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ENVIRONMENTAL ECO - LOGICAL ARTIST STATEMENT
PNPHOTOART is here to create and promote inspirational visons beyond the mainstream. It's not all about money, the rat race, or what the media shows us. There is so much more to life. Hope to see you on the journey.
The purpose of Eco-Logical is to inspire, educate, and raise awareness. Eco-Logical, it's logical, for the ecosystem! Our system. The Earth's system. On all levels I strive to be a greener business, and this far more than recycling. It's a 24 hour a day lifestyle.
It's as much a common sense way to be, a de-programming from the mainstream machine, as it is "the environment ".
It usually creates health and financial gains.
Strong efforts are made to reduce, re-use, recycle, and respect the Earth. All industries use energy and materials to create products. The goal is to minimize, organize, and reduce waste in an efficient manner.
Excessively packaged and waste creating products are avoided.
Sloppy, lazy techiniques and mindsets are avoided. Dumping waste wherever for the sake of convienience, or no imagination, are never ever practiced. Examples would be throwing trash in the woods or spilling chemicals on the ground. Never.
A mindset of continual progression is practiced. Techniques are continiually refined for better, more efficient results.
Art materials, paint, sealers, glue, tape, etc. are carefully handled in small quantities. A little goes a long way. Efficient use creates little excess. Excess liquid is worked into art pieces, the best place to for it. Brushes are nearly empty when rinsed.
Picking up an art material order, I ask for no box, minimal packaging. It actually makes it easier, than dealing with the packaging clutter.
Spray cans: Adhesives, spray paints, are never used. Have never been used. Despite good artistic qualities, they just create too much waste and are too much energy to produce. Another option is always found.
Photo chemistry is handled by labs that practice proper recycling / disposing techniques.
Business cards: Since my festival and market presence requires me to hand out thousands of cards per year, most of which are lost or forgotten, business cards are printed on standard paper slips. This reduces overall waste and weight. Recycled paper is used whenever possible. I'm stoked these cards have been a hit and ( surprisingly ) people comment how they're good for the environment. Small step, but it all adds up.
Display lighting is not used on bright sunny days. It's not needed at outdoor art fairs. For the last decade plus I have not used lights in my booth during summer months, or most sunny days spring to fall. This is 400 - 500 watts all day per weekend or three day weekend, times ten plus years. Lot of power saved. Lot of light bulbs saved. It's common for vendors to use lights on hot summer days, but it makes little, if any, difference. I don't bring lights on those days, and that means less weight, work, and heat, but more time.
Plastic bags are never purchased, and rarely accepted. The world is over run with plastic bags. We can re-use the many kinds of packaging and bags were are surrounded with. Buying art from me you might receive it in a bread bag or potato sack. Bags that can be rinsed and re-used again and again. It's so easy to just keep accumulating bags without thinking about it. But once you get in the habit, its fun to go the store with your own bags, and less clutter to deal with at home.
It's great to see customers shunning bags now, it's new thing that started the last few years. You can change the world.
Plastic garbage bags are never used. It's more waste that doesn't decompose. Minimization / organization of waste and occasional washing keeps receptacles clean.
Coffee bags are re-used again and again. Why throw them out? Habits......
Coffee mugs / cups are re-used. In ten years, I've had two insulated metal travel mugs. Almost all my hot drinks go in these mugs when I'm away from home. I think of the mountain of cups and lids that would be created if I didn't do this. It'd be at least 5 cups per week x 52 weeks = 260 cups / lids per year x 10 years = 2600 cups / lids. It easily could be 10 cups / lids per week = 5200 per year. A city of a million people using 3000 per person, per year = 3 billion cups and lids per year ! And that's just Portland, there are hundreds of cities around the globe. A lot of arguments and analysis can be made, but re-using what already exists makes a lot of sense.
I ask for no lids on drinks, unless it's needed, like a car trip. Lids are waste. Coffee shops and restaurants habitually put unnecessary plastic lids on drinks, creating exra trash. It's nicer drinking without a lid anyway. We don't put lids on drinks at home. Interesting that beer or wine in plastic cups never has a lid, but other drinks do. Save the planet, no lids!
Disposable plates, cups, plastic silverware. Never used. Cloth napkins are used over paper. Washing is no big deal. And the meal is so much better than eating with that grade school stuff. That laziness will get you in the long run anyway.
Banning plastic lids and throwaway utensiles could be the next big thing after our plastic bag bans.
Food is composted. Why have loud, polluting, garbage trucks burn fuel to drive heavy food waste around in non decomposing plastic bags?
Genetically Modified ( GMO ) crops or food is not used or purchased. Unfortunately we do not have GMO labeling in the USA ( or most of the world ). Many products contain GMO's without our knowledge. Europeans got labeling and rejected GMO's. Responsibletechnology.org, nongmoshoppingguide.com, and the work of Jeffrery Smith are good resources I recommend.
Fruit trees are never cut down.
The television inspired, big box store style of removing fruit trees to be replaced by asphalt, barkdust, and shrubbery is scorned and never practiced. Imagine if the TV, instead of constantly blasting us with car, truck, and drug commercials, constantly blasted us with people planting fruit trees. In no time, the world would have fruit trees everywhere, tons to eat, and a good reason to be outside. Monkey see, monkey do. And we'd have nurseries everywhere versus these brightly lit car lots.
Chemicals are not used to maintain perfect lawns, landscaping, or gardens. There would be more bees and butterflies in the world if the perfect lawn thing was scaled back.
" Silence, that golden stuff. " Edward Abbey Noise and light pollution are almost non-existent. Harley Davidson's, loud atv's, and offensive machines are avoided. Efforts are made to minimize power tool use, and they are run during mid day hours. Never early in the morning. The art comes from a quiet property that uses little power landscaping equipment or bright lights.
I've never been a lawn mower. My current home of 8 years has never been mowed. Instead I grow wildflowers, berries, herbs, and fruit. It's quiet, pretty, edible, and attracts wildlife, bees, and butterflies, even my neighbors pets seem to enjoy the naturescape. A friend of mine had an epiphany: He told me, " I realized I've been pushing this mower across the same patch of land, doing the same thing, for 20 years. 20 years of back and forth, and what did I get out if it? Not much. " he said. From that point on he never mowed again. " Right on brother. Good for you. Lawns can be rather noisey to, lot of maitenence, pollution. I don't enjoy hearing or smelling a lawn. But don't get me wrong, I certainly have enjoyed many fine times and sporting events on nice lawns, so thank you mowers! But, it is something to think about. No point in being creatures of habit.
If it's a beautifully quiet day in the neighborhood, or countryside, I don't use power tools or engines, and find quiet work to do. I resist the urge to rev an engine for the sake of something to do. It's rare that is it blissfully peaceful, so I respect and enjoy that, for myself and others. Unfortunately plenty of time will come with beeping trucks, leafblowers, pressurewashers, reving engines, and the like, so I like to concentrate my power tool use around those times, and preserve the quiet time for every person, animal, and plant's peaceful enjoyment.
Excessive noise and light pollution aren't just annoying, they are bad for our health. We didn't evolve under machines and lights. Neither did animals or plants.
I once rented an apartment in an affluent neighborhood where landscaping crews would run leafblowers, before the sun rose above the horizon. Insane. If Portland can write $60+ parking tickets to people while they're shopping at local business, and show up for parties that are too loud, they should start ticketing leafblowers to.
Turn off lights, enjoy the nights. Or, as the Artist Statement says: Please turn off your lights so we can enjoy the stars. It used to hang in my booth. Got good response. The president of the International Dark Sky Foundation came in my booth and loved it. He said " Did you write that ? " He got on my mailing list. They do good work to preserve our night sky. Check them out at darksky.org. There's definitely a ton of shopping malls and car lots that could scale back the lighting. And less lights is less heat so a cooler planet right?
Global warming: Interesting as now it's called " Climate Change. " Better PR? Isn't the climate always changing, every day since the dawn of time? There's been plenty of nasty, crazy weather throughout history, not just today. I'm not into fear mongering. I enjoyed Michael Chricton's excellent novel, State of Fear. "There are no nation states anymore, we all live under one state, the state of fear." Or, as Neo puts it in the Matrix, " It's just another control paradigm." John Stewart did a great piece on it,, Febuary 2014. The only interviewer I've seen ask Al Gore if it's really real. It is something to be afraid of, the " global warming." It gets a lot of press. I remember in college hearing the glaciers would all be melted and gone by now, and we're heating 1 or 2 degrees per year. We would've heated up 10 or 20 degrees by now ! I've been snowboarding, skiing, and climbing mountains my entire life, and the mountains still look great. In fact, 1999 Mt. Baker set a world record for ski resort snowfall. In 2011, Squaw Valley and Jackson Hole had their highest snowfall totals, ever. 2008 Portland had the most snow in 40 years, and a very cold winter. 2013/14/15 the east coast endured a brutally cold winters, 2012 was quite a good ski season, and epic spring climbing year. We've had some very mild winters as well, such as in 2015, Mt. Hood is the barest I've ever seen it, but in 2012, the conditions were " as good as it gets " according to me and my professional ski guide friend. 2016: Epic Winter ! So many great pow days. Deep snowpack! There is only one constant in the universe: change. The Earth has been through many warm and cold cycles. We'd all love to see less cars and pollution, and while certainly there is much good about the global warming argument, it's a huge distraction and resource / manpower burner as well. But maybe they need the jobs and funding? Weather forecasts a few days out are suspect. We're going to predict the next century? Isn't the world supposed to end soon and the sky is falling? I'm just not into this " the world's going to end " argument, and haven't people been saying that since prehistoric times? We just got all this modern technology a few decades ago. Barely have records 100+ years back. Weather forecasters spend all day inside looking at screens. It's good to get out and see what's going on. " Don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows " ( Bob Dylan ).
One dry winter and " they " try to get us all scared? Omg I'm so scared of a dry winter. The world is ending. Floods scare us to. So do avalanches. Oil prices up: scary, oil prices drop: scary. Wtf.
Fear, fear, fear. Always something to fear isn't there? Fear of Economic Collapse, Terrorists, West Nile, Swine Flu, Sars, Hitch hikers, Strangers, Communists, the Sun. How come they don't say be afraid of GMO's? I'm much more afraid of GMO's than sunshine or mosquitos. Don't go outside, don't talk to people, stay inside, listen to our media, use our appliances and eat our food. " The only thing we have to fear is fear itself, " Franklin D. Roosevelt, 1930's president who created the " New Deal " to help us through the Great Depression, which got people to work and regulated banks and wall street.
Laundry is hang dried in the sun without sunscreen. Clothes dryers are almost never used. The clothes dryer is one of the most energy intensive, and expensive, appliances to run. Why run a drier when its 80+ degrees outside? It seems crazy, but we are programmed. On a hot day clothes will dry as fast, or faster, in the sun, than in a dryer. Even in the depth of winter all laundry is dried next to the furnace. It actually dries faster in winter. The furnace has a vent close to it, perfect for drying. Easy to install if you don't have. If you buy art from me, you can be happy my clothes were "naturally dried".
My clothes dryer has not been used in 8 years. Think of all the energy, and money, saved ! And remarkably, there is almost no loss in convenience. Clothes are nicer, and last longer, without dryer use. The key to not using a dryer is rotating laundry like crops. Drying can take longer, but if clothes are rotated occasionaly, and you know drying could take a day, you may never need your clothes dryer. But with hot weather or a cranking furnace, dry time is about the same as a dryer.
Hot water from baths and showers is often saved in the tub, and used for laundry. A lot of energy was burned to heat that water, but it instantly drains away. Why not re-use all that hot soapy water versus heating many more gallons for laundry.
Refrigerators are sometimes unplugged, especially when empty. My fridge is always unplugged if I leave the house for a week or more. No reason to run it to keep old leftovers and condiments cold while gone. Helps keep the fridge clean to. Less white noise. Much food doesn't need refrigeration, and does well keeping in cool space such as a cellar, basement, deck, or window. The spring and fall are good times for this, when outdoor temperatures are cool, but indoor heating can be off. Filling up the fridge can led to over consumption and over eating. Buying more than you need, and wasting food.
So many refrigerators are running in the world, but doing nothing productive. Empty, un-used. Why would a refrigerator run for no reason? We just don't think about it. Let's unplug them !
My refrigerator was unplugged entirely late fall 2013 to early spring 2014 and February 2016 to April 2016. Plus many weeks here or there when is was unplugged. It was unecessary, no loss of convenience. Feels great not using it. Quieter and less money to. The house is so quiet with it off.
I rarely use a flashlight when outdoors around the solstice. Again, another habit. I imagine I saved a few batteries over the years. A little less waste for the landfill.
All electrical power if off when I leave the house for days. Dvd player, modem, clock radio, etc. All unplugged. All those little displays and sensors are burning energy. Saves a few cents to.
Water heaters are turned down or off during summer heat waves. Water will heat to 90 plus degrees on its own. Hot showers aren't needed during a heat wave.
A good part of the summer, my water heater is off. Don't need it. Cool showers feel good. So much hot water is made in summer that is never used. That is a lot of wasted energy! And money.
Air conditioning, in Northern Oregon's climate, is never used or installed. It's unnecessary. The summer heat is a treat, soak it in, bask in it, go for a swim, sit under a shady tree. We have all winter, and much more, to complain about the heat. Roll the windows down, have a fresh breeze, smile and wave and your neighbors. All the windows rolled up with the a/c on can be rather impersonal and you look like a robot.
Home heating: If air temperatures are forecast to 60 - 70 plus, I turn off my heat, even if the nights and mornings are cold. It's ok, it's fun, I feel good about saving the energy. Like going camping. Builds strength, health, and character. By mid day it's warm, so what's the big deal. Burning energy to make the house the same temperature as it naturally will be soon enough, seems pointless, but I doubt most people even think about it. I open all my windows and doors to fill the house with warm air during the day, and shut them at night, to keep it in. Heating is not needed and the next day it is warm again.
Many places in the world have no interior heating, and it gets cold. Places such as Australia, Guatemala, or Mexico can be surprisingly cold. They have no heating and they're ok with it. It seems a waste to build heating systems for the infrequent times they need it. They often live in colder conditions than us, as we in cold climates build such great homes and heating systems, we have " pefect " comfort year round. I lived in these places, and found it interesting and inspirational to see homes without central heating. Night time temperatures could approach freezing, or windy days would be very chilly. We take heating for granted, but not everyone has it. But is it worth building and using so much, to have a perfectly controlled world? I like the lessons of symplicity here.
Pnphotoart Summer Eco Rule: June through August: The furnace is off. Always. Days are super long and it never gets that cold. There might be an odd cold day in June, but thats ok. Going all summer with no heat, it's fun. It's a fun tradition to turn off the furnace at the start of summer. Do it! It's actually usually May to early october. 2015 I did not use my furnace once, seriously, until very late October. However some years heat is needed in May or September, so I make the rule June through August. Less heat is less global warming!
I wonder if Al Gore and such types do any of the above. I doubt it. I find them uninspiring. They come across as very energy intensive, clothes dryer, home heating, hot shower, air conditioning, refrigerator types. At least they speak some environmental creed, get that message out, but I'd like to see them step it up and truly live the life.
Less is More is a good philosophy. A more simple life. Less stuff. Less stress. Quality, not quantity.
Car trips are organized or minimized. Planing a route of errands saves gas, money, time, and pollution, versus several small trips. Walking, running, biking, skating is the usual. Escape Carthink! You don't have to get in the car.
Emissions standards are good, but, an old economy car can get two or three times better mileage than a new suv gas guzzler. Yet the old car fails the emission test ( big hassle ), while the new suv passes. The new suv is burning fuel delivered via polluting tanker trucks, which are exempt from emissions standards! Maybe the old car has the better emissions, because it's burning much less fuel.
Huge car dependent subdivisions, homes, and McMansions with nowhere to walk or enjoy being outside definitely need to be re-thought.
Processed, over packaged, unhealthy food and home products are avoided.
Only natural food is eaten. If food isn't "natural" what it is it? The sign at the small store says " Natural Food ". The big store doesn't have a " Natural Food " sign. If they're not selling natural food, what kind of food are they selling? Unnatural food? Half natural food?
Natural food is less packaged.
Natural food creates a more healthy decomposing eco-logical waste, versus the more chemical laden, less decomposing, longer lasting waste of "unnatural" or " half natural " food or whatever it is.
Mainstream softdrinks are never consumed. Caution, they are bad for you! Bad for your teeth ! Stay away.
Shaving is minimized. Cans of foam and disposable razors create a lot of waste. Some speculate there is a shaving conspiracy. Televisions blasting us to shave, consume! With racing cars and fighter jets! Shaving cream cans are never purchased, and little waste or expense is made shaving.
Fluoride is avoided. Don't put poisonous chemicals in drinking water. You can put in on your teeth, but don't ingest it ! Dr. Strangelove is a great movie. " That's some nice shooting soldier ! "
Mayonaise is never consumed. Bad stuff.
Cheap, crappy, unhealthy beer / alcohol is never drank. It's always these brands who's cans / bottles we find in nature. You never see the good stuff littered.
Mainstream cigarettes, with their chemicals and butts, are never smoked. Pack you butts ! The beach, or anywhere, is not an ashtray.
Television is rarely watched.
Surprisingly little waste is created, which equals less trips for garbage trucks. One less trip for a loud garbage truck passing your house on a quiet morning.
Sadly, the processed food, crappy beer, cigarettes, bright lights, loud machines, and television tend to congregate together. Unhealthy waste zones. Hopefully this will fade in time.
Please send my art and statements to all politicians and leaders if you desire. They need to hear from us. It's their job. It's easy and fun to get their info and contact them. Or just call them up and speak your mind, you'll feel good and it's fun !
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