December 13, 2005
EnvironYoga
Ski season has already started in the Berkshires, after our first big snowfall last Friday. I love the idea of people being outside, enjoying the winter outdoors, but skiing, at least our modern industralized version, is one of the sports with the worst impact on the environment. I've found a farm nearby that grooms trails for cross-country skiiing and plan to give it a try.
But even a quiet activity like yoga has impact--mostly because people drive and fly to do it. Here's a modest way to make your asana practice more earth-friendly: The Eco-friendly Yoga Mat from Wai Lana Yoga.
Posted by Karen Christensen at 3:28 AM | Comments (0)
December 8, 2005
Greening the X games
Good to see that the younger athletes who are driving the growth of extreme and adventure sports are also thinking about the environment: "X Games Go Extreme and Green. Sports can be a great way to connect with the natural world and with our physical selves, but they can be destructive, too. This rising consciousness is a wonderful thing to see . I'm working on a book project called Sports for Every Woman and plan to try them out, but have to admit I'll cry off when it comes to skateboarding!
Posted by Karen Christensen at 10:51 AM | Comments (0)
October 30, 2005
The danger of breathing
Remember the Alar scare? I'm not sure I ever saw it myself, but the legendary news clip lingers in my mind: suburban women chasing the school bus to try to retrieve a possibly Alar-sprayed apple from their child's lunchbox. Health and the environment are closely connected, but we need to keep our perspective. My daughter sent this quote, making a joke of our modern hysteria about safety and hygiene:
"Science Editor Daniel Koshland lampooned this mood last June
when he invented an interview with "Dr. Noitall" whose "appearance
on three talk shows is enough to qualify me as an expert." "Are
there other dangers about which the EPA has failed to advise us?"
Noitall is asked. "Breathing," he says. "All breathing generates
oxygen radicals...the main sources of mutations in DNA, leading to
cancer, birth defects.... Breathing has been observed three minutes
before death in 100% of all fatalities. We urge everyone to stop
breathing until proper research has been carried out."
The article is "The wasteful pursuit of zero risk" by Warren T.
Brookes.
Posted by Karen Christensen at 5:49 AM | Comments (0)
October 3, 2005
Traveling by air
Air travel is the most energy-intensive of all, and is definitely to be avoided when possible. But I'm afraid that I've been crossing the Atlantic--it's hard to run an international business without doing some of this type of travel--so I thought I'd share some health tips from The Armchair Environmentalist's chapter on Greener Transport. More about ways to avoid excessive travel to come!
Wing Tips
• When you arrive at your destination, spend as much time as possible in daylight. Doing this will enable your internal clock to reset itself, and you’ll recover from jet lag more quickly. (Sex helps, too!)
• Wear sunblock.
• Avoid dehydration: Drink lots of water, avoid alcohol, and bring along a spray bottle of water to keep your skin moist.
• Breathe deeply to increase your oxygen intake.
• Take shorter flights. And if you have a chance to get off the plane, do so—jog or walk around the airport, or go outside for some fresh air.
• Ring ahead to order vegetarian meals.
• You see more wasteful packaging and disposable products on aeroplanes than anywhere else—decline all the overpackaged extras, and write to the airline asking that it institute better environmental policies.
Posted by Karen Christensen at 9:16 AM | Comments (0)
July 17, 2005
What does sport have to do with the environment?
I love sports, and in fact have just published the Berkshire Encyclopedia of World Sport, which is edited by David Levinson and yours truly, the wannabe jock. Here's an extract from The Armchair Environmentalist on becoming an eco-activist:
Throughout history we've been trying to find ways to reduce physical labour. We’re still doing it-—with TV remote controls that let us avoid having to walk 2 metres to switch channels and with lights that we can clap on from across the room. It’s all eminently convenient. But the tradeoff is that throughout the developed world people are out of shape. It’s no mere coincidence that the United States—-the land of the free and the home of the self-propelled mower—-is the fattest nation on Earth and is packing on more pounds all the time.
Biologically, people are meant to be active. We’re built that way. Although most of us cannot change the sedentary nature of our jobs, we can reorient our leisure time to be more active. We’ll be happier and healthier and far better able to cope with unavoidable exposure to water, air, and other pollution.
The eco-activist looks for ways to enjoy and explore the natural world by being active outside—in the natural world. Physical activity, at its best, reconnects us with our physical being and, by extension, helps us understand ourselves as part of the natural world. It’s exhilarating to climb to the top of a hill and survey the landscape below or to feel your calf muscles burn after walking or running an extra mile.
Tips for Selecting Sporting Activities
• Choose non-mechanical sports - a canoe or a bicycle instead of a motorboat or a jet ski – both because they’re easier on the planet and also more sociable and stress-relieving.
• Choose cross-country skiing instead of downhill skiing, which has considerable ecological impact - especially because of snow-making machines, and because people have to travel long distances by car and plane to do it.
• Think twice about installing a swimming pool at home, even if you can afford it. Home pools have significant negative environmental impact because of their water and energy consumption.
• Look for leisure activities that you can enjoy close to home—without driving or flying hundreds of miles.
Posted by Karen Christensen at 11:05 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 11, 2005
Eco Living sports tips
I've been in California all week, driving and in meetings, and falling into bed at night. I have a travel yoga mat and CDs, too, but I just wasn't getting to it. This morning I looked on the web and to my astonishment there was an Iyengar studio only blocks from my motel; even better, one of the directors is someone whose book on back care I bought a couple years ago. She wasn't teaching today but I had a wonderful class with Ruth Owen (this was at the California Yoga Center in Mountain View, BTW), and was reminded afresh of how yoga practice connects me with my body. And that takes us to environmentalism. Just as we live in our physical bodies and need to pay them attention, take care of them, and recognize that we are physical creatures (I forget this when I'm working intensely), we need to see our place in the physical world. The way we care for our bodies says a great deal about how we care for nature.
I wrote about sports--and yoga--in my 2000 Eco Living and thought I'd share a little of that text here:
Sporting Tips
**Get a book or go to a sports centre or gym to get started. A perfectly adequate strength programme can be done at home, but you may want guidance and support to get started (if you have health concerns, do check with your doctor).
**There are running clubs all over the country, many with support for novice, older and female runners.
**Don't wear headphones. They are a safety hazard (you won't hear cars or other dangers) and also disconnect you from the outside world - eco living is about tuning in to your world.
**Drink plenty of water - plain tap water, filtered if necessary, rather than bottled water or sports drinks - before, during and after sports, to avoid cramp, muscle strain and fatigue.
**Wear the right shoes for impact activities and try to run on grass, dirt paths or a track.
**Warm up and cool down with five minutes' walking or even jogging in place.
**Wear the right clothing, shoes and reflective gear if you're out in the rain or after dark.
From Eco Living (2000)
Yoga
Yoga is an ancient Indian system of physical and mental practice. It came to the West in the 1960s and has become increasingly popular since then. Originally it was seen as a rather introspective activity focused on stretching and meditation. In the 1990s, the picture changed as well-known actors and performers, including Madonna and Richard Gere, took up more vigorous new forms of yoga and announced that it was the best exercise they'd ever done. What has remained consistent is that most practitioners feel that they benefit spiritually or psychologically, as well as physically, from their practice.
Yoga is about as low tech as exercise gets. You simply need comfortable, loose clothing and a mat or towel. It can be learned from a book, but you'll get most benefit from going to a class. If you want gentle toning, try Hatha or Iyengar yoga (both systems can be practised to an advanced level, too). If you're interested in a more aerobic workout, look for Power or Astanga yoga.
Tai Chi
Tai Chi is characterised by simple and graceful circular movements that are performed in a continuous flow and at a slow, even pace, and also by a strict composition in which lightness is integrated with firmness and tranquillity with solemnity. Along with other Chinese and Asian martial arts, it focuses on self-development and discipline, not competition. It is extremely hard work, though, much like some types of yoga, and highly fit people find themselves aching after their first session. You'll need to learn it from a teacher, but it can be practised anywhere with a little space and privacy.
Pilates
Pilates is a physical training system developed in the 1920s by Joseph Pilates (1881-1967) and long used by dancers and actors because of the way it builds strength and shapes the body without adding bulk. Like yoga, which it is based on, Pilates develops a long, lean look and works a lot with the spine and stomach muscles.
Traditional Pilates is done in private lessons on special Pilates machines. It is very expensive. The system has become much more popular in the last couple of years, because proponents have developed exercises that can be done without expensive equipment, at home or in small classes.
ENDS
Posted by Karen Christensen at 12:30 AM | Comments (0)
February 15, 2005
Sweet romance
I'm not crazy about people who give advice then tell you to check with your doctor, your therapist, and your gas station attendant before trying it. But I received an email yesterday asking about advice on "green sex" in my previous book, Eco Living, and I thought I'd try to answer it here. Given the topic, I do need to say that you should check with your doctor or medical professional before trying this, a new form of contraception. One of the nicest things that ever happened to me was a letter from a reader who said she was naming her baby after me, but I don't plan to be responsible for babies coming into the world!
What I mentioned in Eco Living was a special diaphram used with honey as the spermicide. I heard about this from a doctor I knew in London, and the idea intrigued me. But I spoke to the doctor who was using these with her patients, and she didn't want me to give her name, or quote her. But a quick Google search shows that you can easily get information on this undoubtedly natural and nontoxic method of birth control. Just search for "honey cap contraception." And comments from anyone who uses a honey cap are welcome, either her or to my email address.
Posted by Karen Christensen at 4:25 AM | Comments (0)
February 2, 2005
London life
I haven't noticed anyone wearing a mask this trip. Sometimes you see bicyclists in cities wearing white masks, which certainly makes sense given the air quality on London streets. I never did, myself, when I cycled here. There are many cyclists in London and especially in Oxford, which is great. The physical benefits of cycling and walking outweigh the effects of breathing car exhaust - and in fact people in cars breathe air that is just as polluted. But I talked to a taxi driver last night who said he counted between 5 and 7pm 57 cyclists riding without lights. Drivers hate this, and it's amazing to me that cyclists would take such a risk, given the, well, forceful way people drive in Britain! Cycle paths and lanes would be a help, but cyclists won't help their case by being careless about safety (or by being "knocked off their bikes" as the taxi driver put it).
Posted by Karen Christensen at 8:29 AM | Comments (0)
January 24, 2005
Try being a Tree
I'm not sure why it's taken me so long to put in a plug for yoga here. I'm lucky: I can walk from the office to Berkshire Mountain Yoga, and then walk home under the just-past-full moon. Tonight I had to bring a pair of snowpants to put on after class because the temperature is fast sinking below zero F. again. Low-tech anywhere exercise is certainly part of eco living, but yoga's got so much going for it beyond firm upper arms. Yoga--and similar physical training practices--matters because it puts us in our bodies, and our bodies are where we connect with the physical world. If you're like me, dealing with a hectic professional job, you probably lose sight of everything but that computer screen and telephone. Settle down on a mat. Stand in the Tree posture and feel your feet rooting into the floor, grounding you in a particular place and moment. Do a twist and feel your ribs lift and separate, the tissue around your spine pop with relief. I find that this internal movement and realignment, along with the sweat and heat, brings me back to solid ground. And that's no to mention the multitude of other benefits: stronger bones, improved mood, better digestion. There's no need for glam gear, in spite of the catalogues that keep pouring in. But a cute well-fitting outfit is a nice boost when you're struggling with that first downward dog pose!
Posted by Karen Christensen at 8:58 PM | Comments (0)
January 4, 2005
Nix the nits
I’ve been reading Elizabeth David, the wonderful writer who brought Mediterranean food to England in the 1950s. (She's responsible, in a way, for the wonderful food you can get in England now.) My favorite cookbooks are packed with history, whether the author’s own or social history. The essay I read this weekend reminded me, though, of one of the least savory aspects of parenting-—green or otherwise.
No modern parent ever forgets when they first heard the word lice. Elizabeth David quotes a 17th-century remedy for a 'web in the eye': "take two or three lice out of one's head, and put them alive into the eye that is grieved."
It's hard to imagine, but people made love, raised families, wrote great works of literature, and explored the planet with lice in their hair. But for us, feeble modern parents, nits loom large as one of the worst trials of childhood. And the problem is even greater for those who want nontoxic solutions.
The good news is that chemical solutions don't work all that well. Lice are insects, which reproduce at mindblowing speed and mutate in ways that leave biotechnologists panting in the dust. So you could do the full scale thing with the recommended, at least somewhat toxic shampoo from the drugstore and still find your kid scratching the next week (yes, as the nits left behind hatch--awful, isn't it?).
You can Google a huge range of solutions to a lice infestation, many with nontoxic product guidelines. I was especially pleased to find a university site that reassured me, “Coconut and olive oils will kill lice.” Mechanical methods--combing, in particular--are essential, and this means getting down and dirty with the crawly things. Brace yourself. But there are solutions and eventually you'll even stop flinching at the slightest scratching motion. I laid in a store of special wood chips and coconut shampoo once and my children never got lice again.) Try this excellent Fact Sheet.
Posted by Karen Christensen at 6:55 AM | Comments (0)
December 18, 2004
Out of the Armchair
I haven't exactly been rushing into the subject of fitness here, so you'd probably never guess that The Armchair Environmentalist is a sports enthusiast (and even the coeditor of the huge new Berkshire Encyclopedia of World Sport, out in April 2005). While I don't have anywhere near enough time in an armchair, I haven't been outdoors and exercising as much as I'd like because I've had an injury, something called plantar fasciitis since July. For a while I could barely walk, and actually - confession time! - had to have someone drive me to and from work, even though it's only five minutes' walk down the hill. What a lesson in patience, and in all kinds of techniques I would never have thought of, from a night splint to hot soaks and massage.
I've started going to yoga classes again (you'd be amazed by how much an injured foot can ache doing plain old triangle, so I had to stop for a while). I happened to go to a new teacher, Ann Greene, who turns out to be something of a specialist in hand and foot care. She was disapproving about the tape I had used to strap my instep before class: in her view, I need to get my own muscles to give me that support! I now have a set of exercises to do daily. Finally, after all these months, I'm thinking about strenthening my foot instead of just protecting it.
Tomorrow, thoughts on how this relates to the environment.
Posted by Karen Christensen at 8:37 AM | Comments (0)