Voluntary Simplicity

Suffered restless legs and a restless spirit last night, so stayed up late and burned the midnight oil and my off peak usage. Figured I'd try track down an economic model not based on growth.

Here's an Australian Samuel Alexander who has collated a 24 page pdf well worth reading. Oddly, this morning my facebook feed has a link to something else of his that led me back to the same place.

Here I am, in 2012, having grown up in a technological age and I'm still superstitious...

However, well worth the read Simplicity Institute - Planned economic contraction: the emerging case for degrowth

Also a link to the Simplicity Collective - Let's be Pioneers Once More.

Dick Smith's Population Crisis

Dick Smith's book, Population Crisis is an easy read on the level of comprehension, but it's not easy on any other level. He's encapsulated the ennvironmental impact of our growing population and our consumer habits very neatly, and I must say, rather humbly. As per usual, I read the doom and gloom with a sense of underlying panic and eagerly await what the author sees as being the way to move forward... and hope like hell he has a vision for a world without reliance on oil. And he does, to some extent posit strategies, and where he leaves off he provides a $1 million Wilburforce Award to an under 30 year old who can show leadership and can effectively communicate that we cannot always have growth in the use of resources and energy and by removing this addiction we could see the emergence of a more equitable world with an improved quality of living.

Educating women around the world, as wherever women are educated there is a drop in fertility rates

A carbon scheme where to offset our emissions individuals may buy credits off, for instance, Africans, thereby increasing their quality of life and creating greater equality.

Changing our way of measuring national success - converting from GDP to GPI (Genuine Progress Indicator)which looks at social, environmental factors and the happiness and health of our population, not wealth.

Moving away from acquisition of products, particularly those superfluous items that we're so addicted to accumulating. Somewhere near $25 billion dollars worth of unwanted Christmas gifts are dumped each year around the world.

Changing our migration policies (and letting in more genuine refugees rather than handpicking the world's skilled and depriving developing countries of their means to progress).

He was also very supportive of Kelvin Thomson's (Labour backbencher)succinct 14 point plan for population reform. (google it) which, among 13 other things - abolishing the baby bonus.

Population Crisis has certainly stirred me up again. We decided to only have one child (Trev had already reproduced before he met me) but I'm not sure that's the end of my contribution to the population crisis... hmmm. What are your thoughts - especially now you know that Australia has one of the highest population growths in the world and the highest carbon emissions (yes, we beat the USA) and with no clear policies around what is sustainable and how it can to be sustained?

The Last 3,200 Tigers

 

There are only 3200 tigers left in the world... China is still trading in tiger parts... You can click on the link and sign the petition. It seems bizarre to imagine that we might be the last generation with the opportunity to sign a petition for tigers. We've had so many generations of firsts, now we're seriously starting the generations of lasts.

Please sign up & support a ban in trade of tiger parts, part of the TigerTime campaign to prevent loss of wild tigers

I thought I'd take photos today, but it's a dull dark day. Yet to photograph the new 'library' wall in the office area, our bedroom, the walk in robe - no longer called the floordrobe. Plus the spare room, which is the current recipient of junk till we sort things out.




This is the kitchen area, which is far from finished. We're using the kitchen table for a bench, the island bench still needs its sides and the central characters look a bit suspicious. Not sure why, but Trev's dropping mandarin skins on Caleb who's playing foetal silly buggers on the floor.




The light in the house is lovely. On a sunny day we get a big strip of light slashing across the room and as the sun goes in and out behind clouds it looks like a heart beat or the houses ECG. Very much in love with the place. A cold, dark day today, the woodstove crackling away, we're warm and cozy, outside it's still and mist hangs off the top of Mt Tongatabu. Arrrhh. Wouldn't trade it for the world.

Treadlightly Festival - Hobart

Next weekend (Sunday 22nd April) there's the Treadlightly Festival on in the Botanical Gardens. Peter Cundall will be guest starring. I'll have a spot at 12.30am talking for half an hour about the 10 myths of Sustainability. I had fun at the Penguin Sustainable Living Festival a month or so ago raving on about the same subject. Thought I'd do a repeat. We're having a stall and we'll be selling Who Killed Dave's and Living the Good Life too. So if you're in the vacinity we might see you there :-)

I've got lots more photos of the house, but just never seem to get to uploading them. Will endeavour to do so soon.

Sold four more wee piggies today, down to only two males, one of whom is already promised. Leaving one little only and lonely to go. Going to miss them.