Kelvin's Fair to Middlin' List of Things YOU Can Do to Help

Introduction

This guide is intended to help the average joe american who wants to do something small that can help out and adapt to the growing world problems like food shortages, high oil prices/energy crisis, oppression, etc. This is all rooted in my faith in Jesus and God's heart for the poor and oppressed. If you don't care a wit about Jesus, but are still interested in doing something, keep reading. If you care a lot about Jesus and are not sure how the poor and oppressed fit in with Him (like myself years ago) keep reading. Nor matter where you stand, I would highly suggest reading the gospel of Luke and/or the book of Amos to see more of why God is concerned for the poor and oppressed. And always feel more than free to contact me.

This is just a list of ideas that I've tried to incorporate or wanted to incorporate into my life over the years. Like any set of ideas or suggestions, if you try to do all of them at once, it can be daunting and everything gets dropped in frustration. Rather, try picking up one, mastering it, and then adding something else. The guide is broken up into sections and I hope to add to them as time goes on. Please add comments about any other ideas, activities, or suggestions.

Food:

The world is running short of food and it's not going to get any better. World population continues to increase and supplies are already stretched thin. Also, with the cyclone in Burma wiping out 90% of Southeast Asia's rice supply, and the regime's blocking of aid that has effectively prevented anyone from having the resources for planting for next year (much less eating), rice is going to be a hot commodity in the world. Prices for other foodstuffs are rising as well. So what can be done?

• Don't eat/limit eating of rice. There are a lot of people in Asia that depend on rice for their livelihood and without rice, they are going to be in trouble (ie. starving). We in the states have options like pasta and couscous.
• Eat lower on the food chain. Every link lower you eat at, the more efficient you consume. For example, when you eat meat, you've eaten a lot of grain that was feed to the animal instead of going directly to you. Obviously, no one is eating feed grade grain in the states, but with changing demand comes changing supply. The environmental cost of meat production is staggering as well. Remember all those save the rain forest campaigns from the eighties? The rainforest in Brazil is actually being cut down right now for grazing land. A lot of that beef gets exported to the states, Europe, Russia and Chile. As for the cows in the states, a typical feed lot can produce more urine and feces than a good sized metropolis (~148lbs of well, you know, per cow per day). That's a huge effect on the environment. So instead of beef, focus on chicken, or heck, try lentils. They have more protein per ounce than beef anyway (dry count Lentils compared to Sirloin). And I think they are tasty too.
• Drop the fast food and processed food. It's just bad for you. And Ronald McDonald is a clown . . . and clowns are scary.
• Plant a garden. It's fun, it's a good way to threaten punishment for the kids, and you get to eat something you grew yourself. If you're really hard core, you might try raising some chickens or even composting.
  
• Check out the farmer's market. Locally grown stuff doesn't need to be transported for miles and it helps out the local folks.
• (Added suggestion). Instead of heading out to restaurants, invite people over for dinner. Start a dinner club with friends or possible friends and rotate making dinner. Have people over and discuss riveting subjects or pass on your passions. (See the section on Oppression).
  

Transportation:

Oil prices are crazy. If you really want to get yourself in a funk, try Googleing the peak oil theory. Sadly, most American cities are built around the car, aside from a few notable exceptions, like Jamestown. So, if you plan to live in the states, you're pretty much stuck unless you got wheels. But there are somethings you can do to save on gas.

• Prioritize and plan trips. This is obvious.
• Walk and bike where you can, whenever you can. Walking is incredibly efficient, biking even more so. Check out this comparison between biking and driving in terms of overall time spent between the two. Very revealing.
• Stay away from ethanol based fuels. When the oil spent to make the fertilizer, drive the tractors, process the crops, etc, is counted, ethanol is actually energy negative. That means more gallons of fuel are thrown into the process than are taken out. Especially now when the poor can't afford to eat, food should be grown for food, not fuel.
  
• Keep the car up to tip top shape. If your car can take it (make sure it can before you try this. Otherwise you're in big trouble), I HIGHLY recommend Sea Foam and the Chinese water torture procedure described here. I got at least 3-5 more MPG out of my old volvo. It'll run like new. Keep the tires inflated, the oil changed, the outside clean and waxed, and don't carry around any extra stuff not needed.
• If you need to ditch the old car, get one that is more gas efficient (I don't know what to make about the Prius/hybrids. Any final word out there?). Or even better, get a scooter or Vespa. 60-90MPG sound good?
• Take public transportation if it exists. If it doesn't exist, (ie Boise), call the folks down at the City Hall. They're supposed to listen to you. (and if you say something, they assume there are 10-30 people that feel the same but haven't taken the time to say it. You voice actually counts for more than your voice).
• (Added Suggestion). If you live with other people, think about sharing a car. It would cut down on overall maintenance costs and helps with carpooling.
  

Oppression

There are a lot of really messed up things in the world and people are suffering like crazy because of it. I certainly can't cover all of them and neither can you! Ha! What I've heard recommended, is to pick "a", that is one, issue and be well informed and active about it.

• First step is finding some injustice to work against. This can come from anywhere. Perhaps a personal contact with someone suffering an injustice, something on the news, something you heard at church or from missionaries, something you saw on the internet, etc. It could be sweatshops or child soldiers or racism or genocide or extreme poverty or whatever. Most importantly, it should hit you, otherwise it won't stick. Sometimes it takes multiple contacts with the same issue for it to take hold. Honestly though, I've been told that issues will find you, not the other way around. So just be open to whatever God might put on your heart.
• Second, get educated. The internet is a excellent resource, but people who have had experience with the injustice or have looked into it are even better. Which is the next step...
• Get to know somebody, build some friendships. If you're heart is with the poor, get to know some poor folks. Become their good friends. Learning from someone is so much more important than learning about someone.
  
• Get involved. This will be different for every issue. Obviously, somethings are harder to be super active in than others. For example, I've been extremely frustrated at the response of the Burmese government in the wake of the cyclone. I can't go over there and fix things, and even if I tried, I wouldn't be able to get into a spot to do much good. But I can at least be apart of an advocacy group and send emails to folks in positions of power. The greatest thing I can do is commit to pray.
  
• Spread the word! Let your friends know how they can join you in this expression of God's heart for justice. Again, with the example of Burma, I would challenge you to not watch the Olympics this summer. The reason is that China, acting on the UN security council, has blocked any attempts to force aid into Burma to help the survivors. They have also blocked any measures to try to change any of the injustices occurring in Burma. China is pretty much the only block between the Burmese Military Regime and the international community. So, I've decided to not watch the Olympics and boycott the sponsors as well. I'd ask you to pray about doing the same. Simple as that.
  
• Don't get frustrated. These are long, hard fights and things aren't going to change overnight. Stay consistent, stay committed and press on for God's Kingdom to come and for His will to be done here on earth.
  

Consumption

I have bad news for you: you are an addict. You are addicted to stuff. I much as I want to lie to myself, I am too. We've been brought up in a world designed around the consumption of goods. It is our god to consume and from what I understand of scripture, it seems like nobody's happy when they have two gods. So what can be done to tear down a god?

• Recognition is the first step. I'd highly recommend The Story of Stuff for a full picture of where our stuff comes from and where it goes and why we are part of this consumptive culture.
  
• Buy less stuff. That sounds really simple, but it all boils down to that. Here are a few ideas to make that happen.
• Don't buy the latest and greatest. Don't pursue keeping up to date in technology or fashion. Consider buying used clothes or other used things. Cultivate contentedness with what you have and contentedness for living without the things you don't have.
  
• Repair, remake, and convert trash into usefulness. Keep stuff maintained and it won't need to be replaced as quickly.
  
• Consider a luxury tithe. This idea came to me last week. I wanted some speakers for my new place to plug into the disc man style CD player I have. I found a good deal, but on the way out of the store, I ran into a street kid asking for money. I offered to buy him some food or go with him, but there was nothing close and he seemed done with food from the street. So I pulled out a bill to give him. It ended up being a tenth of what I spent on the speakers. I figured if I was going to spend money on something to indulge myself, the least I could do is give a tenth of the cost of the luxury. Obviously this gets harder with more expensive items, but perhaps that's the point.
  
• Work less for stuff/toys. Basically, that might mean working fewer hours. That probably seems crazy, but I'm serious. Sit down and take a look at how many hours you work and how much of that goes to pay for stuff. Then think about how those hours could be spent with your family, friends, serving etc. This is a question of lordship that usually isn't raised because working is a cultural value in the states. But if the majority of your hours at work are spent for stuff that is here today and gone tomorrow, then I think Jesus might ask for some examination. This is certainly NOT to say that you shouldn't work to provide for your family. That is SUPER important as well as Biblical and I see the horrible consequences of not following that here in the barrios. But there is a huge difference in providing for your family and substituting your presence with expensive toys all those hours of work have bought.

• Make simple living popular. Consumerism wins because it has a lot more advertising time and dollars. Simple living only has grassroots commitment to propagate itself. Model simple living and pass it on.
• Throw a brick through the TV. 'nuff said.

House And Energy

With oil prices rising, additional energy consumers, and more demand per user, energy is becoming a scarce commodity. Since most electrical energy gets spent around the house, that's the best place to save.

• Put on a jacket. Actually, not for the winter, but for the water heater. The water heater is by far the largest consumer of energy in a house. There are a number of ways to address this. The easiest is to buy a thermal blanket to throw around the heater. This prevents excessive heat loss. You can find these at most hardware stores. Also consider going solar with a solar preheater. This is a great little project to save lots of water heating energy. Do some research and look for some plans and you're set to go. If you need to replace the water heater, look into a tankless system. Although they cost a bit more upfront, the energy savings will pay off over time. And if you really want to save on hot water, take cold showers.
  
• Insulate. Fill any cracks around windows and doors with caulking or spray insulation. This will help with heating and cooling. If you have old windows (like the aluminum frames) consider upgrading to vinyl.
  
• Save rainwater. You can save the rain water that falls off the roof into buckets or drums and use the water for plants or watering the lawn.
• The Dept. of Energy has a lot more resources than I can fit on here. Check it out.

That's it for now. I can't think of any other categories or items, but please add comments and additions and I'll throw them up here.