Technology Mobility Has its Consequences, Says Dakotah, One Smart Dog

This is a guest post from Dakotah, who has it all figured out.  Dakotah is the company mascot for Florida based Advanced Power Technologies, which specializes in lighting, electrical needs, and signage through the US.  He has his own newsletter column, is responsible to raise the “woof” on team spirit and is constantly begging for a raise ….but will settle for ocassional belly rubs.  Ah, the simple things in life.

AHHH….summer. My favorite time of the year as soon as Daylight Savings Time begins. Do my APT pups know that “DST” was first proposed by Benjamin Franklin in 1784? The concept of moving clocks ahead to increase the amount of daylight and conserve energy has always been controversial. The United States did not officially adopt the plan until 1918; Arizona and Hawaii still refuse to comply. So let’s hear it for summer – when things can slow down….or can they??

Are We Waay too Wired?

Does my dog pack use any of this extra solar power after work for personal time, or are we way too “wired”? Between the necessities of the cell phone, office phone, email, fax machine, instant messaging, texting, home phone…do we ever get a single hour of un-interrupted peace and quiet in the evening or during the weekend?

(Anna, here, are we too technology mobile crazed? Obsessed?  Gone off the Deep end?  Do we have a love/hate relationship with the Verizon man and his network?)

If you are fortunate enough to have a family with a spouse, and/or children, parents, relatives, not to mention a variety of friends, each of these continuously clamors for your attention (and if the necessary honey-do list is left undone, you’re in the doghouse– we won’t even go there!)

Let face it – we appreciate the benefits of being “plugged in”. It is a necessary way to keep up with our work, business, family and obligations. However, we also have become addicted to speeding down the information highway and never slowing down to smell a tree (you get my drift? Or… is that sniff?)

(Anna here, sorry to interrupt Dakotah, but he brought it up.  Dog’s have it right in so many ways. Urinating near a tree is a poor man’s fertilizer. Sorry to go out on that tangent. Couldn’t resist to plug this easy pezzy fertilizer.  Sorry for interrupting, Dakota. Go on.)

Try an Experiment, if you dare

This summer, try an experiment. Go somewhere where there is no wireless or broadband service (howl!) or try a stay-cation and practice the “power off” switch when appropriate.While you are at it, try the same with the television. Unless we are completely addicted, we should survive; if we cannot, there must be a 12-step program for this.

(Anna, here again, really want to break the cell phone addiction, see here. Oh, by the way, Dakotah, that howl was so loud. I could hear it in New Jersey. I know the thought of not being able to access the  internet service is like screeching nails on a chalkboard…)

My keen canine sense believes we will do much more than survive – we will flourish. We will reconnect to ourselves, our loved ones, our spirits and souls.

(Anna, here.  Not to mentioned reduce our energy consumption. See this handy energy calculator if you want to see how much you are sucking. Saving the Earth, one shut off, at a time…)

Yeah, Yeah, I know you love the technology

We love the technology because it gives us a chance to be masters; how often it turns on us and becomes OUR master instead. Clearly, this is not what we intended when we adopted it. One of the greatest visionaries of our time, Benjamin Franklin, gave us more than energy conservation….he paved the way for us to “see the light” in more ways than one!

(Anna, here again.  Dakotah is right. Not only does our technology obsession leave us too accessible and wired, there are also unintended environmental consequences of our love of technology.  According to Environment 360,

“More than ever, we need to understand how our technological demand for elements from the entire periodic table is linked to the environmental consequences of global extraction.”

Not only is there the extraction issue of precious metals, but also the lack of proper recycling of our technology waste.  How many third world country children are sitting on our outdated cell phones and televisions?)

Have a happy and HEALTHY summer! (Unconnected)

Lots of licks,

Dakotah

Anna, here again.   How do I know Dakotah? He is my dog-nephew, and if I can brag, quite smart.

So, what are you doing this summer to disconnect from our world of technology and connecting more with the Earth?

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