tips

Sustainability requires a new sense of community

I’m writing an article about “Community” for the final volume of my company’s Encyclopedia of Sustainability. The volume is called The Future of Sustainability so I have to explain the future of community and how that relates to sustainability. I’m summing up years of reading and pondering and fretting over how these two things relate, and was remembering my brief words about community at the end of Eco Living, published in 2000, several years before I became the creator and editor of the Encyclopedia of Community (Sage 2003). Here the [...]

August 1st, 2012|Categories: The Search for Community|Tags: , , |

Enough and no more

A friend told me not long ago that she wanted me to help her give her apartment an eco-makeover and especially, first thing, to advise her on what kind of cleaning products she should be buying. I felt like I punctured her enthusiasm a little when I said it didn

May 1st, 2007|Categories: Uncategorized|Tags: , |

Oil and water shouldn’t mix

I've noticed a trend here that strikes me as a good sign. I've seen two or three people drinking water out of glass bottles they've obviously refilled. This solves the perennial water bottle challenge of taste (how many discussions have you heard about the latest, greatest new sports bottle?), and is so much better for the environment (and health) than buying bottled water. Here's a great photo created by David Coale of Acterra, who worked out how much oil is takes to ship a bottle of water from its source [...]

August 4th, 2006|Categories: Oddments|Tags: , |

Eco Living and what matters most

After watching An Inconvenient Truth the other night, there’s been a lot of discussion in the office about What We Can Do. The air-conditioning was turned down, and I think we’re all looking at cars differently—thinking of those ice banks in Antarctica. In the book I’m working on, the Cool Planet Guide, we’ll be breathing life into the flat list of tips that appeared on the screen after the movie with lots of specific, measurable actions that will have real impact. I’ve been thinking, though, about the big question Joe [...]

June 29th, 2006|Categories: Oddments|Tags: |

First jobs of spring

Two important things accomplished today: Two garden beds prepped and planted--thanks to Tom and Rachel, who have taken to lecturing me on global warming and the wastefulness of grainfed meat--with Asian salad and stir-fry greensand a mix of early radishes,* arugula, and some chicory seed we brought from Italy two years ago. I highly recommend all these things for ease, and taste. If you're new to gardening, there are few simpler things that to sprinkle seeds like these across a bed, rake in lightly, and leave to grow. We could [...]

April 1st, 2006|Categories: Oddments|Tags: , , |

Redux: 10 Simple, Practical Ways to Green Your Home

I thought I'd share an article from Bottomline Reports that gathered my ideas some 10 years ago about "10 Simple, Practical Ways to Green Your Home." Everybody knows that there are changes we can make at home to help protect the earth, but many of them seem complicated or daunting. Busy people don

August 25th, 2005|Categories: Uncategorized|Tags: |