NOT an Earth Day Celebration Video

I have mixed feelings about "Earth Day". When I 100% lived the hippie life, every day was Earth Day. I remember when the government declared an annual "Earth Day" and I thought it was ridiculous. That was like the fox showing us how to keep the henhouse tidy.

So now you see a big television network (NBC) owned by General Electric Corporation hawking "green" cleaning supplies and other plastic crap... arrghh... I knew I shouldn't get started but yeah, I liked this video so here it is and be true to who you are are the takeaways. If you're an uber, wasteful consumer, don't be all earthy green for just one day a year. For goddess sakes, be yourself even if it is a greedy consumer and if you do live it as best as you can 365 days a year, my beret's off to you.

UPDATE: Even though we don't live our lives like it is Earth Day every day, I can't fault the original Earth Day because it did spawn many good things. After some research I learned about the fruits of Denis Hayes labor of love.

Denis Hayes was chief organizer of that landmark demonstration Earth Day in 1970 and current Chair of Earth Day 2010.

At 25 years old, he organized the passions of millions of Americans into a viable political force that brought about real change. Within a few years of Earth Day 1970, America saw the passage of the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, Endangered Species Act, the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency, and much, much more.

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Foxfire

We have been consumed by a frenzy of green and alternate energy but Foxfire is the original green series and surival guide.

The original book was published in 1972 and my husband and I really poured over this book and Foxfire 2 which came later. There are maybe 12 of these Foxfire books now. Link

I can hardly think of Foxfire without thinking of the other good publications that came out around the same time like Mother Earth News and The Whole Earth Catalog. These were essential to us hippies and commune dwellers.

But the Whole Earth was our "go-to" guide, our reference, our Google. It taught several generations how to select ecologically-sound products and make wise choices. Because of Whole Earth we had super cool accommodations near the Appalachian Trail by Watauga Lake and always had something good to eat. We all learned how to grow and cook and can almost anything. We built an outhouse and re-routed a spring. We loved it. The only problem we had was people always wanting to come over and hang out all the time.

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organic food brands

"Which giant corporations own which "small" organic food brands? (2009 edition)" How much more clear they be? We have graphs that show us more and more about the crap that we are eating.

link

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Waterpod - Afloat in the New York Harbor

Photograph by Michael Nagle for The New York Times.
For the last two months artists have been floating around New York City on the Waterpod, a 3,000-square-foot experiment in community living and artistry.

Founded by Mary Mattingly, whose medium is mainly photography, it was envisioned as a self-sustaining living space, an eco- and art-friendly sphere that could be recreated in the future, when land resources might be scarce.

See Waterpod Images, from concept to fruition.

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Meet the crew of Swimming Cities of Serenissima

Meet the crew of Swimming Cities of Serenissima

ECO ART: SWOON’s "Junk Rafts" - Photos by Tod Seelie, see below. link

Tod Seelie is a photographer, artist and founding member of the Miss Rockaway Armada. link

Arielle Bier is a "Scrappy Bitch". If you wanna know, ask her. link

Out-fucking-standing! This looks like such great fun. I have a great admiration for all these creative people.

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Public Urination for Water Conservation

Public Urination for Water Conservation

This new PSA by MTV Switch takes an unusual approach at promoting water conservation by encouraging people to urinate in public.

Come to think of it, describing the approach as “unusual” might be a bit of an understatement.

The PSA, which is entitled “Slash,” consists of a montage of people urinating in public places set to the track “Miserere Mei” composed by Bouwe Dykstra. The ad ends with a messaging asking you to save water by flushing less.

The spot was created by Ogilvy Advertising London.

link

The hippies ALWAYS had the good ideas.

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Elena Gregusova

“Wearing The News”

Designer Elena Gregusova is currently appearing at EnviroCouture in Vancouver, BC.

Haute Art from the Waste Container. (via)

Part of getting to live so long is that I can enjoy watching things like this inch their way from the odd and the weird into the acceptable. Not that anyone reading here can relate to the odd and the weird, right? :)

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End Mountaintop Removal

End Mountaintop Removal

Pin this badge on your site. I've talked about this before but it bears (?) repeating. Mountaintop Removal is destroying the mountains in Appalachia. (That's App-a-latch-ah, not App-a-lay-cha) Anyway, I know it's obscene what they're doing to our mountains but it doesn't really effect me in Asheville, NC. WRONG. Put in your zip code above and see how the coal they're ripping out of those mountains where families have lived for generations DOES effect you. For instance, putting in my zip of 28804 tells me: "Your electricity provider, Progress Energy Carolinas, uses coal from mountaintop removal mines." It then gives me the particulars on a map. If you use electricity in Asheville as I do, you're connected to the grid that perpetuates the raping of the mountains for coal and cash. Visit the site and see what you can do to help stop it. link

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Help us to be wise, O Green Man

O Green Man

I was reading about the archetype of the "Green Man" a.k.a. "foliate head", which some folks have said is a symbol of our oneness with nature.

There's a cool page about him in the wikipedia and Myth*ing Links and many others.

Some folks say the Green Man isn't a myth at all, is very much real, alternately appearing and disappearing through time, but always returning when he's really needed... like now for instance... some see the emergence of ecology, paganism, Gaia, earth-centered spirituality since the '60s/'70s to be just the latest manifestation of the Green Man! Help us to be wise, O Green Man!!!

(via: f00nt)

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garden delights

Two different gentlemen present to us extraordinary gifts of garden delights.

Bitter Lawn Gnome has a show-stopping Peony, and a dark, magical Tulipa Black Parrot.

Lord Whimsy has a bold, white, nameless flower that commands attention, and there's an exquisite Voodoo Lily, a Venus Flytrap and more visceral treats.

Just lovely, guys. I'm green with envy.

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Chasing Utopia

Chasing Utopia, Family Imagines No Possessions or, Voluntary Simplicity

Like many other young couples, Aimee and Jeff Harris spent the first years of their marriage eagerly accumulating stuff: cars, furniture, clothes, appliances and, after a son and a daughter came along, toys, toys, toys.

Now they are trying to get rid of it all, down to their fancy wedding bands. Chasing a utopian vision of a self-sustaining life on the land as partisans of a movement some call voluntary simplicity, they are donating virtually all their possessions to charity and hitting the road at the end of May.

[Read More »] | Blog

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Radical Simplicity:
Small Footprints on a Finite Earth
by Jim Merkel

Imagine that you are first in line at a potluck supper. The spread includes not just food and water, but all the materials needed for shelter, clothing, healthcare, and education. How do you know how much to take? How much must you leave for your neighbors behind you - not just the 6 billion human beings, but our fellow creatures and the yet-to-be-born?



Some believe that recycling and use of energy efficient appliances is sustainable living. In Radical Simplicity, Jim Merkel argues that to live in a sustainable manner requires a complete rethinking of our way of life. If the world's total bioproductive area is divided by the world's population, each of us gets a 4.7-acre share. Right now Canadians use up on average 22 acres of natural resources a year. To close this gap truly requires radical solutions.

Another thing I heard him say once was to think in terms of NEED and WANT when you're met with a consumer issue.

"Do I NEED this item, or do I simply WANT this item? Try to stick with just what you NEED."

This book came out about 5 years ago, but it's been crossing my path recently and followed me here to Easy Bake Coven.

Buy Book | Order Film | Global Living Project

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What does Al know that we don't?

What does Al know that we don't? by Steven Weber

Why, given the opportunity that's been presented to him on a silver Prius, is this man not going to run for (and win) the presidency of the United States? If ever there was a clarion call to be answered it is this one: heed the will of the majority of the people, take back the yoke Bush and his cracked team of highjackers have used to steer the country into the ground and pull the ship skyward again.

Why, after his self-imposed banishment to the wilderness (suburbia), where he along with every other sentient being has observed the feckless evil of the current executive tenant and his Neo-posse, does he demur? Could he know that any run at the office would surely turn out to be a hollow chrysalis which, after gestation, would not incubate a butterfly but more likely belch forth a wingless, blind slug; that an educated, experienced, wise adult can lead more effectively and make more of a difference by being an activist/celebrity and riding a wave of pop-culture popularity, rather than relying upon the rusted and jury-rigged contraption quaintly referred to as the electoral process?

Maybe Al knows that America (to paraphrase Paddy Chayefsky) is a dying giant, that perhaps she is dead already. And the "business of government" is merely the scramble of organisms over the carcass's wan, flaking skin; any rumbles from within aren't the sounds of legislators engaged in constructive debate but the gasses issuing from the anuses of the bacteria digesting the sad corpse's putrefying innards. Are we destined to have the presidency so finally and utterly mediocritized that it no longer holds any attraction for the most qualified person in recent memory who would imbue it with the honor and prestige it -- and we -- deserve?

Well then, that's what Al must know. Because only that kind of realization would prevent him from participating. He says that politics no longer holds any allure for him. And really, why should it? He won an Oscar, for chrissakes. He's raised awareness of a real issue that actually effects us all in a way that makes him truly a uniter -- not a divider. He is the world's activist uncle. George Bush standing in front of his American Enterprise Institute portable backdrop can barely scrape up a strangulated hosanna from his meticulously vetted and dwindling audiences.

Having only once appropriated the toxic phrase "cut and run" to describe the result of catching my fishnet stockings on a partially extruded staple embedded in the side of a bed post (A long, dull story. Forget I mentioned it.) I am forced to resurrect it once again. It's an extremely ugly phrase, wielded by extremely ugly people but I will use it as that mediocre apparatchik/harridan Jean Schmidt never intended: to provoke the discouraged conscience of the marginalized true-patriot who would ably restore what has been so ignobly destroyed. On second thought, it's so shallow and inflammatory that I can't stand to apply it even in a good cause. There has to be some other way to convince this man of his worth. May be we need to convince him of our worth?

Because this country, for all its gaudy fascinations, for all its daily desperation to fend off reality by consuming goods from China as though they were oxygen atoms is also a country of souls betrayed by their loyalty to the idea of America the beautiful, the judicious and the brave. And it is not the loyalty itself that is at issue but those whom we have entrusted with it. A presidential election is not a parlor game, though it may resemble one far too closely. It is as close to being a sacred exercise as this secular republic asks of its congregants. We require a real leader now, one with a true understanding of the importance of why this country must function correctly and efficiently. We and the world depend on it. So here's your hat. And there's the ring. America needs you need to lead us now more than ever.

That's what we know that Al doesn't.

A wee bit pretentious, but effective.

link

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Anti-Oil Antics

Anti-Oil Antics

Outside of the New York International Automobile Show at New York City’s Javits Center, as the smell of burnt pretzels wafts through the air, a group of 10 people form a line. Standing shoulder to shoulder in black t-shirts that read "OEA," they put their hands over their hearts as they take an oath to reduce oil use in America.

The people in line are members of the Oil Enforcement Agency (OEA), and the oath is a skit—one of many stunts the group has pulled at auto shows and car dealerships across the country. The group is the comedic arm of the Free From Oil Campaign, which was created by the non-profit Rainforest Action Network to "end America’s oil dependence, reduce oil related conflicts, and stop global climate change by convincing the entire auto industry to dramatically improve fuel efficiency and eliminate vehicle greenhouse gas emissions," according to the OEA’s website.

Once inside the auto show, a small OEA task force huddles together as Jodie VanHorn, the team leader, gives instructions. They’re going to "impound" (which in OEA speak means put caution tape around) the Toyota Tundra, whose measly mileage (14 miles per gallon in the city and 18 on the highway), makes it one of the most polluting of vehicles on the road today. "We step up in the absence of better leadership," says VanHorn. Then she gives the order: "Agents, it’s time to impound the Tundra."

via | Watch Video | Oil Enforcement Agency

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You may have read about some of these items before and I feel they're important enough to be dusted off and hauled out again. See what you can do as a consumer to help our planet and global family.

Buy Blue has responsible consumerism and invites you to vote with your wallet. Lists political contributions and ratings. Toyota, Home Depot, Campbell's Soup -- where do they stand?

Free Cycle is where you give things away you no longer need for free. Many countries are involved now. Take a look. You'll probably find your town listed.

Responsible Shopper supports global research & action to stop corporate abuse. The parent site, Co-op America has many more ideas for a just planet.

Bloggers For Darfur
A Global Online Community Calling for Action to Stop the Genocide in Darfur - Created by Marilyn and Jill.
link

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RE-BLOGGING

The worldwide Freecycle Network is made up of many individual groups across the globe. It's an international grassroots movement of people who are giving (& getting) stuff for free in their own towns. Since I first posted about it, many other communities have opened up their own Freecycle groups. Put in your zipcode and check it out.. Best thing I've freecycled or bartered lately? The car I'm driving was bartered for my husband building someone a deck.

Locally, Hendersonville and Ashevilleboth have busy groups.

* Bandnews.org - Live from the Web | Search & Read official Music News - Band Directory - Archive. "Bandnews.org is a search engine keeping track of what is going on in the band scene. A bot collects the news from official band websites and magazines so you can read them on one page." [via: DJ Martian]

Professors publish case study of successful nutritional treatment for cancer. Link [via: Rutabaga Stew]

November 15, 1969. 250,000 War Protesters Stage a Peaceful March and Rally in Heart of Washington. - Link [via: One Thousand Reasons]

AOL has a new stand alone browser. They took some ideas from Firefox, like tabbed browsing, and there's some nice, new features of their own. Check it out @ AOL Explorer. For Windows, Mac, and Linux. 10 minutes download for modems; 1 minute for DSL, Cable.

Now Playing - Incredible String Band - The Sun In Pale Silence

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Don't miss the Mowendi Art Gallery. Nice clean graphics with fun back.

Entheogenesisis 2: From Darkness Back To Light is a conference scheduled for May 21-23, 2005, in Vancouver, BC. Great roster and excellent topics. Appropriate venue. Featuring 3 days of lectures & slide presentations, Psychedelic art on display, and one evening gathering with Guest DJ’s, a live acid jazz band, a chill room with special film screenings, treats, prizes & more.

The Goddess Ungirdled: Encounters with the Sacred Feminine
--by Lisa Sarasohn (cross posted to Every Woman Is A Goddess; From Susun Weed's April eZine - [Link])

{Local}
Asheville Freecycle group on Yahoo! that's very busy. We discussed Freecycle here last year. Check a search engine to see if your area has one that you can use.

Today's Quote
As far as we can discern, the sole purpose of existence is to kindle a light in the darkness of being.
- Carl Jung

np: Jefferson Airplane - Wooden Ships

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The worldwide Freecycle Network is made up of many individual groups across the globe. It's a grassroots movement of people who are giving (& getting) stuff for free in their own towns.



Speeding up Firefox the right way. Link His info is more suited to all connections and computer speed. (via: del.icio.us)

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