They’re plastic-free (Whole Foods bulk bin), meat-free, and at the rate I’m eating them, I should be three sizes bigger by this summer. (That jar was full a week ago.) This is the opposite of conscious eating, I think. Not beating myself up. My addictions are doing a good enough job of that already. Just […]
How Jonathan Safran Foer’s book, Eating Animals, turned me from cheeseburger lover to vegetarian overnight. What’s the difference between a cat and a cow? Nothing.
I’m an anti-plastics activist. But I don’t hate plastic. I just love the earth more.
I’ve been called “dark green” by some of the nicest people. I think what they mean is that because I refuse to buy new plastic and insist that manufacturers should disclose the ingredients in their products, I am somehow more virtuous than most. But you know what? I don’t buy it. I don’t believe there […]
A few weeks ago, my husband Michael forwarded me the NY Times article, “Therapists Report Increase in Green Disputes“: As awareness of environmental concerns has grown, therapists say they are seeing a rise in bickering between couples and family members over the extent to which they should change their lives to save the planet. In […]
The following is a transcript of my talk at Green Sangha’s Rethinking Plastics Conference on Saturday. I wish all of you could have been there. We had speakers on ocean plastic pollution, the chemistry of plastics, the truth about bio-plastics, sustainable activism, extended producer responsibility, cradle to cradle design, and finally my segment on personal […]
The Hours is one of my favorite movies of all time. My first time seeing it in the theater created such a profound reaction in me that I wept uncontrollably through the entire film. I was still so emotional afterwards, I had to hide in the bathroom stall before facing the world. When people asked […]
I know it was there the last time I checked. Where’d it go? When I heard the topic of this month’s Green Mom’s Carnival was “Conserving Resources,” I was stumped. I mean, I write about the topic every single time I post, right? Using less plastic = conserving resources. Plastic comes from oil. Use less […]
I’m depressed. Down in the dumps. Anxious and overwhelmed. For over two years I’ve focused on personal change: eliminating disposable plastic from my life, reducing my energy consumption, and living as simply as possible. But when I step out my front door, the evidence of overconsumption and waste smacks me squarely in the head: piles […]
You’ve probably heard the saying, “Diets don’t work.” When it comes to lasting lifestyle changes, radical crash diets certainly don’t work. And I’m not just talking about food. Writers who decide to give up all plastic in one week are not likely to succeed in creating long-term sustainable changes either. But there’s another element that […]