How often do we really stop to think about our common infrastructure, and how greatly we depend upon it each day to do our jobs and take care of our families? Public infrastructure includes many different elements, including roads and highways, bridges, waste and sewer systems and water treatment and distribution systems, transportation systems... These are public works that we make use of every day.

And in the US, they need work. Physically, many structures are decaying. Systemically, the works haven't yet caught up to what we need in order to protect the environment in the present and long-term. Think for a minute. Under President Eisenhower, massive work was done to create interstate highways that crossed the country - this coincided time-wise with the explosion of the automobile industry. These efforts led to massive changes in our cities and our daily lives - the birth of the suburbs and shopping centers and malls, the deaths of inner cities and mom-and-pop businesses. We are now recognizing how the reliance on roads and cars has affected us in unexpected and not-so-good ways... but that's another story for another day.

In the 21st century, we are called on to re-examine our structures and systems in terms of safety, environmental, social, and economic needs. We have the ability to collaboratively imagine how we might meet our communal needs in better ways, taking into account what we now know about pollution, the effects of degraded environments on economic, physical, and mental health, the importance of community connections and relationships for our well-being, and so on. It is a different paradigm that we must use, as we imagine and create together.

In Pittsburgh, we have wonderful opportunities to think about these issues - and to act. We need our bridges to function as an integrated city - they need work. Our sewer and water systems are ready for an overhaul. We have willing and able citizens who need jobs. We have the knowledge, skill, and experience base within our citizenry to make these changes in ways that will protect the environment and our health and well-being. Let's talk.

First, from the Pittsburgh Interfaith Impact Network comes an opportunity for people to be visible in showing both the need for jobs for citizens who really want to work AND the need for the nation to strengthen its physical infrastructure. According to PIIN, the Greenfield Bridge is structurally deficient and falling apart. Millions of unemployed people could be put to work fixing crumbling roads, bridges, and other infrastructure like this, across the country - let's urge our leaders to think about how this could be a WIN-WIN situation. Actually, let's become leaders - become part of a Participatory Democracy, as opposed to or even side by side with a Representative Democracy, speaking out directly about concerns and creating and communicating about possible solutions. 

If you want to be present at an event that will involve a conversation that addresses both the jobs issue and the infrastructure needs in a positive direction, consider coming to the Day of Action on the Greenfield Bridge. Details are below:

When: Thursday, November 17 · 5:30pm - 8:30pm
Where: Gather at Magee Park, followed by a march to the Greenfield Bridge, 745 Greenfield Ave,
Pittsburgh, PA

AND.... EDUCATE YOURSELF ABOUT ANOTHER ASPECT OF THE INFRASTRUCTURE - OUR AGING SEWERS...  Alcosan is currently proposing one of the most comprehensive overhauls of our sewer system that we have ever seen - it will take years to complete. The work has not yet been started, so this is the time to speak up about using what we now know about green technology to do this project right. Alcosan is holding a series of town meetings to solicit input from community members about their plans - info is available on their web-site. Tonight, there will be a town meeting on the Southside. Details: 

Wednesday, November 9th, 5:30pm - 7:30pm
I.B.E.W. #5 Circuit Center & Ballroom (Region-wide)
5 Hot Metal Street | Pittsburgh, PA 15203 

How fortunate we are to be able to speak up and show up in public to address situations that concern all of us. I hope to see you at one of these events!

A new bicycle! Who knew that today's bicycles are spiffier and speedier than the last one that I bought 18 years ago? 8/24 gears vs 7/21 gears, lighter yet sturdier, with blinky lights and saddle bags. I did my first commute to work today - what fun!

So. Shifting gears a bit.... I have been writing a lot about issues of energy production and consumption, and related impacts on the environment and people. I will continue with this soon - I think it is important and I believe that these issues will have an increasingly noticeable effect on our daily lives for some time to come.

But today, I want to talk about wellness - health and well-being - and about some ideas that my friend Leah is thinking about. Leah is a graduate of Chatham's MS in Counseling Psychology program - she is a very competent, bright, and energetic woman. When she introduces me to friends or colleagues, she refers to me as her mentor. A little secret -- this is kind of backwards, as I most definitely see her as my mentor!

Leah has a wonderful job teaching yoga to children K-8 in a laboratory school associated with a university in Pittsburgh. She is thinking about developing a Wellness Program for her students, so we sat down to talk about how to do this. Leah had done some preliminary lit searches, and found that much of the research on childhood wellness is actually limited to studies about how to address childhood obesity - a worthy cause, for sure, but not necessarily representative of all of the aspects of a young person's life that contribute to (or detract from) wellness. Other things we read focused on physical, mental, social, and emotional health - how to eat right, exercise, manage feelings, solve problems, get along with others, learn in school. 

Leah and I talked about our own childhoods and children, and brainstormed about what other domains of wellness, in the best of all possible worlds, might be worth presenting to kids. As we talked, Leah and I realized that we were both intrigued by a more comprehensive perspective of wellness that would embrace a child's ability to live a well-balanced life - weathering ups and downs in pretty healthy ways, knowing when and how and whom to ask for help, understanding one's own gifts and "growing edges" - in addition to the more traditional aspects of wellness described above. For us, wellness is not an end or a goal; it is a life-long process of making decisions, working with others, acting and thinking and feeling. Individuals who have the skills, knowledge, or wisdom to live (or try to live) in such ways will be able to sustain themselves through much of what life throws at them - not avoiding pain, loss, hurt, or mistakes, but thinking and adapting in pretty healthy ways, sooner or later, when they get off-track. 

So we have mental, physical, social, and emotional health, and more vague, but probably also very important, life-skills and self-awareness domains that might constitute wellness. I would probably add a couple of other domains to the mix -- one area of interest to me is that of financial health. What can we do for our children that fosters healthy practices and perspectives related to money, spending, and saving? I would also add something about self-in-the-universe -- that is really not a good way of saying it, I know - but I think it is very cool to parent or teach in ways that keep children's questions about their place in the universe active, that foster imaginings about their purpose in life. Do they feel connected to something much bigger than themselves? Do they have a sense of awe and wonder about life and its mysteries? And finally - probably related to the whole self-in-the-universe thing - I would add something about humans and nature - the place or role of humans in the non-human natural world - again, nurturing curiosity and questions more than providing easy answers.

How does this sound so far? What, if anything, would you add or take out? Is any of this the least bit relevant for you or your kids? Think back to your own early years -- what domains of wellness were you exposed to - directly or indirectly? In school or at home, or both? Did you figure out all of the important stuff on your own? Are there things that you wish you had been exposed to that you were not? Would it have made any difference?

I am curious about whether or not you think that adults (whether in the family, communities, or schools) have the capability of providing a wellness perspective to kids in a way that can be truly beneficial to them. How important are we as models for kids - models of what to be or what not to be? Or are we talking here about life lessons that must eventually be learned on one's own, through trial and error? From a larger perspective, does what we do or talk about have the potential of effecting change in a community? When I post something to my blog, can it make a difference? Or do we live by Darwinian principles, each struggling and adapting on our own, and sinking if we just can't do it?

So much of my identity as a citizen, a psychologist, a professor, and a parent is wrapped up in thinking about wellness, growth, and change in positive ways. I wonder about what helpful roles, if any, I can play in certain situations - by educating, providing feedback, modeling, listening, questioning.... OR by being quiet and getting out of the way - maybe just by being a witness from close-up or from far away. I know that my own wellness has ultimately been my own responsibility - and I also know that I have had witnesses and supporters who have helped me along the way.

So -- I can say with certainty that I learned much from my parents and other adults about health and well-being and the "good life" - working and playing hard, appreciating music and other of life's gifts, taking care of others - lessons that were enriched by my own life experiences, but rooted also in my relationships with these people. I can say with certainty that I learned from their courage and derring-do, and have thus been able to take important risks in my own life. 

And, more specifically, I can say with certainty that I benefited from my dad's time, patience, and energy as he taught me to ride a bike - much easier than learning on my own :) Wish me luck as I head back home on my trusty new vehicle!

I have missed writing to you - whomever and wherever you are! I spent the last several days in New York City, celebrating Michael's MBA graduation and his and Leah's coming marriage. We also had lots of time for all of us - Michael, Leah, Julie, Tony, Joel, Jackie, Seth, Patty, Joe, Scott - and lots of their friends - to just hang out, eat, and have a good time.

Before I left for NYC, I told my dad that I was taking the Megabus to NYC - the Megabus now has direct routes between several major cities, including Pittsburgh and New York. I was really pumped about what I knew would be a cool adventure - and about the low cost of it - $20.50 ROUND TRIP. You read that right - $20.50! It took about 4 more hours than the air travel would have, if I added up travel to the airport from home, and to and from the NYC airport by taxi, and the time needed to go through security, and the probable delays. (And I didn't have to deal with the flight cancellation that Tony and Julie experienced - which added about nine hours to their trip.) But I didn't think I would mind the extra few hours - no security lines, at least intermittent wi-fi and electricity, a couple of short stops to stretch my legs, a chance to meet new people in a place with a little more leg room than a plane, and LOWER COST!

My dad then mailed me an article about ideas for train travel in KY - here is another interesting article with an interesting factoid about trains....

....the upgrade of a freeway mile costs about $10 million, while the upgrade of a track mile costs $1 million. And a freeway lane will carry 2,000 people per hour, but a railway mile can carry 10 times that.

Dad said that he thought I just might blog about the environmental impacts of various types of travel - so this is what I am doing now! One way to measure environmental impact is to look at the carbon footprint of an activity or product - the amount of related CO2 (carbon dioxide) emissions. What are CO2 emissions and why is this issue important? 

CO2 is emitted and absorbed as part of a natural carbon cycle involving plants, oceans, and animals, including humans. Since the 1700s and the onset of the Industrial Revolution, CO2 emissions into the atmosphere have increased significantly as a result of human activities involving the burning of oil, coal and gas, as well as deforestation. Higher CO2 emissions are associated with many 21st century activities that we take for granted - car travel, eating food that has been transported from another state or even country, eating processed foods or meat, wearing clothes that are manufactured on another continent and transported here. CO2 emissions - greenhouse gases - are implicated in climate change and global warming, which in turn have an effect on weather events, air/atmosphere quality, physical health, land preservation - these are all connected.  

So - here is information about the different levels of CO2 emissions associated with different forms of transportation for one person - traveling to and from NYC and Pittsburgh:

• Train = .02 metric tons of CO2 
• Coach = .04 metric tons - a coach is a fancy bus with a bathroom and larger seats than a city bus 
• Plane = .14 metric tons - .11 for flight + .03 for cabs to and from airport to city  
• Car = .24 metric tons based on Honda Fit automatic transmission

The train wins based on CO2 emissions - but the coach emissions are only a little more, and the dollar cost is much less (based on my experience). I don't know why, but I was really surprised at the car figure - it really inspires me to do more mass/public transportation even locally.

Greg Boulos, a Pittsburgh organic farmer and environmental activist, has said that the worst addiction that Americans currently have is the "addiction to convenience" - to wanting to get where we want to go whenever we want as fast as possible, as conveniently as possible; to eat what we want whenever we want to regardless of local growing seasons; to buy goods at the lowest cost regardless of the "true cost" involved in environmental impact, exploitation of factory workers, etc. 

I have talked here about energy use and abuse, climate change related to human activities, social justice issues involved with all of this. I have talked a bit about peak oil and changes predicted for the future, the need to find alternative sources of energy rather than relying primarily on fossil fuels. The reality also is that we humans, particularly in the US, are called to examine and change our lifestyle - we can do it pro-actively or we can do it under duress when external circumstances demand that we change. Am I being unpatriotic when I say this - bashing our nation? Not at all - I am looking at data from many sources, including here - I urge you to click on this link and play with the site a little, and see what you think. It is not about guilt and defensiveness about how we live - it is about just thinking and exploring and imagining, and seeing where this takes you.


The good news about the changes that we can make is that we can benefit in so many ways beyond convenience and material comfort. On my bus trip, I met a young woman who is starting out on her career as an opera singer, and a young man who shared his extension cord with me when my outlet didn't work (he did admit, when asked, that he was an Eagle Scout - always prepared!), and listened to a large group of women who were returning home after a mission trip. We have much to gain socially, spiritually, physically, and mentally in doing things a little differently. 

I would love to hear from you - let me know what you think!