During the time that humans have existed on this planet, we have gone through multiple transitions. Each of those transitions have changed the course of humanity and ultimately improved our standard of living. It has also made our lives just a little bit easier.  In our modern culture, we no longer have to provide for ourselves. You can have anything you want with one click. In fact, ease and convenience is top of the list for most people, not the impact they are having on the planet.  But when it comes to a sustainable lifestyle convenience is not the king. It is our addiction to&nb ..read more

Adventures in Sustainable Living Podcast Episode 175 A Green Foot Forward: Overcoming the Roadblocks to Sustainable Living If you happen to have in-depth training or knowledge in a particular area it is easy to forget that many others do not have that same expertise. For example, the knowledge I have about the care of animals is second nature to me. Sometimes I forget there are many people who just do not understand the basics.  But the same holds true when it comes to sustainable living. Such a lifestyle is second nature to me. Yet I see so many people who are interested but do not take ..read more

Adventures in Sustainable Living Podcast Episode 174 Habits for Success: The Little Things Make a Difference Have you ever wondered why people spend so much time on social media and then get depressed because they compare and despair? Have you ever wondered why 75% of our population feels that it is important to focus on living a sustainable life but they never take the time or put out the effort to make it happen.  Has there ever been a time in our life that you risk everything in order to accomplish any one thing? When is the last time you stepped outside your comfort zone? When is the ..read more

Adventures in Sustainable Living Podcast Episode 171 Simple Rules Are All We Need I so often marvel at the complexity of our society.  It seems as if things were so much simpler when I was a kid. Even when I first moved to Colorado and was working a construction job, life was pretty simple. Now it seems as if there are rules, rules, rules and so many other things that complicate our lives. And everyone seems to complain about it.  But are all these rules really necessary or is it simply the result of our complicated society? As it turns out, simple rules lead to complex behavior bo ..read more

Adventures in Sustainable Living Podcast Episode 170 The Cost of Convenience Few people would believe that I lived without running water and electricity for over 15 years. But I can tell you from first hand experience when you live that way it changes how you think.  But the same is true with our modern conveniences. It changes how we think, or should I say don’t think. We no longer have to put any thought or energy into many of our daily activities. However, for that convenience we do pay a price.  In our pursuit of over consumption we sacrifice our money, our physical health, our ..read more

Adventures in Sustainable Living Podcast Episode 168 Can We Live Without Trees How many times per day do you walk by a tree and never give it any thought. It is almost as if we take trees for granted. They have always been there and we never think that there may come a time when they are gone. From my previous episode you may remember how many trees we use versus how many we plant. It is obvious from those numbers we are consuming this natural resource faster than it can be replenished. And that of course is a problem because sooner or later we are going to run out.  But trees serve n ..read more

Adventures in Sustainable Living Podcast Episode 167 How to Go Paperless Most people never realize that paper usage is directly related to a nation’s wealth. The US and most European countries rank the highest in the world for paper usage. And this of course has a significant impact on the environment. Although it is impossible to calculate just how many trees are cut down each year for paper, estimates range between 4 billion and 8 billion.  Some of that paper usage is due to food packaging and other necessities. But there are ways that we can reduce our paper usage and perhaps even ..read more

The three pillars of sustainability are environment, economic and social. Less formally these pillars are known as people, planet and profits. Knowing this, I do think that we fail at supporting a vital part of these three pillars.   It is so easy to speak of fair pay and equal opportunity regardless of race, gender, marital status, religious beliefs, disability or political opinions. And yet this is a vital part of sustainability that often gets overlooked and consequently social injustice is deeply threaded in our culture.  I would contend that not only does social injustice underm ..read more

As you likely know by now I am a big fan of having a garden and producing as much of my own food as possible. It is the best way to be certain I am consuming fresh organic produce. Not to mention it saves me a considerable amount of money.  Despite the many advantages of having a garden only 1/3 of people on a global basis engage in any sort of gardening activity. Whatever the reason may be, that portion of our global population finds it more convenient to simply purchase what they need.  But as it turns out, there are some rather disturbing things about our fresh produce that most p ..read more

Did you know that there are now approximately 150 chemicals in our homes that are connected to allergies, birth defects, psychological disorders as well as cancer. And this is actually old news.  I have now met three different people who had numerous health problems, were on multiple medications, and were even given a poor long term prognosis for survival. But instead of accepting what their doctors said they took matters into their own hands. Each of them moved into a rural area, gave up all processed foods, ate only organic, and eliminated all toxic materials from their households. With ..read more