Just recently, my daughter encouraged me to try a pillow made of recycled plastic bottles (when replacing a worn-out, squished pancake of a pillow) and I thought, okay, but won't it be uncomfortable or lumpy? No such thing--it is a soft as a feather.

But, bathingsuits?  They're usually made from synthetic fabrics so they will dry quickly.  Aaron Chang now offers swimsuits made from recycled soda bottles that are fast-drying and a planet-friendly alternative.  Check them out at:  http://www.aaronchang.com/default.aspx.

Sustainability is a characteristic of a process or state that can be maintained at a certain level indefinitely. The term, in its environmental usage, refers to the potential longevity of vital human ecological support systems, such as the planet's climatic system, systems of agriculture, industry, forestry, fisheries, and the systems on which they depend. In recent years, public discourse has led to a use of "sustainability" in reference to how long human ecological systems can be expected to be usefully productive. In the past, complex human societies have died out, sometimes as a result of their own growth-associated impacts on ecological support systems. The implication is that modern industrial society, which continues to grow in scale and complexity, will also collapse.

The implied preference would be for systems to be productive indefinitely, or be "sustainable." For example, "sustainable agriculture" would develop agricultural systems to last indefinitely; "sustainable development" can be a development of economic systems that last indefinitely, etc. A side discourse relates the term sustainability to longevity of natural ecosystems and reserves (set aside for other-than-human species), but the challenging emphasis has been on human systems and anthropogenic problems, such as anthropogenic climate change, or the depletion of fossil fuel reserves.

(Source: Wikipedia)

Example of a Sustainability Project:

At the Island School in Cape Eleuthera in the Bahamas, researchers are working on providing sustainable sources of fuel by transforming vegetable oil (donated by cruise ships visiting the island) to biodiesel fuel.  Right now, all vehicles at the Island School run on this alternative fuel and they provide it to residents of the island at a fraction of the cost of traditional fuel sources.  Their goal is to further develop these sustainable fuel sources on Eleuthera.

SHORTLY before Lynn Sugarman of Teaneck, N.J., bought her summer home in Lake George, N.Y., two years ago, a routine inspection revealed it had elevated levels of radon, a radioactive gas that can cause lung cancer. So she called a radon measurement and mitigation technician to find the source.

Tony Cenicola/The New York Times

TESTING Reports of granite emitting high levels of radon and radiation are increasing.

Nathaniel Brooks for The New York Times

DETECTION Using devices like the Geiger counter and the radiation detection instrument Stanley Liebert measures the radiation and radon emanating from granite like that in Lynn Sugarman’s kitchen counters.

“He went from room to room,” said Dr. Sugarman, a pediatrician. But he stopped in his tracks in the kitchen, which had richly grained cream, brown and burgundy granite countertops. His Geiger counter indicated that the granite was emitting radiation at levels 10 times higher than those he had measured elsewhere in the house.

“My first thought was, my pregnant daughter was coming for the weekend,” Dr. Sugarman said. When the technician told her to keep her daughter several feet from the countertops just to be safe, she said, “I had them ripped out that very day,” and sent to the state Department of Health for analysis. The granite, it turned out, contained high levels of uranium, which is not only radioactive but releases radon gas as it decays. “The health risk to me and my family was probably small,” Dr. Sugarman said, “but I felt it was an unnecessary risk.”

As the popularity of granite countertops has grown in the last decade — demand for them has increased tenfold, according to the Marble Institute of America, a trade group representing granite fabricators — so have the types of granite available. For example, one source, Graniteland (graniteland.com) offers more than 900 kinds of granite from 63 countries. And with increased sales volume and variety, there have been more reports of “hot” or potentially hazardous countertops, particularly among the more exotic and striated varieties from Brazil and Namibia.

“It’s not that all granite is dangerous,” said Stanley Liebert, the quality assurance director at CMT Laboratories in Clifton Park, N.Y., who took radiation measurements at Dr. Sugarman’s house. “But I’ve seen a few that might heat up your Cheerios a little.”

Allegations that granite countertops may emit dangerous levels of radon and radiation have been raised periodically over the past decade, mostly by makers and distributors of competing countertop materials. The Marble Institute of America has said such claims are “ludicrous” because although granite is known to contain uranium and other radioactive materials like thorium and potassium, the amounts in countertops are not enough to pose a health threat.

Indeed, health physicists and radiation experts agree that most granite countertops emit radiation and radon at extremely low levels. They say these emissions are insignificant compared with so-called background radiation that is constantly raining down from outer space or seeping up from the earth’s crust, not to mention emanating from manmade sources like X-rays, luminous watches and smoke detectors.

But with increasing regularity in recent months, the Environmental Protection Agency has been receiving calls from radon inspectors as well as from concerned homeowners about granite countertops with radiation measurements several times above background levels. “We’ve been hearing from people all over the country concerned about high readings,” said Lou Witt, a program analyst with the agency’s Indoor Environments Division.

Last month, Suzanne Zick, who lives in Magnolia, Tex., a small town northwest of Houston, called the E.P.A. and her state’s health department to find out what she should do about the salmon-colored granite she had installed in her foyer a year and a half ago. A geology instructor at a community college, she realized belatedly that it could contain radioactive material and had it tested. The technician sent her a report indicating that the granite was emitting low to moderately high levels of both radon and radiation, depending on where along the stone the measurement was taken.

“I don’t really know what the numbers are telling me about my risk,” Ms. Zick said. “I don’t want to tear it out, but I don’t want cancer either.”

The E.P.A. recommends taking action if radon gas levels in the home exceeds 4 picocuries per liter of air (a measure of radioactive emission); about the same risk for cancer as smoking a half a pack of cigarettes per day. In Dr. Sugarman’s kitchen, the readings were 100 picocuries per liter. In her basement, where radon readings are expected to be higher because the gas usually seeps into homes from decaying uranium underground, the readings were 6 picocuries per liter.

The average person is subjected to radiation from natural and manmade sources at an annual level of 360 millirem (a measure of energy absorbed by the body), according to government agencies like the E.P.A. and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The limit of additional exposure set by the commission for people living near nuclear reactors is 100 millirem per year. To put this in perspective, passengers get 3 millirem of cosmic radiation on a flight from New York to Los Angeles.

A “hot” granite countertop like Dr. Sugarman’s might add a fraction of a millirem per hour and that is if you were a few inches from it or touching it the entire time.

Nevertheless, Mr. Witt said, “There is no known safe level of radon or radiation.” Moreover, he said, scientists agree that “any exposure increases your health risk.” A granite countertop that emits an extremely high level of radiation, as a small number of commercially available samples have in recent tests, could conceivably expose body parts that were in close proximity to it for two hours a day to a localized dose of 100 millirem over just a few months.

A radiation detection instrument.

Nathaniel Brooks for The New York Times

A Geiger counter.

David J. Brenner, director of the Center for Radiological Research at Columbia University in New York, said the cancer risk from granite countertops, even those emitting radiation above background levels, is “on the order of one in a million.” Being struck by lightning is more likely. Nonetheless, Dr. Brenner said, “It makes sense. If you can choose another counter that doesn’t elevate your risk, however slightly, why wouldn’t you?”

Radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer after smoking and is considered especially dangerous to smokers, whose lungs are already compromised. Children and developing fetuses are vulnerable to radiation, which can cause other forms of cancer. Mr. Witt said the E.P.A. is not studying health risks associated with granite countertops because of a “lack of resources.”

The Marble Institute of America plans to develop a testing protocol for granite. “We want to reassure the public that their granite countertops are safe,” Jim Hogan, the group’s president, said earlier this month “We know the vast majority of granites are safe, but there are some new exotic varieties coming in now that we’ve never seen before, and we need to use sound science to evaluate them.”

Research scientists at Rice University in Houston and at the New York State Department of Health are currently conducting studies of granite widely used in kitchen counters. William J. Llope, a professor of physics at Rice, said his preliminary results show that of the 55 samples he has collected from nearby fabricators and wholesalers, all of which emit radiation at higher-than-background levels, a handful have tested at levels 100 times or more above background.

Personal injury lawyers are already advertising on the Web for clients who think they may have been injured by countertops. “I think it will be like the mold litigation a few years back, where some cases were legitimate and a whole lot were not,” said Ernest P. Chiodo, a physician and lawyer in Detroit who specializes in toxic tort law. His kitchen counters are granite, he said, “but I don’t spend much time in the kitchen.”

As for Dr. Sugarman, the contractor of the house she bought in Lake George paid for the removal of her “hot” countertops. She replaced them with another type of granite. “But I had them tested first,” she said.

Where to Find Tests and Testers

TO find a certified technician to determine whether radiation or radon is emanating from a granite countertop, homeowners can contact the American Association of Radon Scientists and Technologists (aarst.org). Testing costs between $100 to $300.

Information on certified technicians and do-it-yourself radon testing kits is available from the Environmental Protection Agency’s Web site at epa.gov/radon, as well as from state or regional indoor air environment offices, which can be found at epa.gov/iaq/whereyoulive.html. Kits test for radon, not radiation, and cost $20 to $30. They are sold at hardware stores and online.

New York Times original article

Got any old "Tees" hanging around?

Why not convert them into cool, new totes?

Just cut the arm holes and neck a bit bigger and stitch up the bottom (by hand or machine).  Tank tops work especially well!  Voila!  You've got one of most chic bags around!  They're stretchy and strong!                      If you're not ready to cut up your old shirts just yet, why not visit a thrift shop where you can find clever Tees and tanks for just pennies?

My "Life is good" bag is one of my favorites!

Ingrid spent weeks looking for 'green' amenities. They wanted high quality products that our guests would really enjoy. They also wanted items that didn't just appear to be green. Ingrid, Shirley and Pam also tested a wide variety of different 'green' amenities. We ultimately decided to use “Natural Earth” personal care amenities because the deliver the 'real deal'. All products are vegetarian based. There are no animal by-products. There are no chemicals and all ingredients are GE-free. They're also 100% biodegradable.

Our guests will start using "Natural Earth" products this month. We'll be asking everyone how they like them. If you have experience using "Natural Earth", we'd like to hear from you too. We want to be absolutely certain that our guests like "Natural Earth" as much as we do. 

Pool and beach towels are traditionally made from cotton--a crop that accounts for one quarter of the world's insecticide use, according to the Sierra Club.  If it's time to replace your old towel, why not keep it out of the landfill and go for greener options?

You could turn worn-out towels into:

• dog toys
• batting for a baby quilt
• or donate to an animal shelter for drying off damp critters and lining kennels

When it's time to replace those old towels, look for options that use organic cotton or (fast-growing) bamboo.

Any more ideas for recycling old towels?

When you're searching for that perfect gift bag to put a special someone's gift in, why not use a recyclable tote that the receiver can re-use?  These sturdy bags (at less than a buck, a fraction of the cost of flimsy paper gift bags) can hold a lot of stuff!  Here's how I "wrapped" a birthday present for a special guy, which included some practical stuff: "toys" for his outdoor grill, etc.!  He didn't seem to mind!

As an American woman who spent most of her life in a rock and roll band, I understand the concept of independence. Even after my injury (I dove off the stage and no one caught me, in an ironic manifestation of American isolationism), my inclination was to recover alone, and I spent months of therapy walking by myself. But it wasn't until I reached the West Coast and, looking out over the Pacific, I saw how I couldn't walk any farther that I figured out there wasn't any walking away from anything or anyone.

Nothing is more true in the green movement. We're either in this together or we're going to fail. And by we I mean all of us, including our animal brothers and sisters and the trees and the water. I just watched the John Adams HBO miniseries, which begins with images of colonial American flags, the first being the famous snake cut in segments, each segment bearing the initials of one of the colonies. As every former U.S. schoolkid knows, the flag bears the words Unite, or Die (or in another version Join, or Die). I guess it was that kind of ultimatum that the colonists, who were the original independents having left their motherland for freedom of many varieties, needed in order to combine forces and interests.

But today we're not talking about an American army. We're talking about interdependence on a wider and yet more detailed scale. Think of these elements as the thirteen colonies that must unite:

1. Smaller communities organized and designed to reduce the need for driving.
2. Reliance on local food sources.
3. Reliance on local, sustainable power sources.
4. Reliance on small, local businesses run by people known in the community and use of the Internet to select and obtain needed specialized goods (i.e., syringes, prosthetics, buses, books) not available locally (thus concentrating certain types of manufacturing in the communities where they make the most sense from the standpoint of transportation, skills, and resources).
5. Sharing of resources, from tools to information to arts to skills.
6. Community-based child care and senior care (including multigenerational family care).
7. Community investment in and protection of local open and wild spaces, flora and fauna, and water, air, and forests.
8. Community-based rites, festivals, and celebrations.
9. Community participation in schools and libraries.
10. Local volunteerism.
11. Community-based activism in social issues such as health care, education, infrastructure, and land development.
12. Economies that are based upon concern for the health of all citizens, not solely for the profits of corporate shareholders.
13. A broad definition of community that also encompasses the entire planet.

Number 4 is tricky because it can result in manufacturing dead zones where workers sacrifice their health and safety for a manufacturing job that meets the needs of distant others. Once again, such communities must be organized by the principles already stated, with community involvement in facility management.

Number 13 is especially important because the American independence personality trait will turn the community experience into a new kind of independence—my community, self-sufficient and free—that we cannot afford on a small home planet with growing human populations. Our concept of community must be both local and broad so that we do not fail to care for and notice the larger issues that most certainly will affect us all.

Last time we Americans got this message, we required a hard-hitting marketing campaign with a strong visual metaphor and a common enemy: the snake flag, King George. It's hard to imagine we hardheaded independents won't need that again. So here we go: Our common enemy is a small, powerful elite that seeks power and/or profit at the expense of the many. For an image, how about a snake in segments labeled man, woman, black, brown, white, Christian, Jew, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, East, West, North, South, gay, straight, human animal, other animals? The tag line? It worked before, so let's use it again, only this time not so metaphorically: Join or Die.

©2008 ProgressiveKid

Image by Pete Welsch, 2008, Creative Commons license.

I just love Sophie Uliano's book, Gorgeously Green! 

My daughter told me it was a must for my summer reading list--and she was right!  It's all about going green in a gentle, gradual way, one step at a time, in a way that doesn't take over your whole life, but will surely transform it! 

Uliano says, "Women like me tend to be more interested in their compact than their compost.  We never forget a hair appointment yet always forget our reusable shopping tote.  Many of us think the whole green way of life will be tedious, time-consuming, and even boring.  Wrong!  I have found out that caring about this planet doesn't have to be granola/hippie stuff.  On the contrary, it's the most exciting, colorful way in which we could possibly live.  After all, green is the new black, and we're going to be wearing this shade for a long time.  Going green is not a fad that is going to fade; with temperature and pollution levels on the rise, it is becoming a way of life."

Uliano recommends  taking baby steps and choosing just one thing at a time to do.  Here are five simple suggestions to kick-start a green lifestyle:

1. Get yourself a reusable shopping tote. (Envirosax pouches are compact and fun!)
2. Use a reusable water bottle and coffee cup.  (My favorite is SIGG!)
3. Wear an organic T-shirt. (Why not enter my  give-away drawing?)
4. Visit your local thrift shop and buy one item to wear.
5. Send an e-card.

Pick just ONE of these ideas and try it out TODAY!!!

Oh, and did I tell you who else loves Gorgeously Green?  Julia Roberts, who says she has been "absolutely altered" by Sophia's book.  In fact, Julia Roberts wrote the foreward in the book, saying, "This Gorgeously Green book has provided my household with a bible of hope and help --not to mention a good cleansing mask and a source for eco-chasmere."  Julia definitely puts the GORGEOUS in GREEN, and although I admit this is basically a "primer" book for a green lifestyle, it's definitely a great place to start!

At the start of 2008 I challenged my husband and I to do a better job with the way we live life from a carbon footprint standpoint. We've slowly made changes for the better. Then this week I wrote about the effects the world is having on penguins (check it out here if you missed it). I've put together a list of ideas for living a greener life (we have done or plan to do most of these) that you too can easily do to help our Earth and the animals on it:

First, check your carbon footprint here.

Once you know the impact you are personally having on this Earth then make a difference by implementing one or more of these ideas:

• Decrease your fuel consumption. Trade in your gas guzzler for one with better, smarter gas mileage, or better yet get rid of a car (this would save a staggering 413 billion pounds of carbon dioxide emitted a year)! We are making a change to our vehicle situation later this summer.
• Downsize your home. This will reduce monthly bills, and stop the over consumption of energy sucking appliances. We have talked about downsizing in the next year, our big home is a waste of energy in our eyes anymore.
• Unplug appliances! For every appliance you are not using that is plugged in and turned off,  it still sucks 20% "phantom" energy! You are paying for that! We unplug the appliances we are not using, it's really easy to do.
• Set your thermostat three degrees lower or higher (depending on the season) than you normally do. This can save you hundreds of dollars a year. We also do this year round.
• Switch to compact flourescent bulbs (CFLs). CFLs use 75% less electricity than traditional bulbs and last 10 times longer! Some companies will reimburse employees that bring receipts in to show they switched to smarter bulbs. We changed all our bulbs to CFLs and turned in the receipts and saved money through Jeff's work. A double win!
• Turn off the faucet while you brush your teeth! This should be a no brainer by now.
• Bring your own reusable bags to the grocery store. We blogged about our reusable bags that we use here. Every time we head to the store and hand over our reusable bags we are asked where we got them! There are chic and masculine choices now, for the fashion conscience and our bags hold so much it shocks checkers. Check out Envirosax. If you want to buy one EnviroSax bag to try out (instead of several) the FireworksGallery store in Seattle at Westlake Center had single reusable Envirosax bags for sale too.
• Grow your own vegetable and fruit garden. Thanks to Jeff we grow everything! The veggies and fruit you purchase at your local grocery store travel thousands of miles on trucks, emitting tons of gas and fumes into the air. Plus the fossil fuels used for pesticides, tractors, processing, cool storage, and packing don't help our Earth. Apartment dwellers that can't grow their own garden can support their local farmers market (they use less energy) instead of buying them at the grocery store that made their fruit and veggies travel thousand of miles to get to you.
• Use green cleaners. Many can be found at your local grocery store or health food store. Look for the green label. We are slowly switching our home cleaners to green cleaners.
• Green your decor. Some ideas we have wrote about in the past can be found here. Use low VOC paint on your next home upgrade project (it will improve your indoor air quality and cuts down on "volatile organic compounds" that have been linked to cancer).
• Get rid of junk mail! This is one we need to do better on. Go to www.catalogchoice.org and cancel catalogs that you don't want. New legislation is now in place to opt out of junk mail, email your removal request to Abacus Direct at optout@abacus-us.com. Remove yourself from the ValPak mailing list here and instead go to the Val Pak Web site for the few coupons a year you need. Visit Do Not Mail to opt out of everything, including all catalogs. Did you know that 8 million tons of trees are used annually to produce the 19 billion catalogs companies put out? Enough energy to power over one million homes for a year!
• Recycle. Recycle. Recycle. There should be more in your recycling can each week than in your garbage can!
• Carpool, Bus, or Train. We carpool with neighbors to church, we carpool with friends to go hiking,  and to the gym, and my husband takes the train to work every week. His company even pays for his train transportation. Seattle buses are changing to biodiesel fuel too. Much smarter than driving solo.
• Take your lunch to work. Jeff does this four days a week and then as a reward eats out one day a week.
• Start a green business. Or telecommute full time or at least one day a week for your job. I started my green, paperless business last July, check out CopyStrands. I write and edit electronically for local businesses. They email me files, I write or edit for them, and then email the work back in an electronic format. I don't print a single thing I work on! Think about how much you may be printing at work. Then make a difference by PDFing the document and saving it on your computer (back it up on an external hard drive too). Save the paper unless it's needed for legal reasons.

There are many more ideas you can do to help. Challenge yourself to make a new green footprint today and then tell us what you've done to make a difference.

Tony writes “It’s not easy to do the right thing when a) it will cost you; b) the wrong thing is more practical; c) no one will know but you.  It is in these moments that your character becomes strong.”

Thought how true these words are for many trying to live a green life.

Regular readers of ‘Greener Me’ may be aware that my journey to live green is deepening to an inner self analysis of myself and the human psyche.  I am starting to wonder and maybe even believe the damage we have done to our world is a direct result of the damage in our hearts, minds, souls and spirit.

 Looking close into my own thoughts on subjects such as ‘why I buy what I do’ is very revealing.  The answers are what I call my ‘green psychology’.

I have only unwrapped one tiny layer of this thinking.  Wonder what other layers will reveal?

This awesome cap-sleeve T from "No Boundaries" is made from 100% certified organic cotton, grown by farmer-owned co-ops, without using any pesticides or defoliants . . . just fresh water, sunshine, and bio-based fertilizers . . . the way nature intended!

If can be yours if:

• you add a comment about what you're doing to live a "green" life (in a little way or a big way!)

and

• your post is chosen in a random drawing!

DEADLINE FOR ALL POSTS:  July 31st

WINNER WILL BE ANNOUNCED AUGUST 1st!  GOOD LUCK!

By Michael Russell

Recycling makes a difference not only for us today, but also for future generations. The fact about natural resources is that not all natural resources are renewable, meaning that when they are gone, they are gone for good. Through recycling, we can make the most of the natural resources we do have, without depleting reserves. As people worldwide are turning more and more to disposable packaging for their products, there is more and more waste being created. Some items, such as plastic, take many years to biodegrade, if they do at all. Without recycling, these products fill up our landfills, taking much needed space and making it uninhabitable.

Through taking used materials and making new packaging and products, the use of natural resources is greatly reduced. For example, the state of Pennsylvania's newspaper recycling alone has saved an estimated 8.2 million trees!

One great benefit of recycling is that often a better product is created through recycled materials than through fresh natural resources. Tin cans, for example, get more and more refined through the recycling process. A better quality and more valuable, tin is created through recycling.

Recycling not only saves natural resources, but it also saves energy. As the cost of energy continues to rise, recycling is one of the best ways to conserve. Why is this? Well, fossil fuels are one of those non-replenishing resources and recycling takes significantly less energy then creating new materials, when you take into consideration the entire process, from gathering materials to transporting the finished product to the store. Not only that, but since the materials used in recycling have already been processed once, much less energy is required to recycle them.

Here are some practical examples. According to the Department of Environmental Protection, ever pound of recycled steel saves enough energy to light a 60-watt light bulb for a period of 26 hours! What about pop cans? Recycling just one can will save the equivalent amount of energy as that which is needed to light a 100-watt bulb for over three hours! That is truly amazing! Just by recycling one pop can! Imagine what would happen to our energy consumption if we recycled all of our pop cans!

Recycling reduces many of the harmful pollutants in our atmosphere. When industries use less energy, there are fewer greenhouse gas emissions released into the atmosphere, because less fossil fuels are burnt. Also, recycling reduces both air and water pollutants. Recycling helps the environment through removing fewer natural resources from nature.

There are many economic benefits associated with recycling. Recycling plants and services employ many people throughout the world. New products are being designed for recycling plants, which also help the economy. When businesses use recycled materials, they usually cost less, thus helping the business. The less landfills that we use, the more land is open for development and growth of business. Recycling makes a difference not only in the environment, but also in the business world. Recycling just plain makes sense! Why not get started today?

Michael Russell

Your Independent guide to Recycling

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Michael_Russell
http://EzineArticles.com/?Recycling---It-Just-Makes-Sense&id=284587

First, a bit of a side step to the Island School, because this was really a life-changing experience for me.  Who wouldn’t accept the opportunity to go to the Bahamas for a week on vacation with your daughter?  Granted, it was August (read very hot, humid here) and it wasn’t really a vacation, but a learning experience (read no AC, limited water supply, etc.), so this is what it really meant:

·         Spending an entire day traveling: 3 planes, including one tiny one from Rock Sound to the Cape, an hour spent in a steaming, hot Caribbean airport waiting for a taxi that would take us for a 2-hr. equally steamy ride over rough roads at a hefty fee

·         Absolutely no COLD water and NO ice for drinks.  In fact, the basic beverage of choice was warm water, which we carried everywhere with us in refillable containers, which had been collected off the roof (and purified through an electrostatic process).  Fortunately I didn’t see the multitude of frogs that inhabited the holding tank until the last day.

·         An introduction to “Navy” showers, which means five minutes, tops, that the water is running, and turning if off between lathering up and rinsing

·         “If it’s yellow, let it mellow . . . “  (OK, I thought this was just my Dad, many years previously, who said this because he was just plain cheap!)  Later, I learned that I had grown up “green” in part before it was fashionable.  This was probably the toughest habit to kick, because I had developed an automatic reflex to flush over the years. . .

·         Sleeping in dormitory-style rooms (25 or so women in double-decker bunkbeds) sans air-conditioning, just a few overhead fans

·         While sleeping in this heat, also being visited by “no see-ums,” which visited nightly, squeezing their tiny bodies in between the screens.  (Fortunately for me, I must not have been as tasty, young and sweet, as some of my colleagues were, because if I spritzed with bug spray (probably a no! no!) before retiring, I didn’t wake up in the raised red welts that some of my colleagues did)

·         Washing dishes, filling compost buckets, slopping pigs . . . and did I say washing dishes by hand?

·         Filling large water jugs and lugging them to the dorms at night

·         Waking up to the blowing conch at 6 am to participate in an hour long exercise session of running, biking, and/or swimming

OK, to be fair, here’s the UPSIDE:

·         Swimming in the incredibly clear, turquoise, cleansing waters of the Caribbean

·         Bonding with fellow, like-minded teachers from all over the world who were looking for a little adventure over the summer and the opportunity to learn something new

·         Waking up to the lovely tune of the blowing conch at 6 am to participate in a morning greeting with friends and an hour long exercise session of running, biking, and/or swimming

·         Crab hunting at night with flashlights and lots of laughs

• Eating delectable island-grown salads and spicy Caribbean rice dishes, mostly from local ingredients, with fresh fruit for dessert
• Discovering the local marine wildlife through snorkeling and scuba expeditions
• Visiting local schools, also supported the Island School
• Touring Cape Eleuthera Research Institute to learn about hydroponic gardening, local fish species, and efforts to preserve the coral reefs (a joint adventure with the Island School)
• Oh, and did I say swimming in the brilliant, turquoise, clear, wonderful Caribbean waters?

[caption id="attachment_9" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Abbie and me in the incredible Bahamian waters, the best way to get clean!"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_11" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Our colleagues/friends at the Island School . . ."][/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_12" align="alignnone" width="225" caption="Incredibly beautiful local flora, grows best over the environmentally-designed septic system!"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_13" align="alignnone" width="225" caption="Wake-up call!"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_14" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Hydroponically-grown lettuce"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_15" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Converting used vegetable oil into bio-diesel to power vehicles on the island . . ."][/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_16" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Fresh lobster for dinner!"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_17" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="We did attend classes, too, outside mostly . . ."][/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_18" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Group meetings, sharing, learning, dancing, etc. . . ."][/caption]

 

 

 

That I needed to make some life-style changes!

So . . .

Here are a few very simple things I’ve done so far . . .

• I've totally stopped buying bottled water and now use re-fillable aluminum bottles like SIGG or non BPA-plastic filled with my own lovely tap water.
• Take my own bags to the grocery store and avoid piles of plastic, chinzy bags gathering in my pantry.  (I've worked on this a while and now I actually REMEMBER to take my bags with me.  I must admit that I've collected quite a cute collection of recyclable bags and that now I've expanded beyond the grocery store, taking them everywhere I go shopping.)
• I actually DO recycle plastics, bottles, and aluminum cans now on a regular basis, rather than just pretending that I do (which was once in a while).
• I actually LIKE it hot in the summer, even sticky, icky hot, because it's an excuse to jump in the pool.  My three guys can't stand the heat after working outside in it all day, so we just have AC in the bedrooms for sleeping.  I must admit that I shut it off during the day, keep curtains closed and doors shut, and only turn it on in time for it to be cool for their sleeping comfort.
• OK, this might be crazy, but I heard this from a thrifty friend.  At first, I thought it was a bit out there and then I tried it: I shut the furnace off during the day (and now after showers at night, too) because why heat it up all day and night to make hot water that no one needs it?  In the winter, we use our combo wood/oil furnace, so we actually use very little oil.
• OK, that's it for now, but I keep adding to the list, as Sophia Uliano says, one step at a time.  Do you have any other ideas for me? 

So, what did I learn at the Island School?

Earlier this week, I found a blog that was talking about no-poo.  (That means not using shampoo.)  I had never heard of this before and I was a little bit intrigued by it.  The blogger claimed (and several other sites I looked at after) that after about two weeks of greasiness, your hair would look better than ever.  Of course, they said it was better for the environment, but the part that interested me was the fact that you would have gorgeous hair and that you wouldn't be putting all those chemicals on your head.  (Plus, I figured that, if I didn't have to buy shampoo, conditioner, or hair products, I would save a ton of money.)  I decided to try it.

Before you decide I'm completely nasty, let me tell you that you wash your hair with baking soda and use a vinegar rinse (and it doesn't smell once it dries).  I was prepared for a little bit of greasiness until my scalp got used to it, but I wasn't prepared for what it did to my hair.  I have extremely thick, course hair.  I do my very best to smooth and flatten it, but it's not easy.  Some people have thick hair, but the strands are fine - not me.  My hair has been compared to horsehair before.  (Very flattering.)  After using the baking soda and vinegar, my hair felt so dry and brittle and awful.  I thought maybe it would be better when it dried.  It wasn't.  It felt even thicker than usual.  It was so thick and course, that I could hardly even pull it up in a ponytail.  I suffered through it, thinking it might be better on day two.

During this experiment, I was cruising the internet, looking for other natural hair ideas.  I saw lots of articles talking about how bad soap and shampoo and stuff like that is for you.  It talked about all the horrible things in it.  That made me feel like it was worth it to keep trying.  Then I started seeing things about the chemicals in the carpet, and mattresses, and furniture, and kids sleepwear, and cleaners, and cosmetics.  It freaked me out a little bit.  Then it disgusted me.  I can't get rid of all these things, so I just gave up.  I washed my hair and it was the most wonderful feeling.  My hair is soft(ish) again!  I heart shampoo! 

So, I will keep using natural bug repellent on Shiloh (Tiffany thinks I'm crazy, but I really hate all the chemicals in bug spray.), and I will pretend I never read how harmful everything else in the ENTIRE world is for us.  I will enjoy washing my hair and using all my other harmful cosmetics and lotions.  I did discover that vinagar and water make a good all-around cleaner and I tried it in the bathroom and it actually works!  So, maybe we'll breathe a few less chemicals by using that as a cleaner now (and I'll save a little bit of money on cleaning products).

Copyright (c) 2008 Virginia Ginsburg

The human race puts a huge strain on the environment, and our dependence on fossil fuels to create the lifestyle to which we are accustomed in the United States continues to grow. Environmentalists have been talking about global climate change for decades, and their message has finally made it into the mainstream and is even impacting national policy.

When we think of big concerns like the entire planet, it can be difficult to imagine how any single individual can make an impact, but the old adage of "think globally, act locally," has never been more appropriate. You can in fact make a difference in the world by making a few simple changes in your home to reduce your negative impact on the world.

1. Buy organic

The US organic food community has been slowly building a multi-billion dollar alternative to industrial agriculture over the past three decades. In addition to some of the trail blazers, mainstream brands are also jumping on the bandwagon as they recognize consumers' demand for organic options. You can now find organic produce in most grocery stores. Remember that there are organic options for almost every item in your pantry, including staples like flour, pasta and canned goods, that can be produced without toxic pesticides.

2. Bigger packages; less packaging

Whenever possible, buy products in bulk to avoid the plastic packaging that goes into most food items. The recent trend towards 100-calorie snack bags may be great for our waistlines, but it can increase the packaging of the same amount of product by 20 times. Instead, buy in bulk and repackage smaller quantities in reusable packaging. It ends up being a benefit to your wallet as well!

3. Recycle

Many of the items used in the kitchen can be recycled, and it is a natural place in which to house your recycling bin. Most cities easily accept cans, bottles and paper products. Check your local recycling center for other packaging products like plastic and Styrofoam. Keep your recycling bin right next to your trash can, and always consider which bin it belongs in before automatically tossing it in the trash.

4. Use recycled products

From paper towels, a staple in most kitchens, to paper napkins, paper plates and other paper-based materials, you can close the loop on your recycling efforts by choosing products made from recycled products. All that paper that you diligently recycle finds its home in these products, and they work just as well as less environmentally-friendly alternatives.

5. Green energy

Your appliances can use a significant amount of electricity, so the next time that you are replacing them, look for the Energy Star seal, which means that the appliance has been certified to have a low rate of energy use. Also look into your lighting - if you have traditional incandescent bulbs, replace them with one of many energy saving alternatives. As with many "green" choices, you will save your wallet as well as the Earth!

6. Shopping bag savvy

How much plastic do you waste every year by using shopping bags only once? You can reuse the free shopping bags that you get from the grocery store for years if you take care of them properly. When it comes to shopping bags, the options are many, and bags range from trendy to basic, from canvas to recycled plastic or even, in some cases, vintage clothing refashioned into stylish totes. Keep 5-10 in your car at all times, and, more importantly, use them!

If everyone in the U.S. took just one of these six steps, the damage that we are doing to our environment would be reduced. So think about it - what can you do today to make an impact on tomorrow?

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/home-and-family-articles/green-kitchen-basics-482335.html

About the Author:

Virginia Ginsburg is an expert on green living and socially-conscious investing. In addition to writing about sustainable products, she runs Green Baby Gifts http://www.greenbabygiftsonline.com , which provides ready-to-go, beautiful gifts for new babies.

I know that people's stances differ on many environmental politics and occurrences, but it was the first time in my almost 18 years of my life, that I met people who thought that global warming wasn't happening. I've lived in three big cities in South Korea, Vancouver, Canada and lastly in Wassenaar (near Den Haag), the Netherlands, and I come to the US and I hear people say that, global warming isn't a problem! Regardless of the origin of it, whether man-made or a natural earthly cycle, but it was the first time being in a country that out right denied the occurrence. McCain's the Republican nominee, and he actually cares for the environment. McCain said that he realizes that global warming is an actual problem and if elected president, he's going to deal with it. Cool, right?

Not for some people. What caught me by surprise is when I was reading through an online Christian news source that has some good stuff. Some people were hating on Obama, which sadly isn't too surprising with their racist and uneducated remarks, but they're even against McCain because he cares about the environment. What I just find so disgustingly ironic is that most of these people enjoy the environment through camping, fishing or hunting. They seem to have failed on the pre-school lesson on clean up after you play game. If you don't clean your room, it will get dirty. Same logic. If you don't clean your neighbourhood after camping, the waste will accumulate and you can't camp there anymore. So if you like it, care for it! Your carp won't last long, and next year might be the last time you get to stuff some wild baby boar that you caught.

Anyways, that's my tuppence on these elections. Here's what this post's main purpose was before I digressed. I had to make a few important decisions last year upon entering college, and here's my pledge this year. I care for the environment, hence I will act to prove it. One of my favourite Bible verses:

Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.
-1 John 3:18

Action Plan:

1. Reduce Waste. Don't print out or buy useless crap.
2. Recycle like there's no tomorrow.
3. Reuse. Be creative.
4. Do laundry and dishes with cold water.
5. Turn off my laptop when I go to bed... save energy. And hibernate when not in use. (Better than Sleep)
6. Unplug stuff not in use.
7. Turn off/down AC when not needed.
8. Shorter showers. And don't let the water run when you're brushing your teeth.
9. Use both sides of notebook paper. This would help a lot of people on school supplies, too.
10. Eat green! :)

So yeah, that's it for now. And here's my pledge bracelet I made.

The colours are obviously earthy ones. White for glaciers, the two greens for plants and organic, tan for arid landscape and brown for soil, orange for other life. I actually also made another anklet, but that's for another time.

So here it is. I hope this works out for the better.

PS. I got a new fan to combat heat. It's also an energy saving model. Hah!

PPS. 4 days until rafting!

In some ways, yes, except of course that the goal is to eat the salmon (not the cats).

In the wild, salmon leave the ocean, swim hundreds of miles upstream—sometimes up waterfalls—to return to their natal spawning grounds year after year. So it makes sense that these persistent fish easily bust out of their pens when you try to corral them. In fact, this week, 30,000 farmed Atlantic salmon did just that, escaping from their coastal British Columbia pen into the Pacific Ocean. 

The presence of rogue farmed salmon is bad news for the already depleted stocks of wild salmon in the Pacific. (Many Pacific runs are closed to fishing this year due to ridiculously low population counts.) The escapees compete with the wild fish for food, something the wild fish have been struggling to find in the last few years thanks to changing ocean conditions. (Few or weak upwellings haven’t brought enough nutrients to the surface to sustain the salmon’s food sources.) And then of course, once the farmed and wild salmon start mingling, they start mating. This can lead to trouble.

Wild salmon have evolved to survive in the ocean and navigate back to their individual spawning river by swimming miles upriver, leaping up waterfalls and doing it all at the right time of year. Farmed salmon have been bred to grow quickly, that’s pretty much it.  So when the two get together they create a hybrid salmon whose chances of survival are significantly lower than that of its wild parent.

Even when the fish are nicely contained in their pens, salmon farms can do serious damage to wild salmon that swim nearby. In fact, scientists have found that the chances of wild fish surviving and returning to their natal spawning grounds drops by more than 50% when the fish migrate past a salmon farm.

Wondering how the farmed salmon manage to knock off their free-swimming relatives? They don’t. The louse does.

Sea lice (plural of louse) occur naturally in the ocean. As parasites with a penchant for salmon, they drift through the ocean looking for a host fish. When they find one, they latch on and go to town doing their parasite thing (i.e. feeding on skin, muscle and blood). And when they find thousands (or millions) of fish in a salmon farm, they have a field day. But that doesn’t mean they’re satisfied. When an unsuspecting wild salmon swims near a salmon farm festering with sea lice, the lice hop onboard.

Adult salmon have thick scales that make sea lice infestations bearable (or at least survivable). Juvenile salmon aren’t so lucky. The sea lice attack these little guys with the same gusto they use on the adults, but juveniles don’t have scales to defend themselves. Sea lice eat through the juveniles’ skin, leaving them vulnerable to deadly infections.

It’s not just the salmon and the louse. The whole salmon farming operation is a bit of an environmental nightmare. Salmon are carnivores so they need to eat lots of fish to grow up big and juicy. On average, it takes 2.5 kg of wild-caught fish to produce 1kg of farmed salmon. While the farms are taking plenty of fish from the ocean, they’re also putting plenty of crap (literally), antibiotics, feed additives and toxic chemicals into the surrounding waters.

Of course, this pollution isn’t pretty, but salmon farms aren’t petting zoos. They’re protein-producing machines. Salmon is delicious—especially with a maple ginger glaze—and it’s filled with lots of good-for-you things like omega 3 fatty acids. But should you eat farmed salmon? As you now know, the current style of salmon farming threatens wild salmon populations and the marine environment as a whole. In other words, it’s unhealthy for the environment.

But is farmed salmon a healthy food choice for people? Not particularly. The nutritional supplements used in aquaculture are typically high in persistent organic pollutants like PCBs and dioxins so farmed salmon have higher contaminant levels than wild salmon. And farmed salmon are filled with antibiotics to keep them from infecting one another while living in close quarters. Oh, and one more thing: wild salmon flesh turns pink from the food they eat. The pink color in farmed salmon—it’s fake. 

Has the cash economy swallowed up your life? Here are some ways to extract some of your time and "life energy" from the cash economy.

Reduce debt. If you can't pay cash, don't buy it. Practice being mindful about what you buy and why.

Do it yourself. Grow food, pick berries, can and preserve food, make wine, bake bread. Make or repair clothes, furniture, and gifts. Create your own entertainment. Walk, bike, run, or play basketball instead of joining a fitness club.

Share & Exchange. Take care of neighbor kids and elders. Play music, sing, act in local theater, write poems, hold art shows. Exchange haircuts for applesauce, bike repair for massage, language tutoring for babysitting.

Reduce waste & pollution. Weatherize your home or apartment. Reduce your car usage, or get rid of a car.

Buy local. Run buy-local campaigns, print stickers, publish or post a directory of local businesses. Acknowledge business owners who foster the well-being of the environment, employees, and the whole community. Convert public funds from luring outside corporations to supporting local businesses.

Start a new local business. Start a food market, credit union, wifi network, or even an electricity co-op. Explore ownership options like cooperatives, nonprofits, for-profits, or single proprietorships.

Buy Fair Traded when you buy imports. Vote with your dollar for a better world for all.

Good afternoon! Today I thought I'd write about how I feel on the subject of bottled water. It's changed a lot in the last year. I have always been a water drinker, in fact it makes up for about 95% of my fluid intake. I don't drink anything carbonated (never have in my life) or alcohol-containing, I rarely have fruit juices because I consider them flavored sugar-water, and try to drink a glass or two of milk every once in a while. So I'm a huge fan of good old H20.

Up until last year, I have purchased bottled water pretty regularly. You know, one of those big 24 packs of whatever is on sale. However, I always felt guilty throwing away the bottle after I emptied it, even if I was recycling it. So, I'd usually refill it with tap water, trying to get at least 5 uses out of each bottle before retiring it. And then I thought about it... if I'm reusing these bottles with water anyway, why even buy them? Why not just drink tap water all the time out of good (not-disposable) water bottles? And so that became one of my 2008 resolutions: no more buying bottled water!

I haven't purchased bottled water since. Well, OK, let me clarify. I haven't gone to the store to buy a 24-pack. I will admit that I still accept a free bottle of water when I'm at the hairdresser/day-spa/airport parking garage, etc. And when I traveled to Europe this summer, I did buy bottled water more than once. OK, so I'm not perfect. But I can't tell you how many bottles of water I have saved since I made this move. I have a whole collection of water bottles to use and fill up with tap water. Like every American college student, I have my fair share of Nalgene bottles, although I am well-aware of the dangers of the evil BPA chemicals leaking into the water. So now I've moved to aluminum bottles. My current favorite is this nice one from Pottery Barn:

Yes, that's mine with the red flowers on it :)

But enough about what I've done to stop using bottled water. What about the rest of the world? Fortunately, I'm starting to hear more and more of cities and organizations who are banning bottled water. People are starting to realize that bottled water is rarely anything more than filtered tap water, and that it makes no sense at all to pay money for it and fill up landfills with plastic bottles! Interestingly enough, most municipal water sources have more stringent safety regulations to follow than bottled water companies! I applaud cities like San Francisco for taking the first steps to stop using bottled water, we have to have someone to follow!

Earlier today I had a conference call with my fellow workers at the Eat Well Guide and learned about a new campaign called "Take Back the Tap" that is aimed at educating the public about bottled water and why they should switch to tap water. It's put out by a DC-based group called "Food & Water Watch". Interesting stuff!

May I just add that this is not just an American problem. Although we may be the biggest users of bottled water in the world, we do not use nearly as much per capita as some of our European friends. You can thank the Italians for drinking 82% more bottled water than we do. And it's not like they have unclean tap water (I can understand the very high consumption in Mexico and other places without safe tap water). Last summer in Rome, I fell in love with filling up my water bottle from all the fountains all over the city. Europeans just like their bottled water I guess. I always felt like I had insulted someone when I ordered tap water in a restaurant. Of course, they also drink a lot of carbonated water, which at this point we aren't able to get from a tap (but maybe in the future?.. that'd be weird)

So, enough of my tirade on bottled water. I think it's absolutely ridiculous that we drink so much of the stuff. If you're really worried about the quality of your tap water, buy a Brita filter or something like that, but if you're just lazy (which I suspect is the usual reason), you have no excuse! And if you just drink water because you think it looks sophisticated, get yourself a stylish water bottle like myself, and you too can receive many a compliment. :)

So, on to healthy shower curtains.  As I was taking my shower, my new greener mind was thinking about the grungy vinyl shower curtain liner that needed to be replaced.  That's when it hit me (for the first time), TOXIC VINYL! You see, those lovely vinyl shower curtains we buy for about $9.99 release Volatile Organic Compounds. Don't let the word "organic" fool you, VOCs are chemicals that easily turn into gases and contaminate the air (its no wonder it took me so long to realize I had a toxic shower curtain, I was inhaling toxic fumes!).  The list of health problems these chemicals cause is sickening, literally!

To name just a few:

Cataracts

Liver & Kidney Damage

Narcotic Effects

Skin, Respiratory & Eye Irritation

Possible Carcinogens

And many more!!

To read more about the dangers of vinyl read this.  

The solution?  I found some great cotton & hemp shower curtains that cost an arm and a leg (but will last nearly forever with proper care), and I will be needing two.  I also looked into buying fabric and making my own, but it appears that with the cost of the fabric and a grommet setting kit, it'll run nearly the same, and cost me more time. I believe its time for another green investment,  but I think my family's health is worth it!

The German firm are determined to make their model range run on alternative fuels - to improve costs, become more eco-friendly and because the oil supply will eventually run out.

Read the article here...

Return To Voluntary Simplicity — Part 1

While working for the think-tank, Stanford Research Institute (now SRI International), Duane Elgin co-authored the following report with Arnold Mitchell in 1976 for the Business Intelligence Program. Titled Voluntary Simplicity, this was the most popular report published to that date by the program and it stirred national interest in the theme of simplicity. This article is an updated version of that catalytic report and was published in the Summer, 1977 issue of the Co-Evolution Quarterly (which, in turn, was published by the Whole Earth Catalog).

The long run social ramifications of voluntary simplicity — if it develops into a major social movement — are enormous. Widespread adoption of the social goals and characteristics implied by the value themes underlying voluntary simplicity would surely mark a deep and perhaps permanent alteration in the nature of the American dream. The eventual result could be the creation of a social order that is as different from the present as the industrial era was different from the Middle Ages.

The reason that the potential social implications are so vast is that voluntary simplicity does not represent merely an internal readjustment of the prevailing values pattern but rather constitutes a fundamental shift in that pattern. Widespread adoption of this way of life could launch our society on a new developmental trajectory.

We are by no means suggesting that voluntary simplicity offers the only approach to a viable cultural and economic future. However, the United States and many other developed nations seem to be in a period of social drift. They appear to be losing both momentum and a sense of direction. People seem to be waiting for some leader or chain of events to make clear the nature of an alternative social vision. The uncertainty, indecision, and growing anxiety over appropriate social direction has prompted a new willingness to "think the unthinkable," to deeply consider what life means and where we wish to go. Voluntary simplicity as a coherent, broadly relevant, practical and purposeful world view could provide an important point of reference or anchoring point as our nation begins searching for and experimenting with new social forms.

Alternative Futures

Although VS as a way of life may have great and obvious long run significance, it seems at present to be struggling to achieve a critical mass of social awareness and acceptance. We have said that it could grow to major proportions by the year 2000. On the other hand, under some circumstances the movement could fade away. If we are to understand the prospects of voluntary simplicity, we must attempt to understand the nature and dynamics of the larger social context out of which this way of life could emerge.

There is great uncertainty regarding the future course of social evolution in the United States. Although the future is fundamentally uncertain, there are four alternative societal social futures which we feel bound much of the domain of social possibility over the next several decades. These are:

1. Technological Salvation — This is a future where, with good luck and great ingenuity, we find the social will and technological know-how to cope with critical national problems and continue along a trajectory of relatively high material growth. This future assumes that the value premises of the industrial era (rugged individualism, rationalism, material growth, etc.) will withstand current challenges and provide people with meaningful and workable living environments.

2. Descent Into Social Chaos — This is a future in which the society is torn by divisions and tensions among competing interest groups. There is no cataclysmic demise — just the grinding, unrelenting deterioration of the social fabric as crisis is compounded by crisis amidst diminishing public consensus as to how to cope with it all. Inept bureaucratic regulation and unforeseen events (such as severe climate changes) could change the drift toward social chaos into a rush.

3. Benign Authoritarianism — Despite the growing public pressure for and acceptance of the need for fundamental social change, the large, complex and highly interdependent bureaucracies in both public and private sectors could thicken and, like slowly hardening concrete, lock people into an inescapable net of regulations and institution. This could be a benign authoritarianism which emerges from the unstoppable logic of well-intended bureaucratic regulation which seeps into nearly every facet of life.

4. Humanistic Transformation — One expression of this alternative could be a future in which the underlying value premises shift and two closely related ethics emerge. First is an ecological ethic that accepts our earth as limited, recognizes the underlying unity of the human race, and perceives man as an integral part of the natural environment. Second is a self-realization ethic that asserts that each person's proper goal is the evolutionary development of his fullest human potentials in community with others. Each ethic could serve as a corrective for possible excesses in the other. This could be a future that substantially embraces voluntary simplicity or some similar way of life that, though materially more modest than current lifestyles, is overall more satisfying.

These four thumbnail sketches of alternative futures present an enormous range of social possibility. Yet, to the extent that each of these is a plausible future, its seeds must exist in the present. Therefore, they need not be mutually exclusive social futures. For example, we can imagine a plausible future marked by both a humanistic transformation and by technological success (although it may be "appropriate" rather than "high" technology that underlies that success).

One way to test the viability of voluntary simplicity as an emergent way of life is to assess the extent to which it could assume a significant role in all four of these futures. In other words, is this a social movement that has relevance only in the context of a future of humanistic transformation, or could it plausibly play a major role in the other three futures as well?

A future marked by "technological success" would probably still require people to attack the problems of resource scarcity, environmental pollution, and global economic inequities by consuming less. To the extent that there is a continuing need to approach these and related problems from the demand side, there will be a corresponding role for voluntary simplicity even in this materially successful scenario.

In a society of growing internal strife and tension, voluntary simplicity could, in the short run, exacerbate that conflict. In the longer run, however, VS might help to alleviate social tensions. To the extent that voluntary simplicity provided a way of life that transcended traditional interest group conflicts and provided a meaningful and workable response to a worsening social condition, it could alleviate tensions by directing social energy in a more coherent and harmonious direction.

In a society marked by growing bureaucratic regulation and erosion of democratic processes, voluntary simplicity (with its emphasis on local self-determination, human scale, and self-sufficiency) could provide a health corrective and counterbalancing force. Voluntary simplicity could provide an important source of grass roots innovation and vitality to what otherwise could be an increasingly rigid and somber society.

The important point that we draw from this is not a prediction of the social future but rather noting the significance of voluntary simplicity in many alternative futures. To be sure, the size of this social movement would vary considerably depending on the social context into which it must fit. Nonetheless, there seems to be sufficient push and pull toward voluntary simplicity that it will not soon disappear from the social landscape.

Social Impacts

Assuming that voluntary simplicity will be a significant social force across a broad spectrum of societal futures, we now turn to consider the general nature of its impact. The discussion that follows is intended to be provocative rather than definitive — in hopes of stimulating further thought and comment.

What kind of society would emerge if voluntary simplicity were to become the predominant way of life? A partial answer to this question can be found by examining stereotypical contrasts between the value premises and social characteristics of the industrial "world view" and the voluntary simplicity "world view." Table 1 presents an illustrative array of contrasting value premises and social attributes. Several important insights emerge from this table. First, voluntary simplicity seems to constitute a broadly based attempt to moderate, in the short run, and transcend, in the long run, the industrial world view. Voluntary simplicity implies going beyond material growth to include evolution among more subtle (but no less important) dimensions of life. A second pattern revealed by this table is that the values cluster embraced by voluntary simplicity represents at least as coherent a world view as the industrial world view (which has powered our social vision and industrial development for nearly two centuries). Lastly, voluntary simplicity does not appear to be a movement who domain of social impact can be narrowly defined; rather, it reaches out and touches a great many aspects of life.

Table 1 can do little more than hint at the social implications of voluntary simplicity. Therefore, we turn to look deeper across a sampling of these dimensions. Presented below are some of the plausible, long run directions of social change that seem congruent with voluntary simplicity — assuming this way of life were adopted by a majority of the population.

National Tenor — A society in which a large proportion of the population adopts voluntary simplicity would probably have a uniquely different "feel" to it. Although admittedly speculative, we think that such a society would likely possess a greater sense of frontier spirit, a feeling of continuing challenge at the prospects of forging new, evolving relationships among individuals, societies, nature, and the cosmos. Although some would likely view this as an escapist retreat from problems or a faddish response to soon-to-be solved difficulties, overall the VS oriented society would have a high degree of cultural cohesion, social maturity, and social consensus. People would likely be settling in for the long haul and hence would have a greater sense of future destiny and the conviction they were working on behalf of future generations as well as for themselves. The culture would likely be more open, less tense and serious, and more tolerant. There might be a higher degree of and delight in social diversity. There would likely be a rebirth of a sense of geographic community and regional spirit and a grass roots renaissance in the arts.

Material Growth — Society would tend to move from a goal of material abundance to a goal of material sufficiency. What level of material sufficiency is appropriate would largely be decided by individual choice constrained by resource availability and prevailing cultural norms. Clearly, this presumes a strong cultural context with widely shared beliefs as to what constitutes appropriate levels of material sufficiency. Although material growth may tend toward a steady-state condition, this need not imply a materially static society. With selective growth, some sectors of the economy would grow rapidly while others would contract. For example, growth in appropriate technology might be rapid while production of items of conspicuous consumption declines.

Human Growth — The society would tend to transfer its growth potential and aspirations from a material dimension to an increasingly nonmaterial dimension. This shift would be of the highest import if, as many suggest, our present problems arise in part from a gross disparity between the relatively underdeveloped internal faculties of man and the extremely powerful external technologies at his disposal. Society would attempt to achieve greater balance by fostering a degree of interior human growth that is at least commensurate with the enormous exterior growth that has occurred over the last several hundred years. This implies that our nation would increasingly become a trustee of conscious evolution on this earth, and, in doing so, endeavor to act with a level of awareness equal to the power and responsibility inherent in that role. The implication is that the nation's industrial prowess could provide, with suitable guidance, the material base to support the pervasive and intentional evolution of individual and socio-cultural awareness. Seen in this light, a trend toward voluntary simplicity is a logical evolutionary extension in our civilization growth.

Life Environment — Society would tend to shift from living and working in large, complex environments to living and working in smaller, less complex environments. Accompanying this might be migration from large cities to small cities, towns, and the country. Such trends would probably stimulate grass roots social action, revitalize the sense of community, and produce stronger, more distinctive clusters of neighborhoods.

Identity — The VS society would tend to define personal identity less in terms of consumption than in terms of one's awareness — psychological, social, spiritual. For many Americans consumption is not only an expression of identity but is basic to the sense of identity. The growth of voluntary simplicity would tend to produce a cultural perspective in which identity could be expressed in many other ways, such as experimenting with various forms of voluntary simplicity; developing vital communities through new forms of group and extended family relationships; exploring human consciousness through the hundreds of consciousness expanding disciplines, ranging from meditation, biofeedback, hypnosis, encounter, bioenergetics, and so on.

Technology — Society would tend to move from "high" or "space age" technology to the careful application of "intermediate" or "appropriate" technology. Just as the industrial era was built on high technology, the voluntary simplicity era would likely rely on technology that is explicitly designed to be ecologically sound, energy-conserving, low polluting, comprehensible by many, integrated with nature, and efficient when used on a small scale.

Politics — If voluntary simplicity were to emerge as a dominant way of life, much of its growth would likely be driven by political activism at a grass roots level. Extensive decentralization of institutions would require that local communities take much greater responsibility for the well being of their population. Politics would probably assume a more humanistic orientation as people came to see the intimate connection that exists between the processes of personal growth and social change. Politics would thus be infused with a higher degree of honesty, compassion, and integrity. There might emerge new political coalitions and a greater number of political parties. There would also likely be greater self-righteousness; more frequent appeals to spiritual symbols in attempting to find political consensus; persistent tension between those holding the voluntary simplicity view and those adhering to the industrial world view; confusion concerning the equity and scope of programs conceived and administered at the local level; and so on. Overall, it probably would be a society in which political processes were more experimental, error embracing, and intentionally seeking diversity.

Global Environment — The emergence of an America dominated by the philosophy of voluntary simplicity would undoubtedly lead to many changes in international policies. A few are:

• Support for international bodies dealing with issues such as defense, food, energy, conservation, pollution, critical resources, regulation of nuclear activities, and so on
• Reduction in trade barriers and greater economic and technical assistance to developing nations
• Much more cultural interchange
• Moderation of power politics, with the U.S. attempting to exert moral rather than economic or military leadership

If our policies were successful, the U.S. might ultimately emerge as a symbol of human rights, a source of sophisticated aid in technological problems, and the leader in building a worldwide sense of unity among all peoples everywhere.

The advent of a large segment of the population acting fully or partially in accord with VS tenets would have a major impact on business. The highlights of these implications are sketched below.

Income Patterns

Our back-of-the-envelope estimates are that this way of life would not reduce Gross National Product as much as might be expected; rather, adoption of simple living by roughly a third of the adult population (such that their consumption levels were halved), in the year 2000 would, we think, reduce personal income available to consumers by only about 15% over our present levels. The biggest effect would likely be on the pattern of aggregate consumption and on moderating the level of growth.

Those businesses that view voluntary simplicity as an opportunity rather than a threat would likely find this to be perhaps the fastest growing consumer market of the coming decades. Our rough estimates (calculated at 100% of the spending of "full" VS consumers and 50% of "partial" VS consumers) suggest that consumption with a VS orientation could plausibly rise from about $35 billion today to perhaps $140 billion a decade hence, and to well over $300 billion in 2000 (all in 1975 dollars). This growth seems more than ample to engage traditional business and also to support large numbers of new firms — such as the Briarpatch Network — started to serve VS consumers.

The growth of voluntary simplicity almost surely would lead to an increasingly bimodal income distribution. The enduring disparity between rich and poor in our society would likely grow in magnitude as VS income patterns (although motivationally quite different) would look increasingly like those who were involuntarily simple or poor. How long this gap would persist is an open question. For a substantial proportion of the population — and particularly the poor — we think an equitable redistribution of income would be a precondition for voluntary frugality.

Consumer Markets

As indicated earlier, VS consumption criteria are significantly different from traditional patterns. The person living the simple life tends to prefer products that are functional, healthy, nonpolluting, durable, repairable, recyclable or made from renewable raw materials, energy-cheap, authentic, esthetically pleasing, and made through simple technology. Such criteria will adversely affect many products of conspicuous consumption. On the other hand, the VS lifestyle should create excellent markets for such items as:

• First class durable products, such as solid wood furniture, high quality music and television systems, top-grade hand tools, geared bicycles
• Sturdy cotton and wool clothing deemphasizing fashion, which can be mended, handed down, and worn for years
• Do-it-yourself equipment for home construction, home repair and improvements, cooking, gardening, entertaining, and so on
• Inexpensive prefab "flexible" housing
• Easy-to-fix autos and appliances, perhaps using modular construction
• Healthy, "natural," unprocessed foods
• Self-help medical, childcare, housekeeping items
• Products for arts and crafts and other esthetic pursuits
• Simple, safe, nonplastic, nonmetal toys and games for children
• Products or services associated with shared tasks in communal living, cooperatives, recycling, and energy reduction and food conservation projects
• Leisure activities geared to country living
• Imaginative ways of refurbishing old city and country homes
• Traveling care repair and parts services
• Machines, equipments, and systems utilizing intermediate technology

Prices

Many prices would increase substantially to meet the qualitative demands of the market; the market will be unwilling to accept varying profit margins (i.e., profit will increasingly be based on a "cost-plus" basis) and will no longer tend to reflect the market's willingness to pay a premium for style, fashion, or fad. Price will more often be in terms of barter or "energy exchange." "Bulk" purchasing of nondurables should be anticipated as a frugal market response to unit pricing.

Outlets

A growing and appreciable portion of market activity will take place in the "alternative marketplace:" flea markets, garage sales, classified advertising, community bulletin boards. Consumer cooperatives and mailorder operations will increase as VS consumers become less willing to support superfluous merchandising costs. Purchases will be increasingly localized to diminish the costs of transportation and to encourage the utilization of intermediate technology. Specialty stores will likely increase, especially for food (home canning apparatus and utensils for greater self-suffiency); shelter (energy conservation technology, materials-efficiency guidelines); and clothing (kits).

Promotion

New styles of advertising and promotion will tend to replace traditional types of sensational, emotional, and image appeals. Although an interesting and "aware" image will be important, the aim of advertising and promotion will be to help the consumer gain useful (rather than solely persuasive) information. The advertising will be more closely associated with the product or service being promoted. False or misleading advertising will be taken not as exaggerated puffery but as evidence of the advertiser's lack of concern for others — a message of "you versus us" instead of "we together." Appeals aimed at product quality, utility, durability, and service will likely be more successful, although the marketplace undoubtedly will have its share of "clique products." Keeping-up-with-the-Joneses will diminish in importance, but the popularity or market acceptance of a product will be an important promotional criterion.

Work Roles

In a simple living society the role of work would be downplayed as a status and power symbol and upgraded as a means