When I saw this recent installment in Thich Nhat Hanh's repertoire, I had to pick it up.  Power?  Isn't that what we all want--not fame, wealth, violence, but the power to handle each moment, to act in freedom, and to live peacefully?

Especially helpful for families and business people (or anyone involved in any work with other humans), The Art of Power is a treatise on how to be happy and powerful by taking an unusual route--through meditation, peace, and spiritual practice.  

There is indeed powerful help in there for those of us in the working world on how to deal with our own stress and how to deal with other people.  One of my favorite kernels? Hi idea of "unitasking."  Yes, the opposite of multi-tasking, Hanh advocates that--what a novel idea!--we do one thing at a time and do it well.  

The book concludes with an excerpt from Yvon Chouinard, the founder of Patagonia that is truly inspiring for people in the marketplace.  He makes products people actually need, taking care to do no unnecessary environmental harm in the process.  His focus is on the planet and people way more than profits--his habit of taking off for other countries to rock climb and practice of providing daycare for mom-employees are two testaments to this. 

So, if you get a chance to read it, I highly recommend doing so and then passing it around.

It's videos like this one from goveg.com that make impassioned teenagers become vegetarians.  For good reason.

Even if you're not a vegetarian (admittedly, I'm not after going that route for a couple of years and being frankly quite ill from it--having said that I know many a thriving, robust vegetarian/vegan), choosing where your meat comes from makes a huge impact on the planet, the animal, and, ultimately, you.

By treating our farm animals cruelly, we're setting ourselves up for trouble.  How can eating animals that have been fed food they aren't meant to eat, drugged up with hormones and antibiotics, penned up and barred from doing any activity that biology dictates they do, poked, prodded, starved, and the like not have consequences higher on the food chain?  Aside from any spiritual karmic effects, there's just no way that meat is going to be truly healthy when it arrives on your plate.  I believe it carries with it all that suffering and stress and it goes straight into our own bloodstream.

In addition to only getting meat that comes from people raising it sustainably and humanely, consider exploring companies raising heritage breeds (most of our farm animals are the same breeds, meaning that they're crowding out genetic diversity.  Learn more about heritage breeds here.

Orion had a wonderful article a few months ago on how we got to where we are with our out of control consumption--much of it we're not really to blame for.  Machines have churned out more stuff than anybody could possibly use since the Industrial Revolution--perhaps we've felt an obligation to buy it all.

Yes, we have been preached a message telling us that we never have enough.  

The only way to keep getting stuff is to keep working (a married couple works 500 hours more a year than they did in 1979).  And as everybody knows, many of us are spending more than we earn.  The solution?  Producing less, using less, and spending more time and energy on things that matter. It could be a doctrine that will save us.

Find out more by reading "The Gospel of Consumption" here. 

An eco-friendly stroller is a good idea indeed.  After all, every kid (or parent!) needs one and the run of the mill variety is message-free and plastic-heavy.

This endangered species stroller from NewbornMom.com remedies that. A collaboration between Baby Planet and the Wildlife Conservation Society, each features a different endangered animal who will benefit from its purchase.

It's got all the things a stroller should have from cup holders for rider and pusher to ergonimic grip handles to folding up and adjusting in all the right ways.  It's also PVC and phthalate-free so it's slobber-safe. Beyond that, its frame is aluminum so it's lightweight and, best of all, recyclable. Learn about the free donation and recycling programs here.

Get an endangered species stroller (229.99) here.  And with all things baby, pass it on to another member of our species when you're done.

My friend A is a true do-it-yourselfer.  She inspired me recently with her mention of homemade deodorant that she read about at Angry Chicken.  As someone who has been on a long quest for truly natural desmellers that truly do the job, I've only recently perfected my own system of alternating between Terressentials lavender and Crystal body (both of which, by the way, work for men and are not girly-scented).

Now, if you want to go even further and pass on any company's concotions in favor of your own ingenuity, you can make your own cream variety from a handful of natural ingredients--shea butter, baking soda, cornstarch, essential oils, cocoa butter and vitamin E--available in any natural foods store (or many of which you can buy in bulk online here).

I haven't tried it yet, but if it's in the ballpark of homemade lip balm, its utility and scent will probably just be icing on top of the "I made it myself" cake.

Here's a way to see if the sticker on your car's window when it sat in the lot was accurate or not.  Fuelly allows you to create an account, add a car, and track its mileage.  Users see how much gas they're using and figure out how to cut back.

In the Olympic spirit, you can also track your friends' gas use and compete for first place in the sports of less frequent fill-ups and most gas saved.

I always wanted a Trapper Keeper as a kid and never got one.  I survived though, and while they're cool and all, they certainly aren't environmentally conscious.

Parents always say that the best toy is a cardboard box, that empty shell that sometimes holds more fascination than the (sometimes obnoxious) gadget it held inside.

Fridge Box knows this.  They came up with just that--a cardboard box toy. So, you can use it as inspiration to fashion your own, or get own of theirs and make use of their fancy ideas that are in development, from decorative stickers and milk paint to a companion story for teachers or parents.

A Fridge Box is totally eco-friendly--it's non-toxic, requires no batteries, and is made from partly recycled materials.  You can use it over and over again,repainting, refolding, redecorating, reimagining for each incarnation. When you're done, recycle or compost it. (And, 1% of revenues go to environmental causes.)

If you live in Northern California, you can even get a sustainable storytelling visit from the creator of Fridge Box--lucky duck. 

In the 80s, Jaws solidified humans' fear and loathing of finned creatures of the deep.  It turns out though, that you're more likely to be hit by lightning than attacked by a shark and that elephants kill more people every year.  

It also turns out that we're the real predators, killing sharks at an alarming rate and putting the oldest creatures around very close to extinction.

Why should we care?  Because when you mess with the top of the food chain in the ocean, the whole ocean shifts and in turn, the whole world.  

After talking with a local aquarium about shark conservation, I finished my research by watching Sharkwater.  If you get past a few design and writing flaws, it's a really important film that details the how, what, why, and what now of shark fishing.  100 million sharks are killed annually just for their fins. 100 million! This movie will make you want to donate to the Sea Shepherds who, like modern-day principled pirates, monitor illegal fishing, and never, ever eat shark's fin soup again.

If you know all about Colony Collapse Disorder--the plague wiping out commercial bees faster than you can say honey-- and  want to go beyond eating Haagen Dazs Vanilla Honey Bee ice cream in solidarity, you can watch a Nature doc on PBS to get the full scoop.

Other actions you can take to help promote local bees a buzzing?  The National Resources Defense Council has some ideas: plant natives to attract and feed wild bees; don't use pesticides; support local, organic agriculture; and, for a gold star, build or buy your own beehive to draw some honeybees to your backyard.

Bees pollinate a good deal of what we eat, like almonds, raspberries, apples, and oranges, so the more we can do for them, the better off we'll be.

  

Reviving the old ways of bartering with objects is not such a bad idea.  And in a climate of just plain too much stuff while there are still people who need it--why not just throw it their way?

Throwplace makes it easy, giving you tools to find places to throw your stuff, places other than the landfill!

You can find a good home for unwanted belongings at charities here and abroad and with individuals looking for just that thing.  All you have to do is sign up.

 

I couldn't resist posting this lovely, natural-fibered dress that just might take a girl through summer into fall and be right back over her head in May or June.  I'm enjoying how drapey, soft, and classic it looks.

It's made of Tencel, a material made from wood cellulose and made by Stewart and Brown in the U.S.

It's no longer bottles, cans, and paper we need to recycle, it's also ipods, cell phones, and TVs among other digital gadgets or so called e-waste (electronic waste). In fact, e-waste is the fastest growing component of municipal trash (Earth 911).

For many years, e-waste was simply shipped off to other countries where villagers, often very young ones, would sift through the toxic materials, burn it while inhaling horrible pollutants, and sell the remains--copper and other heavy metals--for some cash.  While this still happens, there are outlets who are beginning to deal with this stuff more humanely and safely.

So, if you're not getting a digital converter box--which the government will help fun--when things go that way in '09 (I tried one with my antiquated TV, but to my disappointment, it didn't work) and are opting for a new TV, it's imperative to recycle it.  There could be a huge influx of lead, cadmium, and other scary stuff to landfills if we all don't. Read more on that from Utne here.

Earth 911 can help you find a recycling center that takes TVs here.

The art of letter-writing is more than faltering.  It may even be dead in most circles.  And, yes, that saves paper.  But while I love writing and receiving letters, even without them there are still times that real, tangible mail must be sent--be it rent check or query letter or invoice or some such thing.

By opting for 100% recycled, non-toxic paper items in your office or home office--from the envelopes to the printer paper--you're saving trees, energy, and all of us from chemicals. 

Here are some of my favorite basic green office supplies from The Green Office:

These envelopes (for fun or business letters) are totally recycled, contain 40% post-consumer waste (it does matter when you fill your blue bin!), and absolutely no chlorine.  The EPA likes them, too.  Buy a box of 500 (10.59 plus carbon-offsetted shipping) here.

This amazing multi-use paper is 100% post consumer waste!  That means that all of it comes from paper you and I have recycled to be reincarnated in the same form.  Buy 5,000 sheets (for around 50.00) here.

And who doesn't need some kind of sticky-note once in a while?  These little lifesavers are bona fide recycled. Get some (1200 for around 12.00) here.

If you're interested in going the distance and offsetting your office's carbon, you can learn how to do that here. 

Even if you don't or can't go solar, I think starting a recycling program, planting some trees outside, coordinating carpooling, or organizing an office-wide e-waste recycling drive are pretty great environmental, community-building efforts on their own, too.