07:49:00.000-07:00

Unlike DA Scully whose bullshit letter to the editor ran in today's Bee, I have no more financial conflict of interest related to these propositions than any other taxpayer.

Now "bullshit" may seem like strong language for addressing a law enforcement official, so let me clarify that I use it as did the philosopher Harry Frankfurt in his recent book.

He posits bullshit to mean words and actions designed to achieve a particular goal, without regard to truth or accuracy. Not that the truth is undesirable nor lying preferred, mind you, both are just irrelevant to the goal of the manipulation.

But, the ends never justify the means, because the means are the ends in the making. For example, if you regularly eat unhealthy food, you will end up becoming unhealthy even if you also eat some healthy food.

Similarly, Scully's demonization of drug users poisons her official and alleged desire for justice, which is after all not the same thing as security. Did the drug of power make her do it?

The Problem with Kevin

2008-10-29T07:49:00.000-07:00

KJ's recent spin around the city council office suite highlights the main reason he should not be mayor. Both KJ and the security guard were acting emo. They were not using their heads, nor the principles that should be obvious to voters too but often aren't.

His cult of celebrity makes people stop thinking and start sentimentalizing, including, I fear, himself. If he were mayor, I believe the governance context would become even more polarized and less rational than at present.

Relocalize The Economy!

2008-10-10T07:51:00.000-07:00

Last week, I emailed local elected officials suggesting that they should meet ASAP with local banks, credit unions, and chambers of commerce to figure out ways to assemble enough local capital to provide commercial paper credit to local businesses. I'm not sure they were paying attention.

This week, I emailed my representatives in the state legislature with the same suggestion. I'm not sure they are paying attention either, although I did read in the paper Bee this morning that the Governator is asking us to buy state bonds to finance some of the projects that voters already approved in previous elections.

Fortunately, California is the biggest state economy in the U.S., so I am sure there are plenty of people who could spare an extra $20 or $100 for 30 years or so (well maybe just a few years, actually, if the economy goes back up) to help build the capital infrastructure investments we will need to maintain our addictions to driving and prisons.

If you noticed that the scheme I just described, of us lending to ourselves, is just more of the same house of cards that has been falling down on Wall Street, a virtual 9/11, you may be wondering if this makes economic sense.

If you feel confused about how ordinary shoppers like us can save the credit markets and the economy, perhaps the story of Sven and Ole, two ordinary brothers and innkeepers, will help put things in perspective.

One day, Sven realized that they had run out of beer for their guests. So they counted out the pence needed, hitched up the wagon, and were off. Returning with the keg full of beer, they had been gone for some time, and Sven was feeling thirsty. So after some thought, he said to Ole, "Ole, I'm very thirsty, and I would like a glass of beer. And I have a halfpenny in my pocket. I would like to buy just one glass of beer."

After a moment of thought, Ole agreed, and the exchange was made. As they rode along, Sven quietly washing away his thirst, Ole began to realize that he, too, was thirsty, and would feel equally restored by a small cup. And he had in his pocket the halfpenny Sven had paid him for the glass of beer. So of course Ole proposed to Sven an equal transaction, just the reverse of the previous one. And of course Ole found his cup of beer very refreshing and sustaining.

But you know, it had really been a long day. And both brothers were really very thirsty, much more than a cup or two. And the more beer they had, the more refreshing each glass became. So, unhappily, when they finally returned to their inn, they had an empty keg and just a halfpenny.

So what is the moral of this story? Well, one moral is that beer is proof that God loves us. But the deeper meaning is that the economy really isn't about money, it's about real needs, such as clean air and water, healthy food, and shelter from unfriendly weather. These things may also be proof that Mother Earth loves us. After all, she's God's Mother too.

What About Proposition 8 and Freedom of Speech?

2008-10-10T07:25:00.000-07:00

The notion that the word marriage only refers to the sacred union between man and woman is contradicted by what I found in an online dictionary :

4. to unite intimately: Common economic interests marry the two countries.

5. to take as an intimate life partner by a formal exchange of promises in the matter of a traditional marriage ceremony.

6. to combine, connect, or join so as to make more efficient, attractive, or profitable: A recent merger marries two of the nation's largest corporations.

7. Nautical. To lay together [the unwound strands at the ends] of two ropes to be spliced

8. to cause (food, liquor, etc.) to blend with other ingredients: [To marry oil and water]

http://dictionary.reference.com

So I am wondering about what will happen to people who use any of these definitions of 'marry' if Proposition 8 were to be approved by voters. Would those who use the word "marriage" in any of these meanings be penalized? Would offending dictionaries have to be burned?

Also, I found another website: www.marryyourpet.com. Fortunately for the authors of this website, they live in another country. However, would approval of Proposition 8 mean that the loving spirit I found at the website have to be electronically blocked from online access by Californians?

I am wondering if the proponents of Proposition 8 have really thought about the implications of this kind of law. We could even pass a proposition that pi should be equal to 3, but we would also be making a mockery of democracy.

Kevin or Heather? #2

2008-07-23T12:39:00.000-07:00

Both candidates have boosted my ego by inviting me to endorse them. And since I have not really been acquainted with Kevin, I have been able to talk with him at some length about some of my questions. And my concerns have been largely alleviated.

Sacramentans are fortunate that two such smart, capable, caring, and motivated people are running for mayor. No matter who gets elected, life will go on generally the same way, with the same citizens, council, city staff, businesses, nonprofits, etc., as we all take turns in various roles. However, I fear that neither of the candidates really gets it about sustainability. Kevin thinks we need to tackle crime first, but too many unsustainable aspects of the American way of life are already feeding crime. While Heather supports Sacramento's Sustainability Plan, it is a long way from sufficient. And sometime she acts like all we have to do is fix K Street.

However, the fact that both Heather and Kevin got close to 50% suggests that there is a split, a polarization, in the political opinions of Sacramentans. So no matter who gets elected, we as a community would need some serious conversations in order to come to mutually agreeable decisions about certain key issues.

But I do have a candidate I would like to endorse. You can find this person in the mirror, according to Pat Paul of Fair Oaks, whose letter to the Bee was approximately as follows:

The Real Candidate for Change

So much time, energy and, unfortunately, money has been spent this election year to position the best candidate for November. I would like to make a bold appeal for my candidate - you!

The platform - the real candidate of change. The time - now!

Every one of us has the ability to make positive changes in Sacramento. Starting today, make a positive commitment to a community concern of your choice and begin making real change happen.

Not sure where? Tutor or mentor our young people, assist our elderly or needy, change your consumption habits, work for the environment, change your energy usage, bring integrity back to all your dealings, take care of animals, or any other area about which you care. The list is endless.

No time to give? Then make a donation to the nonprofit organization you most believe in; even the smallest can make a difference.

We can make positive change starting now. And - who knows? Maybe then November's outcome might not leave us wringing our hands and shaking our heads so much.

I am a candidate of change, and I approve this message.

Muriel Strand

A Similarity Between Economy & Ecology

2008-06-17T08:37:00.000-07:00

It's a curious fact that getting rich in money markets and living off the land both involve taking a small cut of many many transactions. Successfully living within one's local ecology involves taking small portions of food and water from a larger whole that is flowing along around you.

How small is small enough? That depends on how good you are at helping things keep flowing.

Kevin or Heather?

2008-06-08T21:22:00.000-07:00

Last Tuesday night, a KCRA reporter asked me if I intended to recommend either Kevin or Heather as the choice in November for those who voted for me. Having had time to think it over, I recommend that those who would like a sustainable Sacramento ask each candidate whatever questions they need to ask to determine which of them is most likely to take effective steps toward this goal.

I fear that neither has a clear vision of sustainability, in part because they are both using the solutions of the past in an attempt to address the problems of the future. And I suspect that neither understands that it's not about the money.

So no matter who is elected, I urge Sacramentans to continue to focus on the issue of sustainability, and lobby their elected representatives to implement policies of sustainability. But I would also recommend that individuals and groups make their own arrangements for their own sustainable futures, rather than depending on any government to do it.

After Tomorrow

2008-06-02T17:47:00.001-07:00

No matter who wins the vote, we will still face the same issues of achieving both ecological and social sustainability in the face of accelerating global climate change. Whatever we do, we must do it from the heart, if we are to have a prayer of success.

Amazing Earth, how sweet the air

Her children breathe each day

Blest be Her blue inspiring care

May we be worthy we pray

Amazing Earth with water clear

That washes every sin

Blest be Thy blood O Mother dear

Through Thee our lives we win

Amazing Earth we greet Thy Son

Who shines on all each day

His fire can burn at highest noon

For forest shade we pray

Amazing Earth how good Thy food

In garden, grove and field

So full of thanks for Thee we would

Bless each and every meal

Amazing Earth whose every race

And bug and bird not least

Are called by Her Amazing Grace

In kinship with each beast

Amazing Earth we count Thy blessings

Many more than we deserve

A sin to think we own such things

Forgetting Whom we serve

(Now go to youtube.com/watch?v=5OuP6sPiViQ and pretend you are hearing Leann sing the poem above.)

The Incredible Shrinking Newspaper

2008-06-02T07:59:00.000-07:00

The Bee has been shrinking ever since I moved to Sacramento 20 years ago, but lately the trend has been accelerating. The Real Estate section long ago converted to advertising, and more recently the Car section. Awhile back the ratio of text to white space was reduced. Yesterday I read that the width will be reduced again, and another merger of sections is coming, Metro & Business this time. Only the Sports section seems to be immune. (I think the Bee should just put news about Iraq and the primaries in the Sports section, so there would be more room for actual news, in the sense of something you couldn't have predicted.)

But my biggest concern is about local news. State, national, and world news can be found elsewhere. Yes, we do have other local sources such as the News & Review, and neighborhood association newsletters, but nothing as frequent or complete as the Bee has been. And TV news isn't really news, it's just breathless.

How can Sacramento be a community unless Sacramentans know what's going on in their city? I think the city council should consider using eminent domain to take over the Bee. We could have a nonprofit community-owned newspaper, and make our own news.

Dear Community Leader,

2008-05-25T17:00:00.000-07:00

I am running for Mayor to put the issue of sustainability at the top of the public agenda.

Most of us realize Mother Earth is running a fever that will get worse before it gets better. Once we inject a particular puff of CO2 up in that beautiful spacious sky, its effect on the planet's energy balance and on global weather doesn't even begin to decline for a century or so, while much of it lasts for a millennia.

And respected scientists keep shortening their best estimates of the time left to us for making the fundamental changes needed now to avoid climate changes which will threaten not just civilization but our children and grandchildren.

Yet even though many people would like to slash their contribution to the problem, our addiction to fossil fuels is harder to quit than even cigarettes. Almost everyone is locked in to existing technologies and infrastructure, and there's not much room to make major changes in the short term. So efforts to date tend to focus on "Phase 1 sustainability," relatively superficial changes such as hydrogen cars, plasma combustion of garbage, and other high-tech opportunities for consultants to make money. But while small, short-term changes like fluorescent lights or minimizing HVAC use are good steps, they're just the first step.

And the danger is that the money, energy, and other resources already in the pipeline for relatively cosmetic changes won't be available later on when more people realize that truly fundamental changes will be necessary, such as we ought to basically stop driving. Why are we building more roads instead of converting existing ones to gardens?

But enough bad news. The good news is that, if we do it right, "Phase 2 sustainability" offers us healthier and happier lives than many now experience. And to do it right, we need a much bigger concept of physical efficiency, where the goal is clean air and water, healthy food, and shelter from the elements, not just a trivial or intermediate goal like better mileage. And it's not like everyone needs to jump to Phase 2 right away or completely, but those who do want to should have our support, encouragement, and investment.

Consider the advantages and benefits of Eco-Villages. With small farms close to small towns and a revival of traditional crafts and trades, we can deflate fossil fuel consumption enough to just drown it in the bathtub. (And we won't need nuclear power either.) By living in harmony with nature - including human nature - we can enjoy life with a balance of physical and mental activity, plenty of fresh nutritious food, and a friendly community that is economically secure because it is relocalized and self-sufficient.

The myth of technology says that without modern gadgets we will face discomfort, deprivation, and disease. But modern technology is never going to change biology or human selfishness. There is also the myth of the boring mean small town, where youth drink and fight because there's nothing else to do. But modern technology can't solve cultural problems. Only people can choose to exercise our cooperative instincts more often than our competitive ones.

I hope you will join me, before and after the election, in advocating and building a truly sustainable Sacramento, designed and constructed by empowered Sacramentans. If you would like to discuss any of these ideas in more detail, you can contact me at auntym@earthlink.net.

2008-05-25T16:44:00.000-07:00

As June 3 approaches, here is a road map to my website, to help visitors both new and old find the information that interests them.

May Postings

Sticks & Stones May Break My Bones

Greyhound Riders Sent to the Back of the Bus

Going Negative & Mudwrestling

Talking Trash 2

Talking Trash

Who Lacks Vision?

Natural Gas from Trash!

Green Investment Opportunity

April Postings

Victim Contests: racism vs. sexism

Taxes & Investments: money & sustainability

Boomer Retirement & Youth Education: ditto

Leader-itis: why wait? be your own leader

Extinction: Salmon or Fishing?: when work doesn't work

"It's the Economy, Stupid"??: it's NOT the money

Education: GPA or skills?

Soaring Food Costs: kitchen tips

How To Ge Tough On Crime: Do unto others...

Do We Have a Right to Health Care?: a right to food and water, etc.

Separation of Church & State: Do Unto Others As You Would Like Them To Do Unto You

March Postings

Sustainability, like God, is many things to many people

Are You Free Yet?

Sustainable Specifics for Sacramento

2008-05-23T14:31:00.000-07:00

Develop and support (more) classes in traditional crafts & skills such as spinning, weaving, smithing, woodworking, etc.

Recalibrate city utility billing to effectively reward and motivate conservation and waste reduction.

Ban nonrecyclable plastic take-out food containers.

Match people wishing to trade houses and reduce their commutes.

Develop a low-cost community garden design option.

Actively support planting & use of tree crops such as pecans.

Tax lawns & plastic bags.

Develop a permitting process for composting toilets.

Develop a few standard designs & streamlined permitting process for passive solar construction & renovation.

Tax parking spaces.

Convert parking lots to urban farms.

Require traffic calming devices to be bicycle-friendly too.

Revise the vehicle code to give the right of way to bicycles

Require pedestrian walkways to be adjacent to buildings or residential gardens rather than adjacent to parking or streets.

Truly visible street addresses to reduce confusion & needless driving.

Ban leafblowers and other uncivilized machines.

Revise zoning codes to include inoffensive ways to keep chickens, rabbits & goats in residential neighborhoods.

Loans for graywater systems in residential & commercial buildings.

Redesign water treatment processes to compete with bottled water.

Convert parking pavement to water-permeable surfaces.

Invest in children - nursing, nutrition, skills - for elders' pensions.

Design & build a prototype manually-operated clothes washer.

Protect clotheslines, natural landscapes, and affordable housing from the "blight" label.

Recognize that when mothers are caring for their kids they ARE working.

Light-rail to the airport won't be needed when we can't afford to fly.

Delete oil subsidies.

Reduce the workweek to 24 hours so the same amount of work will yield more jobs.

Sticks and Stones May Break My Bones...

2008-05-21T08:37:00.000-07:00

It's not news that the N-word has a lot of baggage. It reminds black folks of huge amounts of pain and cruelty. It reminds white folks that they caused it, and that it continues in milder ways. Bonnie Pannell may also be upset because I was implying that as a councilperson she would be voting to treat poor people in a way akin to the way her people were abused.

KCRA also scolded me, saying the N-word should not be used in everyday conversation, let alone politics. But I can't help noticing that controversy is apparently what it takes to get semi-equal candidate media coverage these days. And I can't help noticing that the people who got upset about me were failing to talk about the plentiful evidence that racism and other hypocrisies are thriving.

The facts I referred to on KCRA footage, that they cut out, are as follows:

1. We are all Africans, since that's where the human race began. Some left and some stayed. Those who stayed retained the highest degree of genetic diversity, giving them the best chances of adapting to evolutionary challenges.

2. When some Africans were kidnapped and shipped across the Atlantic stacked like logs, many died. The ones who arrived were on the average stronger and smarter.

3. After they arrived they were subjected to more challenges to survival over many generations. Guess what? Those who survived were on the average stronger and smarter.

But the time KCRA had to talk to me wasn't long enough to mention some of the implications of these facts. If blacks are failing to succeed as well as white folks, on the average, there must be something else going on. Bonnie accused me of being racist. I am certain our culture is substantially more racist than I may be. Racist people rarely stick up for Greyhound passengers.

Moreover, the litany of wrongs and abuses that our government and our soldiers have inflicted is a very long one. Just ask the Native Americans. The Haitians. The Iraqis. The poor residents of New Orleans. The Nicaraguans. Waco. And there are plenty more. Do I have to say we don't need any of them to be our new niggers for citizens to get upset enough about all these abuses to actually stop doing it? Then so be it.

But I think few even on the left appreciate the tragedy of the Civil War, where the freeing of the slaves was sabotaged by evil means, namely the same violence which imprisoned them. And the loss of state's rights has led us toward extreme and unsustainable centralization, a sort of governmental slavery. I believe sustainability requires true local control. What if Sacramento County were a state itself, since it is as big as some states back east? What if most of our taxes went to the county instead of to Washington DC?

Anyway, I also couldn't help noticing that actual Greyhound passengers were not consulted about the new location for the terminal, but instead treated like mushrooms. So I went down there to talk to some. Most of the dozen or so who were Sacramento residents thought the terminal is just fine where it is. There were 2 security guards there. The older one said he thought the city council had **** for brains. He said that the Greyhound location is completely irrelevant to crime, because society causes crime. He expects Greyhound's departure won't make the slightest difference in the crime rate downtown.

Lastly, as a Sacramento taxpayer, I can't help feeling abused. Why is the city paying to get Greyhound and Benvenuti out of their own contract that they both already want to get out of? Do we or do we not have a budget deficit? Does the city need financial counseling?

Greyhound Riders Sent to the Back of the Bus

2008-05-17T07:16:00.000-07:00

The Business Journal reported yesterday that the city has cut a deal with Benvenuti to 'temporarily' exile the Greyhound station to Richards Blvd. about half a mile east of I5. Next Tuesday, the city council is expected to approve this boondoggle, which includes $2 million in city money for infrastructure improvements around the proposed location, plus a guaranteed 12% return to Benvenuti for his development of the new terminal.

Why? "Officials said the downtown location causes traffic congestion and the terminal's presence hampered investment in the area." But I can't help remembering that the city evicted a handful of viable tenants on K Street not long ago, and the consequences have not helped investment there one bit. It's also "rumored" that the city's dispute with Mohanna is near a settlement. How much more will that add to the city's deficit?

Moreover, the teens who come on lightrail to hang out downtown don't come there because of Greyhound, they come there in part, I hear, because Florin Mall where they used to hang out has been under reconstruction since about the time the Meadowview line opened. And I can't help noticing that money spent on moving the Greyhound terminal can't be invested in our youth.

I don't think Greyhound buses cause more traffic congestion downtown than does light-rail. Downtown happens to be Sacramento's existing intermodal location. And I can't help noticing that this will double the challenge of taking RT to connect with intercity bus service, inducing Greyhound riders to choose friends' cars or taxis, and slightly weakening RT's farebox revenues.

I have heard about an intermodal plan for the railyards, but it will take a lot longer than "several" years to appear, especially when it means getting $300 million from a federal government with a sinkhole in its own budget. The previous railyards plan that was blessed back in about 1990 never happened, so why should I think this one will? Where is the EIR on the negative environmental impact?

I keep hearing other rumors, that the city is experiencing an unprecedented, $58 million semi-structural deficit. Then why are we spending so much money creating market distortions? So Benvenuti can build a luxury hotel & condo for rich people? Where is the city's cut from this deal?

It's said that "the love of money is the root of all evil." (1Tim6) I think the reason this is true is because all desires for money in and of itself are misleading. Those desires lead us away from the reality that money can only reflect. Seeking a reflection leaves you at the mercy of smoke-and-mirrors. Like thinking the wine is better just because the bottle is more expensive.

People keep complaining about crime going up. But they rarely complain when other people, like poor people who ride Greyhound, get screwed. Well guess what - what goes around comes around. A wise friend once told me that the most dangerous people are those with nothing to lose. So if you want to reduce crime, stop taking things away from those who already have the least.

So if you are an ordinary middle-class person who wants to fight crime, tell the city council and the mayor that this is not the way to fix the sinkhole in the city budget. We don't need to make poor people our new niggers.

Going Negative & Mudwrestling

2008-05-13T20:11:00.000-07:00

Does criticizing someone's character or track record during a political campaign equal "going negative?" Heck, that's almost as bad as gossip. It's kind of like the classic complaint that the media always focuses on bad news so much more than good news. Why to people like to read, hear, and watch disturbing, spiteful, or fearful things anyway?

But I think there may actually be a good reason for this. Often removing/improving some bad or painful reality can do more to improve your overall comfort than adding another comfortable thing. And you can't remove the bad thing unless you notice it.

For example, when you are trying to learn to do something new, you make a lot of mistakes. Mistakes are negative, because there is the pain of failure and frustration. But they also point to precisely where attention and analysis should be most intently focused in order to succeed.

Another example would be the crucial negativity of hunger and thirst, which make comforts seem pale and useless. Unfortunately, like other aspects of homelessness, they can also derail the attention and analysis that success may require.

But you are probably wondering about the mudwrestling. Does going negative always mean mud, such as an unfair criticism? No, I am sure constructive criticism is possible. But one might have to wrestle with figuring out what is constructive vs. what is trivial, mean, or expedient.

And the recipient's response to any criticism also determines how constructive it can become.

Talking Trash 2

2008-05-10T07:17:00.000-07:00

Why is everyone whining at Mayor Fargo rather than asking the Plumbers & Pipefitters Local 447 to apologize for their own trash? Where is the Labor Council? Can't they provide the kind of leadership that would keep things clean?

It's also possible this is just a scheme to help voters feel sorry for poor persecuted KJ. The Bee is cooperating by failing to discuss the issues which are more relevant to the city as a whole, such as Sac High, Oak Park re/development or lack thereof, and their financial relationships with KJ's corporate edifices. While the Bee did cover the federal investigation into Hood Corps operations, they have not been doing any basic research recently.

The News & Review, on the other hand, has scored a slam dunk on p.11 of this week's issue, doing the math and sharing their results of a financial-managerial comparison between KJ & Heather: "St. Hope's [2006] budget was more than twice as whacked-out as the city's" proposed 2008-2009 budget.

Now we know that the city will combine cuts, new revenue, and reserves to stay in the black. But who paid for St. Hope's shortfall? Students? Teachers? Deferred building maintenance? Local donors? What about this year?

Why is it easier to talk about sex than money? Don't let the red flag of a hyperventilated sex mini-scandal distract you from boring and flaky accounting which is actually more hazardous to your health. Insist on straight answers about everything.

Talking Trash

2008-05-09T08:55:00.001-07:00

I still miss Sacramento's tradition of Annual Junk Day, when my whole neighborhood would become a free flea market for a few days. Residents and travelers could both be found wandering around picking over discarded stuff, and a lot of piles got smaller as many things which still had some use to them were reclaimed by economical Sacramentans.

I couldn't help noticing last week that a few households in my neighborhood had scheduled their new individual annual pick-up day, and that various things awaited a trip to that cemetery of stuff called the dump. One house in particular had 2 armchairs and a sofa that all looked practically new, but because there wasn't much time and only a few places for prospecting, I'm sure they ended up being unnecessarily trashed. What if city staff gave first dibs to the Salvation Army and Goodwill?

I've also noticed that only neighborhoods thought to be in danger of blight have been deprived of their annual garages sale. But this is not the only designated symptom of blight that is ecologically insane. The idea that perfect green lawns keep crime at bay by showing that residents care is trumped by the fact that such lawns require massive amounts of water, mowing and blowing by fossil-fuel machines, and usually various industrial fertilizers and biocides as well, and all of it just so yards don't look like true natural California. No wonder the bees are dying.

If we can't get over our hang-up about appearances, and find some commitment to underlying truth and reality, no amount of government services--police staffing, economic re/development, tax increases, tax cuts, whatever--will help us find a sustainable path to the future.

Who Lacks Vision?

2008-05-06T07:10:00.000-07:00

Local news media exhibit clinical signs of severe astigmatism in their distorted reporting about the field of mayoral candidates. The really bad part is that Sacramentans have little or no leverage for getting good unbiased coverage.

Here are some websites with information that could help local residents do the job that newspaper and TV reporters are skimping:

www.cityofsacramento.org/clerk/election_info/candidates/documents/KJohnsonForm700.pdf

and www.sacbee.com/101/v-print/story/431260.html and www.sacbee.com/static/newsroom/maps/kjprop

and www.ncrfund.com/Our%20Borrowers.html

and http://sacramento.bizjournals.com/sacramento/stories/2001/03/26/daily21.html

and www.sthope.org/developmentcompany/index.html

and http://star.cde.ca.gov/star[year]/viewreport.asp

I wonder why someone who is worth between $3.5 million and $20 million needs to borrow money to finance development in Oak Park? I wonder why there is a $5 million discrepancy between the value of real estate owned by KJ and/or his corporations as listed in his FPPC financial disclosure Form 700 (about $2.2M) versus the information listed in the Bee last fall (about $7.7M)? It is certainly true that his business affairs are numerous and complex, and data entry errors certainly happen. But why is it the St. Hope Academy and St. Hope Development Corp. properties which are mostly not listed in the FPPC Form 700 which shows mostly Kynship Development Corp. properties? Why does the St. Hope Development website list only a minority of the Oak Park real estate listed on the FPPC Form 700? And why is Sac High's enrollment so much lower than it was right after KJ took it over?

Does someone whose records provoke these kinds of questions really have what it would take to achieve the goals listed on www.kevinjohnsonformayor.com/issues and www.kevinjohnsonformayor.com/about/vision?

Natural Gas from Trash!

2008-05-05T09:14:00.000-07:00

I guess we are sending some of Sacramento's energy resources to Nevada. The sustainable solution would be to use that energy here. But combustion is probably not the best approach. The "organic waste" decomposing at landfills is probably a combination of food waste, pet poop, paper, and plastic.

The fact that landfills generate CO2 as well as methane means that we can reduce greenhouse gases by throwing less stuff away. This is easier than capturing the landfill gas, separating and sequestering the CO2, and liquefying the methane. And it's a lot cheaper, because you save twice - once by not paying for the stuff you used to throw away, and again by not paying for all the landfill gas infrastructure.

Of course, you do still have to process biological wastes the old-fashioned way. But processing plastic is the real challenge.

Will Waste Management Inc. be able to reduce tipping fees by using recycled natural gas in their trucks? No, they just won't have to increase them as soon.

Green Investment Opportunity

2008-05-02T09:14:00.000-07:00

I read in the paper today about Greensburg Kansas, which was almost wiped off the map by a tornado last year. But the town they rebuilt is substantially more green than the old one. What if CalPERS and the CA Energy Commission got together and upgraded the energy efficiency and self-sufficiency of all those foreclosed forlorn houses while they are empty? What if the city of Sacramento organized a community revolving loan fund to do this here for ourselves?

The measures described in the article are probably all mentioned in the city's Sustainability Plan. Each year, the council approves an implementation plan for that year. This year's, the first, prescribes changes in city operations and infrastructure. Let's extend the changes to private citizens making private decisions. There is nothing stopping us from empowering ourselves as individuals to make positive change at any time.

Victim Contests

2008-04-30T08:23:00.000-07:00

The KJ-Heather race is looking less and less like the Obama-Hillary race. Bob Herbert of the NY Times sees Rev. Wright as narcissistic and vengeful. I see him more as a pressure-relief valve. (But I also disagree with most conspiracy theories.) On the other hand, KJ's backers have the good sense to stay in the shadows and let him take the heat for the possessive and domineering attitude towards women that poisons the world of men.

Next to Herbert today I also read Marie Cocco of the Washington Post explain how the Supreme Men have made the glass ceiling bulletproof. What kind of men are these? who don't understand that woman are more important to men than men are to women, particularly in these times of cheap gasoline when woman can substitute machines if necessary.

Being an uppity woman myself, I look to variations on the Lysistrategy. The caring instincts of mend and tend, as well as the survival instincts of fight or flight, exist in all humans and in different proportions in all humans. But what good is survival if mending and tending are sacrificed, disrespected, and disempowered? Why are you men willing to pay more for fighting or fleeing than for mending or tending?

I bet it's because too many women have been too brainwashed by internalized disrespect, just like too many blacks. (The real tragedy of the Civil War was the loss of states' rights by evil means - the same military and vigilante violence that enslaved so many Africans - a strategy that deeply sabotaged the victory of the North and centralization.)

Is Heather like Hillary? Somewhat. But I don't think Heather would pander like that, such as Hillary's support for a gas tax vacation instead of talking about the outmoded oil subsidies Republicans are protecting.

Taxes & Investments

2008-04-29T08:06:00.000-07:00

The first thing to understand about your money is that's not really just your money. If no one accepts your money as valuable, it's not money. Your money, like mine, can be money only because we all use it that way. Money is just the poker chips we have all agreed to use to play the game of life as we know it, even though it's pretty tough to make any other choice.

Anyway, most of us will get some kind of tax rebate to be saved or spent on gas and food. Is the government giving us our money back? Not exactly, because the government gets to print money, and control certain limits on money. To create more money, the government buys assets and makes loans based on collateral. So then the money is backed by the quality of the assets and collateral.

So to keep the economy going, the government (that's us) has to invest in assets and loans (ours). So, we can save on transaction costs by doing this locally, investing some of our tax rebates or retirement funds directly in local projects. For example, we could invest in better food markets in unhealthy neighborhoods with too many junk food stores. Or we could invest in passive solar construction and renovations.

Some say that Fresh & Easy will be a good healthy market for Oak Park, so I went online to check them out. I think they are aiming at the Trader Joe's market niche, plus perhaps more produce from local farms. But I saw way too many packaged products with their recipe suggestions. I also saw that they offer $1000 to every community where they open a store, but they didn't say exactly who gets the money.

The affordable way to eat healthy food is to buy basic ingredients and make it yourself. It can be super-simple. If you're stumped, ask friends who do make good food for just a few tips. The truth about eating your vegetables is it takes a bit more time to prepare them than simple stuff like eggs or cheese toasties. But think of it as health insurance. And they can taste great. Oils, maybe butter, are an important part of a balanced diet. If you want to lose weight, just don't eat white flour/rice/pasta/sugar/etc., and do get more exercise.

If I lived in Oak Park and wanted to buy healthy food, I would go to the Co-op and to the farmers markets, and occasionally to Trader Joe's. I like to play the field. But transportation can be a problem for moms or bus riders. When the city was looking high and low to find a grocery store at Stockton & Broadway, I suggested the neighborhood consider organizing a consumers' cooperative store. And there is nothing stopping them from doing this now, investing their rebates in themselves.

Boomer Retirement & Youth Education

2008-04-25T10:26:00.000-07:00

Proposals to expand CalPERS' scope is opposed by stock market brokers, no surprise there. But is it a good idea to make a big player even bigger? Will that ensure elder security?

I think my economic security as a state pensioner will be enhanced if CalPERS invests some money in education. Reportedly, graduating seniors are facing a scarcity of tuition lenders. Perhaps there is an opportunity for farsighted investment in motivated students who propose to pursue useful studies such as ecology, entomology, machining, or biodynamic permaculture, the sort of knowledge that will ensure a healthy economy for my old age. (And no I don't mean psych or political science majors.)

At the same time, there is no reason for grads to panic. A year or 2 in the labor market is a great apprenticeship in the school of life, and existing schools are not going to die on the vine in the meantime. Everyone could benefit from a bit of cost-benefit analysis.

A little research reveals that Los Rios fees are $20/unit, Sac State's are $1200-$2100 for CA residents, and UC rates are around $4000, all for a semester. But the word on the street is that textbook totals are in the triple digits, and affordable student housing means living with mom and/or dad.

There is an opportunity here for adults to contribute some 'sweat equity' by offering room & board to termed-out foster kids, and by reminding colleges of all kinds that almost all the information presented in expensive new texts with fancy graphics is also available in the old ones, some of which can be found for free at the Sacramento Surplus Bookroom (bookroom.org). Old editions are also available online for pennies on the dollar. So what if professors have to work up new problem sets or solutions?

Leader-itis

2008-04-22T08:09:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I attended Kevin's pep rally at Sac City College. Today I read in the paper that KJ has scored with biz & (again) labor. What I don't understand is why they are hot to be his cheerleaders.

Metro Chamber of Commerce's CEO Mahood complains Heather doesn't call him back right away. Gee, since when did straightout guys start playing that phone game? It's usually a girl game. But KJ says he will listen, and to labor too, via a hired communication liaison. Right.

Hmm. I don't understand why the Metro Chamber and the Labor Council don't just talk to each other directly. I can't help thinking about the other phone game, that kids play by whispering in each other's ears. I can't help wondering if the Labor Council has stopped returning calls from the teachers' union, and if it's because they endorsed Heather. And I can't help wondering if a candidate who regularly stands up dates he has made to appear at forums with other candidates is someone you're gonna call when the chips are down.

Anyway, "leaderitis" is my word for our tendencies to want someone to take care of us and tell us what to do, particularly when we're busy or befuddled. I say grow up and get over it. Democracy won't work otherwise. Mayor Fargo suggests "There are a lot of people who, despite their call for leadership, want someone who will really follow them and their ideas. I'm a little too independent for that. I always do what's best for the city of Sacramento. That independence scares some people."

We all need to be independent thinkers, and the kind of leader described in this letter which recently appeared on the Bee's op-ed page:

"The Real Candidate For Change-

So much time, energy and, unfortunately, money has been spent this election year to position the best candidate for November. I would like to make a bold appeal for my candidate - you!

The platform - the real candidate of change. The time - now!

Every one of us has the ability to make positive changes in this country. Starting today, make a positive commitment to a nonpolitical area of your choice and begin making real change happen.

No time to give? Then make a donation to the nonpolitical organization you most believe in; even the smallest can make a difference.

We can make positive change starting now. And - who knows? - maybe then November's outcome might not leave us wringing our hands and shaking our heads so much.

I am a candidate of change, and I approve this message.

Pat Paul, Fair Oaks"

Extinction: Salmon or Fishing?

2008-04-20T07:56:00.000-07:00

Every time I read in the news lamentations about hardworkingmen who are being victimized by environmental restrictions that will beggar them, I can't help thinking back to the early 1980s when I kept reading about the callous, social-Darwinist, attitude of then-President Reagan and his corporate buddies toward the hordes of blue-collar union workers in the Rust Belt who were being dumped like yesterday's trash.

I still don't understand the difference in these situations. Do you?

At the end of the article a fisherman says "I don't want a handout, I just want to go back to work." Just like a lot of union guys have been saying. Unfortunately, I fear that boycotting farmed salmon won't suffice. The real question is why the kind of work that is healthy and nourishing for people and communities isn't available or doesn't pay enough. What kind of work? How about farming, weaving, sewing, cooking, childcare, teaching apprentices, building eco-villages or manufacturing bicycles?

"It's The Economy, Stupid"??

2008-04-19T05:48:00.000-07:00

At the end of his column in today's Bee, Paul Krugman wrote "the very good economic record of the only Democratic administration most Americans remember."

It's absolutely true that the U.S. annual deficit was turned into an annual surplus for a few brief years at the end of 1990s, and the U.S. accumulated debt began a slight decline. (However, it's not news that since then the Republicans have tripled or quadrupled the total debt, which will be funded by future borrowing at oil-fueled interest rates.)

More unfortunate even than that perhaps was the Clinton administration's failure to understand that "It's Not The Money, Stupid." The infatuation of both parties with trade and globalization was based on a widespread and mistaken idea that money is essential and inherently positive, and that it is reliably related to economic benefit. In effect, economists typically recast the standard definition of efficiency used by physicists into a calculation about the amount of money attracted by a given input of energy and other resources.

The annual Earthday season is a good time to review what the economy is about. An earth-friendly economy would look at overall human efficiency, the amount of human welfare available from a given input of physical energy and resources. The physical part of human welfare is: clean air and water, healthy food, and protection from extremes of heat, cold, and rain. If the rules of money suggest that funding my retirement through investing in the stocks of corporations that are raping Mother Earth and selling us junk food is a good idea, then the rules of money are wrong.

In times of stability, money can provide an efficient shortcut to evaluate what's economically good and bad. But in times of turbulence such as we confront, the true relationships between moneys and realities are equally turbulent, and a return to fundamental principles is the only way to keep one's bearings. Maslow's hierarchy builds on the foundation of physical needs listed above. Other things like sleep, affectionate touch, meaningful work, community are all important for a happy natural human life, and his schematic offers a perspective outside of the box of business as usual.

A balanced economy would integrate all these human needs into a culture of life that would support sustainable and relocalized societies, as well as all the other species without which life in this ecosystem would be boring (like my cat) or impossible (like insects).

Education

2008-04-17T11:19:00.000-07:00

It's not about test scores. It's not about grades. It's not about diplomas.

It's about what you learn. It's about what you can do. It's about learning how to provide for yourself, both directly, and indirectly by taking care of others.

It's about being economically productive. But it's not about the money. It's about knowing how to get clean air and water, healthy food, and shelter from hot, cold or rainy weather. It's about meeting the hierarchy of needs described by Maslow.

It's about knowing how to think. (Hint: Don't believe everything you think.)

If you are a parent who is concerned about their child's education, I recommend "The Teenage Liberation Handbook," by Grace Llewellyn, available at your local library. It can liberate parents as well as youth.

Soaring Food Costs

2008-04-16T08:49:00.000-07:00

Yesterday's Bee described price increases for basics like eggs that are squeezing even middle-class budgets. So I share below some key ways I keep my costs low and still buy healthy food.

The first key is scratch cooking at home. It's really not that hard if you know a few basics, so I wrote an inexpensive cookbooklet called "How To Play With Your Food" that empowers readers to avoid marked-up, less-nutritious, packaged processed products.

Here are some other principles:

Buy fruits and vegetables in season, at farmers markets. Eat eggs, cheese, or rice-and-beans rather than meat. Drink tap water (if you let it stand the chlorine evaporates after a half hour or so) and don't buy soda or bottled water. Eat fruit not fruit juice. Don't eat white flour/pasta/bread/rice or sugar. Dandelion greens are one of the most nutritious greens and they're free for the taking (but make sure they haven't been sprayed).

I've also developed some techniques for keeping foods longer and recycling them:

*store cheese in a dry and cold environment

*raw eggs keep a LOT longer than hardboiled

*food stored in airtight glass keeps longer than in plastic

*mix a spoonful of active yogurt into cottage cheese and cream cheese

*aged salad can go in the soup

*stale bread makes great bread pudding

*vinegar, wine, and salt are other traditional preservatives

And of course we can always share with those who are hungry.

How To Be Tough On Crime

2008-04-08T09:00:00.000-07:00

Crime is behavior, so one must be tough on the behavior. But being mean to criminals and temporarily banishing them to haphazard cruelty in prison is just that same kind of anti-social behavior. Discipline - relentlessly kind, firm and consistent correction of behavior - is instead in order.

Most people's dominant feeling about crime is natural fear of violent crime. Unfortunately, many lack a rational understanding of the differences between violent crime and property crime, both legal and statistical. For example, few realize that both perpetrators and victims tend to share the demographics of poverty, youth, and masculinity. Nor that most criminals who have guns get them to protect themselves.

And it can be hard for youth to find good role models. Our country was the violent, pre-emptive aggressor in the war with Iraq, but national leaders don't know how to back down and be respectful and peaceful. Moreover, economic insecurity and rampant unfairness suggest that the comfortable people don't care about anyone else either so what goes around comes around. It's also worth noting that malnutrition can make people act out and commit crimes.

Do We Have A Right To Health Care?

2008-04-06T05:38:00.000-07:00

I think we have a right to the basic foundations of good health--clean air and water, healthy food, and warmth. And plenty of sleep and affectionate touch. Providence had arranged a world where obtaining these needs led to exercise and cooperation. But then coal, oil, wage-slavery, and adolescence were discovered, not necessarily in that order.

I don't think we have the right to live forever, nor does it sound like much more fun than never sleeping. (And the real solution to the social-security/medicare 'crisis' is to invest in truly sustainable development, like early childhood education, apprenticeships, and eco-villages, not Bechtel and Blackwater.)

I do think we have the right to expect the legislature to approve sensible bills such as SB840 which can improve basic and preventive care while cutting the costs of red tape and the number of emergency room visits. Is the Republican policy of cutting government investment in societal health in order to increase private monetary profits our real health care problem?

As my golden birthday recedes behind me, I feel my body begin to soften and slow down. Eating right and exercising regularly are really great health care investments, and I continue to reap the dividends. But accidents happen, such as broken bones and mutations. That's what affordable health insurance should be there for. And also for key, simple modern preventives such as vaccinations. But no health care system will ever be able to do everything for everyone.

My prescription for myself is to get as much as I can of the foundations listed above. And also to try to get them in ways that minimize exploitation, and maximize the exercise and cooperation in one's life. And of course I try to inform others of these benefits, but they are often too busy watching TV which peddles a lot of junk. Germs are not the real problem.

Separation of Church and State

2008-04-04T09:15:00.001-07:00

The separation of any church from state sponsorship was intended by our Founding Fathers to prevent one church in any colony from trying to lord it over the other brands.

It is not well known what the Founding Mothers thought, but if I were one of them I would think that this should not mean the separation of the state from the time-tested wisdom of the higher spiritual truths which are found in all faiths, albeit in different measures.

One measure's commonality is striking - the Golden Rule.

Doing unto others as we would have them do unto us. I have a hard time believing any Founders disagreed with this. But politicians often seem to. In fact, cynics like to repeat the corrupt version, that them who has the gold makes the rules. Voters can change this by making sure their decisions aren't influenced by gold, but rather by friendly and proactive kindness.

Can prayer assist the voting process? Maybe. What's prayer?

Are You Free Yet?

2008-03-12T14:39:00.000-07:00

Shortly before the 230th anniversary of Independence Day, the Sacramento News & Review printed a letter describing my reaction to a famous physicist from Caltech, sponsored by the UCD Oil Forum at a symposium where he said "Civilization as we know it will come to an end sometime in this century, when the fuel runs out." (www.newsreview.com/sacramento/Content?oid=oid%3A60675)

Dear Editor,

Does ancient Greece suffice to disprove this prejudice? How about the Amish? Or have we only become civilized, if that's what we are, by acquiring the appropriate set of labor-saving, energy-consuming appliances? I can see how much labor we have saved by the amount of leisure we enjoy.

Professor Famous Physicist thinks that nuclear power can help us "bridge" the gap between oil and the holy grail of the perfect fuel. I say why wait? Since we will have to depend on the perfect fuel eventually, we might as well start using it now.

You are undoubtedly surprised to hear that it already exists. But you have probably already seen it in action without recognizing it. It's called No-Fuel.

The potential of No-Fuel may seem insignificant, but that is actually the source of its promise and power. The benefits of not using fuel are virtually unlimited, and include not driving to work, not buying packaged preserved foods that are highly processed and trucked long distances, not needing to go to the gym because you do garden-yoga most days, not worrying about whether someone is breaking into your house or abusing your kid while you're all at the office, not enduring airport security, not needing to make so much money, and not using leafblowers.

Of course, everybody's different, so the best ways to use No-Fuel will vary among individuals.

As addictive fuel use is reduced in one's personal life, space appears for other more wholesome activities, such as breathing fresh air, biking or riding a pony-cart to the store, cooking locally-grown healthy food for friends and family, relearning traditional crafts and trades, raising your own children, and minimizing the taxes owed to a government that is using most of them to buy weapons to protect our oil addiction.

Some say Chevron fuels your freedom. I say only No-Fuel can make us truly free. So on Independence Day, try not using any fossil energy. Increase your freedom from fossil fuel addiction one day at a time. And don't let the inevitable relapses derail your commitment to traditional ways and an economy based on community well-being rather than corporate tissue-paper profits.

(Note: The version above differs slightly from the printed version at www.newsreview.com/sacramento/Content?oid=65298.)

Sustainability, like God, is many things to many people.

2008-03-07T09:07:00.000-08:00

The Leafblower is a phenomenon that involves many aspects of sustainability, as I described several years ago:

Oh No, It's Leafblower Season Again!!

In the good old days, fall meant holiday festivities. Nowadays it's open season on us as we are assaulted by leafblowers, more accurately called dirtblasters, since chasing pavement debris is most common. Particularly nerve-wracking is the questionable sanity of anyone trying to blow anything during high winds or heavy rains.

We're all victims of this urban terrorist device--not just the billowing clouds of smoky exhaust and gutter dust containing everything from dog poop to pesticide runoff, but also NOISE (the orphan form of air pollution) from poorly throttled and muffled 2-stroke engines, as well as from high-pressure fans and powerful airflows.

Clearly, the persistence of such nuisances implies powerful political-economic forces. Locally, bans were proposed, considered, and derailed in 1991 when I was an Environmental Commissioner and in 1997 when I was active in Citizens for a Quieter Sacramento. Thus I encountered many interesting facts and observations surrounding an issue which has so far provoked far too much more heat than light.

Dirtblaster profits go to corporate manufacturers and gasoline retailers, and to landscapers,many with spiffy diesel trucks full of underpaid workers and trailers full of gas-guzzling equipment. But all the external and unaccounted costs--piercing dissonant whines, eye-stinging dustclouds, oily exhaust, depletion of nonrenewable resources, not to mention the average American's flab--are inflicted on innocent bystanders. And people with brooms can't compete with cheap gasoline nor with the pleasingly powerful machines preferred by manly men.

Coincidentally, almost all government protections against noise pollution were disappeared by manly Republicans. Reagan wasted no time deep-sixing USEPA's noise pollution budget and Wilson axed California's program during the recession of the early 1990s. Nowadays, citizens are protected only by marginally enforceable city or county noise ordinances based on the outdated research of vanished state and federal scientific staff. Officials also mistakenly fear increased costs for maintenance and for liability insurance for slip-and-falls if dirtblasters are banned.

Business owners cry the blues claiming dirtblasters are the most cost-effective device for tidying pavements and attracting (deaf?) customers. But there are no meaningful engineering comparisons between dirtblasters and any of a wide range of available alternatives, because no one in charge is insisting on any. So on-the-job training keeps teaching newbies that 'gardening' means using herds of engines to make tidy parking lots and astroturf lawns.

Another inconvenient truth is that gardens don't like dirtblasters chasing away all their nutritious and water-conserving leaf-mulch (mostly just in time for the rainy season) and coating their leaf-lungs with choking dust. Besides, if we just quit over-watering, over-fertilizing, and over-landscaping, our yards and towns could be as beautiful as any scenic wilderness.

Sensible public debate and policy have also been derailed by the jobs/class/color political hot potato. No elected official wants to be seen as taking away the jobs of people who are poor and brown and often indigenous farmers driven from their formerly sustainable homelands by our foreign policies such as NAFTA. But the dire unemployment predicted by owners of large landscaping companies on behalf of many of the poorest mow-and-blowers with the noisiest dirtblasters, oldest trucks, and darkest skins is flatly contradicted by the market failure experienced by homeowners seeking nonexistent quiet gardeners.

So while chemical air pollution has been kept at bay, noise pollution has been steadily increasing for years, causing stress, increased medical costs, lower student test scores, etc. To an engineer, noise is wasted energy. From Harleys to helicopters, it's everywhere, and it can really hurt, or even kill, just as a straw can break the camel's back.

When the market fails, it's high time for the government (that's us, folks!) to step in. So let's get together for quiet peaceful towns, mellow neighbors, and happy gardens!

Sacramento's Sustainable Future

It's Ok to Be Chicken, But Let's Keep Our Heads On.

Is Economics Really the Dismal Science After All?

Thinking Outside of the Box on Green Jobs

Chickens & Other Forms of Urban Farming

Chickens & The City Council

What I Learned On My Summer Vacation

Is Competition Sustainable?

Ban Styrofoam & Be A World-Class City!

Colonial Ecology Rules?

Sustainable Business in Sacramento?

CA's Unsustainable Legislature

Looking Busy

Sports Arenas Of, By and For The People?

Sustainable Health Care & Evolution

Investing for the Future

Economic Efficiency?

God/s Make Men, Men Make Trouble

Watch Out! Mr. Bloatware Promises to Fix Education

Who Gets the Victim Prize?

A Fate Worse Than Death

Breathless in Sacramento

Smart And Sustainable Growth?

Entrepreneurs Who Reduce, Re-Use & Recycle

Reform For Sustainable Health Care

Two Reasons Why Bagged Salad Is Bad For You

Sustainable Marriage & Family Rights

Sustainable Safety

Confessions of a Plastiholic

City Council All Wet?

Rural Resistance To Green Veneer

Downsizing Government & Minimizing Pain

Swine Flu Spreads Terrorist Germs!!

Newsflash! TV Makes You Stupid!

Campaign Finance Reform

Free Health Care! No Insurance Required!

What To Do About GM

A Rule of Law

March 3rd, 2pm Final Chance to protest the proposed Ant-Scavenging Ordinance in Sacramento

Repo Trash

City Council Plans Almost $12 Million in Corporate Welfare

Sustainable Sacramento Blog Partners

Feb 10th at 2pm (tomorrow) is the proposed Anti-scavenging Ordinance for the City of Sacramento. Please show up and protest this proposed ordinance.

How To Make Your Own Sustainable Job

We Don't Need A Mayor on Steroids

A Bad New Year's Resolution from the City Council

Confessions of a Conformist

Confessions of a Cootie

Charity & Sustainability 2

Charity & Sustainability

Inaugural Invocation & Hypocrisy

How To Train Great Teachers

Cutting Government Fat

Do-It-Yourself Economic Recovery

How to Bail Out Detroit And Not Lose Your Lunch

Theme Song for Buy-Nothing Day

Wall Street Reality TV Disorder

Can Paulson Even Make Coffee?

Religious and Civil Rights

Yes on 5, No on 6 & 9

The Problem with Kevin

Relocalize The Economy!

What About Proposition 8 and Freedom of Speech?

Kevin or Heather? #2

A Similarity Between Economy & Ecology

Kevin or Heather?

After Tomorrow

The Incredible Shrinking Newspaper

Dear Community Leader,

Table of Contents

Sustainable Specifics for Sacramento

Sticks and Stones May Break My Bones...

Greyhound Riders Sent to the Back of the Bus

Going Negative & Mudwrestling

Talking Trash 2

Talking Trash

Who Lacks Vision?

Natural Gas from Trash!

Green Investment Opportunity

Victim Contests