As long as we live, and even in death, we will leave our footprint on Mother Earth. I believe that through a concerted effort locally we can dramaticallyreduce our footprint globally.
Through sharing our thoughts, ideas and practices regarding how we cut back on our trash, we have the potential to affect others around the world.
We are no longer confined by distance; we have technology that allows us to amplify our local efforts so that others around the world might find new and creative ideas that they can apply in their lives. The opposite is also true in that those who share with us have the opportunity to help us grow, and become even more green than we already are.
It is my sincere hope that you will watch this video (you can watch the "full" version here to see more examples), and then post a video of your own in response, sharing your thoughts on reducing, recycling, reusing the things you create as you move through life.
We can make a difference. We can make a very big difference just by sharing small things like how we take care of our refuse.
Please make a video response and share your thoughts, as well as your acts with the rest of the world on YouTube.
And please help me to expand this concept and make our use of YouTube more than just a "fun place to be"; help us all to make it an eco-conscious experience.
I love you!
Sorry...
ReplyDeleteWish i could.
We do a lot though. Have been doing so for a long time.
Video? Ooooo, Cam. Video. *cringe*
ReplyDeleteI hope this doesn't sound disheartening, but I'll blog about what I'm doing, what we're doing as a family, to decrease our footprints... but video?
Eek!
Wow, now that I really think about it, I don't think I have a cam that records video anymore. Will hafta search for my coolpix....
ReplyDeleteVideo! Do it as a video response on YOUTUBE so that others can see.
ReplyDeleteThat's what I really want. Spread the green with the YouTube audience!
I love you!
Good idea we can learn something from one another. I have a few ideas that would make a video.... now back to coffee with my Cuban..
ReplyDeletePaula, thanks! Enjoy that cuban coffee! (and please DO post it on youtube and not just multiply, OK? Because here we have a limited audience, but on youtube, the potential is very large. Then just click on my video, and choose the "video response".
ReplyDeleteI share your concerns Cam, things are definitely changing, I can sense it not only in the obvious ways and signs but also in the energy I can sense in general. I think that we are dealing with a turn of events in teh history of our world, and the balance is still deciding in which side is going to tilt... we have the power on our hands, to make a difference, but we need to begin within ourselves, by creating the conviction that will make us fight and defend our points of view.
ReplyDeleteCG - Can you make a video of what you do in your home locally to help soften your footprint? If you can, would you make it and post it on YouTube and then link it to my video, please? This is how I want to expand that network over there for this very important topic.
ReplyDeleteI will try.. I need to think this well tho
ReplyDeleteCG
CG - It took me a few months to think, shoot, and finally get up the desire to edit.
ReplyDeleteYou have until the end of the world...
We just watched Human Footprint. Jesus - I had NO idea what it takes to make a baby diaper...
ReplyDeleteWI has lost some of its flora and fauna, but other things have taken their place. We now have possum. We didn't have possum in WI when I was a kid because it was too damned cold for them. Global warming...last week we had a blizzard - yesterday it was 75F with a similar forecast for today.
All of our grocery stores are offering reusable bags for groceries at very low prices. As I continue to heal I will be walking to our store with reusable bags to carry my purchases home in.
I have been trained since little on to turn lights off when I am leaving an area. My thermostat was set at 61F - I turned the furnace off yesterday because it was 75F here. I have a yard waste compost bin in the back yard. I drive a SideKick...I turn the heat option off on my dishwasher. I recycle glass/plastic/aluminum foil. I turn the water off as I am brushing my teeth. Sometimes I shower with Adrian...;) I eat leftovers...
I have been watching tv. I normally don't, but I have nothing else to do right now. I am seeing more and more green products being introduced for cleaning, etc and I have vowed to switch to them.
One year for Arbor Day my students and I planted 1000 trees. Yes, 1000 trees.
I have a Brita water pitcher instead of buying bottled water. If I buy bottled water when I am out and about I use that bottle again and again and eventually it ends up in my recycling bin.
I don't buy polyester anything.
I don't purchase products with mineral oil or petroleum jelly.
I shop at the local farmer market as soon as their produce is ready.
I don't know if you are aware, but I am half way through my Masters in Environmental Education. I stopped because I wasn't tenured with the school district. That's a long story, but the short version is school districts do not want to pay for that much knowledge - they want less expensive educators FIRST. Once an educator is tenured the only way to make more money is to acquire more knowledge. I wasn't jumping the gun - I was promised a tenured position and never got it.
There is no "away" - everything that ever was still is. The molecular structure of things may change into components we have no use for, but those components are still here.
REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE baby. It's our only hope.
When I shower with Jase, I find the water stays on a little longer... *winks*
ReplyDeleteI had no idea you were working on your Masters, let alone with Environmental Education. That's amazing!
We just bought a ton of reusable bags. I'll have to get pics of the MAJOR difference that made in a $40 grocery purchase! Hmm... maybe tomorrow?
Morning Jaime. I had to throw the shower bit in for conversational purposes... ;)
ReplyDeleteI have a BS in Education with a Minor in Fine Art, an Associates in Graphic Communication Technologies and Electronic Publishing, a fistful of certifications and yes, half a Masters.
I was raised by 2 educators. I don't even know how many degrees the Parental Unit has between them. Pa taught math/science and Mom taught English/Social Studies. They taught other subjects, but the above was their main areas of expertise.
All my degrees means I'm dangerously overeducated for my area...seriously.
I will probably pursue more formal education at some point because I am a life-long learner.
I have decided to take some classes in lost wax casting as soon as I get my arm back. I make jewelry, but for whatever reason I have never done lost wax casting. I need to get a hold of my friend Thomas who is a BRILLIANT goldsmith and pick his brain because I have some wacky ideas.
I don't know what you do. Please enlighten me!
I... uhm... well... *waves* Hi. I'm Jaime. I'm currently a spouse, mom, amateur photographer, occasional author, partially trained musician and general blog addict. *winks*
ReplyDeleteBack in the States I was an office humorist, specializing in making sure drudgery was banished from the workplace. (Ok, in all seriousness I was a Vending Clerk and monitored the usage, sales, and stock of vending machines, along with ordering, inventory, etc... it was enough to make a grown girl cry.)
I'll be starting classes this summer. Towards what? Uhm. I don't know. It's a bit bewildering... like starting all over again. There are amazing programs available for military spouses here, and with the ships on a deployment rotation at the moment, the airwing is out, so the spouses have more resources available. (Active Duty members are always first in line and I have no problems with that! Without my sailor, our family wouldn't be here LOL)
So... I've got the materials together, Small Thing is getting signed up for summer camp and registered for kindergarten, and I'm getting ready to go to school too. Yay!!!
Jaime - You are a STAR...period. Spouse/Mom/photographer/author/musician/blogger/humorist/usage coordinator...Damn, girl - very impressive!
ReplyDeleteAre you getting the general education courses out of the way first? I think that's a good start. If it's offered I highly recommend taking a class in discovering where your interests/abilities are. I don't know what the hell they call that class, but I've taken it a few different times and the results have been steady.
Will kindergarten be an all day adventure for Small Thing? That was not an option when # 1 aka Jake was so young. Geez - # 1 graduates next month with a degree in Police Science. Where has the time gone?
*blush* Thank ye.
ReplyDeleteThe general courses are definitely on the list - I want to get back into the swing of things anyway. It's been awhile since I've been in school!
Small Thing hasn't had her appointment with the school yet, so we're not sure which program she'll be slated for yet. I just hope she isn't bored in class...
oh! And I'll ask about that class too! When I first went to college, I was working towards acceptance into the school of business at IU with a minor in music - I reeeeally desperately wanted to get into the School of Music but my first audition wasn't stellar. The second was better, but I dropped out before hearing results. Now, I'm glad I didn't. It's an emotional career path in a lot of ways and I don't know if I"d want music to be a career passion...... if that makes sense?
ReplyDeleteWhat instruments do you play? I was a percussionist all through school. I have a hammered dulcimer that I do not know how to play, but I will before the end of this year. Adrian bought the hammered dulcimer for me several years ago. It's beautiful - hand crafted out of cherry wood (I think). I want to build a shrine for it....the music is enchanting. I never in a MILLION years thought I'd ever own one. Yeah, Adrian is like that.
ReplyDeleteI play a mean kazoo!
I understand passion and sacredness - it's hard to put something so important and private out there.
hey, what about the world network of love and positivity! hahaha, come on! I want a different deadline not that one! I wanted to think about it because I think it is important, specially if you have a goal in mind.
ReplyDeleteAll the best pal!
Awww, that's amazing!!!! I hope you get a lot of fulfillment from learning to play! That is such a fabulous gift!!!
ReplyDeleteI play most wind instruments - clarinets are my specialty (Eb and Bb specifically), and flute is my weak point. I can never remember all the fingerings. I can play sax though my sound is "buzzy." Oboe is REALLY hard and makes my top lip feel funny. And I can play just about any recorder. Love the sounds when you play a trio or quartet piece.
I make pianists cringe, but I can play elementary level stuff (bass clef is my arch nemesis. *sigh*) and I'm slowly, slowly learning to play guitar. :o)
I actually don't mind playing for an audience for the most part - I'm just not sure I'd want that to be my job. I'm afraid it would lose the magic and joy... if that's not too cheesy sounding?
*grins* No time like the present, CG! ;o) Globalized Love doesn't want to outlast the GLOBE!
ReplyDelete(though I can't say much - still trying to get up the nerve to do a video!)
oh.. just do it!
ReplyDeleteI'm already working on mine!! *grin* attention whore that I am!
ReplyDeleteJaime - Make a video! I'll watch it and applaud wildly with one hand... ;)
ReplyDeleteHi Stef!
Philosophical again! LOL What's the sound of one hand clapping? That's the sound of a friend's support. *winks*
ReplyDeleteI'm heading to the grocery store tomorrow. Mebbe a short video after that? I can show off our reusable bags. ;o)
Stefnee - Attenion whore? Nah - trend setter, baby. Trend. Setter.
Brilliant! Make a video using the reusable bags. Maybe you could record something of you playing an instrument for background music! WOO HOO!
ReplyDeleteGO JAIME!!!!
LOL! I don't know if I"d go THAT far... *giggles* But I'm amazed at how much the baggers can get into one reusable sack vs how many plastic baggies they'll use. We bought six reusable bags and I can get almost 2 weeks worth of food in just about five bags. Normally we wind up with 12-14 plastic bags.
ReplyDeleteWe got about $40 worth of groceries last week and they put them in six plastic bags because we didn't have the reusable bags with us (we stopped at the store after being out in town.) It almost all fit into one reusable when I got home. I felt so bad...
Amazing, isn't it?
But now you know.
ReplyDeleteGo to bed! Sleep well.
Jaime.. we use those bags as well.. and I'm amazed at how much one holds!! Less trips to and from the van carrying in groceries! Yaay!!
ReplyDeleteJaime - Do a video! One tiny step for Jaime, one giant step for humankind!
ReplyDeleteThis was a great discussion! Thank you, fiends!
We're headed to the store this afternoon. I'll bring my camera along... *grins*
ReplyDeletewell... can't do a video... don't currently have a camera..
ReplyDeletebut I think it is a great idea.
Don't think that I could name all the things I do to save energy...
I've just finished replacing all my OLD appliances with energy star models.
My electric bill has dropped at least $150 a month.. plus it's good for the earth.
My mom raised me in a recycling home... she has been doing it for 35 years!
She has been a great example for me.
PC - Thank you for telling me this. I really appreciate it. Let's see how long it takes on YouTube to get ... umm.... hmm..... FIVE video responses! It may take years!
ReplyDeleteI love you!
Ok. I may need assistance from the lovely Canadians...... my camera takes video - but the sound quality? Yeesh. So I wanna look into those little video cameras like you lovely gentlemen have.
ReplyDeleteWhat's the best place to start looking?
insertMulTV('camswitzer:video:66','upload-camswitzer-66','',1,1);
ReplyDeleteMichelle! Thanks" PLEASE POST THIS ON YOUTUBE and be sure to link it to my video OVER THERE. Please??!!?!??!
ReplyDeleteyeah will do
ReplyDeleteI loved the bag. It's really cool and it sums up what we're trying to do around the world. Thanks so much. I love you!
ReplyDelete