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Every plant has its place in the ecosystem. But some plants are extra useful to those of us human beings who engage in organic gardening, be it to grow food/medicine, to support wildlife, or both. For purposes of this post (and maybe for other posts in the future), I have decided to call these extra-useful plants “Botanical Superheroes” or “Super Plants.”

I’m using this term to describe a plant that has as many as possible of the following attributes: 1) grows wild, but can also be cultivated; 2) has a wide geographic range, the more continents the better; 3) grows profusely and is good for land restoration, soil remediation; 4) provides food or medicine (for humans, livestock, or both); 5) supports wildlife. Note, this is not a formal classification; it’s just a term I’m suggesting.

One example of what I’m calling Super Plants is comfrey. From the checklist above: 1) Yes; 2) Native to Europe and Asia, but grows wild in Africa and the Americas also; 3) Yes – nutrient accumulator and mulch; 4) supplemental chicken feed, herbal medicine, and other uses; 5) Yes – supports pollinators, as well as insects that prey on garden pests.

We learn about comfrey in permaculture design courses, and “permies” love it because, among other things, it makes a great “chop and drop” mulch, and it can be used as a supplemental food for chickens. I have not yet incorporated comfrey into my garden, but now that I’ve read this post from Happy DIY Home, and have found some other good articles on comfrey (see links below), I plan to do so!

(As I mentioned, we did learn about comfrey in permaculture design class. But I never latched onto it because I don’t raise chickens (at least not yet), and also maybe because I wasn’t paying enough attention to its many other uses! Sometimes it takes me multiple go-rounds for useful info to sink in. Depending on the circumstances, it can be years later!)

The general word on comfrey is that it grows profusely, so you want to be sure and pick your spot carefully. (I will test out this claim with my black thumb and my deficient-in-everything beachside soil, and will get back to you.) In recent years, as drought-flood extremes become more of an issue all over the country and world, I have become more focused on useful, profusely growing plants as part of the solution. Robust plants help mitigate drought-flood extremes by uptaking rainwater and helping to slow its runoff, creating richer soil and a “juicier” landscape. Living storage of water and nutrients!

Besides comfrey, other plants on my list of Botanical Superheroes include amaranth, sorrel, and clover. What are some of your favorite “Super Plants”?

My purpose in writing this post is two-fold: to let you know about a useful plant; and also, to give you an example of how, in a more general sense, we are surrounded by invaluable allies (plant and otherwise) that we might not know about. And therefore, I want to encourage you to keep your antennas out for the many allies all around you: plant, animal, human, and inanimate!

Further Reading:

How To Grow Comfrey: Care, Types, and Growing Tips (by Elizabeth Waddington on HappyDIYHome.com) (also linked in my post above) is a great all-around intro to comfrey. “Comfrey is one of the most useful plants to grow in an organic garden. If you are interested in taking care of our planet, its people and wildlife, and creating a way of life that is truly ethical, green and sustainable, this is one plant to include in your growing scheme. In this article, we will discuss this useful flowering perennial.” (Note, I am also adding this article to the Further Reading list of my post on knowing your wild edible and medicinal plants.)

Comfrey: Its History, Uses, and Benefits (by Paul Alfrey in Permaculture Magazine): This excellent article from Permaculture Magazine goes into detail from a permaculture land-management standpoint, as well as describing medicinal uses.

(***CAUTION!!!: While comfrey has historically been used for various medicinal applications (one of its folk names is “bone knit”), and has even been eaten as a vegetable, it has been linked to cancer and liver damage, and is not now recommended to ingest by mouth. I am not in a position to recommend this plant for human food or medicinal applications. As with any plant, do your own research, which needs also to include consulting with your local experts in person.)

And one more comfrey article I found useful: Growing and Foraging for Comfrey, on growforagecookferment.com offers additional advice from a permie perspective. For example, the authors grow it around their fruit trees because it brings up nutrients from the soil through its long taproot.

Wrapping up today’s “resource roundup” for you, I want to share with you a website called Jen Reviews. It’s the sister site to Happy DIY Home (source of the first comfrey article linked above). I’m giving Jen Reviews a boost because 1) it offers lots of practical info, such as this article on ways to control 13 common household bugs without using toxic chemicals; and 2) Jen Reviews offered to share my blog with its readers, in exchange for my sharing their site. (I would not have agreed to this unless I liked their content, which I do.)

Jen Reviews describes itself as “the authority on everything food, fitness and home,” and says “All our writers are experts in their particular niches. Our expert team includes former Olympians, doctors, registered nurses, executive chefs, mountain guides, yoga instructors, certified dog trainers and more.” I appreciate being contacted by the editors of this popular website. And hope you will check it out, and will find lots of useful stuff there!

As I’ve mentioned (and as some of you may have noticed), I sometimes expand old blog articles by adding new resources as I come across them. I don’t typically issue any notifications when I do this (it would get cumbersome and cluttery).

That said, I’m about to do one such update to an old article. Once that’s done, I will add the article title and link info to this post, and will also make a post on my “Deep Green Book by Jenny Nazak” Facebook page.

Usually when I add to an old article, it’s because I have belatedly stumbled on an additional resource (article, video, etc.) that I want to share with you on that topic. But this time, I’m doing it because a fellow eco/health blogger alerted me of such a resource. It’s a milestone for this blog, because the fellow blogger who emailed me is a stranger who stumbled on my blog, read my old post, and found it good enough that they asked me to include their article in the “Further Reading” section. That’s really cool!

Every single one of you readers, be it a longtime friend or a stranger, is precious to me. I’m here to support each of you on your paths to creating a kinder, greener world. Though old readers are every bit as precious to me as new ones, I take the appearance of a new reader, who I have no personal connection with, as a sign that my effort to spread the #GrassrootsGreenMobilization is catching on. And for that I am so happy!

I’ll be back in a bit with that post update info for you!

It’s OK to just enjoy the moment. A beautiful sunset, the laughter of a friend, the taste of a fresh-baked cookie, the feel of sun shining on your hair after a long cold rainy spell, a favorite song on the radio, a good book, a ladybug in the garden, a grilled-cheese sandwich, the sound of a passing train, the scent of sun-dried sheets. Enjoying the moment doesn’t mean you’re in denial about the state of the world.

(This is a note to self. And I’m posting it here in case anyone else needed to hear it too.)

In my Facebook ad feed yesterday I found an ad for a company called Rothy that makes women’s shoes and handbags out of recycled bottles and ocean trash. (Sometimes that “personalized” Facebook ad feed really hits the mark, as much as people like to revile it!) The shoes sell for around US$125.

I read through some of the several hundred comments. A lot of the commenters were complaining about the price. People in the USA are used to being able to get a pair of shoes for $20 or $30.

It struck me that being able to buy a pair of shoes for just two or three hours’ wages (or, if you are white-collar professional, perhaps a mere half-hour or even a quarter-hour’s wages!) is probably a historic and geographic anomaly. Throughout history and across the globe, people probably spent several days’ pay on a pair of shoes, if they could afford them at all.

I wonder how many pairs of $20-30 shoes end up in landfill, not only because they break or wear out but also because they are priced cheaply, so people don’t think as hard about throwing them away.

For me it seems reasonable to pay a day or two’s wages for a pair of shoes. But then again, I expect the shoes to last. My main pair of shoes right now are a pair of Xero canvas boots I bought for $90 last summer, and hope to have for several years. They are the most comfortable close-toed shoes I have ever owned. Generally I do not buy new shoes. If I didn’t have to wear shoes, if I could go barefoot all the time, I probably would. My other main pair of shoes is a pair of flip-flops which were handed down to me. And I have a pair of black wedge-heeled Crocs, also hand-me-downs from a friend. (Those are my “dress-up” shoes.)

According to an article I found at newdream.org, the average USAmerican man owns 12 pairs of shoes; for women it’s 27 pairs.

Though I only have five pairs of shoes right now (two of which I never wear and should donate), I have not always been a shoe minimalist. For about 10-15 years, starting in the early 1990s when I lived in Tokyo, I had about 30 pairs of shoes, most of them platform shoes of various kinds. The neon-green vinyl boots and the brown velvet embroidered boots were my two favorite pairs. I also had a pair of gold glitter-encrusted platform shoes that I called my “Elton John Museum Shoes.” But I really could only hobble a few yards in those 7-inch steep-pitched heels, and only by leaning on a friend’s shoulder or holding his/her hand. So those beauties mostly just sat on a high display shelf that I built specially for them.

At the time I bought and owned this flotilla of ornamental footwear, I wasn’t particularly thinking about their footprint (no pun intended). I cared about the environment and set out to conserve in many many areas of my life, but shoes were not one of them. And, I firmly believe that it is possible for a person to have an indulgence of this kind and still be an eco activist. (If I were ever to get bitten by the shoe bug again, this time around I’d just buy them at thrift stores. The selection can be huge and the prices are as low as $2 or $5!)

For some years, my go-to shoes were a pair of Minnetonka moccasin boots, tan suede. I bought them at the Cline’s Corners truck stop in 2007, on my bicycle trip from Austin to Santa Fe. A few times over the years, I re-stitched small areas where seams split in the uppers, and I was able to hang onto those boots til 2018 when the soles wore holes in them. Actually I still have those boots. If I can’t get the soles replaced I will use the leather! A stunning bargain those boots were, at about $70. I walked countless miles in them.

How about you? How many pairs of shoes do you have, and how many do you wear regularly? What do you think is a fair price to pay for shoes? Would you spend a few days’ pay on a pair of shoes if they were super versatile and would last for years?

I remain interested in shoes, and am passionate about fashion in general. I’m particularly keen on street fashion and DIY “edited” thrift/vintage clothes. I’m also interested in finding out more about Rothy, which spins a thread from used plastic bottles to make its shoes. The company claims to have upcycled over 50 million plastic bottles so far.

Back in 2011 I did a portrait of those beloved Minnetonka mocs. It was one of the pieces in my first art show. A friend bought the original. I gave my Mom a print, and that print came back to me after she passed in 2017. Posting a photo of it for you now.

Further Exploration:

What a fun link I found just now!! Got a broken pair of flip-flops? Here’s a Pinterest page of ways to upcycle those old soles into custom sandals! You can make new straps by crocheting, braiding old t-shirts, etc.

There’s a knee-jerk reflex, particularly in the United States, for people’s first reaction to any bad news to be, “Oh no, how will it affect the economy?”

True, bad news tends to have an impact on Wall Street. The thing is, Wall Street is not a synonym for the economy, even though sometimes people seem to view it that way. The financial markets are but one segment of the economy. Unfortunately, a lot of people have invested pretty much all their money in funds that are somehow tied to the stock market. I’m not here to tell people not to invest in the stock market; we all have different views on that.

What I am here to say, is that the real economy will never die. The real economy is simply people meeting other people’s needs, with some exchange involved, be it money or barter or what have you.

And investments are everywhere; Wall Street is just one slice of the economy. Granted, it is a big slice in terms of dollars. But anyone can choose to change their investment mix anytime. (For some great alternative options, see Laura Oldanie’s article linked at the end of this post.)

When I see bad news (be it a virus epidemic or extreme weather event or what have you), my first thought (beyond, “Are people going to survive the immediate event?”) is, “Are people and communities equipped to survive the aftermath of the event”; or “Are people equipped to survive a long-term situation” such as an extended drought; a crop failure in a major food-producing region.

Then the focus becomes wider, and we start to be able to take charge of the economy in a deeper sense (people meeting people’s needs), as opposed to just looking at the Dow Jones average in the paper each day, and feeling secure or not according to what that number is.

My economy questions include, What are the local food-growing sources? Is there a good mix of fruits, vegetables, proteins, and calorie crops grown locally? Do at least some of my neighbors share my interest in this?

And transportation: If petroleum-based transportation is disrupted, what are our options for getting our needs met by human-powered, sail-powered, or other non-automotive transport?

Same question for home energy supply: How do we power our homes, or comfortably do without power?

A key component of the economic viability of a place is the soil. Those of us in wealthy industrialized nations forget this (or never learn it in the first place), but it’s still true, and the truth will become more apparent in the event of disruptions to global markets and long-distance supply lines. A question that should concern us all is, “If we had to grow food in our community, would we be able to? Has the soil been depleted by landscaping practices that emphasize neatness over health and functionality? Is there a decent amount of native tree, plant, insect life?”

Another question: How is the skills base of my neighborhood, my local area? Do we have carpentry skills, does someone know how to weld, do we have people who know how to make and mend clothes, is there an herbalist, and so on. I find that NextDoor is a great app for informally getting a “skills snapshot” of my community. One could also go door to door visiting people, or take a survey at the neighborhood meeting. I have not yet done a full-on skills inventory of my community, but I think it’d be an extremely useful and possibly life-saving undertaking for us all.

The ultimate most important question is, How well can my neighbors and I cooperate to get our needs met no matter what comes? That, to me, is the real essence of the economy.

Further Reading:

The Real Economy (Wikipedia definition): “The real economy concerns the flow of goods and services (like oil, bread and labor hours), compared with the monetary sector…”

And the following economic topic merits its own post, but for now, I offer you one article about the concept of a community currency. Yes, communities can issue their own currency (it’s been done successfully in Austin TX and many other places), and it’s a great way for local people to support each other’s livelihood (and, in the event of systemic shutdowns from natural disasters and the like, continue to have a thriving local economy). Check out this article from treehugger.com: How To Print Your Own Money, Build Community, and Not Get Arrested by the Feds.

How I Am Investing To Save the Planet, by Laura Oldanie (whose Triple Bottom Line Financial Independence blog is among the permalinks in my sidebar). From being a part owner in a local farm to investing in a business bond fund for veteran-owned and Main Street businesses, Laura shares many ways to earn a solid return on your money while benefiting people and the planet.

Carbon offsets offer a way to mitigate the footprint of our everyday lives, by giving money to tree-planting projects or other enterprises that are specifically intended to mitigate carbon emissions. I got interested in carbon offsets as a way to mitigate my travel footprint, but they can be used to mitigate any aspect of one’s footprint. It’s not perfect, but it’s a tool that’s available to us for those cases when we don’t feel able to just cut out an area of consumption.

I once purchased carbon offsets for a train trip to visit my family in Virginia. If I recall correctly, the offset cost me just a couple of dollars.

I have largely given up flying, but I once purchased offsets to mitigate a couple decades of my past air travel. I think it cost me about $137 or something. Now I’m going to look into proactively purchasing offsets for the occasional Uber rides and other car rides I take.

There are various online vendors of carbon offsets. Whichever site you choose, look for the Gold Standard. The Gold Standard is the standard that’s recommended by eco experts I look to for guidance.

This site Offset Your Emissions: The Gold Standard – goldstandard.org gives an overview, and right there on the page are a number of projects you can choose from. This site is good for offsetting your overall emissions; for a site that lets you calculate and offset the impact of a specific trip, see the link in the next paragraph. The price and the amount of carbon emissions offset are displayed; you just click and buy. The projects tend to have an element of improving the lives of people in other countries (for example, creating jobs through tree-planting in Timor-Leste; improving public health through water-quality improvement in Laos) while you are helping to mitigate your household’s footprint. The site also has a carbon calculator, or you can just use their average monthly estimates for countries around the world. (Citizens of USA, Canada, and Australia emit an average of 2 tons a month, while in most of Europe and developing countries it’s 1 ton a month.)

• Calculate and offset the impact of a specific flight or other trip: cooleffect.org

• “Everything you need to know about carbon offsetting for your flights” (Katie Genter; thepointsguy.com). Includes general info, tips, and links to carbon-footprint calculators.

Amid worries over the Coronavirus epidemic, Wall Street stocks have gone down (U.S. stocks are on track to have their worst week since the 2008 financial market crisis) — but so have our carbon emissions. According to the New York Times “Climate Forward” email newsletter, “In the past month, the world has seen a remarkably large drop in emissions of carbon dioxide, the main driver of global warming” as a result of factory shutdowns and other actions taken to control the Coronavirus epidemic.

(Such drops in emissions were previously observed during the airline flight shutdowns that followed the 9-11 attacks and the eruption of a volcano in Iceland.)

I doubt that even the most ardent environmentalist would say that the emissions reduction is worth the death and suffering caused by the virus. But this side-effect of the epidemic does offer a window into what is possible if humankind were to undertake voluntary reductions in travel and other forms of consumption.

The coronavirus epidemic has also prompted at least one Neighborhood Watch chairman to plan on bringing up food-growing and rainwater collection at her upcoming neighborhood meeting, as actions that would be in her community’s interest to undertake. She has been bringing this up in the community for a long time, with little effect, but feels that the potential for the epidemic to lead to a shutdown of basic daily supplies and services might give people a stronger motivation to find value in this suggestion.

Further Reading:

The New Yorker just started a climate crisis newsletter, which provides updates from inside the climate-action movement by writer and activist Bill McKibben. You can sign up here for the free email newsletter.

In the first issue of the newsletter, McKibben includes a quote from Christiana Figueres, former executive secretary of the U.N.’s climate-change convention: “The decade we have just started is the most consequential decade humanity has ever faced. If we are not able to cut our current global greenhouse-gas emissions by fifty per cent over the next ten years, we will be poised to enter into a world of constant destruction of infrastructure, congested and polluted cities, rampant diseases, increasing burning and flooding, mass migrations due to extensive droughts, heat or land loss leading to the abandonment of uninhabitable areas, and political turmoil as people fight for food, water, and land. At the current level of emissions, that is the world that we are heading for. If, on the other hand, we set our minds and determination to the necessary transformation, reducing our global greenhouse gases [by] half over the next ten years, we would have actually co-created a path toward a very different world: a reforested planet with regenerated agriculture, clean and efficient transport, enjoyable cities, clean air, and ubiquitous cheap energy for everyone.”

From Quartz (qz.com): “Dutch trends forecaster Li Edelkoort has a provocative outlook on Covid-19, the deadly coronavirus strain that has upended manufacturing cycles, travel plans, and conference schedules around the world. … [T]he celebrated 69-year old design industry advisor pictured Covid-19 as a sobering force that will temper our consumerist appetites and jet-setting habits. Edelkoort … believes we can emerge from the health crisis as more conscientious humans. ‘We need to find new values—values of simple experience, of friendship,’ she told Quartz. ‘It might just turn the world around for the better.'”

And on the Deep Adaptation forum on Facebook, a fellow member mentioned hearing from some people in Italy that the quarantines have given them a rest from break-neck schedules, demanding bosses, and the like.