Life tip: Consider what you deem of importance. Some items may immediately come to mind, but note that there’re likely other items that you haven’t considered. How do you spend your time? Do you watch a lot of sports? Preach environmental benefits? Read celebrity magazines? Volunteer? Remember that every dollar you spend and every minute of your life devoted to something is a vote for that and for furthering its causes and importance.
Amazing website: Ever wondered the full impact of purchasing goods, check out Story of Stuff and watch the 20 minute video, there are lots of other good resources on it too!
Green tip: Use your legs! Try walking or biking for all trips of less than 1 or 2 miles (and remember to bring your re-usable bags). You’ll save gas, a
s well as wear & tear on the car, which means more money in your wallet. Also, look into car-sharing or using public transit more often.“Restructuring the transportation system also has a huge potential for reducing materials use. For example, improving urban transit means that one 12-ton bus can replace 60 cars weighing 1.5 tons each, or a total of 90 tons, reducing material use by 87 percent. Every time someone decides to replace a car with a bike, material use is reduced by 99 percent.” – Plan B 3.0 by Lester Brown
Interesting statistic: 1.5 million - Number of acres of forests in Colorado destroyed by the pine beetle, which is better able to survive warmer winters and is wrecking havoc in America's western forests.
Book recommendation: For an alternate perspective on history, try Ishmael by Daniel Quinn. Note that it’s written as fiction, but that it has a very interesting philosophy throughout it. Definitely worth a read!
Mmmmm recipe: Olive oil! Yes, I do get excited about it. Olive oil has a ton of health benefits (Olive Oil) and is delicious. Always get extra virgin & try it on everything. It does have a fairly low flash point, which can cause a burned flavor when used to cook, so don’t use with high heat. For a delicious shrimp & garlic recipe, check out: Shrimp & Garlic
“Cause I can't make you happy unless I am” – Ziggy Marley
