Earth Day - 2013

Happy Earth Day!

Last week I noticed someone had done a yearly carbon footprint for their years travel by sailboat. Primarily they focused upon the carbon fuels they burned. As, at that time, they didn't have an engine, their fuel usage was for cooking/heating and lighting (all kerosene I believe). Rather than engine, they used a yolah (like an oar/sweep off the stern) to move them into an out of harbors.

Doing a carbon footprint inventory is a great way to spend a moment (or longer) reflection on this earth day. Over Christmas/New Years my family fooled around with one. It was interesting to see where we were making huge "earth/environment savings" and where we were making "gains" just by changing some numbers in one category at a time. [Just google/bing "carbon footprint inventory" and you'll find lots of resources.]

But must one give up an engine to have a low carbon footprint (diesel or gas)? And what about "power" yachts?

"Wait a minute, are you going to talk about electric propulsion?"
Yup.

Let me highlight a few things before we start. And before I even mention the caveats below, I should mention that it was how much use our cars got (in total mileage and mpg) that made the difference in our carbon footprint. We made huge gains by simply living on the boat! That said, for those of you who want to lower their boating carbon footprint even more, read on.

The caveats:

1. I highly admire folks like Lin and Larry Pardey and Tim and Pauline Carr, et. al. who sail engine-less. Can it still be done? Absolutely. I'm I there yet? Nope. Although we do try to make passages completely under sail, we've also made passages (gulp. Dare I admit?) under mainly power.

2. I don't have the answers - but I think what's below is interesting for discussion. We still have a highly functioning robust SAAB diesel that burns little fuel (between a pint and a quart an hour), and I'd have to closely do the figures to see how we'd compare between what we have and what would replace it, if we chose to go electric.

3. Lets be honest, if, and as long as, a sailboat has an engine, technically, it is a motor vessel. Yes, our sailboat included.

I've read about electric engines before. They are not a new technology and date back to the same period of history as the internal combustion engines, the concept being roughly 100 years old. Just like the internal combustion engines, they've seen technological advances, too. What has really improved is batteries. Up until recently the easy storage of power to make an engine go (gas, diesel or electric) has been in the favor of the liquid fuels. But now?

And remember, all non-nuclear submarines have run on a hybrid-type technology. Diesel engines generated the electricity while above the service (or at least at snorkel depth - got to get rid of the carbon-monoxide!) while using the batteries to fuel the prop below the service.

Last summer my wife and I won a sunset cruise on Gato Verde (a catamarran operating out of Bellingham). Gato Verde runs on electric engines backed up by a diesel generator. In essence, Gato Verde is a hybrid boat (like a hybrid car - with a major exception being she can run on just wind, and when docked, can be plugged in).

This experience got me thinking.

I didn't much connection together even though we later had a tour of the Blueback (retired diesel electric sub) at the Oregan Musuem of Science and Industry in Portland, and I even had a conversation with a power boater about his wanting to add a little solar-electric outboard to his sailing dinghy.

And upon reflection, I believe WoodenBoat had an article about electric motorboats. Here's one about an electric launch. 

Then I happened across Daniel's Odda Sea blog in which he talks about the hows and the whys of his conversion to electric propulsion. He spends a four part series in the hows and whys (Part 1: Why Electric, Part 2: Installation Tour, Part 3: Power Management, Recharging, and Regeneration, Part 4: Range Anxiety). By the way, Daniel plans on recharging batteries primarily via solar and wind chargers (having a ketch, his wind-generator is mounted on his mizzen mast), via prop regeneration (when sailing at speed, the freely spinning prop can add volts back into the system), and finally, as a last resort, via a gas generator (which he plans on having anyway to power power tools when needed for heavy duty type jobs).

I found his series of articles interesting food for thought.

Having received this gift of God, how do we live that both celebrates, honors and cherishes this wonderful blue planet of ours? I think that's the question, and celebration of Earth Day.

Blessed Be
Joel

The Jellyfish have hatched/returned

This is not the best image (as it was taken with my phone) but the small jellyfish have returned/hatched out. I'm not sure which one. I noticed these on Saturday evening. It is that time of year again. But this year, the return of the jellys had me thinking back on what I had read in Ted Danson's Oceana: Our Endangered Oceans and what We Can Do to Save Them. I remembered he had written something regarding jelly fish being one of the only species to benefit from overfishing and climate change, but couldn't remember what he had written. So I looked it up, here it is (below).

As Resurrection People, it makes me wonder what it means to live that out in our world.

Blessed Be,

Joel

[Ted Danson writes]

If the carnage [of industrial overfishing] continues, says the world's leading epert on the topic of overfishing, Daniel Pauly, of the University of British Columbia, we'll eventually see the seafood selections on restaurant's menus dominated by one durable species.
     "We are heading for a world," says Pauly, "where there will be lots of jellyfish soup."
JELLYFISH BLOOMS
Jellyfish are 95 percent water, but these prehistoric creatures may be the hardiest living being in the oceans. They are among the small number of species that benefit from overfishing and climate change, and we're already seeing the effects.
     Anecdotal stories of jellyfish blooms suddenly overwhelming a seaside beach or gumming up fishermen's nets have been growing in recent years, and scientists have confirmed that these tales aren't exaggerations. In fact, in 2006, the African country of Namibia became the first place in the world where scientists proved that a species of five-inch-wide jellies had successfully displaced the country's fish species. The country's once-diverse marine life had been overwhelmed by jellies, which outnumbered seafood species such as sardine and anchovy by a shocking four to one.
     Why do jellyfish thrive in the modern era? It's simple: Overfishing takes away their competition. An area of the Bering Sea - known as America's "fish basket" as it provides more than half of the country's domestic seafood - has become so clogged with jellies that fishermen now call it "Slime Bank." And in an unfortunate twist, jellies feast on fish larvae, making it even more difficult for fish to recover from intense fishing pressure.
     Thanks to climate change, warming waters also allow jellies to expand their range into areas previously off-limits. That's why you are more likely than ever to encounter a collection or "smack" of jellies on your snorkeling vacation - some, but not all, of which can sting painfully or even fatally.
     There is one easy way to combat jellyfish overpopulation: Eating them. Jellies are a delicacy in Asia; imagine if we turned our massive, industrial fishing power to scooping up rather than avoiding jellies. Anyone in the mood for stew?
          (Ted Danson. Oceana. Rodale, 2011: 85-87)

Are You a Time Millionaire?

Drayton Harbor Tide Cycle curtsy of NOAA

Ever have one of those weeks in which a bunch of conversations with a different people all seem to center around one theme? This week has been like that, a lot of the conversations I've had with people have centered around the theme of "time." Add to that, I've read some blog posts dealing with the theme of "time," as well. So, why not write about time? I'll see if I can condense these "conversations."

Time is something that we all possess. We only have so many hours in our lives. If it is worth while to you, you can calculate out how many hours you've already lived and approximately how many you might have left. Time is really the only thing we have some control over in our lives. And most of us spend a part of our time at work, to make money, to spend money, to work. Simplifying our lives (and our out looks) helps us to spend less which in turn means we need to exchange our time for less money, giving us more time. Clear as the tide?

But I think you see what I'm getting at. I hope so.

The real issue regarding time I see many people talking about is the difference between chronos time and kairos time. These two words for time come from the Greek. Chronos is chronological or sequential time with a quantitative nature. Chronos time has a sense of also coming form the Greek god (Zeus' father) who eats his children.
Kairos, on the other hand, signifies the time between, a moment of indeterminate time in which something special happens. Kairos has a more qualitative nature. With in Christian Theology there is also a sense of the appointed time or crucial time for God to act. Kairos, then, caries a sense of the eternal time frame.

When I hear people complain about not having enough time, I often wonder if they are really complaining about being swallowed up in chronos time and longing for a sense of kairos time: wanting a time of rejuvenation.

A friend of mine is reading a book about Edward Curtis, who took as his life work photographing as many of the indigenous peoples of the Western United States and Canada before their cultures disappeared forever. One of the things that struck him, was the reason why Curtis saw the reservations not working. The indigenous peoples had a culture of leisure: of kiaros time. This isn't to say that they didn't work, they worked extremely hard when it was time to do so, but that their culture was dependent upon having lots of leisure to visit family and friends, to pray and participate in ritual, to be gracious and grateful. They saw themselves living in a land of abundance with plenty for all, so had no need to hoard.

When we head out upon the waters, isn't that what we long for? Don't we long to remember that we can move to the pace of the universe, rather than the industrial steam engine and factory? And what have we culturally lost along the way by moving leisure to an activity pursued only by the rich?

I'll conclude by quoting from a blog post titled: "Time Millionaires" (link below - italics are my emphasis).

May you make time to allow yourselves to follow the rhythms of the universe - and find yourselves in tune with God's Blessings and Actions.

Blessed Be

Joel

Time Millionaires                           Friday, May 28, 2010

The cure for "Time Poverty" is to slow down, be less productive and enjoy every minute of the day. As a sailor I have come more and more appreciative of the concept of time being the only true possession that we can be in control of. Pursuing the dream of becoming a long distance sailor allows for true focus on what is really important in life.

How does one start to accumulate time and become a time millionaire? Stop, sit down, and assess what you are doing while sailing. Do you have all the gadgets and toys on board? Are they making your life simpler or part of the competitive accumulative lifestyle of the modern Western culture?

Take control now! Less is more except when it relates to time. What does 'Slow Living' represent?

Slow living is not doing less. It is pursuing a life with an eye for details. Goals are attained in a less aggressive fashion. Each individual enjoying what they do and interacting with people and live in harmony with both man and nature. The core motives of the slow living include re-inventing the art of simple living, re-establishing family ties, reviving family values and creating leisure time.

For those setting out on the passage of slow living consider building your own boat. While it may not be a great saving in money over the purchase of a used boat, it will be the first slow passage that you will make. [...] Don't have the skills or initiative to build a boat? Find one that you can afford with your savings, leaving at least half to set out with as a nest egg, then go sailing sooner.

We set out on Easy Go with only the minimum of electronics, no engine, no generated electricity and with less accomplished our goals in crossing the Atlantic Ocean from North America to Europe, Africa and returned with a fresh perspective on what is really necessary for sailing. No motor meant we needed to improve our sailing skills and find alternative modes of propulsion for entering tight harbours and anchorages. Perfecting the use of the yuloh sculling oar allows us to manouever silently in the tightest of harbours. A little breeze makes sculling difficult? Get to know your kedge anchor and work up into that spot you would never have tried with a motor. Setting or retrieving an anchor in absolute silence that sailing on or off the anchor provides many of the most pleasurable moments we have experienced. On passage the wind strengthens and weakens but seldom do we get becalmed. We seldom make a record breaking passage by today's standards, but reading about the passages during the historic period of sail makes us very much the norm. I've always preferred a few extra day at sea enjoying the ocean wilderness and picking up an extra fish than be stuck in an anchorage. Slowing down and assessing the perfect tide and time to come into a harbour or anchorage allows one to transform from the passage maker to the more sedentary life of the harbour community. For us the passage is the destination and when it is over the new place and people we have found are equally important.

The developers of the high-tech world have devised endless "time-saving" devices that range from electronic navigation devices to automated weather reports. These really do reduce chore time for some people, but how do they spend those saved hours? They give them away on the phone or texting friends with inane updates. Not to mention all the time wasted looking for parts or people to repair all these time saving conveniences

We don't have a cell phone. Cell phones were seen by many as the biggest time-waster until texting came along, and now that seems to consume every moment. Studies continue to demonstrate the time wasting that texting causes with thousands of momentary thoughts being transmitted every minute. Who cares? Are we so insecure that we need to tell our 200 closest friends everything we do?  We use email to advise our friends and relatives when we have arrived in a new place. To minimize their worry and give them more time to slow down we keep our information flow to a minimum.

Keeping expenses low and have no preconceptions of where we were going along with a flexible and open itinerary allowed us visit places in depth and get to know the people and cultures. The rewards were greater than visiting more places fleetingly.

We made a few trips inland. We found the best way was to see what was available locally through our new found friends and with contacts in local tour companies we have never been disappointed. Other travellers, whether they are sailors or other long term travellers are the best source of advice in every place we have travelled. Being open, honest and interested in other peoples viewpoints along with a spontaneity and a positive sense of following your instincts will provide just the adventure you were looking for.

Forget the private car. Travel on public transport, chat up the locals, make contact with Taxi drivers and get a "guy" to be your local fixer.

If you don't feel good about the town or anchorage that you are in move along to somewhere that you feel would be better. It is amazing how your perspective of a place can change! If you really like a place and feel sad to be leaving soon, stay a little longer even if it means skipping another destination. Its your time. Use it to acquire the best memories you can. This is capital the we time millionaires collect.

'We are what we eat' goes the adage. The 'Slow Food' culture takes us one step further. It lays emphasis on the belief that 'we are how we eat'.

Slow Food afficinados consider mealtime as a quality time to be spent in the company of  family and friend. We encourage people to take time to prepare their meals and to relish it, by eating slowly. Nnothing can be worse than wolfing down junk food and washing it down with empty calories. This ruins our metabolism and promotes obesity.

Slow food promotes a 'back to nature' culture and persuades people to grow veggies and fruits in their back yard , support local produce and promote organic products. We find this aspect of 'Slow Living to not be possible with the exception of growing sprouts on our boat. We do however visit many places both urban and remote that have exceptional local fresh food markets. Fish fresh from the sea, vegetables with soil adhering and meat that was freshly butchered in the morning are all experiences we have had. Staying long enough in one place allows a personal relationship to develop between the market vendor and yourself. More than once an item for a special customer has found its way into our grocery bag. We've also been advised to come back tomorrow as there will be better produce coming in then. Need a special item? No problem, just ask.

Cooking slow also adds to the quality of our life. A slow cooker on the stove all day provides an aromatic ambience. Using a pressure cooker can speed up the cooking process, when necessary, and also adds an element of safety when at sea in a lumpy seaway.

There's no question that the stress of modern life is causing numerous health problems, but much of that stress is self-inflicted. Many people are just trying to do too much, trying to fill every moment with "stuff," and it's killing them. These people are suffering time poverty.

Sailing is, by its very nature, a Slow Movement.  Whether you're going out for a couple of hours or a couple of years, it's a fine way to reduce the stress of our everyday lives.

During a long passage, Slow Books are prized and you actually have the time to enjoy several chapters at one sitting. Once you arrive at your destination, trading books and doing more reading takes the place of mindless television and video games. Looking for the local library is always a high priority for us. Slow Living allows us to sit back and enjoy the sunrise and the sunset, without feeling that we need to be accomplishing something else.

When we're offshore, there are no video games or cell phones or other distractions to erode "family time."  We work together to make the boat go … we trim sails and set courses and check the windvane steering to ensure that it is steering the boat properly. Its not as easy as pressing the starter in the car and going for a drive, but its far, far better.

In these changing economic times, we need to rethink our priorities and return to the values of a simpler time. Inexpensive sources of energy are being getting harder to find. Wind is one of the few sources of energy that cannot increase in price. Its always had the same price...free. Wind is there for the taking by those who have the time.

Let's start a Time Millionaires Movement, but let's do it slowly and build our own time equity as Time Millionaires!

Posted by Easy Go Adventures - Bob and Kathy Groves

Sustainable Monday - Deck/Boat Cleaning

Well, the sun finally came out this weekend, and the weather was nice. That brought lots of folks to the marina. Everyone is itching to do the spring cleaning. But what's the most sustainable type of cleaning or cleaner to use?

In looking at various products and descriptions - it turns out the answer is ... water.

For wood hulled boats, nothing beats dousing the decks with salt water. The salt water treatment helps to keep the planks at a stable moisture content and keeps the swelling and shrinking cycles at bay.
For everyone else - the salt water treatment works, too.

But if you really want to get the "green" off your topsides, canvas and decks - a yearly dose of the pressure water is the safest for the environment. The only thing to watch out for are the wood trim pieces. Hitting wood with water at high pressure can cause big damage as softer wood is removed, leaving the harder ring wood.

Otherwise, hitting the boat with the pressure water treatment produces no soaping or chemical residues that end up in the water.

Maybe hearing the buzzing of pressure washer kits going off around the marina isn't such a bad thing after all.

Blessings,

Joel

Sustainable Monday - Secchi Disks & Phytoplankton

or
"How Sailor's Can Help Gather Data on Phytoplankton Levels"

I was directed to his BBC News article: Seafarer Science: Sailors asked to help measure plankton by a blog I'm following. The article speaks of how scientists are estimating that the phytoplankton levels have dropped 40% since the 1950s due to climate change. However, these are estimates, as the data on phytoplankton levels are sparse. Here is where the sailors/seafarers come into play. Plymouth University's Marine Institute (in the United Kingdom) are asking seafarers for help in gathering information/data for them. While phytoplankton are a key to the marine food chain, there is not enough research funding to explore all the oceans. Why not use boaters who are already out upon the seas?

All that is needed is a Secchi Disk (30 cm white disk connected to a tape measure), one's eyes, and a mobile app to send in data. The related article: Secchi Disk, where you can download the app, adds this to the discussion:

The marine phytoplankton account for approximately 50% of all photosynthesis on Earth and, through the plankton food web that they support, they both underpin the marine food chain and play a central role in the global carbon cycle strongly influencing the Earth’s climate.
Living at the surface of the sea the phytoplankton are particularly sensitive to changes in sea surface temperature. A recent study of global phytoplankton abundance over the last century concluded that global phytoplankton concentrations have declined due to rising sea surface temperatures as a consequence of current climate change.
We need to know much more about these changes and you can help by making a simple piece of scientific equipment called a Secchi Disk and using the Secchi App.

The idea is to lower the disk until it becomes obscured, take note of the measurement on the tape, and send in your data. They only ask that this not be done in estuaries.

Sounds like a great way to participate in the on going research/study of the world around us.

Blessed Be

Joel

Sustainable Monday - Maintenance Tips & Clyde Ford's "Boat Green"

With the spring weather comes the outside projects we've been "itching" to do all winter: varnishing, oiling, painting, etc. Again, Clyde Ford provides some easy and useful tips for keeping our water's clean, while working upon our boats (both in and out of the water). Check out his book, Boat Green: 50 Steps Boaters Can Take to Save Our Waters. This week, I'm focusing upon the "dust" producing activities that often result from our boating projects.

Ford points out that the issue is keeping the residues out of the water from our sanding and/or scraping for our oiling, varnishing, painting, etc. projects. He recommends two ways to do this.

Ford really recommends doing as much "dust" making jobs when hauled out, if you can't, however, here is is first recommendation. The first recomendation is forming a "skirt" around the boat and the dock. To do this, tape a piece of plastic to the boat, bring it over to the dock, where it is weighed down. Then the particles can be gathered up (swept, vacuumed, etc.) and disposed of, rather than falling into the water (see his chapter titled "Skirt Your Boat" starting page 1530. A similar idea I saw a shipwright employ last supper would work for scraping a cap rail, for instance. The shipwright formed a "box" that part of the bottom can be taped to the side of the boat. The box sides could lip over the top of the cap rail. As the work progressed, the box could be slid up or down the rail, the shavings vacuumed out as needed. This is basically a similar idea as the "skirt," but on a smaller scale.

In any case, Ford recommends having a small "spill" kit ready to quickly absorb any small drips before they get larger.

The other small suggestion with big results is investing in a dustless sander. These are the sanders with their own bags to collect the dust from the job at hand (see his chapter "Use a Dustless Sander" starting on page 155). Ford relates the following success story:

Lake of the Ozarks, in central Missouri, is a 95-mile-long inland private lake owned by the Union Electric Company. More than 70,000 boats are docked around the lake, and there are two state parks. It is a zero-discharge lake, and the Lodge of the Four Seasons Marina allows no outside contractors or do-it-yourselfers. in 1995 the Marina invested in several thousand dollars in two dustless sanders. They soon realized huge savings, cutting 30% off the time eypically spent to prep a boat for a bottom job, saving boaters an average $205 on the cost of a bottom job, and reducing by 90% the labor involved in ground cleanup (Ford:1560.

Enjoy the spring projects. It is just great to be on and near the water this time of year (when isn't it?)

Blessed Be

Joel

Sustainable Monday - The Bilge & Clyde Ford's "Boat Green"

As the weather has finally turned really nice and "spring fever" is in the air, I thought I'd offer a couple of project tips from Clyde W. Ford's book Boat Green: 50 Steeps Boaters Can Take to Save Our Waters. This week we take on a couple of bilge ideas, next week a couple of maintenance tips. This is a great book, check your library for a copy, in which Ford offers all sorts of advice, tips and information regarding our water, and how boaters can make choices to help keep our waters clean and healthy.

Those of us with inboard engines realize that the bilges in our engine rooms can easily become dirty with oil drips, antifreeze drips, etc. If the engine room bilge pump is an automatic pump and it turns on, we (and the environment) have a problem - we now have an oil slick that must be reported, contained and cleaned up. The best solution is to avoid such a problem in the first place. Ford points out that the best practice is a clean engine room bilge, the use of an oil pan (with an absorbent pad placed on top to catch any drips from the engine.) Keeping the engine in top shape, watching for drips and then tracing them and fixing the problem are all good maintenance and management practices. Keeping a bilge sock in the bilge is also a good idea.

What I hadn't realized was that there were a variety of different bilge socks available. Polymer is the best bilge sock to use. According to the chart Ford provides (see page 143) polymer has "high" initial absorption, "good" overall absorption, "low" swelling and "good" retention (scoring best over all, and the only one not scoring a "poor" or "fails" in the retention category.

When there is a mucky mess in the bilge to clean-up, suggests using "bugs" to clean up the engine room. He writes, "You've probably heard of oil-eating bacteria dispersed over a major oil spill to help with the cleanup. This process is known as bioremediation, and it's now available to the average boater. It's easy to grow a colony of oil-eating bugs in your bilge, and it's good for your bilge and for the water" (Ford:143). Look on-line or at your chandlery. They come as a large dry tablets or in a powder form. Ford mentions that initially it's good to treat the bilge twice, over a two-week period of time.

The other great idea that Ford mentioned was adding a diverter valve to your bilge pump. This would allow the owner (you or me) to either pump the bilge over board (a direct dis-charge) or to pump the bilge (if there is oily water) into an onboard collection container. The container can then be taken to a marina oil-collection facility, or to an oil-collection facility in town.

Definitely things to think about, and add to the "To Do" list we all keep. Some of these are an easy project to add during this spring weather, that is warming up, but may turn rainy and we want to do an "inside" project.

Blessed Be,

Joel

Sustainable Monday - Watching Water, Lent 2013

Fresh Water is a marvelous gift - a sustainable necessity to human (and other organic) life on our planet. Yet in some regions of the world, the fresh water is in very short supply and/or what is available isn't fit of drinking. We who live upon the sea can well understand that.

Water water everywhere

Yet not a drop to drink

Fresh water can fall from the sky and collected in our tanks via water catchment systems; be lugged out to our boats via our dinghies from a source on shore: streams or waterfalls or discovered wells and/or springs, or even that marvelous hose. When we are docked in a marina with water right at the tap or staying ashore like the shore dwellers (a.k.a. "landlubbers") we tend to take the water for granted.
When heading back out on a cruise, how do we monitor our usage? Some people use a 5 gallon "day tank" to help keep things in perspective. Others have sight tubes on their water tanks with markings equating to certain gallons in the tank. Foot and hand pumps help, rather than automatic/electric pump systems. No matter what our strategy, it is very helpful to have some system in place to monitor our water consumption, especially on a long ocean passage.
Here's an idea that I ran across in Cutting the Dragon's Tail by Lynda and David Chidell. They built a large junk-rigged yacht for charter work. The question of how to monitor water consumption in a way that guests would understand directly was worked out while installing the pumping. They used a gravity tank to create the pressure needed for all the water needs aboard the boat. This involved using a large day tank. The water was pumped into the day tank via a high capacity (think bilge-type) hand pump. A mark was made upon a chart indicating how many pumps were needed each day to keep the tank topped off. A guest who was using lots of water, could be shown how many more pumps were needed each day since they stepped aboard. The Chidells remark that this system was quite effective.
No matter how you monitor your fresh water, may you find yourself thankful for this gift.
May your use of fresh water remind you of your blessedness.
Blessed Be
Joel

Sustainable Monday - Bio-Regional Education, Lent 2013

My Uncle suggested that I check out Liz Clark's blog/web-page about her voyages on Swell, her Cal-40. Clark is currently sailing through French Polynesia, surfing when she gets the chance. Her reflections are inspiring. You might like to check them out yourself: Liz Clark and the Voyage of Swell.

For our first posting in Lent regarding sustainability, I am going to re-post something Clark wrote regarding our Bio-regional Educations (or, rather, how we have forgotten what our ancestors took thousands of years to learn). She concludes with a quote from Thor Heyerdahl. Thought provoking way to start Lent, and good questions to ponder as we strive to live gently upon this earth - this home - our ours.

Blessed Be.

Joel

Food Foraging and Our Forgotten Bioregional Educations: What we don’t even know we don’t know

May 19, 2012 By Captain lizzy in Blog 11 Comments Tags: back to nature, bioregionalism, fatu hiva, food foraging, Marquesas Islands, nature, thor heyerdahl

In the spirit of Thor and Liv Heyerdahl’s ‘Back to Nature’ adventure almost a hundred years earlier, I embraced my time in Marquesas as a chance to live a little closer to the Source. The relatively low populations and highly fertile soil make for lots of nature’s edibles to be foraged with permission from the local people. So Raiarii and I spent much of our time in the hills and valleys and sea gathering food, cooking over a fire, and combing the terrain for nature’s treasures. We learned from Mami Faatiarau and other friends that with some knowledge of the local plants, we could also make bark rope, palm frond baskets, natural remedies, seats, shelter, hats, you name it… We witnessed that those who were motivated and educated in the flora and fauna, could live heartily and almost wholly off Mother Nature’s provisions.
A few things struck me. Regional plant and animal knowledge must have taken generations upon generations of learning to accumulate. Modern ways make it so easy to let go, homogenize, and forget what our ancestors spent lifetimes figuring out! It can go extinct as easily as a species without a habitat, like it has in so many places where native peoples were killed, disrespected, and paved over. Where I grew up, we don’t even know that we almost all of human history would laugh at us for not knowing our plants!? That itself is a measure of our alienation from nature  and our ‘bioregions’…

There were multiple varieties of mangos, loads of starfruit, lichee, papayas, bananas of all sorts, avocados,  local oranges and grapefruit, limes, and breadfruit just to start! Edible roots included taro, tarua, manioc, and sweet potatoes. And even delicious leafy greens that grew in the streams and slowly flowing tributaries!

It never hurts to get a higher perspective on things!

Can anyone identify these delicious leafy greens?

Mami F's lovely palm frond basket.

New foraging techniques were developed...

We learned how to crack bamboo into flat lengths and weave together to make walls or flooring!

Getting to know palm fronds a little better these days.

“We like to think of progress as modern man’s struggle to secure better food for more people, warmer clothing and finer dwellings for the poor, more medicine and hospitals for the sick, increased security against war, less corruption and crime, a happier life for young and old. But, as it has turned out, progress involves much more. It is progress when weapons are improved to kill more people at a longer range. It is progress when a little man becomes a giant because he can push a button and blow up the world. It is progress when the man in the street can stop thinking and creating because all his problems are solved by others who show him what happens if he turns on a switch. It is progress when people become so specialized that they know almost everything about almost nothing. It is also progress when reality gets so damned dull that we all survive by sitting staring at entertainment radiating from a box, or when one pill is invented to cure the harm done by another, or when hospitals grow up like mushrooms because our heads are overworked and our bodies underdeveloped, because our hearts are empty and our intestines filled with anything cleverly advertised. It is progress when a farmer leaves his hoe and a fisherman his net to step onto an assembly line the day the cornfield is leased to industry, which needs the salmon river as its sewer. It is progress when cities grow bigger and fields and forests smaller, until ever more men spend ever more time in subways and bumper-to-bumper car queues, until neon lights are needed in daytime because buildings grope for the sky and dwarf men and women in canyons where they roll along with klaxons screaming and blow exhaust all over their babies. When children get a sidewalk in exchange for a meadow, when the fragrance of flowers and the view of hills and forests are replaced by air conditioning and a view across the street. It is progress when a centuries-old oak is cut down to give space for a road sign.” –Thor Heyerdahl, Fatu Hiva

Sustainable Wednesday: Examples

This week I present some examples of people who have chosen to live a simpler lifestyle for their own betterment, and the betterment of the world around them. Some of these examples might seem a bit extreme. I will readily admit that there are one or two here that I'm not willing to practice at this point in my life, if ever. However, as I have reflected upon these examples, I have learned something about myself, the culture I live within, and in some strange way been inspired by all of them. All of these examples also show a certain creative bent to look at the problems facing themselves as individuals and coming up with their own solutions to meet their own needs. These are also just people, like you and me. They are but some of many who are trying to create a lifestyle in which their beliefs match their actions. All of these examples having me examining my own life, and my own lifestyle choices.
That is my hope for you as well. Where are your cutting edges? Where and how are you putting your faith and beliefs into practice?

Blessed Be,

Joel

Examples:

These are in no particular order, although I have moved from a land based lifestyle to an ocean/sea based lifestyle (interspersed with one that is both).

Dr. Jackie Benton* is a doctor who is also a long time civil rights and peace activist. Due to her belief in healing, compassion, and peace, she does what she can to avoid paying war taxes. This has led her to living on a few acres in North Carolina. Here she practices permaculture on about 5 percent of her land. She lives in a 12 x 12 foot house with no electricity, running water, etc. According to North Carolina laws, anything larger than a 12 x 12 is taxed (the majority of which go towards war efforts). In the meantime, she works as a doctor at a nearby hospital, insisting that they only pay her $11,000 rather than the six figure income her experience would dictate. In this way she also avoids paying the "war taxes". Her goal is to live with the carbon footprint of a Bangladeshi.

• See William Powers. Twelve-by-Twelve: a One-Room Cabin Off the Grid & Beyond the American Dream. New World Library. 2010. This is mainly the story about the author's own journey. *Dr. J Benton asked Powers to change her name to help protect her privacy, which he did.

Erik Andrus is a Vermont farmer who is concerned about the sustainability of the food/agricultural system, in particular the resiliency of such systems. How to connect his farm with the lower Hudson River Valley? How did our ancestors do so? Will it still work for us? The Vermont Sail Freight Project is the result.  Andrus writes:

The Vermont Sail Freight Project originated out of our farm’s commitment to resilient food systems.  Producing food sustainably is not enough.  The other half is sustainable transport of goods to market and equitable exchange.  A good portion of the damage conventional agriculture does to society and the environment is through our overblown, corporation-dominated distribution systems.  The idea of a small, producer-owned craft sailing goods to market, perhaps even a distant market, is an alternative to this system, and one which has served our region well in the past.

They are currently still in process, but have linked up with the Willowell Foundation.

• Visit their blog to stay tuned with this project: http://vermontsailfreightproject.wordpress.com/

Teresa Carey quit her job in 2008, moved aboard her 27 foot boat with her cat. For two years she traveled up and down the eastern coast of the United States pursuing what simple living meant for her. She wrote about these experiences in her blog. Since that time, Teresa has gotten married, sold her boat, and put together a film "One Simple Question" (about two people's quest to find an iceberg).

• You can find out more about Teresa's journey at her Blog: Sailing, Simplicity and the Pursuit of Happiness and their movie at One Simple Question.

Daniel Suelo is the man who eventually quit money in 2000 by depositing his life-savings (all $30 of it) in a phone both walking away. His journey has been one of radical trust. Damien Nash, a good friend of Daniel's, writes a review for Amazon. I'll let you read Mark Sundeen's account to find out more about this remarkable man and how his life changed over time.

• Sundeen, Mark. The Man Who Quit Money. Riverhead Trade, 2012.

Anke Wagner and Dave Zeiger have lived aboard at least three flat bottomed boats in the Pacific Northwest (USA/Canada) and Alaska (where they now reside). The advantage flat bottomed boats is that they can dry out on tide flats. Here is how they answered a FAQ about financing their lifestyle:

Cheap seems to be a theme, with you — how do you finance your lifestyle?

     At present, the general theme is to invest the money we don’t earn in free time. Thousands of dollars not earned equals hundreds of hours free to do whatever we please.

On the demand side, we try to keep our overheads low. Enginelessness, wood fuel, bulk food buys and wild foods, minimal rent (occasionally at the dock in towns), dryout (vs. haulout), inherent exercise and "social distancing" (we’re seldom ill) all help. But, dost think because thou art virtuous, there shall be no cakes and ale (or wine, chocolate, DVD rental, pizza, etc.)? We travel once every three or four years to Europe (visiting Anke’s family and friends), which swallows a year’s budget with ease. Altogether, we’ve been averaging about $6,000 per year over twenty years (includes intermittent boat building). We keep thinking that’ll drop when the "last boat" is built and equipped.

Supply side, we are fortunate to have the AK Permanent Fund Dividend, which puts a variable, but always hefty wad into our pocket ($1000 to $1700 per person per year, depending on market conditions). The rest we make up with occasional odd-jobs (and/or a major one every ten years or so).

I’m working on designing boats for sale (www.triloboats.com) and writing a novel, along with several other hopeful generators of micro-streams of income. Our goals are to afford catastrophic health insurance and move toward establishing a cash/cache/capital financial basis.

Dave and Anke are concerned about sustainability, and try live a sustainable lifestyle. "In the long run, we hope to achieve about 90% subsistant lifestyle. We're trying to solve the starchy carb challenge (not much local bulk). The remaining 10% is composed of exotics, such as chocolate, coffee, eggs and cheeses, wine and spices."

• You can find a website about their previous two boats here: Zoon and Loon. The above quoted link brings you to their own website with their latest boat, or their blog.

Sustainable Wednesday: Potluck

We are in the midst of Advent, and in the midst of the secular Christmas holiday time* with holiday parties for the staff at work, for the neighborhood, for the volunteer associations we belong to, for the ... As some one once said, it may not be so important what we eat between Thanksgiving and Christmas, as it is what we eat between Christmas and Thanksgiving. Indeed, we are in the midst of celebrations and parties. Maybe this is why I find Jim Merkel's question phrased in the midst of an imaginary potluck so moving.

     Imagine you are at a potluck buffet and see that you are the first in line. How do you know how much to take? Imagine that this potluck spread includes not just food and water, but also the materials needed for shelter, clothing, healthcare and education. It all looks and smells so good and you are hungry. What will you heap on your plate? How much is enough to leave for your neighbors behind you in the line? Now extend this cornucopia to today's global economy, where the necessities for life come from around the world. Six billion people,** shoulder to shoulder, for a line that circles around the globe to Cairo, onto Hawaii over ocean bridges, then back, and around the globe again, 180 times more. With plates in hand, they too wait in line, hearty appetites in place. And along with them are giraffes and klipspringers, manatees and spiders, untold millions of species, millions of billions of unique beings, all with the same lusty appetites. And behind them, the soon-to-be-born children, cubs, and larvae.
     A harmonious feast just might be possible. But it requires a bit of restraint, or shall we say, a tamed appetite, as our plate becomes a shopping cart, becomes a pickup truck - filling our house, attic, basement, garage, and maybe even a rented storage unit with nature transformed into things. As we sit down for a good hearty meal with new friends and creatures from around the world, what is the level of equity that we would feel great about? At what level of inequity would be say, "Wait a minute, that's not fair"?***

What level of equity feels right? What level of inequity has us crying "Foul!"?

Merkel encourages us to live globally. "'Global Living' was defined as an equitable and harmonious lifestyle among not only the entire human population, but also among the estimated 7-25 million other species, and the countless unborn generations. When one practices global living, each of our daily actions improves the health of the whole - locally and globally. The ecological, social, political, and spiritual systems at all levels are then able to regenerate and flourish."***

Here's to the big questions in life.

Blessed Be

Joel


___________
* For the Christian Church calendar, the Christmas season starts with Christmas, runs the 12 days of Christmas (like the carol) and ends on Epiphany.
** As of 31 October 2011: the world population reached 7 billion. The Worldmeters gives a real time count of the worlds human population and facts about estimated population.
*** Jim Merkel. Radical Simplicity: small footprints on a finite Earth. New Society Publishers. 2003. 1st quote: p. 2-3. 2nd quote: p. 2.

Sustainable Wednesday: Water Issues

The Saturday after Thanksgiving I had the blessing of baptizing Sarah. As has long been my tradition, I return the holy water to the earth as a blessing. When possible, I like to involve any older siblings, cousins or even just other children witnessing the event. Part of my hope is that by participating in the blessing of the earth with the holy water, they will remember the baptism and their involvement with in it. Part of my hope, is that these children through this ritual act will grow into people who continue to bless, as they are blessed by, the wonderful globe we all live upon.
As we were near a river, I asked the four year-old brother and six year-old cousin if they would like to help me. When asked if they knew about the water cycle, both of them nodded their heads, explaining that water came from clouds, into rivers and into our drinking water. Great. I took the opportunity to explain that "this river went out to the sea, where the water cycled and eventually evaporated forming clouds that rolled into the land. When the clouds hit the mountains, the clouds rained, forming streams that flowed into rivers and down to the sea again. So when we pour this holy water into the river, we will bless the entire process, and in tern participate in blessing the world." Both were excited to participate and very carefully poured the holy water into the river.
They watched the river current and noticed a floating pumpkin. "Hey there's a pumpkin!" The pumpkin had all their attention now: wondering what would happen to it? How long would it continue to float?
But for a moment I had their complete attention!

At Rio+20 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (June 20-22, 2012) UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon mentioned that there are not 1.5 billion more people in the world today than in 1992, and we will need 50% more food and 45% more energy in 2030.

Food is closely connected to water. 92% of humanities water footprint is agriculture.* How does this break down? The chart at the right gives the amount of water needed per food source. Water needed is "defined as the total volume of fresh water used to produce each item:" in terms of animal production this means the volume of water used for feeding, drinking and maintenance.

I don't know about you, but I suddenly wonder what this all means about my food choices. As Nancy Shute writes: "Many farmers already struggle to get enough water for their crops. Foods like beef, which people crave as they become more affluent, take far more water to produce than fish or plants. Water-efficient techniques like drip irrigation, conservation tillage, and mulching help make the most of a dwindling resource. New, less thirsty varieties of crops will help too. But ultimately we will have to learn to sip where we once gulped."*

If nothing else, it reminds me to be thankful, gracious and gentle with water.

Blessed Be

Joel
___
*Shute, Nancy. "Next: Future of Food: Precious Water" National Geographic Magazine. September 2012. page 26.

Covental Connections

Yesterday while attending church, the pastor preached on being a community of covenant. Covenants are not legal documents filled with 'if ... then' statements. Rather covenants are full of promises: "I promise to ..." These promises are promises to be the best we can be, no matter what the future situations might bring. Often the very promises are challenging for the one promising to uphold, and yet grace is there on both parties. Both parties strive to create an environment that encourages the upholding of the covenant.
Marriages are covenants filled with covenantal language: '... in sickness and in health, ... for better or worse, ... for richer or poorer, ..."
Communities are full of covenants, too.
And what about us and the Creating World in which we live? A world in which many of us find glimpses of the Divine.
Might we also have a covenant with the world we thus inhabit?
The MacNaughtons in a published FAQ answer a series of questions. One such question asks: "While it seems that people living aboard may be dealing with reality better on a psychological plane and are a good example for those ashore, is there any sense in which they actually represent lessons for the future?"
The MacNaughton's answer so struck me as full of covenantal language that I thought I'd share it here in full.

"Yes, because the unreality of life for many people all over the world in both advanced and emerging societies extends to the fact that whether they live in cities our in the countryside they are often consuming vast quantities of irreplaceable resources in an unattainable environment. They see virtually no trees, no biodiversity, no sustainable farming or fishing, and have not made the slightest effort til structure their lives in a way that does not degrade the environment.
"First world living standards and indeed such things as deforestation in countries from the poorest to the richest are an unrealistic strain on the planet's resources unless we radically alter our expectations and the way we live. Any reasonably competent person who studies the facts will come unerringly to the conclusion that radically different patterns of behavior must be adopted by everyone if we are both to have comfortable lives in the "First World"and still bring others up to a level at which they can live secure healthy lives. Yet, who are the people really living these types of lives now? Aside from a few small religious groups and certain lifestyles, if you want to see people living very high quality lives without negative impact on the environment, you want to look at people living on boats.
"People living on boats consume far less of virtually every resource which might worry us about the capacity for sustainable yield or reduction of fixed resources than those ashore and at the same time have a superior lifestyle to the average shore dweller. Even in the third world, people who live aboard boats seem to live better. Indeed the gap in living standards between first world people and third world people is nowhere narrower than among nomad people.
"To this day society as a whole in the First World countries seems to largely ignore the absolute necessity of better ecological decisions surrounding resources and especially poor production and consumption while at the same time sail boats use minuscule amounts of so-called "fossil" fuels. Even the more economical types of displacement power boats are fairly moderate in fuel use. In the case of sailing craft the lifestyle would be economical even using entirely man made fuels or other power resources, such as alcohol, solar power, and wind power generation. These can be structured to have essentially no direct environmental negatives resulting from there use.
"All this supports the impression that it is people on boats or in other sustainable lifestyles rather than the average citizen of the typical industrial democracies who are living in the "real world." (131-132)

Jim Merkel’s Sustainability Strategy

Jim Merkel (author of Radical Simplicity) has written an essay by the same title included in Cecile Andrews and Wanda Urbanska’s Less is More: Embracing Simplicity for a Healthy Planet, a Caring Economy and Lasting Happiness. New Society Publishers, 2009.

I’ve mentioned Merkel’s ideas before on this blog: Questions of Equity, Interhuman Equity, Interspecies Equity or 4.7 acres, 1978 or Intergenerational Equity, Self-Imposed Limits, and IPAT. (see February and March, 2009)

In this particular article Merkel reflects upon his work with Dartmouth College. Like many colleges, Dartmouth is attempting to reach a carbon neutral campus. “By fall of 2008, 582 campuses had signed the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment, agreeing to establish a date for becoming carbon neutral and completing a carbon inventory and reduction plant. Carbon neutral – that’s right – means no net carbon emissions from campus operations. Now that’s radical” (223). In part, this drive is driven not just by philosophy by also be economics. Around 2005, Dartmouth’s energy bill had increased from four to seven million dollars in just one year (222).

What I found interesting, Merkel shares a strategy that campuses and individuals like us can reduce Green House Gases (GHG) can use to meet or beat the call to cut GHGs by 80 percent by 2050 just by using current technology.

1^st Step: “identify as many independent factor that influence an institution’s or individual’s impact for a given activity. Let’s start with a big-ticket item, the automobile. Independent factors include:

• How many people share the vehicle?
• How many miles per month are driven?
• How efficient is the vehicle?
• How long might this vehicle last?” (223)

How it works in practice: Say you drive alone, getting 20 mpg, spending $160 a month on fuel (translating into a four-acre footprint to sequester CO2 from the tailpipe, manufacture and infrastructure). After thinking about it, “you organize enough ride-sharing to average two people in your car. Determined to halve the miles traveled a month, you make detailed shopping lists, bike and walk more and prioritize visits to nearby friends. From the classifieds, you purchase a used 40-mpg vehicle. Without ecological heroics, you now buy five gallons of gas per month, use half an acre of ecological space and only spend $20.

“But you’re not done yet. You start a logbook for tire pressure, oil changes and maintenance. You drive slower and care for the vehicle enough to double its longevity, halving both its manufacture and disposal footprints. Because it’s an older vehicle, you save money by removing collision from your insurance policy” (223-4).

Merkel calls these “advance techniques” “sharing, caring and conserving contribute to a phenomenon known as multiplication” (224). The above example just reduced the GHG footprint for the vehicle by 80 percent.

Merkel goes a step further to talk about institutional buildings (but the same could be done with houses, and boats, too).

“If we were to assume that over 20 years, a plan would:

A Reduce the area per occupant by 20%

T Upgrade the technology of systems to enhance efficiency by 30%

E Upgrade the building’s insulation and reduce drafts by 30%

O Improve operational sensors and timers to heat/cool/ventilate only when needed by 30%

M Manage building schedule to have less empty space by 20%

U Inspire sustainable user habits to reduce impact by 20%

[As an example: Pacific Lutheran University was experimenting with having recyclable and composting bins in each dorm room, but one or two trash bins per hall in their dorms – to great results]

L Care fro building and extend useful life by 30%

F Use cleaner fuels with lower emissions/BTU by 20%

C Use solar, wind, geothermal, landfill gas and hydroelectric by 30%

“In this example, each fact is relatively independent, resulting in multiplying benefits. In 20 years, this building’s emissions could be calculated as follow:

A (0.8) x T (0.7) x E (0.7) x O (0.7) x M (0.8) x U (0.8) x L (o.7) x F (0.8) x C (0.7) = 0.069 or roughly 7% of the original emissions, a 93% reduction.

“At this point, installing more wind, solar and hydroelectric energy are feasibly ways to bring this building close to carbon neutral. Notice that we haven’t purchased carbon credits yet or made dirty deals like trading toxic waste for reduced carbon (nuclear) or taken land from food production or habitat to decrease dependency on foreign oil (bio-fuels).

“While some argue that the technology is not yet ready, others, including the College of the Atlantic, announced carbon neutrality on December 19, 2007, through the purchase of offsets, low-impact hydroelectric power and on-campus energy reductions. The University of New Hampshire’s COGEN plant reduced emissions by 21 percent, and when its 12.7-mile pipeline to the landfill is complete in 2009, combined GHG reductions are estimated at 67 percent.

“Technical feasibility is not the issue. Willingness is”(my emphasis, 224-5).

How willing are we?