Walk: Improve your health and the planet

Bob Ewing — Two years ago, I made a two-fold pledge to lose weight and to keep my blood glucose levels in line. My doctor had just prescribed insulin injections, twice a day, and I was determined to keep the amount I needed to a minimum and hopefully, one day, no longer need the injections.



This pledge has an additional benefit — weight loss. In the past month, I have lost three pounds. This may not seem like a lot to you; however, if you want to take off weight and keep it off, your goals need to be realistic and ones you can achieve without adding undue stress to your daily life. Over the past six years, I have lost 50 pounds.

The weight loss was accomplished by eating fresh, seasonal foods and mostly by walking. I walk daily, except in extreme weather. Walking is not just my means of exercise but my principal mode of transportation. This means that I do not drive, own a car, but rely on my feet to get me from place to place.

In May, I added a daily morning work out, 15 minutes in duration, with a pair of dumbbells (weights). They only weigh two and a half pounds; however, I will increase the weight when needed.

Walking is healthy. It will help you lose weight. It is also good for the environment as the walker is not pumping any noticeable amount of fossil fuels into the environment. This may sound facetious to you but think about it for a minute, if more people left their cars at home and walked, rode a bicycle or took public transport to work, the cumulative effect of their actions could be significant. So I set an example. This is a win-win scenario, good for me and good for the environment, which is good for me and my neighbours.

The other part of my weight loss scenario is food. Avoid anything that comes in packages or cans; be sure too recycle all packing purchased when possible; canned tomatoes and cereal boxes, for example.

Composting and recycling reduce the garbage produced and both actions produce raw material that could be used to regenerate a local economy. In addition, recycling and composting reduce our impact on the earth and help build soil.

Buy products when they are in season, blueberries, strawberries, apples and am able to purchase these items from a small shop that buys from growers which are for the most part located within 100 miles of where I live. This means that the food I buy does not travel thousands of miles to get to the store but under 100, sometimes much less.

A farmer’s market recently opened in the city and I now have access to grass fed local beef and chicken and fresh vegetables.

Walking is healthy not just for the walker but for the community he or she is walking through. Good shoes and loose fitting clothing are all that is needed. Make a difference in your health and reduce your impact on the earth by making a few lifestyle changes.

Time/Bank teaches cooperation without greed

Samantha Torrence - As a child you are told “If you can’t pay for your meal at the restaurant they will make you wash dishes!” The warning is meant to signify a degrading punishment for skipping out on a bill. The Time/Bank restaurant, however, puts this practice in a whole new light. There you pay for your meal by offering 30 minutes of your time, and maybe that means just washing dishes.  Through the idea of exchanging a person’s time and services, Time/Bank has helped people truly understand that their time is their most valuable resource.

As a system of survival Time/Banks may not be the most sufficient, but as a way to improve your community using your time and skills it is inspiring. The Time/Banks set up around the world have had a great impact on local communities, but especially on the artistic community. In the world of art success is fleeting, but the passionate commit to their work and may suffer for it. With Time/Bank a starving artist may not have to literally starve.

Eflux.com has set up a Time/Bank with 4 branches in Australia, New York, Germany, and Holland. Local artists can make an account with the Time/Bank and begin posting services and volunteering to help someone else. The ‘job postings’ list what service is needed or available and many times what the person can offer in return from their own skills and time.  Giving time to one another does not always have to be in trade with that person. The Time/Bank sets up the account as a community pool so you can earn time and share time with others in need of more time for a bigger project.

The Time/Bank principle is very basic and easy to understand. It is currency that shows how many minutes or hours of your work you have given to the community, or it is a direct exchange of hour for hour with another person. People who amass great amounts of hours can only spend them at accepting local businesses. The currency itself does not have pull or sway over others as it does not represent wealth but the value of time. In this way people are encouraged to work and help one another without thought of unnecessary gain.  Time/Banks take greed out of the equation and introduce cooperation and good will.

Innovations like Time/Bank are extremely helpful at a local level. In America where the economy has come to near collapse because of greed and the unequal value of time and skill in the monetary system a Time/Bank may help a local community thrive in spite of state or federal problems. Time/Bank helps local farms and mom and pop grocery stores that accept the currency the ability to compete and make a stable life in a small town. As the movement of Time/Banking grows it may have a stabilizing effect on currency with not as many American ‘notes’ being used in local markets it can be saved for federal and state commerce and increase the value of the dollar in the international community.

Time/Banking can also encourage local farmers to focus on the immediate community and for people to focus on locally grown foods which will increase the popularity of the Farmer’s Market movement. Food, goods, and livestock give people the chance to be self-sustaining, a lauded conservative principle and the goal of many grass roots movements in America. Time being the coveted good and service makes all people on equal footing with one another so people do not feel undervalued in society without the use of social weapons that cause resentment towards one another. This equal footing is really equal opportunity towards a happiness that can only be sustained in a place where social capital and time capital are valued above greed.