Some timely words...
...to inspire me on our present path....
From fellow graphic designer dmitriversus, as part of his background preface to a chair industrial design project he's working on:
My girlfriend and I packed up her car with camping gear, all the money we had, canned food (I'll never eat Dinty Moore again), and various other bits and drove north and west. We started in Orlando and went through Texas, Arizona, Utah, up through Colorado, Illinois, and all the various places in between before ending again in Orlando. We stayed in national and state parks, hiked, camped, drove around, used up every dime and frame of film.
Prior to this trip, I was very reserved and overly cautious about life. I didn't dare to think or even dream big, I was very conservative out of fear of what could happen. The trip really set me free, it was the first time in my life I saw how wonderful, how beautiful, open and vast the world is. Somewhere on the road, between the bug spray and the dust I found myself for the first time.
The concept of the chair is my enthusiasm for the future, the optimism and hope. It is a realization of my continual journey (I chose a relaxed chair because I see it as a journey, not a struggle or fight) into the future. The user of the chair (sitter?) will be facing slightly up but mostly forward[...]
Also, these recent words from the ever-optimistic semi-altruistic No Impact Man:
Everyone thinks that the No Impact regime causes some sort of deprivation, but the fact is that I was more deprived before than I am now. Here’s why: happiness is simply not based on how much stuff you have. It’s based on how you live. Science shows it.
Happiness, the research confirms, is derived from strong relationships, using your core talents, living a life according to your values, and connecting to something larger than yourself so you have a sense of meaning. Unplugging from the consumption matrix has helped me to do all those things: no TV means more time with family, trying not to hurt the planet connects me to something larger and makes me feel like I’m living in accord with my values, and I get to use my core talent which is communication.
It turns out, you see, that once I had the courage to challenge my consumption addiction, living a life that is better for the planet turns out to be better for me, too. That’s great news. To convince people to use fewer resources all we have to do is show how doing so can make them happier. And here’s a BBC video about the science that confirms it.
It's a different topic (one I'm just as interested in, regardless), but speaks to some of the same issues some of our more "standardized" friends have with our 2-year Plan.
Also, regarding the impact, or "footprint" of our plan: My main concern is all of the gas we'll be guzzling. I haven't crunch numbers yet, but I can only assume that the gas guzzling will be more than canceled out by the rest of the consumption we'll be reducing. We'll be using a heck of a lot less electricity (or power in general) and buying a heck of a lot less stuff. Changes are fair that we'll end up with a diesel truck, in which case, a biodiesel conversion, and conversions that allow you to run veggie oil (I'm not up yet on the intricacies of this) are less than a grand. And, of course, there's the added bonus of free fuel when you can get your hands on other restaurants' waste!
From fellow graphic designer dmitriversus, as part of his background preface to a chair industrial design project he's working on:
My girlfriend and I packed up her car with camping gear, all the money we had, canned food (I'll never eat Dinty Moore again), and various other bits and drove north and west. We started in Orlando and went through Texas, Arizona, Utah, up through Colorado, Illinois, and all the various places in between before ending again in Orlando. We stayed in national and state parks, hiked, camped, drove around, used up every dime and frame of film.
Prior to this trip, I was very reserved and overly cautious about life. I didn't dare to think or even dream big, I was very conservative out of fear of what could happen. The trip really set me free, it was the first time in my life I saw how wonderful, how beautiful, open and vast the world is. Somewhere on the road, between the bug spray and the dust I found myself for the first time.
The concept of the chair is my enthusiasm for the future, the optimism and hope. It is a realization of my continual journey (I chose a relaxed chair because I see it as a journey, not a struggle or fight) into the future. The user of the chair (sitter?) will be facing slightly up but mostly forward[...]
Also, these recent words from the ever-optimistic semi-altruistic No Impact Man:
Everyone thinks that the No Impact regime causes some sort of deprivation, but the fact is that I was more deprived before than I am now. Here’s why: happiness is simply not based on how much stuff you have. It’s based on how you live. Science shows it.
Happiness, the research confirms, is derived from strong relationships, using your core talents, living a life according to your values, and connecting to something larger than yourself so you have a sense of meaning. Unplugging from the consumption matrix has helped me to do all those things: no TV means more time with family, trying not to hurt the planet connects me to something larger and makes me feel like I’m living in accord with my values, and I get to use my core talent which is communication.
It turns out, you see, that once I had the courage to challenge my consumption addiction, living a life that is better for the planet turns out to be better for me, too. That’s great news. To convince people to use fewer resources all we have to do is show how doing so can make them happier. And here’s a BBC video about the science that confirms it.
It's a different topic (one I'm just as interested in, regardless), but speaks to some of the same issues some of our more "standardized" friends have with our 2-year Plan.
Also, regarding the impact, or "footprint" of our plan: My main concern is all of the gas we'll be guzzling. I haven't crunch numbers yet, but I can only assume that the gas guzzling will be more than canceled out by the rest of the consumption we'll be reducing. We'll be using a heck of a lot less electricity (or power in general) and buying a heck of a lot less stuff. Changes are fair that we'll end up with a diesel truck, in which case, a biodiesel conversion, and conversions that allow you to run veggie oil (I'm not up yet on the intricacies of this) are less than a grand. And, of course, there's the added bonus of free fuel when you can get your hands on other restaurants' waste!