Alright, I’m tired and cranky, this morning. I’ve had two bad evenings in a row at work, I’m trying to do too much at once and I stayed up way too late – again. Hmmm, now how have I contributed to my present mood and exhaustion? Well, I can’t see where I’m responsible, so it must be those other bastards.
I need a 48-hour day. The problem is this: If my wish were granted, I’d fill it up and want a 72-hour day. So, let’s just leave it at 24 and I’ll attempt to juggle my desires to fit the present clock. Besides, I’m barely making payments on those first 24 hours, anyway. And getting more sleep won’t hurt, will it? I couldn’t possibly miss anything important, right?
Beyond relaxing for my allotted :37 seconds last night, eating a couple chocolate chip cookies, answering email, reading some local blogs and picking my toes (not that those two always go together, of course, which is why I’m a proponent of commas after every item in a list), I stumbled across this article on the ubiquitous world-wide-web: Global Warning, posted in EnviroHealth, April 13, 2005.
Yes, I’m a bit late in tossing my two cents into the hat on this one and it’s nothing I haven’t read, before. Also, it’s not the type of reading to pick up in the middle of the night when the lights are low and the zombies are having a munchfest in the neighbor’s backyard. Good God, don’t eat her! She’s the cute one. Eat her pig of a boyfriend. The carbon footprint on that fat McDonald’s ass has got to be ten tons a year.
I ponder this sliver of Paradise by the Boogie Board Light that glows along the Gold Coast of California and I wonder if it can truly be one of those sustainable meccas of ecological enlightenment, especially when the disparity between the haves and have-nots widens more quickly than the freeway. I concur with Kunstler’s prediction that the modern western lifestyle of rapacious growth will come to a screeching halt as the cost of cheap oil continues to soar, ’cause they ain’t makin’ any more of it.
Innumerable scientific studies and articles scattered about the ‘net will enlighten you unto the stark realities lying before us, if we stop lying to ourselves about the American Dream and its impact upon the global environment. Experts, naysayers and soothsayers, alike, are all lining up for and against this one and some suggest that we just don’t know. Uh, yeah.
Well, that may be true, but my gut tells me we’re heading for a massive shift in lifestyle, at the very least, or true hardship if people don’t wake up and smell the Starbucks. Our gluttony in all areas is viral and will lead to a severe impact of our species, even if we don’t actually kill Mother Earth. Short-sighted selfishness is no longer a luxury humans can afford. Either become a global citizen, or get off the fucking planet.
Am I apocalyptic? It depends upon who’s running the show. If it’s the present mindset at our highest government levels – locally and nationally – operating under the Growth is Good and Big Business as Usual economic plan, then my answer is an emphatic YES, I am apocalyptic. If the people pull their heads out, take responsibility for their part in allowing these fucktards to lead us down the primrose path to pain and realize that we have the technology and capability to divert these impending crises, working together, then I am marginally optimistic.
Because politicians and social leaders are vilified, crucified or voted out of office when they attempt to awaken the masses to reality, most of these people just rubber-stamp the most ludicrous shit, day-in and day-out. The political and social systems are broken, but everyone needs to take responsibility for breaking them, ignoring them or not wanting to endure the pain and frustration it may require to fix the glaring problems. It’s time for a little belt-tightening. Sadly, America is obese and fat ass Dunlops keep letting their belts out. Wrong way, Jose.
I’m not running for office, nor do I hold any bankable position in society. I blog, therefore I am. I’m not interested in winning any popularity contests and I don’t care if people like me. So, I’ll cut to the chase and state my perceptions about this picturesque area, which includes the Santa Ynez Valley down to Carpinteria.
Though a slap in the face to some, drastic times require drastic measures and each of these observations could be an article in their own right:
- Water. If your desalination plant is in mothballs, you better clean out the cobwebs and lubricate the cogs, ’cause State Water is not an indefinite proposition. Who’s minding this store? The people better wake up or there will be a lot of thirsty and dirty citizens grumbling about. If you think a sporadic knifing off State Street isn’t fun, try getting through a week without water. Washing automobiles with anything but reclaimed water is stupid. If you’re not xeriscaping, then you’re part of a huge problem.
- Highway 101 should never be widened while oil is being burned for fuel. Why reward poor planning and lifestyle choices with more pollution and traffic? It’s a bandaid on an amputated limb. It won’t staunch the flow of the hemorrhaging and the patient will, eventually, bleed out. You need to rethink your triage unit and get experts and realists into those positions who know how to move the wounded. Then, find out how to stop these mindless sheep from hurting themselves, in the first place. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
- The Bacaras and LevyTowns have got to stop. Limiting growth in all areas is the only viable solution. Just say no. This area will not be able to sustain, indefinitely, the population it has, much less what it will have if these high-rise projects continue. The money should be put into affordable housing for those already living and working here.
- The days of long commutes are over. If you don’t live near your work, then you need to change your lifestyle. Either use mass transit, bicycle or walk, period. Only commercial vehicles that are making necessary deliveries or moving goods and services for the public should be allowed to have continued free reign of the freeway. Even this area needs serious thought and restriction. Move the masses towards mass transit and build the proper infrastructure for it. Carpool or don’t drive. Plan your daily trips, errands and desires around society, and not your personal impatience for a Dulce de Leche Latte.
- Those escaping Hell-A, simply because they can afford to, then trying to rule this roost, are as much a part of the problem as the solution. Everyone needs to think of the community, first, and not their own selfish, greedy desires. If you’re too afraid of human contact, stop building higher walls and go buy an island, somewhere. Your fear bores and annoys me.
- Turn State Street – from Carrillo to Cota – into the Santa Barbara equivalent of Santa Monica’s Third Street Promenade. No cars, no cruising, no noise and less pollution. For those too fat and lazy to walk, rent bicycles. For the elderly and those with medical conditions, provide wheelchairs and electric carts. The Electric Shuttle could still be utilized. Keep the area free of permanent kiosks so parades can still be enjoyed. All parking structures are off Anacapa or Chapala, so no change of plans, there, but we don’t need more parking structures, period. By the way, I am anti-automobile, in case you’re one of those slow-witted ones whose life revolves around drive-throughs.
- Anyone who continues to support building a future around the loathsome luxury of individual cars, especially obnoxious ones that pollute, is living in a fantasy world. No more Granada Garages and no more catering to rich, fat, lazy cretins driving Hummers and other tank-like SUVs who are more interested in their personal pleasures than society’s needs.
- Recycle everything. If they say they can’t accept it, force the issue till the industry is built to handle it. Land is too valuable to keep polluting. Don’t buy products with ridiculous packaging. Buy locally. Moving massive amounts of cargo containers around the world so you can enjoy the cheapest crap Made in China is not ecologically sustainable. It must stop.
There are always more things to bitch about, but I have to put on my happy face and go to work, now. No, I’m not interested in focusing on the positive aspects of Santa Barbara. Why? I think those who can’t handle reality enjoy sticking their heads where they don’t have to deal with it, which leaves the rest of us wondering why it smells so funny – until we notice the shit coming out of their ears. I could have used the more pleasant ostrich analogy, but why do that to the poor bird? Besides, this stinky mess deserves appropriate imagery.
If it wasn’t for all the wonderful things about this area and the true blessing it is to just live here, then I wouldn’t complain about things that I see and say are becoming an increasing liability for all of us. So, wake up and pull your heads out and deal with the hard, nasty issues realistically. Follow the money trail. Those who argue for growth are usually lining wallets, including their own. Or they have an unrealistic model for sustainable growth based upon yesteryear’s alleged accomplishments.
Be careful how and where you walk upon this planet. Tread lightly. Add your footprints in the sands of our beaches, the trails in our mountains and the grass in our parks, but decrease your carbon footprint, everywhere. Stop clinging to what you think you have or might get, when you may lose everything with such a short-sighted grip on reality.
Our western lifestyle reminds me of the monkey trying to get nuts out of a gourd. The hole in the gourd was just big enough for the monkey to reach his hand into it and grab the nuts, but then the monkey couldn’t pull his clenched fist back through the hole. It seemed the hole had gotten smaller in his efforts to grab the prize.
Frustrated, the tenacious monkey pulled and pulled, trying to wrench those nuts from the gourd, but to no avail. That stubborn little monkey refused to release the nuts, even if it meant freeing his hand. He’d rather starve, clinging to those nuts, than risk losing them by letting go. Likewise, focused on his nuts, he didn’t see the hungry python slithering along the tree branch.
Remember, whatever nuts you’re clinging to may also be the things keeping you rooted in a position that no longer serves you or your community. You may need to shift your thinking in order to tackle the problem, practically. Don’t go nuts trying to collect nuts. And above all, the nuts you’re squeezing – may just be your own.
The Kat
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