My 5: James Glave, Author
February 11, 2009 by Joe Hennager
Filed under Blog, British Columbia, Canada, Environment, Front Page, My 5, Sustainability, Writers
Blue Planet Green Living asked author James Glave, “What are the five most important things we can do to save the planet?”
Here’s his response: “To me, saving the planet means so many different things. It’s deforestation. It’s depletion of fisheries and fish stocks. You can easily get overwhelmed with what do we need to do. To me, it just comes down to global warming and climate change. Whatever we can do to reduce our emissions, we should do….”
Read Full ArticleChoosing to Value a Sustainable Life
February 11, 2009 by Joe Hennager
Filed under Alberta, Blog, Books, British Columbia, Canada, Carbon, Climate Change, Economy, Environment, Front Page, Greenhouse Gases, Natural Resources, Oil, Rainforest, Slideshow, Sustainability, Writers
Yesterday we introduced you to author James Glave, a very down-to-earth, environmentalist who is working to reduce his family’s carbon footprint. He is also active in his community, helping to not only spread the environmental message, but also to make the island he lives on more sustainable. In today’s post, Glave talks about pressing environmental issues that confront both his own community and Canada at large.
Read Full ArticleSaving the Planet with a Laptop and a Hammer
February 10, 2009 by Joe Hennager
Filed under Blog, Books, British Columbia, Climate Change, Environment, Ferry, Front Page, Green Living, Greenhouse Gases, Island, Slideshow, Sustainability, Writers
I believe I swing a pretty mean hammer. Just talking with author James Glave about his book, How I saved 1/6th of a Billionth of the Planet, inspired me to go out to the tool shed and polish up my 20 oz., curved-claw Estwing. I missed it, and I missed the smell of pine sawdust. Glave made me realize something else I had missed through all my years of construction: Everything I had built for the last 20 years, I had built wrong; I had not considered my planet.
For Glave, moving to Bowen Island, British Columbia, raised ethical issues about his family’s carbon footprint. Commuting — and shipping in supplies — from Vancouver to Bowen requires a ferry ride, which by itself substantially increases each resident’s impact on the environment. So when he wanted to build a small office/guest house next to his home, he decided to do it with the least-possible carbon footprint. He chronicled the building of the “Eco-Shed” and its impact on both his family and the Bowen community in his book. I talked with Glave from his home on Bowen Island, to find out more about the man and the impact of his work on his community.
Read Full ArticleEco-Friendly Fabrics Make Green Fashion Statement
February 9, 2009 by Sabrina Potirala
Filed under Blog, Environment, Fabric, Fashion, Front Page, Green Living, Natural Resources, Organic, Pesticides, Slideshow
As consumers become increasingly concerned about the environment, the marketplace responds with new technology to fit the demands of a greener lifestyle: CFLs now provide a more energy-efficient alternative than the fluorescent light bulbs of a few years ago. Hybrid cars use less gas and emit fewer fumes than their gas-only counterparts. Solar installations and wind turbines create off-the-grid energy to power homes and businesses. Even clothing is becoming more eco-friendly.
Eco-fashion, also known as green fashion, features clothes made with respect for the environment. Environmentally friendly fabrics are woven from organic fibers that were grown without pesticides or artificial herbicides. In addition, organic fabrics, such as organic cotton, hemp, bamboo, and soy silk are not treated with harmful chemical dyes or bleaches.
Read Full ArticleWarming Foods for Winter Weather
February 7, 2009 by Lindsay Rice
Filed under Blog, Books, Cooking, Food & Drink, Front Page, Green Living, Nutrition, Slideshow, Vegetarian
Keeping the body warm and nourished during persistently bitter temperatures can give us the courage to reach Spring. Winter is still a time for inward focus, for reserving internal strength and encouraging organs to function steadily.
The element of water is associated with this season. Water is changeable and fluid and an important part of the human body and the planet. The bladder and kidneys help process water in the body, and water is connected to the cycles of the moon and the reproductive organs. This element can stir deep emotions, so allow yourself to feel and be gentle, to rest and dream a little more in these remaining cold weeks.
Read Full ArticleNotes from Nepal: Cautions about Expanding Ecotourism
February 6, 2009 by Jagdish Poudel
Filed under Biodiversity, Blog, Deforestation, Ecotourism, Environment, Front Page, Habitat, Notes from Nepal, Sustainability
Ghale Gaun is an inviting village of about 200-300 people. It sits 2,075 meters above sea level in the remote mountains of Nepal inside the Annapurna Conservation Area. Ghale Gaun is becoming an increasingly popular ecotourism and village-tourism destination, attracting many national and international visitors. Previously, the major source of income of the village people was from international sources, as most of the young boys were involved in the armies of the United Kingdom and India. Because it is a very poor village, the prospect of creating a new income source is highly appealing to the residents.
Read Full ArticleHarming Environment Leads to Societal Collapse
February 5, 2009 by Julia Wasson
Filed under Blog, Books, Books on Kindle, Climate Change, Deforestation, Easter Island, Environment, Forest, Front Page, Habitat, Haiti, Iowa, Natural Resources, Sustainability
Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jared Diamond addressed a crowd of about a thousand at Coe College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on February 3. Dr. Diamond, a professor of history at UCLA, held us in rapt attention while he talked about the subject of his 2005 book, Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed. “That doesn’t seem like the most cheerful subject to write about,” he wryly pointed out, causing a fair amount of laughter among the crowd.
“The real question,” Diamond said, “is, why do some societies collapse, having failed to solve problems that other societies succeeded in solving?”
Read Full ArticleAmanda Rooker, Contributing Writer
February 4, 2009 by Amanda Rooker
Filed under Amanda Rooker, Contributing Writers, Virginia
Amanda Rooker is a freelance writer and editor based in Yorktown, Virginia. She also serves as a spiritual director and teacher at LivingStone Monastery, a Protestant community and retreat house in Newport News, Virginia. She received her bachelor’s degree in English from the College of William and Mary and her Master of Divinity from Duke University.
Read Full ArticleSpiritual Sustainability: Save the Earth Without Killing Yourself
February 4, 2009 by Amanda Rooker
Filed under Blog, Consumer Spending, Environment, Family, Front Page, Green Living, Health, Organic Food, Pesticides, Slideshow, Sustainability, Sustainable Living, Virginia
For much of my life, I have zealously pursued the ideal of sustainable living. A deep love for the natural world, coupled with an equally deep perfectionist streak, made me alternately — depending on the flavor of the times — an object of curiosity or subject to ridicule. However, over the past five years, I have had to admit that this ultra-determined sort of sustainability has not produced the eco-perfect life that I expected.
Read Full ArticleMy 5: Amanda Rooker, Freelance Writer and Spiritual Teacher
February 4, 2009 by Amanda Rooker
Filed under Blog, Front Page, My 5, Sustainable Living, Virginia
Blue Planet Green Living asked contributing writer Amanda Rooker, “What are the five most important things we can do to save the earth?”
BPGL: What are the five most important things we can do to save the planet?
Amanda Rooker:
* Live simply.
* Love people, not things….
Read Full ArticleGreen Cuisine: Understanding Organic and Natural Cooking
February 3, 2009 by Chef Matthew J.G.
Filed under Australia, Blog, China, Cooking, Ecopreneurs, Environment, Front Page, GMOs, Green Cuisine, Green Living, Organic, Organic Food, Restaurants, Sustainability
When Chef Matthew J. Goudge says that a green cuisine is as delicious as it is good for you, you’ll be wise to listen. Chef Matthew is widely known and respected as a talented organic chef and an industry leader. Having cooked professionally in St. Lucia, Malaysia, China, Australia, and England, Chef Matthew’s view is that the world is an interconnected place where all should benefit from each other’s knowledge. In his blog, ProChef360, he invites professional chefs from around the world to join in an open forum, sharing their ideas, their tips, their wisdom, their food photos, and their frustrations. We’re pleased to carry on that tradition by sharing Chef Matthew’s thoughts on organic foods and natural cooking.
Read Full ArticleMatthew J. Goudge, Executive Chef, Contributing Writer
February 3, 2009 by Chef Matthew J.G.
Filed under Australia, Chef Matthew J. Goudge, China, Cooking, Ecopreneurs, Front Page, Green Living, Organic Food
Matthew J. Goudge is an Australian citizen, who possesses a wealth of knowledge in the culinary field. He has worked in St Lucia, Malaysia, China, Australia, Austria and England in various capacities. His career began in February of 1987 at the Tura Beach Country Club in New South Wales, Australia.
Read Full ArticleNotes from India: “Clean Lucknow, Green Lucknow”
February 2, 2009 by Makur Jain
Filed under Blog, Environment, Front Page, Garbage, Government, Landfill, Litter, Notes from India
I’ve spent my entire life in India, but have yet to see a trashcan anywhere on the streets. I guess that’s the reason why there’s a big pile of garbage at most street corners, especially in the residential areas. My family, and others in our neighborhood in Lucknow, will burn any garbage left on the street, so there are no smells, no germs in the air, and no filth outside the house.
Read Full ArticleMakur Jain, Ph.D., Contributing Writer
February 2, 2009 by Makur Jain
Filed under Front Page, Green Living, India, Iowa, Makur Jain, Sustainable Living
Contributing writer Dr. Makur Jain lives in Lucknow, India, where she earned her Ph.D. in English literature. During the 2007–08 school year, she was hosted by the U.S. State Department as a Fulbright scholar to teach Hindi at the University of Iowa.
Read Full ArticlePraise the Lord and Green the Roof
February 1, 2009 by Julia Wasson
Filed under Blog, Composting, Electric Cars, Environment, Front Page, Green Living, New York, Organic, Organic Food, Recycling, Solar, Sustainable Living
Perhaps you won’t be surprised to hear about a religious order of nuns that grows its own vegetables and cares for the environment. But nuns sharing a Zip car? Nuns wearing organic cotton habits? And nuns living under a green roof in New York City? Joseph Huff Hannon sent us this fascinating post about a group of green-living nuns who are serving their fellow humans and the planet by living Earth Wise, Money Smart.
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