June 7, 2005
Starbucks considered
I moved to Great Barrington in part because it had a nice coffee shop, and we are a long way from the nearest Starbucks. But I've long been intrigued by Starbucks as a business, especially because of the community angle: plenty of people argue that chains destroy the sense of community and local economic interdependence, yet Starbucks becomes a community center, too (as do many Barnes & Noble stores).
The larger economic impact of chains remains a truly important issue, but as Starbucks has become my office on the road--thanks to T-Mobile wi-fi--I find myself thinking about smaller issues of plastic and paper, for example. I'm in a Starbucks on the mesa in Santa Barbara right now but last week I was in one in Boston and heard a student lecturing his friends about how evil the company is (as he drank his mocha latte, naturally) because they don't buy Fair Trade coffee.
I guess it's not so obvious that we need to campaign for Starbucks to walk the talk as it was in the campaigns against McDonalds, but corporate responsibility is, surely, even more important to a company like Starbucks. (Please don't get the idea that I keep track of every campaign like this or am up to date on progress: if you have information and suggestions, please add them here!)
Starbucks Fair Trade CampaignStarbucks site
Posted by Karen Christensen at 11:35 AM | Comments (0)
April 19, 2005
Small town innovation
I've lived in a small town in western Massachusetts for over a decade, and seen its abandoned downtown buildings restored, a central parking lot built, and new shops move in. It's got crowded streets and lots of restaurants, and even a substantial food coop in a renovated car dealership building. Tourists and newcomers, enjoying the clean air and views of the Berkshire hills, probably wouldn't guess that this small town has been a center of innovation.
Great Barrington was the first town in the world to have an electrified street, thanks to local inventor William Stanley. In 2005, thanks to the Center for Ecological Technology in Pittsfield, Great Barrington will become the first town on the east coast to have public recycling bins in its downtown.
The recycling program will be launched on Earth Day, 22 April, when recycling bins (created at a small cost by town employees) will be placed along Main Street, Railroad Street and in the Triplex parking area. I'll post a photo as soon as they're up, with some Earth Day news.
Posted by Karen Christensen at 8:02 PM | Comments (0)
January 13, 2005
A waxing party?
I started laughing when my son told me that my brother, who is a sports gadget and gear junkie, says in Seattle people have Barbour waxing parties. Now I wear a Barbour, even in depths of a Massachusetts winter, and I have indeed waxed it. But to organize a group activity?
My first thought was, 'some people have way too much time on their hands!' But on reflection, I'm starting to think that, silly as it sounds, maybe this is something we should all do more of. Not just get together to do chores (you can't really wax together, after all, like you can build a barn together), but to learn how to do the domestic tasks that lend grace to our lives. And, in the case of a Barbour, make things last much, much longer - and that's good for the environment, too.
Issues of environment and community are inextricably linked, so anything you do to build community is likely to improve the quality of life and decrease environmental impact. Why not think of something you'd like to learn to do, and find someone to practice with? I, for example, have a yen to teach everyone to bake bread, and I wish I knew how to make a picture frame out of scrap wood.
And next time you throw a waxing party, let me know!
Posted by Karen Christensen at 11:03 AM | Comments (0)