The Ramadan Compact

I'm doing something different this Ramdan. Don't worry, Alhamdulillah I'm still fasting and praying and all of the usual great stuff. However, I wanted to add to my Ramadan goals. It's a time for growth and simply repeating what I've been doing for many years now isn't challenging enough. It's difficult, no doubt. However, I needed something new. AND I found it:

The Ramadan Compact

WHAT:
In the spirit of reducing consumption during Ramadan and using it as a time for reflection and awareness, I challenge you to a "Buy Nothing Ramadan."

WHY:
You've heard all the news stories on the environment: global warming, air and water pollution, species extinction, loss of forest, etc. Whether you believe that our planet is heading for an immediate catastrophe or not, you have to realize that, as Americans, we just consume A LOT. If you look at our Ecological Footprint - a measure of consumption and waste production that is translated into the amount of land needed to maintain these services (see here) - an average American needs 24 "acres" of land to support his current lifestyle. I took the quiz and, even if the whole world were semi-green like me, we would still need 3.7 earths to survive (17 acres per person). Take the quiz and see what you get.

As a Muslim with "environmentalist" tendencies, I believe that this sort of consumption is not just inequitable but largely unsustainable. I also believe that we can make a difference through our individual decisions.

I invite you to take the barakah of Ramadan to be thankful for the blessings in our lives, be more mindful of our actions and their environmental impact, and reduce material consumption.

HOW:
The idea of the Buy-Nothing Ramadan comes from the Compact movement, first started in the San Francisco area where members agreed to go a year without buying anything.

The Compact aims to:
"1) to go beyond recycling in trying to counteract the negative global environmental and socioeconomic impacts of U.S. consumer culture, to resist global corporatism, and to support local businesses, farms, etc. -- a step, we hope, inherits the revolutionary impulse of the Mayflower Compact
2) to reduce clutter and waste in our homes (as in trash Compact-er)
3) to simplify our lives (as in Calm-pact)"

Here are the rules (modified from here):
1. Don't buy any new products. Exceptions: Food and drink, medicine, personal items (ex. socks and underwear), services, charitable contributions, and gifts (in moderation).
2. For other items, borrow or buy used.
3. Take the time you would spend shopping in other productive ways (read Quran, spend time with your family, volunteer for a local community organization, etc).

Feel free to add other "rules" for your personal Compact - unplug from TV and internet media, try carpooling to reduce vehicle trips - be creative and challenge yourself! Use Ramadan as a time to be more mindful of not only your eating habits, but of your overall consumption. Food for thought: how to host a eco-friendly iftar.

I am accountable only to myself. I may stumble along the way, but I pray that my willingness to live a better, more sustainable, life (Fi'sabilillah) will be what keep me in check.

If you're interested, sign up here: the Ramadan Compact!

Global Dimming

Re-U-Sable School

So many posts about recycling as a Muslim imperative, preservation, global warming, environmental conscientiousnesses, here is something that ties in the California Budget crisis, schools and the power of recycling- thanks to Joy SD and Izzy who put this together-

Join the "Virtual March"

This is a movement about change, as individuals, as a country, and as a global community.

Our mission is to use the strength of numbers to urge our government to join the rest of the world in addressing global warming, and urge business to start a new industrial revolution of clean energy that reduces our dependence on oil.

Source: http://www.stopglobalwarming.org

Anyone else freaking out about global warming?

As Hurricanes Felix and Henriette make landfall, I can't help but get nervous about global warming. There's a heatwave in Southern California (that's already claimed the lives of 7), and 102 F seems like a good day near the Sacramento Valley area.

On my drive on the Interstate 5 from Southern California to Northern California, there was a horrible ten-mile stretch where the sky was yellow with pollution and the sun appeared blood red as its light was diffused by the thick layer of smog. I could only see a thin strip of blue sky at the horizon, and I was anxious to drive faster to be able to get out of the shadow of this horrible shadow of smog and dust. It was a weird out-of-body experience, as though someone had time-transported me to the future during that ten-mile bit of road. I couldn't help but thinking, Is this what my children will see? Will their breathing be impeded by the smog that gushes out of our exhausts everyday? Will they never know of a blue sky, or a yellow sun? Will the blues and greens of nature become a thing of folklore and history, depicted in story books and museum paintings? I was able to drive past the smog, and come out blinking into the beautiful azure of the evening sky, but I worry that it won't be as easy as driving faster for those who will come after us.

What does it take to live in a greener world today? I can't be the one to preach. It's hot in my apartment and I have the A/C running. The fact that it's on low doesn't merit any praise either. But we really have to think about the ramifications of our actions, be it jumping in our car to drive a block to the grocery store, keeping the air conditioning running all night, or letting the water run while we're brushing our teeth. As vicegerents of this earth -- the only home we have -- it's a sin to let it go to waste right before our eyes.