Archive for April, 2009
Colour Flood
I stumbled across this news article a couple days ago, and the fact that I am still thinking about it is evidence of how inspiring I found it. Rob Bliss, 20, is the creator of a facebook group called “Urban Experiments” which is “hosting/discussing/informing people about events…[that] bring people downtown, and make Grand Rapids a more exciting place to be.” The Urban Experiment that left me smiling all day was a Chalk Flood, where they distributed 30,000 pieces of sidewalk chalk in Rosa Parks Circle and invited anyone who came by to help create an instant art display. What a simple way to use creativity to bring a community together!
Sun Loving
Every once in a while, i pull out my New Complete Book of Self Sufficiency and dream a little dream of living off the grid, but it’s never been something I thought was possible.
If you have $50,000 to spend, there’s great information on the daily green on the basics of installing solar panels, but I don’t know anyone with that kind of cash in their shoe box.
Solar water heaters are a little less intense. Solar water heaters have been used since the 19th century, and work by harvesting the sun’s heat directly rather than converting solar power into electric into heat. They cost $1,500 to $3,500, and pay for themselves in four to eight years. And I just found out that here in Ontario, the government is offering up to $1000 in grants for installing a solar hot water system. Not a bad case when you realize that average electric water heater uses 6,400 kilowatt-hours of electricity per year, and releases more CO2 than the average car. More on solar water heaters here.
What is Living Lime?
There’s a lot of hype surrounding the concept of “living green” these days. Living green is a great idea, but Living Lime is more than that. Living Lime is living the best that you can.
The world is sometimes a depressing place. Our leaders are slow to lead, big corporations seem to have all the power, and it’s easy to get discouraged into thinking that nothing that we do matters. The answer? Stop looking at what everyone else is doing wrong and just live the best that you can. With passion. It’s all you can do, really.
For me, Living Lime means growing my own food and learning to preserve it. It means buying local. It means making clothing and items out of repurposed materials so I consume less. It means contributing to my community, through arts and other activities. It means standing up for what I believe is right. This blog is a place to find ideas and inspiration for Living Lime. Gardening advice, seasonal recipes, craft ideas, and community initiatives and activism. There are a lot of reasons to be inspired.
