Got National Stress Awareness Month?
Doctors warn us that stress is literally an epidemic in this country, and Dr. Fred Adler in particular just told me that April is National Stress Awareness Month. The consumer rat race in our society is a chief factor, according to Dr. Peter Whybrow (American Mania: When More Is Not Enough) and many other experts. Among young people for example, anxiety is five times more common now than it was during the Great [...]
Ways to Have a Very Postconsumer Easter
Spring is officially here, and that means Easter is on its way with an abundance of eggs, chocolate, and (unfortunate) waste. When I was a kid, my dad would get me huge Easter baskets full of fake grass, plastic eggs full of jelly beans, and huge boxed chocolate bunnies. Looking back on it now, I realized how many other kids get those every year and create crazy waste in the landfills. Here are [...]
Delusion or Worse? How about Balance?
By Michael Beck We delude ourselves to think we can ‘conquer’ nature. Suzi Orozco-Neu summarized my last post perfectly with this point, and yet, she almost understated it. When I wrote “Is Mother Nature Fighting Back?,” I tried to demonstrate the overwhelming concern that virtually every Earth scientist expresses for the consequences - the blowback - humanity will ultimately reap from a damaged environment. Instead of ‘delusion,’ may I suggest insanity? It’s only [...]
A Postconsumer Tip: Use a Shopping List
There are people who hate making lists, and there are people who love making lists. However, if you are working towards a postconsumer end goal of reducing your retail therapy habit and your emotional dependence on consumerism and “stuff,” then a shopping list can be your best friend. Whether you’re headed to the grocery store or the mall, deciding what it is that you need to buy and then listing it out [...]
Peace. Love. Swap. Saves Environment and Empowers Moms
If you’ve got kids of any age range, then you know how expensive keeping them clothed and in toys can be. You also know exactly how much needless waste is generated by buying all of those toys and clothes new. And, chances are that if you are a mother, not only are you looking for a way to reduce how much you need to purchase, but you’re also looking for a way [...]
In Like a Lion, Out Like a Lamb. Make Spring Cleaning About Postconsumerism.
Ah, March. For anybody who lives in a location with four seasons, it’s one of the most welcome months of the year as temperatures start to rise and the first signs of spring (and then happy, warm summer) begin to appear. It’s also the time of year when many of us embark on a happy little activity known as “spring cleaning.” Unless you are the type of person who says, “What is [...]
Is Mother Nature Fighting Back?
By Michael Beck I was quite impressed last week by the two superb responses I received to "Mother Nature Wants You!" Both likened the stress of consumerism on the biosphere to the stress of disease on the human body and both delivered a caveat we ignore at our peril. Fred Adler remarked in part, “The human body when fighting the effects of toxins… responds with unpleasant reactions like inflammation, fever and a variety [...]
“I AM” Movie Asks “How Much is Enough?”
An upbeat film going multiple around the country right now isn't some fringy, new-agey piece of wishful thinking. Mainstream comedy director Tom Shadyac ("Bruce Almighty," "Ace Ventura") found himself in the decidedly unfunny situation of suffering long-term health consequences from a concussion. As a result (in the words of the Los Angeles Times), "the Hollywood player did some serious rethinking about success, status and stuff." His new movie is a rather breathtaking documentary [...]
Believing in Change: Why Organizing and Participating in Change Matters
It’s been a mind-bending several weeks in the world. From the pacifist-driven, successful democratic uprisings in the Middle East to the proposal of a budget by President Barack Obama that, while its final form will most likely be significantly altered, for the first time emphasizes clean energy and takes government money away from fossil fuel companies. If you were to sum up many of the events of the last several weeks that, [...]
Mother Nature Wants YOU!
By Michael Beck The Earth is alive. Long championed metaphorically by environmentalists, this idea now enjoys the acceptance of growing numbers of scientists who theorize that all living things and their support systems (air, water, and land) indeed interact globally to stabilize one another to maximize life. James Lovelock first proposed this Gaia Hypothesis in the 70’s, just to see it resoundingly ignored for a decade. Then it gained credence as evidence began [...]
