Monday, July 23, 2007
Bottled Water Costs TOO much
read this article from the star tribune for some insight into how we are wasting money and resources on bottled water. it is encouraging me to continue to remember my nalgene in the morning, a bottle i can refill and reclean continually. this is a simple thing we can all do to care for each other and the world. peace, love, and tap water.
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
New Gate School...Recreating Education and Transportation.
my husband and i made a difficult but right decision about our vehicles. Today we finished downsizing from 3 to 1. We'd had all kinds of hopes and dreams for the big green monster van. we bought it last year for the sole purpose of transporting equipment, and we thought eventually we could do a little traveling in it to share our music and mission. It was a conversion van, and jason was excited to make it our own. well, as time has gone by we've realized that it just isn't going to serve the purposes we thought it would. we've covered rust with duct tape and we've been putting at least $80 a month into for gas...so bad for the environment...time for a new vision.
The other vehicle we had was my mom's, a descent car that was to simply be our second vehicle for jason to drive to work in and back and whatever. well, now it needs about $1,000 worth of repairs and we just don't have the money to do that, though it's still a pretty good car. since it's been undrivable, jason's been using the van as a second vehicle, and thus the extra expences in gas.
So here's what we did. We decided that a good environmentally friendly decision would be to get down to one vehicle. So we sold the van for parts to a place that will be sure the most parts are used and the rest is disposed of properly. Then, today we donated the other care to New Gate School. This is a place where folks who can't afford to go to a technical school can receive training in auto work and then if the cars are good enough, they pass then along to single mothers who otherwise might not be able to go to work. Check out their programs at thier site.
I think New Gate School is a terrific example of folks taking a least three potential problems, reimagining how these can become opportunites, and bringing the community together to recreate itself. This excites me and i hope we see more and more of this happen.
Now, Jason and i have one vehicle, and the communication about our schedules and carpooling will be as high as it's ever been. hopefully, our carbon footprint will be slightly smaller, and my hope is that a single-parent family will be significantly blessed with a good car after someone else had received education that will provide employment and a means to support their family too! wow!
The other vehicle we had was my mom's, a descent car that was to simply be our second vehicle for jason to drive to work in and back and whatever. well, now it needs about $1,000 worth of repairs and we just don't have the money to do that, though it's still a pretty good car. since it's been undrivable, jason's been using the van as a second vehicle, and thus the extra expences in gas.
So here's what we did. We decided that a good environmentally friendly decision would be to get down to one vehicle. So we sold the van for parts to a place that will be sure the most parts are used and the rest is disposed of properly. Then, today we donated the other care to New Gate School. This is a place where folks who can't afford to go to a technical school can receive training in auto work and then if the cars are good enough, they pass then along to single mothers who otherwise might not be able to go to work. Check out their programs at thier site.
I think New Gate School is a terrific example of folks taking a least three potential problems, reimagining how these can become opportunites, and bringing the community together to recreate itself. This excites me and i hope we see more and more of this happen.
Now, Jason and i have one vehicle, and the communication about our schedules and carpooling will be as high as it's ever been. hopefully, our carbon footprint will be slightly smaller, and my hope is that a single-parent family will be significantly blessed with a good car after someone else had received education that will provide employment and a means to support their family too! wow!
Friday, June 22, 2007
How are we recreating our world?
You've stopped and paid attention. You've noticed. Something isn't right...hunger, suffering, injustice.... You've been moved with compassion. You are reimagining a particular corner of the world (just like MLK did when he gave his famous "I Have a Dream" speech). You realize you have the power to recreate your world. How are you stepping into your dream? (Click on comments below to share and read the stories of others.)
What are you reimagining?
What do you see in the world around you - locally, globally - that you want to be different? How would it look instead? Dream big! Martin Luther King Jr was reimagining a world of peace, justice, and equity when he gave us all his speech "I Have a Dream." What is your dream? What movement would you like to be part of? You may not know how this dream can come true right now, but what are you reimagining...if there were no barriers or boundaries in the way?
The next step will be to figure out how and who to work with to remove the barriers....
(Click on "comments" below to share your imaginations and read what others are thinking about. Also feel free to respond to their thoughts.)
The next step will be to figure out how and who to work with to remove the barriers....
(Click on "comments" below to share your imaginations and read what others are thinking about. Also feel free to respond to their thoughts.)
Three stories...
3 comments:
c.Anderson said...
I'll do what I can with what I have-- I seem to have the most recycle stuff on my block. I bring cardboard,from work and newspapers,plastic water& pop cans to add to my own stuff. I've got my fellow workers trained to give me those items instead of throwing them in hte garbage. They stop to think now befor they throw things away!
May 18, 2007 10:22 PM
liz caswell said...
our family has been collecting items from the houses in our neighborhood (about 110 homes) once a month, and then delivering them to the community action council food shelf. as we've shared this idea with others, they've begun similar efforts in their own neighborhoods, and there are now about 17 neighborhoods in dakota county doing these monthly food shelf pickups. we've been inspired by how readily and willingly people have said, "hey, i could do that, too"--so eager to contribute to growing a community that cares for its own.around the same time we started the neighborhood food shelf pickup, we invited friends and family to engage in a year-long commitment with us in which we all purchase five items for the food shelf each week. we check in via email once a month to hold each other accountable to this commitment. we are in month 8 of this commitment, and so far 4,815 items have been donated to the food shelf by those participating. while it's fun to see the number grow, what's even more exciting is that 1) our habits and ways of engaging our community and world are changing in the process; and 2) people who rely on the generosity of others in order to eat are being fed. the more i contemplate hunger, the less i can imagine being in the grip of hunger day after day with no foreseeable end. it is tragic that in our community of considerable abundance (dakota county), 20,000 people are living in hunger. that simply shouldn't be, and we've been moved by all of those who continue to battle against the absurdity.
June 6, 2007 1:28 PM
Kerry said...
Three boys went to Northern Uganda and brought home a documentary that completely changed my life. For the past 20 years the children of Northern Uganda have been kidnapped, raped, mutilate, and enslaved as child soldiers in an all out civil war. I saw the documentary fittingly named Invisible Children and what I saw broke my heart.There comes a time when sympathy isn't enough... when your breaks over something so terrible, that you can not simply stand by. This is exactlly how I felt after seeing this documentary. So some friends and I threw a benefit concert. We had over 100 people show up and raised over $2000. We also have thrown many house shows (one of which HL played at!) to raise awareness on the issue.It's funny that it takes Americas 20 minutes to find out about the Paris Hilton sex tape or Britney Spears shaving her head, and 20 YEARS for people to find out about child soldiers. Am I wrong to think this is ridiculous?HL you're right... you can change the world with your own two hands... ya gotta do wat you can.
June 14, 2007 2:17 PM
c.Anderson said...
I'll do what I can with what I have-- I seem to have the most recycle stuff on my block. I bring cardboard,from work and newspapers,plastic water& pop cans to add to my own stuff. I've got my fellow workers trained to give me those items instead of throwing them in hte garbage. They stop to think now befor they throw things away!
May 18, 2007 10:22 PM
liz caswell said...
our family has been collecting items from the houses in our neighborhood (about 110 homes) once a month, and then delivering them to the community action council food shelf. as we've shared this idea with others, they've begun similar efforts in their own neighborhoods, and there are now about 17 neighborhoods in dakota county doing these monthly food shelf pickups. we've been inspired by how readily and willingly people have said, "hey, i could do that, too"--so eager to contribute to growing a community that cares for its own.around the same time we started the neighborhood food shelf pickup, we invited friends and family to engage in a year-long commitment with us in which we all purchase five items for the food shelf each week. we check in via email once a month to hold each other accountable to this commitment. we are in month 8 of this commitment, and so far 4,815 items have been donated to the food shelf by those participating. while it's fun to see the number grow, what's even more exciting is that 1) our habits and ways of engaging our community and world are changing in the process; and 2) people who rely on the generosity of others in order to eat are being fed. the more i contemplate hunger, the less i can imagine being in the grip of hunger day after day with no foreseeable end. it is tragic that in our community of considerable abundance (dakota county), 20,000 people are living in hunger. that simply shouldn't be, and we've been moved by all of those who continue to battle against the absurdity.
June 6, 2007 1:28 PM
Kerry said...
Three boys went to Northern Uganda and brought home a documentary that completely changed my life. For the past 20 years the children of Northern Uganda have been kidnapped, raped, mutilate, and enslaved as child soldiers in an all out civil war. I saw the documentary fittingly named Invisible Children and what I saw broke my heart.There comes a time when sympathy isn't enough... when your breaks over something so terrible, that you can not simply stand by. This is exactlly how I felt after seeing this documentary. So some friends and I threw a benefit concert. We had over 100 people show up and raised over $2000. We also have thrown many house shows (one of which HL played at!) to raise awareness on the issue.It's funny that it takes Americas 20 minutes to find out about the Paris Hilton sex tape or Britney Spears shaving her head, and 20 YEARS for people to find out about child soldiers. Am I wrong to think this is ridiculous?HL you're right... you can change the world with your own two hands... ya gotta do wat you can.
June 14, 2007 2:17 PM
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