I've done a bit of reading (on my Kobo) that's triggering a lot of thinking about ourselves and our environment and our way of life.
First up: "The Zero-Waste Lifestyle" by Amy Korst. Amy and her husband did an experiment one year in zero-waste living. The book tells the story as well as gives tips on how-to, from simple to radical. Is it possible? For many it is, but it involves a serious look at what we buy and how we get rid of the excess. Did you know that your garbage will be mostly identifiable 50 years from now? Scary thought. Did you know that marine life is dying because of the ingestion of plastics which never ever biodegrades? Sobering. So what do YOU do with your garbage?
The second book I read is one by Gillian Deacon: "The Green Lifestyle". It's about what we're putting into our homes, chemically speaking, and goes well with a lifestyle of zero waste.
The third book I'm still getting through is: "There's Lead in Your Lipstick" by Gillian Deacon. I first became aware of this book when I was in the Rocky Mountain Soaps store in Banff, last summer. Great soaps by the way! I didn't buy it then because it was costlier than I wanted to pay for it. But after I read "The Green Lifestyle", and couldn't find this book in the library, I bit the bullet and bought it. Gillian has been doing a lot of ongoing research into what's in all those products that we (women AND men) put in our hair, on our faces and on our bodies. The skin is very absorbent - and it's absorbing thousands of hormone disrupters and cancer promoting chemicals - - daily.
So if you see repostings on FB from EWG thru me, that's where I'm coming from. The Environmental Working Group has also done tons and tons of research, and it's ongoing. They also have an online list of safety ratings of products. Go ahead, check them out!
As a result, and on top of last year's readings on living simply with less, I admit I'm in overload. That season of cancer has made me more aware of what has gone wrong with our natural world, and how it's affecting ME. Others may not care at all, others may say I'm going overboard, but illness and cancer is no fun. And some may say I'm too gullible - but hey! I have lived a long life of almost 62 years, and I've been reading good books and not-so-good books on healthy living and eating over those years. When one article confirms another, there's got to be some truth in it all.
The fourth book: "The Omnivore's Dilemma" by Michael Pollan. After seeing this name and his book referred to several times, I thought I should check this out. Michael is also into eating healthier foods, and with this book, he points out various ways that we are consuming 'non-foods'. Non-foods are those foods with ingredients that you can't pronounce, that you don't have in your pantry, and although they taste good, they have you go back for that unnecessary extra helping all the while helping you gain weight and disease. He also investigates how our meats get to our tables.
The last book I recently completed reading is: "Pocket Your Dollars" by Carrie Rocha. It is NOT a book about budgeting; it IS a book about what our five financial attitudes are and how they get us into the wrong places financially. Easy to read, it is basically the story of how Carrie and her husband climbed out of debt, with advice for others to follow. She also has a web-site, "pocketyourdollars.com", if you're interested.
These books were easy to get through - they have to be, for me! And because health and nutrition are so important, I encourage you to sample these readings as well. Ultimately, it's up to you, but given the sky-rocketing rates of cancer, diabetes, obesity, and other health issues in the WESTERN world, it behooves us to pay attention to what these people have to say.
Problem is - we just don't want to accept the fact that we have a responsibility to take care of God's earth, and we're not doing it. We don't like listening to people naysaying our lifestyle. We would rather blame the military and the governments and the food and drug and chemical industries - and act helpless in the face of that.
We need to change - somehow - one step at a time. Eventually, the military and the government and the food and drug and chemical industries will listen. and if that's not good enough, take a look at the pictures Michael posted of the receding glacier. Listen to the stories of damaged wildlife. It's real, people.
Change, one step at a time!
