Category: low-footprint living

GRIST magazine has a wonderful series of “climate fiction” stories. The series is called “Imagine 2200.”

“Imagine 2200, Grist’s climate fiction contest, celebrates stories that offer vivid, hope-filled, diverse visions of climate progress. Discover all the 2024 winners. Or sign up for email updates to get new stories in your inbox.”

This is one of the stories: https://grist.org/climate-fiction/imagine2200-cabbage-koora/

I’ve read several so far.

As a frame of reference, I trial & error’ed several temp + humidity combinations, and the resulting wet-bulb temperatures.

“The wet-bulb temperature is the lowest temperature that can be reached under current ambient conditions by the evaporation of water only. Even heat-adapted people cannot carry out normal outdoor activities past a wet-bulb temperature of 32 °C (90 °F), equivalent to a heat index of 55 °C (131 °F).” (Wikipedia).

For those who don’t know, wet-bulb index of 95 is widely accepted by scientists as the limit beyond which human beings can theoretically only survive for a few hours.

But, now experts are saying that even 88 or above can be dangerous — even for healthy young people.

Here are three sets of temperature & humidity values that I input, and the resulting wet-bulb temperatures:

99F, 87% humidity –> wet-bulb 95.65 (deadly range)

94, 87% –> 90.76

94, 80 –> 88.58

To calculate the wet-bulb temperature where you are now, visit this link: https://calculator.academy/wet-bulb-calculator/

I make up acronyms all the time. Some of them stick with me. The acronym habit might be a product of growing up in a military household.

Here, in no particular order, are a few of my favorite ones. (By the way, just because I said I made it up doesn’t mean someone else didn’t previously make it up. If you learn of an instance of any of these that is not by me, let me know so I can give proper attribution.)

POFIFOTO – Been using this one for some years now. It stands for “Put One Foot In Front Of The Other,” and I use it to keep myself moving forward when it feels like I’m getting derailed and discouraged, indulging in catastrophic thinking about the enormity of whatever task or mission.

NOGARA – No One Gives A Rat’s Ass. I think I made this of a couple of years ago. It originally was negative self-talk, meaning, nobody cares about your stupid work or effort. But, more recently I have turned it around, and I instead use it to talk myself out of beating myself up when I have said or done something stupid. Own it, make amends, move on, do better. Nobody cares that much about my blunder (as long as I own it); they are all involved in their own stuff.

NETIFEB – Not Every Thing Is For Every Body. Just started this one, I use it to keep myself focused on quality (of the work I put out) rather than quantity (mass appeal, Likes etc.).

DAISNAID – Do As I Say, Not As I Do. Or, also, Do As I Say, Not As I’ve DONE. This one is for when there’s a communication habit or other behavior that I have found to be ineffective, and am therefore in the process of changing. Or something unhelpful that I don’t do anymore but that I have fallen into in the past.

ITWIT – (New addition that came to me today, December 8.) It Takes What It Takes. I like how it rhymes with “nitwit.” Because this morning I was finishing the second half of 1) hauling a bunch of bags of leaves that someone had tossed at curbside (I accomplished this part yesterday evening); and then 2) deploying them in the yard. The deploying part, which I had set for myself to knock off very easily this morning, was taking me longer than it felt like it should. And I kept spilling leaves and bumping into stuff it was really getting to be annoying. And it came to me, “it takes what it takes.” This resonates with one of my favorite pieces of advice from Peace Pilgrim, always been one of my favorite pieces of advice, that if we’re feeling overwhelmed then we’re trying to do more than is our job. It takes what it takes! Maybe some other chore gets put off till later. And we have to stay in the moment instead of thinking ahead to how much of the stack remains. That’s one of my big pitfalls, not staying in the moment enough. But I have tools to help me stay in the moment, and when I use them, everything works great.

Reading people’s encouraging stories about their experiences wearing Kamala t-shirts and whatnot. It’s a great way to connect with people and let them know of ways to get involved. That said, not everyone wants to directly declare their political preference; it can be especially tricky if you live in a small town, for example.

On that note, I got an idea for some jewelry, and a T-shirt, that are not direct but would still have the desired effect of gathering our people:

1) Jewelry: a whistle worn on a chain as a necklace, with a cat’s face painted on it or a cat sticker stuck to it.

2) A T-shirt with an image of such a whistle. No words, just an image. People will get it, and the people who don’t get it and they ask what is that, you could just answer, “It’s a cat whistle.” And smile sweetly and go on about your day.

3) If we want a bolder version of the t-shirt to include words to drive the message home, we could add a slogan that says “I see your dog-whistle, and raise you my CAT-whistle!”

(Yes of course, many if not most women in our movement are not single or childless or cat-ladies per se, but I think the phrase has become pretty standard to indicate what it indicates, which is #TeamKamala and #VoteBlue!)

For my fellow NPAs who might be struggling with all these calls to vote Democrat, I made this short TikTok video addressed to my fellow lefty anarchists. But really I’m calling all NPAs. Because I feel your pain. And this election really is important. As much as the two mainstream parties may feel like just two variations on the theme of elitism, plutocracy, war-mongering, and authoritarianism, there are some very key differences, and lives are at stake.

One of the tips I give is that the most likely successful course of action will be to first make sure we vote out the creeping fascism. And then after November (and don’t forget to vote in your primary in August as well if applicable), we have to keep up the pressure on the White House and Congress in order to get the truly progressive things accomplished in society.

Two suggestions for you in the meantime: join Veterans for Peace, read their literature and share it and attend their zoom meetings; and connect with Not Another Bomb, sign & share their petition calling on Kamala Harris / Biden administration right now for an arms embargo, and attend NAB’s zoom action meetings.

PS. Production note: My preference for how to produce a message i choose to wear is either DIY, or order direct from the campaign/Dem orgs (in cases where the message I want to convey is being offered for sale to support the campaign, a Democrat org etc.), or else have it made by a Black-owned business or other local business in my area who I want to support. I am currently making my cat whistle by painting white nail polish on a nice steel whistle that I happen to have. And I will make a cat face with sharpie on one side, and maybe the word “meow” on the other side.

OK! I got my whistle made, and am wearing it right now. Here’s a pic of both sides.

I would like to believe that we will get rain at some point. Not trying to jinx anyone with flooding, but after that virtually rainless July, and after a bunch of failed research experiments, I am feeling a bit exhausted. This, the 62nd summer of my life, is the physically hardest summer I have ever lived through. For many reasons. But, my job is to run a research station, and I am part of the research. Anything I’m dealing with, it just gets fed into the research. It becomes a benefit for the collective. Despite my complaining right now, I love my work and will quit when I’m dead.

I just would sure really love some rain this afternoon or tomorrow though. 

Very very grateful right now for cloud cover.

Photo: The T-shirt I won the other week in the raffle at the community mental health awareness fair. I went to the fair to learn & get informational resources to share with my neighborhood, and in the process I ended up getting a resource for myself too.

At first I read the T-shirt as saying “Don’t quit.” And I said to myself, boy, is that some advice I really need right now!

But then later I realized the t-shirt said “I don’t quit.” And I realized that that too was true. Because even when I feel like nothing is working, and I start to mumble about giving up, I am extremely persistent in persisting!!!

(Some friends on my feed pointed out that because of the interplay of white text on black background for some of the letters, you could also read the T-shirt to say “Do It”!)

Laura O (Rich and Resilient Living), in her capacity as a dear friend and as a fellow Floridian adventurer in low-footprint living experiments, asked me for some more info about what kind of challenges I’ve been experiencing. Here’s a summary:

Oh absolutely would love to chat, and also I’m going to post some things publicly right here because like I said, I do intend for my research station to benefit the whole community.

1) Last year, when the heat got really crazy like maybe around August, I started sleeping on bare tile. It was effective, and fortunately at this stage of my life I have enough meat on my bones to be able to sleep on bare tile <wink>.

This year, I started feeling “that much heat” way back in June, so I’ve been sleeping on bare tile since June. But even so, I’m still not able to sleep as well because of the sheer heat.

I don’t think I’ve gained any weight since last summer so I don’t think that’s it.

(BTW my two wonderful “civilian” housemates use electric fans and get by OK. I myself did, last night, turn on a very small electric fan that I keep for emergencies such as if we have a houseguest in the hot season. Not a likely scenario, but it could happen and I want to be prepared. I did find the tiny 26-watt fan to be reassuringly effective. However, since my experiments are focused on dealing with the natural air flow that comes thru the window screens, I won’t use that as a regular solution, and only left the fan on for about an hour. I think the last time I used an electric fan was back in the 1990s when I was living in Tokyo; otherwise I have always gotten by just fine with no air conditioning and no fan).

2) I only have full use of one arm, and it is not my dominant arm. Some chronic pain has hit my shoulder of my dominant arm, my right arm. Right now it feels like about 60% which is improvement from a few weeks ago when the functionality in my right arm as far as lifting & carrying tasks etc. felt like about 30%. I decided to feel positive & feed this experience into my research, because getting older in these bodies is reality for everybody, and many of us are going to have some sort of chronic pain that may threaten our ability to take care of a household.

(The shoulder thing, and a couple of other chronic pain, is all rooted in an almost-lifelong back issue which I have been addressing by getting more diligent with an excellent online exercise class that I started a few years ago, but had slacked off on. The online class is called “Pelvis reset for low back pain,” and it’s available at dailyom.com )

The impossibility of hauling as much water as I might otherwise have been inclined to haul, ended up turning out to be a blessing, as the plants have mostly stayed quite happy and perky. Basically my yard seems to have gotten to a point where there is a critical mass of shade and protection. So they don’t seem to need as much of me hauling the watering can.

3) Air circulation mechanisms in the house appear to have reached a standstill. I think what’s going on is a trade-off between vegetation and air circulation. I’m going to have to do some trimming of plants and trees. Also, I’m doing experiments with how much DIY stuff I can manage to do with these diabolical modern windows that I simply have great trouble understanding and working with. When people say nobody wants to work anymore, I think what’s actually going on is that modern systems are less DIY fixable, and require professional attention, but there’s just so much of it that nobody could possibly do it all.

The handyman are all backed up, and anyway, not everyone can afford to hire someone for every little thing. So all the little tasks pile up. A note regarding those diabolical modern windows: In today’s society of cranked-up AC and eroded trust, windows are designed for security and air-tightness much more than ability to maximize airflow. And that’s even *if* they have screens, which is not a given even here in Florida.

— I may think of some more stuff later! Thank you for asking!

And thanks for the hugs and rainy thoughts! Sending hugs back at you! Was very sorry to hear about the extra bad water quality reports in the gulf.

Added later: I just realized that a lot of the experiments are not actual failures per se. One problem is that I have been violating my cardinal rule of dealing with life in summer without AC. I call it the SOB rule. As in, Stay Outta Buildings!

In a hot place, in a modern dwelling (which is to say, a building that is not designed to be comfortable without 24-7 artificial climate control), there are several hours of the day, maybe even most of the day, when it’s cooler outdoors (if under shade) than it is inside the house.

Sometimes retrofits are possible. Shade awnings (which fortunately came with the house when I bought it) are life-changing. But I’ve already pretty much maxed out on those kinds of retrofits.

During this past winter I made myself a sweet little stealth tent spot in the yard, which not only was enjoyable to sleep in the winter under nice quilts and such, but also it was my plan for that to be my cool sleeping spot in the summer.

Unfortunately, the tents I have available do not have enough mesh screen area, and have too much solid nylon fabric area, for them to be much good in hot weather; they are still just hot.

If I had a nice cube of sturdy mesh material, a little bit stronger than mosquito netting, it might be quite satisfactory. But, outdoors, there are always lots and lots of palmetto bugs scuttling around overhead, making it somewhat disconcerting to only have a net for a roof.

Anyway! Experiments ongoing, now that I remembered my tried-and-true SOB rule. I guess I better get some used netting and get busy with my sewing needle.

Also, I noticed I’ve been spending too many of my waking hours inside the house. I get into work mode of writing, doing social media, etc. I need to bring my portable office to breezy areas such as under the pier — or, at night, over by the clock tower on the boardwalk. (There’s no shade in the latter spot which is why it’s only for night.)

Just sitting outside of my house doesn’t work very well because of the mosquitoes. Hazards of having that nice critical mass of shady vegetation in my yard! Oh well, the mosquitoes are living beings with their own needs too. And, they provide food for so many other living beings as well. Still, I find it unappealing to sit outside and be their food; it’s hard to concentrate on desk work while being nipped at.

Possible citizen activist action: In your area, assess the availability of breezeway-type structures in the public space. And, if your city is looking to build things, suggest some breezeways! There are a couple of breezeways in my area where, if it were allowed, a person could probably hang out 24-7 in the summer without even needing a mosquito net. In Tokyo, there are public parks known as disaster parks, that are designed to be evacuation areas for each neighborhood. (During ordinary times, they simply serve as regular parks.) Here in Florida, if we had disaster parks, breezeways would be a great type of structure to include.

Besides buildings, another key aspect of the “shelter” category is the clothing we wear. Several experiments over the past few weeks have seemed promising, but the real bottom line I’m finding is that in a very humid climate that is getting more and more hot and humid, oftentimes the only thing that doesn’t feel absolutely unbearable is completely bare skin. Of course that’s not good out in the sun, and it’s also frowned upon from a social-norm standpoint.

The best ideas I can think of are, wear what the indigenous people in broiling semitropical places wear/don’t wear (or used to wear/not wear); or (to re-create the pre-AC “modern industrial” USA version) find some old seersucker dresses at the thrift shop or find some old seersucker fabric and get stitching.

My not-very-satisfactory interim solution is to rotate a T-shirt a couple times a day: Wear shirt #1 until it’s too soaked with sweat to be comfortable; at which point I hang it in the blistering sun and swap it out for the one that’s dried on the line and put that shirt #2 on. Of course, the shirts also get rinsed and washed at suitable intervals.

And honestly, I hate to say it, but I think a lot of resilience in this category is just plain going to involve putting up with a lot more discomfort. As in cultivating the mental endurance to sit with the physical discomfort as a reality. Where I live, we haven’t even had wet-bulb temperatures in the danger zone yet, but it’s already gotten more uncomfortable with each passing year.

(I also have a mini clothesline in my little office/bedroom, and things end up getting enough air to dry surprisingly well there, even after being saturated when I’ve rinsed them in rainwater and just wring them out a bit and then hang them. The way the shirts dry fairly well next to an open window indoors reminds me a bit of my old friends’ barn in Austin, where they used to hang the onion crop to dry in the breezy shade.)

In my upcoming tragi-comic novel ALONE AT THE ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE WATCH PARTY, the main character, a failed eco activist, hates cars.

The immediate reason is that her entire family was killed in a car crash some years prior to the time-frame of the story. (This detail is pure fiction, not based on anything that actually happened in my life.)

But, the ongoing and deeper reason is because of what car-centered design has done to people and communities. In her ongoing, seemingly futile effort to demonstrate that there are alternatives to depending entirely on automobiles for transportation, our well-meaning protagonist gets herself into all sorts of absurd situations. Stay tuned!

Over in the Florida Women for Kamala Harris group on Facebook, someone suggested we shouldn’t be using “weird” as an insult.

Yes, we do have to be careful to not cross the line into being out-of-touch, condescending elitists — à la the “deplorables” thing.

Also, the OP said it’s not playing well in the disability community. That is a very valid concern, enough to make me think twice about using weird as an insult even in this political spirit.

And, the other day, Ally Henny cautioned against inadvertently shaming people who just happen to be into some harmless kink, fetish, or sexual desire that doesn’t fit the mainstream.

But, I do think there’s a place for lowbrow goofy insults and humor. In fact, it may be the most effective thing.

Yes, theoretically the right thing to do is break down their talking points; counter their narrative. As in any political arena. However, their so-called “narrative” is basically bully fascism, and that isn’t very amenable to counter via rational talking points. People who believe a certain way will, when confronted with rational talking points, just dig in their heels deeper.

Something I have seen time and time again as a climate activist. I think what happens with really horrible scary stuff is that people shut down. People almost just can’t listen to the facts. So, undermining the “bad guy” side in a humorous/emotional way is another way to get in. And it might be more effective. Fascists/authoritarians demand to be taken seriously and seen as big bad dudes, and as the absolute definition of what should be normal. Using the word “weird” totally undermines that.

Sometimes you really just can’t argue with people at all, no matter how cogent and well-informed your talking points are. So maybe the emotional “weird” thing is a way to crack the fortress.

Fascists and bullies and authoritarians like to be taken very seriously and seen as the essence of manhood and normality. What better way to take the wind out of their sails then by dismissively referring to them as “weird.”

Also, we are allowed to joke and have fun! Just because we are involved in a serious task does not make it any less valid to joke and have fun. In fact, maybe it becomes even more necessary. It builds cohesion and keeps us wanting to stay active in the cause. And, let’s face it, people who are having fun are more likely to attract more followers to their cause.

Re “weird”, I like what Parker Molloy (The Present Age) has to say: “Democrats aren’t just scoring political points. They’re shifting the entire conversation about what’s normal in America. They’re saying it’s normal to be accepting, to be diverse, to live and let live.”

And, if the word “weird” is too problematic, maybe we need to bust out our best imitation Valley Girl accent and call big mean bully things and people “Soooo tooootalllllyyyy bogusssss”!