Good health is good business

My community is 9th in the nation for obesity.  What a terrible claim to fame.  A shocking 33.2% of my neighbors are obese,  

Businesses look at factors like this when deciding where to locate.  Because obesity is clearly and strongly correlated with expensive diseases, particularly hypertension, other heart disease, some cancers (digestive-related ones in particular), and diabetes.  These are expensive for employers as well as awful and expensive for the people who suffer from these conditions. 

There is also a strong correlation between a walkable community and good health.  The more we use our cars, the less healthy we are.  

Like so other many good things, good health and good business go together.  Because healthy workers are more productive and less sick.  

Walkable communities are happier communities.  

Get out of your car, and you will not only become healthier, you will save money!  

Many people in the US don't think they have good alternatives to a car.  Certainly a car is convenient, especially in a spread-out community.  (In cities, it's easy to see the merit of ditching the car and using other ways to get around!)   It's up to city leaders to define the vision, and for city staff to define the criteria, to change this status quo.  

Require sidewalks.   Require them to be set off from the street a bit so there can be a strip of grass, or a bench, or a tree or something else to calm the street and make it more pleasant for those who are not in a car (and even for those who are)!  Require connnectiveness.   Don't block access to other areas with cul-de-sacs or long walls, without some breaks -- like a path out of the cul-de-sac and like gates  or breaks in walls. 

Cities shold be designed for people, not cars.  Not that cars don't have a role in our lives.  But this role must be smaller, for the sake of our health, our economy, and our planet.

Good health is good business.   Help people get out of their cars.  

Peace, y'all

Molly

On our do-nothing Congress

Readers in other lands, excuse me. This is very US-centric.

I am disgusted and outraged at Congress. The partisan gridlock harms the people of the United States and on teh other living things in this nation and really, around the world.

Failure to implement comprehensive immigration reform means families are torn and separated. It means that hardworking souls risk their lives to come here. They die trying to get here. It means that undocumented people can be, and are, exploited by others.

Failure to implement comprehensive reform of our medical compensation system means that only in the US can people go broke because they're sick. And while costs continue to climb, we are getting fatter, sicker, and weaker.

Failure to control costs mean we will pass to our children an intolerable debt, and can someday soon undermine the full faith and credit of these United States. Someday soon we may have to sell off our treasures to pay the bill. What would we sell? Hawaii? The Grand Canyon? Yosemite? Fort Knox?

Failure to address climate change makes the problem harder, if not impossible to fix. And that means climbing costs from catastrophic weather events, and greater impacts to people who can afford it the least, the people who live on coasts in the global South.

Failure to reform mining laws means more miners will die.

Enough griping. I believe as individuals we have power. We have the power to influence others, we have in this nation some really great rights in our First Amendment. We can assemble, petition our government, write to Editor and read anything we want in the press, and we can speak out and we can pray.

I think grass roots action is not one option. It's the best option, especially with the impaired and useless Congress we now have. I think we need to model the behavior we want in our world.

Let's cooperate, even with people with opposing views. We can find common ground if we try.
Let's live gently on the land, and limit our impact on the planet.
Let's stay in touch with our representatives and make sure they know we expect them to work for the common good, not just the interests who contribute to keeping them in office.
Let's share.
Let's help others.
Let's build community, every way we can.

Let's show Congress what democracy looks like on the ground.

Peace, y'all

Molly

On the murder of Osama Bin Laden

I can't feel joy about this. I recognize the closure many Americans feel, and am glad for the closure. But not the death. Proverbs 24.17 advises "do not gloat when your enemy falls;when they stumble, do not rejoice."

I felt embarrassed seeing the gloating crowds outside the White House last night.

I hope my nation can heal. That we can focus on helping each other, on forming a more perfect union, rather than on vengeance.

Hope this chapter passes quickly

Peace, y'all

Molly

On civil disobedience

Dissent is democratic and civil disobedience is a courageous version of it. It has given women the vote, ended legal racial discrimination, toppled colonial rule and recently, autocratic oppression.

It won't work without the press though. We need the press to share the news, show the courage of dissenters and cruelty of power. Hooray for the press.

I get a lot of my news through friends on Facebook. So I don't use mainstream media the way I used to. Still I cherish my local paper, though I ignore a lot of it.

I see things coming to a head. I am asking myself for what issues am I willing to be arrested. I don't have an answer yet but there is a lot of value in asking.

The first thing thatccomes to me is gratitude, for the press, for my FirstvAmendment rights, and that I have enough years and money to be able to contemplate earning a criminal record without fearing it much

Peace, y'all

Molly

On promoting peace in 2010 and 2011

In 2010 I did several new things to promote peace. I hope in 2011 I'll find new qays and do still more. Can I make a difference in my home? Sure. Among my friends? Sure. In my town? I hope so. In my nation? I doubt it, but I'll try. Across our beautiful planet? Yes. Micro- loans can directly help families in other parts of the world.

Sometimes I'm so focused on myself and on finding personal peace and harmony that I lose sight of my broader objectives. I hope I'll do better and do more in the new year.

Happy new year, beloved readers!

Peace, y'all

Molly

My Christmas gifts

Merry Christmas, planet. For those who do not choose to celebrate the birth of Jesus, I send warm greetings and my intense wish for peace and good will. Part of my celebration today will be to open my checkbook wide and give give give to those who help people and parts of the planet that need my money way more than I do.

Peace, y'all!

Molly

Never mind Christmas -- let's make a list for Congress

Just 2 more weeks of attack ads, campaign letters to the editor, and emails asking for money. Nothing is happening besides campaigning right now. But in a short while our elected leaders will get back to work. But on what?

Time to flex those first amendment rights and petition the government. I am going to make a list of issues I know need attention. Then I'll identify where the solutions come from, and how to petition the decisionmakers.

For example, immigration. The fix is clearly at the federal level. And we need comprehensive reform. What can we do locally? Petition, assemble, speak out.

We can see our representatives' voting record.

What else? That's the work of the listmaking.

Prayer will help me find inspiration. Will make this idea more robust and useful.

Peace, y'all

Molly

Global Warming Cafe was yesterday

10/10/10 was yesterday, and what a day it was. More than 7000 events around the planet, and I did one right here in Richland. With a lot of help from Lora Rathbone and Lyle, Kathy C, Kathy W, and Susie O, we had a room full of people who want to cut their carbon. Many have already cut it a lot.

But I thought I was pretty green, and I have found ways to cut 10500 pounds, which is 12% of our family's total. Last year's anyway. I expect we'll fly a bit less this year, which will make our total lower than the very scarey 79000 pounds we dumped last year.

I'm filled with hope, and gratitude. This looks to be a wonderful fall season.

Peace, y'all

Molly

more on the federal budget

Wow I didn't realized I haven't posted in so long. I'm back. For now anyway.

The feds sure spend money on war. We used to call it that--The Department of War. This changed last century to the Department of Defense. How Orwellian.

Well, here is a look at the 2011 budget. Billions of dollars (did you know the lowest number starting with "b" is "billion?) and the biggest slice is for war. 30% is for current military spending. 18% is for past military, including veteran's benefits, and (ominously) interest on the national debt from previous military spending. $1398 Billion. That's $1.3 TRILLION. Any way you slice it, that's real money. And obscene amounts of it.

Non military spending -- that is, every other thing the feds do, is more than this. This is right. We should spend most of our money on nonmilitary things, like international relatons, foreign aid, justice, environmental protection and (my favorites) National Parks.

I agree that national defense is a federal function, but our military is a cancer on the federal government. It consumes it. Its product? Wealth to military contractors, and death and destruction for "others." For the womend and children and poor in other places. It's wrong in so many ways.

Oh yes, that military largess also paid for the F-15 and F-16 in the air show I saw yesterday. Was the entertainment value worth what that bird and its well-trained pilot cost us? No way.

I would like the military to hold bake sales and give billions to schools. What about you?

Peace, y'all

Molly

Is the Federal budget a reflection of our country's moral values?

So claims the Friends Committee for National Legislation, a fine Quaker lobbying group. So also claims Matthew in the Gospel: For where your treasure is, they will your heart be also (Matthew 6:21

But the cynic in me (small but still present) says them who have the gold make the rules, and that fits our budget picture more clearly.

For each dollar of federal income tax we paid in 2009, our government spent
33 cents on Pentagon spending for current and past wars (3 cents on veterans, 6 cents on interest on debts, 24 cents on Pentagon and related spending.
27 cents supporting the economy -- recovery and bailouts, 26 cents, other jobs, education and social programs, 1cent.
17 cents on health care, mainl Medicare, I suppose
11 cents responding to poverty
9 cents for general government
2 cents for energy, science, and the environment
1 cent for diplomacy, development, and war prevention

FCNL says if these expenditures don't reflect your values, talk to Congress. Good idea. Also talk to your family and friends, your neighbors, your Facebook community, anyone you can.

FCNL makes it easy to reach your reps in Congress. Visit www.fcnl.org, follow the "contact Congress" link, and there you go!

Honest to goodness, it is so much cheaper to prevent a war than to wage one and pay one off decades later. But there's profit in war and not so much for working on making lives better for the multitudes of poor and disenfranchised.

Okay, I'm going to silence the cynic, who is rarely constructive, and bring back cheerier outlook.

Peace, y'all

Molly

So you think you know about sustainability?

Rude awakening for thine truly. I just found a survey from the International Society of Sustainability Professionals --the ISSP Sustainability Knowledge Competency Study. Thinking I was fairly knowledgable, I clicked to take the survey. Hoo boy.

Here are a bunch of events. I have some familiarity with some of them...
Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal
Bruntland Commission/Our Common Future
Commission on Sustainable Development
Convention on Biological Diversity
Intergovernmental Forum on Forests
Kyoto Protocol
Limits to Growth/Club of Rome
Millennium Development Goals 2000
Montreal Protocol
Silent Spring/Rachel Carson

How are you doing so far?
Keep going....
UN Environment Programme
UN Forum on Forests
Vienna Convention for Protection of the Ozone Layer

Now, some organizations
AccountAbility
Business for Social Responsibility (BSR)
Carbon Disclosure Project
Earth Policy Institute
Environmental Protection Agency
GEO-4
Global Environmental Management Initiative (GEMI)
Hadley Centre for Climate Change
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
International Society of Sustainability Professionals
Millennium Ecosystem Assessment
World Business Council on Sustainable Development
World Resources Institute

Not through yet with humbling myself
Now for sustainability frameworks
Herman Daly's Triangle
Triple Bottom Line

Now for some principles
Adaptive management
Agenda 21
Caux Roundtable for Business
Ceres
Cradle to cradle
Earth Charter
Equator Principles
Hannover Pronciples
Melbourne Principles
Precautionary Principle
Talloires Declaration
UN Global Compact

Had enough? But wait! There's more!!
Practices and Protocols
AA1000
Closed loop recycling
Dematerialization
Design for environment
Ecological footprint
Environmental/Sustainability Management System/ISO14001
General Reporting Protocol
Global Reporting Initiative
Green Chemistry
Greenhouse gas protocol
Industrial ecology
Life Cycle Assessment
Life Cycle costing
New urbanism
Permaculture
Product stewardship/EPR (extended producer/product responsibility)
SA8000
Smart growth
Socially responsible investing

My humbling is not over but I am tired of tapping. So I'll continue layer with more stuff I think I should already know about.

Peace, y'all

Molly (the humbled)

Start wherever you are

That is one of the key messages I got at the low carbon diet training.

Climate change has begun. We must address it!

It will take at least 10 years to scale up renewable energies and new technologies. Conservation is available today. It's the low-hanging fruit. And when we are in a conservation mind frame, we are more inclined to embrace the new technologies that come along.

US citizens are 5% of the planet's population and use 25% of its resources. And we waste up to 75% of it through inefficiency and ignorance. Americans are a huge part of the problem--so we also can - and n
must - be big part of the solution.

We like to think we are the world's most innovative. Fine. (and no let hago and tend the garden).

Join me in reducing my carbonfootprint. I'll start where I am. Thee do likewise.

Peace, y'all

Molly

On reducing our carbon footprint

I said I would blog about it when I registered for the teletraining for the low carbon diet, so here goes.

I'm always looking for ways to build peace in the world, to make the world a better place, to form a more perfect union. A new way has opened. When one Seeks one can find. And I did.

A sweet convergence. I am my program's sustainability chair. By default, but nonetheless. The state legislature passed a law in 2008 or 2009 with specific goals for state agencies to reduce carbon and our governor charged my agency with showing other agencies how to go about it.

For Earth Day my agency rolled out a program they call 'Carbon Smart.' It has two parts -- greening our office by what we do there and how we get there. The other part is to reduce carbon at home. This hits us, so to speak, where we live.

I have a leading to lead carbon reduction teams.

More about this soon.

Have I really not posted since last Sunday? Dear me!

This week I learned if I google Ruby Ridge dairy, I find my own blog posts pretty quick. Also the web is full of news about the workers I now call the Darigold Dozen.

The VP of Darigold is on the brink of meeting with the supporters of the workers. This is good news. On Monday I will talk to a group of local citizens seeking to make our community better, and will brainstorm ways we mere folk can help those workers.

Working to help the Darigold Dozen meets several of the 12 steps to peacemaking I keep in my mind and my assistant brain, the PDA:
1. Pray for Peace and one another - check!
2. See faces -- check!
3. Learn names and stories -- yup!
4. Take the first step -- oh well
5. Reach out and touch --- ???
6. Find common ground -- yes, and I think I can find more to do in this area
7. Make relationships concrete -- lots of potential
8. Give peace offerings -- check
9. Learn languages -- un poco
10 Eat together -- check
11 Celebrate together -- check
12 Stand with those in danger -- check, sort of

So I see I have more work in finding common ground, and the more I do, the better. I also see I can use this work to build and foster alliances and this lays the groundwork for the next social issue.

Praying, writing, and talking about the Ruby Ridge dairy workers are not my only activities for peace this week. But it's enuf for now.

Peace, y'all

Molly

Wow, I just found something I wrote on 12/28/08 and I want to share it.

The earth rotates on its axis,
and also travels around the sun.
Since there is no beginning or end (we pray),
the calendar is quite arbitrary.

Every day, and every moment
Start the future
From this moment on—
live as you want to live.

It isn't very poetic but I like the idea of the continuation of time and the cyclic nature of time, and that every moment is the beginning of the future.

I'm trying to hold off a cold, (or is it just severe allergies?) don't feel bad enough to surrender to the sheets but don't feel well enough to proceed at my usual pace, either. I wish my illness wasn't so ambiguous, but then again I had better be careful what I wish for! In truth I am deeply grateful to God for the health and wealth I enjoy.

Thankfulness is a wonderful state of mind.

Peace, y'all

Molly

Grrrrrr I am outraged

The New York Times article documents the ways and extent that many employers rip off their workers. What to do, what to do? I don't yet know, but am glad 1) I'm a have 2) I have a union to help me and 3) I have a blog to vent and to share. If you have other ideas on how to address the ugly conditions the NYT shows, PLEASE share!

Peace y'all

Molly

auschwitz, evil, and oblivous good-intentioned folks like me

The wonderful folks from Nebraskans for Peace made a great calendar that informs me that this is the anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz camp. Only 64 years ago! That's one lifetime, or even less for the long-lived.

What is wrong with humans that they can do genocide? I really don't know, and that scares me. I believe good people can go with the flow and if the flow is toxic then good people do horrible things.

I know I am a good person and wonder what have I done, in oblivion, that is evil or toxic? They say if you pluck a flower, you shake a star. Our actions affect others just as ripples across a pond.

I would like to think good actions have good repercussions, so I will have to do some more good and find out.

Peace, y'all, like our lives depended on it! Perhaps they really do

Molly

small thoughts

My decision to stop partisanship is proceeding well enough. I haven't moved a mountain but I have changed myself and am working on those around me. So that is progress.

I received a nice thank you note today (for the inauguration eve party we held Monday) and think one good turn deserves another, so I will write a few notes today myself.

Peace....and quiet

Peace...and love

Peace....be with you

Molly

To form a more perfect union...

We the people of the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union...

So begins the preamble to the Constitution and to Obama's March 18, 2008 speech about race in America.

The theme recurs in Sunday's Parade magazine: In a letter from Barack Obama to his daughters, he said their grandmother "helped me understand that America is great not because it is perfect but because it can always be made better--and that the unfinished work of perfecting our union falls to each of us."

So... how? If you are reading this, would you please send me an idea? Or two, or a few? Something we the people can do.

Molly