Happy Earth Day! What are you doing to celebrate our planet this weekend? A group of Dems in town get together to do a road clean-up project, and with rain projected it may be a wee bit muddy. My Irish is coming out because I just watched this video about eco-villages:
The Global Ecovillage Network (GEN) has been around for awhile, in fact you might call it the modern evolution of hippie communes; without all the free sex and drugs. Its purpose is “…to support and encourage the evolution of sustainable settlements across the world, through:
Facilitating the flow and exchange of knowledge about ecovillages and demonstration sites thru:
Website Information sharing & networking forums and webinars;
Promoting partner programs and social actions that reflect GEN’s core values; and
Fostering Global Cooperation/Partnerships (UN Best Practices, EU Phare, EYFA, Ecosoc).” http://gen.ecovillage.org/
When we were building our mountain home, I took a class on Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) building practices. It was essentially one of the first courses offered about building a sustainable house in the area and I felt out of my depth with architects and builders. Some people had built houses of straw (think thatch) and some had geo-thermal heat. Many sported solar panels and rain barrels. http://www.usgbc.org/
As you know, we grow many of our vegetables in the summer and we live in a town that has grass growing on the roof of the County Office Building. I try and remember my totes for grocery shopping, and pledge to always remember them for Earth Day. I will also spread Michael Mann’s teachings about Climate Change around as much as possible (see blogroll). Knowing where exactly my food comes from was not always on my radar, but I pledge also to be better at this. Rather than doing one thing today or tomorrow, maybe we could commit to one small change for the rest of our lives to help mother earth. Remember Kaizen? We all benefit from a sustainable planet.
Here is the front of our “Not so Big” semi-sustainable house, facing east, away from the mountains. Bob has just mowed on his tractor and Ms Bean is wondering if I have a ball. Thank you to all the bluebirds and woodpeckers for letting us share your home.
MountainMornings 