Communing

Got off my duff yesterday, grabbed my stash of 20 or so CFL’s (lots of one dollar specials these days) and headed over to an area where I know that folks generally have a tougher go in life than I do.  I rang some doorbells, knocked on some doors and corralled people on the street to give the lights out.  Most were very friendly and appreciative, and I had some very enjoyable conversations, got some much needed vitamin D and exercise.

Brunch yesterday morning: greek omelet, bacon, pale ale and a strawberry shake.  The waitress commented on the weirdness of the combo and then smiled and added that it was something like she would order, hah!

Teach Someone to fish and Lend Her the Money to Buy a Net

I strongly believe in giving people knowledge and skills that can help them to help themselves. I take inspiration from many places. One is the success of the Microcredit movement around the world.

I am currently trying to get up to speed on the basics of raising Japanese red maples from seedlings or cuttings as a possible education tool for budding entrepreneurs who can most benefit from a profitable, relatively low-maintenance, part-time (or maybe scaling up to full-time) business. I love the beauty of these trees and they are in high demand for landscaping. In our area, a 2 to 3 foot high tree sells for anywhere from $35-75 per plant, depending on where you buy them. Seedlings can be bought in bulk for about $ 3-4 apiece, including postage. A group of people could get together to buy seedlings, lowering the overall cost of seedlings, as the more you order, the cheaper they are. Another possibility is raising seedlings from cuttings, with relatively simple technology. So, with a little deck or yard space, conceivably someone could raise enough trees up to landscaping size, as a part time activity, to bring in a significant amount of income. Trees could be marketed right from an apartment or house using local internet or newspaper classifieds, or at sales such as farmer’s markets or flea markets. I hope to find other potential plants that would be easily raised and profitably marketed as I dig into this further. I plan to post in more detail on this subject later, including startup costs, but wanted to put it out quickly into the cybersphere for potential constructive feedback and maybe as inspiration for others.

Hello and Happy Earth Day

Here goes. Welcome to the inaugural post of 2 Relight. I am not sure exactly what this will be all about, but I have some general ideas. The initial material focus will be on compact fluorescent lights (CFL’s), their advantages (and disadvantages), and my efforts to get more people to use them. But it will not only be about this effort, it is mostly about stimulating and inspiring others into thought, self-exploration, growth, action and maybe change in ourselves and our communities. This thing grew out of thoughts I have had over the last few years about the possibilities for high impact community work that ca  be undertaken effectively by individuals or possibly small groups. Most of us have sent a check or two off to charities, and this is good, but often that money passes through layers of bureaucracy and we really don’t know how effectively it is utilized.

Well, I have had a few of ideas spring from this line of thought, a couple of which I have followed up on so far. The most active of these at present is trying to get as many CFL’s into the hands of as many folks as possible at a level of spending that I can afford. That is one of the first steps, looking at what you presently spend per year on donations, and picking that amount, or some fraction of it, or even adding a bit too it for use towards your own efforts. If you can’t afford anything then maybe you can put in a little volunteer time, tutoring, helping an elderly neighbor or some such.

The light bulb effort started early this year when I was visiting my elderly father. His part time caregiver just barely squeaks by economically, with a disabled husband and son, she constantly struggles with bills. In addition to giving her a small cash gift, I asked her how many commonly used lights she had in her house and what wattages they are. I then bought her a gift of CFL ’s to replace all the high use incandescent bulbs (IB’s) and some extras for replacements and to give to family and friends. I then replaced IB’s in my Dad’s house. It’s a way to save someone some money while educating them at the same time about being able to cut future costs, and making a little contribution towards cutting energy use and lowering fossil fuel burning in power plants with all the attendant benefits to our local and world communities.

When I got home from visiting Dad I kept the ball rolling by buying a bag full of heavily discounted CFL’s at the local grocer and hanging them on the doorknobs of all the apartments in our small complex. I printed out little notes that I placed on each one, explaining the benefits and asking that they be passed on if not needed. I now plan to buy discounted bulbs as I run across them and as I can afford to and distribute them in low-income neighborhoods. I see this as the way to stimulate maximum benefit from this activity, educating and saving money for people that can most benefit from it, and lowering our fossil fuel footprint, good for everybody, everywhere.

Bulbs distributed to date: about 40.