Sustainable Good

Summer's Here: Don't Spend it at a Resort

It is June, which to me means summer is here! It is getting hotter, kids are finishing their last days of school, and parents are planning vacations (maybe less this year because of the recession). I thought this would be the perfect time to talk about one of the most frustrating things I have ever experienced--the resort vacationer.

International travel can be one of the most amazing experiences imaginable. It can open your eyes to new cultures, new foods, new ways of life. It can also break your heart and change your life. It can help you to see how little material things some people have. It can inspire you to ACT. On the other hand, it can also just be a luxuriant week of excesses that does little besides reinforce the inequality in the world.

The Liberal Dilemma

I have been thinking a lot recently about my relationship with the world. What is my ecological footprint? How does my life affect the poor? What does my spending have to do with those who have less? How am I making the world better? I started this questioning in a previous post, but was recently faced head-on with a conflict that brought my struggles into greater focus.

I was at an acquaintance's party just relaxing on her patio talking and meeting new people. I was having a good time enjoying the night. But a couple of the other guests, a brother and sister, were having a heated discussion about an issue that summarizes one my current dilemmas: gentrification. The brother and sister were African American and had lived on Capitol Hill in DC all their lives. They were complaining that they were sick of people being surprised when the siblings said they were from DC.

Khakis, Pockets and Adventurous Hats: Tourism and the Colonial Imagination

I needed an adventurous hat – khaki-colored with a broad brim, evocative of Indiana Jones. Such were my thoughts as I prepared for a visit to Kenya during a summer break from college nine years ago. The hat made me look incredibly silly and eventually I came to my senses, giving it away. But for a few weeks it made me feel like a bona fide swashbuckler.

A couple years later, as I shopped for clothes before going on an aid work assignment in Zambia, I went for the whole look – buying khaki trousers and shirts with hundreds of pockets. I looked like a bad caricature of the European explorer in Africa (see the photo of me by the taxi) but I felt dashing and exciting nonetheless.

As I have spent more time on the African continent I have begun to reflect on the absurdity of this behavior which is so common among North Americans and Europeans that come here.

fashion expertise from sustainable good

I was listening to NPR the other day and there was a show that featured a panel on Michelle Obama's fashion and style.  Fashion experts and historians were talking about the many critics of the Michelle's choice of election night attire (the cardigan was apparently a disaster!) and the fact that she steers away from the pantsuits that Hillary Clinton made famous.  Every once in a while these talking heads claimed that they weren't just chatting about fluff -- that talking about what Michelle wears has consequences, determines the direction of the nation in some ways.  

While you're trying to keep what's left of your money, think about giving some away

Are you getting sick of hearing about the failing economy? Me too.

At least this time, we're not being told to "Shop! Shop! Shop!" in order to heal this crisis. That's the last thing we need to do right now. Although, I must urge you to give some of your money away. I know this sounds crazy but our situation right now in this world is ripe with opportunity for systemic change and organizations like Outreach International need you now more than ever.

Take some time as you watch your stocks fall to think about ways you can change your life to live more simply and give something to organizations that can really make a difference in the next few months.

-Karyn Wingard-Manuel

Smog at the Olympics and in Our World

Have you been keeping up with the Olympics in Beijing?  Having lived in southwestern China for almost two years, I find myself glued to the TV – not necessarily during the gymnastics competitions or the swimming races but the B-roll of the vast landscape, the sea of bikes, the glistening food.  These images bring me back to those two years – I can almost taste the lotus root and fish-smelling eggplant right now (I promise it’s amazing.)  Unfortunately, I also taste the grime on my tongue and in my nose from a long bike ride in the smog.  While Beijing has dramatically cut the smog for the Olympics, the athletes and visitors can still see those dirty molecules in the air and feel it in their lungs.  I remember the claustrophobia I felt almost every time I walked outside to enjoy the day.