The Greening of Gavin

Why We Need Degrowth

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Let me introduce you to a concept that some may not have heard about.  It is the concept of  degrowth.  
Wikipedia lists the following about degrowth:

“Degrowth (in French: décroissance, in Spanish: decrecimiento, in Italian: decrescita) is a political, economic, and social movement based on Ecological economics, anti-consumerist and anti-capitalist ideas. Degrowth thinkers and activists advocate for the downscaling of production and consumption—the contraction of economies—as overconsumption lies at the root of long term environmental issues and social inequalities. Key to the concept of degrowth is that reducing consumption does not require individual martyring and a decrease in well-being. Rather, ‘degrowthists’ aim to maximize happiness and well-being through non-consumptive means—sharing work, consuming less, while devoting more time to art, music, family, culture and community.”

Sound familiar?  It is comparable to Simple Living, Voluntary Simplicity, Downshifting, Sustainable Living or even the Transition Town movements.

What ever name we give it, why do I think we need these movements?  Well, quite simply, because we live on a finite world that has limits and boundaries, therefore continues growth is not feasible.  Ergo our western lifestyle is unsustainable.   

The planet can regenerate about 2.1 global hectares per person per year on a sustainable basis.  The average Australian has an ecological footprint of 6.6 global hectares per person which is 2.8 times the average global footprint of 2.7 global hectares.  If everyone lived like this we would need four planets to sustain our lifestyle.  As there are no new planets to plunder except the one we have, we better get used to living within our means or suffer the consequences.

This means that a possible solution could be degrowth, or put in my language, to consciously reduce our  consumption.

It would be nice if ‘Buy Nothing Day’ was everyday, and we just reused and produced stuff we grew or made ourselves.  Great stuff in theory, but it would kill our current economic model.  However if you look at it closely, our current economic model is killing itself pretty much on its own because of the finite limits of our world.  

So, the more we walk away from the current economic system, the quicker it fails, which would not be good for anyone.  How do we aim for a gentle landing and not end up in a continuous downward recession/depression cycle when our economic system does fail?  This is not a rhetorical question.  I just don’t know the answer.

However, I do know that we have three possible paths that we can take from this time on.  Woody Allen once said “We have arrived at a decisive fork in the road. One path leads us to the extinction of our species and the other leads to despair.  I hope we will be able to make the right choice… “
So far, as I see it we are on the first path, taking down many other species with it.  Second path is one of negative growth history has shown to generate famine, wars, pandemics and can lead to a society controlled by fascism or totalitarian power.  No thank you very much!  I am a bit more optimistic and believe we can turn it around.
I believe there is a third path.  It one of degrowth by choosing sobriety and taking stock of our current reality.  We need to break our addiction to things.  Somehow we need to be able to change our economic system in such a way that reduced consumerism is seen as goodness and a better way of living, giving us more spare time, and wanting for less, therefore softening the impact.  We need to live within the global limits and on or below those 2.1 global hectares we each have been granted by Gaia.  It may seem very neo-hippy of me, but there has to be a better path than we one we are current embarked upon.  
I for one have chosen not to be on this train wreck any more.  Have you?  
Do you have any thoughts on possible solutions to the end of growth?

Arctic Ice Cap Record Melt

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If our civilization was in tune with what is going on around the world, we should be very, very concerned about what is going on up at the North Pole.

No, Santa and the elves are not feverishly whipping up toys for Christmas.  Something much more disturbing is going on.

This year we have, by our inaction, caused a record ice melt of the polar ice cap.  This graph from the US based National Snow and Ice Data Centre tells a sorry story of the reduction in extent of ice coverage over the Arctic Sea.

source: http://nsidc.org/arcticseaicenews/

Here is another graphic to try and show the difference between this year and previous ones.

So why are I so worried about a lack of summer ice on the North Pole?  Well it is as simple at this. Dark surfaces absorb more heat than lighter coloured surfaces.  Basic physics.  The more sea water exposed, the more the ocean heats up and less infra-red heat is reflected back into space.  This in turn melts more ice and so the vicious circle continues until all the summer ice pack is gone.

Sure it comes back in winter, but it is thinner and melts quicker in summer.  Even the IPCC reports  didn’t predict this quickening rate of sea ice melt.

source:  http://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/figures/observed-and-projected-arctic-september

The green line are observations of the extent of Arctic sea ice vs. the predictions of the best scientific minds in the field.  The observations on this graph are only up to November 2010, so we are now well below the mean.

As the north pole heats, it causes havoc with climate patterns all over the northern hemisphere.  Hotter summers, cold snaps in winter, and little stability like we have been used to over the Holocene.  No stable climate makes it very difficult to grow food.  No food, smaller populations of humans.  A vicious cycle all around.

Any of this in mainstream media?  Not that I can see.  So all I ask is a simple favour.  Share this post with anyone who is concerned about our future on this planet so that it may, in some small way, prompt people to look up from their game of angry birds for a second and take notice to what is happening around them.  It may prompt them to think about lowering their environmental footprint while they are at it.

Please.  For the sake of our kids and future generations to come.   I beg of you.

Almost Vegetarian?

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Okay, I know there is no such thing as an ‘almost vegetarian’.  That is a bit like saying just a little bit carnivorous, or half an omnivore!

So this post is an update for the goal I set at the start of the year, “Reduce our meat intake by 80%”.  Well one thing for sure, eating mostly a vegetarian diet is a lot easier than I thought it would be.   Since a week before New Year, we are down to just 2 meals a week with meat on average, with Kim a little more, and me a little less.  Even Ben is joining in, sometimes.

Let me give you an example of our daily meals;

Breakfast:  Boiled eggs and toast for Kim and Ben, with Porridge and fruit from me
Lunch:  Is usually a hearty curried bean soup (one of Kim’s specialtys) with either crackers or home baked bread or a green salad with feta and olives, or a big salad sandwich with cheese.
Dinner is varied.  Sometimes veggie burgers, sometimes a meat substitute (Fry’s Vegetarian and Sanitarium Vegie Delights range both have a great selection that tastes nice) with steamed or roasted veg, sometimes pasta with a homemade sauce, or even one of my favourites,  Lentil and Mushroom Bourguignon.  Then some fruit or icecream for desert, and some raw mixed nuts for afters.  We often substitute red meat with lentils and beans, and find the same meals that we usually make (sans meat) to be very nice.  We use lots of herbs and spices to flavour our food, and I have not had a bland meal yet.  I am very satisfied with our diet so far, and do not feel lacking in energy or motivation.  That said, in the first week or two I felt a little blah, but after all of the crap was flushed out of my system, and I cut down to one coffee a day, I feel great.  No stomach or intestinal issues (which I usually get about twice a month), and am now regular as clockwork (I know, too much information).

We have regular snacks which consists mainly of fruit, nuts, cheese and crackers, and raw veg or dips.

So the meat meals that we have had, the proportion of meat has been minuscule compared to what we used to eat.  For instance, Kim made an egg and bacon pie last week, but there was only a smidgen of bacon (biodynamic) in it, but the flavour as fine.

She made a fish curry last night which only used two fillets of whiting (MSC certified).  It was delicious, but then again so are her veggie meals.
As we still have eggs and dairy we get most of our calcium and vitamin B12 from those, but what about the other essential nutrients.  Well for those wondering if we are getting the right amount of nutrients in our diet, here is a list of Non-animal sources of other important ones (highlighted the ones we eat):
Omega 3 fatty acids Linseeds, soybean oil, rapeseed oil, tofu and walnuts.
Vitamin A Green leafy vegetables, yellow/orange vegetables and fruit.
Vitamin B2 (riboflavin) Fortified breakfast cereals and soya drinks and almonds.
Vitamin D Exposure to sunglight, fortified breakfast cereals, vegetable margarines. Kim takes a vitamin supplement as she has trouble with vitamin D.
Calcium Fortified soy beverages, sesame seeds, fortified fruit juice, broccoli, green leafy vegetables, tofu, beans and pulses, or even calcium supplements.
Zinc Tofu, legumes, peas, nuts, seeds, wholegrain cereals and wholemeal bread.
Iron Fortified breakfast cereals, wholemeal bread, dried fruit, green leafy vegetables, beans and pulses, molasses, nuts and seeds, tofu.
Selenium Brazil nuts, sunflower seeds, molasses, wholemeal bread.
Iodine Iodised salt, seaweed.
Protein Soy products, legumes, lentils, nuts, seeds, wholegrains.
Overall we have a really balanced diet, with everything in moderation.  I like this particular Michael Pollan quote that he mentions in the documentary Food Inc.:

“Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.” ― Michael Pollan, In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto

So why are we doing this?  Well the obvious one is to drastically lower our carbon footprint by reducing food miles, and eating locally, however the other main reason is one of health.  Choice magazine has this to say about the health benefits of a mostly vegetarian diet;

“Vegetarian diets are generally higher in fibre and lower in fat and cholesterol. There is growing evidence that vegetarians are less likely to suffer from cancer, heart disease, strokes and have a longer life expectancy. People who choose a vegetarian diet for health reasons are also likely to have other healthy practices: such as exercising regularly, not smoking, or abusing drugs or alcohol.”

In November, I was at the upper limit for my bad cholesterol, so this is the choice I made to lower it and not to have to go on medication.  We have also lost a little weight, but not as much as I had expected and I do daily exercise.  I have a six monthly check up at the end of the month with a full blood test, so we will see if it is working.  Even if it hasn’t lowered it, I will persevere, because I feel so good and full all the time.
What is not to like about this diet?