Spring Closet Cleaning

Posted on May 7, 2019

this Bra.

I don’t think I have the tolerance to wear underwired bras anymore. Once I tasted the bralette, there is no going back. It’s freedom !

red Sweater.

Picked it up from an estate sale. It’s 3 sizes too big and I looked sloppy in it.

Required reading :

Recycling ultimately legitimates consumption.

Decluttering Consciously.

I am done with my days of binge decluttering. I want to wear everything I own. I want to shop my own closet. I don’t want to make a void by decluttering, only to fill it up again. I want intimacy with my things. I want the lows and the highs. I want to be bored of them. Then, I want to repurpose it into something that makes me un-bored. I want the romance to never die. I want my closet to be the cyclic economy that I idealize. I want each garment reinforcing the other, making a web of outfits. The boundaries of where the clothes begin and end, have changed for me. I have recently been fiddling with the terms ‘slow’, ‘luxury of time’ and ‘degrowth’. It’s a choice between short term fashion or long term style. This is where my head is at.

A Progress Report

Posted on May 7, 2019

General

75%: terrestrial environment “severely altered” to date by human actions (marine environments 66%)
47%: reduction in global indicators of ecosystem extent and condition against their estimated natural baselines, with many continuing to decline by at least 4% per decade
28%: global land area held and/or managed by Indigenous Peoples , including >40% of formally protected areas and 37% of all remaining terrestrial areas with very low human intervention
+/-60 billion: tons of renewable and non-renewable resources extracted globally each year, up nearly 100% since 1980
15%: increase in global per capita consumption of materials since 1980
>85%: of wetlands present in 1700 had been lost by 2000 – loss of wetlands is currently three times faster, in percentage terms, than forest loss.

Species, Populations and Varieties of Plants and Animals

8 million: total estimated number of animal and plant species on Earth (including 5.5 million insect species)
Tens to hundreds of times: the extent to which the current rate of global species extinction is higher compared to average over the last 10 million years, and the rate is accelerating
Up to 1 million: species threatened with extinction, many within decades
>500,000 (+/-9%): share of the world’s estimated 5.9 million terrestrial species with insufficient habitat for long term survival without habitat restoration
>40%: amphibian species threatened with extinction
Almost 33%: reef forming corals, sharks and shark relatives, and >33% marine mammals threatened with extinction
25%: average proportion of species threatened with extinction across terrestrial, freshwater and marine vertebrate, invertebrate and plant groups that have been studied in sufficient detail
At least 680: vertebrate species driven to extinction by human actions since the 16th century
+/-10%: tentative estimate of proportion of insect species threatened with extinction
>20%: decline in average abundance of native species in most major terrestrial biomes, mostly since 1900
+/-560 (+/-10%): domesticated breeds of mammals were extinct by 2016, with at least 1,000 more threatened
3.5%: domesticated breed of birds extinct by 2016
70%: increase since 1970 in numbers of invasive alien species across 21 countries with detailed records
30%: reduction in global terrestrial habitat integrity caused by habitat loss and deterioration
47%: proportion of terrestrial flightless mammals and 23% of threatened birds whose distributions may have been negatively impacted by climate change already
>6: species of ungulate (hoofed mammals) would likely be extinct or surviving only in captivity today without conservation measures

Food and Agriculture

300%: increase in food crop production since 1970
23%: land areas that have seen a reduction in productivity due to land degradation
>75%: global food crop types that rely on animal pollination
US$235 to US$577 billion: annual value of global crop output at risk due to pollinator loss
5.6 gigatons: annual CO2 emissions sequestered in marine and terrestrial ecosystems – equivalent to 60% of global fossil fuel emission
+/-11%: world population that is undernourished
100 million: hectares of agricultural expansion in the tropics from 1980 to 2000, mainly cattle ranching in Latin America (+/-42 million ha), and plantations in Southeast Asia (+/-7.5 million ha, of which 80% is oil palm), half of it at the expense of intact forests
3%: increase in land transformation to agriculture between 1992 and 2015, mostly at the expense of orests
>33%: world’s land surface (and +/-75% of freshwater resources) devoted to crop or livestock production
12%: world’s ice-free land used for crop production
25%: world’s ice-free land used for grazing (+/-70% of drylands)
+/-25%: greenhouse gas emissions caused by land clearing, crop production and fertilization, with animal-based food contributing 75% to that figure
+/-30%: global crop production and global food supply provided by small land holdings (<2 ha), using +/-25% of agricultural land, usually maintaining rich agrobiodiversity
$100 billion: estimated level of financial support in OECD countries (2015) to agriculture that is potentially harmful to the environment

Oceans and Fishing

33%: marine fish stocks in 2015 being harvested at unsustainable levels; 60% are maximally sustainably fished; 7% are underfished
>55%: ocean area covered by industrial fishing
3-10%: projected decrease in ocean net primary production due to climate change alone by the end of the century
3-25%: projected decrease in fish biomass by the end of the century in low and high climate warming scenarios, respectively
>90%: proportion of the global commercial fishers accounted for by small scale fisheries (over 30 million people) – representing nearly 50% of global fish catch
Up to 33%: estimated share in 2011 of world’s reported fish catch that is illegal, unreported or unregulated
>10%: decrease per decade in the extent of seagrass meadows from 1970-2000
+/-50%: live coral cover of reefs lost since 1870s
100-300 million: people in coastal areas at increased risk due to loss of coastal habitat protection
400: low oxygen (hypoxic) coastal ecosystem ‘dead zones’ caused by fertilizers, affecting >245,000 km2
29%: average reduction in the extinction risk for mammals and birds in 109 countries thanks to conservation investments from 1996 to 2008; the extinction risk of birds, mammals and amphibians would have been at least 20% greater without conservation action in recent decade
>107: highly threatened birds, mammals and reptiles estimated to have benefitted from the eradication of invasive mammals on islands

Forests

45%: increase in raw timber production since 1970 (4 billion cubic meters in 2017)
+/-13 million: forestry industry jobs
50%: agricultural expansion that occurred at the expense of forests
50%: decrease in net rate of forest loss since the 1990s (excluding those managed for timber or agricultural extraction)
68%: global forest area today compared with the estimated pre-industrial level
7%: reduction of intact forests (>500 sq. km with no human pressure) from 2000-2013 in developed and developing countries
290 million ha (+/-6%): native forest cover lost from 1990-2015 due to clearing and wood harvesting
110 million ha: rise in the area of planted forests from 1990-2015
10-15%: global timber supplies provided by illegal forestry (up to 50% in some areas)
>2 billion: people who rely on wood fuel to meet their primary energy needs

Mining and Energy

<1%: total land used for mining, but the industry has significant negative impacts on biodiversity, emissions, water quality and human health
+/-17,000: large-scale mining sites (in 171 countries), mostly managed by 616 international corporations
+/-6,500: offshore oil and gas ocean mining installations ((in 53 countries)
US$345 billion: global subsidies for fossil fuels resulting in US$5 trillion in overall costs, including nature deterioration externalities; coal accounts for 52% of post-tax subsidies, petroleum for +/-33% and natural gas for +/-10%

Urbanization, Development and Socioeconomic Issues

>100%: growth of urban areas since 1992
25 million km: length of new paved roads foreseen by 2050, with 90% of construction in least developed and developing countries
+/-50,000: number of large dams (>15m height) ; +/-17 million reservoirs (>0.01 ha)
105%: increase in global human population (from 3.7 to 7.6 billion) since 1970 unevenly across countries and regions
50 times higher: per capita GDP in developed vs. least developed countries
>2,500: conflicts over fossil fuels, water, food and land currently occurring worldwide
>1,000: environmental activists and journalists killed between 2002 and 2013

Health

70%: proportion of cancer drugs that are natural or synthetic products inspired by nature
+/-4 billion: people who rely primarily on natural medicines
17%: infectious diseases spread by animal vectors, causing >700,000 annual deaths
+/-821 million: people face food insecurity in Asia and Africa
40%: of the global population lacks access to clean and safe drinking water
>80%: global wastewater discharged untreated into the environment
300-400 million tons: heavy metals, solvents, toxic sludge, and other wastes from industrial facilities dumped annually into the world’s waters
10 times: increase in plastic pollution since 1980

Climate Change

1 degree Celsius: average global temperature difference in 2017 compared to pre-industrial levels, rising +/-0.2 (+/-0.1) degrees Celsius per decade
>3 mm: annual average global sea level rise over the past two decades
16-21 cm: rise in global average sea level since 1900
100% increase since 1980 in greenhouse gas emissions, raising average global temperature by at least 0.7 degree
40%: rise in carbon footprint of tourism (to 4.5Gt of carbon dioxide) from 2009 to 2013
8%: of total greenhouse gas emissions are from transport and food consumption related to tourism
5%: estimated fraction of species at risk of extinction from 2°C warming alone, rising to 16% at 4.3°C warming
Even for global warming of 1.5 to 2 degrees, the majority of terrestrial species ranges are projected to shrink profoundly.

Global Goals

Most: Aichi Biodiversity Targets for 2020 likely to be missed
22 of 44: assessed targets under the Sustainable Development Goals related to poverty, hunger, health, water, cities, climate, ocean and land are being undermined by substantial negative trends in nature and its contributions to people
72%: of local indicators in nature developed and used by Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities that show negative trends
4: number of Aichi Targets where good progress has been made on certain components, with moderate progress on some components of another 7 targets, poor progress on all components of 6 targets, and insufficient information to assess progress on some or all components of the remaining 3 targets

Source : Full report / Summary.

“An organism that is too greedy and takes too much without giving anything in return destroys what it needs for life.”
― Peter Wohlleben, The Hidden Life of Trees:

Gratitude Journal : Week 18

Posted on May 7, 2019

I have started listening to a podcast called Kwik Brain with Jim Kwik. He interviews folks with expertise in understanding the relationship between {the anatomical brain} and {food, memory, creativity, curiosity, gratitude, sleep, focus, organization, age, thinking, resilience, habits, burnout, fatigue, etc}. One aspect that is relevant to the field of sustainability is gratitude. I didn’t know that feeling grateful can rewire your brain and may open a pathway to happiness. Gratitude is appreciation of what is valuable and meaningful to you. It’s a general state of thankfulness. It is possible to train your mind to be thankful for not only the big events and the shiny objects, but the little things in life. I would like to create a weekly digest with outfits, objects, moments and reading that I am thankful for. Monday seems to be the right day to do it.

Moments :

I wrote some code for a friend as a favor. He thanked me by saying “I don’t know how to pay you back for this. I promise that I will do something good for the environment”. I am starting to see my friends accept the environmentalist in me. A bunch of us went to get a bite. One of the guys says “Please ask for no straw. Or else, she will die.” It was funny, but endearing too.
I saw a dozen raccoons fighting it out in my yard and Cinco hiding behind a pot while watching the proceedings. It was terrifying. I was standing by the door with a cast iron skillet in hand ready to step in. He knew how to navigate the situation. I am in awe of his survival skills. Having an outdoor pet is a joy and a pain. He is the wilderness in our lives – always doing the exact opposite of what we want him to do. I don’t know what he does all day and if he is safe. Every morning, when I see him return home for his food, I am thankful that he is alive.
We got summoned by a friend to help with assembly of a new bed. They cooked us a lovely meal after – chicken braised in coconut milk that we ate as we watched Game of Thrones. To have this intimacy, felt good.
The next tenant of our home is a forest ranger, a zero waste householder and a gardener. We speak the same language. Knowing that the plants will be taken care of has given me a faith in the mission : stewardship of this piece of land.
I got to spend an afternoon in a house of books. Sitting on a bench and having a poet read to you from all the pages she bookmarked, is an under rated life’s pleasure.
European nations are starting to declaring climate crisis, a national emergency. Thank you Greta Thunberg for your activism.

Finished reading The Secret Life of Trees. I don’t think life will ever be the same, with this knowledge. Consumers, under no circumstances, should be allowed to access the existing ancient growth forests without being tried for crimes against humanity. [ Please note that the book contains pseudo science mixed with science mixed with story telling and is aimed at non-scientists. ]
I got a New York Times subscription. Democracy only works if the people are informed. I finally made the commitment.

This cover of the New Yorker. I finally found art that I want adorning my walls.

I walk among giants. Here are my colleagues in sustainability blogging, walking the walk, at a significant personal cost. Buy Erin and Andrea a cup of coffee. Ladies, we got your back !

Misc :

Toilet brushes. ( I will need one after I move. )

Coffee ft Sustainability.

The forgotten woman who unlocked the green house effect.

Environmental literacy on the food we eat.

“Make me your dal and I’ll tell you who you are.”

This cue on communicating a disagreement.

Mother’s day gift.

Fashion in film : Love Story.

My next credit card.

Style, Lately

Posted on May 1, 2019

Indigo !

A color I am in love with. Slowly in the beginning. And suddenly all at once. Like how the sunrise happens. Navy blue is the only color I could see, for the last few years. Indigo and all the other shades were the poorer, uncouth and not so sophisticated cousin of navy. Recently, something changed. I have amassed as much navy blue as a human in my situation could possibly need. A visual greed has been satiated. Another has taken it’s stead. Shades of indigo. They are all made from the same mother but came out in gradients because of a certain interaction between human toil, the dye, wind, air, light and water. It’s alchemy. With every wash, it continues to evolve. This time, the weave of the garment and the way you launder your clothes plays a role. Every shade is a result of a collaboration between the elements. There is the tao. The steady and the change. The order and the chaos. There is a yin and a yang. Seeing it in color – is a new sensation for me. Reading about wabi sabi helped me see it. To see aging of things as an experience, had to be learnt. The consumer culture I live in taught me that only the new clothes provide experiences that are worthy. The marketing wizards managed to convince me that to achieve happiness and progress, I constantly need the new. To find what they promised in the same old garment, is almost an act of rebellion and resistance. When I do laundry, I take my time to observe the indigo t-shirt that I dyed last year. Bring it close to the eye and your vision switches to a shallow depth of field like an f/1.4 50mm lens does. The indigo cloth becomes a painting of sort. After every wash, this painting mutates into something else. It’s beautiful in its own way. Denim works this way too. Unfortunately, I constantly forget what I have learnt and stray. The remedy ? More journaling. More reading. More yoga. More meditation. More mindfulness. More gazing at how indigo is worn around the world. More {low-carbon} travel. Change the view point, and everything changes. It applies to color too. I have come the full circle with indigo. It’s something I adored as a child but lost out on, after I went in search of a certain kind of elegance. After the bubble burst, I am finding my way back again.

Indigo on Indigo :

Denim on Denim :

Indigo with red :

White Noise : April Edition

Posted on April 29, 2019

This month’s consumption round up ↑

Sweater: Margaret Howell, second hand on Noihsaf Bazaar. This is my first purchase from the brand. It’s incredibly well made. It’s super sturdy : the kind of wool sweater that you wear to work in the fields and continue wearing it for a decade. This is a garment designed to help the buyer choose quality over quantity. I have loved her work from the words written in homage and adored her clothes from afar. This is a start of a different relationship. I feel more confident paying the money if this is the quality she delivers per dollar.

Pants : A.P.C, found second hand in CrossRoads, San Francisco. They are rather light weight and the fabric has thinned out considerably with wear. I look forward to being the one who puts holes in the garment. They are navy blue with subtle pinstripe detail. I have a scope for them in my style and space for them in my closet. Since they will wear out soon, I get to experiment with it without committing to it for longer. This is a trade off that works in my favor.

Not Pictured ( need to pick up from a friend’s home ) :

Indigo wool jacket : vintage from General Store, San Francisco. I cant wait to show you this garment. It is a shade of indigo that I have never worn and look forward to pairing with the navy blues and the blacks in my closet. It has a denim collar which adds durability to the garment by being located in the area where knitwear frays the most. This garment is a new style for me. Perhaps it will help me ward off the style ruts I sometimes experience ?

Kimono : vintage, from Japan town San Francisco. It’s mauve in color. It does not have visible print which I find hard to wear. I need to get it to a tailor and have it shortened. It’s made of silk. I envision using it as a robe around the home. I have been wanting to wear more pink and this could be the way to do it. I don’t know if I am appropriating a culture that is not my own by birth. That conversation is to be had at some point in time.

Mr. Porter, what have you become?

She is my daughter from another mother. I want to pay child care to support her activism.

Denim dreams.

The book shelf in this designer’s office.

Closet Cue : Storing your winter wardrobe.

Mara Hoffman switching to sustainable fabrics.

Artist visit series by Yoshihiro Makino.

Individual impact absolutely matters too.

Wild Flowers by Alan Fletcher.

A grocery list suggestion.

A very useful pointer for sustainable living communication.

Travel movies to watch while upholding the no-fly pact with the planet.

This home. Do the inhabitants fly around to keep it clean ?

I can’t get my hair wet.

Raw jackfruit. I can’t wait to try make Chicken Biryani using this fruit instead of meat.

Earth Day covers on Washington Post.

Opposites attract.

This is the grand vision to transition to 100% renewables.

How to reduce distraction, advice from medieval monks.

Write your own code for black hole visualization.

The Fourth National Climate Assessment is out. All the human systems as we understand them, were designed during and for the holocene era. We entered anthropocene and every system needs to be redesigned including our thinking and way of life. Business as usual and growth at all costs no longer are pro-human. Carbon is a currency of this era. It should not be abused or stolen. This is a very important read to understand the scale of the required solutions.

How do we feed 9 billion humans and growing population ? The Lancet report is out. It’s the work for 37 scientists from 16 countries. It takes unique local factors into account.

“The chance that there will be any permanent ice left in the Arctic after 2022 is essentially zero.” If this doesn’t start a revolution, I don’t know what will ? But then, I wont be surprised if tourists start taking high carbon emitting flights there to see it before it’s gone, thereby accelerating the damage.

Outsource the dirty jobs. Outsource the emissions.

I don’t know anyone in climate science and environmental activism who hasn’t been in deep grief about the state of things. Art has been coming in to strengthen the hearts. Thanks Banksy.

Where are you NOT flying on holiday this year ?

Patagonia Vs Growth at the cost of the environment.

This series on Farmers.

This bookstore.

A {Low-Waste} Home Tour

Posted on April 27, 2019

We are moving out of our home soon. My plants are currently being sold away on craigslist. Without them, this space would not be home. I have wanted to record details of this home on the blog but haven’t, since my husband feels differently about privacy and internet journals. This home will become a home to another lovely family soon. It has already changed to prepare for the transition. This may be the last chance.

Does zero waste have an aesthetic ?

A strong NO. My home has a lot of gray and white because that is how it looked when we moved in.

Do I have an aesthetic ?

Maybe. Mine is that of an Indian expat in American SouthWest. I like the chunky solid brown furniture, red, brass, clay, linen, humble things and open spaces. With this home, I wanted to keep some of the original charm and introduce some of my own taste into the space. I tried to optimize for waste.

What about your partner ?

He likes a full and lived in home. Remember Monica’s apartment in the tv show FRIENDS ? He likes that sort of space. I don’t. Bringing in the plants to fill up the corners and having piles of books clutter the surfaces made for a happy compromise.

What were your priorities with this home ?

A place to stay. Our previous home was 320 sft and we wanted to move into a more open space. We picked it out in a hurry because of family visiting from India. Living in a single family home by ourselves has been a new experience for us. I was looking forward to growing some plants outdoors. Our previous landlord was a gardener. We saw how happy it made him to grow and work with nature. We wanted that experience for ourselves.

{ What do I want from a home ? A house of silence. There is so much stimulation and distraction in the world that I want some quiet and peace. I do not want to see the walls and get moved. I do not want objects that speak too much. My mind is always raging that I sometimes find it hard to sleep coz I cant stop thinking about a problem. Meditation has been helping. Minimalism has been helping. Yoga has been helping. I need my home to be a sanctuary. I want as much silence and quiet as I can get. }

On Perfection ?

We take our time before making the decision to buy something, check out our options, evaluate pros + cons, etc. But once we buy, we try to buy for life. In the case of us immigrants, it’s “as long as we stay in this country”. As things age, they don’t look pretty, but that is fine by me. The farther it gets from Sunday, my cleaning day, the home slips into a state of disarray. My mantra is a borrowed one : Don’t be ashamed of shabby things. Be ashamed of shabby ideas. Said by this great human. I try to remember that. I haven’t re-decorated or upgraded anything that works. For instance, I got some white cotton fabric from the nearby craft shop to use as curtains on the first day I moved in. We realized that you could see inside from the street and didn’t know what sort of window treatments we wanted. But once these came in, we put off shopping for curtains to when this fabric wear out. I don’t want to waste this textile. So be it. We have an outdoor cat who brings in the dirt. I clean often but can’t seem to catch up with his pace. He is a hunter who brings live and dead animals into the home. We have had live birds flying along the ceilings. We have had mice running along the floors and lizards along the walls that we have had to catch. We have had to deal with dead animals he drags inside. We deal with his puke from ingesting too much fiber. I use vinegar and baking soda to sanitize the place after his victories. His fur is cute but has a zillion things stuck to it at all times from his adventures. Living with an animal forced me to accept chaos as a way of life.

Lately, I have become immune to the idea of picture perfect. I have taken my fair share of staged photographs to impress people on social media. I look at too many images on Instagram. It went from aspirational to inspirational to “we still do this ?”. Today, I don’t have the energy or appreciation for that sort of beauty anymore. Looking back, the photographs don’t represent a moment to remember. They represent a certain vanity that isn’t enriching my life by it’s remembrance. In this post, I tried not to photograph a staged home. This is my home on a Tuesday morning. Nothing has been tucked away. I din’t buy cut fresh flowers. I didn’t clear my counter tops. I didn’t color co-ordinate my books. I own studio lights but they were not used in these photographs. I own a very professional camera that can achieve wonders when coupled with a tripod. These photos were taken with my phone in under 10 minutes. This is us without the make up and the mirrors. Home tours should be true to the environment. Some homes have more order, beauty and perfection. Our home looks like this :

THE LIVING ROOM

“We will finally have bookshelves”, we thought when we moved into this home. It somehow never happened. At first, we didn’t know where to put the shelves. Then, we didnt know what kind of book shelves to buy. Then, our cat Cinco figured out that every time he wanted attention, all he had to do was go into the fire place and come out covered in soot. We built a blockade with books to keep him out. They have stayed there since. No bookshelf for us.

The empty space in this room is my spot to do asana practice for my yoga. I have an Indian broom that I use to sweep every morning before I roll out my mat. Else, I was loosing my concentration in-between practice and observing the dirt on the floor. This spot is the most cleaned part of our home. 5 days a week ! It looks well for that reason.

The couch is a second hand find from when I lived in Tempe, Arizona. It was a sectional. With time, I had to let go of one of the pieces to downsize for a move. Only this piece of the L-shape survived. I wash the fabric when Cinco gets it dirty enough. The windows have the original 1950s shades when the house was originally built. When I moved in, we wanted to replace them or paint them white. But the house won. It managed to not let us do upgrades for no real reason. The vintage feel of the windows reminds me of my great-grand-mother’s home and our village.

The leather ottoman was a Craigslist find from the Redwood City. The owner bought it second hand from a estate sale and was told that it was custom made. I like sinking into it and reading a book.

When we have guests over, I bring out the cot from our bedroom and re-distribute the chairs from our dining room. We have also brought out our mattress into the living room and had folks lay down to watch games / tv shows / movies / etc. It works. I call this modular design. Everything is multipurpose and gets used a lot. The rural Japanese homes were designed that way with fluid paper walls and furniture that folds away. The rural Indian homes were once designed this way with cots and floor mats that moved about / unrolled where it was necessary. This enabled our ancestors to own fewer things and get maximum usage out of them. The average number of guests we have seems be hover around 4 new bodies. This space comfortably houses us all. I never felt a need for a bigger couch or any other upgrades. But then, I think I have great friends and the need to impress them with ambiance is low. My partner sometimes feels embarrassed when the guests cram into the couch or when we have folks sleeping on the floor. But to me, its all a part of a good life. Travel teaches you to embrace the inconveniences. In what world is huddling together or cramming into cozy spaces with your loved ones a problem to be solved ? Especially, in a house this big ?

After he got his first job, the first major purchase he made was this tv. This corner houses it. The first piece of furniture I bought was this treasure chest. After we moved in, these two got together. Inside the chest, I store my out of season clothing. Under the chest, my current set of shoes in rotation live their seasonal lives before going back into hibernation. We have a coat closet right opposite the entrance to the front door. My handbag hangs around there. This corner was supposed to be where a floor to ceiling bookshelf could have been. But the house had other plans for us.

The stack of things along the wall is all the “home decor” we own. The mirror sits there because it helps me correct my posture in asana practice. The map, was once loved but now has been reduced to a prop. The Buddha statue is a project that I never completed. I wanted to make it a moss statue that sits inside the home. But I never lived long enough in any place to complete the project. Cinco, the cat, eats by the mirror. He owns all but one toy mouse that sits by his bowl. He likes hunting and playing outdoors for the most part. His wilderness spirit is very inspiring to me. The fiddle fig leaf plant is the result of my learning about plants from Instagram. These plants are expensive. I had friends who wanted the plant but didn’t want to invest this sort of money in a trendy plant. I have propagated 3 small plants from this guy’s leaves and give them to these friends. I quite like how a bunch of us are now connected by this guy’s children. When i visit their homes, they always show me their baby fig plant and call me ‘plant aunt’. Gardening is so much more fun this way.

THE DINING ROOM

This space is the heart of our home. When folks visit, we usually end up here instead of on the couch or any place else. It goes to say how much we enjoy cooking and eating. It serves as a work space, board game hosting space, Cinco’s spot to birdwatch by the window, …. I bought the table 6 years ago. It was my first big purchase and I had vowed to have it in our home till we leave this country. Here it is. It’s my fav piece of furniture. I found the chairs last year. The bench came in this year. It took me 6 years to put this set up together.

By the window is the Indian curry leaf tree. My partner takes care of it like it’s our child. We got it as a baby and it’s grown into a plant that feeds us. These leaves go into the tempering added to Indian food. It’s a source of umami. This plant is the symbolic goddess of sustainability in our home. The more leaves I pluck == lesser the ability for the plant to photosynthesize == lesser its ability to stay alive == lesser it’s ability to sustain us. When we first got it, we plucked too many leaves in such a short period of time that the plant almost died. We now carefully calibrate our consumption of it’s leaves to the growth, seasons and state of the plant. It is a joy to take care of it as it takes care of us. Our relationship is symbolic of earth and humans in some sense. I can kill this plant today by plucking too many leaves. I can visualize it’s states as it dies because I have seen it suffer before. This is the analogy I use to edit my wants and needs. The more I consume, sooner we both die. We use the leaves every single day when we cook. And every single day, I get to exercise my sustainability muscle. How is the plant doing ? Should I take a leaf today ? What can I do to keep the plant healthy ? It’s a spiritual practice.

THE KITCHEN

This is where our clutter triumphs. Bills that need attention asap go on the fridge. The black board has meal plans scribbled on. If I am home, there is always a kettle of water boiling for tea. The appliances I own are a high speed blender and an electric cooker. The counter tops are never empty. Reusuable bottles, tea pots, V60 coffee dripper, cutting boards, compost collector, bar dish soap, coconut scrub, cleaning rags, gray water tub, plants, etc live on it. I do fantasize the idea of empty counter tops before I go to bed, as a rule. It’s a tidiness aspiration. It hasn’t happened for me yet.

We never achieved the zero in zero waste but we managed to reduce our landfill waste to filling out these bins once every two weeks. That is enough of a target for me. I can reduce more but I can’t do that while keeping my sanity and my relationships with humans around me. Our big ticket trash items are take out food containers. Someday, I will gather the courage to ask the restaurant to fill my glass containers. Till then, ….

This is our pantry. Cook books, dry goods in bulk and vintage wooden boards lay around. We get some of our packaged goods in large quantities from Costco. I find my plastic rice bin ridiculously ugly but find making “zero waste upgrades” counter productive to the cause. So be it. Plastic is an incredibly useful material if not abused. I plan to use mine for as long as possible. We have a waxed canvas apron and a denim apron hanging by a hook. Wearing an apron helps us launder our clothes less. This is the most prosperous closet in our home.

THE BATHROOM

The bar soap is the rockstar in this room. I have one for hands, body and hair. My partner wears contact lens and uses sanitizing solution. I do not feel guilty for generating trash as a by product of our medical needs. We have a small trash can in the bathroom. It fills up every month. I am a sexually active woman. I am not on birth control. I use condoms to prevent unwanted pregnancy. This is also the kind of trash I wont apologize for or use as a yard stick to let my critics prove that I am not zero waste. We use toilet paper made from recycled materials. Sunscreen is the only packaged product that I use that is designed for the landfill. I am looking into switching back to one that comes in an aluminum tin after this one is done.

I do not like the decor of the bathroom. I intensely dislike the counter tops and the color of the wood. We were not in a position to renovate this space and didn’t want to waste all these perfectly usable furniture. My solution ? Sleep on it till the time is right and I will know what to do. Some art work would have cheered up this place. But all of our effort went into the yard for the last one year.

THE BEDROOM

I got used to sleeping on the floor for the last decade and find bed frames unnecessary. This mattress is by Tuft and Needle, purchased first hand. ( I somehow did not look into sustainability factors for mattresses back then. ) We air out our mattress periodically to prevent moulding, by lifting it up and stacking it against the wall when not in use. All the additional seating in the room was found on craigslist. The Indian cot by Restoration Hardware is one of my fav finds ever. I used to sleep on a cot when I was a child in India. I don’t fit on this one but it serves as additional seating in the house. I found the full length mirror on the street, cleaned it up and stacked it against the window to take outfit photos for the blog. After I realized that it is a slimming mirror, I have been meaning to get rid of it. But seeing a taller and leaner version of myself got me hooked to it. Yikes !

THE YARD

Trees and people used to be the best of friends.
I saw that tree and decided to buy the house.

— HAYAO MIYAZAKI, My Neighbor Totoro

This tree is one of the reasons we live here. This tree is my teacher and friend. This tree is the spirit animal of this home. This tree is our great-great-grand-mother. The rest is walls and things that exist for physical comfort. Having a yard is a privilege and a joy. I understand that urban density is essential to reduce emissions from daily commute. We both take public transportation and use the car only when we need to. That still does not justify having a yard. To make up for the opulence, we started growing food and planting as many trees as the land would allow. We could replace the lawn with a more biodiverse landscape. The grand plan was to grow a food forest but it never got that far. We did however plant for the bees, the birds and the worms. I am especially proud of my cat Cinco whose predatory instinct was to hunt the birds, but he lets them be. The permaculture books that I have read changed the way I see life. The disconnect with nature that my urban life facilitated lead to my un-sustainable lifestyle practices. My garden and my outdoor cat helped me plug myself into the ecosystem to observe my role in it all. It changed me. If I was doing zero waste to meet the challenge/bloat my ego before, I now do it for love of life as I know it. We can go a step further and think in terms of regeneration, rather than sustainability. It starts at home.

{ I would like to add that nature isn’t all glory and beauty of landscape. There is toil, survival of the fittest, disease, pests, poop, predators, helplessness of being at the mercy of the weather, time invested, money invested, a knowledge bank that I am constantly updating by reading, … It is worth it for me. }

Size of the house :

Living in a large home is not in line with the principles of zero waste. I think this home is too big for us with lots of space going un-used. It’s 950 sft with 3 bedrooms and a garage for the car. The two extra rooms go un-used and I tried to keep them empty as to not get used to having the space to fill with stuff. For 2 humans, I think a 700 sft would be sufficiently spacious and very comfortable. I am not a fan of the American suburban home. I try to follow the decor / interior media from European cities so that I don’t get used to seeing the mansions decorated with opulence and eventually find them aspirational.

Cleaning :

An Indian broom, baking soda, rags, water, vinegar, bamboo scrub, coconut coir and olive oil soap have kept us afloat. Most of them come package free and some come in bulk plastic containers. But I genuinely believe that we are doing our best. I do the cleaning myself every Sunday and call it exercise for the day.

Air Conditioning :

We have deciduous trees around the home that help with seasonal temperature regulation. I wear a poncho inside during the day and a sweater to bed. We own a small room fan that comes out during the summer months. But come winter, I find myself feeling miserable without the central heating. I am finding it hard to get out of bed in the morning and to be active when it’s cold. I am yet to figure out a way to reduce it’s usage. With slow and gradual improvements, I hope to get there. Perhaps one way is to own some cozy lounge clothing ? More thermal leggings and beanies ?

Had we stayed longer :

We have been meaning to put up portraits of our family members on the walls. Black and white images that I shot, in brass frames is what I had in mind. Elders, babies and pets – all of them deserve to be up there. I am keen on finding the frames second hand and was waiting to find them. I have a Phython script that runs on my server that searches Craigslist every day and emails me when it finds what I am looking for. I haven’t found art work that I want to live with, every single day, as yet. I do tear out pages from books and magazines and plaster them to the walls from time to time. Another year would have given me time to adorn the walls. But if I do have a year, my backyard would become a food forest and my front yard would become a native plant garden with wild flowers. We planted a manzanita this weekend after we saw it on the trails of Mt. Diablo. Every time we go on a hike, we seem to fall in love with a new plant, come home to look it up, find it in the California Native Plant community and plant it. With time, we could have planted so much more. The thing we are most proud of is the transformation of the land. The soil was severely undernourished when we moved in. I lugged my compost bin from my previous home, adopted some red worms, started using horse manure from a stable in Oakland Hills, started making soil amendments, grew ground cover, mulched with dried leaves, planted clover, …… till the birds and the bees returned. The yard came into a life of its own. Seeing it all come together at the start of the Spring has given us more happiness than we could quantify. I would like to thank the poet M.S. Merwin for the inspiration. Not just for the pretty and powerful words, but for the way he lived his life and for the actions.

The End

We loved it here. We love it here. This is our first home together. We have always rented a room in a larger home or rented apartments with roommates around. This home is us. A place to grow up together. I am glad we could move in, with an animal. I am glad that the animal was Cinco. I am glad we could grow our food here. I am glad we got to host our friends and family here.

Thank you for visiting my home.

Lately

Posted on April 25, 2019

Me : Ooh, pretty shoes. I can image all the cool outfits I could be making with these. I want !
Consumerism : Yes, yes, yes. Go for it. You are too important to deny yourself anything. It’s alright to not stick to your carbon budget. Do what makes you happy. You can dispose it later if you change you mind in the future.
Mindfulness : Why do you want them ? Is it because you don’t have enough ? You know that it is not true. Is it for that fleeting sense of gratification after you acquire it ? From experience, you know that this sort of happiness leaves you and passes too quickly. You have 20 other pairs and if they haven’t give you what you are looking for, why are these different ? Is it possible to find that end state, that happiness, by other means ? Can you find sustainable happiness ? Can you fixate on the joy you currently have in your life in-spite of not having those shoes ? Can you borrow happiness from your current joyful existence ? If you think these shoes are necessary for personal growth, and this growth leads to happiness, can you short circuit this path and still find happiness ?The way you consume always reflects on what has been going on in your life ? Are you alright ?
Me : Okay, I see what you are saying. I will wait for this to pass and observe it like meditation teaches me to do. A major life change is happening. I am switching careers and moving to a colder climate. It has put me in an existential crisis of sort. I am reacting to it by buying stuff all over the place. I will slow down, take some deep breaths and let it pass.

Meditation and yoga are the best form of self care that I have discovered in the recent times. Mindfulness training is a muscle. It takes years of discipline and understanding to build but can atrophy real quickly. Mine are still weak. I realized that this month after I have started panic shopping. It’s for colder weather clothes. I am moving to New England for work. I will be working in climate science, which has been a passion of mine for years. I wanted my side job to be my full time job and it finally happened. The downside : the weather. I never lived in a place with 4 intense seasons or snow. I won’t be able to wear my blue dresses anymore because I will be working inside a tech plant with a strict safety dress code. Garments I call ‘winter coats’ in California aren’t even sufficiently warm during the spring out there. I have been spending a lot of my free time looking at how Meghan Markle used to dress when she lived in Canada during shoots and street style videos of Parisians ( 1 & 2 ) for style inspiration. I had my personal style figured down to the dot, and now realize that I will have to figure it out all over again. In reality, I don’t know what works and what doesn’t for the new weather :

Will my wool coats get soaked up when it starts to snow ? If yes, are they usable at all ?
Does it snow for most of the winter or is it a few times a week thing ?
Will I need a hood or an umbrella to walk around ?
Do folks own one puffer jacket for fall and one for winter ?
What’s a parka ?
Will I need a chunky knit ?
If I wear a thick sweater, will I start sweating once inside ?
Will I need to wear woolen pants or thermals ? Or does denim work ?
Will the leather boots I own do fine when the side walks are filled with snow and salt ?
What exactly are snow boots ? Will it have to be duck boots ? Can I wear rain boots with thick socks ?
What about socks ? Do super socks exist that can handle snow weather ?
How does layering work ? How many layers will I need ? Does it take more effort to step out of the house ? Will I be peeling off and putting on layers multiple times a day ?
How much time will I spend outdoors ?
If Uniqlo heat tech is my best option, should I buy my thermals second hand or first hand ?
Will I need different lounge / sleep wear ?
How do people get to work during a snow storm ? Do “regular” winter clothes work during storms ?
Can I line dry my clothes indoors ?
Will I bike/public transit to work ?
Can I grow my own food in winter ? How does one compost in cold weather ?
What kind of gloves do I need ?
How many of each kind of garment do I need ?
Will my closet size explode ? Will I need to downsize the amount of summer clothes I own ?
Will I enjoy clothes as much anymore if its all puffer jackets and duck boots ?

All of this thinking is pointless, while I am in sunny California. I ain’t getting any answers while looking inside stores. Winter garments are expensive and resource intense. It might be wise to let it sink in, to take it slow and not make panic purchases. After years of getting annoyed by looking at collages of capsule wardrobes, I am suddenly glad that I can see inside the closets of folks who live in cold climates. I am glad that I can learn about how many of each kind of garment they have, in their minimalist closets. It’s a great starting point for me. I am looking forward to finding a second hand winter wardrobe over the course of Spring/Summer. In reality, it’s quite exciting. I get to try out a few new things and figure out zero waste living in a different location.

Earth Day : Ode to the unsung heroes

Posted on April 23, 2019

Tembisa, Johannesburg. JOHNNY MILLER / MEDIADRUMIMAGES.COM

Ixtapaluca, Mexico City. JOHNNY MILLER / MEDIADRUMIMAGES.COM

Papwa Sewgolum Golf Course, Durban. JOHNNY MILLER / MEDIADRUMIMAGES.COM

Lake Michelle, Masiphumelele, Cape Town. JOHNNY MILLER / MEDIADRUMIMAGES.COM

Mumbai. JOHNNY MILLER / MEDIADRUMIMAGES.COM

Vukuzenzele, Sweet Home, Cape Town. JOHNNY MILLER / MEDIADRUMIMAGES.COM

Today, I would like to acknowledge the silent climate heroes. The largest chunk of the world’s resources are consumed by the world’s upper 20% earners who also contribute to a majority of the emissions. Some of these humans declutter, wear minimalist outfits, shop from health foods stores, carry a tote bag and a reusable cup, use plastic free contraptions, … and get social media glory. (They absolutely deserve it. Being in a position to live a high carbon lifestyle but showing restraint is noble. It’s very rare. I only know ONE person in my whole circle of humans who has changed his/her ways for the sake of the environment. ) The rest of the world’s population consume so little out of frugality / poverty / uncertain futures / environmentalism / not having access to resources / hardships beyond my comprehension. They live in tiny homes. They embrace urban density. They don’t shop. They don’t fly on planes/go on cruises. They use the public transportation. They eat lower on the food chain. They don’t buy appliances that they don’t need. They don’t upgrade their belongings out of boredom. They shop from the unglamorous second hand stores, embrace repairs and use products till the end of their life. The landfills are located closer to their homes. If the sea levels rise, it’s their homes in line or their neighborhoods that get gentrified. If the storms come, it’s their savings that get wiped out. If the crops fail, it is them who feel the pinch when shopping for food. When the climate migrations start to happen, it’s their jobs that are on the line. Most of them need to consume more resources to live a dignified and healthy life but can’t or don’t. They inadvertently end up offsetting for the consumerism of their wealthy counterparts without their own consent and face the brunt of the pollution they didn’t contribute towards. Their carbon budgets get stolen by who ever has the power to take them. The terms ‘environmental racism’ and ‘environmental injustice’ have been coined but are often whispered in hushed tones as to not offend the powerful. We need to do more to appreciate/protect/empower/accept/glorify the humans who live within the planetary bounds and carbon budgets. Not all heroes wear capes, live a charmed life and have a social media presence. They will in turn be made to feel inadequate for not being able to shop in package free stores, not having access to recycling facilities, for not wearing ethically made clothes, for wanting what their wealthier counterparts have, … for not living a genteel version of sustainable lifestyle that is popular on social media. It’s an unfair world. On Earth day, all I can do is to pledge to stay with in my planetary budget.

{ I have been terrified to write this post since I don’t think I know the right words to say what I want to say without it coming across as me glorifying poverty. I want to fight for humans to keep their own carbon budgets without being stolen from. I want them to consume enough without being burdened with the lifestyle expectations of the Kinfolk-y version of sustainability. I have been told that we haven’t made much progress in tackling environmental issues because we haven’t addressed racism and inequality, by several activists. It’s only now that I am beginning to understand what those words mean. If you are used to a certain privilege, the idea of equality can look like oppression. It manifests in the form blocking the solutions that address the equality. “Stay with in your carbon budget” is a form of equality. It has been incredibly hard for me to comprehend that and to give up my privileges. While my intent is to acknowledge the unsung heroes, I don’t even believe that my saying thanks for something that wasn’t voluntarily given to me is much of a consolation. This is the reason I volunteer at the Citizens Climate Lobby. Some recommended reading on Environmental Racism and Environmental Justice : Andrea’s list. }

Too Small to Matter : #10

Posted on April 2, 2019

Quit air travel for leisure.

Last month, my partner came home with a naughty grin and said “I booked us tickets to Hawaii for your birthday”. A few years ago, I would have jumped with joy. Today, I don’t want to go. We pack our bags tonight and leave tomorrow morning. In-spite of being grateful for the present, I still don’t want to go. There is zero excitement from my side. I would have done a ‘what I packed’ list but should I be beating my drum about something that isn’t honorable ?

Air travel is one of the most damaging activities you can do to cause indirect harm to the fellow beings on the planet. Going on a cruise or private jet is much worse, but I am fairly certain that those activities will not be a part of my life. Last year, I quit air travel for leisure. The only flight I took in 2018 was to go see my new born niece. I had to draw the line somewhere. I wasn’t being a good human if I didn’t go see my sister after she gave birth. I could justify that somehow. But not Hawaii. Someone has to suffer for my ability to lounge on a beach ? It feels wrong. I am not alone in this. Peter Kalmus, climate physicist at NASA hasn’t flown since 2012 !! He takes the train from LA to Chicago to go see his parents. “I get a lot of work done without distractions along the way”, he says !! That’s wonderful. He talks of slow travel : a way to interact with local communities where ever you go because you are dependent on the low carbon and package free version of the convenience products sold to tourists. This is travel !! I always assumed it only happens when I fly to some exotic destination. We need more climate leadership from the science community. We cant write a paper and expect the politicians to convert it into policy anymore. The most common argument I hear in defense of continuing with high carbon lifestyle : “future tech will solve everything. I needn’t give up my lifestyle. These little things done matter.” My partner says these lines all the time. But do you think the NASA guy who authored all this work isn’t aware of future tech ? This sort of future optimism sometimes dilutes the need of the hour right now.

It’s time for me to declare a no-fly pact with myself. The guilt is weighing me down. I don’t quite know how to do this though. My parents live in India. Do I never see them ? At the beginning of the year, I told myself that I will allow one domestic flight and one international flight per year. That was the ‘moderation’ I agreed upon to be a better human to my community. But I still cant seem to digest it. How is everyone around me so obliviously happy while I marinate in angst ? I am going to Hawaii and am sad about it. It feels like I am heading to take a test that I know I will fail. #failure #thisLife

White Noise: March Edition

Posted on March 29, 2019

This month’s shopping round up. ↑ ( Purchased second hand from RealReal. )

A carrot probiotic drink.

Why renewables are necessary but not enough to fight climate change.

The mind of this film critic.

Forest bathing as therapy.

This physicist’s rant.

This sort of intermingling between style and interiors.

This color story on navy blue.

Climate science journalism without sugar coating.

These square toe ballet flats. ( I want them in 3 colors. Help ! )

Eco-conscious capitalism.

Carbon capture startups.

Why do all sustainable bloggers dress the same ? Why do all the minimalists dress the same ? Why do the hipsters dress the same ? Data Science answers.

Sewing professionals in your area.

Social media exposure pressures us to spend.

Glou glou.

The narrative of the Green Deal.

“At home, Thunberg persuaded her parents to swear off air travel and stop eating meat. “They were frequent fliers and high consumers,” she says. “And then I showed them articles and films and I told them about the situation. You can’t really stand up for something without walking the walk. That’s what I did.” A case of children inspiring adults to protect the environment.

“Over the course of a lifetime, you and 34 of your ‘average’ British friends produce enough pollution to cause one death.”

“The upper caste people reacted vehemently and even violently to the start of these schools. They pelted stones and even cow dung at Fatima and Savitribai while they would be on their way. But both the women remained undeterred. Fatima taught in the school till 1856, and is regarded as the first Muslim woman teacher of India.” #badassWomen

She is me.

A breast tax.

MIT’s emission free plane. ( Woah, pls pls become commercially viable soon. )

This cute home.

These tiny eco-homes.

On ethical living, I think: “please don’t take away my many blessings!” Let me keep the sunshine, food, home, safety, job, and loving family. When I learn that ethics requires just some sensible reductions in driving, flying, meat, etc., I think: “Is that all? Thank God!”

Vote with your dollar.

This downsized home.

15 logical fallacies to know about.

Our understanding of plastic’s pros and cons.