A wise person once said this to me:

Imagine a farmer with a small acreage. She looks around and sees the many hungry poor, the destruction of the environment and the souring of fields that were once good agricultural land. Having seen and understood these things, the farmer has a choice:

She can look at her own small farm, and despair of ever being able to feed enough or save the environment with such a small area, and fall into depressed apathy, a victim of her own hubris (”I have to save th world!”). Or she can tend her land with love and humility, and contribute her sustainable, sweet plot of land and the food it has the capacity to offer bestiality gangbang.

Since this was said to me (when I paused for breath in the middle of a long, angry and despairing rant about the state of the world), I have strived for the humility to be that farmer with the small, sweet plot of land.

While this parable was about owning land (and we do now own a small plot of 14.5 acres), it holds just as true for the now 50% of us living in cities.

So I wanted to initiate a conversation about what we do to express our beliefs and principles through our daily life mmf dogsex story. Hardly a new idea, but one I feel requires regular renewal ‘ to teach, to learn, and to nurture ourselves. To remind ourselves that we are all doing something, and the little things matter as much, if not more, than the big dramatic ones.

To be clear, I donтАЩt want this to become a self-flagellating, finger-pointing session about all the things we don’t have the time or motivation to do тАУ that’s hubris and guilt, and both are useless and damaging emotions. I’m aiming more for a practical discussion that will hopefully inspire dog with girl sex. I firmly believe that even if we all just adopted one small sustainable practice, we would rapidly lay the foundation for global change. From little things, big things grow; so says the Tao of Sustainability. So here’s my household’s list:

We reduce, reuse and recycle because there’s too much waste in the world, and we canтАЩt afford to waste

Similarly, we compost our food scraps to reduce putrescible waste, give back nutrients to the earth and rebuild the soil

We use energy-saving lightbulbs and are progressively looking to minimise our electricity use by saving to get a renewable energy-using hot water heater and refrigerator for our recently purchased little clapboard home тАУ because energy consumption is crippling this world. On top of that, we are planning and designing our energy efficient home to reduce greenhouse & electricity use hot girl having sex with dog. This makes sense because actively demonstrating the ease and joys of renewable energy is the best way to convince others, and reward yourself.

We use reusable, biodegradable shopping bags instead of plastic, because the world is drowning in plastic

We use water wisely by installing a low-flush mechanism on our toilet, watering our garden with greywater, and minimise water pollution by using biodegradable detergents, soaps and shampoos, and avoid using toxic sprays unless we absolutely have to.

We have a (fledgling) veggie patch, and buy as much food as possible from local, ethical sources, because monoculture farming is killing our soil, and using more energy to grow and transport food than it actually contains makes no sense on an entropic planet

We don’t buy GM foods or products because at the very least, there has not been a proper open debate on benefits and impacts, nor has there been long-term studies from a human health, social justice or environmental perspective, and a general rule of thumb is ‘ don’t trust large multinationals’

We buy clothes either second-hand or from exceptionally ethical new clothes sources because we donтАЩt feel comfortable in clothes newly made with sweatshop labour, and it feels good to wear quality clothes that support good causes

We support fair trade by consulting the directories and services offered by organisations such as Oxfam/Community Aid Abroad

After much soul-searching, we have chosen just two charities ‘ one purely ‘environmental’, the other ’social justice’ - to consistently support that best express our principles - because regular donations do far more for good causes than falling into the trap of little sporadic donations to lots, and we can use the money we get back from tax deductibility to help others more.

We freecycle (in fact my wonderful partner started the freecycle idea in our state) because it makes sense to reduce more waste, helps foster local community and is loads of fun

We regularly shop at the local municipal waste dump recycling shops ‘ because it’s amazing what people will throw out that is perfectly good, and can be bought cheaply too!

I have taken too long about it, but I’m now looking to car pool, to minimise fuel use, lower traffic densities, and generally be neighborly female beastiality stories. However I have found in the past that Australians aren’t really big into sharing their beloved cars with ’strangers’, so this one is taking more time - suggestions welcome.

We actively try and support local community efforts that achieve multiple aims (although we could do a lot more), because they help build a joyful, sustainable world, and it”s easy to forget those around us and how important small meaningful actions are, when you worry about the big picture

Perhaps most importantly, we forgive our “sins”, reject hubris and take joy in the small things, so wonderfully epitomised by our land. It’s ‘nothing special’ - 2/3 dry native forest (what Australians call ‘bush’) and 1/3 native pasture with fertile clay-based soil perfect for growing. Yet nearly every day it offers us something new to delight in ‘ like this [photos on the way].

So what are you doing that we haven’t thought of? What are you planning to do? What would you like to do but are finding there are too many obstacles to doing it?

UPDATE: It’s funny how you forget the big things! Scott’s comment below reminded me - we are vegetarian because meat production as it stands is unsustainable, and the practices used to grow and kill our meat providing animals are profoundly inhumane (Note: we’re not Hare Krishnas - I look lousy in saffron).

Over 50,000 dead in the wake of Asia’s killer wave, and the toll keeps rising as the missing are found. On the devastated coastlines the living have lost everything but their lives: their homes, their livelihoods, their loved ones…their children…

And we thought Florida’s hurricane season was bad. It’s difficult to comprehend such loss. The news on TV shows us swaddled bodies, crumpled boats and floating cars, women overwhelmed with grief. I hate how television makes voyeurism of tragedy having sex with your dog. You can’t help but watch, and try to imagine what it might be like to have your own world shattered like that, without warning, by a force that can neither be predicted or turned aside.

But the greater, hidden tragedy is that this catastrophe could have been mitigated. Fifty years ago, the damage done would have been far less extensive. Then, the coasts of India, Bangladesh, Thailand, and other tropical areas were protected from the full fury of tsunamis and cyclones, even without the benefit of advanced predictive science or international early warning systems or any technology human industry could dream up to outsmart Mother Nature.

Time was, Nature herself protected the coastlines and their people erotic stories with animals. Dense stands of mangrove trees lined the shores, providing a buffer against wind and wave; by the time a tsunami hit land, much of its power would have been absorbed by the trees and offshore coral reefs, which coexist in a kind of symbiosis: the mangroves protect the reefs from runoff contamination, while the reefs shield the forests from erosion and storms.

Today, the fast growth of modern fisheries, especially industrial shrimp farms, has resulted in the deforestation of coastlines throughout East Asia and the destruction of the reefs. According to one source, “the life cycle of the [shrimp] farms is a maximum of two to five years, the ponds are then abandoned leaving behind toxic waste, destroyed ecosystems and displaced communities. The whole cycle is then repeated in another pristine coastal area. Economic losses due to the shrimp farms are approximately 5 times the potential earnings… gorilla beastiality.A typical Indian paddy field employs 50 people, a shrimp farm occupying the same land employs five.” Ironically, this clear-cutting actually reduces the shrimp population; the root system of the trees provides a protected nursery for the fry, as well as for other crustaceans, mollusks, and reef fish…important links in the fragile coral reef ecosystem.

Global warming also makes coastal areas more vulnerable to disaster. Climate destabilization creates more intense storm systems; more powerful storms cause more erosion, which means more damage to coral reefs, natural sand bars and mangrove forests, which means ultimately more destruction during future storms.

I don’t mean to say that this tragedy was somehow deserved, or demean the loss of so many free horse sucking galleries. There’s no way of telling how many lives would have been saved if it weren’t for the shrimp-fishing industry. But it strikes me that there is a lesson here for the world, a lesson in interconnectivity and sustainability. The tragedy did not begin with the shifting of tectonic plates beneath the Indian Ocean, the Earth’s great shrug. It began years ago with the displacement of traditional fishermen and rice-paddy farmers by corporate strip-fishing; with the proliferation of resorts as the tourism industry rushed to fill the economic gap, bringing more people to occupy coastal areas now laid open by deforestation. The ocean waters became more polluted with runoff and industrial pesticides; the coral reefs started to die; and when the sea came, and there was nothing to stop it, and no warning…

In India, government scientists acknowledge that if existing environmental regulations had been better enforced, there would have been fewer people in the path of the tsunami on Sunday morning as well as a better “natural line of defense horse cum sex penetration.” They hope to reintroduce the forests and strengthen protective laws. Hopefully other nations will follow the lead of the world’s largest democracy: not just in replanting mangroves and rehabilitating their coasts, but in recognizing that human beings are not somehow above natural law, that we do not somehow live and die independent of the ecosystems we inhabit or invade. How intimately the health and survival of a thousand other species…of even tiny creatures like the architects of coral reefs…is linked to our own survival. How environmentalism is in our own self-interest.

Environmentalism is humanism.

Like most of his speeches, Bush’s State of the Union address was full of sweeping generalities and a lack of details. Nothing too special about this one, but I did find this little gem amusing:

To keep our economy growing, we also need reliable supplies of affordable, environmentally responsible energy.

Nearly four years ago, I submitted a comprehensive energy strategy that encourages conservation, alternative sources, a modernized electricity grid and more production here at home, including safe, clean nuclear energy.

Well, I certainly agree with the first part. A serious overhaul of our national energy policy is overdue, and we need to immediately begin investing in the energy technologies of the future. But as for that Republican energy plan, it doesn’t quite accomplish the lofty goals Bush laid out in his speech.

During the debate on the bill, Sen. Ron Wyden called it “a hodgepodge of subsidies for the politically well-connected.” That’s a bold statement, but Bush’s energy bill managed to live up to it. The bill would have provided $23 billion in new tax breaks, with two thirds going to the fossil fuel industries. On paper, the bill would provide $5 billion to renewable energy, hence Bush’s noble promotion of the bill as a boon for the environment. But this is misleading, as a good chunk of the five billion goes to the production of ethanol, which is probably the most wasteful farce in government spending today. A full list of the problems with Bush’s energy bill can be found here.

Even if the $5 billion were legitimate, it is still outweighed by the $15.5 billion going to the oil, gas, and coal industries. And that’s on top of the subsidies already given to the fossils fuels industry. And to really make me angry, the government often includes nuclear power as part of its “green” investments, with nuclear power receiving the majority of available funding. So the federal government is still actively encouraging Americans to choose traditional energy source over renewable energy sources. Not a very effective way of promoting the energy sources of the future.

But let’s imagine, for a minute, that we live in an alternate world, one where our representatives actually created legislation that was in the best long-term interest of our country daughter fucking horses. What would a progressive energy plan look like in such a scenario?

Well, let us assume for the moment that we all agreed on the necessity of ending our dependence on oil and other fossil fuels. I will put that debate aside for another day. For now, let me just focus on what it would take to actively promote the use of renewable energy in this country. While wind power in particular is growing rapidly, renewable energy still makes up a tiny percentage of overall energy use. Primarily, this is a factor of price, as renewable technologies are still not cheap enough to compete with traditional energy sources.

Wind power, now priced at 4-6 cents/kwh, has fallen in price to the point where it is competitive in many areas of the country. Solar power, on the other hand, at 36 cents/kwh, is still too expensive, which is unfortunate, as I am more excited about solar power than any other renewable energy source. It is the only energy source that offers the potential of a completely decentralized energy distribution system, in addition to its environmental benefits. Take the above numbers with a grain of salt, as rates can vary widely for alternative energy sources, depending on location, technology, etc. But they’re in the ballpark, at least. So what can be done to lower the price of solar panels, in order to make it more competitive with other sources? By the way, I would have included rates for traditional energy sources, but could not find the necessary data at the Energy Information Administration. I’ll update this post once I can find the information.

Well, there are efforts out there to promote renewable energy and energy efficiency at the federal level, such as the Apollo Alliance, which advocates for subsidies and tax breaks to foster the growth of renewable energy. However, much of their plan consists of subsidies that go directly to industry, which I do not believe to be a very effective method at lowering the price of renewable energy. It’s just more corporate welfare, a concept that makes me twitch violently whenever I hear of it. Frankly, I think it would be best to simply end all energy subsidies to industry, renewable or traditional. As stated above, the fossil fuels industry receives far more in subsidies than renewable energy sources, so overall this would be a boon to the growth in renewable energy.

So I would rather address the problem in two ways. First, any tax breaks should be aimed at the consumer, not the producer, of renewable energy. This would directly lower the price of all renewable energy sources, thus spurring demand how can i get my girlfriend to have sex with a dog. If demand goes up, companies will fill the void of producing renewable energy, whereas industry subsidies have no guarantee of creating additional demand or lowering price. Now, some of this is already being done at the state level, most notably in California, where solar panels have been aggressively promoted through tax breaks to consumers. But action at the federal level could easily swamp any state effort, and create a real market for renewable energy. Just look at the success of the wind production tax credit, which helps lower the cost of wind power by 1.8 cents/kwh.

The other piece of the puzzle lies in additional research, to create more efficient and cheaper methods of harnessing renewable energy. Like any product, the laws of supply and demand determine the price of solar panels. Well, in a technical sense, the supply of solar energy, like any renewable source, is limitless. Unlike traditional sources of energy, such as oil, where supply is a very real concern, the only obstacle to cheap renewable energy is the effectiveness of the technology used to supply the energy. Which is good news, actually, because throughout the history of mankind, any given technology has always both fallen in price and increased in effectiveness. All it takes is more research, which can be most easily accomplished through funding at the federal level.

I have no doubt that with more research, photovoltaic cells can become as cheap as computer chips. Keep in mind that while today’s prices for solar energy are about 10 times as high as prices for fossil fuels, a decade ago that ratio was 50 to 1. Once prices for renewable energy become competitive with fossil fuels, I fully expect demand to explode, leading to a viable market for renewable energy. And as demand rises, more companies will seek to satisfy that demand, leading to further breakthroughs in design and price. Which will lead to further growth, etc. Fun for the whole family.

Ok, back to reality. Clearly there will be no such plan at the federal level, at least not for several years. But I am still optimistic and confident of the future, for even without support from the government, prices will continue to fall for renewable energy sources, as research continues to produce cheaper and more effective technologies xxx paola. Over the long-term, prices for fossil fuels, particularly oil, will be constrained by dwindling supplies. Renewable energy, on the other hand, will only be constrained by technology. Eventually, I think a completely decentralized energy system will be developed, through improvements in solar panels and gains in energy efficiency. Which, of course, would mean no more concentration of energy production, and no need for utility companies. What a bright future indeed.