My fascination with cryptocurrency actually began in 2015.  If you have read my book, Deconditioning Ground, you may remember Carlos, the mysterious man from Mexico, that stayed at my house for a month in 2014.  Carlos actually did come back into town in August of 2015.  He paid for his room with silver and left me a bitcoin tip.

The tip he left me was 0.005 bitcoin, which was about 8 cents back then, but today it is worth around $12.  In two years, the value has gone up 150 times.  I should have had him pay for the room with bitcoin not silver.  I think he paid with 2 ounces of silver for two nights.  The silver was worth about $32 then and still $32 now. In comparison, the bitcoin would be worth $4,800.  Just imagine…

I was pretty trusting of him, since I let him install a program on my computer which actually has a complete copy of the block chain.  I remember being slightly suspicious, since when it was open it really slowed down my computer.  (What was it doing?)

Now I know that when I have the program open, it updates the block chain.  I only do this once a month, since it takes about 3 hours for the missing four weeks to download and uses more data than I am allotted with my rural internet.  In the good-ole-days, people could actually mine for bitcoins on their home computers.  Now, specialty equipment has made at home regular prospecting obsolete.

You might be wondering what a block chain is, or even what a Bitcoin.  First off, I am not really sure if I even know.  Somehow, people are making money and other people, like me, are buying it with US dollars.  A recent article would call me a “dumb money” investor.  But I’ll go ahead and tell you my lay-women’s understanding of it all.

Bitcoin was the first cryptocurrency.  Basically, it is some sort of computer algorithm program that people all over the world can download.  I think the one on my computer is just like the ones all over the world.  This is what is required for mining bitcoin.

When people “mine” cryptocurrency, it isn’t like digging around in the code looking for the money.  It is more like as you are building the next link in the block chain, bitcoins fall out.  Everyone running the program is mining, or building the next link in the chain, but only operations that go the fastest can get the coin.

The other thing about cryptocurrencies is that the block chain also records exchanges.  When I sell or buy bitcoin the transaction becomes imbedded into the code of the block chain.  If you want your transfer verified fast, you can pay a small fee and that goes to the people that are mining.  This gives them an incentive to record your transaction first in the new link in the chain they are working on.

Earlier in the year, I tried to purchase something with bitcoin and didn’t want to pay the fee for instant verification.  The bitcoin I sent to the vendor took 72 hours to be incorporated in the block chain, and by then the vendor had cancelled the transaction.  Once it was verified, the vendor sent the coin back to me.  No loss, but I get a little jittery with cyber transactions like that.  However, I can imagine gaining greater comfort as I get accustomed to the process.

As part of settling back down here is Sonoma County I have been plugging into local networks.  One great resource is Wacco Bulletin Board.  It is sort of like a craigslist, but with the intent of connecting conscious community.

About a week ago, I saw a post by someone asking for people’s opinion regarding zero waste.  He posted this video:

The idea of zero waste lifestyle is not new to me, and I’ve seen other people talk about their experience.  The idea intrigues me.  It fits right in with my values.  Might not be too hard to do; I am already a small waste generator.  For instance, it has been about two months since I’ve been to the dump (Yup, no mandatory garbage pick up here.) and I’ve got just a can of garbage – which is about half the size of those large cans I used to have in Phoenix.

I have been asking myself, “What would it take for our household to go zero waste by 2018?”

Very thought provoking.  What would your life look like if you went zero waste?  Are there changes that would be easy? and others that would be impossible?

Bea Johnson gives these guidelines for creating zero waste:

1. Refuse
2. Reduce
3. Reuse
4. Recycle
5. Rot

The first big step is “refuse” things that will just end up in the waste stream.  This means I need to change where I shop.  In Phoenix, I got into the habit of shopping at Trader Joes.  They use tons of packaging on their vegetables!  It is easy enough for me to refuse that packaging by switching to purchasing my vegetables from one of the local produce stands.

What else would I need to refuse to eliminate waste?  Would I be willing to do it?  Could it be fun?

I think it is important to be aware of what we are doing and the consequences of our actions.  Generating waste is not just about having trash to get rid of, it is about the resources that go into the creation of that piece of plastic in the first place.

A zero waste lifestyle is also an excellent exercise in mindfulness.  Could refusing one plastic to-go container ultimately impact our health and the health of our children and the planet?  In how many different ways?  In my blog post, temptations, I illustrate my process of refusing to buy something inexpensive that I really wanted after I thought through the consequences of my actions.

So why wait until 2018 to go zero waste?  First, there is a lot of trash inside and outside of the house and at the farm that has accumulated.  I am waiting for summer to really clear the property.  Second, it is going to take me awhile to switch the stores I buy food from and set up the systems for a zero waste lifestyle.  Third, I am not sure I am 100% committed to the change.  I want to give myself sometime to ease into it.

The final question is, “Why would anyone adopt a zero waste lifestyle?”

While some people may be motivated by the lifestyle as an ideal, that is not me.  I wouldn’t feel like a failure if I got down to one garbage can full a year or even generated more.  I am more motivated by the challenge.  I think it will be fun to see how much waste I can eliminate.