It’s just one of those things you find on StumbleUpon that you can’t imagine having NOT ever heard your whole life. It’s beautiful Anis. Thank you!
Here is his website:
http://thepianofarm.com/
Image via Wikipedia
Update for this project…life happened and I was experiencing severe pain so I was unable to complete the project. Please keep reading, however, there is still some useful information and links.
Thanks
I was emailed the packet for this project a few days ago and I have been excited about starting it. To sign up and receive the package, click here
Here is how they describe it on their site:
“The No Impact Experiment is a one-week carbon cleanse that starts on Sunday, August 29th. It is a chance for you to see what a difference no-impact living can have on your quality of life. It’s not about giving up creature comforts but an opportunity for you to test whether the modern “conveniences” you take for granted are actually making you happier or just eating away at your time and money.”
WHAT: A one-week experiment in living with a lower carbon footprint.
WHEN: The No Impact Experiment lasts for a week starting on Sunday, August 29th.
HOW: Sign up at the above link. Once you sign up, they will email your No Impact Experiment guide, which will walk you through each daily challenge.
Sunday, August 30th 2010
CONSUMPTION
The first thing they asked me to do was to watch a video called Story Of Stuff. It was educational AND entertaining. I actually lol’ed a few times at 5 am. I posted this video on my last blog but here it is anyways.
Here are the steps I was given next and how I did them:
1. Type up a list of all the stuff you “need” to buy this week. Delete the items that you can live without for the week. For the rest of the items, figure out if you can purchase them second-hand, borrow them, or make them yourself.
Here was what I typed out for myself:
Stuff I need for the week:
1. Dog food
2. School books
3. School supplies
4. Food
5. Cigarettes
6. Bus pass
7. Worm medicine for the dog
8. Co-pays on medication
9. Bills
10. Laundry
-There is nothing to delete, I need all of these things.
-I have to buy dog food, food, bus pass, medicine for dog, co-pays for medicine, and pay for bills
-Cigarettes I don’t need but will more than likely buy although I can buy rolling tobacco to lessen the cost and amount of waste
-I am going to rent as many of my schoolbooks that I can or buy used
I realized I really don’t buy that much when I’m broke. I also learned that in the last few months; while trying to lose weight and reading about toxic chemicals and how to make my own cleaning products I have already begun to consume less. All of the things on the list are NEEDED except for cigarettes.
2. Put an empty re-usable bag in a private place at home. Throughout the day, fill it up with all of your trash, recyclables, and food waste. If you’re out of the house, carry your trash home with you. Make sure that nobody else’s trash gets in there but your own. This will help you get ready for Monday’s challenge.
Done!!
3. Just for this week, try not to shop for new items. Will you find something better to do with your time and money? Could you use this time to spend with friends instead?
4. What is the hardest part of decreased purchasing? Go to their site and comment about your experience, thoughts, and overall consumption habits. If you’re trying something new or unique, tell us about it.
5. If you have not already submitted answers to your pre-experiment survey, please do so now. It will help us continue to offer the program for free and help you gauge the change you will experience this week.
They gave me a few good ideas for change including some links. I will include the links and let you explore the rest for yourself when you join the experiment.
Church Of Life After Shopping
How To Mend It
Freecycle
Swap For Good
5 Strategies For Throwing The Perfect Clothing Swap
Center For A New American Dream
Green Guide
GreenPages
Tomorrow is TRASH!!
Stop Deep Cuts to Precious Conservation Funds – Sign the Petition | Change.org.
Text from their site:
” Targeting: Tom Vilsack (USDA Secretary )
Two-thirds of the continental United States are working lands—farms, ranches and private forestlands—that provide clean water, healthy, productive soils, wildlife habitat, and other important benefits for the entire nation.
The USDA’s conservation programs share the cost of improving and protecting these lands with farmers, ranchers, and forest landowners. These public/private partnerships are a critical piece of our nation’s conservation strategy.
But while demand for these programs is always far greater than available funding, USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack is now proposing even deeper budget cuts.
We can’t afford to cut critical support for farmers and forest landowners who are working to conserve millions of acres of precious land.
There are solutions to the nation’s budget woes other than cutting programs that invest in a cleaner future for our air, water and land. Write Secretary Vilsack and urge him to take conservation funds off the chopping block.”
Image via Wikipedia
ESF Joins Sustainability Rating System.
This is my school, which I start again on Monday. I am both excited and nervous. I am proud that my school is incorporating what it teaches into the real world. I think there is still so much more that we can be doing in our community. It’s up to us, as students though, to figure out what those needs are.
I am taking the class, Global Environment and Human Evolution…again this semester because I let the stress get to me my first semester and never wrote a final paper. I have been thinking all summer about what I want to do that paper on. This website and some other nudges from higher places have been leading me in the a direction.
Why do people find it so hard to incorporate green living into their lives? Is it laziness? Do they just not know any better? Is it economically feasible for them to do so? I would also like to attack the stigma that you carry when you decide to live greener, which is that people think that you now think your shit don’t stink!
Suzanne Stone: Let’s take a new tack on the wolf controversy | Reader’s Opinion | Idaho Statesman.
I will write more on this topic later tonight, but I was relieved that something has been done. This is a good link. I got it through Defenders Of Wildlife on Facebook.
Image via Wikipedia
Saw a post from a friend with a video on how the H1N1 shot will be combined with the regular flu shot. So, if you want one yu have to have the other. The video was a little sensationalized and when anyone requests to make something viral…I cringe. Lol, viral that’s funny cause….never mind. Here is the video, judge for yourself. Below is a list of ingredients in the regular flu shot already with many known allergens. Other link are included.
•Egg proteins: including avian contaminant viruses such as avian leucosis
• Gelatin: known to cause allergic reactions and anaphylaxis – usually associated with sensitivity to egg or gelatin proteins
• Polysorbate 80 (Tween 80): can cause severe allergic reactions, including anaphylaxis
• Formaldehyde: known carcinogen
• Triton X100: a strong detergent
• Sucrose: table sugar
• Resin: known to cause allergic reactions
• Gentamycin: an antibiotic
• Thimerosal: 49.6 percent ethyl mercury (still in multidose vials)
FreedomWorks Take America Back 2010 Convention | FreedomWorks.
Well gee, if someone hadn’t wrecked my car I would actually go to this. They put new tickets at the $15 level on sale which does not include the dinner, but it includes the t-shirt and free stuff. I added them on facebook and I am never disappointed by their posts,
Image via Wikipedia
10/10/10 Update:
Here is the direct link to my photo of the Rainbow Gathering in the Allegheny National Forest.
Photo Name: Prayer Circle
Share the Experience™ photo contest.
I entered a photo here of the Allegheny National Forest near Sheffield, PA. It was at the center of the Prayer Circle on the 4th of July at the 2010 National Rainbow Gathering. After it has been reviewed and posted as an entry I will attach a link for anyone willing to comment or vote.
Credit card debt on rise among college students | The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram.
Im watching Maxed Out. I have been watching a lot of documentaries lately. It really does make me sick how corporations prey on the people that need the most help!
F33DyourHEAD 