[Sherylcatmom]

Originally Posted by harry chickpea

In a nutshell, the Vermont that people want to preserve only existed through denial of consumerism, and consumerism now drives the country.

This observation fascinates me. Can you imagine what it would take to unplug the consumerism-driven economy, to draw people to a life that didn't include gadgets and "stuff" as some kind of reward for working or just for being alive?

Have you seen "The Story of Stuff"? Click here to watch this eye-opening piece. I question some of the statistics, but I fully believe in the message and in that overview of the consumerist system.

I grew up among the super-consumers of South Florida. I left that scene for good over 20 years ago. I can't identify exactly when I disconnected from the consumerist mindset, but it was several years ago. I still have relatives who shop for fun and cannot understand why I don't enjoy shopping for things I don't need.

Last night my husband and I drove one leg of a rescue-transport that for a sweet dog (http://www.network.bestfriends.org/Blogs/PostDetail.aspx?g=3ec88962a84640bf9c4f82bef8e87b2b &bp=7050 - broken link) headed from a pound in rural Ohio to a rescue in Vermont. We picked up the dog on outlet row - Route 9 in Lake George. We saw signs for stores like "Casual Male." My husband and I looked at each other in bewilderment and realized we were standing in alien surroundings featuring activities that we could no more imagine participating in any more than we'd consider swimming in a septic tank. Somewhere along the way, the idea of shopping as an activity unto itself rather than an occasional necessity became unimaginable to me (barring browsing in a locally-owned bookstore, of course).

We do have computers, a TV, a VCR, and a digital camera, all of which are more than 5 years old. We got a cell phone when I went to New Orleans to help with animal rescue after the 2005 hurricanes; after much thought, I decided to use that option for communicating with the outside world; now we use the cell phone when driving rescue transports.

But furniture? Clothes? Gadgets? That stuff we readily do without, salvage from other people's perfectly good/fixable throwaways, or buy secondhand. Exceptions: Well-made items we will use frequently and for many years such as tools (if we can't find them used), artwork, functional art such as pottery for kitchenwares, and some books. I am an audiobook junkie so I bought an iPod to download free & other digital material and avoid CDs & plastic cases as well as cheap portable CD players, batteries, etc.

A study on buying less, buying used, and buying only high-quality items showed that far from damaging the economy, such changes in consumer spending would result in a demand for higher-quality longer-lasting goods, which would create more sustainable companies to produce them and more reliable jobs.

Every dollar spent is a vote on how the earth will be used. I know where I want my votes going. I am not anti-stuff or anti-consumption, because I am not anti-human. I am against stuff being used as a substitute for life and its truly fulfilling qualities, something which stuff can never can be. I am against stuff being made cheaply and poorly, with planned obsolescence, when it could be produced to the highest standards we can achieve. Especially when using stuff this way destroys the planet we all share.

[1luvvt]

Originally Posted by Sherylcatmom

1. This observation fascinates me.

2. I am an audiobook junkie .

I agree with harry amd you. one of the reasons i feel so comfortable in vt i think.


as for #2., i go through about a book a week on cass. or disk. my commute to work is 70 miles one way so i get alot of time to listen to books. i get all my books from the library. probably one of the most under-used resource in this area. if they don't have it from our branch they order it.you can also request books from online. does vt(rutland area) have a library with this possibility?

[Sherylcatmom]

Originally Posted by 1luvvt

as for #2., i go through about a book a week on cass. or disk. my commute to work is 70 miles one way so i get alot of time to listen to books. i get all my books from the library. probably one of the most under-used resource in this area. if they don't have it from our branch they order it.you can also request books from online. does vt(rutland area) have a library with this possibility?

You are so right! And Rutland has a great library. I could read their printed books for the rest of my life and probably never get through the collection. As you mentioned, I can request and reserve materials online at the Rutland Library -- that's a great service.

However, I think I have listened to just about every audio-book at the Rutland Library that's of interest to me. They will purchase more at people's requests, but there's a limit to their shopping spree abilities. I believe they told me that they cannot get audio media on interlibrary loan.

My parents listen to audio books on CD, which they always purchase, and they send them to me when they're done. (Lucky me! :-)) My husband and I listen to these audio books, then we donate them to the library.

I purchase some digital audiobooks, which I download to my hard drive & iPod. Mostly, I now download tons of amazing podcasts and other free material that's just out there for the taking.

[fromPA]

Someday I'll get myself an Ipod. Until then, I have this site saved for future reference. Gutenberg:The Audio Books Project - Gutenberg You might enjoy it.

[Sherylcatmom]

Originally Posted by fromPA

Someday I'll get myself an Ipod. Until then, I have this site saved for future reference. Gutenberg:The Audio Books Project - Gutenberg You might enjoy it.

Thank you for mentioning this. Being technically deficient, I have not yet figured out how to use the Gutenberg site. For example, I want to download and listen to Mary Shelly's Frankenstein. So I looked it up and it's here. I clicked on one of several options with a speaker icon beside it (versus the ones with book icons) but then I get all these choices under "Download this ebook for free."

Okay, I think my iPod is an MP3 player, but there are still a bunch of choices under MP3! Any idea which one I should pick or what I should do next?