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Walking the walk

Monday, 16 July 2007

Since my 'eco warrior' post I've been trying to think of solutions to the climate crisis we face, as well as turning our home into a green haven to be proud of. Suprisingly this involved quite a large amount of research in order to get the facts, to learn about the issues and consequences properly and to really start getting our hands dirty. The basics were easy. We switched to green power, started collecting excess water from the shower in buckets or siphoning it off into the garden, we wore jumpers more and ran the heaters less, we shopped at local farmers markets to reduce food miles and we cut down significantly on meat consumption (although Ganesh still has his fortnightly pizza or KFC). We even attended electrical vehicle association meetings to learn how to convert Grandma's car to electric! And of course we switched all of our websites over to green webhosts. I felt we were making a lot of progress when I attended a climate conference run by the Fabians and Labor and was asked to advise the Boroondara council on environmental measures due to my extensive knowledge on the topic! But was later disappointed when they did not want further contributions or to take any of the more progressive steps I'd suggested. But now we've reached a plateau. There is so much more we can do and are capable of... but we're unsure of how to go about it.

The website I've been developing through Synergetics has been stalled for far too long waiting on contributors checks, legal issues, content and design. The site, Stop the Black Balloons, started off with too much ground to cover and is only now finding it's place on the web. I maintain that the idea is still unique and highly credible but I can not do it on my own and am finding it difficult to inspire in others what has been inspired in me. It has been a great learning process though... and I've realised now the importance of social networking to maintaining a steady flow of visitors. I've started up with YouTube and Facebook and will move on to MySpace and others when I get the chance. I am grateful everyday for the chance Dave has given me, and I know I am capable of making something fantastic, given the time.. I just hope Dave doesn't lose faith before then. Perhaps the dream of ethical and environmentally friendly businesses the world over and free environmental certification for all is within reach! For now I'd be happy with a complete site and a green home, ready and waiting to prove that walking the walk isn't so hard...

Labels: environmentalism

posted by genloz at 10:13 PM