I read in the Gate that Mayor Newsom seems to have a new plan for getting panhandlers off the streets, and it involves collecting change in old parking meters, donating said money to homeless charities, and trying to encourage both tourists and locals not to hand over their nickles, dimes and quarters to panhandlers.

While I have a big heart for the homeless (the dreamboat has seen me shed tears for them and their situation) I understand that they can seem an irritating and thankless bunch, and quite a few of them are. An example of an experience I’ve had with the homeless:

A while back I passed a homeless guy on the corner of 15th and Valencia, and feeling very in the mood to help ran to my local Mexican food place and bought dinner and took it back to where him. He took the food, and then proceeded to ask me a million questions about what it was and whether I had provided him with any booze and he didn’t utter one word of thanks (I had given him with a bottle of water and a Negro Modelo, and while walking away was slightly glad I had forgotten a bottle opener, cause he turned out to be such a prick). The next day he didn’t even recognize who I was when I saw him again and he asked me for money.

I was sour on homeless people for a while, then I got over it. I realized I can’t judge all homeless people cause one was a prick, the same way I don’t judge entire races, genders, or sexualities because of one bad egg.

I still wonder what is the best thing to do though. To give money or not to give money? Many people are crying foul on Mayor Newsom for his latest scheme saying that the city isn’t really addressing the problem because it doesn’t actually get people off the streets. I personally say, hey, at least he has a frickin idea. A lot of people in this city complain about the homeless, yet no one is coming up with any ideas on how to fix it. I know we have a government that’s supposed to make things all hunky dory for us, but as the citizens of San Francisco we also need to take some initiatives. If you have better ideas for fixing the problem, let your fellow citizens hear them. Make info-graphic posters, record podcast, hold meetings, stand on your soap box in the streets, write letters. Write the mayor, hell, run for mayor because if you can help our city with its homeless problem, you can probably fix a lot of things. Change, let’s all hop to it!

Happy Earth Day everyone! I hope everyone gets a chance to get outdoors today to marvel at and be thankful for this wonderful planet of ours. So far it’s the only one in the solar system, and the known universe, like it, so keep that in mind while you go about your day today. We are experiencing a planet that’s totally unique in its ability to sustain as many life forms as it does, so we should take care of it!

Here’s a list of 5 super simple things to can start doing today to help keep the planet from turning into a cannibalistic concrete jungle full of deaf and blind to the world zombies…

1. Replace your incandescent light bulbs with Compact Fluorescents when they need changing, and be sure to turn off the lights in rooms you’re not actually occupying. They not only use less energy, they will save you money in the long run.

2. Turn things that you’re not using off. Make sure the lights, the TV, radio, computer, and anything else this is “obviously on” is off when you’re not using them.

3. Use a bike, your legs or public transportation instead of your car at least one day a week (or more if you’re able and willing!). You would spare the air toxins and pollutants 52 days a year! Imagine what could happen if everyone in the world did this?

4. Buy less. Purchasing fewer things results in having to throw out less. When you’re done with something, donate it, give it away, or sell it to someone else if it’s still in good condition. Try to keep things in the hands of people and out of our landfills. If its something that can’t be re-used make sure it’s recycled in the proper manner.

5. Opt for organic, natural, unpackaged foods when you can (and no, organic pancake batter in an easy cheese like can does NOT count!). Shop in the bulk food section of your market; don’t put your fruits and veggies in those plastic bags in the produce department, and take re-usable bags when you go shopping.

These are just a few little things you can do to start helping our planet get back on the right track. If we want lady earth to still be wonderful for the next 7 generations of all species we have to start doing what we can today. You don’t want zombies do you?

photograph taken by Jared Zimmerman.

So a couple days ago in my post “Be the Change” I said that I had found an organization in San Francisco called SF Connect that I felt was going to make my volunteering efforts go a little smoother. Well I am afraid that I may have been completely wrong on that front.

The dreamboat and I went out to volunteer this past Saturday morning and were greeted by what to us felt like chaos and complete disorganization. I couldn’t tell where the SF Connect people were so we stood near some people on parole. From a speech made by some big wigs in the city we learned SF Green Connect had teamed up with the SF Department of Public Works, and a local High School to tidy up the area around the school and plant some seedlings. Cool, not too bad, right?

The organizers started breaking people into groups and announced that the people from SF Green Connect would be a part of the painting crew. It was at this point that I was completely saddened and totally regretful that I had even gone out in the first place. Painting, last time I checked, is one thing that is completely the opposite of doing anything green. My list of gripes about the whole situation?

1. I volunteer to create additional positive impact. It’s about going beyond what’s done everyday. The people from SF Works just stood around talking and “supervising” the project (they just watched us paint). We basically just did their jobs for them. Nothing was done that wouldn’t have been done by them anyway.

2. We painted a lot of things that I feel it wasn’t the cities job to paint (mostly private properties) releasing more toxins into the atmosphere than necessary. The dreamboat talked to the landlord of one of the buildings who happened to be outside. He said the tenants get drunk and tag up their own front door on a semi regular basis, yet the city was the one doing the painting. A lot of the graffiti was also obviously done by kids that attend the school we were volunteering at, so they’re just going to end up in this cycle of painting, graffiti, painting, which is ridiculous.

3. When I asked for a trash bag or can so I could pick up the garbage around the area we were working on I was told that yes they had a trashcan, but it wasn’t their job to pick up the trash so I couldn’t have it. The woman watching me paint actually suggested I drop my empty water bottle that kept trying to blow away into this pit near one of the houses we were working on that was already full of trash. Uh, no? It’s already bad enough I drank out a plastic bottle to begin with! I need to get my panniers on my bike so I can take my Sigg bottle next time.

I felt bad after this whole ordeal. I appreciate the DPW efforts to keep our city up and running and beautiful, I just don’t think this is something SF Green Connect should have taken part in. I felt like we completely did the opposite of what Earth Day is about. I know in the grander scheme of things some planting got done with one of the other groups, but still. I got an email from SF Green Connect asking for feedback so I will fill that out and ask my questions. I am curious as to whether this is how it always is. I am going to give it another go next month, and if it is, I will have to look for another organization to volunteer with.

Kevin and John, it was awesome meeting you, thanks so much for volunteering! It was lovely to meet other people who care about the state of their planet enough to get out and do something about it. Maybe I will see you guys next month?!

photograph taken by Bree Bailey and used under creative commons.

“Be the change you want to see in the world” - Mahatma Gandhi

I recently stumbled upon a website called SF Connect that I feel will help me quite a bit in my newly solidified life goal of “being the change” here in San Francisco.

“The mission of SF Connect is to mobilize residents and sectors for a stronger San Francisco. SF Connect is about engaged residents volunteering their talent and time for the City as well as innovative partnerships between the private, public and social (nonprofit) sectors.”

There are four “sectors” or areas of SF Connect a person can volunteer and be a part of; Project Homeless Connect, Project Green Connect, Project Youth and Families Connect, and Project Tech Connect. I am interested in both Project Green Connect and Project Homeless Connect, those just happen to be two things that I was interested in before I chanced upon this helpful website. I signed up last week for a clean up that’s going to be happening this coming Saturday morning and I’m super excited about it! I not only get to do something to help my beautiful city and the planet, I get to work on my social skills, meet other caring San Franciscans and have good time.

If you’re interested in doing something in your community, I strongly suggest just jumping into it! Sitting around waiting for the perfect time to come along is time wasted. I’ve volunteered for outdoorsy things before, and it’s such and awesome feeling knowing you’re actively participating in making things better versus just thinking you should be doing something and that you’ll “get around to it when you have the time is right.” The only way change will occur and things will get better (with the environment, the economy, relations between people, your personal self, and everything) is if people actively change their mindset and try to better themselves and the world around them. Small steps now, will lead to bigger steps down the line. We have to work together, and we have to do it now. Lets all be the change!

photograph taken by Dbking and used under creative commons.

Before I moved to San Francisco 80% of my clothing came from second hand sources, mostly thrift stores, vintage shops, and EBay; 20% came from new sources. Lately that ratio has been reversed, and today I decided that I’m just not happy with that.

New clothing has to go through a major process to get to each of our hands. A single article of non organic clothing can travel up to 14,000 miles and produce up to 27 pounds of carbon dioxide, from raw materials to finished product. They’re also jam packed full of pesticides, insecticides, bleaches and dyes at some point during their creation, none of which are good for humans, pets or lady Earth.

In addition to the damage done by the chemicals and travel the EPA Office of Solid Waste states, “Americans throw away more than 68 pounds of clothing and textiles per person per year, and clothing and other textiles represent about 4% of the municipal solid waste” (information from September 2006 via Environmental Health Perspectives). I know I could have a field day with 68 pounds worth of discarded clothing, and with all the people in the world who can’t afford to clothe themselves, it seems ridiculous that these garments are ending up in landfills across the country. They could easily be donated and re-used.

It’s much more satisfying, for me at least, to put an awesome ensemble together from random “one of a kinds” from here and there, or to find that one amazing piece I was or was not looking for, than it is to shop at a normal retail chain. It’s also an awesome feeling knowing I put together my get up without being part of the problem.

I miss the buzz and the happiness involved in buying second hand. I am going to be applying the 80% thrift rule to all my purchases from here on out.