Off-grid living is part of our future evolution. There are as many reasons to do it as their are ways to do it. Most involve a desire to live more simply, more authentically and more sustainably. My friends, Jeannie and Michael, have recently embarked upon their own off-grid journey in a camper. Jeannie is going to share some of her experience here, on Tao of Change - posted each Sunday for the Summer. Tune in and share the adventure each week. Jeannie’s introductory entry below:

From Jeannie:

Michael and I decided to camp for the summer outside of Crested Butte, CO (~9000 ft elevation) in a 14.5 foot ‘57 camper that we purchased, that’s right, on Craigslist. Michael knows a lot about remodeling, so he was able to perform all kinds of electrical and interior maintenance on our little summer home. We painted & fixed her up and now it’s time to live the dream.  We decided on this course of action for several reasons including, but not limited to:

we are tree huggers and we love to run around in the woods
mountains impress us
we are experimenting with reducing our impact
we are attempting to be mindful about what we use / waste
we are re-defining materialism & consumption for ourselves
we want to save $$ for skiing this winter

Our disclaimer is that we are not self-proclaimed environmentalists and we apologize for faux-pas we may commit.  Suggestions are welcome!

Entry 1:
Michael and I finally found a camping spot - Cement Creek, just south of Crested Butte (right out of CB South) and have been out in the camper the last couple of days.  It is super cozy, but it snowed all day today so we came in to town because we had a little bit of cabin fever (camper fever.)  Really, we wanted to hit up Thomas’ hot tub!  It’s warm and comfortable living in the camper, though, and we really like it.  We’ve been hiking and biking around a lot, and making food in the original 1957 camper oven / stove.  Michael is killing me with some of the hikes we’ve done!  Everything around is beautiful though, hiking or not.  When more of the snow around town melts, we will camp closer in, and we’ll be a 20-minute bike ride from town, which means we can keep our dirty little wheels off the road and those gas dollars in our pockets.

Crested Butte is a really cool town where people are ALWAYS outside - biking, hiking, paddling, etc.  It has a very young, but rustic and old-timey feel.  Many of the people here are very friendly and will talk to strangers, which is always cool.

And so the adventure begins..

by Tao Oliveto, Carrboro, NC

When it comes to vacation or business travel, we all have our own idea of nirvana. Yesterday’s post on Kimpton Hotels (see below) shows that we can love the luxury while supporting sustainably-minded practices - an important choice for frequent business travelers. As vacationers, we can also balance our getaway greediness with the more sustainable, by seeking out destinations which provide greener, saner and more authentic options of accommodations and experience.

For me, travel is most fun when a bit of challenge is thrown in. Those who love to camp have always known this. Tents, sleeping bags and mosquito nets are part of the deal - and part of the fun. Don’t knock it until you’ve tried it. Renting a bicycle, taking the bus, eating bag lunches help keep me grounded in the experience - something that a 5-star resort or ocean cruise goes to great lengths to keep me removed from.

Speaking of experience, hostels are alive and well in both the U.S. and abroad - a logical and fun alternative to hotels altogether. Hostels are more sustainable by default since they make efficient use of space and resources and come in a surprising variety of shapes and sizes, both urban and rural. You’ll find a listing of hostels here and an even greener list on the West Coast, here.

There are more creative ways to be a conscious traveler. Consider the simplicity of becoming a “tourist” in your own area. If traveling far and wide is more your style, take advantage of organized volunteer vacations where you can give as much as you get.

It’s Summertime and the living is easy - but don’t make it too easy. Go but go greener.

By Tao Oliveto, Carrboro, NC

Jerry, the Change founder, attends/speaks at a Green Fest each year. He could attend more, but instead tries to choose a new location each time. Sticky green business , this travel thing. While most companies can significantly reduce the frequency of employee travel through tele-communicating, web-casts and other tech-savvy alternatives to moving people about the world via airplanes, grounding the workforce completely is simply not an option.

But we can work our way through this enviro-issue with some discipline, planning (and offsetting!), as well as watching the size of our footprints once we’ve landed. So, after offsetting the flight, The Change made reservations at a hotel that has raised the bar regarding social and environmental responsibility.

Kimpton Hotels has developed Kimpton EarthCare, “uniting guests, employees, partners, and suppliers with one common goal - to decrease the use of Earth’s resources and increase sustainable business practices.” Their earth and people-friendly commitments include but are not limited to, the use of non-toxic and natural cleaners, energy and water efficiency systems and policies, organic and fair trade coffee service, recycled paper printed with soy inks, linen reuse, formalized recycling programs and on-property “Best Practices” contests for employees.

And it doesn’t stop there. Kimpton also mentors employees to be socially responsible through grassroots philanthropy, offering paid time-off to volunteer and make active contributions to the community. Kimpton Hotels also raises funds, makes contributions and holds events for the AIDS Red Ribbon Campaign, Parks for People, and other charitable organizations. Kimpton and their employees are also very active in and support the LGBT communities.

Here’s what Jerry had to say about his stay at one of the Kimpton Hotels in Chicago -

“Typically, at hotels, you can feel the commerce everywhere. Every time you make a decision regarding your comfort, pleasure or other travel needs, you can usually sense the billing mechanisms grinding away behind it. Entering The Hotel Burnham felt like an alternative world. The atmosphere was elegant but real, not calculated to look ritzy. It was what it was - and it was beautiful.

But the best part was the people who worked there. Every interaction, whether with the front desk, room service or others, was a genuine, enjoyable human experience. In every case, I felt like a guest, not a customer. These qualities, coupled with Kimpton’s corporate conscience, made me never want to stay elsewhere. Sorry to be so effusive, but - the truth is your best tool.”

For other green accomodations throughout the world, visit Itsagreengreenworld.com, a global listing of green and eco-friendly hospitality destinations of all kinds. They believe that travellers should actively benefit the places they visit, supporting those who provide sustainable services and accommodations. Read and subscribe to their newsletter here.

by Tao Oliveto, Raleigh, NC

Summer has arrived - watch the idling begin. Idling cars are heavy on my mind again - yesterday I spent an agonizing 10+ minutes at a bank drive-through (I was on my bike) - surrounded by exhaust fumes, thinking there must be a better way! By popular demand, I’m re-posting the facts and figures regarding the environmental impact of idling cars. If you didn’t get to these links previously, make sure to take a read.

I have eco-peeves (like most people these days). My ongoing biggie? Idling cars. I often see cars idling in parking lots or street side while drivers talk on cell phones or eat lunch. I’ve even seen people napping in cars with the engine running - in a closed garage, you’d be dead, so do the math. Is this about some ill-perceived comfort, a bad habit, or just another way to isolate ourselves from each other? (Sorry, defrosting the windshield this way is just as bad - I grew up in MN and scraping is a way of life).

So, I made an eco-pledge a couple years back to stop the idling madness - at least that in my immediate vicinity. I decided to politely and pointedly ask/suggest/plead/beg drivers to stop idling. Although I always try to judge situations according to my inner conflict meter, most of my experiences have been surprisingly pleasant. In fact, yesterday, I waved at the driver of an idling SUV (yes, he was talking on his cell phone). He rolled down his window and after saying hello, I pointed out that if he turned off his car, he would pollute less. He thanked me and cut the engine. I even happened to run into him later and we had a friendly conversation about creating new green habits.

Turning off an idling car may seem like a small way to cut down on pollution, compared to, say, shutting down a coal plant. Even the latest IPCC Report states that the changes we need to make to keep CO2 out of the atmosphere must be “deep and quick” and that climate change has a huge “procrastination penalty”. Yet, small changes made by many people can make a big impact and spread awareness (change a light bulb lately, anyone? ). Maybe we need to form support groups to help us change our wasteful habits - “Hello, my name is Sally and I’m an idler…” Whatever it takes, we can help each other shift perceptions and make big change happen if we’re willing to speak out.

I certainly didn’t say it first, but - “If you’re not part of the solution, you are part of the problem.”

Got an eco-peeve? Take a chance, make a change, create a future.

I’m outing myself today. I’m Tao and I don’t pee in my toilet.

Ahh. I feel better already - and encouraged by the increasing acceptance of visibility (figuratively speaking) of people who distribute pee outdoors rather flushing it away along with gallons of purified water. With drought increasing in frequency and intensity around the world, people are saving water in every way and beginning to understand the logic of recycling this nutrient-rich “liquid gold” back into the soil.

For me, it all started in the NC drought of 2001, when the idea of flushing away gallons of water with a little clean urine suddenly seemed ridiculous. “Letting it mellow” just wasn’t cutting it anymore, especially when bathroom odor became an issue. I knew about composting toilets, which actually turn waste in rich soil supplements, but alas and alack, they are not yet implemented into the urban system. Instead, I piled some sawdust in my backyard and started my own odor-free, compost pile, which I distributed around my yard over time and refreshed occasionally with new dust. These days I simply dilute and pour around my trees and plants All it takes is a user-friendly pitcher kept in the loo and a stroll to the garden after use.

Emma Cooper of HowToDoThings.com provides details about using urine in the garden. In diluted form, it nourishes all plant life and used straight-up, can effectively and safely eliminate weeds. As she puts it, “…it’s not a backward step, it’s space-age technology…” Read the complete article here.

Carol Steinfeld, writer, researcher, and resource-recycling specialist is the author of Liquid Gold, The Lore adn Logic of Using Urine to Grow Plants. Educated in ecological resource management solutions, she leads workshops worldwide and is projects director of Ecowaters, a nonprofit public information project. Mark your calendar - from the website:

Pee On Earth Day(s) announced

Pee On Earth Day, a day to bring one’s urine outside to nourish plants and save water used to flush toilets, will be June 21 in the northern hemisphere (Dec. 21 in the southern hemisphere). A free downloadable kit with tips for safe outdoor urine application will be available on the Liquid Gold web site soon!

by Tao Oliveto, Carrboro, NC

We’re all headed back to the taps to keep plastic out of our production and waste streams and keep dioxin and other plastic chemicals out of our bodies. Tap water is safe, though many of us are choosing to further purify what comes from our faucet with pitcher and counter-top water filters. There are many affordable and effective options available and you can start here. I use a counter-top unit by Living Water Systems.

But wait - if you are one of the many people using the Clorox owned, popular Brita filters, keep reading! Those filters, replaced with great frequency, could and should be collected and recycled. In Europe, the original Brita GmbH company, has created a take-back recycling program for its filter cartridges. They are collected at in-store sites and shipped to Brita’s recycling center, where they are dismantled and the components reused. But here in North America, there is not recycling process in place. Beth, from FakePlasticFish.com took on the issue in full force, initiating the Take Back the Filter Campaign. Please go sign the petition now and take millions of plastic and carbon filters out of our wastestream.

The website is full of information. Here are just a few of the important facts:

* Plastic is a non-renewable resource made from petroleum. It is not biodegradable, lingering in the environment virtually forever. Plastic can attract and accumulate oil-based toxins, and the production of plastic is fraught with environmental hazards. The more we are able to reuse/recycle the plastic products we produce rather than creating new ones, the less ecological harm we will cause.

We, the undersigned, urge The Clorox Company to take responsibility for the millions of plastic filter cartridges that are landfilled or incinerated each year by:

1) Redesigning its Brita filter cartridges so that the plastic housing can be refilled rather than discarded each time the filter is changed.

2) Providing a take-back program, such as the one that exists in Europe, so that used cartridges can be returned to the company for recycling.

3) Creating a system for the cartridges to be dismantled and the components recycled/reused domestically rather than landfilled, incinerated, or shipped overseas.

Kudos and Namaste to Beth in CA who is testimonial to the quote by Margaret Mead:

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens [or even one person!] can change the world. Indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”

by Tao Oliveto

By now, we’ve all heard about the many benefits of a consistent yoga practice - calmer mind, healthier organs, detoxification, better digestion and sleep, balanced nervous and hormonal system, muscle flexibility and strength, stronger core, back and joints. And I can tell you from both my practice and teaching experience, that all this can be realized through regular practice of a reputable system of yoga.

But, can yoga really make life easier? Well, yes and no. Obviously, all of the above things can make you fell a heckuva lot better than the average, non-yoga person. Still, yoga cannot make the outside problems and harsh realities of life vanish. So, while yoga does not make life easier, it does make you easier with life. “Through a regular yoga practice, we become less hindered by our past and less invested in our fantasies”, says Donna Farhi, one of America’s most respected yoga teachers and author. Practice gives you direct access to an inner place of grounding and presence which can allow us to stop feeling overwhelmed by thoughts and emotions stirred up by daily events and relationships. In this space of stillness, we can find more acceptance and listen to the messages and wisdom that come from the mind and heart working together.

Now that we have our sh** together, what about the world “out there”? It is difficult not to experience periods of hopelessness in the midst of the world’s suffering and uncertainty. Yet, be hopeful we must, as well as find the things that we can do to be part of world change in both small and large ways. Ultimately, more people finding hope and peace will have an effect on the world. So, just how do we get there? Here’s some ideas:

1. Have hope about the future even while accepting uncertainty. Share that hope in some way each day. Discover valid reasons why we can expect good things to happen and tell others.

2. Develop your awareness. Live with continually increasing openness and sensitivity towards others, the earth, animals and yourself.

3. Do a lifestyle check. What are the consequences of the way you live and consume natural resources? What could you, your workplace, your business, be doing differently?

4. Contribute to a cause outside yourself. We have a big job ahead of us and it will take everyone to get it done. Resist the temptation to sit back and wait. Become pro-active in your life and community.

5. Stay informed (but not always from television news). Turn to less sensational news sources, read and talk to others.

5. Send out positive, life-changing energy. Choose a mantra or a prayer of your own and repeat it to yourself several times a day.

6. Smile and breathe.It’s o.k. to find a happy, peaceful place inside yourself. Go there to heal and restore when you need to. Laugh, entertain each other and have some fun. The people around you will benefit and you will be able to accomplish more.

7. Keep practicing yoga daily. It makes all the above possible.