Wednesday, December 28, 2011

A Final Goodbye…

Posted In: Announcements | Tagged As:

“What we call the beginning is often the end. And to make an end is to make a beginning. The end is where we start from.”

~T. S. Eliot

After much soul-searching and taking far too long of a haitus, I have decided to cease blogging here at The Living Green Solution. When one door closes another door opens and I find it’s time to embark on new projects, a new family and a new year. Hopefully I’ve imparted a little green insight and inspiration over the last few years.

With the growing number of resources available, there’s really no shortfall when it comes to finding reliable information you need. While I won’t be here to write about my green lifestyle anymore, rest assured I intend to keep living as lightly as possible and hope each of you will do the same.

Thank you all so much for being supportive, sharing your feedback and taking part of this wonderful journey! If you’d like to continue to keep in touch, you can find me over at Something Borrowed {Portland}. I will leave this site archived, but I will no longer be posting to it anymore.

Namaste,

Lane’

Thursday, October 6, 2011

A Time of Transition

Posted In: Announcements | Tagged As:

For those who haven’t noticed, I haven’t written in quite a while.  Not because I don’t have anything to say, but I was planning a wedding (post coming soon), a honeymoon, I started a new job, and we had a very unexpected death (my Papa/Grandfather passed away mere days before our wedding).  Needless to say, it was a very busy summer and with other priorities, I didn’t have any time to sit down and write.

After coming back from our honeymoon (Burning Man), I went through some major life adjustments and transitions.  I purged a lot of things out of my life from personal belongings to emails to simplifying life in general.  With that said, I decided to scale back the amount I write and change focus of The Living Green Solution.  I started this a year ago, although I’ve been writing for much, much longer.  While the business side never exactly panned out, I learned a lot in the process (what works, what doesn’t, how to build a website, social media and marketing, etc.).  While I was officially unemployed at the time, it kept my mind occupied and was a great thing for me to keep busy.  However, now that I’m entering into a new phase of my life, I’m coming to the realization that I don’t want to be like every other green blog and write about the same topics.

There are so many resources on the internet these days, I feel like I’m regurgitating information that’s already been said a million times.  So, it’s out with the old and in with the new!  I’ve done some housecleaning in my personal life why stop there?  Here’s what you can expect to see here at The Living Green Solution:

  • No sales of any kind.  Period.  Have a question about how to live more sustainably?  Just ask.  Free of charge.  Yep, you heard right.  Anything that I may be selling will be free, or as close to it as you can get (see second to last bullet below).
  • No giveaways or product reviews.  This is not going to be a blog or site about promoting the goods of others.  It works for some, but it’s just not for me nor do I have the time.  There’s one exception to this, which will come in a future post.
  • No postings “just because”.  If I don’t have anything original, opinionated or thought provoking to say, I’m not going to waste your time and post just for the sake of posting.  This goes against all that I’ve read such as “keep a regular blog schedule”.  But hey, I dislike rules, this is my blog, and quite honestly, I’ll do what I want.
  • The addition of “Something Borrowed“, a Portland bridal and wedding goods library dedicated to fostering sustainability through the focus on reduce, reuse and recycle.  Something Borrowed offers a variety of wedding items to Portland community members for a small borrowing fee ($5 to $30).
  • Updated blog RSS/email feed.  I’m not nor will I ever make money off this blog (nor am I sure many others do, either).  My current feed provider (Feedblitz) charges a monthly fee to provide feed services.  Because of that (and a few other reasons), my goal is to switch to Feedburner.  I’ll continue to use Feedblitz so I don’t lose subscribers, but for those interested, please update your RSS and/or subscribe to this new service.  Yes, it’s a pain but I really don’t want the out of pocket expense anymore.
I’ve always embraced change, probably because I get bored easily.  But, I see change as an opportunity… opportunity to grow, learn, challenge oneself and simply keep you on your toes.  I hope to continue writing, even if not weekly, but at least write interesting content, content you want to read.  So, if you have a question, a topic you’d like to see, or a recommendation, please let me know.  I’d love to hear it.

Friday, June 24, 2011

Nine Steps to an Earth-Friendly Diet

Posted In: Environmental Health, Food | Tagged As: , ,

What we eat has a serious ecological impact. With food production accounting for almost 20 percent of our fossil-fuel use in the United States, we have to change our approach to mealtime if we want to reverse climate change.  By going on an “earth-friendly” diet, you’ll focus less on cutting calories and carbs and more on cutting carbon.

  1. Eat Locally, Organically and Seasonally: Buy local and organic is the best first step towards an earth-friendly diet.  Buying local helps mitigate the carbon costs of packaging and shipping.  You’ll also get fresher goods as nutrients get lost as soon as fruits and vegetables are harvested.  Also try to stick to what’s in season in your area, as opposed to what you see on display in your local grocery store.  These ingredients travel shorter distances and often taste better.  To find out what grows in your region and when, visit Local Harvest.
  2. Grow Your Own: You don’t have to grow an entire vegetable garden to reap benefits.  Start small with staples such as basil and rosemary.  Or other easy items such as tomatoes, beans and greens.
  3. Chose Your Drinks Wisely: Not only do you need to pay attention to the foods you eat, but those same pesticides and fertilizers used to produce food also go into making your juice, milk, coffee, tea, wine and other beverages.  Coffee often grows on land where rain forests once thrived and by destroying rain forests, we’re not only increasing the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, but also potentially sending half of all bird species in those areas into extinction.  Instead, opt for organic and shade-grown coffee (look for the Rainforest Alliance or Bird Friendly seal).  Also look for organic wine, beer and vodka.
  4. Be Takeout Savvy: Even the greenest of us greenies order takeout on occasion.  The next time you do, kindly decline paper napkins, plastic utensils, condiment packets, chopsticks and straws (try reusable glass straws by a company such as Glass Dharma instead).  Take it one step further and ask if you can bring your own container and have them fill it for you.
  5. Ask for Sustainable Seafood: With some species now being fished to near-extinction, choosing seafood that’s been caught responsibly offers yet another way to minimize your environmental impact.  Choose seafood that reproduces in great numbers, such as Dungeness crab in season and wild Alaskan salmon (both my personal favorites).  Seafood Watch (www.seafoodwatch.org) provides a downloadable, wallet-sized card that lists sustainable picks.  Blue Ocean Institute offers what it calls Fish-Phone.  Text 30644 with the message FISH and the name of the fish; you’ll get a text back with an ecoassessment and better alternatives.
  6. [click to continue…]

Tropical Traditions Coconut Oil Giveaway Winner

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Many many thanks to all of you who entered the Tropical Traditions Coconut Oil Giveaway! According to Random.org, the lucky number is #6, so let’s offer congratulations to… “GM”! Congratulations! Look for an email from me in your inbox.  Thank you to everyone for entering! And of course, much thanks to Tropical Traditions for sponsoring this [...]

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Wordless Wednesday {hooked}

Wednesday, June 22, 2011
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Simple, Low-Cost Home Energy Tips to Save You Money and Become More Energy Efficient

Tuesday, June 21, 2011
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Take a bite out of energy costs, and your impact on the environment, with these no-cost and low-cost strategies. Change Your Bulbs: Replace standard incandescent bulbs with energy-saving compact fluorescent light bulbs.  CFLs use 75 percent less energy and last up to 10 times longer.  Choose brands with the blue ENERGY STAR label. Make an [...]

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Ten Simple Ways to Avoid Exposure to Plastics

Monday, June 20, 2011
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With plastic in nearly everything, it’s nearly impossible to avoid it completely.  There are, however, things you can do to avoid exposure to plastics. Opt for Glass or Ceramic: Use alternatives to plastic packaging whenever possible.  Bring your own containers to shop and for take-out.  Store food and water in glass or ceramic containers, or [...]

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Using Integrated Pest Management to Manage Pests Naturally

Friday, June 17, 2011
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Pests in your home can be a nuisance and bad for your health, but using pesticides to fight them can have dangerous side effects. Pesticides are known to cause eye, nose and throat irritation; skin rashes; stomach cramps; nausea; damage to the central nervous system and kidneys; and increased risk of cancer. Children, because they [...]

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Wordless Wednesday {upcycled dog?}

Wednesday, June 15, 2011
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