Sunday TeaRoom 2/22/09 Are TeaChatters Nature lovers?

[shogun89]

I love nature. I love anything outdoors, gardening, hiking, boating, fishing and trying to get into deer hunting, which some people find is anti nature but I beg to differ. Plan on studying green technology in college.

[Victoria]

Nice picture Drax! Love the red!

Yes, very much a nature lover. Trees, plants, birds, ocean life, animals, you name it. Not so big on insects, however I will put them outside rather than kill them when I can. So that in itself probably qualifies me for the higher end of the scale.

More Baozhong Oolong in my morning cup.

Have a nice day everyone!

[gingkoseto]

I love nature. I love anything outdoors, gardening, hiking, boating, fishing and trying to get into deer hunting, which some people find is anti nature but I beg to differ. Plan on studying green technology in college.

Once a man fed me with elk meat. He is a great hunter and naturalist. From him I learned a lot about the natural philosophy of hunting. I can't hunt, but enjoy the products of hunting

As for the vote question, I think I am a big nature lover. But my husband beats me in every aspect as a nature lover, and he is not even a tea drinker

[scruffmcgruff]

Sort of a nature lover here. I appreciate natural beauty and such, but I don't know the names of many species. I also wouldn't be caught dead in a PETA or greenpeace meeting, but I assume I am not alone in that way.

[augie]

Define "Nature Lover". I appreciate nature, houseplants, taking care of my yard. However I would prefer to live in the city. I don't get excited watching deer eat my flowers at 5:00 a.m. I don't think it's cute when the raccoons tip over my trash can and leave a mess all over the yard.

[acdidion]

I grew up in a rural area, so as a kid I had plenty of nature to explore. I've always enjoyed spending time outdoors and I think that the more green stuff a place has, the more pleasant it is to live in. I do enjoy the city, but I am not sure I would enjoy living in a large city since I have lived in small towns my whole life. Im going to be living in Southern California in a year and Im really not sure if I will like it, but that is where my fiance is stationed and we have no choice.

As for pets, my parents have two dogs and a cat. The most recent addition to the family, a one year old Labrador Retriever, is an avid nature lover herself and she is the best companion for camping and hiking.

[Intuit]

I have no idea how one extrapolates from drinking teas to being a nature lover. Walking in the woods and enjoying hiking does not necessarily a nature lover make.

Similarly, pet ownership does not equate to being a nature lover.
Irresponsible pet owners are the root cause of an enormous social problem that has serious public health and environmental impact - pet overpopulation.
The fiscal burden will soon result in animal shelters being closed. Be afraid.

I concur with Salsero on pets. Many people rely increasingly on their pets to fill the gap in lagging social connectedness with family, friends and community. Before the rise of the multi-billion dollar pet food industry in the last 5 decades, cats and dogs were working animals in mostly rural environments; relatively few were kept in homes that were kept purely as pets.

Now money is tight again. Pet discard rate is skyrocketing. The CDC is finally catching on that the epidemic of new-to-humans cold- and -flu-like viruses, like coronaviruses, just might find a convenient reservoir in our ill-kept pets.

blarson is an example of a nature lover: an active volunteer in environmental preservation and student of nature.

On tea drinking: traditional tea gardens are planted on highly erosive soils and have damaged/supplanted the local ecology in every single place they have been erected. Tea production (heating/roasting/pan firing) causes air and water pollution, as does heavy use of pesticides and fertilizers.

Only the biodynamic tea estates can claim to attempt to address a portion of the environmental damage caused by tea cultivation.

Jasmine oolong in my cup. TKY later on.

[geeber1]

On tea drinking: traditional tea gardens are planted on highly erosive soils and have damaged/supplanted the local ecology in every single place they have been erected. Tea production (heating/roasting/pan firing) causes air and water pollution, as does heavy use of pesticides and fertilizers.

Only the biodynamic tea estates can claim to attempt to address a portion of the environmental damage caused by tea cultivation.

Jasmine oolong in my cup. TKY later on.

I'm not trying to argue about your statement, but have a question. What would be planted in the erosive soil if tea wasn't planted there? Would the soil just wash away and cause other environmental damage? Also, in India especially, the tea plantations raise the quality of life for their workers by providing housing, health care, etc. Is that canceled out by the pollution?

Can you be a nature lover and still drink tea?

[Cinnamon Kitty]

I used to be more of a nature lover than I currently am. I was once involved in the high school Envirothon team and was a student member of the town Environmental Commission. We used to do all the fun stream testing and bird watching stuff, like monitoring blue bird boxes. I also love gardening and wandering through the fields and woods behind my house. I've gotten to the point where most bugs don't bother me since my fiance loves insects. He's a biology major who often brings me the bugs that he finds to show me how awesome they are. One morning, I even got woken up to a woolly bear caterpillar being proudly placed on my pillow.

Today, I am drinking some Yutaka Midori.

[Intuit]

Tea supplanted coffee production in some locations, after plant diseases wiped out coffee plantations - that helped expand tea production in the past, improving supply and spurring promotion of tea drinking beyond the wealthy classes, at about the same time that the Industrial Era brought increased wealth and improved living conditions to the newly emerging middle class. More than a hundred years later, echoing economic conditions are once again heard and seen.

The booming demand for coffee and tea of the last decade is tied to growing wealth of the newest members of the middle class in Asia and SE Asia. The Middle Class now numbers approximately 1/2 of worlds population. The number of tea bush acres planted has grown very quickly as a result of this wealth and in response to new demand for higher quality teas, pushing tea growing regions to expand hydroelectric power production and irrigation to newly developed areas, with water supply and environmental disturbance consequences downstream.

Coffee and tea estates do provide work to rural communities, no doubt. But these workers have been historically exploited. Most of the tea-growing nations have scant resources for infrastructure development to support tea production, so improperly built roads and expanding housing development are adding to erosion. Power outtages are frequent, too, and growing untreated human waste in these delicate ecosystems is very problematic.

Biodynamic/organic cropping and fair-trade pricing of coffees and teas address some, but not all, of the sticky issues of fair labor practices and environmental degradation associated with monoculture. You see no discussion here of either fair trade or biodynamic tea production - I think many teachatters are unaware of these practices, but if they were, they might support them if informed.

[Chip]

I have no idea how one extrapolates from drinking teas to being a nature lover. Walking in the woods and enjoying hiking does not necessarily a nature lover make.

Similarly, pet ownership does not equate to being a nature lover.
Irresponsible pet owners are the root cause of an enormous social problem that has serious public health and environmental impact - pet overpopulation.
The fiscal burden will soon result in animal shelters being closed. Be afraid.

I concur with Salsero on pets. Many people rely increasingly on their pets to fill the gap in lagging social connectedness with family, friends and community. Before the rise of the multi-billion dollar pet food industry in the last 5 decades, cats and dogs were working animals in mostly rural environments; relatively few were kept in homes that were kept purely as pets.

Now money is tight again. Pet discard rate is skyrocketing. The CDC is finally catching on that the epidemic of new-to-humans cold- and -flu-like viruses, like coronaviruses, just might find a convenient reservoir in our ill-kept pets.

blarson is an example of a nature lover: an active volunteer in environmental preservation and student of nature.

On tea drinking: traditional tea gardens are planted on highly erosive soils and have damaged/supplanted the local ecology in every single place they have been erected. Tea production (heating/roasting/pan firing) causes air and water pollution, as does heavy use of pesticides and fertilizers.

Only the biodynamic tea estates can claim to attempt to address a portion of the environmental damage caused by tea cultivation.

Jasmine oolong in my cup. TKY later on.

And yet you did not answer the question, "are you a nature lover?" Just a simple "tearoom teaday" question.

This is a simple get to know each other a little question, not an invitation to slam others for their beliefs with impressive rhetoric. We are not here to judge one another.

Humanity is the biggest polluter the earth has ever seen, ok, no argument. But isn't there a positive to the appreciation and love of nature, looking at a massive oak tree and simply admiring its awesome strength and power? Spotting a hawk on its branches and simply feeling a bit excited each time. Or however one finds their own personal love of nature ...

You managed to cast judgement upon just about anyone who owns a pet or even calls themself a nature lover ... or even drinks tea. Yet I wonder how environmentally responsible you are IRL.

[Chip]

Tea supplanted coffee production in some locations, after plant diseases wiped out coffee plantations - that helped expand tea production in the past, improving supply and spurring promotion of tea drinking beyond the wealthy classes, at about the same time that the Industrial Era brought increased wealth and improved living conditions to the newly emerging middle class.

The booming demand for coffee and tea of the last decade is tied to growing wealth of the newest members of the middle class in Asia and SE Asia. The Middle Class now numbers approximately 1/2 of worlds population. The number of tea bush acres planted has grown very quickly as a result of this wealth and in response to new demand for higher quality teas, pushing tea growing regions to expand hydroelectric power production and irrigation to newly developed areas, with water supply and environmental disturbance consequences downstream.

Coffee and tea estates do provide work to rural communities, no doubt. But these workers have been historically exploited. Most of the tea-growing nations have scant resources for infrastructure development to support tea production, so improperly built roads and expanding housing development are adding to erosion. Power outtages are frequent, too, and human waste production in these delicate ecosystems is very problematic.

Biodynamic/organic cropping and fair-trade pricing of coffees and teas address some, but not all, of the sticky issues of fair labor practices and environmental degradation associated with monoculture. You see no discussion here of either fair trade or biodynamic tea production - I think many teachatters are unaware of these practices, but if they were, they might support them if informed.

Can you offer studies or other verification of these statements?

There have been fair trade topics (not so sure about biodynamic tea production), and you are welcome to start such topics.

[Chip]

I have always considered myself to be a "nature lover" and even considered entering the environmental science field. I love trees, am often in awe of them. A massive oak tree that has weathered centuries in harsh climates, a redwood that towers above all other trees, a sequoia the most massive tree on the planet, a gnarly bristlecone pine thought to be the oldest living thing on earth.

Bringing it home, Japanese Maples have always been special to me. Cacti and succulents, orchids ... well, it is a long list. I love fawna as well, and one day have a masochistic desire to observe a grizzly "close up."

Started the day with a brand new organic fukamushi from Yuuki-Cha, it is a Yutaka Midori! I will use more leaf next time I think. It was good as SweeTea can attest, Pyrit was very closely watching me prepare tea ... very strange!

[auggy]

I voted "no" instead of "definitely no" because I only like nature in a tropical context or nature that has been made more "people friendly" - state parks, gardens, etc.

Pets are another issue. I have never felt that people can or should own animals and I don't understand the habit of keeping animals in the home. But then I've never wanted a foreign exchange student either!

Speaking of foreign exchange students, that's just what our own Auggy was when she learned about sencha.

So true! Though now I'm contemplating the pet-like aspects of exchange students.

As for owning animals, I definitely don't feel that I own my cats. They are really part of my family so I don't own them any more than I own hubby. Though now that I think about it.... Anyway, all but one of my cats are rescues. They had been abandoned (our neighborhood used to be more rural and lots of people would dump animals) so we ended up taking them in to give them a better life. I like to think we are successful. That and I'm a softie for anything cute and furry.

Vanilla orchid black in my cup today.

[Salsero]

Nice yunomi! Which size is it?

It is 175 ml (5.9 oz).