Just Actions

I came across mention of Liberty Mutual’s Responsibility Project in the New York Times a few weeks ago and finally got a chance to check the website out today. Like Paul’s WWJTTK sign, the Responsibility Project seems to encourage consideration of questions or responsibility, rather than pushing a particular viewpoint. There are a number of short films about people finding themselves facing issues of personal responsibility.  It’s worth a look.

Websites and blogs about sustainable living are cropping up like wildflowers. Here are some I found recently:  

• Towards Sustainability — “An Australian family of five, baby-stepping our way towards a simpler life and a sustainable future in suburbia”
• Fake Plastic Fish — “Fake Plastic Fish… they’re cute, and if we don’t solve our plastic problem, they could be the only kind we have left.”
• Simple | Green | Frugal Coop – “Survive the Crash”

Through the Philadelphia Reads program (my workplace is a Power Partner), I learned about the new and growing community of refugees from Burma who are resettling in the South Philadelphia area. Knowing next to nothing about immigration or refugee resettlement, I googled for more information and wound up meeting with a local resettlement agency about volunteer needs. One of the greatest needs is for English as a Second Language instruction in the community to supplement the “survival English” training they receive on arrival. Since there were no other volunteers, I decided to give it a try, reasoning that amateur instruction from me would be better than none at all. I soon enlisted the help of my friend Ruth, and together we’ve provided ESL and other assistance to the community ever since.  This is probably one of the most rewarding projects I’ve ever undertaken.

The outrageous Department of Agriculture regulation banning labels that identify milk produced from cows that have not been treated with artificial hormones has been rescinded. 

Three cheers for citizen lobbyists, consumer advocacy groups, and democracy that works.

Here’s the Inquirer article.

I had intended doing this much earlier, but it’s been a very busy holiday season. This morning I finally sent off my letter to Governor Rendell on the milk labeling issue: Read the rest of this entry »

Our family theme for the coming year is SIMPLICITY. During the coming year we, as a family, will be conscious of the value of simplicity as we make decisions, large or small, and we will seek ways to simplify our lives. I will also be mindful of FRUGALITY. I consider myself a good shopper, but frugality does its work at home, rather than in the stores. I will generate LESS TRASH. I doubt I will set a goal, but I will try to be mindful of the trash problem before I have something in hand that I need to discard. I will PACK LUNCH regularly so that I can eat better, generate less trash, and save money. I will REDUCE PLASTIC in my life. I love my high-tech camping gear, microfleece polyester, etc., but much of the plastic and manufactured materials I have and use are very poor quality, headed to the landfill and are often downright ugly. I will choose more  durable, biodegradable or more easily recyclable, and more attractive options, and focus first on plastic items when decluttering the house. Finally, I will COMPOST.

The Philadelphia Inquirer‘s comprehensive article on milk labeling (12/23/07) is right there on the front page where the story belongs. At last!

Not me, now that I’ve discovered the versatile, practical, beautiful, and comfortable-to-carry furoshiki. Of course I try to use reusable bags when shopping for groceries, and do well if Read the rest of this entry »

I heard about microfinancing probably a couple of years ago, and it sounded like a good idea. A very small loan in American dollars is quite sufficient for people in poorer countries to change their lives Read the rest of this entry »

At our family Christmas gathering in 2005 we saved what Christmas wrap that looked as if it could be reused, but we still needed a second trash bag to hold all the wasted wrap, in spite of Read the rest of this entry »