Green Cities

-- Quote of the Day -- 

 “People who become involved are getting involved with the large picture… almost anywhere that you go, the greening of the world can happen through your actions – circling from the individual to worldwide.”

~ Cindy Katz

http://tobtr.com/s/4660327

 (*Click on the link to access the full discussion with Cindy)

-- Conscious Living Event -- 

May 20

Waste Expo 2013

Location: New Orleans, Louisiana – US

 
Info: www.WasteExpo.com
 

 -- Positive News -- 

I was watching one of my favorite TV documentary series – Architects of Change - recently and learned of some interesting green city initiatives going on here in Canada. One Canadian city, I believe it was Montreal - Quebec, had started an interesting alternative transportation initiative. There, they offer combination package deals for people interested in renting a car, taking taxies, buses, using the share bike system, taking the subway or train, etc. Their plan includes cross promotions = so a bus would have advertising on the other alternatives, etc. They created a website page where people could purchase discount package combinations and also an App so that they can see where they are in the city and what the nearest alternative transportation option is to where they are at that moment, and which would be the fastest way to get where they are headed. So for instance the App might tell them that taking a bike is the fastest route due to the bike path systems in the area and point them to the nearest bike rack depot where they can pick up the bike… also telling them how many bikes are available at that station. They might be told to take a bus instead and the App tells them when the next bus is passing by. And so on through the list of alternatives that are available to their location. 

Other cities like Toronto – Ontario, Canada - are concentrating on creating more community gardens, a larger number of farmer markets, and school/university/college gardens, and more eco-friendly educational parks, and lots of tree planting programs. 

The city of Vancouver - BC, Canada - is fast becoming the greenest city of its size on the planet. They offer all the services mentioned above, and have an extensive recycling and composting system that is expected to expand to the point of being able to reduce a further 40-60% of their garbage. They have continuously built walking trails and bike paths and bike lanes, and have also created higher zoning regulations and building regulation standards. They also have unique libraries – where members can use tools they need for a project and return them to the nearest branch. One other neat thing they are doing is creating a number of electronic power stations for e-vehicles to utilize. 

It is exciting to see cities setting a higher example for others to follow.

Find Dave and Lillian Brummet, excerpts from their books, their radio program, blog, and more at: http://brummet.ca * Support the Brummets by telling your friends, clicking those social networking buttons, or visiting the Brummet's Store - and help raise funds for charity as well!

World of Writing, interview

-- Note -- 

Hi Everyone! I just wanted to let you know that our main site is having some technical issues, which we were made aware of the other day... and our tech-people are working on that now. It should be corrected and uploaded again for you soon... thank you for your patience in this regard. :)

 

--  World of Writing Interview -- 

Penny Lockwood joins us today for a World of Writing Q&A interview and is here to speak about her experiences as a children’s author and her latest release – Boo’s Bad Day, a picture book for children. Penny has actually been writing since 1993 and tends to favor fiction ranging from sci-fi, fantasy, and romance for adults to children’s picture books and middle grade novels.  She has also done some non-fiction freelance work on the topics of:
Find Penny via: http://pennylockwoodehrenkranz.yolasite.com

 

Q: What age group did you write for? 
  

A: Over the years, I’ve written for a variety of ages from toddlers to adults.  Boo’s Bad Day is aimed at ages eighteen months to seven years.  It can be read to a toddler or preschooler by a parent or grandparent, or a child who is reading capable could read it to him or herself.

Q: Why did you write for this particular age group? 


A: Boo was written with my grandchildren in mind.  I’ve often written stories, which would be enjoyed by my children at a particular stage of their lives.  My grandchildren are ages twenty months and five years.  I am around the twenty-month-old regularly and see what he enjoys, what makes him laugh, and what he is curious about. With this in mind, it was easy to write a story to which he could relate.

Q: Did you find it difficult to choose the right language, images and writing style for reaching this age group? 


A: Since I read a lot of books for children of this age group now, I was able to study how other successful writers approached this issue.  With a picture book, the author is limited in the number of words and pages, plus it’s important not to use too many descriptive words.  The illustrator needs to be able to add his or her own interpretation to what the author has written.  I was very pleased to see the final galley proofs and what delightful pictures Deborah Johnson created.  Boo is exactly as I pictured him as I wrote the story.

Q: How do you plan to promote this book? 


A: I have already created Twitter posts, which feed to my Facebook and LinkedIn pages.  I have approached a number of bloggers, like yourself, who feature authors, particularly children’s authors, and I have a wonderful line up of tour stops to promote the release of Boo’s Bad Day with reviews, guest posts, and interviews.  I will approach the local libraries and ask to do a reading during their children’s programs and donate a book to each of the two closest libraries. I will send media releases to area newspapers. I also plan to contact the local grade schools to suggest an author appearance to talk about writing and Boo. Finally, it’s been suggested that I create a fan page for Boo on Facebook, so I plan to look into that.

Q: Is there anything in your book that is based on a real life experience? 


A: Yes. Many years ago, we had a black cat named Boo, who was a wonderful, loving cat.  As a teenager, he was lost outside during an ice storm. He somehow knew how to climb a tree but didn’t know how to get down. We called and called and finally heard him meowing.  He was over fifty feet up in a fir tree.  My husband put the longest ladder we had against the side of the tree but couldn’t reach him. We could hear Boo’s cries getting weaker and weaker.  The following day, a friend who was taller than my husband came and was able to reach Boo by standing on the top rung and stretching his arm.  Poor little kitty was so cold and scared.  Once we got him inside, he curled in front of our wood stove and didn’t move for two days.  

Q: Why did you feel this book needed to be written? 


A: Boo’s story stayed with me over the years.  My grandson loves cats, and I felt a story about Boo would be perfect.  It shows children they need to watch out for their pets, some adventures can be a little scary when you’re by yourself, and, to quote Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz, “there’s no place like home.”

Q: What’s the best advice you were given about writing? 

A: The best advice I’ve been given about writing is to have faith in yourself. As a young writer, decades ago, I submitted my stories to magazines.  Not knowing what I know now, I submitted to the “big” names, and of course, I was rejected. After a few rejections, I was discouraged and put off writing for over twenty years.  While doing some volunteer work, I became involved in grant writing. When I learned I could get paid for this, I decided maybe I should give my fiction another try.  At this point, there was a lot of support available for new writers in the form of classes, forums, online groups, critique groups, and conferences.  I educated myself, started writing, and submitted my work to small genre magazines, and was rewarded with acceptances.  I slowly built my way up to better paying publications and ultimately had my first book published.  If I hadn’t given up, sought out help, and continued to submit my work, I know I would have had a lot more published works to my name. It often comes down to being in the right place at the right time with the right story.  

Find Dave and Lillian Brummet, excerpts from their books, their radio program, blog, and more at: http://brummet.ca * Support the Brummets by telling your friends, clicking those social networking buttons, or visiting the Brummet's Store - and help raise funds for charity as well!

Recycled Clothing & Fabric

-- Quote of the Day -- 

“There are pockets where people are changing, but by-and-large we are losing more than gaining. I think one of the reasons why we are destroying nature is because… we see ourselves as separate. …We have this education system that wants to provide love peace and joy and purpose, but the nature of how we are trying to deliver the message in a dictatorship manor… it is just not going to work; we cannot dictate those things to one another. …Earth Time is where the magic happens – that is where we plug back into that childlike wonder. Earth Time is vital, not just for our sanity but for our happiness, our health.  It may sound strange but it doesn’t have to be a physical slowing down, so if someone is hurtling down the trail on a mountain bike they may be experiencing the same thing as someone sitting and meditating on what they see in nature. It is getting the sense of expansion, of being the wave or droplet in the ocean...  to let go without clinging to the small Self. …Wild Earth’s Children Org. is based in Colorado (US) but we travel all over; most of our programs serve 4 years old to 80 years old… the only real goal that we have is providing hands on experience in nature.”

~ Simon Harrison

Today’s quote originates from the Conscious Discussions Talk Radio episode that aired back on February 5 2013… titled: Connecting with Nature

 (*Click on the title to access the full discussion)

-- Positive News -- 

The incredible volume of trash generated by mankind now has many options …from the Zero Waste R’s:  Rethink, Refuse, Repair, Reuse, Reduce, Repurpose, Recycle and Rot… to incineration plants. While incineration plants are not a wonderful solution, they are a temporary solution to the vast amount of garbage when we are running out of places to put it. Oslow, for instance, is a very recycle friendly city however it imports garbage from other cities and along with the garbage it generates – enables them to run a highly efficient incinerator to power most of its school and city owned buildings (court houses, city hall, etc.). The result is, of course, reducing the need for fossil fuel power sources.  In the realm of incineration plants – garbage is a highly sought after resource, one that plants will often compete over… and they are even considering shipping in garbage across the sea in order to meet their power demands. On the surface these plants seem like a good solution – but are not a long-term solution to our waste production issues on the planet. The danger in using this option is that people will feel that producing a lot of waste is now OK because it can be used to create power. People might not be as concerned with reducing waste through recycling outlets where those resources create jobs and new products reducing our impact on natural resources. Additionally, anything burned is not really a good idea – what goes in the air will come back to us and that can be quite dangerous. 

The best options available to us today are the r's of Zero Waste (listed above) - for instance, did you know that Canada throws away 200 million kg of clothing annually!? A lot of that fabric could be reused by crafters, seamstresses, quilters... and people who need rags like homemakers, cleaning staff, mechanics, artists, etc. Alternatively there are a few fabric recyclers available to choose from - some make a felt-like product out of old clothes that is used for things like carpet underlay, while other recyclers actually make a new yarn that manufacturers can employ to create new clothes and other items. Another option is to take wearable clothing and towels, etc. to the local thrift store where they can sell the items, employ local people and support local charities. Old towels and small blankets can also be taken to animal shelters.

Find Dave and Lillian Brummet, excerpts from their books, their radio program, blog, and more at: http://brummet.ca * Support the Brummets by telling your friends, clicking those social networking buttons, or visiting the Brummet's Store - and help raise funds for charity as well!

 

Sustainable Tourism

-- Quote of the Day -- 

“We must be willing to let go of the life we planned

 so as to have the life that is waiting for us.”

~ Joseph Campbell

-- Conscious Discussions Talk Radio -- 

 

* Airs live @ 10-11 AM (Pacifc)  - all episodes are archived indefinitely within moments after they air live, and are available for you to listen to later on at any time of day.

 Sign up via itunes for the Conscious Discussions Radio show: http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/id262138144 

 

Best of Conscious Discussions series offers highlights from some of the best discussions we've had in the past. Today is our 42st episode in this series – Featuring 2 experts offering advice on: Volunteering ...First up will be: Carol Denbow is our featured guest of the day, & our topics will be volunteering & author experiences. Followed by:Joyce Major will be speaking about her recent experiences in Indonesia volunteering with the Sumatran Orangutan Society learning about the issues, palm oil, illegal logging and the pet trade.
Access the live (10-11 AM Pacific) or archived episode:

 
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/consciousdiscussions/2013/05/16/best-of-conscious-discussions-42

Find Dave and Lillian Brummet, excerpts from their books, their radio program, blog, and more at: http://brummet.ca * Support the Brummets by telling your friends, clicking those social networking buttons, or visiting the Brummet's Store - and help raise funds for charity as well!

 

Product Review, reusable bags

-- Product Review -- 

Back on March 31st, Douglas Lober of www.ReuseThisBag.com decided to send a selection of bags our way for review, which we received around mid-April. The company focuses on bags made from 100% recycled materials and offer a good selection of interesting high-quality bags that can be custom printed to represent your event or business. With 4-5 trillion bags being consumed annually on this planet, and more than 1 hundred thousand marine animals, and one million feathered and land based wildlife perishing each year due exposure to plastic bags - options like these are essential in helping the world become sustainable.

Douglas sent us two samples of his latest products is called a Rip Stop Polyester Shopping Bag that comes in both “tee-shirt” and “wave” handle styles, and two Reusable Wine Totes in 4 (green) and 6 (black) bottle sizes.

The day we received the four bags happened to be a shopping day, so while at the grocery till I asked the server what she thought of them. She thought the polyester bags had wonderful capacity and were easier to fill then some bags she’s dealt with. I was wondering what the little drawstring side pocket might be and between the 3 of us we realized that it was used to stuff the bag into so that it became a little package. What a wonderful idea that is – the bag in this form can easily be carried with a person in a purse, panniers (bicycle saddle bags), or backpack, etc. and they’ll never be caught without a bag on them. The only negative point was that “wave” handles, while sturdy, have a tendency to cut into the hands when the bag is filled with heavy items… I definitely prefer the “tee-shirt” handles. One of the benefits of the nylon bags is that they will not attract pet hair, where as a lot of our other cloth and recycled plastic fabric bags do.

The same day we headed over to the liquor store and purchased a couple of bottles of locally produced BC wines, using the green 4pouch wine bag. While there I took a sneak peak at some of the reusable bags available in the store and saw that only one of those had pouches, which were shorter and less sturdy than the ones in ours. I loved the effect of the thick, taller pouches in our bag, keeping the bottles upright but also preventing any clinking of the glass from bottom to top. The green 4-pouch bag was able to carry 1.5 L size bottles, while the 6-pouch back is more suitable for 750 ml bottles. These would also be handy for regular grocery trips involving bottled items like jars of salsa, jam, sauce, cooking wine, oil, etc. I appreciate the thick and sturdy loop handles – which aide in carrying the heavy weight of bottled liquids, and do not cut into the hands. Both the 4 and 6 pouch bags were unfortunately made in China, but are constructed of durable nonwoven polypropylene and can be washed repeatedly in cold water and hung to dry, or dry on the lowest or air settings. (Similar laundering methods for the nylon bags.)

It takes about 12 million barrels of oil to produce the number of bags consumed in the US alone. Just in the city of New York (US) one less plastic bag per person would reduce waste by 5 million pounds and the city would save $250,000 in disposal costs. Any company, sole proprietor, entrepreneur, artist or author could help to make the world a better place by advertising via having their image, logo and website printed on these bags – rather then other less earth friendly methods of getting attention. Individuals too can easily have a huge impact on the health of the planet simply by choosing to take reusable and washable bags on their shopping excursions. In fact simply by switch to reusable bags, over one person’s lifetime they could reduce the consumption of over 22,000 plastic bags. I have reusable bags that are 10 years old and are still in good shape despite going through many wash cycles and heavy use over the years.

We have a section in the Trash Talk book series on this topic that you might want to check out for more information on how this simple step has an impact, and how plastic shopping bags are affecting the environment. Additionally, you might want to visit the resources listed below:

- http://www.ReusablePromos.com

- http://www.ReuseThisBag.com

- http://consciousdiscussions.blogspot.ca/2011/10/loving-mother-nature-with-logo-printed.html

- Steven Chiv of the San Francisco Department of the Environment

- http://www.blogtalkradio.com/consciousdiscussions/2011/02/20/best-of-2007-series-volume-1

- Megan Ponder of the City of Portland Bureau of Planning and Sustainability

- http://www.blogtalkradio.com/consciousdiscussions/2011/12/22/positive-eco-news

- Nina McNitzky of the City of San Jose

- http://www.blogtalkradio.com/consciousdiscussions/2011/01/23/positive-eco-news

Find Dave and Lillian Brummet, excerpts from their books, their radio program, blog, and more at: http://brummet.ca * Support the Brummets by telling your friends, clicking those social networking buttons, or visiting the Brummet's Store - and help raise funds for charity as well!

Aiding Those in Need

-- Quote of the Day -- 

 

“When you blame others, you give up your power to change.”

~Robert Anthony

-- Conscious Discussions Talk Radio -- 

 

* Airs live @ 10-11 AM (Pacifc)  - all episodes are archived indefinitely within moments after they air live, and are available for you to listen to later on at any time of day.

 Sign up via itunes for the Conscious Discussions Radio show: http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/id262138144 

 

Today’s guest, was a no-show so we have decided to create a contingency episode featuring green living information, helping you save money and make the world a better place at the same time. - & - you can find the hosts @: http://Brummet.ca

Access the live (10-11 AM Pacific) or archived episode:
 
  http://tobtr.com/s/4647981

Find Dave and Lillian Brummet, excerpts from their books, their radio program, blog, and more at: http://brummet.ca * Support the Brummets by telling your friends, clicking those social networking buttons, or visiting the Brummet's Store - and help raise funds for charity as well!

 

Going Green

 -- Resources for Going Green --

* Today's article was written by Kathy Bampfield - editor of Green Guide Tips. A green community website dedicated to helping people live a environmentally sustainable lifestyle one small step at a time... http://www.greenguidetips.com

Going green articles are all over the internet. Which ones do you read? Who do you believe? You'll see articles about going green in your home and business which is now called "environmental sustainability". Green living can pertain to your health, home, politics, family and transportation. In fact, almost any topic you can think of has a green side to it.

Reading through these sites will give you a baseline of information so you can make up your own mind on what works for you, giving you the freedom to contribute and learn about green living. There are so many ways to live a sustainable lifestyle. It's important to know all your options that you can pick and choose from. Green articles are a great way to educate yourself about environmental sustainability. 

Let's look at some site's that have articles I believe in.

1. I'm going to start with the White House site. It doesn't matter whether you believe in what they are saying, this just gives you a baseline on our country's government regulations about "environmental sustainability". You will find different categories for greening up.  


2. World Changing is a web site that takes a broad stroke at environmental sustainability. Trying to stay ahead of the curve on ideas about greening up. The site has many books and videos about world changing.

3. The Daily Green has used a mulch-faceted approach to helping people learn about going green. Video's, podcasts, articles and community participation has grown the site into a real green encyclopedia.  

4. I have a favorite green site of my own - Green and Clean Mom. It's a source about daily living from a working woman's perspective. Many guest writers are on board and give excellent green information. You have the ability to give your opinion and learn about sustainable living at the same time.

5. Environmental directory's also hook you up with multiple websites that have the same focus. One of the better ones that is human approved is Best Green Blogs Directory.

As you read from the above sites you will find they have friends and friends of friends. You will be able to get an earnest education about sustainability. You can make it a point everyday to just read one article from any of the above sites or Google and find some of your own. What ever you choose sustainable awareness and green living can be an easy addition to your life.

Find Dave and Lillian Brummet, excerpts from their books, their radio program, blog, and more at: http://brummet.ca * Support the Brummets by telling your friends, clicking those social networking buttons, or visiting the Brummet's Store - and help raise funds for charity as well!