POST TWO : Introduction, leisure and ecology?

Berlin, unknown artist, May 2012 / photo:lyne lefebvre

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INTENTION & PRESENTATION

I sense this blog assignment to be both a personal reminder of authors, subject content, forums exchanges covered throughout the course, accompanied with the thoughts they would evoke in brief reflexions form, which I hope will not have been covered too much, in my forum postings. Sharing along how these readings perhaps have found some resonance in my own -actuality-, should also be reflected, since this choice of the RRU online master was also meant to spend time living in various countries, to write and study and learn, physically away from many of my daily university teaching tasks and courses. The various posts will therefore fluctuate between academics with references, observations, daily life and places in a more freestyle approach if I may say, linked to the course's and my own ecological thoughts and preoccupations, perhaps drifting away with the flow of words, ideas, news, and course subjects now and then.

Berlin unknown artist collage on wall, May 2012 / photo:lyne lefebvre

CONTEXT

These privileged months and tome opportunity my boyfriend and I are offering ourselves were encouraged by our 3 kids, who are completing their own University programs. All of these elements combine and interweave in my -learning- and experience during this period and therefore will serve as posting material and pondering as well. Me studying, in English, my partner writing (French crime novels), made it possible for us to leave light, although having to seek good internet connection. Having lost so many close friends and beloved family members, younger and older to cancer these past 10 years, we also wanted our destinations to allow us to go visit family members and long time friends living far abroad. One of our previous RRU instructor Peta White had written a comment on journaling in the blog form a year ago that : « the thought of being read can sometimes/some how sensor what you want to really say » (PW, 2012).  Agreeing we do, I will try to keep in mind not to censure myself in this combination of academic and personal learning/sharing, hoping that it remains as fun as it aims to be constructive, building some sort of personal path or story, with the enlightenment of this Biosphere and Ecological Sustainability course.

(PW) Peta White20 June, 2011 11:24 AM)

LEISURE?

Spending all that time abroad, feeling so privileged, it felt I could be questioned by Vleben’s criticism of -leisure- (although I am working).  In Vleben’s criticism of conspicuous play, we can read that work is the blessing and all leisure is wasteful, although the -waste- and work degrees vary as decades change. But as Burl Jantzen (BJ, 2012) notes it perfectly well in forum, arts, music, and moments of leisure in all communities would perhaps not be considered -essentials- but they have often shown to be fundamental, needless to say I feel.  Although it is not -a- discovery, Mexican, Portuguese or Indonesian communities I have encountered recently, each integrated these dimensions as being central to their lives, and not only as leisure activities but as deeply spiritual, traditional and historical transmission and communication modes.  Liz Beattie (LB, 2012) expressed it very well also and reminded us «they were necessary for ancient life».  So should they be in modern life as well.  It feels it always has been valued in my family.  I will perhaps come back to my disagreement with Vleben's position on this as well, agreeing with my colleagues, in further posts.

Perhaps have we come to think that work is the way to live a fulfilled life, which could induce a sense of meaningfulness to some, while knowing it can serve as a -tool- for conspicuous consumption.  Although it is no real shift towards sustainability, I was still relieved to see that shopping apparels were all closed on Sundays in Berlin, as well as many in Bali, whenever their was a ceremony, as opposed to the never ending business hours found in Canada.

(BJ) Burl Jantzen - Saturday, 21 April 2012, 02:46 PM

(LB) Liz Beattie - Saturday, 21 April 2012, 04:18 PM

Montreal > France, 2012 / photo:lyne lefebvre

DRIFTING TO TRAVEL, ENVIRONMENT & CONTRADICTIONS.

All that traveling and what about ecology, sustainability? Living in a traveler's family and admitting loving it even if it hurts to say on an ecological engagement level, as Kieran Dowling (KD, 2012) was also suggesting in a forum, I relate to Kieran’s -part of guilt-, conscious that traveling -we don’t only do by canoe- (Anecdote in Siegel, n.d.).  But I can't bike or swim the ocean to family or to many foreign destinations. Therefore, for a few years now, I have adopted a way to try and reduce that GES impact I am responsible for, other then not going, agreeing with David Orr’s logic «that we can adequately restore that which we have dismantled» (Orr, 1991, p.4) is a myth. The thin line between -paying- for damage we consciously do, hoping to restore it a little, and abusive behavior in total awareness also opens another economical/ecological/ethical window to ponder upon. But I prefer considering the extra $ for carbon credits as a personal prerequisite for allowing myself a ticket (It should be included), then doing nothing, knowing I will go.  Of course, it should not be an ecological pride, or reduce my sense of responsibility, and I am also conscious not everyone does, can or will travel by plane.

ECONOMY vs ECOLOGY

Another aspect comes along. Plane traveling with -more stops-, often helps reduce transportation fair financially, but also has an extra environmental cost (take offs, landings and high altitude) it can help one make decisions to be a little less uncomfortable with.  I know carbon compensation is not -the answer- to Kyoto, but having heard Planetair at a conference in Montreal a few years back, I was under the impression they offered a program which seemed trustful socially and environmentally. They offer Gold Standard quality emissions reduction credits, which are verified by third parties. The fact these are supported by the WWF International, Greenpeace and the David Suzuki Foundation, helped me feeling it was a better choice, then doing nothing.

(KD) Kieran Dowling - Saturday, 21 April 2012, 02:24 PM

Orr, D. (1991). What Is Education For? In Context, 8. Retrieved from http://context.org/ICLIB/IC27/Orr.htm 
Siegel, S. (n.d.). Course material : Lecture, RRU.