Global Impact

I am passionately green. I know that is taboo is some circles, but being a tree loving hippie is not a bad thing. It's not earth worship to protect the planet that God has given us, it's good stewardship.

I have been reading about deforeststation in this week's edition of The Economist www.economist.com/node/17062713 . It is heart wrenching to me. I think that having a global perspective is essential to being an actualized human being. Caring about the well being of others, the planet and our future is something we should all do.

This article got me to thinking about the little things we can all do to make a BIG difference. If we could learn to let go of some of our luxuries in life and live simply the world would be a much better place. Giving up meat for example makes a HUGE impact on everyone and everything.

Consider, if we stopped eating cows what a difference it would make! Cows need to grow to a large size in order to be slaughtered and made into edible meats for profit. To grow they need food, namely corn in the US. Though not at all their natural diet, cows are fed corn now. In order to have enough corn to feed said cows, acre upon acre of land is used for agriculture. Land that could other wise be in a natural state such as a forest or wetland. These cows give off methane, a powerful green house gas that leads to global warming (sorry folks but to say global warming is a myth is equivalent to saying water doesn't quench thirst). Raising a cow not only involves the land the animal occupies but the land that all of its food comes from, the water the animal drinks and the water the crops need to grow, fertilizers for the crops, pesticides, the antibiotics injected into the animal to make it suitable for consumption after living in it's own feces, etc. Making a cow into meat involves so called "farms" transporting the animal to a slaughter house (carbon emissions), where they are inhumanely butchered, processed and packaged for sale, all of which pollutes the environment. All for our precious beef which is in fact toxic to our health anyway.

Contrast that with eating a natural vegetarian diet. Or better yet an organic vegetarian diet. No pesticides, unnatural fertilizers, methane, fewer carbon emissions, and natural whole foods in their original state. I'd rather have that!

Reading about the devastation deforestation is causing reminds me of this. One seemingly small and distant thing that impacts millions, everyday life and every person on the planet.

It's a terrible battle between our growing population, need for food, need for jobs, and maintaining a planet that is slowly dying because of our negligence. For hundreds of years we have devastated this planet and it's only going to get worse if we don't wake up and make some changes.

I for one want to be able to tell my grandchildren that I did everything I could to help them have a beautiful home. If you need inspiration I highly suggest getting a copy of the dvd series, Planet Earth. It's extraordinary and will change how you see our planet.

My hubby and I are also passionate about kids. Did you know that for slightly over $1 a day you can feed, clothe, educated, shelter and provide for spiritual teaching to a child? It's amazing. If Americans gave up their daily coffee they could support 3 kids a month for the same money. If we gave up our cable tv 4 more kids would not starve to death or die of preventable illnesses. Our silly conveniences that take away our resources that could be put to better use. If you feel convicted in this I encourage you to check out World Vision. They are a wonderful ministry helping kids all over the world. Please take the time to think about it. The selfishness of mankind will no doubt we our downfall.

Next on the topics to come: women's rights

Yes, I am a tree hugger, hippie, cloth diapering mama, women's right activist, member of PETA, avid feminist and most importantly lover of Jesus. It really does all go together, I promise :-)

Crunchy, granola, hippie- whatever I'll outlive you all!

What if I told you that you were doing something everyday that is going to kill you. What if I could promise that you can do something very small to save your life. Would you do it? Sadly most people won't.

It boggles my mind how absolutely ignorant people are. It never ceases to amaze me. I get called names like "crunchy" "granola" "hippie" pretty frequently because I make lifestyle choices that are not only good for the planet but are health and will in fact make me live longer and better.

Our culture of fast and convenient is killing us. Not only the toll that stress is placing on our bodies but the products that we choose to indulge in daily. We are surrounded by death and passively sit by doing nothing as it steals out very lives away.

The funny thing is that I live much better than most people and yet I am probably more efficient than most too. There are very simple things you can do that will drastically change your life for the better. Not only for your health, the planet but for your wallet too.

Cleaning for example. I can clean my entire house using only naturally occurring substances. Vinegar, baking soda, water and on occasion tea tree essential oil. Distilled vinegar is a powerful cleaning agent and extremely effective at killing bacteria. Tea tree oil is a natural anti viral anti bacterial agent as well. Instead of polluting my home, body and the world with Clorox and other nasty chemicals I get my entire home sparkling clean with vinegar. The smell? I add a bit of lemon juice to my mixture and viola it's gone.

Since switching to natural cleaners my asthma has almost disappeared. I'm not having major allergenic episodes. Vacuuming doesn't bother me any more. And better yet I don't have to worry about my kid coming into contact with toxic substances and could poison him and do cause cancer.

A simple change that has saved us a lot of money and me my health.

Cloth diapers. EWWW! That's so gross!! At least that's what I'm told. Ummm you think that's nasty? Have you ever seen the mountain of diaper you create by using disposables that will never degrade. That's what is truly disgusting.

Cloth diapering has saved us an estimated cost of close to $2000 this year alone. My son has NEVER had diaper rash. I can rest well knowing that though he spends 24 hours a day in a diaper 7 days a week he is not being exposed to harsh chemicals and carcinogens. Yes, disposables diapers have TOXIC chemicals in that that no child should be exposed to. You know something else? It's easy. I wash diapers maybe twice a week. When it's poopy I rinse it in the toilet with my sprayer and flush. Done and done. Our diapers are air dried and sanitized in our high efficiency washer. It's fantastic and great for my son. But still people can't get over the convenience of disposables or the ick factor.

Here's another way to look at it: is cancer convenient? Obviously not. Yet the things we choose to expose ourselves to are leading us down a preventable path toward illness and death. Choosing convenience now means suffering later.

The products that we constantly put on our bodies are full of toxic chemicals that are KNOWN to be killers. We rub these nasty things on our skin where they are directly absorbed into our blood. We do this because we are told they will make us "pretty" "younger" "sexy." This is insanity. I got many disapproving grunts from friends and families when I announced that my son will not be doused in harmful chemicals. The damage done to my body is done but I will not allow it to continue into the next generation because they are convenient and smell good. Want proof? Visit : www.cosmeticsdatabase.com and look up your products for yourself. Prepare to be horrified.

It's the same thing with food. Choosing to eat organic and vegetarian may seem inconvenient (it's not) and expensive (only slightly more) but in the end I am much healthier because of it. I am not putting GMOs in my body. I am saying no to hormone injected, corn fed, meat. I refuse to eat an animal that spent it's life unable to move and never saw light. I refuse to eat something that was coated in feces. Yet millions of Americans knowingly choose to. It's disgusting. The price I pay upfront for healthy whole foods will be more than worth it when I have far fewer doctor bills as I age.

What's worse is the machismo that goes with. "A real man eats meat." What a load of horse shit! A real man takes care of his body and his family. A real man is manly enough to not care what others think. Not 50 years ago meat was served on Sundays for one meal now we eat it 3 times a day everyday. That is NOT healthy.

Wake up people! We are killing ourselves for convenience. We are sitting back while our lives are being stolen from us. Living simply is not foolish. It is not something to be mocked. It is life saving. We don't need more drugs to save us, we need to go back to basics.

I have a feeling this will be the first of my many "green" rants :-)