Growing Green and Living It! » sustainability

STORY OF STUFF: UPDATE

OB — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 12:01:22 +0000

Get the whole story…
Annie Leonard managed to fit a whole lot of information in 20 minutes but there’s still so much more! You can read the whole story by picking up a copy of her new book at your local bookstore or by ordering The Story of Stuff: How Our Obsession with Stuff Is Trashing the Planet, Our Communities, and Our Health-and a Vision for Change at Amazon. We also encourage you to donate a copy of the book to your local library so that those who can’t purchase the book themselves can still access all the great information in it!

Time for an INTERVENTION? Get Your Lawn Off DRUGS!

OB — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 12:02:39 +0000

Americans are in the love with their lawns. Read this great post on Garden Rant today. A Chemical Reaction is a documentary about the dangers of using pesticides and herbicides in your garden.

The time, energy and resources spent maintaining them can be harmful to your health and those around you. It is wasteful and definitely not sustainable. Spread the word and help support this compelling documentary.

What can you do to help? Start reducing your lawn square footage today. Plant perennial gardens, xeriscape using native plants, grow vegetables, anything but a lawn. Add more hardscapes, such as paths, boulders and gravel.

PLEASE DO NOT BUY HERBICIDES OR PESTICIDES… PERIOD! If we stop buying it, perhaps they’ll stop making it? CANCEL those toxic lawn treatment services. You know the ones that put the little signs in your yard to Stay off the lawn because it was just treated signs. If you must have a lawn, go organic. Get a copy of the Organic Lawn Care Manual and make some changes now. Visit the SAFE LAWNS blog to learn more.

The Kitchen Gardener Resurgence

OB — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 13:16:50 +0000

I found an excellent discussion going on at Garden Rant about Kitchen Gardening and it got me to thinking. What a perfect time it is for the resurgence of vegetable gardening. With the economy in a slump and finances constrained, why not grow food right in your own backyard, instead of paying for it? For that matter, why not grow it on your patio, rooftop, side of the house, apartment window, whereever you have a pot or a patch of soil? Will we soon become our grandmothers? Storing food? Read about the resurgence in root cellars in the New York Times. All across the nation, getting back to basics is taking root.

Will HGTV finally put the G back in their programming? Will a 24/7 Garden Channel emerge as the magnet for advertisers? Are you sick of watching the endless “FLIP your House”, “Stage your House”, and “How much is my House worth?” programs? HELP! Martha Stewart are you listening? It is time for a resurgence in kitchen gardening! I know, because I find myself watching “GardenGirl TV” videos. I love them. Here’s a sample:

So how much of your garden is dedicated to growing food and herbs? In the age of front lawns neatly manicured with ornamental shrubs, did you ever consider Gardening on Purpose? It’s good for your budget, your health, the planet and theraputic. This all ties into another topic I wanted to talk about this week. I’ll save that for the next post.

Mindwalk: The Movie (1990)

OB — Fri, 02 May 2008 10:02:00 +0000

Mindwalk: This movie was released in 1990 and I must say that I had never heard of it until I stumbled across it one Saturday afternoon. The story and ideas presented have had me thinking about it since.

Plot: A US politician (Sam Waterston) visits his poet friend (John Heard) in Mont. St. Michael, France. While walking through the medeival island discussing their philosophies of life they happen upon Sonja (Liv Ullman), a scientist in recluse, who joins in their conversation. The two men listen to the ideas of this brilliant woman and discuss how her ideas can work in their own politician and poet lives.

WATCH THE ENTIRE MOVIE RIGHT HERE

More info about finding it on VHS at Mindwalk [VHS]