The next time you make a purchase and the clerk blindly puts your 2 item purchase in a bag…….REFUSE. More over educate them. Tell them that you do not want to take a bag that is going get caught in a breeze and wind up decorating an inner city tree this winter. Tell them that you don’t want to choke a seagull. Tell them that you don’t want to clog the sewer at the end of you street and cause a flood.
Tell them that you don’t want a bag because it is simply not required, especially when the milk jug you just purchased already has a handle.
Come on! How asleep are we that we accept a bag for a small single purchase that already comes shrouded in plastic.
While you are at it, there in line make a scene. Take a minute and educate all the other people in line with you and invite them not to take a bag if they don’t need one.
There is a pelican in the Gulf of Mexico somewhere who will owe you one.
It is often said that forests are renewable resources. While this is technically true, it is not unconditional.
The massive efficiencies that we have been able to create in developing our modern society are truly amazing. But meeting the demands of an ever increasing population is putting a burden on the natural environment (on which we are completely dependent) that is unprecedented. This video is not about the big-bad companies that exploit the natural environment, it is about you and me and our role in that exploitation. I recently went to cut firewood with author and naturalist Jeff Hinich and got a very strong reminder of this.
The convenience of modern life comes at a cost and there are many things you can do to change it.
I live in the Great Lakes region and for the millions of us who do, water is abundant, rain is regular and plentiful, so why would a non-profit organization in Madison, Wisconsin be advocating the use of rain barrels?
A rain barrel acts as cistern that captures rain water from your downspout and and makes it available for use in your garden or perhaps in an emergency situation, even a supply of water that you could purify and use for drinking.
I was greatly inspired when I interviewed Jessie Lerner of Sustain Dane at the Midwest Renewable Energy Fair about the difference that having a rain barrel can make.
Sustain Dane is a not-for-profit organization based in Dane County Wisconsin, which is dedicated to creating communities that deeply enjoy, care for and are sustained by their unique environment. 
For less than $90 you can equip your house with one of these unique rain barrels. Sustain Dane also offers discussion courses that allow you to educate yourself in creating a more sustainable lifestyle and local community along with fellow global citizens.
Learn more at www.sustaindane.org. RainReserve™ focuses on raising community awareness of water related issues. For additional information rain barrels and indoor water conservation kites for kitchen and bath, visit www.rainfordane.org.
Probably one of the most difficult things to get a handle on as we enter the post carbon era is personal electric transportation. For years the viability of electric transportation has been called into question primarily because gasoline has been so cheap for so long. However, with gas very clearly heading in the direction of $5 and up people are increasingly interested in it. Until now, most people would not buy an all electric vehicle because of the limited range. Even the most efficient electric vehicles have a range of about 100 miles. This makes them unfeasible for cross country travel. However research has shown that vast majority of driving that people do is much closer to home.
As Americans recognize the un-sustainability of the many trips taken to local or “neighborhood” destinations in wasteful oversized SUVs, there is a new class of electric vehicle that is intended exclusively for this kind of driving. There are a number of manufactures that are developing these kinds of vehicles. They are coming in a surprising variety as well. In this video, I interviewed Tom Shea of International Motor Works in LaCrosse, Wisconsin about an electric delivery van.
