Reboot

Well hello. I haven't seen you in a while. I thought I'd drop by for a quick visit. Maybe we can share a cup of tea while I tell you about my day. It's been a nice sunny Saturday here in Melbourne, a perfect day to garden. In fact, after a few hours of back breaking bending, the garden's in: zucchini, capsicum, tomatoes, spinach, spring onions, jalapenos, snap peas, green beans, basil, oregano, dill, lettuce, mint, thyme, parsley, coriander, and a lone strawberry plant that held on from last year. It's not nearly as big as K&K's garden, but then again I'm not as insane as them and I don't like cucumber quite as much. It's incredibly satisfying to grow food. For as long as I can remember, I've wanted to try being self sufficient for a while - to entirely survive on things that I can grow and make. It's not feasible now - and may never be, so I have to find satisfaction in my urban vege patch.

I've been thinking a lot about the state of world lately (it's hard not to with a financial meltdown, a global weather melt-up, and a looming election), and have come to the conclusion that I am deeply concerned. Deeply truly worried. I think it tinges everything I do, creating a base mood of No Good. I feel like we need a massive massive massive system overhaul: we need to change the way we do everything. Z and I were talking about this last night. He painted an inspiring picture of a city without cars, where all the black tops have been reclaimed and turned into wildlife corridors, grazing pastures and vege patches. As I was driving (ahem) to the nursery today, I tried to picture the streets without bitumen. I saw sheep grazing and trees full of birds and lots of big vege gardens. There would still be arterial roads and bike lanes and pedestrian walkways. But it would be quiet and green. Can you picture it?

So: a cultural, societal, governmental reboot. I think that we need to become truly local again. It's globalisation that's doing us in: the sheer expenditure of resources to make, for example, a cell phone chip in China using coltane ripped from the jungles of central Africa for resale in Melbourne is boggling. Tied into this is the imbalance of power, in which corporations have all the control. They don't care about you or me, just making money. Can we overhaul corporations? Maybe. Would it be easier to tear them all down and start again with a different structure? Maybe not.

But enough talk, enough thought. What about action? How do we make such massive changes? How can we start living locally? What can I do? I certainly think about almost everything I buy and use; I try to only buy produce that's grown/raised in Australia; I ride my bike whenever I can; I am registered to vote in two countries; I'm getting a PhD in ecology. But it doesn't feel like enough. Or rather, these actions feel like the equivalent of playing the viola on the deck of the Titanic as she sinks: inadequate to say the least. Z and I talked about the need for Homo sapiens sapiens to turn a corner. The problem is, see, that we're in this huge ship and it's going to take years and years to start around the bend. And I'm not a patient person. I want to know that things are going to be OK -and if they're not, I want to be doing things - big things - to make sure they are.

So, in summary, it's been a lovely sunny Saturday here in Melbourne to think about the state of the world while planting what I hope will be a productive and delicious garden. I hope we get to catch up again soon - it had been too long.