by likeabird 12 Replies latest jw friends
I know from living on a Borg Budget, you don't have much choice but to live economically. Recycling, while ecological, can also be a form of economy.
Did the verse "God will bring to ruin those ruining the earth" play a guilt factor in your ecological habits? I know it used to hum along in the back of my mind.
Did any of your habits change when you left the borg? And in what way?
My habits have nothing to do with my association with the borg.
I grew up in the country in east Tennessee. We hillbillies were recycling and reusing before it was cool. We had to go outside and pump water, so we didn't waste it. When our clothes wore out, we cut away the parts that were not worn to make quilts. My grandfather plowed with a mule and planted. My grandparents hoed and weeded and harvested and preserved. So we didn't waste food. Any food we didn't eat was fed to the hogs. We saved large jars for milk (yes, my grandmother milked the cow every day). We saved any kind of container that might be useful.
I have kept these habits of preserving. However, it is not useful anymore. I have piles of "stuff" that is useless to me. I end up having to get rid of it. I love the soft life.
I have used material things to fill the emptiness at times. I am in the process of getting rid of much of that, too. I have given away carloads of books, yarn, art, and clothing.
One of the last congregations we was in we were the only ones who recycled, composted and garden. One elder told me we don't need to do any of that because god was going to make all things new again. Didn't a recent WT or Awake bring out if you are enviromentally active you are supporting satan system? I quess I am supporter of satan system. Totally ADD
I want to develop a sustainable system of growing food and helping farmers get away from all the chemicals used wrecklessly.
JWs don't have to worry about taking care of the Earth, you can be wasteful, burn plastic and toxic chemicals in your backyard and pour oil down the rain drains because Jehovah will fix all the bad terrible people have hurt Momma Earth with. Watching a 350lb elder spraying Monsanto's weed sprays and see the drift into my neighbors Organic Farm is priceless, the JW can tell my neighbor how the Earth will be a paradise as he hack's up the chemicals and grabs four Whoopers for a snack.
I received a call from a elder who thought I was getting into "Witch craft" because I rented books on "Biodynamic Farmings" and agriculture methods, he said it was "Baal Worship" the Bible mentioned and the Jews used it when they entered into the Promise Land. He was a Kook! He thought I should not be subscribing to "Mother Jones" magazine, Christians don't do that!
I live far more sustainably now than when I was a JW. As I see it, God is no longer longer going to solve the problems we created, we have to do it ourselves.
I remember on an assembly hall build I was on cleanup duty. There were so many plastic bottles to throw out I went to the brother in charge to suggest we put them in a separate bin for recycling. Needless to say my idea was poo pooed and I had to put everything into the regular bin. At the time I was rather shocked and not at all happy about it.
My lifestyle for sure is "greener" now that I no longer contribute to the waste of gas from field circus. Also, I no longer pick up rags, which saves on the trees that no longer get cut down, the pollution no longer placed in the air and water from the rags not produced because I no longer pick them up, and the gas not used in delivering them. And I no longer contribute to the non-recycling practiced at the Kingdumb Hell. Anyone else notice that those dumps never have recycling bins?
And, by being more "materialistic", I buy better quality. Now I have better things that are going to last much longer, preventing them from ending up in landfills or wasting energy making new crap. I got LED light bulbs throughout, meaning fewer or no blown bulbs to pollute your drinking water with mercury or waste energy making them and shipping the squiggly things from China. (And less wasted energy running them--when I made the switch, I calculated that I was wasting some 55 watts per bulb-hour, out of which only something between 10 and 15 was accounted for by bulb inefficiency. What was the other 40-45 watts doing to the environment?).
I also have better appliances. A new toaster that is professional quality (no worrying about a fire). A high-grade water filter that takes fluoride out (and doesn't leak or require monthly cartridge changes, keeping filters and cartridges out of the landfill). Nicer utensils that will not be ruined so easily. And, flashlights, lanterns, and batteries that will not end up polluting the landfills the first time the lights go out and they fail. Using NiMH batteries prevents batteries from entering the landfill, and those Eneloop batteries can be used like alkalines in my devices (again, preventing batteries from entering the landfill, pollution from making and delivering the batteries, and devices from being damaged by leaky alkaline batteries from entering landfills).
I am now finding out that being "materialistic" sometimes ends up saving you money (and time, and trouble) down the road. Less wasted time replacing things that don't wear out. Less mercury in your drinking water from the squiggly thing I don't buy because I got LED's, not to mention not wasting money and time replacing them. Fewer dead batteries reaching the landfill because I use rechargeables. Fewer clothes being tossed because the ones I buy are more durable. And, when the dollar becomes toilet paper, I will find myself with things that still have 10 or more years of life--instead of having them wear out or break within a few months.
I am using more light bulbs that use less electricity to grow my Cannabis! The Metal Hallide and HPS lights are still part of my arsenal when the Sun is not providing what my plants need.
Would I get disfellowshiped if the elders saw me smoking medical marijuana? I have a doctors note and California Medical Card, is this any of their business? Legally and ethically, how different would smoking pot be versus all the Judgemental Fat Slobs swallowing, popping their Pez Dispenser for chronic back pain due to being 200 to 300lbs overweight from gluttony, pills like (Hydromorphone), (oxycontin), (Norco), (Fetynal), (Vicodin and Vodka) and other good medications our friends get addicted to?
Big Green plants instead of spending my money on Big Pharma!
I am the same as Cantleave, much better at it now, and this is motivated in part because I now feel a great responsibility to the generations to come.
As a JW I thought Big J would solve all that for them before they were born, but we cannot wait for a fictional character to do that, or in fact to do anything.
We need to constantly review our actions, and their consequences, if we are to live a good life.
I was viewed as a bit of an oddball while in because I was relatively ecological. Being in contact with people who worked in the field meant I read up quite a bit about the subject and tried to do my bit. I figured as a dub it was also our responsibility to do that, but my fellow dubs didn't seem to think so or do anything in that direction. I found it a bit surprising.
