BlogHer - sustainability - Comments

Simplicity and Eco Go Hand-in-Hand

Diane MacEachern — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 15:48:37 -0500

Diane MacEachern www.biggreenpurse.com Diane@biggreenpurse.com

A big part of the Big Green Purse message is about making time for things that matter (turns out, spending more time on tasks is a great way to avoid spending money, and that can be just as powerful as doling out cash for the eco-goods). In the end, what's the point of saving the planet if we don't have time to enjoy it? I intentionally move into the slow lane every Sunday. How? I don't turn my computer on. I don't turn the tv on either. I don't even make a phone call, though I'll answer my phone if it rings. Unplugging from the electronic world to focus on the natural world is essential if we're going to create a simpler world. Thankfully, we don't have time for everything. I try to focus on the important things. Yep, it's hard. But the payoff is great.

Pickled Jerusalem artichokes?!?

Mary Clare Hunt — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 15:12:36 -0500

What you just described was my life up until I turned 30. It was a really good, easy to enjoy life as well. Except for the Jerusalem artichokes. They took over my garden and the only way to get rid of them was to sell the house.

I'm going to check out the grassfed gourmet cookbook. Thanks!

Mary@Inwomenwetrust.com

Beautiful post, MamaBird. And...

Beth Terry — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 19:40:24 -0500

it ties right in to Dixie's ad campaign promoting the ease of paper plates for.. like... everything. Burbanmom's sister ranted about it on her blog:

http://www.verymerryseamstress.com/weblog/archives/2008/09/dixie_you_lose.html

It's so frustrating when companies use the language of feminism to justify destroying the planet.

Beth Terry http://www.fakeplasticfish.com

Contribute with the planet

danielmdr — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 20:30:02 -0500

No matter what others do for our planet and global warming, we can start by protecting it ourselfs. Every piece of paper comes from a cut tree.
Trees instead, LLC is a company devoted to preserve the environment by planting memory trees and offset carbon footprint.
Plant a tree to preserve the place you live... remember that everytime you trow away a piece of paper to the garbage... plant a tree instead.

www.TreesInstead.com is to plant trees preserving life.

Waste aWAY!

Mary Clare Hunt — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 19:18:11 -0500

I was just going to do my own post on this one. The amount of waste from our throw away society that's going into city landfills is about 75% products. If we're going to solve the problem, then we have to go directly to the manufacturers and demand better designs and more long lasting products. That's why the SMaRT Sustainable Standard was developed - to get companies to compete on the green playing field.

If you have any interest in the subject, check out http://sustainableproducts.blip.tv We taped the session that was given to the designers and architects of Southern California this week.

so true

mashadutoit — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 02:46:07 -0500

This is such a good post.

Its so true - that we really need to be willing to consume less. Put up with some discomfort. Make real changes. And not just buy the greener alternative, which is probably just as harmful

Low maintenance yard spaces

debra roby — Sun, 01 Jun 2008 09:15:11 -0500

Violetteb,

Let me know what you choose for those low-maintenance areas, I'm always looking for something new. And I have seldom found that low maintenance is really so.

Debra
A Stitch In Time
Deb's Daily Distractions

The smell of cut grass...

debra roby — Sun, 01 Jun 2008 09:12:52 -0500

Megan,

I love the looks of a beautiful green lawn.

It's not what I have (mine is patchy and overcome with a weedy annual grass blown in from the open space behind my house).

Walking or sitting on grass makes me itchy, and that new-mown smell makes me sneeze.

Still grass is probably the best thing to grow in the space I've got it.

Debra
A Stitch In Time
Deb's Daily Distractions

I still like my Lawn...

Brenda Emmett — Sun, 01 Jun 2008 00:14:34 -0500

I still like walking barefoot on the soft grass. I like playing games with my family and having picnics on the grass. I love the smell of freshly cut grass.

The biggest problem is that people overwater their lawns. They cause the root system to become shallow and not deep. When you water properly. it really doesn't take too much to keep your lawn green. The roots are well developed and deep and are not lazy. :)

Brenda

Her Gardening Blog

Here Here!

Sue Walsh — Mon, 26 May 2008 22:35:35 -0500

Here in NYC where most lawns are the size of postage stamps anyway, I see more and more people pulling them out and planting rock gardens or shrubs and wildflowers. It's a great trend!

Wedding Tips Blog

Outdoors

Candelaria Silva — Mon, 26 May 2008 18:43:10 -0500

Check out garden-girltv.com Patti Moreno has created a small urban garden with animals in the heart of Roxbury, the predominantly black community in Boston. It's beautiful.

I only have a border in my back yard - I am planting flowers every where this summer inspired by the garden tour in Roxbury I did last year. To see what people have created in a bustling city was just amazing.

I am going to grow my own tomatoes in a container this year. I'm excieted. The hard-work that goes into gardening is required to get the dazzling results and working in the garden burns calories and destresses. It's hard for many of us to find time to do it but I'm committed to surrounding my little cottage in the city with as much natural beauty as I can.

If my ship comes in, I will reclaim some of the asphalt the previous owner put in between my home and the former barn behind it (which has been converted into a small house).

some people have planted low lying vine-like plants instead of grass - perhaps that would work for you.

Happy gardening whichever you choose.

lawn care UGH

violetteb — Mon, 26 May 2008 14:22:37 -0500

While I love my home and yard, it is a lot of work. My husband who was away for two weeks and only had this, Memorial Day weekend, to do yard work before he goes away again on business, has been working on the mower all weekend. I'm definitely up for designing some more low-maintenance areas throughout our yard.

http://her-christian-blog.com

I Love My Grass

Megan Smith — Mon, 26 May 2008 10:50:43 -0500

Hi Debra,

Although I have raised flower beds of annuals and perennials in my backyard that I tend lovingly, what sets them off beautifully is my nice large swatch of grass.

I walk through it barefoot, I put down a blanket and sit on it, and I when I inhale that glorious scent right after it's cut, I'm in heaven.

I wouldn't trade it for anything.

Megan
BlogHer Contributing Editor, TV/YouTube
Megan's Minute
Video Runway

I love the idea of xeriscaping..

debra roby — Mon, 26 May 2008 09:11:18 -0500

Kalyn,

I think like you I love the idea of xeriscaping. However, the examples I've seen all encorporate lots of hardscaping which in our southern exposed yard equals another heat sink (our stucco house is a large enough heat sink for me).

I just want something low mainataince and low that I can walk on, and move compost and manure over, that cools the air a bit and gives a touch a softness to the place.

We face open space, and every year wild annual grasses blow in and seed themselves in our yard. They grow during the wet winters and die when the heat comes on. My lawn looks disasterous.

Right now I'm thinking about seeding white clover through the lawn, though I'm sure that's not the best answer.

Debra
A Stitch In Time
Deb's Daily Distractions

Xeriscape gardening

Kalyn Denny — Mon, 26 May 2008 08:53:41 -0500

is big in Utah, and lots of people in my neighborhood are tearing out their lawns and replacing it with native plants and grasses. Yes, it's environmentally better, since Utah's a dessert, and I like the looks of a yard with masses of flowering plants. But that type of landscaping is very expensive to convert to, and there's no doubt it takes a lot more maintenance (read: weeding on your hands and knees) to keep it looking good. I'm thinking about it a bit more every year, but I'm not quite ready to commit to that much more yard maintenance, since I already have a big vegetable garden and lots of flower beds to keep weeded!

Kalyn Denny
Kalyn's Kitchen