| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Madgardener |
Posted - Apr 01 2010 : 5:25:15 PM
I recently read " Will someone please give Earth Day a makeover. In an age when every disease gets a holiday, the occasion deserves more than concerts by aging rock stars and newspaper ads. This year is Earth Day's 40 anniversary!! Four decades since a toxic coastal oil spill prompted Wisconsin Senator Gaylord Nelson to declare April 22 as a day to celebrate Earth." Does Earth Day matter?? The short answer, only if you want it to!! Be the change you want to see!!Let's give ideas to each other... beyond shop differently, grow a backyard garden, think before you toss.. really think !! Recycle.. Farmgirls can really create some amazing new ideas.. www.Phoenixfarm.biz Madgardener #697
www.phoenixfarm.biz |
| 21 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| prariehawk |
Posted - Apr 11 2010 : 9:35:54 PM
Sorry--the website is for this community only. It's part of the Growth Association's effort to get people to shop locally. But lots of other communities have similar programs. some communities even print their own currency which can only be used at local businesses. It's legal and it works. I think Ithaca, NY has such a program. There is an article in the March/April 1998 issue of E magazine that talks about local currencies and bartering. Or you could just google local currencies and see what pops up. If your community doesn't have such a program, maybe now is the time to start. Colorado seems more progressive than lots of states and would probably at least consider it. Good luck-if it can work in this backwards neck of the woods, it can work anywhere. (I say that partly in jest--there are a lot of progressive thinking people around here. Sadly they're outnumbered by those with no imagination or motivation to change.) But those people also are not inclined to stand in our way. Never underestimate the power of a small group of committed individuals.
Cindy
"Dog is my co-pilot"
Visit my blog at http://www.farmerinthebelle.blogspot.com/ |
| grace gerber |
Posted - Apr 11 2010 : 5:29:41 PM
Are you willing to share the website?? Is that offer available in other states?
This year if I purchased a gift I made sure it was from an Etsy store and I tried to make if from shops that where just starting out. I also purchase most of my food from local farms, mills, and such. I am an organic breeder of fiber animals so I also only purchase feed for my animals from 100% organic sustainable farms. With every customer I try to show a kinder way to walk in the world and I do it by example.. I am always looking for more ways to leave less of a footprint but also to add to the world in a constructive way.
I hope to read more information on what others are doing - thank you for starting this thread.
Grace Gerber
Larkspur Funny Farm and Fiber Art Studio
Where the spirits are high and the fiber is deep
http://www.larkspurfunnyfarm.etsy.com
http://larkspurfunnyfarm.blogspot.com
http://larkspurfunnyfarm.artfire.com
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| prariehawk |
Posted - Apr 11 2010 : 3:39:18 PM
Grace--yes, we must make changes in what we value in life--like putting quality of life ahead of $$$$. I'm getting ready to go to a website that is aimed at keeping those $$$ in the local community. I have a special card that enables me to get discounts by shopping at local businesses. For every dollar we spend at a big box store, about $.98 goes back to the corporation that runs the store. When you spend your dollars at a local business, most of it stays in the local community. In turn, improves the quality of life for the community. And I personally believe that most people would rather have an improved quality of life than another Wally World in their town. And quality of life means fresh air, clean water and a world free of toxic waste.
Cindy
"Dog is my co-pilot"
Visit my blog at http://www.farmerinthebelle.blogspot.com/ |
| grace gerber |
Posted - Apr 11 2010 : 1:44:00 PM
Just my two cents worth - if we only consider the planet one day a year well we are sunk. If we make choices each day with the planet placed first then we have a real chance.
It does matter if we make our own bags but also let us not drive too much to use them. It is great if turn off the lights when not using them but also turn on our minds thru reading,sharing with others our talents and volunteer work can change the world. Folks do not like to give up things so maybe we can show them what I call the exchange program. We give up one thing but add another. Instead of wasting time in from of the TV - we go out and pick up trash in one of mother natures mistreated spots. Instead of trying to get folks to use a cloth made bag we cook a meal with someone else and share our knowledge with each other. We have forgotten how to find joy in our lives with service so we fill it with "THINGS" which not only depleat the earth but our souls.
It is important to change the type of lightblub we use but we also must change the things we value in life if we are to make any difference.
Grace Gerber
Larkspur Funny Farm and Fiber Art Studio
Where the spirits are high and the fiber is deep
http://www.larkspurfunnyfarm.etsy.com
http://larkspurfunnyfarm.blogspot.com
http://larkspurfunnyfarm.artfire.com
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| smiley |
Posted - Apr 07 2010 : 7:18:55 PM
This post has taken on new meaning to me since the horrible mining explosion in W.Viginia. I had my children with me when it came on the news and we looked at the lights burning in the kitchen and realized the price someone paid for the coal to turthose lights on. We take so much for granted. |
| FebruaryViolet |
Posted - Apr 07 2010 : 07:36:45 AM
I prefer "Free Spirit", Annika ;) That's what my boss always calls me. Initially, it came out in the form of a tease, now it's a compliment. We grow our own vegetables, each night after work this week, I've been coming home and canning wild violet jelly (my husband and my daughter pick the violets in the daytime for me) and we forage. We use our wild brambles and pears from an old pear tree to make bramble jam and mulled pear wine and we give these "gifts of the nature and the earth" to our friends and family.
I like what "Smiley" said about the next generation..taking heart that they understand and will be better to our planet than we are. I do believe that--I have to. It's all in how we guide our children, how we teach them. We should never stop learning, ourselves.
I might approach this whole thing rather difficultly, but I only use cloth or canvas shopping bags that are handmade. Don't get me wrong, I think it's great that stores are getting on the bandwagon and selling their bags to avoid plastic, but to me it's just marketing. Why would I want to buy a bag made from a factory belching out all kinds of horrible gases into the environment in China? I care about "their" part of the Earth, too. So, I make them, or I buy them from my friends who make them. That's what's great about the local artisan and food movements...you can actually get to the root of it all, right in your own backyard. I do believe in the saying: "think globally, act locally". I think about A LOT of things that I can do to help our environment, obviously, but this is one that I've been able to do consciously and easily, and make work for our little family.
Musings from our family in the Bluegrass http://sweetvioletmae.blogspot.com/ |
| southerncrossgirl |
Posted - Apr 07 2010 : 07:07:09 AM
Annika, Don't worry about it. I can't imagine anyone taking it the wrong way. We all can be "Hippies". I have never smoked anything. I don't think that word, is like we new it in the 60's. I think WE are all kinda hippies.
We are getting back to the basics and trying to leave the world better place than we found it.
"A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes"==Cinderella |
| Annika |
Posted - Apr 07 2010 : 06:54:32 AM
I'm offering an apology on the comment about hippies, I didn't mean it to sound so negative  I'm sorry that I posted first and thought later. I'm not a negative person, so it just came out in my post all wrong. I truly am sorry.
Annika
Farmgirl & sister #13
Palouse Prairie Girls Chapter
http://palouseprairiegirls.blogspot.com/
http://prairiegirlsjournal.blogspot.com/
Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication. ~Leonardo DaVinci
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| southerncrossgirl |
Posted - Apr 07 2010 : 04:34:58 AM
I love all the comments. I have always tried to do a "little extra" for Earth Day. I am always excited when it comes around. People that know me, think I am a "Farmgirl, Hippie Chick" anyway. I always start wearing my Earth Day shirt a few weeks ahead of time, so people can ask questions. It never seems to be enough though. I need to come up with more ideas to promote it.
"A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes"==Cinderella |
| prariehawk |
Posted - Apr 06 2010 : 8:08:19 PM
To celebrate Earth Day this year, I stopped by the library tonight and checked out "Last Child in the Woods". It's about how our children are becoming estranged from the natural world, its implications for the Earth's future, and what we can do to help prevent "nature deficit disorder". I'm glad that my three nieces got to see a wild turkey trot across my parents' back yard on Easter Sunday. It's probably the first wild turkey they've ever seen. I grew up playing in the fields and the woods and so many kids these days lack that privilege. So let's do our best to get those little urchins back in the woods!
cindy
"Dog is my co-pilot"
Visit my blog at http://www.farmerinthebelle.blogspot.com/ |
| JojoNH |
Posted - Apr 05 2010 : 4:03:06 PM
I agree, Earth Day needs a Fresh Face to get the message out. Here in the Great North Woods, it is a day to clean the roadsides of all the trash tossed out by tourists.
For me, I live the changes I would like to see. Use oil lamps and candle light when regular electric lights are not needed. An oil lamp sits on each of my tables and my desk for use and adds a nice ambiance to. Wearing different aprons for different tasks, saves on laundry since the aprons get dirty not my jackets, vests etc. I save fabrics scraps to turn into other items later on (quilts, clothes, aprons, pot holders etc) rather than send them off to the landfill.
I am now making "Produce bags" that I will bring with me to the food stores. . . no more of those plastic bags! I even use my grain bags which are paper, as trash bags. I am trying to find something else to use in place of plastic trash bags when I do not have the grain bags.
The cardboard boxes that the food stores put out for "moving" work fairly well and at least they are biodegradable.
The next thing to tackle will be those plastic milk jugs . . . wish we had the glass ones again! I heard of a dairy farm not to far from me that sells their milk to the public, so I may need to do a road trip to visit the farm and see how their milk is sold. In the mean time, I will need to re-evaluate how I purchase milk. . . I should at least start buying it in the waxed cardboard, it will be a start.
How about all of you? What are you doing now, what are your current challenges that your searching for a solution too?
Joanna #566
JojoNH
http://www.etsy.com/shop/CountryCents
www.CountryCents.com
http://CountryCents.Blogspot.com
http://Twitter.com/Eastwooddesigns |
| Rea231 |
Posted - Apr 05 2010 : 3:39:51 PM
Love those aged hippie comments! Look for the possitive here, Even if it is just one day I know it impacts some each and every year. We just have to keep trying to educate to illiminate!
The art of teaching is the art of assisting discovery. |
| Madgardener |
Posted - Apr 05 2010 : 2:20:00 PM
Sign the guest book on www.Phoenixfarm.biz to win. We are giving away 1 baseball hat, 1 tee shirt, and 2 shopping totes for Earth Day!
FREE. Help raise awareness about our Earth and what is happening, talk to people you know. Drawing will be 4-15-10. We will notify by email, and contact you for mailing info. Madgardener #697
www.phoenixfarm.biz SIGN GUEST BOOK TO WIN !!  |
| knittinchick |
Posted - Apr 03 2010 : 6:22:34 PM
I hate that people think they can recycle for one day and turn off their lights and all that for a day, then they just go back to their old ways. My science teacher says that we should be living like that already, and maybe we should just have one day a year where we can do the bad stuff. The Earth is not disposable; there is only one Earth, and all the water, trees, and everything we have, is it. I think this Earth Day, I'm going to make New Earth Resolutions. A bunch of different ways I'm going to change my habits. Who's with me?
God's Blessings,
Megan aka Loretta Rae
At heart, I am both a sassy city girl and a down-home country gal. |
| Annika |
Posted - Apr 03 2010 : 6:11:40 PM
I'm an aged hippie too Kris 
I wish that Earth Day was something that people respected and did for more than one day a year...We recycle, have a fuel efficient vw bug, try daily to lessen our foot prints and give back to the earth healthily...I wish we could do more and will always keep trying to find more ways to be earth conscious.
Thank you for the post, it's timely and wonderful!
Annika
Farmgirl & sister #13
Palouse Prairie Girls Chapter
http://palouseprairiegirls.blogspot.com/
http://prairiegirlsjournal.blogspot.com/
Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication. ~Leonardo DaVinci
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| kristin sherrill |
Posted - Apr 03 2010 : 4:54:04 PM
Hey Annika, I am an "aged hippie"! Ya know, maybe that was an Arbor Day thing I went to that gave the trees away, now that I think about it. It was quite some time ago.
Kris
Happiness is simple. |
| smiley |
Posted - Apr 02 2010 : 6:22:42 PM
Its not just aged hippies. We are 4-H leaders. Kids know about Earth day and do some cool activities for it. Take heart the next generation has some great minds with hearts that care about our planet. |
| pamcook |
Posted - Apr 02 2010 : 1:19:52 PM
I think a lot of people have become cynical. It's become trendy to be "environmentally conscious" - and then you see politicians and corporations making billions of dollars with government contracts while they promote lies and flawed scientific theories as facts. It's vital that we stop treating our planet as a disposable commodity. We've known that for decades. Maybe I shouldn't be so cynical (maybe I'm not cynical enough). Yes - plant more trees, shrubs & flowers! They thrive on carbon dioxide and we thrive on the oxygen they produce. I'm doing my best to teach my children & granddaughter a better way.
www.ikat.org
www.longaberger.com/pamcook |
| kristin sherrill |
Posted - Apr 01 2010 : 7:15:30 PM
I try to do all I can around here. I don't use chemicals or fertilizers. I try to go as natural as possible in the yard. I let the goats mow for me. I do use a tiller though. I was outside today tilling and across the road they were getting ready to spray chemicals on a field. They had already spread truck loads of chicken manure on it. And the wind is blowing this way too. They didn't start yet so maybe they were waiting for the wind to shift? Wouldn't that be nice of them.
I take my own shopping bags when I do shop. And I try to only make a few trips to town a week. There are so many ways to make it earth day every day. We just need to keep doing what we're doing.
I went to an ED celebration years ago in S. Ga. and they were giving trees away. That's a good thing.
Kris
Happiness is simple. |
| farmmilkmama |
Posted - Apr 01 2010 : 6:21:20 PM
I guess what always chaps me about Earth Day is that so many people get all earthy for one day and the next day go back to what they were doing before. I overheard a kid tell his mom last year about a week after Earth Day "Why do we have to do that? It's not Earth Day anymore." I think people need to wake up and pay attention and make it more than a day. I bought a tote/bag at Tractor Supply the other day that says "Every day is Earth Day out here" with a picture of a farm - and I think that sums it up. Gosh darn, its hard work to do that "Earth Day" stuff all the time, isn't it? I guess I just get cynical sometimes, how famous people will do their little PSAs about how you need to turn off the water when you brush your teeth. I just want to say "Really? Seriously? Come on!"
I wish there was a new way to get people involved and caring about doing their share and not taking up more than they need. I hope there is a way to do it! I'm just fresh out of ideas right now. From what I've seen, the people who understand what Earth Day stands for are already doing what they can, and those who don't understand it basically carry the attitude "its too much work."
--* FarmMilkMama *--
Farmgirl Sister #1086
Be yourself.
Everyone else is already taken.
-Oscar Wilde
www.wakeupstartlearning.blogspot.com
www.farmfoodmama.blogspot.com |
| Annika |
Posted - Apr 01 2010 : 5:46:37 PM
I think that Earth Day deserves better then to be relegated to ageing flower children and wanna be hippies promoting free marijuana. Earth day should be front and center in our culture and command a much greater degree of respect. I would very much like to see it with a fresh vital new face for it's 40th birthday. Let's try to become personally involved in it and see what a little farmgirl ingenuity can do for it =)
Annika
Farmgirl & sister #13
Palouse Prairie Girls Chapter
http://palouseprairiegirls.blogspot.com/
http://prairiegirlsjournal.blogspot.com/
Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication. ~Leonardo DaVinci
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