Which is More Important: Personal or Political Action?

Recently, I was reading an interview on Grist with Annie Leonard of Story of Stuff fame, and there were two things she said that I found very interesting:

Q. What would you encourage people to do on an individual level?

A. People ask me that a lot, and I like to see where they are so I ask them, "What can you think of to do?" They say, "I can recycle. I can ride my bike more. I can buy organic. I can buy this instead of this." Really individual actions as opposed to, "I can work with my neighbors to shut down this toxic factory." We have a consumer part of ourselves and a citizen part of ourselves. And throughout this country's history, the citizen parts of ourselves have accomplished enormously wonderful things to make this country a better place. But in recent decades, I feel like the consumer part of ourselves is spoken to and validated and nurtured so much that we've over-identified with it and the citizen part of ourself has atrophied. We just need to start reinvigorating that citizen muscle. So the number one thing to do is to hook up with others who share your values and start making some real change.

Q. Has there been any stuff that's been difficult for you to give up or part with or not consume?

A. Not really, partly because I just don't really focus on the individual piece so much. I really don't fall into that camp where it's your fault because you left the water running when you brushed your teeth. So I just don't spend a lot of time around the guilt and the individual action stuff.

I often see this divide in the environmental world between advocates of personal versus political change, our consumer side versus our citizen side, and individual versus large-scale actions. Many encourage people to focus on small changes like changing their lightbulbs, while others say that those small changes don't matter and we should be focusing on broadscale changes of the entire system.

So for this month's APLS Carnival, I'm asking the questions:

• Are personal changes too small to matter?
  
• Should people who have full time jobs and kids and church responsibilities, etc. be expected to find time to organize their neighbors to shut down toxic factories?
  
• Are people who do only the personal changes being lazy?
  
• Are people who expect political changes to solve all of our problem pushing the blame on others instead of taking responsibility?
  
• Is consumer action less important than citizen action, and vice versa?
  
• Where's the balance?

These are just some questions to get your ideas rolling. Email your posts to consciousshopperblog [at] gmail [dot] com by April 15. The carnival will be hosted at the Green Phone Booth on April 20th.

Winter motivation: February carnival topic

They say the darkest hour is just before dawn. And in this late-winter month, it is all too true.

It’s easier to stay motivated in the fall, as you prepare for the holidays celebrations. And in January, we have great intentions with our resolutions.

But as the weeks progress, it’s hard to stay focused. It’s cold to dig in and get motivated outdoors. The walls seem to close in as we’re stuck inside. And perhaps a little too much expressions of holiday cheer have left you debt-ridden and with few resources to take the next steps of your big green dreams.

So how do you stay motivated in these winter months? Share us your tips on how you stay motivated as part of this month’s APLS carnival.

Post your comments below or e-mail your posts to goinggreenmama at gmail dot com by Feb. 22. We’ll post the highlights at Going Green Mama on Feb. 24.

December APLS Carnival Topic: Green Journeys

When people find out that I'm a vegetarian, one of the first questions is always, "How long have you been a vegetarian?" and then "Why did you become a vegetarian?"

Going veggie was my first eco-related lifestyle change, but it took ten years of feet-dragging and a crashing housing market before I finally committed to greening my life about a year and a half ago.

That's a very abbreviated version of the story of my green journey...What's your story?

December is a good month for reflecting on beginnings and endings, where you started and how far you've come. So in that spirit, I'd like to hear about your green journey for this month's APLS Carnival.

• What triggered you to start trying to live a sustainable life?
  
• What are the biggest changes you've made to live sustainably?
  
• How far have you come since you started your green journey?
  
• And what do you feel you still need to work on?

Please email your submissions to consciousshopperblog@gmail.com by December 15. I'll post the carnival on December 18 at my blog The Conscious Shopper.

I'm looking forward to hearing your story!

November APLS Carnival Topic: Sustainable Living and You

When I began making changes to live a more sustainable life, I frequently thought, "There is no way I'll be able to do that!" when reading descriptions of what others were doing. I was simply overwhelmed at the distance between my lifestyle and theirs. Now I'm doing many of the things from which I initially recoiled and know that they were changes well worth making. I've talked to others who have felt those same feelings so wanted to explore this notion of changing behavior in hopes of encouraging folks to start making changes that currently feel enormous. I know there are some more modifications I have on my list that seem a bit overwhelming right now!

The questions I would like you to consider when writing about this topic include:

What have your efforts to live a more sustainable life taught you about yourself? Have you been able to change a behavior you initially thought you could not? What has surprised you about your own capacity in your efforts to live more sustainably?

If possible, please include specific examples of changes as I think those would be particularly useful to people trying to make those and similar changes in their own lives.

I'm really looking forward to reading what everyone has to say! Please email your submissions to steph@greeningfamilies.com by November 15. I'll post the carnival by November 18 so we can all learn from, and be inspired by, each other!

Thanks much,
Steph @ Greening Families

Reminder: October APLS Carnival

Hi fellow APLS! This is just a friendly reminder that the deadline for the October APLS carnival is coming up. In light of Blog Action Day, I thought I'd extend the carnival deadline to Saturday, October 17th. If you're anything like me, you were up late blogging last night and may need a little break.

Again, the topic is "proselytizing green". Do you shout the green word from the mountain tops, try to lead by example, or keep your opinions to yourself? How and when do you spread the word?

Email me your blog at greenhabgoods {at} gmail by Saturday evening to be included in the October carnival.

October APLS Carnival Topic: Proselytizing Green

I wish I could sit down with all of you and chat over a nice big cup of organic tea...or wine (really, let's be honest). There are so many things I want to ask you and so many topics we could cover. I've finally narrowed down the topic for the October APLS carnival and have selfishly picked the subject of "Proselytizing Green".

I started my Greenhab blog a few years ago so I'd have a place to track my family's progress and ramble on about the ways in which we were greening our lives. For a while I felt like I was preaching the green word until I realized that the people reading my blog (other than my mom I guess) were already like-minded people.

Over time, I became more confident in mentioning environmental injustices to some friends, family and coworkers, but I'm not really an "in your face" type of gal. Now that my kids are in school I'm encountering things like fundraisers, wasteful lunches, junk-filled parties and the absence of recycling. I feel like the stinky hippy parent in a school full of affluent unstinky soccer moms. On the inside I'm throwing up a little in my mouth while, on the outside, I'm all "smile wave".

So, I'm wondering when, where, how, and how much you proselytize living green? When do you just let it go? When is it not worth it to start something? Or do you always speak up? How loud? Are you a tell-it-like-it-is person? Or do you try to take a gentle approach? And, although I use "proselytize" in the loosest way, does living a sustainable lifestyle feel almost like a religion to you?

Okay, I think those are enough questions for now. Talk amongst yourselves! But don't forget to send me your thoughts by Friday, October 16th. The carnival will be up on my blog on Monday the 19th of October. Email me at greenhabgoods {at} gmail {dot} com.

As always, please feel free to interpret the topic loosely. I don't want anyone to feel boxed in by the questions I've asked above, they're just some thoughts that came to mind. I'm sure if we were chatting over tea we'd have lots to share on the subject!

APLS August Carnival Topic

Hi everyone,
I'm glad there's still interest in reviving APLS! Thanks to those of you who emailed or posted.

Our August topic is on Green on the Cheap. Has the economy impacted how you live green? Do you buy fewer green products to save money? Or have you redoubled your efforts to live sustainably? What have you learned about living environmentally friendly on a budget?

Let me know your thoughts! Please send links to your posts by Aug. 15 to goinggreenmama@gmail.com. The carnival will go live on Going Green Mama on Aug. 19.

Also, while we have the September topic and host confirmed, the rest of the year is open! If you'd like to host and haven't confirmed a topic or month, please let me know at goinggreenmama at gmail.

Have a great month!
Robbie @ Going Green Mama

Details for the April Carnival & Looking For New Hosts!!

April's carnival will be hosted by me, Ruchi at Arduous Blog. The topic: Is Earth Day relevant?

As Earth Day approaches, I have mixed feelings. On the one hand, I feel like it's good to have one day a year where the focus is on the environment. Earth Day may build awareness in people, and it might give some people enough pause to significantly alter their lives. On the other hand, shouldn't every day be Earth Day? Many argue that Earth Day allows people to feel good about recycling their aluminum cans, driving their Toyota Prius, and bringing their own bags, when the truth is those actions barely scrape the surface in terms of what might be necessary to combat the forthcoming environmental crises. What do you think?

To participate, submit links to your posts to aplscarnival [at] gmail [dot] com by April 20. The carnival will be posted on Earth Day, April 22.

On another note, we are looking for hosts for the next few months. If you are interested in hosting, and you haven't hosted yet, let me know in the comments to this post. After that, we'll open it up to people who have already hosted, but we want to give everyone the opportunity to host if they so choose.

March Carnival Topic: Where do you want to give?

When the APLS moniker was first under discussion, Green Bean posted a series of questions that helped me to understand what life could be as an Affluent Person Living Sustainably:

Do you spend less money than you make?

Do you consciously buy fewer products and, of those products you buy, do you look for used ones or ones that will last longer?

Do you treasure experiences over things?

Do you donate to charity? Time, money or goods?

Do you eat local food? Make your own bread, yogurt, or even your own dinner?

Do you garden? Bike? Hang your clothes out to dry? Compost?

Do you think about your own impact on the environment and what you can do to help our planet?

Do you care about what happens to your neighbor? Your children's classmates? The people manufacturing your children's toys in China?

Do you live a fuller, more meaningful life?

The part about charity resonated with me. We’d just sold our condo and bought a house. I’d just quit my full-time job to stay at home with my son and didn’t know how much I could make as a freelancer. I didn't feel like we had any money to give. And yet, I was reading blogs with a global perspective and realizing how much I have and how little others have.

When I first looked at the Global Rich List, I just focused on how rich I am. When I plugged in the numbers later, I realized that it shows me how far my money could go:

$8 could buy you 15 organic apples OR 25 fruit trees for farmers in Honduras to grow and sell fruit at their local market.

$30 could buy you an ER DVD Boxset OR a First Aid kit for a village in Haiti.

$73 could buy you a new mobile phone OR a new mobile health clinic to care for AIDS orphans in Uganda.

$2400 could buy you a second generation High Definition TV OR schooling for an entire generation of school children in an Angolan village.

And so, I’m asking all APLS carnival participants to share information about worthwhile charities. Inspire your readers to give, even in this time of economic uncertainty.

(Please feel free to share information about any charities, even if you haven’t yet been able to donate time or money to the charities that you discuss.)

To participate in the March carnival, please submit your post to aplscarnival (at) gmail (dot) com by March 13. The carnival will be published at Green Resolutions on March 20.

(Belated) January Carnival

Happy New Year from snowy Vancouver!

There's always one bad APL in the barrel, and this month it's me. I am being a terrible host and forgot to post the topic for the next carnival. Many apologies. Ruchi has suggested that we move the carnival to January 22nd, to allow everyone more time to write their posts; if you could email me (aplscarnival@gmail.com) a link to your post by the 19th, I'd really appreciate it.

So! The topic!

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MIND GAMES

As an APL who is at a much earlier stage of going green than most of our other contributors, I am shamelessly using this edition of the carnival to pick your brains! I've already learned a LOT from you guys, but I need a little extra help to get me up the next section of the learning curve.

See, I need some better mental tricks to help me make the right decisions. I know I shouldn't be eating red meat, I know I should be buying local, organic food... but it ain't easy being green, and sometimes, when I'm staring at a restaurant menu and craving a steak, or when I'd really rather go to the local supermarket than cycle a very hilly 5 km to the farmer's market, I need a little help.

What mental tricks do you use on yourself to help you make the right choices, even when they make life a little harder? Or, conversely, does your mind play games that trick you into making the wrong decisions?

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Can't wait to read all your posts!

APLS Carnival Topic for October

Hello fellow APLS! My name is Abbie and I blog at Farmer's Daughter. I write about my attempts to live a sustainable life with my husband, our adventures in gardening, cooking, local agriculture, and some of my experiences as a high school environmental science and botany teacher. I grew up on an apple orchard, so I hope you're all enjoying apple season in your areas!

I also hope you're ready to contribute to the APLS Blog Carnival for the month of October! This month's topic will be:

Education!

How do you educate yourself about sustainable living? How do you pass that knowledge on to others? Do you educate your family members and friends? Are you a member of environmental organizations? Do you do volunteer work?

Please submit your posts to aplscarnival (at) gmail (dot) com by October 10. The carnival will be published at Farmer's Daughter on October 15.

APLS Carnival Topic for September

Hey all you party goers, have you recovered from the inaugural APLS carnival over at Better Living? (If you haven't made it over there yet, drop in.) Still reveling in the aftermath? Too hung over to think? Well, the party continues.

For the month of September, the topic is . . .

Affluence. What do you think of the term? Does it apply to you? Do you dislike the word? Feel uncomfortable with it? Are there certain responsibilities that come with accepting that term? Like last month's topic, this is a broad topic. Have at it. I can't wait to read what you all come up with.

Last month's carnival was amazing. Let's do it again.

Please submit your posts to aplscarnival (at) gmail (dot) com by September 10. All submissions will be compiled at posted at Green Bean Dreams on September 15.

First APLS Blog Carnival Topic

What does living sustainably mean to you? For our first ever APLS Blog Carnival, I thought we'd stick to the basics. Since APLS stands for Affluent People Living Sustainably, let's hear how you define sustainable living, and how it plays out in your life.

It's a broad topic, so be as creative with it as you'd like!

Please submit a post on this topic by August 12th to aplscarnival (at) gmail (dot) com if you'd like to be included in the carnival. Submissions will be reviewed and posted on August 15th.

If you have any questions or suggestions at all, please be sure to drop us an email. We'd love to hear from you and can't wait to read all the submissions!