February 14th, 2012

Deb’s Four Favorite Fellow Eco-Bloggers Of 2011

So it’s not just me in this big old world trying to make an ecological, greening difference.

The people who write the following blogs have been a *HUGE* inspiration and,as fellow travelers on the eco path, have given me even more impetus to do what I am trying to do in my search for CO2 sobriety in an oil-addicted world.

Read on to meet these amazing people…

1. Eco-Mama  (http://candiangreenfamily.blogspot.com) ”Eco-Mama” read Vanessa Farquharson’s book “Sleeping Naked Is Green” (reviewed in my 9/23/10 post) and decided to take the one change a day challange. But in “Eco-Mama’s” case, unlike Vanessa, she is married and the mother of three kids! Needless to say, attempting to make one green change per *day* is impossible, what with all the kid’s schedules and such, but she has TOTALLY succeeded in getting to 135 changes the last time I checked! Written with enthusiasm, creativity and valuable insights.

2. The Zero-Waste Home (http://zerowastehome.blogspot.com). Bea Johnson, the author of this blog, wife and mother of two is one amazing woman. In one year, her family makes so little trash that they fill only a 1-quart Mason jar with that trash. Meanwhile, most Americans throw out hundreds of pounds a year. How does the Johnson Family do it? By adding a few  more more “R” words to the slogan “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle”.  For them it is “REFUSE. Then Reduce, Reuse, Recycle…and lastly, ROT” By refusing to accept things in plastic packaging, taking not only totes to the store but reusable glass jars for meat and cheese products, refusing junk mail, goodie bags for the kids, and only THEN recycling, reducing, reusing, the amount of trash (and money spent!) dramatically decreases. Lastly, what is left is put in the compost bin. Bea has been featured in Sunset Magazine, People Magazine and was recently on The View. She and her family are living proof of where I am trying to get to: an elegant, comfortable and stylish life WITHOUT WASTE.

3. Transition To Resilience  (http://transitiontoresilience.blogspot.com) Another Canadian family takes on the challenge of treading lightly on the earth while still living fully- very much focused on one step at a time. The realization that in a world of dwindling resources, “resilience” means the ability to get by with less, while making less trash. Fun and informative!

4. Oak Park Hates Veggies (http://oakparkhatesveggies.wordpress.com) Last year, Julie Bass, a Michigan women, was fined and threatened with jail time for planting a vegetable garden in her front year. Seriously. Her garden was considered by the City of Oak Park, MI to contain “unsuitable plant materials”.
What the City of Oak Park did *not* anticipate was the birth of her blog, written by a most intelligent, articulate and direct woman, nor did the city expect the  HUGE national  furor  and negative  press received about their ridiculous  laws. And while the Basses have recently relocated to the more  front yard vegetable garden Pacific Northwest, Julie’s blog still remains one of the best- written missives  in the blog-o-sphere I have encountered, covering not only Urban Homesteading, but “Life In All Of Its Varying Vicissitudes”.   A must-read from the mind of one incredible woman who has overcome all sorts of obstacles in her life, let alone the veggie garden issue!

KEEP IT UP, Y’ALL!