Author: jennynazak

This extra hot summer, I’ve lost count of how many of my friends and acquaintances have posted on Facebook that their airconditioning went out, and that they had to fork over hundreds or thousands of dollars to get it fixed.

It’s criminal that our “modern” houses are not designed to be livable without AC. Meanwhile in other parts of the world with humid tropical/subtropical climates, ancient building methods using local materials make houses much more comfortable. I love looking at pix of old-style houses in India, Philippines, Vietnam etc. And old Florida houses too.

I myself do not use AC, because I don’t like the expense, or the sensation of forced-air cooling and being cut off from outdoors. But I understand why people use it and say it’s impossible to live without it. Our “modern” houses are not optimized for passive cooling.

On a positive note: today a fellow activist/Facebook friend whose AC had been out all week said she had found an AC guy who — when she indicated that replacing the unit was not in the cards — actually talked her through various things she could DIY in order to stave off having to replace her unit. Now that is “COOL”! Such professionals deserve a special award in my book.

She was able to get the unit running again. And I’m sure the AC guy has plenty of other business!

In this blog, and in my book, I have offered various tips and strategies for living without AC. Most of the things that I arrived at turned out to be an old-fashioned stuff that people always did back in the day. Reducing or eliminating AC use can save enormous amounts of money and provide other benefits as well, such as reducing the feeling of vulnerability that comes with having a big expensive machine that “has to be fixed right now or we can’t function.”

Further exploration:

• “Summer Survival Council: How to Feel Cool without AC. Surviving the Heat when AC isn’t an option” (unprepared; multiple authors). Good tips from several experienced people.

As an avid DIYer and extremely thrifty human, I will try to make just about anything I need out of old stuff I have lying around the house and garage. After all, there is an awful lot of landfill-diverted fabric and plastic and whatnot just sitting around waiting to be “chosen”: pressed into service to be cleverly fashioned into adorable and convenient everyday items for house and garden.

So, in conjunction with my placement of the solar oven in a new, more all-day sunny, and much more public area of the yard, where it’ll fulfill a greater educational function, I decided that I would like a weather-resistant cover for it instead of hauling it in and out of the garage all the time.

My first thought, of course, was to hand-sew a cover out of old fabric. But I really want a polished and deliberate appearance, the same as one might have with a cover for a nice barbecue grill out in the front yard.

So I did something really wild (for me, haha) just now: I ordered an official SunOven cover for my solar oven. That way even with the cover on, it has the logo displayed and will pique people’s interest.

For people preferring a used option, it’s possible that Amazon would be offering used covers. They are offering new ones. However, I prefer to support the Global SunOven company directly, as they are doing great work in the world.

To learn more about the Global SunOven, its various accessories, and the company that makes them, and the educational work and community aid they do, visit their website www.sunoven.com

Solar ovens have suffered from being marginalized as some sort of Girl Scout party trick or hippie thing that everybody remembers from their childhood back in the 70s or whatever. Making melted-cheese sandwiches using a cardboard box with foil etc. Nothing wrong with that nostalgic memory! If only it were leading people to use the ovens as a real cooking option. But it does not seem to be.

So, I am really looking forward to getting my official Global SunOven cover for my wonderful solar oven.

Fellow diehard DIYers: Are there some situations where you have chosen a new, store-bought option rather than DIY? Let us hear about it!

PS. Another recent situation where I opted for store-bought was last year, when I needed undershirts and underwear bottoms. I like ones that are are a very lightweight, stretchy, highly breathable synthetic fabric. They are a bit beyond my sewing skills, in both fit and fabric. I make them last a long time, as they are my “Sunday best” so to speak. I do have DIY handmade undershirts and bloomers as well, which are fine for everyday wear. My favorite shop for underwear is Duluth Trading Company. I like Patagonia as well.

People who produce written or artistic content are rightfully concerned about AI. Then again it could save some of us artists and creators a lot of work, by giving us the tools of art directors, editors.

I think about the animators in the past whose work was made possible only because it was supported by an army of sketchers, inkers, colorists, etc.

Occurred to me just now:

• It could be that in the future we will write only for the intrinsic joy of writing or making art; that’ll be the only reason to do it since we could do it by AI.

• It could also be that we will continue to buy content from each other even though we could get things free from AI, and we will do this from the intrinsic joy and satisfaction of supporting each other.

• On a personal note, I have long had a pipe dream of making an animated film of my favorite poem, T.S. Eliot’s The Waste Land. I say pipe dream because I don’t have any of the skills of animation, or the level of drawing skill needed to execute what I visualize for this poem. Nor particularly wish to invest the enormous amount of energy it would surely take to develop those skills. So I imagine that, if I were able to attract a team of people interested in such a project, my role would either need to be paying the artists directly, or raising funds to pay the artists. In light of AI, though, it did suddenly cross my mind the other day that AI might offer another route to implementing my vision. Quite honestly though, I would much rather do this as a team with fellow humans, not only to support people’s livelihoods but also for the intrinsic joy of working with others to create something worthwhile. Furthermore, as the below-linked article from Anti-Racism Daily points out, there are serious equity issues involved with using AI.

Further exploration:

• ‘Not for Machines to Harvest’: Data Revolts Break Out Against AI (Sheera Frenkel & Stuart A. Thompson; New York Times nytimes.com). “Writers and artists are locking their files to protect their work or are boycotting certain websites that publish A.I.-generated content, while companies like Reddit want to charge for access to their data. At least 10 lawsuits have been filed this year against A.I. companies, accusing them of training their systems on artists’ creative work without consent. … At the heart of the rebellions is a newfound understanding that online information — stories, artwork, news articles, message board posts and photos — may have significant untapped value. … News organizations are also resisting A.I. systems. In an internal memo about the use of generative A.I. in June, The Times said A.I. companies should ‘respect our intellectual property.'”

• “The Invisible Labor Force Powering ChatGPT” (Nia Norris; Anti-Racism Daily). “Speculation on whether artificial intelligence (AI) will replace human labor often leaves out a piece of the puzzle. Tech enthusiasts argue that turning unappealing tasks over to machines will be a boon to human creativity. Skeptics fear that machines are coming to take away human jobs. Many people are unaware that simply making AI ‘intelligent’ requires an invisible labor force working in the growing gig economy. …”

Solar cooking this morn: Chopped up a bunch of turnips I had almost forgotten about because they were in a cloth bag in the back of my fridge crisper drawer. And added the remaining half of a red onion that was in there.

Then I was going to stir in this chili paste that I made the other day. But then I decided to just cook the vegetables plain in a little bit of coconut oil and apple cider vinegar, and add the deep rich seasonings and spices to taste later, to the cooked veggies once they are on my plate.

I am not a terrible cook, but I’m not a great cook either, and one of my most useful learning experiences has been to cook things plain and then taste how they taste without seasoning or with minimal seasoning, and only then, if I still want, I’ll add “thicker” condiments (leftover chili or hot mustard or soy-sauce packets from Chinese delivery when they did not listen to my request to leave out the sauce packets and utensils) and/or sprinkles (bacon, bleu cheese crumbles), etc.

I’m looking forward to topping the baked root vegetables with some of that chili paste, and maybe some nutritional yeast or nuts or blue cheese.

Chili paste: I found at the back of my cabinet a vacuum packed bag of dried chili peppers purchased at the Asian grocery a while back. I opened it, stuck them in the blender with a bit of water, added a bit of coconut oil and then honey, date syrup, and blackstrap molasses and touch of vinegar. The flavor isn’t blast-your-face-off spicy, but it’s definitely deeply richly warm. If I had had any maple syrup in the cabinet I would’ve added some of that too.

One of the challenges some of us face in our efforts to incorporate lots of plain fresh vegetables in our diets, as opposed to easy grab & go processed foods, is making them taste truly yummy but in a healthy way.

Some people like plain steamed or boiled veggies just fine, and do not have this issue. Others of us like cooked-in seasonings, or added-after toppings, or both. The best way to find out what works for you & your other household members is experiment! A lot less produce would go to waste if we find tasty ways to eat it. And if you make something you like, don’t be afraid to take a sample to a friend or neighbor!

Although I’m not a great cook, I find that one thing that helps me is a willingness to explore and blend different seasonings and condiments. It’s a pretty low-stakes experiment and yields enjoyable results.

In midsummer with the high sun angle, a solar oven can get hot enough to start cooking by midmorning, say around 930 or even 9 if you really push it by optimizing the oven tilt.

(See photos here on my DEEP GREEN Facebook page.)

In this blog, my posts seem to take a gradation of tones.

There are the encouraging, nurturing posts. I might call those “sweet.” They are designed to soothe people’s anxieties; ease burnout; let you all know you have love and company, and that your presence makes a difference however you choose to show up.

Then there are the posts that have a slightly curmudgeonly tone. I might call those “salty.” The mood is like, “Yeah, we are all on the same team, and I’m not trying to shame anyone, but we really have to do better, and here are some tips and resources.”

And then, there are the way-amped-up, super-cranky posts. I might call these “spicy.” These are mostly venting my frustration with industry, politicians, and “my demographic tribe”: my fellow white Boomers of the privileged classes who identify as environmentalist. The tone is like, come ON people! We call ourselves eco activists and this is the best we can do??? SHAME ON US!!! We need to do a LOT better.

Although a gradation of tones might be necessary, and sometimes entertaining, I sometimes find myself going back and toning down the super spicy posts. I love my fellow human beings. And shame doesn’t tend to help anyone. And besides, anything I am railing against is something I myself do or have done in some form. I certainly make impulse purchases. And I sometimes buy in more quantity than I need. And in my days of flying, I sometimes took an impulsive weekend flight, feeling very glamorous at the time and not thinking at all about the planet or any of my fellow beings.

The spicy posts are mainly motivated by my own fear and panic. It’s when I allow myself to go down a doomy rabbit-hole. But as much as I have sometimes gotten off on being snarky, I think that in the future I am going to tend to reserve my snarkiness more for characters in my fiction books, and keep the content of this blog holding steady at a sweet to salty range. Well OK there might be some spice sometimes still! And always, I appreciate your feedback on how the tone of some post has helped you, impeded you in your efforts.

And I think you ALL for caring enough to be on a path of reducing our footprint on the beautiful planet that is our only home.

And: If you run across a cranky post when you need a sweet nurturing post, please feel free to skip the cranky post! And, conversely, if the sweet posts aren’t quite getting you motivated, keep reading — you are sure to run into a salty or spicy post before very long! It’s like that joke about the weather, that everybody in every place seems to think is unique to their place: If you don’t like the weather here, wait five minutes!

Added an hour later: with typical beautiful synchronicity, one of my teachers posted this quote about compassion. It definitely fits in with my ego activism including this blog. Nurturing my fellow humans, as opposed to othering them and calling them out, is really the direction I want to move in more and more.

“The practice of seeing clearly is what finally moves us toward kindness. Seeing, again and again, the infinite variety of traps we create for seducing the mind into struggle, we feel compassion for ourselves. And then, quite naturally, we feel compassion for everyone else.” — Sylvia Boorstein, “The Wisdom of Discomfort”

If you’re the kind of person who likes to explore your creative inclinations while celebrating and protecting life on our beautiful planet, you might enjoy following my page Art & Design by Jenny Nazak (on Facebook) if you aren’t already! It’s a public page and you might not need a Facebook account to access it.

It’s a mix of my own creative efforts, beautiful artwork and creativity from other people. Media range from landscaping to sewing to painting to DIY upcycling and more.

And of course I sprinkle in ecosocial activism elements, because I don’t believe I can separate activism from my artwork, nor want to.

Here’s a recent post:

When you’ve entered a phase of your fashion life that takes “shabby chic” to new heights (or depths haha), right when the most uber-upscale glossy magazines are showing designer-ripped, artfully stained t-shirts and distressed jeans for $700 or $3,000 …

#lifeisgood #livinthedream #myfashioncareer #ecostyle #landfilldiversion

And such a delightful afternoon at Marina’s place for high tea with 10 or 15 other women! Ended up being good business networking too.
@golden magnolia marine resort

PS. My hat was borrowed from Marina’s vintage collection which she keeps on hand for guests. Necklace purchased from her reasonably priced vintage boutique collection a few months back. Earrings: Paparazzi.

Sorry, in order to see the photos you’ll have to check out the post on my Facebook page.

And here’s the overall page link. Page name is Art & Design by Jenny Nazak. I appreciate any Likes and follows.

Welcome to my deep green blog! I’m so glad you are here.

On this blog, as on my Facebook page and other platforms, I strive to always provide realistic and empowering suggestions / options, for everyday people living in the everyday world with everyday wallets.

While being accessible and realistic, the wide-ranging menu of perspectives that I share, from people in all places & circumstances, also ensures that you will always be able to take the next step, the next challenge, the next adventure that will be fitting and enriching for YOU on your green path.

I look forward to seeing you on my various platforms, and please feel free to comment on my posts with any questions or thoughts you might have. I share a steady stream of first-rate content from fellow activists, scientist, artists, permaculturists, and other concerned & creative & compassionate citizens from all around the world.