one hour no power

ok so i know it's short notice but tomorrow, july 1st from noon to 1pm everyone concerned about the environment is invited to shut down all power for one hour. that means computers, lights, cars, radio, and even cell phones. initiated by a guy in the uk it is meant, “to raise awareness of our collective ability to tackle climate change through our everyday lives.” come on it's only an hour.

FAREWELL HAWAII!
ALOHA NUI LOA

as Henry said

Before coming to Hawaii people told me that this trip would change my life and that I would come home a completely different person. Now as I reflect on these last 3 months I realize that that's a lot of pressure to put on this trip and on myself. So not to disappoint those of you that may have been hoping I would come back different but it didn't take long for me to realize that I am the same person in Hawaii as I was in Cincinnati. That's not to say that I haven't grown or that there haven't been changes. There's a little more color to my skin, my hair is a bit lighter (if grey counts as light) and longer. I'm a bit calmer. I've fallen in love with papayas and yoga. I've learned that I am better behind a coffee counter than I am in the coffee field. I can surf, well almost. I can rumba and swing, well sort of. I can rock a weed whacker and I kind of understand 4 wheel drive. This has definitely been an adventure. It has also been the hardest thing I have ever done in my life. It hasn't been physically terrible, definitely not what I expected, but not terrible. Emotionally though, this has been a challenge. This type of adventure tends to attract similar people. The lost souls, traveling without responsibility and working to discover themselves in the beauty of the land. But I wasn't lost, a searching soul of course, but not lost. It may have been easier to travel 3500 miles from everything familiar if I wasn't leaving a great life behind. As I studied the architecture of time passing I thought a lot about that life and who I am in that life. I realized that while my scenery may change who I am is the same. I am still goofy, passionate, sassy, dorky, and playful. I am still analytical erring on the side of critical. I'm still tough...sometimes too tough. I'm still strong...sometimes too strong. I am fiercely loyal and protective of the people I love. I remain hungry for the truth and dedicated to finding it even when it frightens me. And while hard to keep in balance with my skeptical nature I am hopeful, knowing that I need hope like my own blood. I live with intensity and wear my audacity like a skirt. I am still an idealist, maybe more than ever and I will continue dreaming big dreams. I guess being away from all of the people and things that I have associated with my identity has taught me more of who I am and has helped me to learn my name. Henry Miller said, "I wish to become more and more myself as ridiculous as that may sound." So in keeping with his words, I have grown but really just into myself.

Victory for Ethiopian Coffee Farmers

Ethiopia has been seeking trademark for it's coffees, Sidamo, Harar, and Yirgacheffe. Last summer Starbucks prompted the National Coffee Association to file an opposition to Ethiopia's application for trademark. Because of this the US Patent and Trademark Office rejected the application. Since then Oxfam America has led a campaign urging Starbucks to sign the agreement. And it was just announced that Starbucks has signed a distribution, marketing and licensing agreement that recognizes Ethiopia’s right to control the use of its specialty coffee brands. This is a great victory for the farmers and could bring them millions more in annual revenue. Yes!!!

Meaningless Blog to Accompany Meaningless Work

Another day of sorting coffee beans made interesting only by making up games to play. Music is always a trusty friend when you're trying to pass time. So as I began sorting coffee beans this morning I opened itunes and since I couldn't be bothered to make a choice I decided to rely on the shuffle. The interesting thing about shuffling 10,000 songs is that the transitions can be a bit awkward. I find that the computer often chooses things I probably wouldn't. Like that obscene collection of 80's tunes that I really don't want people to know that I have but I just can't bring myself to erase. And then I find that I'm pleasantly surprised by albums I forgot I had or just haven't heard in a long while. Then I start to play games like guess who this band is within the first 15 seconds of the song. If I'm correct then I see if I can name the song and the album. Rarely do I get all 3 correct. But today's transitions have been entertaining in and of themselves. One such strand of songs was as follows:

1. starting out with the always great Neil Young
2. ...moving right into Moby
3. ...so excited the next one was Magnetic Fields
4. ...here was the shocker Nat King Cole
5. ...a tune from Amelie
6. ..."it's a mother&#@%$*" by the Eels
7. ... Jon Brion
8. ...Sufjan
9. ...Ravi Shankar
10. ...DJ Shadow

The abrubt song changes have kept me alert in anticipation for what my computer will choose next.

11. ...Harry Connick Jr.
12. ...Pat Benatar
13. ...Lou Reed

Under the Milo

One of the things this city girl misses is being able to walk everywhere. So today I parked in town and decided to walk the mile to the Japanese Gardens. My plan was to spend some time there with Al Gore's newest book, Assault on Reason. Mother nature had something different in mind. I was enjoying the walk with the wind blowing and the temperature dropping. I felt as though nature knew I needed that walk and was therefore conspiring to make it as pleasant as possible. But the wind seemed to be blowing a bit harder and there was this strange sweet smell to the air. It reminded me of that juicy fruit gum. I looked up and saw the darkest cloud moving towards me. Unphased and determined I continued until I noticed that not only was there a dark ominous cloud moving towards me from the west but there was one coming from the south as well. These clouds seemed to be closing in on me with their fingers stretching out trying to grab hold of me. Then came the rain. I realized I was in trouble. There was nowhere to go and my book was going to fall victim to this afternoon shower. I ran to a nearby milo tree and hid under the canopy of it's large branches. The rain finally settled into a slow drizzle but I stayed under that tree. I found comfort in it's covering. I will always be amazed by how unpredictable nature can be.

And in case any of you are questioning my sanity with the whole juicy fruit thing, it turns out that there were golden shower trees, "sweet peas," lining my walk.

For the Love of Goats

Since I've been here I have done my best to paint a picture for you all of what life here on the island looks like by using words, stories, and pictures. After seeing something for the second time today I have realized that by leaving this out I have failed in accurately describing this place.
A man walking his goat.
Now as I said this is not the first time I have seen this. The first time was a few weeks ago and I laughed it off thinking it was just some crazy guy who wanted to go for a walk but didn't want to be alone and since he had no other companions decided to put his goat on a leash. Seems like a likely explanation, right? Then when I saw it again today I started thinking that this might be normal Hawaiian behavior.
Truthfully I don't know much about goats and haven't given them much thought but being that I'm one who enjoys looking a little crazy I'm toying with the idea of trading my dog, Kenya for a goat when I get home. If it doesn't work out at least I can get some yummy cheese out of the deal.

Clotheslines and Permanence

The countdown is on and in case you're not keeping up we are down to 3 weeks, 21 days until I am back on Cincy soil. Truthfully I am a mixed bag of thoughts and emotions. There is something so comforting about knowing that I am coming home, back to my roots, back to my real life, back to my family and friends. But since I've been gone I have had moments of questioning if I could be that wild, free, untamed, nomadic woman inside and maybe stay or go to some other exotic place. I've been here for over 2 months now and while I've called it home it hasn't felt that way. I recognize that I have been holding something back, keeping a part of me hidden. Maybe it's been a way to protect myself or maybe the lack of the familiar made me feel lost or maybe I'm just not cut out for this kind of adventure. Don't get me wrong this has been amazing but it's made me realize that home isn't as much of a place as it is the existence of the people you love. It makes Cincinnati look like the most beautiful place in the world. If I could just transplant the beach it would be perfect. The next few weeks are going to fly and I'm hoping to be present in this place so that I can enjoy the time rather than living focused on how many days until I'm home. With that said there will remain the awareness that soon I will be back and I look forward to remaking a home once I'm there. A home where I can laugh with friends, hike with Kenya, dig my hands into non volcanic soil, have a garden, grow vegetables, knit, sew with mom, drink tea, make soup, and have a clothesline, a real picture of permanence.

Swan Dive into Shallow Fair Trade

Those of you who know me are already accustomed to my passion and those of you who have been following this blog since I left Cincy are probably pretty familiar by now with my tendency to become a bit ruthless when it comes to all things fair trade, organic, environment, sustainability, etc. I have recently been accused of being an idealist (you know who you are) and this was not complimentary but a general statement about the problem of idealists not being effective in changing things.
After an entry about why I do what I do, where I spoke of what I call shallow fair trade, I have been challenged by those who believe that big companies jumping on the Fair Trade wagon will do more for the advancement of the movement than all of the small companies combined. So I have decided to readdress this subject.
Here is the catch when Walmart, P&G, Nestle, and Starbucks buy into Fair Trade they have the power to introduce it to a larger market but what is lost in the process? The big boys get involved so they can use the label to increase their profit margins rather than supporting the goals of fair trade. And as more of the big corporations enter the mix the more the standards and integrity of the label erode. There is a huge difference between companies that stock their shelves with FT certified products and the companies that live by the FT principles.
This distinction is already evident with Walmart and organics. Seeing the profitability in organics, in 2006 Walmart announced that they were going to expand their organic offerings. The Cornucopia Institute recently found Walmart selling non-organic food products with the organic label. As well as non-organic produce being stocked in the organic sections and shelf labels advertising organic under non-organic products. It seems, not surprisingly, that Walmart has applied it's standard business model to organics. So what's to stop them from doing the same with fair trade offerings?
I guess this is my answer to the people that believe these companies hold more power for change than idealists like me. At what cost?

The Farm Bill

Since 1988 the biotech industry and industrial food corporations have unsuccessfully tried to take away local and state rights to ban or regulate genetically modified organisms and other controversial foods and crops. Failing to suppress grassroots control over food safety laws and labels in the last session of Congress, the big industry boys have now called on their friends in the House Subcommittee on Livestock, Dairy, and Poultry to slip their poison into an obscure section of the 2007-2012 Farm Bill.
The section in question follows:

SEC. 123. EFFECT OF USDA INSPECTION AND DETERMINATION OF NON-REGULATED STATUS.
* Prevents a State or locality from prohibiting an article the Secretary of Agriculture has inspected and passed, or an article the Secretary has determined to be of nonregulated status.

This provision would give the White House appointed Secretary of Agriculture the power to eliminate local or state food and farming laws. What does this mean? This broad statement basically says that if the USDA says something is safe, a state or local government is not allowed to regulate it. For example, there have been a number of counties around the country that have banned genetically modified organisms (see blog archive on soil). If passed in the Farm Bill this provision would void those local laws and set an ominous precedent undermining state rights.

My fellow Ohioans Jean Schmidt, like it or not, is our congresswoman and a member of the subcommittee. If anyone wants to write or call her to let her know how concerned we are and our desire to have the provision repealed here's her number.
P (202) 225-3164 F (202) 226-1992