China Part One

This is apparently perfectly normal for a night out in Hong Kong.

So the month of March was spent in China with my Thesis team doing factory assessments of garment manufacturers. Interesting stuff. Our thesis draft is due monday, so I have been concentrating my energies there. Luckily, John is far more productive than I and has some great material here:
John Silkey: Man of the People

Check out his posts (previous ones as well), he's got a lot of good insights (also wittier than me) plus he scooped me with some of the best pictures from the trip. He also updates his blog about our activities more than bi monthly.

So what were we actually doing in China? Basically, a huge UK fashion retailer wanted us to go there and get some info on the environmental footprint of some of their suppliers and what might be done to improve it. This involved site visits and workshops at two factories, one makes undergarments, the other handbags. We did a series of workshops with management and employees, to create an understanding of what we mean when we say sustainable and then to help them brainstorm ideas about how their factory could move towards sustainability. It was quite successful and we were impressed with the quality and quantity of ideas produced.

The thing about sustainability is this: Everyone loves the idea, but it's all about the HOW. Once threshold of awareness is reached no one disputes that we have some serious ecological problems to attend to. (The more engaged you get, the more you realize the breadth and urgency of these problems, so best not to take your head too far out of the sand in my opinion; it can get a little daunting.) But what do we do about it? The HOW is of course the hard part. But when a group gets momentum ideas and opportunities for change start flowing fast. At the end of the week we had co-created a list of action steps that will probably get implemented, and the factory management seemed excited to start trying some things. But more importantly, they have to some degree internalized that these are serious problems (waste, emissions, work conditions, toxins, water, etc.) and management decisions have a direct impact. Awareness and a system perspective is where it all has to start.

It's an underwear factory, I know, but still... There were posters of underwear models everywhere. And many of them were not as conservative as this young lady.

One of the most striking things about China is the SCALE. There are so many people, and the material flows are equally astounding. 30,000 bras a day. 10 tons of waste every day. It is really something. I was reflecting that the city of Shenzhen is roughly equal in population to all of Scandinavia. The decisions that China makes around sustainability (and everything else for that matter) will dictate how the world goes to a significant extent.

If you're in the market for a sequined leopard print handbag, our other study factory makes 7,000 of them everyday. Other styles also available.

Here is a poster outside the factory advertising jobs. Wages are listed on the right side along with job description, sewing, stamping, packing, etc. Most pay somewhere between 1500-2500 per month (US$220-360) Dorm accommodation (8 to a room) and meals are provided (we ate lunch there everyday and it was quite good.)


Everything comes from somewhere. We went to a huge mall where the shops were selling all the components I forget to think about: decals, antennas, LEDs, capacitors, etc. etc.

A whole floor with keys and buttons for cell phones, computers, and calculators. There was another floor dedicated entirely to wires for chargers, accessories, etc. Looking at this stuff all gathered in one place before being dispersed to individual products provides a new perspective. It also makes this article stand out in sharp relief:
To maintain our standard of living, each person in the United States requires over 48,000 pounds of minerals each year...


I wanted to get the New Balance/Nike hybrids but they didn't have any in my size. In fact, in the roughly 15 shoe stalls I visited, no one did. And then I decided that was fine cause I was going to start considering my consumption more critically anyway. Question: do I really need this? Then ask five whys. It's incredibly annoying, and quite effective in curbing purchases.

On top of one of the dorms we found these fermenting meat(?) balls. I had been warned about interesting food in China, and while we met with some challenging dishes to be sure (and I have to concur with John's repeated references to the remarkable unpleasantness of cold chicken feet for breakfast) the food on the whole was great. Our hosts took us out to banquets nearly every night, accompanied by plenty of baijou (like rice whiskey). We tried a vast array of things, and while China is no place for a vegetarian or someone squeamish about texture, we ate so well than I gained 5 pounds.


Speaking of our fantastic hosts: I can't say enough good things about them, in and out of the office. China is one of the best countries you can visit if you want to encounter friendly, helpful, and incredibly gracious people. Despite our utter lack of Mandarin our new friends were patient, had a great sense of humor, and were excited to share their culture. Also, they delighted in taking us on culinary adventures, with many rounds of "try this... do you like it?" Asking "what is it?" only results in another round. Baijou shots are incorporated throughout. I won't go into the various exotic items and firsts I tried, but my favorite dishes tended to be the lowest on the food chain. It's worth noting the reverence that meal time seems to be afforded. It is very social, and relaxed, with lots of little rituals. I enjoyed it very much, and it was the primary bonding time for our group.

The staff at ICO, who we partnered with for this project, are awesome. Not only do they do really important work, they made us feel welcome from our first day. I thanked them in kind by mastering mah jong.

As we were in China on behalf of the fashion industry, we tried on some local garb. Pictured here with us is our guide, translator, and general minder Zhou Xu Han, aka Allison (almost all Chinese who deal with westerners us English names. I was always curious to hear about how they go about selecting these names, but Allison "just liked it"), aka Jo Jo. She was far and away the MVP of the team and we wouldn't have had any success without her. Thanks Jo Jo! (Unfortunantely neither Jo Jo nor anyone else in mainland China can access this blog due to censorship laws.)

Winter Time

It's cold in Karlskrona, and we're having more snow than locals have seen in ten years. We're having more snow than some of my classmates have seen ever. Pravin and Samuel, from India and Guatemala respectively, hadn't seen snow till it arrived. Sledding with them was great. The above picture is looking out my living room window. The picture below is of Shala, who is from Iran, moments before her first sledding experience. Note the awesome! handmade sled/barge constructed by Nathan, old skis screwed into a shipping pallet.

This is a picture of the Baltic Sea. What is it with me and places where the oceans freeze? Reminds me of the beautiful beaches in Wakkanai...

Here is the Baltic again, this time hosting some friendly neighborhood pick up hockey.

This is my standard winter outfit. The glasses were purchased for joke/costume purposes, but have been conscripted into regular use after the loss of my others. The hat, which is incredibly warm but also a little ostentatious in its own right, does little to make the glasses less conspicuous.

I was going strong on biking in the winter, but then the internal gear shift on my back wheel froze. And then it really started snowing. Here's my street before another 10cm or so dropped last night.

Cross country skiing could potentially become my favorite winter pursuit if I could learn how to turn.

I didn't fall a lot, but when I did it was often at fair speed, as a substitute for turning, and resulted in faceplants.

Istanbul

Istanbul, ne Constantinople, ne Byzantium, a city of 17 million along both shores of the bosphorus, and my destination for winter vacation this year. These pictures are a bit haphazardly organized, but hopefully convey my new found love for the legendary Ottoman capital.

The view form the Galata bridge. In the foreground are floating restaurants that serve fried fish on a bun.

Another, less ostentaious fish seller working out of his boat, at the harbor in Ishikoy.

Minarets outfitted with cell phone relays. Maintaining aesthetics and culture vs. modernizatoin and cost saving, common sense design...

High up on the list of things to love about Istanbul, and there are many, is fresh squeezed juice stands everywhere. $1 for a glass of fresh pomegranate juice might be the best deal ever, anywhere.

Cay (Chai) is served everywhere, all the time. On the street, on the ferry, in the restaurants, at home, etc. always in this distinctive stubby flute. Always glass, always a little porcelin service plate with a sugar cube, and metal spoon; no disposable plastic ever. Very classy.

A special butcher shop that doesn't sell meat, just everything else.

Ece's mom (Ane-cim) and myself had a very warm relationship. She makes some of the most incredible food I've ever had. And I won her backgammon board. Teşekkürler Ane!

Ece was a fantastic host for this trip, so introducing her to the genius of Frank Herbert's Dune was the least I could to to repay her.

These girls mistook Matt for someone famous (Joey Fatone?) and asked for a picture. The famous Blue Mosque is in the background.

Inside the Blue mosque.

The spread for New Year's Eve Dinner. A side note: Every single meal in turkey is served with bread, usually a loaf of fluffy, fresh white bread.

This is a view of the Beyolgu neighborhood from the Tokapi Palace, looking out across the Golden Horn. Our Apartment was right next to the Galata tower.

This was the view from the balcony of our apartment. Amazing. Thanks Jannan!

This is the Aya Sofia Mosque, and it is 1500 years old. It has one of the largest domes in the world, and was the biggest cathedral in the world for almost a thousand years. Minorly embarrassing that I was almost equally impressed by the scaffolding, which has apparently been up long enough to be considered part of the architecture. Wikipedia took a better picture than me:

Traffic in Istanbul was terrifying. Turkish drivers are completely unphased by lanes, blinkers, pedestrians, or other vehicles. Ece was an amazing driver, and I never got behind the wheel. Too bad I was unable to capture the bedlam of the roads with the camera, but it was a source of constant excitement. Woe to the cyclist who braves the streets of Istanbul, my hat is off to you (both of you... I saw two the whole trip.)

Matt-o and I enjoyed a lot of Efes beer, nargile (flavored tobacco through a hookah) and backgammon. Backgammon, much to my delight, is a great game it turns out. I've always dismissed it as a convenient throw in for those 5 in 1 game sets that everyone gets me for christmas, but there is actually a nice combination of luck and skill. It's perfect for conversation and passing time while people watching, and despite the chilly evenings the streets were still lined with tables. In the summer time, I think I would do little else.

The ever present fishermen of Galata bridge pull untold buckets of little silver fish from the Golden Horn.

This is Iskender kebab. It is beef kebab covered in a buttery sauce, served over rice with veggies and a kind of cheese. It's much better than it sounds, and though provides substantial calories it is the only meal you will require for the day.

Stray cats everywhere, and this local seemed baffled by my willingness to touch one. But it wasn't a stray cat, it was a stray kitten.

THIS is a stray cat. Living down by the water, patroling the fish market, and clearly an alpha bruiser. I did not pet him.

Another tough guy/gal getting theirs in Beyoglu. Side note: I can't believe I forgot to photograph the stray dogs of Beyolgu. We had two big fellows who lived in the square, lazing about and making rounds for territory and handouts. The Turks have a great system for strays, vaccinating them, tagging them, and them leaving them to their business. They never bother anyone, and are quite keen to be pet and scratched. I never did cause they were kind of gross, but locals showed lots of love. Also interesting was the absence of packs. It was nice to see such a low key approach (leave them alone and they will sort themselves out) work so successfully.

Going to the barber is something I always enjoy when visiting another country. It's a great way to experience a culture, as it is both active and passive. You just get to sit there and observe the daily goings on at the barber shop, which is almost universally guys shooting the shit. I got the full service treatment that include a wide variety of lotions, creams, and ablutions as well as a flaming wand that was slapped on the side of my head repeatedly to (presumably) remove the fine hair in and on my ears. I was reminded of a similar experience in India, but thankfully my Turkish experience did not include spinal adjustments:

Here is a video from the Galata bridge. One of my favorite things about Istanbul was the sound of the daily calls to prayer echoing around the city. It felt very exotic and special, but the citizens on the street almost didn't hear it, because of course it's just a normal part of the auditory landscape. Still, I was struck each time I heard them, and I stood listening as the city went about it's business.

Copenhagen March

Posting awfully late, so any updates about the "deal" that was struck in Copenhagen will be stale. Those of you that are curious (if you're not curious you should be) will already have read the reams that have been written, so I won't go into it here.
Needless to say, the delegates failed to step up to the plate and surprise everyone with courageous leadership, bold moves, and real solutions to what is most certainly (and without scientific doubt) a global climate crisis. Their message to us seems clear: Solve it yourselves, because your governments are incompetent. Thanks, guys. We will try.

In addition to many workshops, meetings, and other awesome events, I checked out the march that featured 100,000 people and every cause imaginable.

Communists? Of course. It still surprises me how the rest of the world views communism as a legitimate if a bit misguided political movement (much like republicans) rather than an insult.

The green energy folks were there too, sense of humor intact.

Anarchists never miss a march.

Reminding the crowd "Respect our police" and "Don't Be Idiots", some Danes turned out to with some always prudent advice.

The Jubilee Debt relief peeps were out in force.

Role playing enthusiasts, welcome at any event, were present and accounted for with a reminder that we need to role a natural 20 critical-hit in the fight against climate change.

I originally thought this was a pride flag, but after seeing a lot of rainbows in many context here in Europe I'm starting to think that maybe it has more of a "diversity" connotation than an expressly gay one.

Marijuana supporters again remind everyone their theory that there is a very simple answer to many of the worlds ills...

This guy might not have a huge sign and bunch of people carrying it, but my feeling is that he is on the right track.

good idea

This picture was taken through a Copenhagen store's front door. "Look guys, here's the till, its empty, please don't break a window for no reason."

I have also left the figurative till in the window for the past month. But there are posts coming soon.

Climate Scoreboard

Sorry this tool doesn't look great here, but click on the climate interactive logo and check it out. It is a real time update of the climate talks in Copenhagen... It puts together all the different proposals and treaties on the table and synthesizes them into where we're at right now. It's basically a short hand calculator for where they're at in Copenhagen.

Warning

1992!? How have I (we!) not heard of this?

http://deoxy.org/sciwarn.htm

If you don't click through (but you should), this is what's up... 1,700 of the world's leading scientists, including the majority of Nobel laureates in the sciences, want to tell us something:

"Human beings and the natural world are on a collision course. Human activities inflict harsh and often irreversible damage on the environment and on critical resources. If not checked, many of our current practices put at serious risk the future that we wish for human society and the plant and animal kingdoms, and may so alter the living world that it will be unable to sustain life in the manner that we know. Fundamental changes are urgent if we are to avoid the collision our present course will bring about."
(emphasis mine of course)

We give people Noble prizes because we deem them to be the smartest among us. I would venture that these guys don't just go signing their name to whatever white paper passes through their inbox. But MOST of them signed this, along with a lot of other top dogs. Why wasn't this news story of the decade? The guys that spend all their time studying natural systems are very worried. Or WERE very worried, 17 years ago. I'm sure their feeling much better now seeing the way things have played out.

COP 15 starts tomorrow. I wonder if our "leaders" feel the same sense of urgency our best scientists felt 17 years ago... Good grief.

What are we going to do?