On Raising Rabbits (review)

Posted on December 6, 2011 by

Comments by Nancy LaRoche on Chapter 13 “Raising Rabbits”
From The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Urban Homesteading
By Sundari Elizabeth Kraft

Nancy LaRoche is the co-Manager of the Colorado House Rabbit Society

First I must state that I adore rabbits for their personalities, intelligence, compassion for other rabbits and smaller creatures, their affection for those to whom they bond, and the pleasure they have given me over the years, living in my home as house-rabbits.  Obviously, then, I cannot condone exploiting them by taking their lives to provide a meal of flesh.  But both they and we benefit when we use their wonderful fertilizer or their wool. Continue reading →

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Will we see change in our lifetime?

Posted on November 30, 2011 by

Change [in the direction of veganism] will come. This I believe. But (for those who live in sophisticated urban centers with large populations of enlightened vegans this will be harder to accept): we shouldn’t plan to see much of it in our lifetimes. — James McWilliams, East Texas Blues

Most vegans, while dedicated and determined to advance the principles of compassion and dietary reform, are pessimistic about the future of vegetarianism and veganism. They see change coming in small increments: one change piled on top of another, until some day in the far distant future, our great-grandchildren may see the stirring of awareness. Continue reading →

Posted in Ecological Economics, Politics, or the lack thereof, Vegetarianism / Veganism | Comments Off

Plenty of Something (review)

Posted on November 26, 2011 by

Plenitude: The New Economics of True Wealth, by Juliet Schor (New York: Penguin Press, 2010). (Also published in paperback as True Wealth.)

Plenitude argues for an “ecological economics” which turns a lot of what we think about wealth upside down.  I agree with many of her basic ideas, but a number of details left me uncomfortable. Continue reading →

Posted in Ecological Economics, Limits to Growth, Vegetarianism / Veganism | Comments Off

Is Economic Growth Over?

Posted on November 18, 2011 by

Review of The End of Growth: Adapting to Our New Economic Reality by Richard Heinberg

My rating: 4 of 5 stars (as a Goodreads review)

This is a tough book to review because basically, it depends on the audience. Generally, though, I like the book and agree with the thesis. Heinberg’s book is right in all major respects, well-written, and important.

Please consider this a five-star review if you are asking yourself, “what’s all this talk about ‘peak oil’?” or if your last encounter with the idea of limits to the economy is dim memories of reading “The Limits to Growth” in the 1970′s. Continue reading →

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Should I vote? And then what?

Posted on November 16, 2011 by

Many years ago, when I was in junior high school, I got into a discussion with one of my teachers about voting in the school elections for the Student Council. It went something like this:

Me: “Do I have to vote?”
Teacher: “No, but you should.”
Me: “Why?”
Teacher: “Because it’s your civic duty!”
Me: “But the candidates are all puppets of the [school] administration.”
Teacher: “Well, write yourself in.”
Me: “But the student council has no power, the administration can disregard anything it says.” Continue reading →

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Climate Change: are we doomed unless the world goes vegan?

Posted on September 28, 2011 by

In a recent e-mail interchange including both vegans and non-vegan recipients, one of the questions raised was whether we (the vegans) thought that the world was doomed unless the world goes vegan.

This sounded like a rhetorical question, as if to say, “surely you don’t think the world is doomed unless we adopt your narrow, sectarian point of view?” However, I don’t think it’s a rhetorical question. It’s an important question for vegans as well as non-vegans. We need as vegans to know how to position ourselves in the coming world changes. Continue reading →

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Methane — a bigger problem than we thought?

Posted on September 25, 2011 by

We have a “Post-Carbon Institute” to address our reliance on fossil fuels.  But there is no “Post-Methane Institute.”

Methane, the second largest human-caused contributor to global warming, often doesn’t get any respect.  The constant focus on “carbon” leads people to believe that our only climate change issues are issues with fossil fuels and carbon dioxide.  A key source of methane is livestock (basically, belching cattle); in fact, livestock agriculture is also a significant source of carbon dioxide as well. Continue reading →

Posted in Climate change, Ecological Economics, Vegetarianism / Veganism | 1 Comment

Is Veganism a Religion?

Posted on September 16, 2011 by

Is veganism a religion? This is an important question because it affects how we perceive veganism as a social movement. I am not so much interested in dictionary definitions of veganism, but in how veganism actually operates in practice. What do vegans actually do, believe, and think? Continue reading →

Posted in Religion and spirituality, Vegetarianism / Veganism | Comments Off

Move Over, Meat: A More Wasteful Use of Corn

Posted on September 11, 2011 by

Vegetarians used to be able to say that most corn grown in the U. S. went for livestock. According to the USDA, that won’t be true this year. Something which is even more wasteful, even more mind-boggling in its stupidity, has come along: corn ethanol. Continue reading →

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Rules and Regulations Governing Food Producing Animals

Posted on August 11, 2011 by

Hens

The ordinance on “food producing animals” (chickens, ducks, and goats) in Denver was passed last June.  What follows below is the statement I submitted to the Board of Environmental Health on the proposed rules and regulations.  You can read the proposed rules here (PDF). Continue reading →

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