With a cabinet full of tomes and a passion for publishing, it should come as no surprise that I love my local library. Every week, I’m checking out something new. I also have a large Word file that has a list of all the books I want to borrow in the future. Yup, I am an organized library geek – go figure!

NEW is the word du jour around my blog lately, and that is going to continue with the launch of yet another new column: Library Lexicon. In here, you’ll find reviews & commentary on, you guessed it, books that I rent from the library. Some will be eco-related, of course, but you’ll also find physical health, food, crafts, self-help, interior design, business, and many others subjects … much more diversity than what I get from publishers & a truer reflecti0n of my literary interests.

First up: 10-10-10: A Life-Transforming Idea by Suzy Welch

Before you assume this is “just another self-help” book, I encourage you to drop those thoughts at the door. This is not a self-help book; it is not out to fix your life. Author Suzy Welch is very open about the fact that her 10-10-10 “life management tool” is not a solution to all your problems – it is simply meant to help you make informed, intelligent decisions that aren’t based purely on tension or emotion.

The concept is simple: phrase your problem as a specific question that you need to answer. Next, gather any information you need to answer said question. Last, and most key, is to “answer the following prompts”:

Given my question, what are the consequences of each of my options in ten minutes?

In ten months?

In ten years?

That’s it. That’s all there is to it. A simple concept to help you make decisions that not only progress your live, but make sure that you stay in-line with your own values along the way.

Suzy makes sure not to overlook how important values are, and how difficult they can be to recognized on a day-to-day schedule. In fact, there are 3 questions that she poses to help folks determine what is truly valuable in their lives:

1. What would make your cray at your 70th birthday?
2. What do I want people to say about me when I’m not in the room?
3. What do you love about the way your parents live, and what do you hate?

There are never-ending applications for the 10-10-10 concept – parenting, relationships, friendships … but the most obvious application (in my eyes) is in the career world. I have serious issues with getting off-track, taking on any paying project that comes along, whether or not it will have a positive effect on my career. Simply put, the money talks. Thankfully, I also have moral values that keep me from working on anything that I find to be offensive, pointless, or environmentally damaging.

Having worked as a writer for 4 years and not yet able to pay all my bills with my freelancing income, I wonder what I am doing wrong? What am I missing that is keeping me from being financially and emotionally successful? Think about it – I already answered my own question: money. Being broke rips my heart to shreds; I feel worthless when I can’t pay my bills. With $20,000 in foolish credit card debt keeping me under its thumb, it is easy to see why making (almost any) money unconsciously took the top spot on my priority list.

The problem with that? I begin to loose my authenticity. My words don’t speak with the same passion. My heart doesn’t beat with the same joy. At least I know that  I am doing the right thing, thanks to Suzy’s 4 questions about career that rang true for me:

1. Does my job allow me to work with “my people” – those who share my sensibilities about life – or do I have to zone out, fake it, or put on a persona to get through the day?
2. Does my job make me smarter by stretching my mind, building my skills, and taking me out of my comfort zone?
3. Does my job open doors for me?
4. Does my job give me meaning?

My positive answers to all 4 questions assures me that I am doing what is right for me, but I must seek out more opportunities to share my authentic voice with those that can benefit from it. Staying true to yourself will always, eventually, result in financial fulfillment, along with spiritual, emotional, and otherwise.

10-10-10: A Life-Transforming Idea by Suzy Welch was even better than I expected – I encourage everyone to read it (even those that think self-help books are for weaklings).

Enjoy! I’m off to print out a sign with “10-10-10″ on it to hang above my desk.

Though I have no idea where I “learned” it, I always had this constant nagging urge to be the best in my class. The notion that success only happens to the young (or very young) is a lot more common that I thought, according to Confessions of a Late Bloomer, written by Scott Barry Kaufman for the November/December 2008 issue of Psychology Today Magazine.

By high school, I stopped trying to conform to the traditional education system and began to seek our learning opportunities that worked for me. This lead me to leave high school 6 months before I was set to graduate – I finished via an accredited long-distance program through Indiana University faster than planned.

“Late bloomers are actually plentiful, and each has his or her own story and distinctive pathway,” says Kaufman. “Stopping to look at all the paths together calls into question some of society’s most cherished beliefs— about the nature of human development, the roles of intelligence and education in creative achievement, and the ingredients of success at any age. All too often, what society thinks is a limiting factor—harsh early life experiences, such as parental loss—may turn out to be the very thing that enables eventual success.”

My confidence still suffers from, what I see, as a lack of sufficient life progress. So many others in my age group are already working in executive positions, own houses, are having kids, and paying their bills with steady incomes. Some part of me wants all those things, but I don’t want to sit in a cubicle to obtain “financial happiness” – there are many more important things in life (which is far too short to do a job you hate until you retire).

Kaufman’s article features some fantastic research about gene development and the benefits of older successes. “Ability can take time to develop,” he says. “The contribution that genes make to ability doesn’t determine everything; rarely is it laid out in one burst. ‘The genes don’t act all at once, but can take years to unfold,’ says Dean Keith Simonton, a psychologist at University of California at Davis. ‘We know that the genes are partly responsible for brain organization, but we also know that the brain is not completely organized until well into adulthood.’”

I’ve got at least 15 other intelligent quotes from the article that I could include, but I encourage you to read the whole thing for yourself! Comparing ourselves to others can be a helpful tool for progress, but it is also well known for hindering our determination – something I am all too familiar with. I’ve never had an article feel as though it was speaking directly to me … it is quite surreal.

The next time you feel like you are “off-schedule“, remember this: “Especially in light of our extended life span, it’s worth confronting the very notion of late blooming to ask: late for what?”

[Image courtesy of glovsky225 on flickr.com]

Everyone has something that they want to do but just can’t find the ability to. Whether the excuse is time, money, or technique, it all comes down to one basic concept – fear of failure.

We live in a society that desires perfection at every turn. Failing at anything, from cooking or driving to client meetings and relationships, is seen as making someone less than acceptable - less than human. But it doesn’t have to be this way.

According to In Praise of Failure, written by Marisa Taylor for the October 2008 issue of Ode Magazine, “… some of history’s most impressive successes started out as big, fat failures.” Beethoven, Lincoln, Churchill – you name it; even the most infamous names in history compiled their own list of personal and professional failures before they became who they are known as today.

Winston Churchill said, “success is the ability to go from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm.”

Auto magnet Henry Ford saw that, “failure is simple the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently.”

Harry Potter author J. K. Rowling says,” it is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all – in which case you fail by default.”

These quotes are all great ideas, but more than that, they are philosophies to live by. As mentioned in In Praise of Failure, Stanford University psychologist Carol Dweck found that when “failure, viewed as a learning experience – in other words, as an opportunity for self-improvement - can build and strengthen neural pathways in the brain.” This shows undoubtedly that failure isn’t only a natural occurrence, it is vital for our development and progress as individuals and a species as a whole.

“Her research has shown that when you praise a child for intelligence or talent, he or she sees failure as something undermining it and becomes so afraid of making mistakes that motivation is stunted. But if you put the emphasis on the process or the effort the child is putting in, the child learns to be resilient in the face of setbacks and is more open to seeking challenges.”

Breaking our fear of failure is not going to be an overnight sensation - it takes time, effort, and the dedication to take risks and push out of your comfort zone.  But it is possible. It is vital. Failing at something means you at least tried; by not trying to follow your dreams and desires, you are failing in another way. Damned if you do, damned if you don’t – just take the plunge and view every experience as a chance to become a better person.

[Image courtesy of tinou bao on flickr.com]

Having reached the bottom of the bottom, suffering a complete mental breakdown nearly 7 years ago, I used to think that my mind was my worst enemy. Imagine feeling like you had to fight with yourself every day just to make getting out of bed worth the effort - not the most pleasant lifestyle.

Though I have gone through professional counseling and am currently on one medication for both depression and social anxiety, I’ve found that telling my mind what to think (instead of letting it take control and lead me life) has been the most vital tool for my happiness and sanity.

I was introduced to the idea of meditation and body awareness through my study of Buddhism, which lead to a passion for yoga. Just a decade ago, I wouldn’t even have dreamed of trying to smile. Now, my mantra is, “there’s a positive side to everything.”

Speaking of meditation, the core of guided mediation, a very common style that is perfect for beginners, is focusing on one particular word or phrase to help release your mind and body of surrounding tension. Your chosen positive phrase is often called an affirmation, and science is proving that a few happy words can change your entire outlook (and I’m part of the proof).

Reading the I Can Stay Calm article by M.J. Ryan in the January 2009 issue of Good Housekeeping Magazine was a fantastic confirmation that my often-seen-as-superstitious view of life is actually what saved my life. “At it’s simplest form, an affirmation is a strong positive statement about something you really want … It’s important to realize that an affirmation is not a magic formula, but, used correctly, it can be an effective tool to transform your life,” says Ryan.

The piece goes on to share recent studies that have proven the power of positive words, along with the easiest ways to integrate affirmations into your life without feeling silly. “These studies show that our brains create our experience of reality based, at least in part, on our expectations … Apparently the brain doesn’t differentiate between pretending to do something and actually doing it – if you imagine it clearly and strongly enough. So as you focus on your affirmation, try to see and feel it actually happening.”

Anyone who tells me that my outlook is naive or delusional are simply misinformed or downright jaded. The idea of mind over matter has never been more true than it is today, especially when we are bombarded by negative news and images every minute of every day. Be different – be positive.

[Image courtesy of honey-bee on flickr.com]

Concern, and downright obsession, about cleanliness and sanitation has swept developed countries, according to an Cult of Clean in the Sept/Oct 2008 issue of Psychology Today.

I can remember being a kid in the 1980s (yeah, I’m only 24), spending time digging in the dirt, playing on the kitchen floor, and doing dishes once a week. Does that mean I was raised in a family of slobs? Not at all! Everyone in my family got sick roughly 3 times a year, including colds and flus. Our immune systems were strong, but if we had taken up the modern, psychotic focus on scrubbing, we would have been miserable.

Spending your life focused on a sterile environment is a life truly wasted. The world is dirty - there is no way around it. As Ella Gudwin, Director of Strategic Initiatives at AmeriCares, says in Cult of Clean, “The whole world is covered in a small film of fecal matter. Just get used to it.”

Being germophobic is not going to keep us safe – it is actually doing the exact opposite. Obsessive cleaning, just like overusing antibiotics, leads to germ mutations and stronger infectious diseases that cost humans billions of dollars to investigate and treat.

There is a common misconception that “germ” is a bad word, but not all germs are out to get you. “The adult human body contains 100 trillion cells – but only 10 percent of those cells actually belong to us! The rest are germs,” shares Cult of Clean article author Carlin Flora. Most of those are the helpful bacteria that live in our digestive tract, keeping us nourished and safe from intruders.

If you thinking cleaning helps to reduce your anxiety after a busy day, think again! “Significantly, our dreams of disinfection parallel the rise of anxiety in our culture,” says Flora. Social isolation, fear of diversity, and spiritual inconsistency are just a few of the root causes for millions of anxiety cases. “It is likely that envisioning the build-up of ‘junk‘ in our bodies is a way of expression cumulative emotional damage” adds Flora.

Soaking and scrubbing isn’t going to solve your emotional problems or improve your health. That’s not to say that you shouldn’t vacuum, do laundry, wash the dishes … etc. Follow basic sanity concepts and you’ll be find – no extraneous effort needed.

Instead of spritzing and mopping, spend your time with friends and family – clinically proven to help reduce anxiety. Remember your favorite hobby in college? There’s still time for that too. You’d be surprised just how much sanity you will regain when you realize one dirty dish isn’t going to infect your entire family.

Need a new hobby? Try gardening! Digging around in “unclean” (a silly myth) dirt has been shown to reduce dementia, improve immunity, provide healthy food and exercise, expand social networks, and foster spiritual connections to life and the plant as a whole. Gardening can teach you creativity, patience and humility; making mistakes and having fun is all part of the cycle.

[Image courtesy of solarnu on flickr.com]

I’ve personally come into contact with poverty on numerous occasions. As a kid, my family was never homeless, but we came close many times thanks to being lower-middle class in Indiana. Now, living in San Francisco, I come into contact with some of the city’s over 6000 homeless folks on a daily basis.

Homelessness is the first thing that comes to my mind when I think of poverty, but countless people live at “poverty level” while still maintaining housing. With the United States economy on such a strong downswing, the possibility of literally anyone dropping to poverty level in a matter of days has become a reality.

I can’t influence the stock market to rise 1,000 points. I can’t help people save their homes from foreclosure. What I can do is help those that have fallen on hard times. It is easy to be overwhelmed by the mass of problems going on in our society that we forget about the simple things we can do to make a difference:

• Share with your neighbor.
• Volunteer at a soup kitchen.
• Help build homes with Habitat for Humanity.
• Donate extra clothing to the Salvation Army or Goodwill.
• Barter with friends in exchange for services, such as childcare, food preparation, cleaning, pet care, and more!

By no means am I discounting the severe poverty going on in third-world countries, but we mustn’t forget the millions here at home that need our help every day. I’m a firm believer that we should start locally before we move globally.

The excuse of being “too busy” to help others is total bullshit. It is great excuse, I admit, but that is all it is – an excuse. Some people don’t want to come into contact with the grim conditions others have no choice but to exist in. Not only does helping others perform a vital service, it also fosters a much-needed sense of community.

Helping others isn’t an inconvenience - it is a vital part of saving our human decency. Don’t want to miss out on a chance to be with your friends? Have them volunteer with you! If going green is becoming chic, why can’t helping others be the “it” thing to do!?

[Image courtesy of greefus groinks on flickr.com]

Carbon offsets, hybrid cars, rechargeable batteries, organic food, natural cosmetics, recycled paper.

Isn’t something missing from our frequently discussed eco-conscious options?

How about cutting your damn hair!

Think of all the resources that go into maintaining long hair: water, products with questionable ingredients, electricity (for hair appliances and frequent towel laundering), money, and most importantly – time.

You could save on all of these things by simply cutting your hair shorter. Most men are known for having short hair, so it is the women of the world who need to wake up and chop it off. Remember the 1950s? Some of the most popular women of that era had hair above their shoulders. Sophistication, authority, beauty – short hair says it all.

Long hair is often a personified characteristic of youth. A recent study from University of Pecs in Hungary proves that long-time tradition is changing. “Women with longer hair seem healthy, intelligent, and mature, while women with short hair are seen as more youthful, honest, caring, and emotional,”says Liz Somes in Psychology Today’s January/February 2008 issue.

From a logical perspective, it is easy to see why short hair equals youth. Long hair takes years to grow. Short hair is worn by babies worldwide. Ba-da bing, ba-da boom. Just about every woman has had one of those nightmare haircuts that you just can’t fix, but fear to go short. Long hair used to be seen as what makes a woman feminine. Well times have changed!

After having shoulder-length or longer hair for over 10 years, I buzzed it all off to one-inch long in December 2007. Why? It was time for a change.While it took me weeks to get used to my new look, I instantly found many benefits to having short hair: saving water, using less shampoo and conditioner, no need for styling products or tools – all of this lead to saving time, money, and vital planetary resources. In addition, I also found myself gaining confidence at a rapid speed. No longer was I hiding behind my hair or constantly worrying about how it looks (curly haired folks know what I mean).

Most people don’t like to be told what to do. I’m bucking the system. Cut your hair! How short? Above shoulder length. Don’t let fear or vanity stop you. There is an attractive short hair cut for every face.

Save time, save money, save the planet, and grow in ways you’ve never imagined – cut your hair short!

Many people simply see it as a day off from work, school or their other duties. Both of my grandfathers and my half-uncle were in the military and while I would never personally join, I am thankful for their effort and personal sacrifice on behalf of the entire country.

For the past few years, Memorial Day has been peppered with frustration for many residents of U.S. due to our involvement in the Iraq War. I personally believe that we do not need to be in the Middle East anymore.

While I know that my sentiment is shared by millions of the world’s citizens, many still believe that the war is justified and that we are “doing good.” No matter your belief, today is a day to remember those we have lost in the short time we have existed as a nation.

War has been a source of pride, power and sorrow in every nation on our dying planet. Fighting only breeds more fighting – I fear the cycle shall never end. We must not forget where we have come from and what has brought us to our current state. Let us not make the same mistakes countless times.

Tomorrow, Victoria-E.com will return to its regular, sustainable-focused posts. Until then, I’ll be spending the day is thankful, contemplative silence.

[Image courtesy of soldiersmediacenter on flickr.com]

As part of the Bloggers Unite For Human Rights event today, I’ve decide to put a difference spin of the issue and lack of international rights in both first and third-world countries. There is no denying the overarching issue of human rights all over our planet, but with the environmental movement reaching its second peak (the first being in the 1960s), it is clear (no pun intended) that having access to pristine land, water and air are vital parts of human existence.

Would you move to a neighborhood with a river full of raw sewage? How about living on land that has nuclear waste buried under it? Most would instantly avoid these places, but what about people who can’t afford to be choosy? Should they be “punished” due to their lower income. No. No no no. The RIGHT to a safe environment should be the very same as the right to life itself. How can we live a full life with the onslaught of both local and corporate pollution inundating ever element of our day?

Let’s turn to conversation to third world countries for a moment. Unstable governments and low national income are issues seen across the board, but does that mean they should be given the blessing of clean air and sparkling rivers? Of course not. Industrial progress has been set as the international standard for success without much considering to what it has and is doing to the only home we have.

Color, creed, sexual orientation, religious affiliation and economic background should not be grounds for discrimination on the air we breath … it shouldn’t, but it is. The right to freedom of speech is constantly debated and will likely not be solved soon – same with the right to justice, equality and education. The world is not perfect, nor will it ever be, but we will not be able to advance as a society or a species until we remember that we must all be secured with the basic needs for human existence – clear air, water and food – before we try to build another skyscraper or settle on the moon.

Do you think clear air and water could be classified as human rights? Why? Why not?

Tell me your thoughts!

[Image courtesy of LensENVY on flickr.com]

If you are looking for my final say on the movie, I’ll save you some time and tell you right now: buy this movie. Don’t just go see it – buy it. Now, if you want to know what I’m such a fan of it, feel free to keep reading along.

The documentary starts off a bit slow, but it takes much-needed time to introduce everything that is going on. For the first half hour, it seemed like it is going to be all about how fantastic corn is and how it is ok for it to be such a freakishly massive part of our lives. Thankfully, that all changes pretty quickly as co-producers and co-stars Ian Cheney (left, in the picture above) and Curt Ellis (right) are shown the error of America’s ways in rapid succession. You almost feel as though your are right there with them, every step of the way, feeling their shock and awe at just how much our food system has changed in a matter of two generations.

Even though I grew up in part of the heart of the “corn belt”, I was unaware that a large percentage of these questionable changes to our industrial food system happened in 1973, thanks to a man named Earl Butz. His changes to the U.S. Farm Policy, with a noted emphasis on corn for both humans and livestock (which most of us now know is a terrible suffering for them), did help to keep a lot of farmers in business but now, 30-some-odd years down the line, it is all too clear that his decisions have had even more of an impact than he could have ever predicted.

The fellas of King Corn had the opportunity to interview the now-infamous Earl Butz and he did make a few good points. “We spend less income on food, so we can spend more money and time on other things,” he says. Thanks to his changes in the farm policy, our generation spends less on food than any other generation in history. Unfortunately, that is only looking at the surface of the issues – what other “costs” are we paying for a tomato that is 50 cents less? How are our community, environment, economy, and social fabrics being affected? For most folks in the government, things like that just aren’t as important as the all mighty dollar.

Ian and Curt also give a great perspective on how the ubiquitous high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) came to be and why it can be found in nearly every processed item on grocery store shelves. The duo even go so far as to get a recipe for HFCS and spend a few days making it. I won’t spoil the results for you, but I think it is one of the best parts of the documentary.

Now I don’t want you to think this review is all doom and gloom because it isn’t. With the rise in smaller farms, the return of organic agriculture and ever-increasing popularity of farmer’s markets, sanity is slowly returning to our food-driving consciousness and often-ignored kitchens. The ending of King Corn was not what I was expecting at all – and I mean that in the best way possible.

I had the pleasure of being able to talk to one of the documentary’s co-producers, Curt Ellis, who is now living in his native home of Portland, Oregon. Read on to find out more about the past, present, and future of King Corn, as well as some inside scoop on the Portland area.

When did you and Ian first get the idea for King Corn? How long did the project take to come together?

Ian and I got interested in food and agriculture in college. It seemed somehow embarrassing to have taken classes in biology and philosophy, but to know next to nothing about the food we were eating every day. After graduation, we teamed up with my cousin Aaron, who had been making films for a while for PBS. Four years later, here’s King Corn.

What are some of your favorite “green” destinations in the Portland area?

Forest Park is pretty incredible, along with Mt. Tabor. But my favorite green spot in town is the farmer’s market. It’s incredible to see so many people out early on a Saturday, buying real food from the people who grew it. That’s a pretty hopeful sight.

Do you think Portland deserves the title of greenest city in America?

I do. But it’s not like we’ve got everything figured out. I see the traffic on I-5 sometimes and the sprawl out Highway 26, right in the middle of beautiful farmland, and I think “what’s happened?” I love Portland so much that back in college Ian thought I worked for the tourist bureau. But it’s because I think this city does a better job than anyone of remembering that it’s resources that gave us all the luxuries we have.

Have you had any sort of negative response to your documentary?

Surprisingly little. It’s an open-minded film, and that means it tends to start conversations rather than arguments. But I’ve heard from a few farmers who thought we didn’t pay enough attention to the idea of “feeding the world”… even if we’re feeding the world high fructose corn syrup. I do think there’s a fair criticism of the film around ethanol, which has at least temporarily made corn prices high enough that farmers are earning more of their income from the market than from the government subsidies, but nobody’s saying that’s here to stay forever.

How has your diet changed since you filmed King Corn?

At first it didn’t change very much, I think because it’s hard to change your diet. We were traveling with the film, eating road-food, and audiences started asking us that question: have you changed the way we eat? We realized we were failing at something pretty important, and since then I’ve made a committed effort to eat differently. I avoid high fructose corn syrup and the processed food world it enables (except ketchup, of course, I love ketchup), and I’m especially careful not to eat meat that comes from a big corn-fueled feedlot.

What’s next for the King Corn crew? More promotion? Another documentary? King Corn Part 2?

Ha! Vacation, I’m hoping! We’re doing some ancillary projects like DVD extras and are working on telling the environmental story that we only hinted at with King Corn. But Ian and I have another documentary coming out in April, about Green Building, and I’m starting a two-year term as a Food and Society Policy Fellow with the Thomas Jefferson Agricultural Institute. But as for the sequel? Queen Soybean? Not yet.

[ ++ If you would like to see more with Curt, check out his three-part interview with Portland-based food show Cooking Up A Story. ++ ]

Though the latter three catalogs left me drooling and dizzy with ideas, the Stitch Book caught the bulk of my attention due to it being filled with … stitched stuff! OK, let me be a bit more specific – the Stitch Book is full of sweaters of all shapes and sizes, all featuring impeccable knitted and crocheted designs.

Out of all the available goods in the Stitch Book, the Joona Handknit Hoodie (on the cover and in the image to the left) had me the most entranced: a Little Prince & Piggy original, handmade over the course of 100 hours using several skeins of lush mushroom yarn. Designed with irreverently gathered sleeves and an oversized hood.

Can Anthropologie’s goods really be considered sustainable? That’s a good question and it’s one that I don’t have the answer to. I recently found out that they previously carried a few goods by one of my all-time favorite eco-brands Stewart+Brown (four of which are on-sale on the website). But carrying four tops made of organic cotton doesn’t change the lack of sustainability of the rest of the goods. Seeing how much wool and leather is featured in the catalogs makes me squirm (including the aforementioned hoodie).

On a different token, many of the brands that are featured in Anthropologie have sustainable and fair trade programs. Also, nearly all of the items in their catalogs can be considered “luxury goods”, meaning items that should be invested in and worn/used for many years to come.

Eco-issues aside, I learned a little bit more about who I really am, simply from these catalogs. By looking at the Joona hoodie, you can see that it is meant to be layered with at least a t-shirt. Though this is true, it also intentionally features an open stitch pattern, which is meant to show off the beauty of the yarn being used and the item(s) worn underneath the sweater.

What does all this have to do with a person? For those who are into psychology, you have probably started to catch the drift, but I take pleasure in explaining these kinds of “intelligent” things as well. As simple as I try to make my life, I am still full of layers – we all are. No one can be truly two-dimensional as this is not the kind of life humans are meant to live. While we all need a place to sleep, food to eat, water to drink … etc., there are still many uniquely detailed, yet open, parts about ourselves that shape our situations and experiences.

By being drawn to this particular item of clothing, I have gained new insight into my own issues of social anxiety as well, knowing that laying high-quality clothing that is simple yet striking in its details make me feel as comfortable and confident as I possibly could be. On another note, I happen to be very comfortable being completely naked, but somewhere between nudity and wearing a potato sack, I am wracked with self-consciousness. That’s not to say that my anxiety stems from only my looks – there are a number of psychological factors at work as well; this is just one element worth exploring.

The foods, friends, hobbies, colors, clothing, cars and all other elements of our lives are chosen based on previous experiences, which have established our own “personal tastes.” My lonely childhood, social issues, history of depression, career as a model, and compassion for planet Earth all give me my own desires and passions.

What is this all leading to? Nothing. I am no guru, no magician, no certified professional that can help you solve all your problems, but I can offer you this “word to the wise”: explore yourself. Explore all of the decisions and dislikes you collect in the course of your day, including the impacts they have on those around you. Only by being conscious and in-the-moment can we ever expect to understand the many qualities that make up our true selves.

Extra investment capital and access to a wider market are the two most common reasons I’ve heard for a company being “absorbed” or bought out by another. Both are good arguments in favor of selling, but are you willing to do it at the cost of your current customers and their safety? What happened to the three-point bottom line of planet, people, and profit? Can no one be happy with their current success and not constantly insist on growing bigger and bigger and bigger?

From a sustainable angle, once smaller companies are bought by bigger ones, you are now not only funding the success of your beloved “small” brand but also the advancement of its parent company, which may care little, if any, for the planet. Green fabrics, fair trade work force, all natural/organic ingredients, recyclable packaging, efficient (non polluting) factories – these are just a few of the thousands upon thousands of factors that make a brand sustainable or just a plain stupid purchase. Let’s us an example: Body Shop; they farmed unique ingredients in cooperation with third-world countries and their citizens under fair trade conditions. Body Shop’s new parent company, L’Oreal, is proven (via the Skin Deep Report) to use chemicals that have been shown to be dangers to both animals and humans, even those that have already been banned in Europe (infamous for being much more strict on beauty standards than America). Now, by buying Body Shop goods, you are funding L’Oreal’s unsafe business practices, which also may start to affect Body Shop’s actions.

Speaking of animal safety, testing on animals is still a widely used practice that parent companies of these smaller, sustainable lines may participate in. Do you want to fund that? Similar to major media buying (i.e. Treehugger being bought by Discovery Communications), the more hands you have in the soup, the less flavorful it will be. Success is not determined only by how much you make – what about consumers that stay loyal to one brand for over 20 years? Word of mouth is the best kind of promotion and with spreading the positive, we need to share the negative news as well, informing our family and friends of the dangers that are out there, especially ones that touch their health so closely as the lotion they use or the shampoo they clean with. Can you imagine the kind of chemicals that may end up in Burt’s Bees creations now that they are being run by a cleaning products company? I don’t even want to think about it, and neither does my skin.

Making my own cosmetics is an idea that I have toyed with, though rarely does my schedule allow for creating such concoctions. If I had that kind of time, I’d have my own garden and cook my own dinner every night. Because of these constraints, millions of us need to depend on bottles and jars of beauty products to keep our skin clean, clear, and protected from all the many environmental dangers that we face. Wouldn’t it be a bit silly to use a product to keep your skin safe that, in turn, is endangering the planet even more? Over 60% of all that comes into contact with our skin is absorbed into the bloodstream – I read this fact over a year ago in a major beauty magazine and it keeps me from buying those “big” brands that use ingredients that I can’t even pronounce.

While I am not against any company’s commercial success (heck, I run my own business too), doing so at the expense of your already established customer base and the planet they care so much about is nothing but a terrible corporate compromise. These are the kinds of decisions that have lead up to the dangerous food and fashion markets we have today. I still have a shred of hope for brands like Pangea Organics, Aubrey Organics (a personal favorite), Dr. Bronner’s, and Jurlique that have yet to give up their ethics for marginal growth, though this means I’ll be spending even more money for safer skincare in the coming months (damn you Burt’s Bees).

[from Planetsave; Image courtesy of Tracy Olson]

Concern for the planet is such a diverse topic that trying to zero in on one concept was driving my mind bonkers. Even after a most enjoyable nap with my sweet cat (which usually clears my mind out and helps me get going), just made me feel groggy and confused. So, here I am, telling you why I haven’t written my post instead of picking an idea to post about.

With my usual nap not doing my any good, I decided it was time for a shower. Warm water, Aveda hair products, and a whole lot of steam was exactly what I needed. Now, I have my topic: local activism. A massive online community and commercial market has developed around the concept of living a more greener life. Even as a media person, I feel overwhelmed by this expansive of information and opinions at least once a week – how do I fit in? How can anything I do make a difference?

One of the most common things I hear is something along the lines of “why bother” when it comes to being involved in sustainable action. Well that is quite defeatist, isn’t it!? It’s easy to get lost in the sea of organic products, eco-fabrics, sustainable energy and green building – taking a page of the hippie generation, “You gotta simplify, man!” Start doing small things in your own life and your surrounding community, such as establishing or advancing a recycling program or volunteering to clean up a nearby park. No, you’re not going to win a Nobel Prize like Al Gore, but that’s not what being green is about – you don’t need a metal to know that you have made a difference; you’ll be able to see your success on your neighbor’s faces and the birds that return to perch in the trees on your sidewalk.

OK, that all sounded a bit cheesy, but it’s true. Most non-profits focus on national issues, but they all have an impact on a local level, and by starting there; by getting involved in local elections and decisions; you can start to have an impact long before the World Wildlife Fund raises money for its next project.

What matters to you? The last time you took a walk (or drive, but preferably a walk) through your neighborhood, what did you see that bothered you? I can’t count how many times I’ve spotted a local headline online or in The Examiner that made me think, “what the f**k are they doing!?” There’s no better time to start taking action than right now – click over to Google and search for you city or state’s official website, find out about upcoming elections or meetings and make the decision to participate, shop at “mom and pop” stores instead of big chains and visit a nearby farmer’s market for this week’s grocery trip; these are just a few of the thousand small things you can do in your own area to change things for the better.

This has all started to sound a bit preachy, hasn’t it? Let’s end this first-ever B.A.D. (eep, I just noticed that it spelled that; how funny) on a positive note – here is a collection of Blog Action Day posts from my regular reads; enjoy!:

+ Problogger – How Can Bloggers Be Environmentally Responsible?
+ Zen Habits – 5 Ways Save the World, While Getting Fitter, Saving Money, Simplifying, and Becoming Happier
+ FreelanceSwitch – 29 Simple Ways to Become a More Environmentally Friendly Freelancer
+ Tiny Choices – What Tiny Choices has taught us
+ GroovyGreen – Hu Says China To Go Green and The Pig Farmer
+ Sew Green – Take Action Today!
+ Keetsa -Blog Action Day and Earth
+ Freshly Blended – Blog Action Day
+ GOOD Magazine – I’ll Be A Monkey’s Uncle!
+ Green Options – It’s Blog Action Day for the Environment
+ Treehugger – Blog Action Day Takes the Blogosphere by Storm

“Since we started working on this issue, it seems that every other magazine, from Town & Country to Fortune, has “green” plastered across its cover. It’s easy for us here at knit.1 to do a photo shoot in a garden and call it “Greenhouse Effect,” or to put a model in shiny gold hot pants and call it “Solar Power.” What’s harder is practicing what we preach. I know I have to stop filling landfills with individual containers of my favorite Greek yogurt and to finally start using those long-lasting light bulbs that have been on my to-buy list for months. But luckily for us knitters, doing the right thing comes naturally. To paraphrase blogger extraordinaire Stephanie Pearl-McPhee, we are good at making a difference because we understand how one little effort—the stitch—repeated hundreds and thousands of times, can make an enormous impact.”

Unlike many of the major magazine doing green issue for April/May, Knit.1 has added a green element to just about every aspect of their next issue. Below is a small snippet of the many eco-offerings in the Summer issue; a visual preview of the patterns offered can be seen here:

GREEN SCENE
Shannon Okey searches the Web for all things purlable and earth-friendly.
IT’S A BIRD! IT’S A SKEIN!
…it’s Annette O’Toole and the knitting cast of TV’s Smallville. By Vickie Howell
REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE
Projects, tips and other goodies that will help you knit and save the planet. By Leigh Witchel
ECO KNITTING
Yarns with a cause: Knitting goes green. By Leigh Witchel
GREENHOUSE EFFECT
Flirty knits that will make you feel like a natural woman.
PAPER OR PLASTIC?
How about neither? Carry your sundries home in a hand-knit bag instead.
SOLAR POWER
Hot knits for hot days.
CONCRETE JUNGLE
What’s black and white and knit all over? Business wear for urban warriors.
KNIT YOUR VEGGIES
Get out your Wishbone Italian! Yummy knits made from corn to bamboo.
THOSE LEAVES OF GRASS
A salad bar of fibers.
THE BIRDS AND THE LEAVES
Nap in style, swaddled in a blanket that evokes the natural world.
ANIMAL PLANET
Go for faux with a pack of fierce pillows.

Like watching the stars? Check out your Summer knitstology horoscope, complete with eco tips for each sign. An issue like this is all the more proof that green living is more mainsteam than ever before, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. On a related note, keep your eyes peeled for my green knitting piece in Yoga Journal Magazine’s September 2007 issue.

Two weeks ago, I had the pleasure of having my mother in town, visiting from Connecticut. It had been almost a year since I had seen here, so I was quite grateful for her company. Though the first few days of her trip were rainy, one day was impeccably clear. On this beautiful day, we decided to head to the previously mentioned Golden Gate Park; more specifically, to the Conservatory of Flowers. First opened in 1879, this is North America’s oldest existing public conservatory. It does not surprise me that such a unique place was treasured here in SF, and it makes me all the more proud to be here.

While roaming through their beautiful variety of plants, my mind shifted to the idea of just where my passion for nature came from. I believe I have my mom’s side of the family to thank for this gift. My grandmother (my mom’s mom) loved to take her grandkids to the nearby National Parks in Indiana at least once a month. Any vacation that my family took had a connection to nature in some way, whether it is the ocean, forests, or gardens. My mother has a clear love for nature, though I wish that caring extended more into an overall care for the environment. These recollections stand as a strong remind of just how impressionable children are; you have to wait many years before you find out the effect of your words and actions on them.

I’m unsure if it was my mom being there, the beautiful day, the breathtaking plants, or having such great subjects to photograph (another one on my long-standing hobbies); either way, that connection with nature was just what I needed to reignite the spark I have for helping to change the world. Working yourself into a rut is common on our society, but that does not mean we should all follow that path. This disconnection from nature that so many cities and towns have come to establish is exactly part of what is wrong with our country and our world. Thankfully, many in San Francisco know just how important this interaction and absorption of nature is, helping to preserve it amongst office buildings, buses, and restaurants galore. If you live in a city of nothing but concrete, it is so very easy to loose sight of just what is important and what society has imposed upon us.

That’s enough philosophical rambling for one day. As mentioned, I enjoy taking photographs a great deal, especially of nature and food. Below are just a few of the best 67 images that I took while at the Conservatory. If you are so inclined, feel free to explore the rest here.

The first essay, by William Ginn, presents an under-represented side of biofuel production. I particularly enjoyed his piece; the fact-based presentation really helped to drive the point home. “Our challenge is to ensure that we don’t create another, equally devastating “solution” in our quest to solve the climate and energy problems.” I find this simple concept is something that we should always keep in mind at this crucial time (see my “How to save the world with pollution” post for a similar concept). The next essay, focusing on marine conservation, is not as good. The piece reads far too much like a press release than an actual contemplative essay. The third essay, by their Chief Scientist Peter Kareiva, is much more captivating. His discussion on expanding past just plain ecosystem conservation is one that I would love to see extended upon into a full-length publishable magazine article. Saving nature is a substantial human undertaking, but if we won’t protect our own health and well-being, the whole planet will continue to suffer. No element stands alone; it’s all connected. How do some keep losing sight of that?

Three down, three to go: essay four by the President and CEO is the most all-encompassing of the six pieces featured in this collection. It’s become clear that Bush is more interested in destroying land than preserving it, unfortunately. Steven makes note of a number of ingenious resource management plans, but does not provide any info on how to make the shift to these resourceful policies. Similar to Peter’s essay, this composition would be a great read in expanded form. The final two essays both end off with a bit too large of a promo for the Nature Conservancy, but they do make intelligent points in their own right. Brian Richter’s essay on dams is enlightened, but also troubling. Dams are often built to solve the problem of getting fresh water to those who need it, especially in developing countries. One question not addressed is simply why focus on dams? Yes, they do have many great qualities, but just like nuclear power, the drawbacks are there as well. Brian is correct is saying that new dams need to be developed to help protect the natural migrations of fish and millennial-held water flow patterns, but he doesn’t suggest anything past that basic concept. The final essay, covering deforestation’s influence on climate change, is a great way to wrap up this digest of ideas. A key aspect not thoroughly hi-lighted in Al Gore’s film, our destruction of forests (for a plethora of projects) has been out of hand for generations. The simple science that plants (especially trees) create the oxygen we need to breath would remind any layman that more trees are better for the Earth.

All in all, this is a great little cluster of eco-ideas. I could have done without the many mentions of The Nature Conservancy’s current projects, but the pieces are worth reading. Considering these are featured on the organization’s own site, I’m not sure why they felt the need to continue to push their own works. Despite this, I enjoyed reading this set and would suggest you do so as well. Even better, you can e-mail your own conservation ideas, so let them know what you think this planet needs!

Odwalla and Tom’s of Maine are two of the most notable acquisitions in recent years. December 2006 brought the announcement of two more: Avalon being bought by Hain Celestial and Van’s Foods being bought by Healthy Food Holdings. Thanks to the linked article, I was also informed that Naked Juice, Jason, and Zia have all been bought by these types of mega-groups; no wonder it is so easy to find them on store shelves!

While these changeovers do help to get natural and organic brands the attention they deserve, are the companies buying them doing it for the right reasons? The wording in the NFM article leads me to believe that they are way off base. The growing eco-market is one that should not be ignored in terms of profits, but there are reasons why it is so popular with consumers: safer, healthier, better for the planet … etc. Making money is vital to a company’s success, but these buyers need to remember why people started these businesses in the first place: to help make a difference for their families and mother Earth. As Avalon and Van’s are marketed to stores and regions they wouldn’t normally have been able to reach on their own, will their values suffer to help them fit in? Being different is what made them stand out in the first place.

In the last 2006 issue of VegNews, a great article was featured on this topic, though with a different spin. From a vegetarian (and concerned citizen) aspect, can you justifying buying items from these brands after they have been acquired? For example, Tom’s of Maine was purchased by Colgate, which is known to do animal testing. As a forward-thinking, eco-concerned individual, would you continue to get your toothpaste and shave cream from Tom’s, knowing that you are also funneling money to a company that does such cruel and needless actions? Or, in turn, how about Odwalla being bought by Coca Cola? Why buy healthy fruit drinks from a company that sells needless sugary beverages to kids and adults, adding to the obesity problem in this country?

Though a number of new opportunities to expand business present themselves upon being purchased by a larger company, the ethical and eco-market implications need to be studied as well. I think I’ll stick to my Dr. Bronner’s, Aubrey Organics, and Amy’s dinners for now

(Image courtesy of Rob Lee)

While sparking controversy with the status-go is all well and good, should we eco-philes be searching for a different color to get attention? A number of planet-focused lifestyle magazines have been started online in the past year, but time-tested green publications are sold on newsstands, such as Plenty, E, VegNews, and more. Would they sell better by not featuring the color green on their covers or is the topic of more concern? Most eco-magazines are smaller and can’t afford the big bucks that major publications spend on cover analysis, which they do on a monthly basis to try and sell more. The basic ideals of living a planet-friendly life isn’t about selling a lot of anything, but as a business, magazines do need to sell copies to gain advertisers and stay in business.

As one continues to think, this cover color issue moves from being superficial to a serious issue for environmentalists trying to draw media attention to their causes and companies. Does this fear of trying to sell the color green make editors hold back on promoting eco-lifestyles? From an artistic standpoint, green is a very powerful, thoughtful, and intelligent color; subconsciously, does this turn off the American public? Are we watching so much TV that delving into serious and life-altering issues is seen as just a mental bother? So many questions and not enough answers. As more and more media attention is drawn to our environmental movement, we’ll need to be innovative and inspiring to grab the attention of the public, green-phobic or not. Not only are the green trees and meadows being harmed, but red flowers, blue skies, and clear waters are being affected with our daily choices. The cornucopia of shades and experiences that the world offers are all worth preserving; a few shades of one color isn’t enough to represent all that.

Crutzen and Wigley’s idea in particular calls for a cloud made of sulfur.

However, a sulfur cloud could also cause unforeseen health problems. According to the World Health Organization, air pollution such as sulfur kills about 2 million people each year. Furthermore, some people have severe allergies to sulfur-containing compounds such as sulfur dioxide. Wigley agrees with Crutzen’s idea. He used a computer-generated model to determine that an estimated five million tons of sulfur injected into the atmosphere yearly would lower the temperature by 0.9 degrees. Wigley believes after further testing for safety and efficacy, this method could be used until carbon dioxide emissions from the burning of fossil fuels are reduced. Sulfur dioxide would be used because it reflects solar radiation from entering the atmosphere. Carbon dioxide, on the other hand, keeps heat from escaping. (Clip courtesy of DailyTech)

On a very elementary level, there is something drastically wrong with this idea. Though the concept of curing like with like is effective in other areas, such as homeopathy, using it to try to fix the complex and extensively ruined environment on our planet is out of line. The idea of using a pollution cloud to cool the planet is an unhealthy, short-term solution that would please the big corporations, but come to harm everyone and everything else on our Earth. The down and dirty fact is that humans have a hard time adjusting to change, and the idea of reducing pollution to save the planet is “too extreme” for many. Instead, they want to just keep things going the way they are, or even increase our destructive ways to solve the problem … um, is it just me, or is there no logic in that idea at all?

I’m keeping my fingers crossed that this is the last time we hear of this horrible idea. Just because burning oil to heat our homes and drive our inefficient cars is what we have been doing for years doesn’t mean it is the “right” or “safe” way to function as human beings.

(Photo courtesy of charlietyack)

Next time: Green-colored magazine covers are “death on the newsstand”