Well, when you've climbed to the pinnacle of this noble practice -- when you've drafted perfectly balanced teams and then guided them to glory with a sure hand -- an even more difficult challenge lies ahead:
Fantasy sanitation commissioner.
Yes, the Gotham Gazette -- which has to be the top spot on the web for wonky news about New York City politics and policy -- has released an online "game" that takes the player through the decisions, both micro and macro, that determine the overall environmental footprint of the billions of pounds of garbage that New Yorkers collectively produce each year.
I enclose "game" in quotes because playing it isn't exactly a rip-snorting good time. But I learned a lot -- I freely admit to being the kind of guy who has to consult the cartoon trash bins on the "NYC Recycles" sticker every single time I'm at the trash cans, just to make sure I'm doing it right. (It really shouldn't be so hard to remember, but for some reason I just can't remember what plastics can/can't be recycled, etc.)
The Garbage Game takes you from the decisions we all make about what to do at home to minimize waste and pollution, and some simple things to do that can actually turn certain kinds of trash to the city's advantage. And then the game takes you through the big citywide picture, looking at the options New York (and by extension any other city, too!) has in transporting, processing, reusing, and even converting (into energy) its waste stream.
All in all, a great exercise. Any help I can get in being mindful about the materials I pick up and use, eat, whatever -- where these goods come from, and where they're going when I'm done with them -- is a good thing in my book. Helps me feel more of the connective tissue that weaves me into the living universe, that weaves us all together.
The Gazette has also posted a long article with more background on solid-waste policy and best practices in the City. And here's the little badge you get -- to embed in your website or blog -- after you finish the game:
I played The Gotham Gazette Garbage Game and sent 1,897,871 tons of refuse across 13,643,091 miles. ]]>Like so many people I'm sure, I spend a lot of 2am time staring at the ceiling, wondering when, how, if I can ever resolve all the puzzle pieces of my daily life into 24 hours. Parenting two small children, work and ambition, meditation/spirit time, my marriage, my friendships, omnivorous reading habits, time for things that bring me joy like exploring the woods, birding, exploring new music and returning to my musical heroes [can't resist adding the links ;-)].... and consistently making mindful, informed choices where my health is concerned, and where the health of the world that sustains us all is concerned. And these last two are not exactly "fun," so they're easy to neglect.
Phil reminds us that neglect of health and environment will implacably lead to consequences that render all the others moot. He's responding to hard news by owning that mindful choices re his health are always available, moment to moment. It's the same for me, for us all. And it's on all of us together to take better care of the environment around us -- individually, of the ground we stand on, the parts of the world we touch as we make our daily rounds; collectively, of Spaceship Earth entire.
We know so much more than we used to about the nature and treatment of life's afflictions. People (I've no idea how many, but it's a very large number) with HIV, heart disease, diabetes and other conditions once thought utterly debilitating or fatal have proved up to the challenge of making choices we know are prerequisites of hope -- they've made great sea changes to how they live, and have enjoyed long, vibrantly healthy lives post-diagnosis. If they can, I can. If they can, so can we all. Surely not perfectly, and across every individual who walks this planet -- but we can generate the critical mass necessary to stop, and eventually right, our world's gathering tilt out of balance:
The bottom line of the MA findings is that human actions are depleting Earth’s natural capital, putting such strain on the environment that the ability of the planet’s ecosystems to sustain future generations can no longer be taken for granted. At the same time, the assessment shows that with appropriate actions it is possible to reverse the degradation of many ecosystem services over the next 50 years, but the changes in policy and practice required are substantial and not currently underway.
That's from the UN-sponsored Millenial Ecosystem assessment, which involved the work of more than 1,360 experts worldwide.
So now's the time. And people get it -- you'd have to have lived deep in an underground bunker to miss the explosion of interest in "going green" over the last few years, which shows no signs of abating. I'm optimistic, and I can't say that five years ago I was. I think that tipping point is coming.
(Now if only I could right my own ship -- time to get in the gym, and I gotta remember to turn off those power strips!)
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