Voluntary Simplicity Hits the Bigtime!

OK, so most of my friends think I'm a little whacked out to be so into promoting voluntary simplicity. But my little niche issue (which 10% of the population adheres to, btw) has hit the big time! Oprah's mainstream magazine, O!, had an article on voluntary simplicity in the January 2009 issue. Allison Glock writes about two simple living families in "Back to Basics." Even though the profiled families were in Florida and I am in Colorado, my friend Mara asked me if I knew them--bless her heart. I am happy to report that the simplicity movement is too big for me to know all of the movers and shakers!

Now, I just discovered that, according to Vegetarian Times, there are 12.4 million self-described vegetarians in America. I calculate that to be approximately 4% of the population. Leave it to me to find an EVEN smaller niche issue!!! Apparently Oprah herself has gone vegan for 21 days, which is more than I can boast. I'm impressed, O! Keep up the good work.

Xanadu design is less than eco-friendly

It turns out that Xanadu, a huge shopping mall in New Jersey, is not exactly eco-friendly. The developers are doing all the requisite greenwashing things, like installing low-flow toilets and reserving spaces in the parking lots for hybrids, but they couldn't even get it together to put solar panels on the roof, or go as far on a limb as considering a LEED-certified building.

My question though, is, why should they even bother attempting to be environmentally-friendly, or even pretending to be? What will be the largest building dedicated to selling consumer goods in the United States will basically be a shrine to consumerism, and if you're going to be the worst of the worst, why not go all the way?

Will this man make you happy?

This slightly too long article on Richard Layar, Britain's "Happiness Czar" still has some good ideas about happiness and what affects our individual happiness levels. Turns out it's not how much stuff we buy!

"It's a world in which one's accumulated possessions depreciate in value. Like Jacob Marley's chains, they drag us down rather than make us happy."

Voluntary Simplicity Discussion in Natick, MA

A Voluntary Simplicity Discussion group is starting this Sunday, May 18th from 3-4 in Natick Center, and there are about 4 more spots available if any of our readers are interested. The group will meet weekly for 8 weeks, with members taking turns facilitating the discussion and (if desired) hosting. The discussions will be based on the essays in the North West Earth Institutes's course books, which cost $23.

There are also several people who would like to participate in a group but can't do Sunday afternoons. If any of you would like to be added to that contact list, please contact the group facilitator, Anne Lafluer at amlafleur@hotmail.com. She says it would be great to have two groups running concurrently. Anne is excited to run these groups, as she's heard very positive things about the courses from others.

Shorter commutes, happier people

NPR had a news story on this morning about how people are choosing houses with shorter commutes. Although their slant was about the housing markets in lots of cities, I would like to think that this trend shows that people are now valuing their time with family and not in their cars on the highway, more than that big house in the suburb.

Being Poor in a ‘Charge It’ Society - New York Times

Another article I am remiss in posting on time.

I liked this article, "You Are What You Spend," not only for the article but for the exchanges it produced in its
letters to the editor.

Do others have opinions?

Cindy

EcoMoms Parties

Hmm, these EcoMoms parties sound a lot like our new Discussion Series. It's great to know that people are getting together all over the country to discuss environmental and consumption issues and taking steps towards sustainability. Let's keep it up!

Ten Personal Solutions to Global Warming

Let's continue this week with a few more life-changing lists!

The Union of Concerned Scientists has put out a list of "Ten Personal Solutions" to combat global warming in your own life.

The Green Guide's Top Ten gives great tips on little things you can do, like shortening your shower time, that will add up to a lot of CO2 being saved in the atmosphere.

If you know of any other lists, or have any of your own tips on how to fight global warming in your life, leave us a comment!

Freegans get Newsweek press!

Read about how the Newsweek author Rania Kelley became a freegan for a month in this Newsweek article. I share her sensibility that dumpster diving is not for me, and she seems, in the end, to have chosen the sensible path of moderation. Most importantly, she has become aware that her consumption patterns are out of whack:

"I am determined to limit my buying. So one pair of fall shoes won't break my budget or make me feel guilty but 12 pairs would—a distinction that I would not have been able to make four weeks ago. There's too much waste, and I'd like to be part of the solution rather than part of the problem. And with the twelve hundred dollars I saved, I can now retire two weeks earlier than I planned."

Even though I have no idea who actually buys 12 pairs of fall shoes (I hope no one but Imelda Marcos and Carrie Bradshaw), I'm glad that she's chosen to be part of the solution. Luckily she has a really public forum to introduce mainstream readers to the concept of freeganism, and maybe a few of her readers will second-guess their consumption patterns, too.

The 4-Hour Workweek

Has anyone read this book yet? It sounds right up our alley: freeing up your time to do things you want to do and how to afford doing it. It sounds like author Tim Ferriss focuses a lot on what you can do at work to free up your time and how to save money in the rest of your life. But, who couldn't use tips like that?

Read reviews for this book here and here.

Day 7 of National Downshifting Week: Go Global

Friday - Day 7 of NDW US ~ What Have You Been Up To?

"Simplify, simplify, simplify…"
Henry David Thoreau

Ahh...and relax. It's been a great first US National Downshifting Week. New partnerships have been forged and strengthened, new people have joined the effort to "Slow Down and Green Up," and attention is finally being paid to environmental concerns on a national scale in the US.

So today's goal for the Downshifting Manifesto was to start something just for me. I hope you do enjoy whatever you choose. Henry David Thoreau, in Walden, said, "I went into the woods to live deliberately..." and really that's what voluntary simplicity and Conscious Consuming are all about. Get in touch with your core values, educate yourself, and live (and work, eat, play, and shop) deliberately every day.

The next steps for Downshifting involve working together to make the sustainability message go global. Historically, "native" societies lived sustainably out of the belief that no one could "own" the water or land, anymore than they could own the air. In relatively recent history all of our Earth's resources have been turned into commodities to be bought, sold, and traded. We have to seize the opportunity as economies grow all over the world to embrace the green economy and the message of sustainable living. It's cool to slow down and green up!

Please send your friends a link to our website or blog to help us spread the message! Click here for a copy of our Downshifting Manifesto. Thanks for a great first US NDW!