Living in the vast suburbs of Dallas-Ft. Worth, I have a true
understanding of the need for "re-burbinization." Check out this
competition:
ReBurbia
0 comments
That Would Save Some Trees
5 commentsFrom The New York Times:
"Democratic Group's Proposal: Give Each Student a Kindle"
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/07/14/democratic-groups-proposal-give-each-student-a-kindle/index
.
I'm an avid reader, and I own a Kindle, and it's way, way better than
reading a paper book. Plus, think of all those trees.
Mahout'n it Up in Thailand
2 comments
In about a week my wife and I are flying to Thailand for a vacation to celebrate the defense of her PhD dissertation.
Let's get the dirty part out of the way. Between the two of us, we are laying down an elephant-sized carbon footprint with our flights half-way around the world. This is slightly tempered by the fact that we have not flown much at all in the last few years. Certainly not a greenius move though.
We are going to be doing some so-called ecotourism by visiting and staying at the Thailand Elephant Conservation Center in Lampang, Thailand. We will be doing one of the Mahout Training Courses.
A Mahout is essentially an elephant master. Southeast Asia has a long history of domesticating elephants and Mahouts have been an essential part of this process. For thousands of years Mahouts and their elephants were employed in agriculture, most recently in the logging industry in Thailand. Recently though the Thai government outlawed the use of elephants for such purposes. This has led to hundreds of Mahouts and their elephants being out of work and it is not cheap to keep a multi-ton animal well fed. A lot of these pairs now roam cities begging for money in exchange for quick rides on the elephant or worse the elephants are killed because the Mahout can not take care of it anymore. (For a more in-depth account and interesting commentary from someone who has gone to the TECC go here.)
As you may know, Marija and I are both vegetarians and vocal advocates for animal rights. We did a lot of research in trying to decide whether or not to visit this center. Marija is pretty much completely against zoos and the like that keep animals in captivity. I am a good bit more torn on the issue. I would love to see man stop encroaching on the natural world and even revert a lot of "civilization" back to a more pristine state, but I know this ain't happening. I think the best we can work for is a sustainable hybrid existence between civilization and nature, which I think if stable over time the natural world can adapt to eventually. In my opinion, well-run nature-like zoos and ecotourism sites fit within this thinking, especially if they are able to keep a threatened species going through captive breeding programs.
So off we go to Thailand to experience for ourselves whether this ecotourism business is sustainable and an acceptable home for these threatened giants. I'll post a follow up in this regard when we return.
Have any of you done any ecotourism and if so what is your opinion of it as a green or not so green enterprise?
A Greenius On Hold
7 commentsIn an effort to perhaps nudge my fellow greeniuses and myself out of hibernation, I thought I would ramble on for a few paragraphs. That is, a stream of consciousness(well one edited for grammar at least) to answer this question: Why have I stopped blogging?
Reason 1: I Got Busy
I am working full time and taking MBA classes part time. This semester did seam to be more time consuming than last semester. This excuse no longer holds (at least not until September) since I am done with spring classes and not taking summer classes. Actually, this excuse can never hold, as all adults who care about meeting their responsibilities are always busy. Since this is de facto reality, one can only learn to do things faster(smarter) and/or cut out those things that are not important to free up time.
Reason 2: A Sort of Stretched Out ADD
I do not posses the manic constantly shifting thought process of someone with true ADD, nor have I ever been accused of being the least bit hyperactive (Mike can attest to this). Nonetheless, I do have a sort of stretched out ADD in that I lose and regain interest in things, not second by second but at least month to month. This is certainly a part of the human condition. That is why sticking to a cause is such a challenge. You have to constantly remind yourself how important certain things are to you.
Reason 3: Laziness
While Reason 1 has merit, but as I said being busy is just the way of life, and Reason 2 explains why my interest has waned, laziness is certainly a big part of my lack of blogging. Even with my busy semester there have been ample moments when I could have read and/or blogged on green subjects, but I decided to do some mindless activity like watch television. Sure I was busy and tired, but what I do here is important. Not important in that I am going to change the world through my brilliant and insightful prose, but in that I am changing myself and perhaps nudging my friends, family and acquaintances in the same direction.
What do you guys think? Why has your green light bulb been turned off?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
