We need a new normal, now.

 With outdated infrastructure, with climate change, and pandemic, we need a new normal.  CT lost power the first week of August, with fallout from Isaias.  People were knocked out for a week (a few for more).  Line crews came from all over the country to get us back up and running. Then the derecho hit in the Midwest.  Its been a week and people are still without power.  They've lost all their food, between shopping for pandemic (every two weeks, basically, you go out and load up), or having just bought on EBT...   The corn and soybean crops have been destroyed...

It hasn't been that long since we had a more sustainable way of life.   We need to mix the tech of 100 years ago with modern tech.  

Maybe we need to go back to iceboxes?  To delivery of milk, and meat once a week from local farms.  Maybe we need sheep to graze lawns and goats to clear brush.  (they aren't altogether eco-friendly, because they are introduced species that actually had a lot to do with destroying habitats--if you read Gerald Durrell as a kid, as I did, he talks about the damage goats did on Mauritius and surrounding islands)

Maybe we need in-ground "refrigeration' and root cellars again.   And "summer" and winter kitchens.   

We need better ways to heat our homes.  To get around.  Bike "roads".  

Food is getting more dangerous and less plentiful in the US.  Our food supply laws are being destroyed.  Food is also becoming more expensive. (European countries have always paid a larger portion of their budget for food, but that's possible because they aren't being slammed by medical debt--the US is getting to the point where people have to choose between rent and food, which is impossible!  We have enough food! -or we did). Our food supply has become so convoluted.....  and its unsustainable long term. 

We used to have houses built for crossbreezes.  We have historical records for houses all over the world that were heated by a stove, that even managed in Minnesota winters, to keep people warm.  We used to have more of a local cycle, where everything fed into everything else in a positive manner..  

We need to integrate that with modern life.  Maybe we need trolleys again for local transport.  Make it so you can fix and upgrade tech without constantly having to buy new.  More small local stores, even if its just in the summer.  Locally sourced groceries.  

We need microgrids, wind, solar, even water--there's tech that harnesses the power of waves...   We need better tech in using water.  in using grey water at home to water lawns and such.   We've got to stop hooking up to a larger system.  

Why you SHOULD bake bread (and also use shortcuts)

So recently a very white Medium article was circulating.   About how people shouldn't be baking during the pandemic.   (I did not actually read the article, the post was deleted before I had a chance to).  Here's the thing.  I think we should be baking, canning, cooking, etc during the pandemic.  But I also think we need to find the shortcuts that can work for us.  A lot of people don't have the space for 50 lbs of flour or sugar.  Or the counter space.  Or the spoons to cut up and prepare everything from scratch.

I do worry that we are entering a weird food time in the US.  Cooking is exhausting and frustrating (particularly cooking for one or two) and it has been decades since we've had any kind of shortages.  (Basically since the 80s, we've had lots and lots and lots of abundance...even if its been also somewhat illusory--lots of imported produce, no abundance in food deserts).  We're going to enter into an increased time of losing out-of-season foods.  We are going to have to figure out how to preserve more foods and go back to a more seasonal way of cooking as we become more reliant on local farms.

There are so many many interconnected industries with our food.   From flour (or gluten-free flour) which needs to be grown, milled, mixed...   to the meat industry which branches into broths and pet food.   And we are going to see more reverberations from these...  We are going to see our local stores start going more local with their supply chains as this drags on.

I do think all genders should be learning how to bake, how to cook, how to make nice basic things.

How to make jam.

Because we are going to see more interruptions in the food chain.

And having yourself as a backup...  knowing you can make something delicious out of the frozen leftovers you stashed three months ago, the frozen tater tots, and the dried tomatoes you made out of the tomato glut...  is a good thing.

We also need to know how to cook with good shortcuts.  Whether we buy the shortcuts or prep them in advance and freeze (I have radish pesto in the freezer I did last summer, as well as a gluten-free tart shell). I also know people that buy a big bag of onions and prep them all and freeze them to pull out when needed.  I also know people who buy jars of curry sauce and jazz them up a bit at home.  I do always have a loaf of frozen gluten-free bread, because I'm not always going to have the spoons for baking.

You have to find the shortcuts that work for you.  That's the important bit.  Even if you love to cook, there are days when you hit your limit.

If you can microwave polenta (or oven-bake it), top it with a sauce?  You have dinner.

Learning to cook also gives you the tools to figure out good shortcuts.  (And if you know how to cook, you will also be able to look up how to cook for Fido if necessary).

Pandemic prep and the environment...

So, I'm reading a lot of paranoia and obsessiveness about the coronavirus.  And preparing for outbreaks.  But we have to think about how our prep is harming the environment too, and contributing to the problem, Are there easy answers?  No.

We have to go back to cloth.  We can use scraps to make masks, hankies, etc.  Which can then be laundered.   Maybe carry a dishtowel in your purse to dry your hands/open manky doors, etc?

Lets go back to wearing gloves, cotton or leather?  As well as washing our hands.  Lets skip the sanitizer unless we really need it, it comes with its own health consequences, as well as lots of plastic.

I do a winter CSA.  I have a ton of veg.   A lot of veg actually stores well. Keep it cool, away from mice.  

Dried fruit is good.

We need to get back to an older way of working with foods and veg and some disease.  We need to get away from plastic and disposables as much as possible so they are there if someone needs them, because there are diseases that will need the disposables.

No wipes (make your own?  Wipe down with a little vinegar and alcohol? ). We don't want to overload our sewers with antibacterial etc, either.  Regular soap works fine.   Sanitizers eventually wash down the drain, into our rivers, lakes, oceans, etc.

Paper towels eat trees.  (yes they are good to have, BUT).

Lets break out the cloth.  

The soap.

About six years ago, we had massive massive snows that basically blocked foods from getting through.   Supermarkets were empty.  I still had local milk, and home-canned veg and local meats.   But we really need to start learning from these things.  With climate change, with massive disruption that is only going to get worse, we need to start learning from the past.  We need to take the best of the past with the best of the present to make a sustainable future.

Reusable masks of cotton for one.

Drying/preserving fruit and veg.

Nix the single-serving containers.  Get a big bag of oats.

A chicken will make a few meals.  Roasted.  Salad (or pasta/pilaf/etc).  Soup.

And WASH those hands.

If you HAVE to buy me a gift

Dear fam and friends, here's the thing.  The planet is going *poof*.  Too many emissions, too much oil use, too much toxicity.  Too much stuff.  I honestly don't even use gift cards anymore.   We have a real problem.   That being said, every time I plead for please, please, please, no gifts, I get them anyway, for the sake of buying something, I guess.   (again, I really really really am hesitant for more stuff).  So:  things I would actually like:

Fountain pen with ink.  Fun colors in the ink is cool too.   (I really want to get away from biros/plastic pens)

Coloring books.  (I had one, it vanished, I am sad..its a good meditative thing to do before bed)

I could use some nice flannel sheets.  Preferably organic.   Maybe with snowflakes on?

An enrober attachment  for my stand mixer.   Most chocolate-covered candy/even fruit has been glutened.   I would love to be able to make stuff at home.

Cookbooks.  I would love the latest Jose Andres cookbook that is veggie oriented.  (Vegetables Unleashed).  My friend Mary Anne Mohanraj has also written a cookbook.   The intolerant Gourmet, by Barbara Kafka is another good one which I'd like.


I'd love an amaryllis or two.   Or a fern.

Maybe some of those silicone "Stasher" bags.  Or cloth produce and bread bags. (I'd be able to go to the gluten-free bakery and have them put the bread in one of those instead of a plastic-single-use sleeve).  (There are some good resources at  https://packagefreeshop.com)

I'll probably keep updating this as I think of things.

Plastic, the environment, and MY disabilities.

I have a number of "disabilities".  Hearing impairment...my god, the batteries, and the STUPID little plastic tabs and the plastic casings.  I try to recycle the batteries, but can't do anything about the tabs or the casings...I'm basically battery-operated.

I have endometriosis.  Its a disease you can get if you have a uterus.  It is chronic, it is fatigue inducing, and can cause enormous pain.  I've known women who say giving birth is less pain than an endo period.

Endometriosis has been linked to the hormone disruptors in plastic.   These hormone disruptors are in the plasticizers, so soft, flexible plastic is more dangerous to me than the hard-sided kind.  But all plastics have some degree of these in them.  (And the "substitute" is really just as dangerous as the original)

But have you ever tried to avoid plastic?  It isn't easy.  I do have glass and ceramic containers for the fridge, and for storing sugars and flours.  But all of these come in some kind of nice plastic bag.  So you have to decant them from the plastic.

Dried fruit? plastic.  Salads? plastic, usually bags, but you can find hard-sided, which at least is hypothetically recyclable.   Even cans now have a nice plastic liner.  *sigh* And "waxed paper" is apparently now waxed with plastic.  Those paper ice cream containers and milk cartons? plastic liners. Teabags are often wrapped in plastic.  And then you get to prepared fruits and veggies which are all in plastic.  ARGH.  Or the dairy products that have the plastic sheet that you have to stab to get open...  *sigh*

Its discouraging, when you try to avoid plastic.  Everything has plastic.  And most of it gets thrown away, and not recycled.  Because it can't be.

And you know that the plastic is leaching into your food.

There was a time, in the thirties and forties, that we did not have so MUCH plastic.  There was refrigerator glass.   (Like tupperware, but glass)  Even in the seventies, there were non-plastic options.  And then....

KABOOM.

And I hate it.

That being said, in the summers, I do a CSA.   and I'm figuring out ways of transporting the veg/fruit without using so much plastic.   I have a couple of mesh bags, and a couple of cloth ones.  I have cloth grocery bags.

I try to buy things that use recycled plastic.   Post consumer recycled plastic.   I have a number of ceramic bowls that I use to store produce in the fridge.

But even as someone who tries to use less, I'm still amazed at HOW MUCH is out there.

Here is what i wish stores would do.  No more plastic bottles.  None, zip, nada.   Sell us fruit juice concentrates rather than big plastic bottles of juice.   Have a fruit salad bar where people can bring in their own containers, or buy an eco friendly container.

Your plastic habit contributes to my endometriosis.

My lying in bed, unable to function, because of the pain.   My losing at least one week every month.

And yet, plastic is immensely helpful to others with different disabilities.   To people who cannot swallow, plastic straws are a godsend.   Plastic tubing, light syringes for people who need to inject themselves...   We need a happy medium.   And yes, we need to cut down on everyday/unnecessary  plastic so people who really need it can use it. And we need alternatives for people like me.

Lets talk boycotts...

So, I have a lot of things I'm boycotting/avoiding as much as possible.  And its just getting discouraging because it is HARD.  We are losing our options, faster and faster.  

I'm doing BDS, because we need to support Palestine.  And it is one of the few things I can do.

I'm still "Grabbing My Wallet" and avoiding anything Trump-connected, which is getting harder to do as the corruption spreads.  

I'm avoiding Amazon.  Its too big, and does not treat workers well.

I'm also avoiding Eden Foods, because, even with the nutty granola ethos, they are a "pro-life" company.   And just no.  I want my granola with women's rights.

I avoid Walmart too.

But...sigh...

I'm tired.  I'm tired of having to sit in the grocery store and google to see what the stance is on my food, or if my rice is high in arsenic, or if its a company that mistreats workers (oh yes, Driscoll too)

I'm tired of everything being problematic. of being so vastly consumerist.   *sigh*

And I just can't give these companies my money anymore, but..its all on fire.   Its all problematic.

And I'm tired.  I'm tired of not being able to consume responsibly.

I'm tired of still needing gas and oil to heat my home.   If I could boycott those companies, I would.

I'm not boycotting kickstarter yet.  But so many of these companies that were supposed to help with freeze peach and help creators are actually anti-creator, anti union.  

I want to be able to shop.  I want to go into a store and buy local foods, eco-friendly stuff.  I want to be able to use capitalism ethically.  I'm tired of there ALWAYS being something.  If its prison labor, for foods made in America, or child labor for cocoa harvesting or mica mining.   Or even overuse of plastic.  

When the oil runs out...

Dear fellow suburbanites,

We will be so fucked when the oil runs out.  (Not if, when).  In every apocalypse movie I've seen, the grass is still cut, the traffic lights still work, you can still find working cars, and the toilets still flush.  We will be worse off than African countries that get water from a "watering hole".  Many, many people will die.  

I've had people tell me that I need to become a "prepper".

No.

Guns won't help either, you will run out of ammo sometime, and you can't eat or drink ammo. (and unfortunately, bears are still pretty tough to kill (and apparently taste gamey).  Hunting takes skill, and if everyone is running after Bambi in suburbia?

How are you going to heat your homes?  Or even get to a farm to get vegetables?  If you plow up your land to grow food, you still have to water it. Where's the water going to come from?

On this Climate Strike Day, we need to demand better options.

We need to figure out how to retrofit suburbia, NOT build new/more suburbias that are "eco friendly".  We need to figure out how to use existing systems and yet get rid of the oil.

For example, I have an oil burning furnace that creates hot water and heats the house with hot water with cast iron baseboards.  My furnace actually needs replacing.  And yet I am hesitant, because I keep hoping an eco friendly option will show up to replace it, that will still use the hot water and the baseboards, but not use oil.

My house also tends to have pretty decent crossbreezes with open windows.  But growing up in Egypt, some houses had "windows" that opened above the doors to be able to have a crossbreed, yet keep the doors shut.  

In Ancient Rome, they had fountains spaced around, fed by aqueduct.   You still had to carry your water home and up the stairs (if you were poor or middle class).   They had public baths.

In Old London Town, there was a lot of filth.  Privies that leaked into wells, sewage tossed into the Thames.   We do have a decent sewer system, but...what happens when the plant breaks down?

We need to start thinking and talking about these large scale options.   Because right now, suburbia is so precarious.    We have these huge grocery stores, warehouses, full of food.  But so dependent on oil.   Oil to grow the crops, to ship them, to keep them refrigerated.  

Go look in your fridge...I'll wait.  Where do your avocados come from?   Your watermelons in the dead of winter?  Even if they are "American" they are probably from California.   That takes at least two or three days of driving cross country to get the food to you.  And even then, it is mass-produced.

I'm scared.  I am genuinely scared.  Our lives are unsustainable.

Just think about this as you go through your day, your week.  How much of your life depends on oil?

It is almost too late (but not quite)