Blog Archives

My Green New Deal, Part 4

3/21/2019

Make it Personal

Having a moment in Delirium Cafe in Leesburg, VA

My Green
New Deal is really
all about me.

Aerial view, open air corridor at the Clipper Mill Apartments, Baltimore, MD.

Yes, I'm
inspired by the
boldness and creativity
of the original New Deal (My Green
New Deal, Part 1). Yes, I am ready to be accountable
and count my windows while also looking out for deceptions
(My Green New Deal, Part 2). Yes, I am here to say
"Yes" to this mess (My Green New Deal,
Part 3). But I am also ready
to bring it home and
make this global
issue mine.

Driving on the NJ Turnpike.

I've actually
been doing that for years,
measuring my family's impact, taking
lots of photographs and
examining my life
closely.

Apple Pie, 2015 By ERSwett

Because I think
big and like to share, I created
Climate Action Playbooks
(no longer in print),

Pages from Kitchen Conservation 2019, ERSwett

Pages from Energy at Home 2019, ERSwett

but really I'm
happiest when exploring
my world from behind the lens
of my camera...

Gorgeous Garbage, 1 2018 By ERSwett

...and getting
excited about things
like compost...

On The Road, 1 2019 By ERSwett

...and selfies
in the rear view
mirror while taking my
daughter to visit
colleges.

Elon University, 2019 Photo By ERSwett

It hit me,
somewhere between
our last campus tour and the
late night entrance into our garage,
that the future is not just about my children
building the skills they need. It's also
about me and my husband
modeling those skills
right now.

Science Building, U. of Richmond, 2019 Photo by ERSwett

Step 1:
Self Care. I
can't help others if I
am exhausted. Step 2: Join
the group filled with people who
care about what I care
about and do what
I love to do.

On The Road, 2 2019 Photo by ERSwett

So I slept
well on Friday night
and asked some friends to join
me at an inspiring lecture
on Saturday...

Jim Antal speaking at the United Church of Strafford, March 2019 Photo by ERSwett

And created
portraits of some of
the people there - - laughing,
hugging, and caring for one another.
Amazing. Make it about me &
suddenly I'm out there
having a ball and
finding joy.

It's Spring at the University of Richmond! Photo by ERSwett

Isn't it cool
that by being seemingly
self-centered, we are in fact being generous?
What do you need to do to make
the climate crisis
personal?

My Green New Deal, Part 3

3/15/2019

Say 'Yes' to The Mess

Paris Lights, Spring 2012 By E.R.Swett

OK. So
I was really
inspired by last week's
Global Student Strikes for Climate.
If the Pope, Paris & thousands of scientists aren't
convincing enough, listen to the kids.
They speak truth.

Sunrise in Maine, 2014 By E.R.Swett

'I don't want
your hope. I don't want
you to be hopeful. I want you to panic...
and act as if the house
is on fire."
-Greta Thunberg, World Economic Forum

Storm in Mexico, 2018 By E.R.Swett

OK Greta.
I'll try. But when
the winds blow and my heart
races, I run for shelter to protect myself and
my children. I think, "my children are
watching, I must stay calm."
Isn't it my job to
protect?

Footprints in the Sand, 2010 By E.R.Swett

I think,
though, that you're
asking me to stop protecting by
running away. You're telling me that we,
mothers and fathers across the planet, have to protect
not by seeking shelter from the storm, but
by facing the wind, rain and fear
and calling them what
they are.

"Yield" by Roxy Paine. Crystal Bridges Museum, Arkansas. Photo by E.R. Swett

This,
for example,
is a work of art that
looks like a tree and this is
a tree that looks like
a work of
art.

Is this a real tree? Which will yield first? Photo by E. R. Swett

My Green
New Deal Part 1:
Celebrate FDR's Creativity.
My Green New Deal Part 2: Beware
window dressing. One of these trees is not real.
Do not be deceived. My Green New
Deal Part 3: Say yes, Greta,
I will embrace the
truth.

Sunrise in Maine, 2014 Photo By E.R.Swett

But to
embrace the truth,
I must name it. We have a
problem that frightens me. Those fires
in California and floods in the Midwest are daunting.
Then, I listen to Franklin Delano Roosevelt
and remember that "the only
thing we have to fear
is fear itself."

OK. Here I am. By E.R.Swett, 2015

Got it Greta.
Got it President Roosevelt.
I'm on it.

A Tree in Bloom, Anytime. By E.R.Swett

"Jazz
improvisors
focus on discovery
in times of stress...They interpret
challenging situations so that
fear does not limit
choices..."
-Frank Barrett, Yes to the Mess

Hanover Neighborhood Action Group 4th of July Parade, 2018 Photo By E.R.Swett

I am not
a jazz musician,
but I love the energy that
comes from a group of people working
together to find solutions to real problems. With our
Neighborhood Action Group (the NAGs),
we've walked in a parade and
organized neighborhood
conversations.

Hanover Energy Forum "Sneak Peek" 2019 Photo By E.R.Swett

For ongoing
inspiration, I've started
listening to podcasts hosted by women
(it is Women's History month, after all)
who say yes to this mess with
humor, compassion
and joy.

Neighborhood Action Group Planning, 2017 Photo By E.R.Swett

Here are three that I currently following:

Mothers of Invention
(With former Irish President Mary Robinson and comedian Maeve Higgins)

No Place Like Home
(Anna Jane Joyner & Mary Anne Hitt; Sponsored by The Sierra Club)

Cultivating Place
(With Jeniffer Jewell - Focus on gardening, but really about the human spirit)

Big Green Machine & The Parade, 2018 Photo By E.R.Swett

Greta -
This is how we
express our panic in New
Hampshire. I know we look silly,
but we're listening - - to you and to each
other. Personally, I'm grateful to you for keeping
us honest and inspiring us to say 'No'
by saying 'Yes' to
this mess.

My Green New Deal, Part 2

3/8/2019

Vintage 1992 handmade bathroom curtains - - still in use.

Let
the light shine!
It's daylight savings time.
And maybe, just maybe, the snow
will melt by April and the
morning temperature
will be above
zero.

Bathroom blinds with a view.

In this
Green New Deal, Part 2,
I get real about our energy conservation
at home. And since we're talking
about light, I thought I'd
explore windows.
Fun, right?

Cheap shade in the kid's bathroom.

We have lots
of them - 67 in fact -
that are essential sources of
light and stunning ways to frame
views of our garden and Vermont. But
in terms of energy, even our 15
year old double-paned
'new' windows
leak heat.

The 'translucent' kitchen shimmering shade.

Over the years,
we have slowly added
insulated and other shades to
help keep the house warm in winter
and cool in summer. Some are even color
coordinated, while others are thin,
cheap roll-ups. We even
have plastic in the
livingroom...

High tech insulating shades with custom color to match the room.

Clearly, we
have a hodge-podge.
Of course, my favorites are the
ones I made when first married in 1992 and
the re-used ones from my grandmother's house that
I found in her attic when she died and then
hung in our living room a decade
ago - - just to try
the colors...

Gram's old curtains, hung with thumb tacks and a ribbon.

This week
I've been thinking
about the idea of 'window
dressing,' of giving a superficial, but
misleading impression. Most of the 1930's New
Deal murals I studied in college (see last week's blog
post, My Green New Deal, Part 1) were colorful
celebrations of the American Dream,
a dream that for millions of
people at that time
was a broken
promise.

These stayed down till 10am when the outside temperature finally reached 15 degrees.

Sometimes,
I feel surrounded by
broken promises - - The dream
of a house, but no one tells you how much
money it takes to maintain it; The dream of filling the
house with things you need and love, but no advertisement
reveals the true cost and impact of those objects.
So now we have ten years to adapt to
the realities caused by our
own behavior...

High tech insulating shades that keep things warm in winter and cool in summer.

Ok. That is way
too heavy and way too
guilt-ridden for my tastes. So
let's go back to light, color, texture
and the glorious convergence of creativity
and climate action. I love this time of year. It's still
cold and inside projects still beckon, like
making the curtains in my studio
warmer by sewing old linen
napkins onto them...

Plastic on a window or cool light, texture and tone?

So I'm
excited about
our family's Green New
Deal. We have a decade to make
the rest of our 67 windows as energy efficient
as they can be. To achieve that goal, we will take stock
of what needs to be done, prioritize and make a
plan. For now, though, I will continue to
appreciate this crazy mix of window
'dressings' that continue to
keep us warm and I will
keep noticing the
afternoon
play of
light.

Ikea curtains in my studio - ready for adaptation.

Explore Energy at Home Playbook