Even before I sold my car eighteen years ago, I liked riding my bicycle around town—to get places and to get exercise. So I thought the Camelback was a cool invention, though I’d never tried one. A soft plastic bag within a small backpack with a long, flexible straw coming out of it, so youContinue reading “Post 72: Pain or Plastic?”
Tag Archives: climate change
Post 71: Need a Job?
For almost all human history, there was no such thing as a job. There was plenty of work, to be sure: Work was whatever needed to be done for survival, and it involved nature. We can guess that in prehistoric times, work wasn’t really separated from the rest of life. (Are you shelling those nuts forContinue reading “Post 71: Need a Job?”
Post 64: Guilt
Do you feel guilty when you sin? I’m not talking about when you break one of the Ten Commandments. Following the letter of these ancient laws is not the societal concern that it used to be. You probably don’t think much about keeping your graven images in check, or coveting your neighbor’s spouse, or makingContinue reading “Post 64: Guilt”
Post 61: Why Don’t We Do It?
Why don’t we do it? You’ve heard this question: We know how to fix climate change, so why don’t we do it? I’ve written a lot here about the role of advertising, how it would love to control not only consumer purchases, but consumer lives, while treating the Earth’s marvels like war-plundered women. And yet,Continue reading “Post 61: Why Don’t We Do It?“
Post 59: An Open Letter to President Biden on the IRA
Note from Kay: Thanks, friends, for visiting again today. This is the last of my weekly posts; you’ll be hearing from me every other week for a while. I’ll let you know when the book is done. Maybe there will be a deal for New Stuff Sucks readers. So: ¡No te vayas! Forget about theContinue reading “Post 59: An Open Letter to President Biden on the IRA”
Post 56. Tandemonium
Guest post by Anna Mirocha From Kay: When I first went carless, my daughter was 10. I bought us an old tandem bicycle to get around town. She was too young to fully appreciate my planetary concerns, or the fact that we’d save money, or the exercise benefits. It was a case of the parentContinue reading “Post 56. Tandemonium”
Post 49: Are You Wearing a Hair Shirt?
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood. –Robert Frost I once heard a radio reporter say, “Living an environmentally friendly life is like wearing a hair shirt.” Really? I thought—wondering if she’d ever tried it. Since I was never able to locate her story online afterward, I’m still wondering. But the search brought up plenty of othersContinue reading “Post 49: Are You Wearing a Hair Shirt?”
Post 40: A Fresh Code of Paint
One afternoon when my former mother-in-law was still my mother-in-law, we were hanging out in my kitchen. She was cleaning my refrigerator–she was always looking for ways to help out, so I started making sure I saved some dirt and grime for her when she visited–while I was painting the door frame. “Why are youContinue reading “Post 40: A Fresh Code of Paint”
Post 38: Top 10 Reasons I Don’t Eat Out (Much)
CaveatsWith the pandemic waves influencing the opening and closing of restaurants, it’s no wonder that people go a little crazy eating out when everything has opened up again. Getting out means eating out. Probably this is a terrible time to publish bad news about it. Or else . . . it’s the right time exactly.Continue reading “Post 38: Top 10 Reasons I Don’t Eat Out (Much)”
Post 37: What the Jell is Jojoba?
It’s spring, and there isn’t anything I’d rather do than work in the yard, inhaling the orange-blossom scent until it practically knocks me flat. But why do all the trees and bushes around here keep grabbing my hair, scratching my face, and almost poking my eye out now and then? It’s because they’re growing, andContinue reading “Post 37: What the Jell is Jojoba?“
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