Brooks, Crooks, and Sustainability

by Maureen McGregor

I recently came downstairs from my friend’s Belltown apartment to find that my bike seat and post had been removed from the rest of my bike and stolen. Getting my another bike stolen not even a year ago, I’m thankful that I had the majority of a bike to come back to. Still, I feel like my bike is my car. Stealing someone’s bike seat is like stealing an engine from a car. I couldn’t help wondering, who does that?

Along the way home, I saw a friend that I had worked on Parking Day with last year. He seemed just as dumbfounded by the fact that we live in a community where people do this to each other. To my surprise, others I talked to about this incident have not been as taken aback. The response of a student at Antioch University was, “That’s Seattle for ya.” This is the same person that also makes sure to lock both his front and back tires, and takes his seat with him whenever he parks his bike downtown. “Yeah, they’ll do that,” another friend said.

I tried to think about who exactly they were, and I imagined my bike seat being hung in a house full of bike seats like trophies on the wall. I imagined the giddy feeling the culprit must have felt as they left my bike without an engine. One Sustainable Seattle colleague led me to this article about local bike seat theft, while another told of the negative psychological impacts their partner suffered after having a bike seat stolen themselves. I guess I'm not alone in my misery.

I know that this kind of stuff happens all the time, but instead of normalizing these kinds of expereinces as part of our society, they fuel my passion to restore them. It is normal to react in fear and have a lack of trust with neighbors because of incidents like this, but instead of perpetuating that vicious cycle, I'm on a pursuit for happiness -- I know this isn't how it has to be. That's why I love Sustainable Seattle's, Happiness Initiative and contests like Dream a Sound Future where an opportunity is given to all of us to engage in creating healthier relationships, sustainable commuities, happier cities, and a more just world.

In the midst of all of our woes, there is beauty in the stregth we hold in bond with one another. If you aren't familiar with the programs going on at Sustainable Seattle, I would highly encourage you to do so. There's really something for everyone, and only together will we create sustainable change. The adverse affects of an ill society will not be solved overnight, but I'm using my courage to pursue the dreams of happiness for all in the meantime. You might call me a dreamer, but I'm not the only one...

Introspection on disaster

Below are thoughts from us at Sustainable Seattle about the disasters in Japan and other areas on the other side of our planet

In two days we are hosting a party. In two days, hundreds more bodies will be found, mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers and friends will learn of a greater loss, or will continue to live in uncertainty. I look in bewilderment and grief at the devastation and wonder what I can do to help. In times like this, it is hard to keep going, and sometimes its really important to stop. Should we stop? Yes - and no. To be mindful of what we are doing now and what we do it the future is key. We continue doing the work to create a better future for all. We stop and rethink so we can learn from the past. We stop for a moment and take an action today to show we care and help those in the midst of destruction. S0- at our event we will give a portion of the proceeds we raise to disaster relief. -- Thoughts from Laura Musikanski

More valuable than donating money is donating ones effort and time, but in a disaster like the one that Japan is continuing to experience, distance and sheer magnitude make this all but impossible. If we care enough to donate money then hopefully we also care enough to stay informed as Japan struggles through and recovers from this tragedy. This means reading beyond the headline stories and understanding the situation as it continues long after public interest dictates that it is removed from TV news and the front page of the paper. -- Thoughts from Andrew Cozin

In the Jewish tradition, the groom at a wedding breaks a glass as a symbolic acknowledgment and reminder that even at the happiest of times there is pain and sadness in the world. I hope that tomorrow's party will have some of that ethos to it: while we celebrating all that's worth celebrating, we must never ignore that there are always people suffering. -- Thoughts from Eldan Goldenberg

My heartfelt condolences to all those suffering both passed and alive. I cannot imagine the devastation they must be feeling and I wish there was more I could do. I guess the best tribute I could give is to honor the foresight and prevention planning that the Japanese nation put into place through sound policies and public political will. We all have a lot to learn and in the wake of this tragedy I hope we open our hearts, show compassion and learn from the actions and strength of the Japanese people.--Thoughts from Nathan Jackson

Healthy Money?

Join a stellar line up the week of January 24-27th and learn from leading authors and leaders on how you can create a healthier, happier, more productive relationship with money and, culturally, how we can transform our relationship with money as well.

Click here to learn more.

Hosted by Vicki Robin, bestselling author of Your Money or Your Life, the Healthy Money Summit will feature lumminaries such as Riane Eisler, Lynne Twist, John Robbins, Satish Kumar, Hazel Henderson, David Korten, Alisa Gravitz, and many more notable authors, thinkers and leaders.

With so much fear and confusion about the economy and record unemployment levels across the U.S., we truly need to create a new relationship with money that brings renewed hope for our communities.

During this free four-day telesummit, you'll learn all about:

• Earning and spending habits that liberate your time and passion for your real life's work
• Investment strategies that favor the triple bottom line and sustainable business practices
• How to practice the state of being that favors generosity and sharing over hunkering down
• New currencies that favor connection and community over hoarding and lack
• New economies that favor Main Street over Wall Street, and prioritize community well-being as the new bottom line
• Developing a new money spirit of "enough for all," rather than "winner takes all"

A healthy economy, healthy habits and healthy attitudes toward money are possible; and the speakers in this series will reveal their latest insights and wisdom on how we can create a better financial future for us as individuals and as a collective whole.

You can participate live on as many calls as you like and interact with both the featured leaders and other participants via the state-of-the-art MaestroConference platform, which will connect you to participants from around the world.

Join Vicki Robins for the Healthy Money Summit, and let's transform our relationship with money! Click here to register now.

The Economics of Happiness

The room was packed. In spite of storm warnings – and the oh –so Seattle fear of snow – Several dozed people stood in the street hoping to get in until finally the doorkeeper gave in and let them in. This made the room totally packed. The screening of The Economics of Happiness was something to see.

Who was there? Friends of Yes Magazine, 350.0rg, Compassionate Action Network, Transition Towns, SCALLOPS, Ecopraxis, Seattle Good Business Network (formerly BALLE), the international Society for Ecology and Culture and, of course, Sustainable Seattle.

They came to watch the film The Economics of Happiness. It told a story of the transformation of a happy town that knew no hunger, knew no poverty, and knew no material excess (they don’t have that problem of trying to keep the cupboards tidy when there is soooo much stuff and it keeps coming). The transition? Globalization. Then changes in taste - a taste for excess. Changes in values – greed becomes good. Changes in culture – MacDonald’s, Coach and Ipods are expressions of self and love.

Where are we headed? A globe industrialized. A climate changed. Depletion of natural resources on the earths surface and under it. Waste abounding. A GINI growing index ( the Gini index measure the inequality of wealth distribution, 0 is total equality and 1 is maximum inequality. )

The solution? The Economics of Happiness tells us the solution is a local based economy. Lose globalization. Lose the large corporations Lose an economic system that encourages consumerism. Localize the economy. Governmental regulation, taxation and subsidy programs focused on a local economy not global economy

A local economy is an important step but frankly, it’s not just the economy- stupid. Sustainable Seattle takes a holistic view of sustainability. It is important to look at all the pieces in the whole. The economy is an important piece, but not the only piece and if we don’t understand how everything works together, we will end up in the same but different place. Yes to a local economy. And yes to other goals to focus on.

Let’s take the Gross National happiness Index, which we are using for our 5th set of sustainability indicators. With that, we focus on 9 interdependent domains:


Material-Well-Being
Environmental-Quality
Community-Vitality
Education
Cultural-Vitality
Governance
Psychological-Well-Being
Health
Time-Balance

Do we have the capacity to focus on more than one thing? Isn’t it easier to just focus on a local economy, after all, people can’t really handle more than one thing at a time can they? John de Graaf spoke along side David Korten, Helena Norberg-Hodge and Robert L. Jeffrey Sr.

We humans are smarter than we often give ourselves credit for. This sustainability revolution that has so many organizations, so many initiatives, and so many people is asking people to take a holistic view – to look at solutions that consider all the pieces so we don’t end up in the same but different place.

Yes to a local economy, and yes to a lot more than that.