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| The Christmas cactuses |
I will not trivialize other people's spiritual undertakings! I will not trivialize other people's spiritual undertakings! I will not trivialize other people's spiritual undertakings! I will not trivialize other people's spiritual undertakings! I will not trivialize other people's spiritual undertakings!
For several months, RantWoman has been scribbling the exhortation to herself above on her mental chalkboard in response to a Friend's quest in a monthly newsletter for sharing about plastics, ardent veganism, and now air travel. The please for feedback have grown so plaintive that RantWoman is going to go all Santa Claus on the situation and offer gifts or at least popcorn kernels on each topic. Considering the season think of it as holiday decorations stringing together popcorn and cranbeeries.
Plastics:
RantWoman has been carrying water bottles for years because she hates the idea of leaving behind a planet littered with indestructible plastic bottles.
RantWoman prefers food she makes at home and transports in an assortment of reusable containers over food encased in commercial plastic. RantWoman could probably achieve more consistency about this, but...
RantWoman specifically buys products made of recycled plastic if they are available aind meet RantWoman's needs.
RantWoman has a number of neighbors whose lives would be way more miserable without many kinds of plastic healthcare products.
At the same time, after a number of forays into disaster preparedness projects, RantWoman has come to see that in a disaster with water in short supply and possibly LOTS of people in eed of water, that small bottles of water have value both in terms of sanitation and in terms of stretching, sharing resources.
RantWoman wishes to call out a massive instance of internationally losing perspective over plastic drinking straws. RantWoman recalls a few years ago with news was filled with accounts of a giant churning gyre of plastic in the Pacific ocean. Barely a word has been said about the thousands of tons of old fishing gear dumped all over the world's oceans. RantWoman has not heard of anything done to actually clean up the gyre. Instead, RantWoman's life has been filled with vehemence in several directions about plastic drinking straws.
Plastic drinking straws are now very hard to come by. Many people with various disabilities rely on plastic straws to eat. The market has now delivered various biodegradable straws, some of which start to degrade as soon as they are inserted into liquid. The market has also delivered metal straws which are hard to clean. And still no word about the trash gyre or the wasted trawling gear.
Is anyone led to track down updates on the garbage gyre and maybe to draw others into efforts to CLEAN UP THE MESS?
RantWoman's thoughts: go easy on the plastics whenever possible, but further agitation is beyoned RantWoman's ken.
Veganism:
RantWoman admits that going straight to vegan from buying a quarter of a cow every year to cut up and freeze is a HUGE change. RantWoman also understands water, grain, lack of biodiversity in poultry flocks, the market insanity of Big Meat, cow methane, health reasons to go light on meat.
So far, RantWoman is happy to plan shared food with vegans in mind. RantWoman has cut back on egg consumption. RantWoman only occasionally cooks with beef and presently is EXTREMELY grateful for a really nice do on a pot of mushroom barley soup. RantWoman has other meat facts in her life but definitely decided that a food plan promising to deliver pounds of various meets at least every 2 months was going to be WAY too much for RantWoman to eat. RantWoman also goes a little nuts without a certain level of dairy consumption.
Oops, and here we come to an intersection between plastics issues and RantWoman's disinclination to go entirely vegan: yogurt containers. RantWoman does not have it in her to cut out the plastic containers and make her own yogurt. RantWoman does ruthlessly reuse containers as many ways as possible. Vessels for taking out compost are a big one. RantWoman would consider using yogurt containers to help sprout seeds for the herb garden she plans to make. RantWoman also TRIES to route things like yogurt containers to the correct recycling stream. Okay that is more aspirational than realized, but here we are.
For better or worse as far as the future of the planet and the need to be vigilant against market controlling multinationals, RantWoman had to admit that going further on the vegan path is low on her list of considerations for paths to spiritual improvement.
Airplane travel
Just buy some carbon offsets already?
Actually, buy some carbon offsets and support reforestation regardless of whether there is air travel involved. Bonus climate badass points for also investing in indigenous communities' efforts to fight the deforestation that Big Meat brings.
Does RantWoman oversimplify?
Look, fascinating and aw-inspiring as air travel is, the free market in overcrowded airports, overstressed flight crews, schedule hiccups, and multiple other strands of logistical nightmares is more than enough to deter RantWoman from all but the most necessary trips!
RantWoman also realizes A LOT of air travel happens in the name of diplomacy and everything to do with wars. So promoting peacebuilding is ONE way to cut back on GHG. Another way to cut back on carbon emissions: don't focus only on air travel: RantWoman and probably other Friends can help anyone who is not already in the bus and bike and walk fan club think about how to reduce carbon emissions in daily life.
If the goal is to support the lives of Quakers in the global south, is it better to fly people from rich countries to listen to Friends from the very large Yearly Meetings in the global south OR do Friends in the global north need educating so badly that care should be taken to invite Friends from the global south to travel in the ministry, brave visa hassles, and do the emotional work of educating and educating?
Epilog:
There. RantWoman is responding to an invitation that apparently no one else responded to. Is anyone feeling challenged? Preached at? Not listened to? LIke maybe inspired with a nugget to grab onto and run with?
Yep. That happens sometimes.
Like "Oh, RantWoman, noting is ever good enough for you or you are too much of a martian or..."
Yep. That happens sometimes too..
Can we talk about, oh I dunno, grace and being open to continuing revelation???
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