Green Options

With a campaign tag line, CHANGE WE NEED, President-Elect Barack Obama and a large portion of the American population should have some rather meaningful New Year resolutions for 2009.

For many of us, as we review the financial carnage of 2008 and the dismal outcomes of poorly conceived foreign policy decisions on the part of the George W. Bush Administration over the course of his term (practically rubber stamped by the majority of Congress), we are looking forward to the New Year, a new start, and a renewed sense of hope.

Among the first steps, before we usher in the New Year, is a New Year’s Resolution. But unlike years past, will we embrace the responsibility, sacrifice and curtailment so necessary in these times of climate change, ecological collapse, peak oil and the economic hardship experienced by so many, caused in a large part by our debt-based, growth-on-an-infinite-planet obsessed approach to capitalism? Or do we just try to refinance our house one more time, to take advantage of the latest Red Tag Sale?

Here’s some restorative resolutions for 2009:

1. Stop being a consumer: Let’s get back to an era, as imperfect as it was, where we were citizens or people, instead of being nothing more than consumers.
2. Break our fossil fuel addition: Our fossil-fuel-based luxuries and lifestyle are coming at a dire cost to the planet (if not, also, leading to unprecedented exploitation of people to provide those goods or services at cheap prices). Plus, there’s a good chance that fossil-fuel-based energy is going to get a lot more expensive in the coming years. Let’s cut fossil fuel use out of our lives like we might cut a cancer out of our bodies. Renewable energy is in abundance around us, so why not embrace the sun, one of my “Strategies of Abundance for ecopreneurs“.

It’s been quite a year here on Crafting a Green World. We’ve learned so much about crafting, reuse, upcycling and how and where to find environmentally friendly supplies. In this column we’ve highlighted some of the leaders in the organic textile movement and found a myriad of fabric options for your eco-friendly crafting needs.

I’d thought I would take a look back over the past year and round up all the great fabric finds for your easy reading pleasure. We discussed why there aren’t more men in organic and sustainable fibers, pondered why bamboo, isn’t so fabulous, and jumped up and down over the prospect that Spoonflower was considering offering organic cotton.

We also reviewed what mainstream stores offer in the way of organic and earth friendly textiles, swore that fabric made from cassette tapes, was not an April fools joke, and learned how to dye fabric with a recipe for natural, non-toxic dye.

We plan to continue to dig up the best in fabulous eco-fabrics for you in 2009, so stay tuned in the new year. Now, on to our textile discoveries from 2008!

There’s no amount of money that could convince me to spend New Year’s Eve in Times Square, but even I have to admit that this year’s Ball is innovative. The new Ball, which weighs 11,875 pounds and is double the size of previous Balls, will light up with help from 32,256 Philips Luxeon Rebel LEDs.

2007 is officially history, and what a year it was! Gavin’s provided a fantastic overview of some of the big green stories from last year… there’s plenty to celebrate as we consider the next steps we must take to meet the many environmental challenges that face us.

Here at GO, we’re also celebrating our first year in existence: Thursday will mark the one-year anniversary of Green Options’ beta launch. It was an exciting, challenging and fulfilling year: we had successes and hiccups, and (hopefully) learned much from both. As we move into 2008, we’ll be ratcheting up our efforts to help you make greener choices: look for new network blogs (with additional expert writers), and other web properties designed to guide you down the path towards a greener, more abundant lifestyle.

To get the new year started off right, we thought we’d share with you some of the plans each of us are making to make 2008 an even more sustainable year. Here are some of the resolutions members of the Green Options Media writing team have made: