How To Stop Global Warming, or, A Cranky Person Spouts Off

People say, "What is the sense of our small effort?" They cannot see that we must lay one brick at a time, take one step at a time.
~Dorothy Day

Travel and learn. Photo by Lisa Kau.

When contemplating what to write for this month's Green Mom's Carnival, which has the topic of Global Warming, I was flummoxed. Global Warming? What on earth could I add to the Global Warming dialog? I felt inadequate, small, unworthy (even though sustainability is what I do). And that, dear readers, is the key.

Each and every one of us MUST do what we can. Regardless of our scientific credentials. Regardless of our status, our education, our confidence (or lack of it). It is up to us - individuals - to make a difference. I am not a parent (although I have three nieces, whom I love so fiercely it actually hurts, and for whom I would throw myself in front of an oncoming train), but when I think of what kind of world we are leaving for future generations I almost despair. Almost.

I once had a boyfriend (of the Earth First! variety) who would spray paint “Nature bats last!” on isolated bridges and over passes in ravaged, heavily-logged national parks and wilderness areas. While I was a bit appalled at the vandalism, I agree with the sentiment. Human beings are just a blip on the planet’s radar; we are currently wreaking havoc, but are ultimately not as important as we like to think we are.

We have the opportunity to make a huge paradigm shift – respecting nature, living sustainably, slowing consumerism, sharing our wealth, building communities, and learning kindness. I am embarrassed at the riches Americans squander each and every day; for example, we buy bottled water with extra shots of caffeine or vitamins or just a really pretty label, while others, by a mere accident of birth, do not even have clean water to drink.

To me it all comes down to personal responsibility, and deciding to think about something other (bigger!) than ourselves. I remain optimistically realistic, and just a bit cranky.

How to Curb Global Warming, Part One

1. Take responsibility - for your actions, your non-actions, your attitudes and your biases.
2. Stop driving. Seriously. Just stop. (Mark Sheppard doesn't agree with me...and boy, he is really cranky!)
3. Work (hard!) for change.
4. Take care of everyone. Not just the pretty or the rich or the sane or the educated. Everyone.
5. Be kind.
6. Stop competing.
7. Consider reading the Utne Reader, Orion and YES! Magazine instead of People and Entertainment Weekly. Do we really give a horse's patoot about how Jen is coping with Brad and Angelina's ever-growing family?
8. Find work you love. Embrace a new paradigm.
9. Share. The one who dies with the most toys does NOT win. He's just dead, with lots of stuff for someone else to deal with.
10. Turn off your TV, and cancel your cable.
11. Read books. Borrow them from the library, or use Bookmooch.
12. Speaking of libraries, support them. If you don't have any cash, volunteer.
13. Become frugal. Think of it as another way of conserving resources.
14. Eat lower on the food chain.
15. Grow your own vegetables, swap with neighbors. If you don't have the space, join a community garden. Get creative!
16. Compost, and be amazed at what nature can do.
17. Spay and neuter your pets (9.6 million animals are euthanized - killed, put down, - annually) and encourage others to do so, too.
18. Do not buy dogs from puppy mills.
19. Get to know your neighbors.
20. Travel, and learn that the world is made up of people a lot like us.
21. Understand that valuing conspicuous consumption is, well, kind of stupid. Do we think it really matters if we have the new style of Jimmy Choo shoes?
22. Don't be cranky.
    
    

Sell your soul (sole?) for Jimmy Choo's. Photo Credit CafeHangout on Flickr

More info on the Green Mom's Carnival can be found here.

Vision of a New Way of Doing Business

I haven't posted here for awhile. And I was feeling guilty (ah, well, there's something new!) about it - after all, a new business needs constant attention, enthusiastic diligence, constant feelers to contacts, both new and old...

Frankly, I've been rather frantic. Working on a Media Kit (Earth Day is four months away - and everyone seems to want to talk to us at Earth Day!), making lists (and checking them twice) of green bloggers who might be interested in collaborating, writing copy for ads that won't run until the fall of 2009 but are due NOW, trying to determine which of all the tempting events, conferences and trade shows to attend (hmmmmm....if I "Pitch My Product" in Chicago at the Country Living Women Entrepreneur's event I can't make it to the Book Expo in NYC...), creating a delightful, cohesive and fun seminar program for the summer & fall of 2009, PLUS cook dinner, pretend to clean, sew thermal window shades for our house (it's been below zero - outside - each morning for the last week when we awaken...), filing all the dozens of papers, magazine tear sheets, pamphlets, and brilliant ideas that are constantly whirling around my desk and my head...

And then I finally came to my senses. I moved to Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage to live more sustainably. And the longer I live here, the more I realize that sustainability is about more than reducing my physical footprint. I need to be sustainable. I need to set reasonable working hours, regardless of how new and entreprenerial my business is. I need to breathe, to play, to run around with the dog, to talk with friends, to give myself time to recharge and regroup. I need to nap. So I'm taking a few days off; I hope to have a sustainable plan for this blog in 2009.

Fionn, snoozing.

Thanks for reading. I hope to continue to make it worth your while in the future.

The Milkweed Mercantile November Newsletter

Photo: Glen Bolosan

This Month's Theme: Gratitude

Dear readers,
Regardless of what is happening around us, we all have so much for which to be grateful. As an individual, I am grateful for my husband, who makes my life a joy; my supportive friends who are always there when I need them; and my crazy pets, who never fail to provide entertainment. I am grateful to have a warm house to live in; what I like even better is that you can often find a friend nestled into the couch, cup of tea in hand, in front of the wood stove. As the Top Banana of the Milkweed Mercantile, I am grateful for the talented Rabbits who are and will become members of the staff, and for their creative and insightful contributions to making the Mercantile a thriving, heart-based success. I am also grateful to you, the Mercantile's many supporters - thank you so much! And as an American, I am grateful to have a new president-elect, and a renewed sense of hope in our country.

So take a deep breath. Thanksgiving CAN be fun, and the day after does not have to be crazy.
A Bit Nervous about Thanksgiving? Read Facing the Family by Teri Trespicio

Featured Seasonal Recipe: Cranberry Sauce (hint: it's easy!)
Growing up I thought that cranberry sauce always came in the shape of a can, and that those horizontal lines etched in every inch or so were to help your mom know where to slice it, just like this:

Photo credit: Zach Kowalczyk

A few years ago, though, I learned to make my own cranberry sauce. What a revelation! It's easy, and the taste difference is stunning. Added bonus: the cranberries pop as they cook, making it a fun project to do with kids. Cranberries have a lot of natural pectin, so your sauce will definitely gel. I don't strain mine (way too much work!) and like to add pecans and orange zest. Presented in a lovely dish when you arrive for dinner, Aunt Edna will think youíre a GENIUS! Note: Make extra so that you can add a bit of it to your leftover turkey sandwiches on Friday...

Photo Credit: Sarah J. Gim

Delightfully Delicious Cranberry Sauce
Makes 2 1/4 cups

1 cup sugar

1 cup water

4 cups (1 12-oz package) fresh or frozen cranberries

1/2 cup chopped pecans

zest from 1 orange

1. Wash and pick over cranberries.
2. In a large saucepan bring water and sugar to a boil, stirring to dissolve sugar. Add cranberries, return to a boil.
3. Reduce heat, simmer for 10 minutes or until cranberries burst.
4. Add in the roughly chopped pecans and orange zest. You can also add a cup of raisins or currants, or up to a pint of fresh or frozen blueberries for added sweetness.
5. Remove from heat. Pour into serving bowl and cool completely at room temperature. Chill in refrigerator. Cranberry sauce will thicken as it cools.

Mercantile Construction Update

Thomas keys the plaster into the strawbales.

Our beautiful strawbale building now has two of three coats of plaster, and the Fuego fireplace was installed this week. We are planning on heating the upstairs with a series of ducts (also installed), counting on the theory that hot air rises. For updated photos, please see our Flickr page!

The Department of Give That Woman A Microphone and She'll be Happy Forever:

I was a guest on the Revolutionary Muse Podcast Radio on Monday, November 11, 2008.
Click here to listen.

Holiday Sanity, Part One

Are you looking for ideas for inexpensive, creative and eco-friendly gifts? Take a look at this from our Friends at the Center for a New American Dream.

And there are lots of ways to wrap your gifts without spending lots money OR trashing the environment!

Featured Products: 15% off all Edibles!

Dark Chocolate Wally Bar

Last but not least, we would appreciate your support as you are doing your holiday gift-giving. Highly recommended: the amazing Chocolate Wally Bars and Blueberry Lavender Preserves make the perfect hostess gift. And be sure to check out our "Giving to Others" section. All Mercantile purchases are unconditionally guaranteed, come packed in eco-friendly packaging, and are shipped via USPS Priority Mail.

15% OFF Coupon
Use the secret code "Sweet Potato Pie" during checkout to receive a 15% discount on all edibles purchased before December 20, 2008. Supplies limited to stock on hand - shop early!


All of us here at the Milkweed Mercantile send good wishes for a healthy, harmonious and delicious holiday!

Alline Anderson, Kurt Kessner, Amy Seiden, and Annie Radford

"You really can change the world if you care enough."
- Marion Wright Edelman

The Realities of Renewable Energy

The power system in our house is very modestly sized. Before leaving Berkeley we went around the house with a clipboard and took notes on how many watts for how much time each appliance we were taking with us used. We bought a small system, knowing that we would have to economize power-wise when cloudy weather prevailed.

This is one of those times. We are still building the Mercantile, and the power that we have is being prioritized for power tools used in construction.

The sun is scheduled to come back out on Sunday (hmmmm, how appropriate!) and I'll have more to post then.

Internet use aside, this is a lovely opportunity to catch up on reading, hanging out with friends, and sitting by the fire with a nice cup of Peace Coffee. Yum.

And just in case you're worried, the Mercantile's power system will be much larger, to accommodate the number of guests we expect to have at any one time.

Have a great day!