by Tao Oliveto, Carrboro, NC

I’m thrilled to be once again hosting TreeHugger’s Carnival of The Green, a green web party of sorts, celebrating some of the many bloggers talking, living and writing about their passions in sustainable living. To find out more about the carnival or hosting, visit this link at TreeHugger.com.

Last week’s carnival was hosted by Philip Booth of RuscombeGreen.blogspot.com. Philip works in the mental health field, believes we need more “Nature Playgrounds”, and is a district councillor over 3 counties in the UK. He is passionate about many things, including social justice and how we care for the planet. I find his site inspirational.

Some of us start the new year taking a fresh look at just how we piece together our livelihoods. The bigger picture of investment and personal finance can be an intimidating one since capitalism on the green front requires some bigger views of the future. Fortunately, there’s help out there for those of us wondering what is the what when it comes to sustainable investing. GreenerPastures.com, a site outlining responsible personal finance, is dedicated to helping us see the forest AND the trees. Check out this post deciphering the systems of Socially Responsible Finance.

I’ve been weaning myself from unnecessary auto addiction over the years and was excited to discover Zoomilife.com, where Aaron and Sebastian follow “the Pulse of the Electric Vehicle industry”. This post rated the top scooters available this year in the U.S. by design, capability and innovation standards - and they’re talking real commuters here, not “glorified toys”. Scoot-curious myself, I’m going to bookmark this page.

Recycle Cindy over at MyRecycledBags.com opened my eyes to the world of green crafting and, more specifically, the possibilities of crocheting with “Plarn”. Many of her products and ideas are made from this yarn-like material made exclusively from plastic shopping bags (about 80 to a roll) but they look and function like designer goods! She shares really simple instructions on how to make plarn as well as all of her many other designs which include denimn crafts, doll clothes, kitchen supplies and more.

The sister blogging team of Sally and Sadie Kneidel at VeggieRevolution.blogspot.com keep us up to date on news and their experiences in sustainablity. And, they’ve written another book this year:  Going Green - A Wise Consumer’s Guide to a Shrinking Planet. Their carnival post for today shares some shocking statistics about the shrinking fish populations in oceans and rivers - 40% of species in North American are currently in peril - a number which has doubled in just the past 20 years. If you eat or want to continue eating fish, be sure to read this post and also go to the Fish Selector to find out your best eco-choices.

GreenThinkingBlog.com reminds us to send your expired greeting cards to St. Jude’s Ranch, a haven for neglected and abused children. They have a program were the kids reuse the artwork on the cards to make new cards for sale for next year. Find out where and how this works on her site. Laurel and Kate bring lots of green thinking to our home and lives through this site.

Lynn from OrganicMania.com talks about how most  bloggers agonize over posts, debate  how often to ask for a Stumble, and analyze web traffic more often than they care to admit. All that time adds up, and she cautions bloggers not to forget the “real world” outside their doors. A great read for all web-linked people!

A money and personal finance blog, DigeratiLife.com sends out some good messages about “economizing” your life, pointing out how, as the economy slides downwards, behavioral trends are also shifting as people are making the necessary adjustments to the new financial realities they face. As certain economic realities begin to dawn upon most of us and we start feeling the pinch of higher prices, lower investment returns and a slowdown in the job market, we’re finally taking stock of our financial situations and actually making some concrete changes.

A nice follow-up to the above is a post at SmarterWallet.com who tells us that Frugality is back in Fashion, offering basic money tips for the economic recession and a whole lot more.

Though some readers found keeping the heat off/down to save energy and money extreme, I loved the post over at savingadvice.com. I don’t think that the heat needs to be off in Winter - impossible, of course, in many climates - but being frugal about your setting is not as hard as you think. I, too, wear comfy silk long johns under my clothes in Winter, keep two pairs of socks and warm slippers on my feet while at home and like a small down quilt over my lap while doing quiet home activities like reading. If I’m moving about cleaning or doing laundry or cooking, body heat does the trick, even at a setting below 60. I recommend experimenting and remember that every degree counts when it comes to the planet.

I probably fall close to the category of extreme green-geeks who count every detail of green-living, but I also try hard not to lose balance in my own life as well as faith in even the most simple efforts by others. The post at TheGoodHuman.com shares some nice commentary about the perfectionist in some of us.

Last but not least, Homesteader Belle is giving away some quick change cloth menstrual cloths. Get in on the gifting here. (Don’t forget to check ou the Diva Cup, too.)

Next week’s Carnival of the Green will be hosted by Teensygreen.com, a site written by a real-life mom, who explores ways to entertain and excite teensy green beings (kids) without all that plastics and gadgets.

by Tao Oliveto, Carrboro, NC

I hope you had a happy, hopeful new Year’s celebration. Although, in many ways, I’ve landed with a thud at the bottom of my mountain in 2009, a little battered and bruised, I’m still feeling ready to pick myself up and continue on the path towards change (after all, as Joseph Campbell reminded us, “The warrior always says yes.”).

I usually have a feeling of settling down and “cleaning things up” when January arrives and although I’ve toned down most of my past holiday raceabout, I still get in this groove this time of year. It’s tempting to want to simply sweep things up and out to the curb - gift boxes, decorations, packing materials, food containers and the like…but don’t get stuck in that moment! More things are recyclable than ever before and you can start your New Year off well by getting the job done right.

Don’t know where to start? Go to EARTH911.com and find out why, how and where to recycle anything in your area (conveniently listed by zip code).

For instance, my most exciting holiday gift was a cd rack that found for $4.00 at the thrift store - I happily spent some of New Year’s Day FINALLY pulling year’s worth of cds out of shoe boxes and arranging them for more convenient access, discovering long lost and favorite music along the way. I ended up with a couple dozen “dead” disks, which I am shipping off to GreenDisk.com to be recycled.

I’m cleaned up at home without messing up the planet - ahhh!

Happy, Healthy Year! Tao

by Tao Oliveto, Carrboro, NC

As I look back over the past few months, since the election madness, my falling, since my transformative sweat lodge experience  - since overall, what has felt a little like cartwheeling down a mountainside -  I can’t think of a better time to come in contact with the Clandenstine Insurgent Rebel Clown Army. This is not a joke, yet in a way it is!

The Rebel Clowns are Clandestine because they are “everyone”.

They are insurgent because they have risen up from “nowhere and everywhere” and because change happens from “brilliant improvisation, not perfect blueprints.”

They are rebels because they love life and happiness more than revolution.

They are clowns because “what else can one be in this stupid world?”

Rebels - and clowns - transform everything through they way they live, create, love, eat, laugh, play, learn, trade, listen, think…and the way they rebel.

The CIRCArmy protests in clown style - from building a peace chain to opposing nuclear weapons to supporting their local “Bobby” as they march for more pay in London.

It’s a new year and time to laugh, dance, sing and yes, clown our way into Change. Want to learn more? Visit clownarmy.org and have a happy, hopeful New Year’s Eve!

by Tao Oliveto, Carrboro, NC

Community, as well as life, is - like most things - what you make of it. Sometimes the less “normal” you are willing to reach for, the more magic you will find. Ask the 5 urban pirates living on a Ferry off of Manhattan Island. The ship, purchased on yachtworld.com, is owned by Jonathan, who lives on it with 3 other men and one woman. According to today’s NY Times article, The 6,000 sq.ft ship has a Christmas tree, a refrigerator and a drum set on board, toilets that flush with a bucket of sea water added, though showers and other amenities (like central heat) are not yet in working order.

Residents make trips into the city or to pick up friends in a small motorboat or sailboat. They share an old van kept in a parking garage nearby and most of the furnishings were acquired on Craigslist, including 5 free couches. This group lives, works, creates and throws parties, while planning a trip to long island in the Summer where they will hang out, work on the ship and commune with nature.

Although there is a constant maintenance workload to life onboard, Ben DeVoe, an artist and landscape gardener, is not considering going back to a “normal” apartment life. They’d all rather put up with the inconveniences to have a bigger, more communal and more creative life together.

As Jonathan says, “It’s a magical, fantastical thing and that’s why we’re here.”

Ahoy.

by Tao Oliveto, Carrboro, NC

I’m back from the mountain trip where I participated in a Native American Sweat ceremony - literally and spiritually sweating it out for most of a day. I’m still recovering and processing my experience both inside myself and with some really amazing people, so more on that later.

So, for now, I’ll tell you about the hostel where we stayed - Bon Paul and Sharky’s, in downtown West Asheville. We arrived Friday night with the dogs in tow and were welcomed offhandedly, but wholeheartedly by Justin and another staff member.This old house is sweet with character, a little history, and a revolutionary charm. There were some other guests hanging about - the whole vibe was a kind of laid back “be here now” and I immediately felt at home. There was a fireplace in the living room along with shelves of books and stacks of videos to share. Somehow, being in the cave-like basement bedroom felt just right, muffled from the street sounds outside, but still able to hear the friendly guitar-playing upstairs.

There were two very clean bathrooms, an outdoor shower and, surprisingly, a hot tub on the back deck. The signs about recycling, cleaning up and saving energy seemed enough to keep things in order and each time I came upon someone cooking or brewing tea or coffee, I was offered a share. We helped some guests from Germany navigate a map for hiking over breakfast and shared some stories with others into the evening. The dogs - allowed full run of the house - quickly settled in to their own version of doggie-heaven.

I found myself imagining traveling in a world this welcoming and full of trust and gratitude, home and hearth open (and affordable!) to all who wander. Thank you Bon Paul and Sharky’s, for reminding me of how it was meant to be. I’ll be back soon.

Tao Oliveto, Asheville, NC

I’m in Asheville this morning, preparing for a spiritual journey inside a Sweat Lodge. I’m hoping that I can dig deep into my physical and mental strength to stand the heat and face what shows up. My intention is set for healing for the world, hope for the future, peace and clarity of mind and body. Peace and love, Tao

Winter Solstice:

“The union of opposites. Fullness: emptying. Emptiness: filling.
The shortest day meets the longest night. Celebrate the dark. Greet the light. A sacred link, where Earth’s veil thins, the unseen, seen. Images of ancestors and ancient roots threading back beyond time. Back to first humans, their fires still burning to call back the light. We are the ones who hold them sacred. We honor their struggles, their triumphs. We’re here due to them. They gave us our blood.”

Although I will never give up my thrift store shopping for necessities, luxuries and unique, or one-of-a-kind gifts, I do choose online shopping at my favorite sites for convenience and environmental reasons. Yet, once in awhile, I’m stumped about finding something so mainstream and conventional and unexciting that I just put it off even beginning a search. For instance, after purchasing a futon-style mattress made from recycled soda bottles from an independent store in NC, I’ve wanted to get a mattress pad/protector, oh, for about a year now! Somehow the idea of searching and comparing prices and any eco-options that may or may not exist was about as alluring as eating last year’s fruitcake (or this year’s for that matter).

So, I was thrilled to discover GreenGenius.com, a comparison shopping engine for green living, which has come to my shopping rescue. Two clicks took me to the best eco-value for the eco-bed - done! Green Genius links you to products, merchants and reviews while allowing you to browse or search by category, popular items, stores, and eco-status. I found the eco-status categories especially helpful with products ranked by eco-friendly, fair trade, organic, renewable, recyclable and eco-healthy status.

Green Genius does not charge merchants for listings which means everyone is invited - inclusive rather than exclusive. It also functions as an online community of social networking so you can get objective and complete feedback through reviews and discussion by your peers. You can even create your own lists. You can also use the site whether you join or not - a nice, no-pressure option.

Search and Green!

by Tao Oliveto, Carrboro, NC

During our long hot Summers, I often think about how logical it would be to cook and heat water with the sun. Obviously, so have Martha and Mike Port, a couple from my hometown of Minneapolis, MN, who have founded Solar Oven Society.

“The SOS exists to promote solar cooking to the American public and to provide a way to partner with the over 2 billion people worldwide who lack adequate fuel for cooking their food.”

The focus of SOS is to provide low-cost, easily to assemble, durable solar ovens to developing countries, but also support a system of education, training and demonstration. The purpose is not simply philanthropic, but a way partnering with the local systems and village banking systems in host countries to help people help themselves, improving lives as well as the environmental and health issues involved in using wood as fuel.

SOS also wants to promote the use of solar ovens in the U.S., and after reading through the FAQ on their inclusive web site, I’m sold! These high quality ovens work much like a traditional crock pot, reaching from 210 - 300 degrees Farenheit, cooking many foods like vegetables, meat, breads and cookies in 2 - 4 hours. Grains will take longer, but can also be prepared by pre-heating the water for about 20 minutes. You can also use this oven to dehydrate foods, which can be stored for long periods.

If you want to donate to this cause, go here. If you want your own solar oven, you can purchase both retail and wholesale, here. I’m going to donate for holiday gifts this year and when I took a look at the recipies, I’m tempted to get one myself!

SOS Centers established in developing countries will:

• Provide solar cooking
  • Technology
  • Demonstrations
  • Training for cooking
  • Training for water pasteurization
  • Training for assembly
  • Training for service
  • Wholesale & retail sales
• Introduce other fuel saving technologies
  • Little Fire Stoves
  • Fireless Ovens
  • Gel Fuel
  • Other solar technologies such as
    1. Food Dehydration
    2. Water Heating