I can say whatever I want, for now, without fear because I am not famous and hold little sway over public opinion. It is true that you all are reading this, and you matter, but since my readership is not yet at the level of Huffington Post, Oprah, or BigGovernment.com It is highly unlikely that I will be sued for libel. (more…)
February 10, 2010
January 29, 2010
Why the purge?
So I am creating a new blog to talk about the process of purging the pantry. There is a need to get through all the food that is in there. I’m not even sure how it ended up being so much in the first place. Well I guess I do know… I mean, so I’m a foodie. I love to eat. I love to try new things. I love to have different varieties of the same thing around for the subtle difference in flavor and also because what if I am craving green olives flavored with garlic and lemon and I only have pitted kalamata?! It would be a crisis. Or would it?
December 21, 2009
Christmas Wish List
This year on my wish list for Christmas is for my loved ones to spend less money on me, since buying new gifts can be unnecessarily financially draining.
In order to receive this gift of less waste, I let my family know that used items in good condition would be happily accepted. I find it fascinating what can be found for free if you just ask. On the internet, Freecycle enables people to connect about items they have and need. Taking the initiative to be open with those you know about what your needs are could potentially turn up that perfect gift lightly or entirely unused and in storage.
I think it is great when my family can trade, barter, or find someone giving away what they otherwise would have to buy. This wish of mine also spurred me to look through my own belongings for lightly used items that I no longer or never have used.
Me, a long time ago
Other thoughts on a more sustainable and earth-friendly holiday.
Gift Wrap:
- Wrapping gifts in reusable bags which the recipient can either keep, give back or pass along to another person in need
- Opting to not wrap gifts at all (can be challenging if you don’t know the person well)
- Wrapping in old newspaper or paper bags and then coloring or painting on any additional decoration or adding a simple ribbon.
December 4, 2009
Recklessness Inaction
So let me get this straight: the argument a little while ago was ‘how could humans possibly think we could cause damage to the earth enough to change the climate. We couldn’t possibly have an impact on the earth’
(This from my interpretation of the climate change versus global warming argument.)
Now, it is ‘We have done so much damage that it is not worth it to make changes in our lifestyle’ I hear this as ‘We’re going to die off as a species eventually so why bother changing?’
It reminds me of the argument that people who chain smoke or drink heavily use to justify habits and lifestyles that have been proven to be unhealthy. In this case instead of a label saying ‘Smoking Kills’ maybe we should think that ‘Reckless use of non-renewable energy without a renewable alternative will tank the planet.’ or ‘Irresponsible use of resources = Earth death’ I’m sure there is a a marketing firm out there that could come up with a doozy… Although it is our positive messages that make the greatest impact on change, not the negative…
Back to my main point though which is this-> While we may make decisions individually, because we are a part of nature – which functions as a system – our actions have a global impact. From the policies of global manufacturers that we purchase from to our own household habits, our choices matter.
Paul Erlich said: “The fluttering of a butterfly’s wings can effect climate changes…” That is not to say that we should knock off all the butterflies for fear of a tornado. I think this science based thought supports that small actions can affect change.
Does it really hurt us to take a few seconds to think about what we need to do so that we can combine multiple errands into one trip? Does it drastically decrease our sense of happiness to be less wasteful?
I am not a proponent of Global Warming or Climate Change because to many people that topic is still up for debate. I choose, instead to bring up irresponsible global actions surrounding resources, which are destroying our environment. The very same Earth that we rely upon to provide us with our basic needs of food, water, and shelter. We can not listen to the political and media babble which distracts from this fundamental issue and encourages us to be recklessly inactive. Because of this, whether for reasons tied to climate change or not, we need to be responsible with our use of our planet.
December 2, 2009
What are best practices anyway?
Best practices: these mysterious things that I hear talked about again and again. I have been told that we need to look for and implement them. The idea sounds good. Look for what works and repeat everywhere.
I do not believe it is that simple. I’ve been giving it some thought lately and the challenge I see is that what is best for one community is not necessarily the best for another.
Different communities certainly have in common that they are groups of people, however, that is potentially the end of the similarities between any two groups. The cultural personality of one community changes the way it’s participants interact with each other and with information. This cultural difference is what makes a community alive, vibrant and unique. To say that any one idea will ever work in every type of community is simply wrong.
While the truly ‘best practices’ out there are the ones which work for many different cultures and communities, it is also possible to have a project that is incredibly specialized to one culture, and which is able to have a great effect on it.
So, I propose a change of wording or rather a clarification. Let’s search for ‘net positive practices’. In that phrasing there is no assumption of rank, just an acknowledgment that an initiative or plan worked.
November 26, 2009
Gratitude and Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday because:
- It is about being grateful.
- You spend the time with the people who are the most important to you whether they are family or friends.
- It is a celebration of the harvest, or the good things that have come to you in the previous year.
- I do love good food and wine!
Gratitude is something that I regularly practice. I say practice because it isn’t always easy to be grateful for a lost job, ending relationship, death of a loved one, et cetera. But with every situation in our lives no matter how challenging and difficult, there comes the opportunity for learning, success and growth. This is not always obvious and so often you can feel knocked down and that is the best time to practice remembering that like other ‘bad’ times this too will give birth to something better.
We don’t always know why things happen, but I have had many times in my past that I have felt hurt or resentful because of a given situation (not getting in to Colby for college, the lost of a good friend without reason.) Later in life I understood why those situations happened, some many times over, and was able to feel grateful for them because of what came next that would not have been possible otherwise.
Now in my life, I am grateful and open when something that seems challenging comes up. I realize that it may be quiting my job that allows for the space for my dream job to come into my life. I am more open to understanding that every situation has a silver lining or possibility attached to it.
November 25, 2009
November 24, 2009
How to present the case for sustainability
Big Bucks advertising and marketing have got it down. They know how to begin marketing to someone at a very early age. They know that the wording of a slogan matters. They know that how you phrase an ad changes people perception. They know the colors and symbols used evoke emotion and connection. We should be using the same effective principles when we’re trying to help people to understand the new ideas and creativity we need to see in our world.
Too much of the green movement and those driving sustainability have been operating by making documentaries, writing books and doing talks. If that were the best way to get a product or concept to be purchased and believed in, well you’d have tons of pro-Wal-Mart documentaries. The bookshelves would be lined with books about Target being the solution. Scientific conference sessions would be dedicated to Nikes conforming perfectly to the feet of most humans. But you don’t see that. My intuition tells me that one of the reasons those tactics are not primary to corporations is because they don’t create a big demand in a short period of time.
We need to learn from this. We, as in those of us who are interested in the sustainability of the planet. We need to take a lesson from the corporations who have been so effective in getting their goods and products into our minds. We need to market positivity and transformation in a way to generate ‘fanatic evangelists’ for these life sustaining practices. Gloom and doom, end of the world, ‘you need to change’, and non-interactive mediums will not create vibrantly alive communities. Interactive, hands-on, culturally aware, co-created approaches will.
‘How?’ You ask. Well that’s something for me to continue writing about, and for you to hire me to implement. Check back in as these ideas unfold through my writing and feel free to share your thoughts via commenting.
November 23, 2009
Branding Me
I am finding myself in an interesting situation. I am a writer, consultant, experiential educator, teacher, facilitator, advisor, and a multitude of other descriptors. I love to do a gazillion different things. What others consider an insurmountable problem, I consider a challenge and something to delve into. I smile at an opportunity to re-think or reimagine. Problem solving makes my eyes sparkle as does learning a new language.
I work with non-profits, for-profits, educational institutes, and planning departments; really, just about everyone. I can create and compile the information necessary to request a loan, read a financial statement, develop interactive education designed to create social change, keep a classroom of 12-year-old boys enthralled for an hour and a half talking about sustainability, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.
My current challenge is looking at marketing and branding myself in order to more efficiently explain to people what it is that I do. I am exploring this so I can simply explain to someone my current three projects and additional volunteer affiliations. Even more important I would like to give someone a business card that sticks in their memory because it deeply resonates with who I am and what I stand for.
I realize that this is important time to spend even though the results are likely to be something as simple and mundane as a business card, a logo on a website, letterhead on which to mail out my bills. Well, it’s going to be difficult for me to narrow down my focus from the broad to the narrow. However, spending time thinking about what is the most important to me in the direction that I want my life and my energy to go in will be overall a great benefit to my career and what I’m trying to accomplish. So I’m glad that it’s come to this even though it will take hours.
November 20, 2009
Slow Money
Friends of Slow Money recently challenged themselves to raise $25,000 in increments of $5. This means that a mere 5000 people needed to make a donation.
While it would be great if 1 person donated $5000, and I doubt they would turn it down, I think there is another point to the exercise. The challenge gave the group an opportunity to show a few things.
1) That there are at least 5000 people invested in the idea of Slow Money.
2) Just a little bit of money when combined with others in the community can accomplish great things.
3) With a 7 day time limit, this has the urgency and potential to build momentum. Something which can be a struggle.
While they did not achieve their goal in terms of numbers I think that the push for members and outreach was positive because for very little effort and resources on the part of the organization they got the word out to more people about Slow Money.
For those who are not familiar with the concepts championed by the Slow Money Alliance, the most complete description can be found in Woody Tasch’s book Inquiries into the Nature of Slow Money. (Follow this link to find a locally owned bookseller in your community if you are interested in picking up the book.)
For those who are interested in the short version I think this sentence from the principles sums it up the best
“In order to enhance food safety and food security; promote cultural and ecological health and diversity; and, accelerate the transition from an economy based on extraction and consumption to an economy based on preservation and restoration…” For more, you should certainly check out the Slow Money Alliance website.
While I like the idea of Slow Money, have donated and become a member, the one thing I wish were more clear on the website and in the presentation of the concepts is how to do this and what it really means. Is my membership money going to eventually go to giving out loans or just general support of the organization? I get most of it, and like what I see so far, but the nerd in me want to see more information on the website in a digestible form before I buy the book or run around wall street with a cardboard sign.