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Re: Introduction



Well, gee, I didn't know I'd be the first to post!  But someone has to break
the ice, right?  Glad to meet you all.  It's a small list yet, but maybe
that's not bad!

As to just saying no to GEOs, I realize that it isn't quite so easy.  My sig
line is a bit tongue in cheek, reflective of the rather naive anti-drug
campaign of a few years ago.  It is designed, hopefully, to get people
thinking about the issue.  The only way someone in the US can avoid GEOs is
to buy organic, as GEOs aren't allowed under any organic standards that I am
aware of (I'm not an organic farmer, yet, as I haven't enough land to go
commercial, but that's my consumer's understanding of the various organic
standards -- PLEASE correct me if I'm wrong!!!!!!).  Of course, growing your
own food from old open pollinated varieties is the best and surest way to
avoid them!  I've recently sent in my membership to the Seed Savers Exchange
so that I can expand upon my current seed stock of open pollinated
varieties.  What worries me even about raising my own to avoid GEOs is that
farmers all around me plant GEOs, and their pollen could end up in MY
garden, ruining future generations of my open pollinated seed crops
(particularly the corn and beans).  The US is putting huge pressure on in
the latest round of WTO talks, trying to force the Europeans into creating
their own FDA, so that we could then more easily force them to accept GEOs.
I dearly hope that the Europeans stand firm, as they are our main hope to
defeat GEOs. This is an organization working specifically on the GEO issue:
http://www.thecampaign.org/

It sounds like you're a ways ahead of us in self-sufficiency, Ian!  We're on
the grid here.  Our back-up power is a gas generator.  Though we're on the
grid, in the country it seems to go down much more readily than in town, so
it is nice to have a backup, particularly in winter -- ice storms can mean
no power for quite awhile.  Our plan is that in a few more years we will buy
a small farm and either build a passive solar house or refurbish an old
house to incorporate passive solar features.  At that point in time, I would
**really like** to be able to invest in a hybrid system of solar panels and
a wind generator (around here that looks to be more practical than solar
only, because we do have good wind for much of the year, and wind systems
are considerably cheaper than solar).  Money is always a factor, though, so
we'll see!  Oh, and I'll bite -- what is your interest in my neck of the
woods?

And Maggie, you're ahead of us too!  A composting toilet and gray water
system is so much more ecologically sound than what we've presently got!  We
have a septic system that came with the house.  We do our best to keep it
running smoothly, and try not to allow anything to go down the drains which
would harm the good bacteria in the system.  Just to be sure, I usually add
some bacteria a couple of times per year, though I hear mixed reports as to
whether this is helpful or a waste of money.  With a 31 year old system, you
can't be too careful, so I go ahead and add it just to be on the safe side!
I do a lot to conserve water, and use a lot of our gray water discretely (it
isn't approved around here, so you can't plumb a gray water system into your
house).

Lawrence, I would LOVE to have an organic farm!  That is my ultimate goal!
Have you found it difficult to get certified?  I subscribe the  Organic
Gardening discussion list also.  There are some incredibly knowledgeable
people that contribute to it.

Because we don't have a very reliable well in the summer (highly dependent
on ground water), we have to really conserve on water use.  For the garden,
I use the deep mulch system advocated by Ruth Stout.  I find that my crops
grow and produce well without needing summer watering using this method.
Indeed, my old Arkansas Traveler tomatoes produce like crazy right through a
drought.

The simple living web sites that I am aware of are:

http://www.slnet.com/  This is a commercial site that sells books on simple
living (I'm quite ambivalent about simple living commerce:  on the one hand,
part of simple living is reducing our consumption and breaking out of the
mindset that we can buy our happiness; however, I own a couple of really
good simple living books that I turn to for ideas and reaffirmation, so I
can't condemn the concept).  The site also has a freebie newsletter, freebie
discussion boards, a freebie chat area (though they took the chat area down
for maintenance, and like most web based chat areas it was less than ideal
for a real discussion), and numerous online articles, so I guess I can
forgive the bit of commerce that goes on there.  :-)

http://www.adbusters.org/ I love this organization -- including the name:
Adbusters Culture Jammers Headquarters.  Our consumerist culture could use a
lot of jamming!  Among other things, they sponsor International Buy Nothing
Day (the day after US Thanksgiving, our biggest shopping frenzy of the year)
to promote awareness that our cultural over-consumption is destroying the
planet.

Concerning personal finance, there is a board on "living below your means"
at http://boards.fool.com/.

Somewhat in the spirit of the Tightwad Gazette is http://www.stretcher.com/.
The focus here is not really simple living, but it does have some good
tightwad type tips from time to time.

As to permaculture, another site for info is http://csf.colorado.edu/perma/
I am very interested in sustainable agriculture issues, but I also unsubbed
from that list long ago because of that high and mighty attitude, so I know
what you mean, Ian!

This post got way too long -- sorry!

Gloria
Organically Gardening in Illinois, USDA Zone 5B
Genetically Modified Crops?  JUST SAY NO
ICQ # 37699623