apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

The example in this chapter that I found really fascinating was the town in Wyoming that decided to build its own store when a Wal-Mart opened 20 miles away. It really made me think about how feasible actions like that would be in, for example, a big city like Chicago, where I live; my (not too carefully considered) conclusion was "probably not too feasible." It's hard for me to even imagine such a thing happening. So much of what I'm reading in this book sounds great for people who live in places like, say, Vermont -- as opposed to places like Chicago or New York City, where I imagine it's very difficult to find any sort of cohesive community *to* mobilize. I hear about these friendly, tightly knit "neighborhoods" here in Chicago, but, I have to say, I have yet to encounter one. Just part of what needs to change, I suppose...

I agree with notharctus about the book. It's very Vermont centered. Interesting, but hard to relate to as a hardfast city girl.

There was an excellent article by Michael Pollan in the NYT Mag this Sunday that I thought sort of touched on similar subjects. What I took away from Pollan is that the danger is that we are all so specialized in what we do that we become divorced from many everyday functions --like growing food, or even really using our bodies. This creates a dependent type mentality that is very problematic for us, but great for multinational companies.

So, I'm thinking, perhaps the point isn't to move to Vermont but to really think where and when that dependency on institutions and oil economies appears in our lives, and break it. I think the natural result of this is that communities will start to grow--even in cities. Neighborhoods may find themselves more interelated, growing food in community gardens or even forming safety watches (as my neighborhood is doing now). Personally, I've found the internet great for this, as neighbors can speak to each other en masse in ways that weren't possible just a few years ago.

Yes, but does anyone pay taxes on Ithaca Dollars or Burlington Bread? As more people join an alternative currency, doesn't the tax burden on the rest have to increase to maintain services?

I applaud the effort to keep money in the local economy, instead of shipping it to the far-off HQ of a multi-national company. But, why does that have to happen through the use of an underground, untaxed system? Why not just shop local with USD?

Grace2, I'm not sure what I think about the local dollars either, but from what I understand the big corporations aren't really sending a lot of money to the US government either. Unless it's in millions of dollars of campaign funding. I'm not so sure how much of my tax dollars are actually going to "services" anyway.

Apparently Bus Rapid Transit was proposed in Berkeley (on Telegraph Ave leading up to the campus) and resoundingly killed off. Even in this town that is so self-congratulatory about its record on progressive issues, no one wants to take any driving or parking space away from cars ("but it's a PRIUS!"). I feel comfortable making fun of Berkeley because it's my hometown.

Having grown up there I must say I'm shocked at how much everyone drives, and how the public transit system has in some ways actually declined... my parents live on the North side in the hills and buses stop running there after 8pm; when I was a kid they ran until midnight, and we used them.

In response to SFGail, you are funding my healthcare and helping me make a living and set an example for my daughter. You funded my disability leave when I was life-threateningly ill.

You are funding my environmental research.
You have funded my education through a PhD in science.
You are funding my child's education.

http://badmomgoodmom.blogspot.com/2007/04/thank-you-to-american-taxpayer.html