All posts filed under: sustainability

10 steps to a sustainable life: Step 3 (Origins of Stuff and modern day slavery)

Published by

Did you know an estimate 20 million people are living in slavery today? Step 3 is educate yourself about where the things you buy come from. This becomes more and more important because the global economy is also an invisible one. When you pick up an item in a brightly lit store with familiar tunes playing in the background there is absolutely no way of knowing how many hands had part in bring that particular item to you. You don’t know how much they were paid, but judging by our insatiable thirst for bargains, the answer is most likely ‘not enough’. I grew up in Norway, that frozen little country in Northern Europe, and I spent the first 25 years of my life in blissful ignorance about how it is that we can buy 2 pounds of oranges in December for about 2 dollars. I guess it has something to do with volume – when buying tons and tons of oranges the stores are able to get them for cheap – or any other excuse …

The love chronicles (evolution of love)

Published by

And I remember when I met him, it was so clear that he was the only one for me. We both knew it, right away. And as the years went on, things got more difficult, we were faced with more challenges. I begged him to stay. Try to remember what we had at the beginning. He was charismatic, magnetic, electric and everybody knew it. When he walked in every woman’s head turned, everyone stood up to talk to him. He was like this hybrid, this mix of a man who couldn’t contain himself. I always got the sense that he became torn between being a good person and missing out on all of the opportunities that life could offer a man as magnificent as him. And in that way I understood him and I loved him. I loved him, I loved him, I loved him. And still love him. I love him. I’m naming this tag ‘The love chronicles’ because, much like Lana Del Rey, most of my writings have centered around love. And I …

The value of the world

Published by

So here is a fun plot line for a movie. The world, this beautiful blue planet that has been in orbit around the sun for the past 4 billion years, has within the past 200 years racked up 40 trillion dollars in debt. Clearly, it now deserves to have its oceans poisoned, its mountains blown up, crust drilled into thousands of holes, trees cut down and transported away, and all animals that have lived quietly for millions of years deserve to be displaced because they are not contributing to the down payment of this debt. Only one thing. Who is the hero of this story? The TED community attempts to answer this question. 40 trillion dollars, oh that’s rich. Last I checked the total value of EVERYTHING ON THE PLANET was around $60 trillion but I’m sure it’s gone up a bit. Nobody should care about debt. I know theoretically why it matters, what it ~implies for nations and the finance world at large but come on, our monetary system is such a joke. Money …

Beyond shopping

Published by

Vote with your money! The first, and easiest, step toward sustainability is to become conscious of where our money go and what our money buy. Shopping for useful and not-so-useful items is the cornerstone of our consumer-based economy and while it’s near impossible to reject this comfortable and ingrained behavior, it is possible to shop almost anything and support socially responsible businesses and small, independent entrepreneurs at the same time! Things I like to consider before purchase: If the company is independent or part of a larger corporation. This one is tricky because companies rarely advertise this. The only way to find out is through your trusty best friend; Google. My rule of thumb is that most household brands that you find in your local grocery store now belong to the powerhouses, so avoid them. The global giants of commerce don’t need any more of your money because they now use it to plunder, pollute and enslave the planet while buying all the political power they can get to ensure their stronghold monopoly. That’s why …

10 steps to a sustainable life: Step 2 (Choose your culture)

Published by

Don’t just accept what is presented – choose your culture carefully. A lot of our Western civilization has become toxic. It is mainly constructed around consumption in the past 100 years, with devastating effects on our environment, natural world, and even our health. You can decide for yourself if this was all pre-planned evil conspiracy, but personally I think it was just average human short-sightedness and our common desire for comfort, combined with human ingenuity. The second industrial revolution fueled by oil has spanned into the first truly global empire – powered by cheap labor and ruthless exploration of resources. As we find ourselves in the age of information it is very easy to get overwhelmed. In fact, keeping the population overwhelmed serves as a goal in itself because then you don’t have time to contemplate the fundamental things – such as why am I being bombarded with all this junk? (See Step 1) Shouldn’t our goal be to leave this planet in better shape than we found it; more beautiful, in better health, a …

10 steps to a sustainable life: Step 1 (Limit consumption and stop polluting your mind)

Published by

Don’t let advertising win. Make a rule to never impulse buy – if you remember it five days later, you can buy it. This rule alone should cut your consumer spending by 60% or more. When I go window shopping, in person or on the internet, and “pass up” cute things, I find myself barely remembering what it was by the time I leave the store, never mind three days later. It also gives you time to reflect how this new item would fit into your life – whether it is clothes or a new gadget. Do you really need it? I’m a girl and I like clothes (fashion is like wearable art to me) but I’ve realized I tend to buy the same things over and over, because that is what I like. How many navy blue, off-the-shoulder knitted sweaters do I really need? Recognize that the advertising industry is an industry designed to make you feel inferior and bad about yourself. It’s a billion dollar industry and they are very, very good at …

I propose the following ground rules for intelligent debate:

Published by

1) Earth is the only home we are going to have in the foreseeable future so we have to care for it as such. When the question is “profit or planet?” the planet should always win. How many people do you know that are constantly destroying and selling off parts of their house to make some money? The logical outcome is that eventually they end up with no home and some money, so I guess they would buy a new home when they are done. But remember, we have no second planet. 2) Humans and all living things need air, water and food to survive. Therefore, making sure those are healthy is our number one priority. You will not be able to eat money after your food has given you cancer, your drinking water is toxic, and once we run out of clean air, well, you’re dead in three minutes or less. 3) Aside from shooting things into outer space, there is no “away”. Garbage and waste will eventually find its way back to you …

What does freedom mean to you?

Published by

Perfect timing for this TED talk! I think one of my favorite things about living in Hawaii for three years is the acute sense of transience and how it’s changed my views on possessions. There is only one way off this island – by plane – and each suitcase cost anything between $25-50 to transport. I have made a conscious choice to limit my possessions to two suitcases. Like most girls, I love fashion and clothes but the big change that I made is that I started selling off clothes and other items that I *didn’t* love. In two years I have made almost $4,000 on eBay selling over 100 pieces from my closet, and the scariest part is that I don’t remember a single one of them. For the money I renewed my wardrobe and I actually love every piece in it now. I like clothes because it’s wearable art to reflect or enhance your personality (you have to wear it anyway, so why not wear something that makes you happy.) When you make …