By John Ivanko •
July 1, 2009
Like millions of Americans, we’re celebrating July 4th, Independence Day.
However, we’re celebrating this national holiday by focusing on the many aspects of our life that, in various ways, have led us to quite a different vision for a sustainable tomorrow – complete with local, renewable energy and lots of delicious meals harvested within ten miles of where we live – if not from our own kitchen garden. Sometimes we even celebrate July 4th with a rainbow.
Here’s how our Independence Day is different — and yours can be too:
• Be energy independent by generating all our power with renewable energy systems.
For a vast portion of the United States, there is enough solar and wind energy to completely meet our needs right where we live. True, adopting renewable energy will require an investment either personally or for your business if you work from home. But with present Federal tax credits and many state incentives, the time couldn’t be better. We completely power our Inn Serendipity Bed & Breakfast and Farm with solar electric and wind turbine systems. In fact, we overproduce renewable energy to the tune of about 4,000 kWhs (kilowatt hours) a year. We share the surplus with our neighbors.
An editor I worked with long ago who had lived through the Great Depression once told me her secret for surviving hard times: Be a jack of all trades. The more you can do, she explained, the better your chances of being able to eke out a living, no matter what.
Well, the way the economy’s going lately, it seems like it’s time to return to that can-do spirit. One man in central Florida has beaten many of us to the punch.
By Adam Williams •
September 10, 2008
Flipping through pages of the Internet the other day I ran across a group in Boulder, Colo., who moved their home goods via their bikes — furniture, appliances, everything.
I know they aren’t the only ones ever to have done it. (I searched a little more.) So now I’m curious to know how common this is among the bike commuting, Earth-loving crowd.
My first thought upon seeing the string of photographs documenting the day was, “WTF?” And I mean that in the best way, because pretty soon after I thought, “That is so awesome!”
They put out the word, calling interested bike mover helpers and 11 showed up. I can only imagine the comradery, the exercise, the fun. They made four trips to get the whole apartment’s worth of life moved.
By Kelli Best-Oliver •
August 29, 2008
The idea of a little farm in a big city sounds daunting to some, impossible to others, but to bloggers who are reclaiming their bit of city green space and saying no to Big Farm, self-reliance is not only possible, but the preferred way to live a rich and rewarding life. A small movement of people are eschewing the outsourcing of their everyday needs and are choosing, instead, to produce as much of what they need at home, transforming tiny plots of land into thriving gardens, raising chickens and goats for eggs and milk, canning, preserving, cheesemaking, soapmaking, and any other project on which Mother Earth News has advice. And, in true 21st century form, they’re blogging about it.
