Are we getting through?

There has been a bunch of articles in the last two weeks on Conscious Consuming topics:

- July 17 Newsweek cover story on the Greening of America talks about how green is now cool.

- The current Money Magazine has a story on money and happiness -- being poor is a big drag, being middle class is pretty good, but being filthy rich doesn't make you that much happier than a middle class person. Apparently, having 12 cars doesn't make you much happier than just having one.
- That same Money Magazine has an article on a family that joined The Compact. (The Compact is a group who took a vow to drastically cut back on their shopping and buy only food, underwear, and a few other necessities.) The Money experts analyzed the families financies and advised them famility to spend more on their kids.
(Unfortunately, the cheapskates at Money haven't put their current issue up on the Web yet so I can't provide links. You're going to have to take my word on these two.)

- Businessweek July 17 "Business on a Warmer Planet," discusses how global warming is starting to hit big business in the only place it understands -- the wallet.

I guess someone out there is listening.

How to Buy Nothing

My friend Dave sent me this interesting link on How to Buy Nothing. It's an interesting site, not only for its content, but also because it's a wiki - a lot of people contributed to it, which means a lot of people are thinking about consumption, too!

I like the 7 rule: "if something you want is over 7 dollars, wait 7 days and ask 7 trusted people whether this is a good purchase. Then buy it if you still think it is a good idea. This rule will curtail impulse buying. Note: not everyone will enjoy giving their opinion every time you want to make a purchase."

Take what works for you, and try to challenge yourself to buy nothing! (or at least less!)