Tag Archive for 'sustainability'

Organic Athlete Group Ride 3-22-2008

Published
by
Wyatt
on March 23, 2008
in cycling
. 0 Comments

Today’s Organic Athlete group ride started again at the Cellar Door Cafe. It’s a nice little place with lots of light and a friendly atmosphere. I met Bonnie and Casey there at about 10:30. We hung out for a while and chatted with the owner some. I had a cup of tasty coffee and an even tastier home made banana split cupcake.

Eventually, we rolled out. It was a slightly chilly, very sunny, and fairly windy day. The wind seemed to blow in every direction. I rode my mountain bike because my road bike’s in the shop having its front wheel rebuilt. I love riding my MTB, though it does require quite a bit more effort on a road ride.

Westmoreland Park We made our way to the Springwater Corridor, rode that down to Umatilla, passed by Piece of Cake (vegan cakes, yo!) in the Sellwood neighborhood, came back north by Westmoreland Park and along the west side of Reed College then up SE 26th. When we hit the corner of 26th & Clinton (AKA, Clinton Corner), I realized I hadn’t been to that part of southeast in quite a while. Ah, memories…

At that point, the ride was essentially done, and we headed over to Seven Corners Cycles so Bonnie could pick up a new seat post. The shop is right down the street from People’s Co-op on SE 21st & Tibbetts. I’d never been there before. It’s a fairly large shop with a decent selection of bikes, equipment, and parts. I contemplated buying a new, “cooler” helmet.

Continuing our tour of SE bike shops I hadn’t been to before, we next went to A Better Cycle so Bonnie could pick up a new (used) stem. “A Better Cycle is a worker owned and collectively run used bicycle shop.” They sell mostly (all?) used bikes and parts. I only got a quick impression, but it seemed like a pretty cool shop.

For our final stop, we went next door to Papa G’s, a new all-vegan deli with an “organic, local, sustainable” focus. Tasty, wholesome victuals. I had a veggies & “cheese” pocket. Highly recommended.

The Story of Stuff

Published
by
Wyatt
on February 24, 2008
in environment
. 0 Comments

Please have a look a this:

http://www.storyofstuff.com/

There’s a short movie there (with some cool cartoon art) that talks about where all our stuff comes from, the way we attempt satisfy our emotional needs through shopping, and how much waste we produce. I’ll admit that it made me cry a little bit. There’s hope, though, in the choices we make. We have so much power as “consumers.”

One of the most interesting points to me is that we are, on the whole, not any happier by having more and more stuff. In fact, according to the movie, our “national happiness” has declined steadily since the 50s, which is when our national happiness peaked. There are scientific studies that show this (I’m curious how it’s measured). It also squares with my own observations (though those don’t start until the late 80s).

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