Author: jennynazak

No, I’m not talking about ARPAnet here. The original internet is … us. People, connected by social relationships, by affinities — and by mysterious invisible etheric links (if you believe in those, which I do).

The internet (the network of computers, servers, devices, apps, and so on that I’m using to post this blog and you’re using to read it) is an indispensable tool for me. I rarely go a day or even half a day without getting online.

As a self-appointed “sustainability educator,” I feel a lot of pressure to share every eco-related post, event, webinar, group, news article that comes into my social-media feed or email inbox. And there are SO MANY now. (It’s a good problem to have — far better than the alternative: few or no events, classes, etc. happening out there that can help us get on the same page and help Mother Nature repair ecosystems.)

Not only do I feel pressure to share every eco item; I also sometimes worry that I will miss something, or not find what I need, unless I am constantly plugged in to the internet.

The fear of failing to social-media-share something that needs to be shared, or the fear that I might miss something I need personally, can bring on an unpleasant inner state in me: clogged-up, harried, frenzied, frenetic, overwhelmed — are words that come to mind.

At such times, I have to step back and remind myself of what the real, original internet is. It is all of us, naturally and organically connected. What we call the internet, that electronic network of networks, is just one of our tools. A wonderful tool, but it is just one.

In my book, I include a quote from my friend and fellow author Chip Furlong. This is from his book Bohemian Road Trip: “I swear, the more I accept the miracle of universal consciousness, the more I see electronic connectivity as a kind of booby prize.”

Have you ever had a person just phone you out of the blue, or you bump into them on the street after years of no contact, and the timing was eerie? Or you magically stumble on a pamphlet for just the course you were wishing someone would teach? Original internet.

I have other examples which I’ll add to this post later.

Later: Here’s one example. Back in the late 1990s, when I was living in Austin, I went to a big sprawling outdoor party where, late in the evening, three exotically costumed young women did a dance performance with fire. It looked like they were swinging balls of fire on the ends of chains. And it turned out that’s exactly what they were doing.

Back then, the internet was nowhere near as pervasive as it is now. Facebook and Twitter didn’t exist; websites and email existed but were not a major thing. You didn’t assume anyone had an online presence. Search engines such as Yahoo existed, but not to the extent that I would have been able to run home and google “Austin fire dancers,” even if it had occurred to me to do so. (Google didn’t yet exist, by the way.)

But I just knew I had to find one of these women and learn fire dancing. The very next day, I was walking in a part of downtown Austin where I didn’t usually walk. And as I was enjoying a path through a quiet park, I practically ran into one of the firedancers!

Long story short, I told her I’d seen her perform, she said she’d teach me, and I ended up getting into fire performing. I did it for fun and even had paid gigs for awhile.

The interesting thing was, when I ran into that firedancer, seemingly randomly, in that park, I wasn’t in the least bit surprised deep down. Because that kind of thing happens.

Further Exploration:

Usually in this section I offer links I’ve searched and found for you. This time I’m going to switch things up, and invite you to google a couple of really cool terms. They are “quantum entanglement” and “spooky action at a distance.” (You might already be familiar with them or at least have heard these phrases.) Enjoy! Let me know what you find, and how it relates to your personal experience and observations.

“In calculating how ‘green’ a product or technology is. One must calculate not only the carbon footprint of manufacturing and transporting it but also of recycling it. Further yet in a capitalistic society one must also calculate the carbon footprint of what it took for the buyer or user to earn the money to purchase it.”

(Wise words from Climate Change Gardening. In my book, and elsewhere on this blog, I encourage people to include their own very precious and finite human energy, and that of others, in considering the cost and footprint of a thing. Human energy includes the time we spend working to earn the money to buy this or that. It also includes the mental overhead of something we’re choosing to put our attention on.)

When you take this deeper view of footprint, does it change anything for you? Are there things (tangible or intangible) in your life that might not be worth keeping around? And are there things you don’t have, that you would want to bump up higher on your priority list?

My adopted hometown, Daytona Beach, is located in a region that’s known as the “Shark-bite Capital of the World.” I know a lot of people who surf and swim, and yes, a few of them have been bitten. (Usually the bites did not need medical attention.)

My neighbor J. is an avid surfer (actually several of my neighbors are). Recently he and a fellow surfer met up with a four-foot shark out in the waves. It swam around and toward them. Both of them quickly paddled to shore; neither was bitten. It’s said that surfers look like food to sharks (something about the underside of the surfboard looking like the belly of a fish or seal).

I asked J if he really felt the shark was after him. He said no. “It was an adolescent, they’re like any adolescent — they will try anything. And what’s more, the area we were in was full of fish.” (From what I read and hear, most shark bites, at least around here, do seem unintentional — the sharks mistakenly biting something that turns out not to be food.) I really appreciated J’s knowledge of, and compassion toward, the creatures whose environment he visits. So many of us humans lack that.

Knowledge, awareness breeds understanding and compassion. Most people who scream “Kill it!” when they see a supposedly “scary” creature like a spider or snake — don’t even know the creature’s name, let alone its habits. Education is key. As I’ve often said before, I think all of us have an obligation to learn the names and habits of the critters and plants wherever we live or visit. Plus which, it’s such a joy to learn about them. Really awe-inspiring.

On the subject of awe, David at Raptitude (one of my favorite spiritual writers) just wrote this beautiful piece on awe: “The Healthy Emotion We Don’t Get Enough Of.” David writes: “I suspect awe is, for humans, an essential spiritual nutrient, one our modern lifestyles don’t provide nearly enough of. Our pre-modern ancestors would not have been able to avoid awe, and its benefits, because of how frequently nature would have humbled them, in the form of deadly storms, combat with beasts, pristine wilderness, and nightly starscapes. We already know modernity doesn’t provide [what] we humans need to thrive, which is why we do absurd things like running in circles …”

It struck me, as J. spoke about the adolescent shark, that his tone also bore the kind of affectionate understanding one might have toward a nephew or grandson — or toward a younger version of one’s own self. We could use a lot more of that kind of understanding in today’s world.

I’ve read that Native Americans and other indigenous people think of all creatures as their sisters or brothers. I once read about a tribe (I think it was on an island in the Philippines — if I find the link I’ll post it for you) who revered crocodiles as their grandparents. The people swam freely among the crocodiles. (Recently, according to what I read, crocodiles started eating the tribespeople; the ancient relationship was broken. My hunch is that some other humans, downriver or across the strait or something, taught the crocodiles that humans are dangerous.)

Surfing around (no pun intended) online, I found this article in the India Times about a village called Maharashtra, where the residents create space in their homes for cobras! If people can do this for a deadly venomous snake, maybe the people where I live can learn about our nonvenomous Black Racer snakes and stop wanting to kill them.

A final word about our status as “Shark-bite Capital”: The actual number of bites in 2019 in Volusia County was … nine. That number was 21 for the state of Florida, and 64 worldwide. Just to put things in perspective. How many people each year are hit by cars? Not to discount the pain of the people who got bitten, of course. Just to say we modern humans have a strong tendency to panic and magnify natural threats in comparison with human threats.

Last week I attended the webinar California Landlords’ Summit on Homelessness 2020. VERY worthwhile. The keynote address by Charles Marohn of Strong Towns was even more of a gem than all his other talks & articles & book that I’ve listened to/read, which is saying a lot.

The keynote is packed with powerful, economical solutions that are practical and do-able on a local scale, empowering local govts & citizens. And the various panelists from Kerns County California gave real-time nuts & bolts examples of things they are doing that are working right now. And can work anywhere!!

I am so grateful they have provided a recording!! You can watch/listen here.

Please share with your fellow local activists, elected leaders and anyone else you feel would be interested. Yes, we can house the homeless now! And some of the best solutions are closest at hand, and within the market’s ability to provide.

This morning I woke up feeling very pessimistic about the future of humankind. It happens sometimes. The road-widening plan (that I wrote about in my previous post) had me feeling down. And I just wasn’t quite feeling up to calling or emailing FDOT with my comments quite yet.

So instead, I called people who helped me cheer up. And I noticed which kinds of people I call when I need a shot in the arm.

There are pessimistic people who are not taking action. I never call those folks when I need a boost.

There are optimistic people who aren’t taking action. I don’t call them either, because I don’t want to be boosted into la-la happy denial land. I want to be boosted back into the land of willingness to take action.

And that brings me to the group who are my favorite to talk with when I need a boost: optimistic people who are taking action. I chatted with a couple of those friends/fellow civic activists, and felt miraculously cured of my sour somber sluggishness.

Finally, there are people who are pessimistic but are nonetheless taking action. I find those folks somewhat rare, as, in my experience, people who are taking action tend to be at least somewhat optimistic. This other subset of people does exist, though. And despite their pessimism, I can still get a boost from talking with them because they are, after all, taking action.

I really do get the most out of talking with my “optimist and taking action” friends, though, when I need a boost.

When I’m feeling centered, I sometimes reach out to the “pessimist taking no action” people, and invite them to join me in taking action. Or just encourage them to explore other viewpoints. They don’t always join me, and they’re not always willing to explore other viewpoints. But sometimes they do, and they get a boost. Circle of life! We can all be each other’s battery chargers.

On the topic of getting a shot in the arm from action-taking optimists … As it happens, I’ve just finished reading Nature’s Best Hope: A New Approach To Conservation that Starts in Your Yard. This book is by Douglas Tallamy, an entomologist and ecosystems-restoration advocate who’s been getting a lot of press lately for encouraging people to “re-wild” their outdoor spaces. He’s a great writer; really knows his stuff and communicates deep joy and enthusiasm in his mission. He’s really optimistic and he’s taking action.

While I was reading his book, I felt gloomy at times, because the facts in the book paint a really dire picture in intricate detail. As just one example, I never knew that caterpillars, whose numbers have declined to a fraction of healthy-ecosystem levels, are such an essential food source for birds. It seems hopeless! But then I thought: Wait a minute! Here’s a guy who’s extremely knowledgeable about the problem. And he is very optimistic about our ability to fix it! The answer came to me: “Listen to the scientist who knows his facts and speaks with passion! Allow yourself to be optimistic! And keep on taking the actions he recommends!”

This morning I did a bit of relaxing work with scissors in my garden. I’m cutting back some nonnatives I planted when I first moved into this house. I’m making room for natives I’ve planted more recently (as I’ve continued to expand my native-plant knowledge), that have started to really take off and get big. Halleluiah!

I also signed up for a webinar that appeared in my Facebook feed this morning. “Communicating Insect-Friendly Landscape Value To Your Clients.” Organized by Florida Association of Native Nurseries; happening October 23 from 3:30-4:30pm EST. “Insects matter. Learn to educate your clients and others about the value of protecting insects through ecological landscaping practices. For landscape architects, landscape designers/installers, maintenance companies and estate horticulturists.” (I’d suggest it for educators, activists, and government officials also!)

Yesterday I Facebook Live’d a 30-minute walk through my neighborhood and down the nearest major arterial to the beach. You can watch/listen here if you like. I was honored to find that more people tuned in than I expected.

Nutshell: Florida Department of Transportation plans to widen East International Speedway Boulevard, and to add either a roundabout or a “signalized intersection” depending on public feedback. Thus far the public debate has focused almost entirely on the “Roundabout vs. Signal” aspect, and hardly at all on the fact that an already wide, high-speed road is being widened more, basically eliminating any hopes that some of the blighted properties along the road will be reborn as businesses. I also muse about vacant houses; homelessness; the idea that our landscaping practices are violent; and how fortunate I feel regardless to get to live at the beach.

You might have similar things happening on your city/town/region’s physical and social landscape.

Although my ideal would be to have the road stay the same width and become lined with grocery store, laundromat, and other essential services that would help create a more walkable neighborhood, that doesn’t seem to be in the cards here. I was feeling really down about it, but I reached out to the kind of people I reach out to when I need a boost (see next post), and I was able to loosen up, not feel so rigidly attached to my version of how things “should” be.

Trying to adopt a positive mind-set, I have the thought that perhaps, in our hurricane-prone region, we might be better off not building new buildings. FDOT also plans to widen the sidewalk for pedestrians and cyclists. It’s already wide enough — and with hardly any businesses, what the heck are people going to want to walk or cycle to?!

My “make the best of things” side says, “Well, maybe with the right plantings it could become some kind of linear nature park. And if the sidewalk’s really wide, we could fit espresso carts and other mobile nano-enterprises on there. Goods and services available on a moment’s notice, and easily evac’d if need be.”

In my experience, one of the most lifesaving peace-of-mind skills is being able to adopt a fresh viewpoint when things don’t go as I would want them to. At the same time, I am learning to contribute my original ideas while a debate is going on, rather than hanging back and giving up on communicating. It’s kind of a balancing act. Having a preference, yet being able to let go.

Regarding roads … Recently I read a super article from StrongTowns. They talk about roads vs. streets. Roads are meant to move people from point A to point B (mainly in cars); streets are meant to build wealth for cities, and be desirable places for people to spend time. (And a “stroad,” which I have read about elsewhere from StrongTowns people and other transportation experts, is a half-assed hybrid that ends up fulfilling neither a road’s nor a street’s purpose.)

Further Reading:

“Slow the Cars” (Charles Marohn, StrongTowns). “With a street, we’re trying to build a place. With a road, we’re trying to get from one place to another. Streets emphasize wealth creation. Roads are about movement.”

You might say I’m a born environmentalist. Growing up in a Navy family, we moved every couple of years, and our moves were always from one coast to the other (coasts being where Navy bases tend to be found). Mom & Dad turned our cross-country moves by car into extended field trips; we’d camp at national parks, national monuments, state parks. We were taught to respect wildlife and nature but never fear it. By learning and adhering to basic rules of safe and respectful conduct (same as you would if you were visiting someone else’s country, city, or neighborhood), we were freed up to enjoy being out in nature.

From the deserts to the Grand Canyon to the Appalachians to the beaches of both coasts, I have seen so much raw unfiltered beauty from an early age that I don’t enjoy being in artificially lit, climate-controlled indoor spaces, and I find it excruciatingly painful to witness our daily casual violence against nature, such as our psychotic landscaping practices or our obscene explosion of single-use plastic junk.

I don’t protect the environment out of a sense of duty; I protect it out of love. That makes it easier for me to practice self-restraint (limit consumption of resources): The fact that I’m helping to protect something I love.

What about you — What got you into caring about the environment? And does your concern stem from early childhood experiences, or from something more recent?