When you see an ad for a fast food restaurant what do you see? Because I don’t pay for commercial television (pun very much intended) out of principal, I cannot speak to their TV ads however I do see plenty of McDonald’s ads on busses. Each one tries to hammer home a similar message; that their food will make you happy, attractive and will make you feel good. This, aside from the attractive part at least, is the same marketing strategy as a carnival. A carnival sells tickets with the promise…

Today the entire Atlanta area is under a code red smog alert. This means that we have polluted the air so badly that it is actually unsafe for anyone to be outside. This is different than a code orange alert in that code orange is only dangerous for our children and older family members. Government officials encourage everyone to stay inside and to refrain from outdoor activities. This gives me pause. Let’s stop for a moment and think about our government’s suggestion. To my ears it sounds…

10: Break the “Disposable Habit”

Each year we dump 14 billion pounds of garbage into the worlds oceans . We have become addicted to the convenience of disposable products. Plastic cutlery comes to mind. If I have to use it, I wash it after and hang onto it. I’m usually able to keep up with it for a few months.

9: Don’t Waste Water

Water is heavy and because of this it is very energy intensive to move it. The majority of energy used by the City of…

By the end of last year I had had enough. Frustrated with my work and, (for a variety of social implications) my seeming inability to cut my umbilical cord to the conveniences of affluent suburban life I realized that I was making myself miserable. This realization came when a tray of artichoke seeds that had been carefully soaked, then sown into peat pots and placed on top of my refrigerator failed to sprout. I was so upset that the crown jewels of my soon to be perfect gardens were not…