Tao’s 2 Cents

I have a new favorite magazine. I’ve heard about Mother Earth News and probably seen copies of it laying around since I was young but never really read it until a couple weeks ago. I got a subscription after reading about the articles coming out in the next issue and after reading it cover to cover I ordered the 40 years of archives on CD. I can already tell it was an excellent investment. That’s a lot of wisdom for $50.

I’ve been reading back through the issues looking for articles and information that might help me on my way to a sustainable existence. I’d say about 75% of the articles are relevant or interesting to me. I’m especially interested in the renewable energy, natural building, gardening and water/rainwater management articles. I came across a really interesting one on solar power and wanted to share a few of the highlights…[continued]

I don’t actually read USA Today, but I found this just browsing around on ThinkProgress today. It’s a full-page ad that Amnesty International placed in the paper. I think the picture is phenomenal.

The purpose of the ad is to commemorate the one year anniversary of the Military Comissions Act, which essentially removed the right of habeas corpus. The bill was passed under the guise of “protecting us from terrorism”. In reality they’re just eroding the protections that many people have fought and died for…

I recently finished reading a book called “Deep Economy” by Bill McKibben. It discussed how life will inevitably have to change after oil goes away. That’s of course assuming we don’t find any other form of cheap energy, which is unlikely.

The main change is that we’ll all have to start living more locally. Right now it takes 10 times more energy to deliver a pound of peas than the peas actually contain. The main reason for this is processing and especially delivery. Did you know the average piece of food you eat travel 1,500 miles to get to your plate. These are colossal wastes of energy which can be solved simply by growing things locally…

They may be gone but their stench is everywhere and they’re going to have a much harder time avoiding it than they bargained for. I seriously doubt that Rove or Gonzalez will be able to go out in public for many years and not be heckled or even attacked without a bodyguard.

I’m sure they’d argue that we don’t understand the sacrifices they’ve made for us. I imagine them perched in the towers of power looking down on Americans, and the world, as ignorant peasants for them to shepherd. They have to protect us from ourselves, otherwise we’d go around shoving forks in our eyes and putting solar panels on our roofs…