Part One (1-3) – The Drought An aptly named chapter as the main character, Doug Fine, not only moved into drought prone New Mexico, but was sort of in a spiritual drought as well. Fine was tired of feeling like a hypocrite – wanting to reduce his carbon foot print, but still stuck in over carbon producing habits and lifestyles. So he set three goals to achieve in a year –
1. Use a lot less oil (crude oil, not veggie oil which plays a major role in his life)
2. Power life with renewable energy
3. Eat as locally as possible
Now was it only me, or did anyone else wonder how a man in his late 20s or early 30s who was a wandering travel journalist even begin to afford thinking of doing any of these things, let alone buy a ranch, solar panels, and a biodiesel truck? Did he max himself out credit-wise and if he did, how low carbon, self sustaining is this action?
One interesting dilemma he brought to light was during his beginning purge of shopping at the “McMega Store” as he called Wal-mart. Fine decides he has to start shopping locally if he is ever going to stop taking the easy, McMega Store option. As soon as he does though, he realizes he is still buying products from China and overseas. In my attempts at shopping locally, I’ve encountered this same phenomenon, but never really acknowledged it. Why? Because it would discredit my entire effort and endeavor and leave me feeling like one more thing I am doing is not helping. How do you shop locally? Have you encountered this dilemma? What do you do to rationalize or change the situation?
Part Two (4-5)– Flooded
Where everything was once dry, bristling and barren in Fine’s life is now sopped, soaked, and full of growth. This is when Fine becomes resolute in breaking down his hypocrisies and action happens. Craigslist bartered goats arrive, the Mimbres River is flooded, and he plants some seeds – figuratively and literally.
Fine prepared for being a goat farmer by reading up on the subject for a month in advance, but was still surprised at the actual reality of owning goats. Goats are more like pets, unlike cows or chickens. They have attitudes, they like attention, and they are a little more high maintenance, as Fine discovers, because they are clever animals. Reading this section was like reading a new parent’s experiences the first week with a newborn. Fine is shown that change takes work, constant attention, and a lot of patience.
In what ways has your journey to simpler, sustainable living been tried or challenged? Did you overcome?
How or how not?
To join next week's discussion, read parts III and IV. This is brought to you by the power of Erikka and sponsored by Green Bean Dreams.
Part One (1-3) – The Drought
How do you shop locally? Have you encountered this dilemma? What do you do to rationalize or change the situation?
ReplyDeleteI shop as locally as I can although much of the time I end up at semi-big box stores (I avoid Wal*Mart like the plague). While I know most/all of the products come from somewhere else, I still find it better to shop at local places because then I'm supporting my community members and not stock holders of some big corporation.
Maybe it doesn't make a difference in the long run, but in the short run it does. Besides, I get better customer service at small, family owned places than at Rite-Aide or Chili's.
This book is really interesting. I had a hard time getting into it, because I find the writing style kind of annoying. I feel like Fine has this pattern: Make snarky, sarcastic comments about subject and people around him, add a little bit of action, just as the action gets absorbing, tie it all up with a punchy comment like "My whole life was now a game of liquid Twister." I really wish he'd told his story more directly -- he has a lot of interesting things to say -- but I kept getting annoyed with him (even though there's something adorable about a man who plays the saxophone to calm his goats).
ReplyDeleteThat said, he raises some really interesting points -- Like how green is it really to live rural and raise your own food? Is there an economy of scale to being green as well? He's raising two goats who won't provide him milk until they're fifteen months old, and even talks about making a mental note to see about air drop off of hay while he's dealing with a flood (I couldn't tell if he was being sarcastic or not when he mentioned it). Would it be greener to live in a city where he could purchase goat milk from a suburban farmer who raises goats for a living and is able to streamline her processes? It even got me thinking about the efficiency of my home garden. Sure, my home grown tomatoes will be more eco-friendly than the ones I might buy from California, but are they more eco-friendly than the ones that come from my CSA (who has the expertise and scale of production to do things very efficiently). Not that there isn't value to my home garden. Not that I'm going to throw in the gardening gloves. Just that maybe the do it all yourself idea isn't always the greenest way to go.
And maybe living in a place like Seattle or Portland or even New York City, and working with your community to find ways to deal with energy and waste is a far more efficient way to go green. He even had a sidebar stating that the average New Yorker uses 1/3 of the carbon everyone else does b/c they walk almost everywhere. Melinda from Elements in Time (http://www.elementsintime.com/Blog.html) came to a similar conclusion lately and moved from her rural home to a more sustainable life in a city. It got me to change my dream. Now, instead of wanting land as far as the eye can see, I want a community that works effectively and a walkable city to live in.
I also thought it was interesting when he talked about his neighbors complaining and wanting to stop paying taxes because they didn't feel like they got adequate services in their little area of barely inhabitable land. For the most part, we choose where we live. We may have constraints. I don't like where I live right now and I don't have the luxury of leaving tomorrow, but it was a choice I made knowing the basics of what I was getting -- the same way the people living in Fine's new home town knew they were moving to a place with flash flooding and spotty electrical coverage. How far should tax dollars go to enable people to live in areas that are possibly not very sustainable? How much are people responsible for their own choices? Should someone who lives in an extremely remote area be able to demand and expect the same services as someone who lives in a city? I don't know the answer to that. There are so many ethical concerns that we're far far far from finding clear cut answers. I'm sure it's something that could be bandied around for hours and hours without ever finding an answer, but I think the questions are interesting ones. And I hope Fine will address them more later on in the book. There were so many things I felt like he overstated, but when it came to this, I feel like he put it out there and then didn't say much more about it.
To address your question, Erikka, about how could he even afford all of this -- this is kind of what bugs me about this genre of "enlightenment" memoir. Since this isn't his first book, I'm guessing he had a book deal for this before he even started his project and the advance helped fund it (and also gave him HUGE tax deductions). Yet how enlightening is a funded life change? If he'd done this on his own (which maybe he did, I don't know) and then decided to write about it would it be more genuine? I'm just saying it's much easier to make changes and stick to them when someone else is footing the bill. That said, if anyone wants to pay me to write a book about my year of doing x,y, or z, I'd be more than happy to jump right on in. :)
But, again, how can you get too annoyed with a guy who loves his goats so very much?
So, now that I've written my own little book here, I'm going to stop.
Hmm, interesting. I actually just ordered this book from my library. You guys sounds on the fence about it.
ReplyDeleteAllie, I learned a lot from Melinda's journey as well and am settling into my "inner ring" suburbia (an old suburb of SF), finding that seems to be more sustainable than a life in the country.
As to shopping locally, I tend to not shop for much of anything unless I really need it. If I do, I first look used and then try to buy from a local business. I think it is really important to support local, independent businesses as they are the ones who will reinvest in their own community, can provide better customer service and are more likely to carry locally made goods - or more likely to at least do so if you ask.
hey allie.
ReplyDeletei too was really annoyed with the writing style. the guy as a person seems endearing and sweet, what my guy friends would call a SNAG = sensitive new age guy. :) but that does not make him a good writer. i can't believe he has another book or has written articles.
most of the book is him throwing out interesting factoids that while relating to his goals, are not really his own experience. Then he'll go on to describe some change he is doing physically and the setting, and then sum it up with some new age theme to tie it all together haphazardly. it feels disingenuous though he wants to portray himself as normal, sincere, and totally sensitive.
i really like that the book has made you and I think about bigger sustainability issues, but the odd thing is, the thoughts are provoked by what is LACKING in this guy's life and writing, and not by what he has put in here. It's like there is more story and thought in the holes and no depth to what he provided.
Yeah, it sounds like we had the same peeves about it.
ReplyDeleteDid you catch the latex safe sex factoid right in the middle of his talk about the woman who brought him his goat meds -- like he was being a gentleman and wasn't going to outright say he slept with her, but he still wanted everyone to know?
Sigh. I think you're right -- I think he actually is probably a very sweet, fun, thoughtful person, but in trying too hard to make everyone think he is, he rubbed me the wrong way. It's frustrating too, because from what I've read, I think it really could have been an excellent book if someone had taken to it with a red pen and been merciless.
I know! The whole woman and dating thing was such a weird...semi glimpse into his personal life that yes, was a part of the story, but also felt...like I didn't need to know. Because he definitely made a point to state the latex fact and then to start the next paragraph by saying "I woke up early...left what's her name in bed." Thanks Doug, we know you're gettin' it on. Good to know. Later, when he develops a lasting relationship I like how its a part of the story...and so I guess his dating was part of finding that...but I don't know. I just don't like his tone and writing.
ReplyDeleteWho was this guy's editor?! Geesh.
Intruiging review! I'm looking forward to your next installment since I can't get this book from my library and it sounds like I shouldn't buy it!
ReplyDeleteTo answer your question about how to shop locally, I agree and it bugs me, too, when I try to buy local and it ends up being made in China! Does it matter if one buys cheap plastic junk for $6.99 at Walmart or $9.99 somewhere else? I just don't go to Walmart anymore and then I don't know what their prices are! I also try to buy from locally owned stores figuring that at least more of the money stays in the local economy that way. Ultimately, I think the answer is to be more particular about what and how much we buy, insist on quality, buy used as much as possible, and not buy things we don't need. I'm halfway there.