Blog number eight: Strike or not

[Mary Anne]

I really ought to have put some thought into this posting but it is a spur of the moment thing and maybe it will be the better for it.

Hard to miss the Global (whatever that means) strike being called for today to draw attention to the vast problems facing the world's equilibrium. 

I imagine that most people involved in the Eternal Network are to some extent sympathetic to the causes and have an awareness of the difficulties involved in 'climate change'. yet I can't help thinking we may be part of the problem.  We are a privileged few who can afford the time and money to indulge our passion and make use of the great machinery of 'the system' to send nonsense to each other across the world without any real great purpose.  Should we not be more political?  Use our envelopes to protest or educate rather than just amuse?

I do a lot of collage.  I use old magazines and rubbish to make my 'pictures'; a fairly low 'carbon footprint' there

but then there is all the other stuff involved. The planes used for moving the end product are the obvious evil maybe but then there is the profits given to the postal authorities let alone the ones given to the computer companies that run everything from the printing of stamps to IUOMA itself.  Sitting here in my room I cannot help but contribute to the problems no matter what I do and it is overwhelming. What to do and can it possibly make any difference?

Back in the seventies it was possible to buy paper labels that could be used to reseal used envelopes and cover up addresses so that they could be reused. 'Save Paper' was the mantra and I used them by the dozen but did it do any good I wonder?

In this time of lunatic leaders and the rise of popular ignorance and self interest it seems more and more important to keep open the lines of communication and maybe that is the best reason for our follies?  Maybe we should be more visible with more public exhibitions; bang the drum and so on.

As I said, I am rambling without much thought about what I want to say or achieve - definitely part of the problem.  Consider or discuss.

[Carmen Kennedy]

Ramble on, Mary Anne. Thanks for posting.

[Mary Anne]

Dear Mr Gayer, I recognise everything you say. All my adult life I have avoided plastics, recycled paper, worn clothes down to holes and then reused what was left, and yet I don't seem to have made a difference.  Never could.  Might just as well been screaming with you.

[John Gayer]

I recall how in 1970s we were supposed to use plastic because paper use was destroying forests. Now trees are a renewable resource and using plastic is the oh-so-bad thing. It was also recommended to put a couple of bricks in the toilet tank to reduce water consumption flush-by-flush. But in more recent years where legislation necessitated the installation of low-water-use toilets, people were finding one flush and sometimes two didn't get the job done. So much for using less water! Perhaps helplessly screaming at the sky is about as effective as any other measure. Can't tell whether I'm becoming more cynical or just seeing reality for the incomprehensible thing it's turning out to be.