Don't forget to write a post about your favorite charities, and send the link to aplscarnival (at) gmail (dot) com by Tuesday, March 17.
Monday, March 16, 2009
Thursday, February 26, 2009
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:
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:
(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.
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.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.
$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.
(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.
Friday, February 20, 2009
APLS in Eden - the February Carnival
The February APLS carnival is up over at The Green Phone Booth. Many thanks to The Purloined Letter aka The Green Raven for brilliantly rounding up a variety of viewpoints about the importance of "nature" in our lives.
Come back next month to discuss favorite charities hosted at Green Resolutions.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Calling all APLS!
Just a reminder that the topic for the February edition of the APLS carnival will be NATURE AND THE ENVIRONMENT.
To participate, please submit your posts to aplscarnival (at) gmail (dot) com by tomorrow at midnight, or write asking for a short extension if you need one. The carnival will be published at the Green Phone Booth on February 20.
To participate, please submit your posts to aplscarnival (at) gmail (dot) com by tomorrow at midnight, or write asking for a short extension if you need one. The carnival will be published at the Green Phone Booth on February 20.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
A Carnival of Nature
I am honored to be the host for the February edition of the APLS carnival. The topic for the month will be NATURE AND THE ENVIRONMENT.
I think I must be the Last Parent in the World to read Richard Louv's excellent book, Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children From Nature-Deficit Disorder
. Louv's work is complex, thoughtful, and beautifully written. The author argues that a deep connection with nature leads to a calmer mind, a fitter body, and a more socially mature relationship with the world. Yet we are raising an entire generation with "denatured childhoods"--that is, childhoods where entertainment is more about electronic screens than it is about free play in the wild. Louv asked us to consider how these disconnected youngsters can ever become the good stewards of the land that we need in this era of environmental crisis.
I would love to see what connections you see between experiences in nature and your own efforts to live more sustainably.
What is "nature" in the first place? How is our experience of the natural world different in a place of awesome majesty (like the Grand Canyon), a place of more basic but still unstructured land like a local forest, and a more constructed outdoor space like a garden or park? What if we're just reading about an area we may never have seen, like a rainforest or a desert savanna?
What makes nature so powerful or meaningful? How has your experience with the natural world shaped your own environmentalism? Is love of the natural world an essential motivation for sustainability? Have you found ways to share a connection to nature with your loved ones, young and old?
To participate in February's carnival, please submit your posts to aplscarnival (at) gmail (dot) com by February 13. The carnival will be published at the Green Phone Booth on February 20.
I think I must be the Last Parent in the World to read Richard Louv's excellent book, Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children From Nature-Deficit Disorder
. Louv's work is complex, thoughtful, and beautifully written. The author argues that a deep connection with nature leads to a calmer mind, a fitter body, and a more socially mature relationship with the world. Yet we are raising an entire generation with "denatured childhoods"--that is, childhoods where entertainment is more about electronic screens than it is about free play in the wild. Louv asked us to consider how these disconnected youngsters can ever become the good stewards of the land that we need in this era of environmental crisis.I would love to see what connections you see between experiences in nature and your own efforts to live more sustainably.
What is "nature" in the first place? How is our experience of the natural world different in a place of awesome majesty (like the Grand Canyon), a place of more basic but still unstructured land like a local forest, and a more constructed outdoor space like a garden or park? What if we're just reading about an area we may never have seen, like a rainforest or a desert savanna?
What makes nature so powerful or meaningful? How has your experience with the natural world shaped your own environmentalism? Is love of the natural world an essential motivation for sustainability? Have you found ways to share a connection to nature with your loved ones, young and old?
To participate in February's carnival, please submit your posts to aplscarnival (at) gmail (dot) com by February 13. The carnival will be published at the Green Phone Booth on February 20.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Monday, January 5, 2009
(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!
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!
----------------------------------
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!
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