Simple Nature - Green with Envy

Wow, since we started formulating Landicity in 2006 there was much much less news and public blasts about the environment, green, planet, and green washing.

Every one now seems frantic. Al Gore was just becoming an eco-tainment star. And all the 'nature-based' organizations have stepped up their marketing and outreach to catch a piece of the 'green'. All though we started Landicity before the rush, I guess we too can be perceived to be "in the green" rush.

Our product is as natural, organic and 'of nature' as they come in some ways. Our 'product' stays were it is, except for a light piece of mail. Our bad! And if we can build out the community portion, get the big boys & girls on our board of entrepreneurial leaders (Virgin, Google, Jeff Bezos, Dean Kamen, Facebook, Burts Bees, (Roxanne Quimby), DreamWorks, SecondLife, EPA, GE, CISCO, IBM, ATT,and Bono -- that's not a bad start!), we can plant trees for you and maintain sustainable 'products off the land" without creating a huge foot print of any type - maybe or perhaps. DARPA could really make us high tech with electric and compress natural gas robots, drones, camera as, night vision and 'flying dragon flies" so we could see, touch and smell nature from our desktop. That is my 'green rush'.

From left field, here is an interesting set of links GreenDonor and Scientist Connections. Also, go get "50 Things You Can Do To Save The Earth". (see little carousel on left)

I really do not care about all the carbon offsets, foot prints and other micro thinking carbon thoughts. I think this single issue foot print concept was created for simplicity of discussion but has now been sold to the public as "the" best concept. Or, the public is creating it in their own mind that if they "DO Carbon Offset" at least they "Did good" while they flew to their next adventure. Walk, bike or don't go, or change you adventure to canoeing across America, or wheel chair across America. Don't Do The Carbon to begin with.

Get real -- there are a thousand 'foot prints' in our complex being and nature. And my understanding is that we have many bigger issues with our drinking water, our methane gas and our race to 'surround ourselves with more stuff'' to offset our (at least the US) insecurities. Well, they're all big issues -- our survival depends on us undoing the technology impact of us! It is hard to fully set a priority since we seem to need to begin on many fronts. What about light pollution -- the silent killer lurks in the night? It gets no stage time.

Ever see those people who get hyper when they exceed their bluetooth range away from one of their 2o devices!? I mean physical distance from their cell phone type of thing!

Wow, lets rush to the carbon foot print and IM, Chat, Txt, call, video, drive and picture what this means. "Whadduh mean I have too many gadgets", technology pieces? Duh, Get real -- get rid of all that unnecessary stuff and "Do some thing green!"

Send me your whackie ideas if I missed it.
Here are some off the cuff whacky ideas. These wackies are not new but they are very basic, we can all do them, and they actually work. Most can be considered as 'turn it off and avoid it for a day'. Imagine the huge impact we could have. Let's call it "tune out the noise day".

1. No phone day, to go along with 'no phone zone' (dropped calls!)
2. No computer day -- cold turkey
3. Hell, lets just make it totally 'no gadgets day'. NoGaDay takes all the TVs, PDAs, VCRs, CPUs, ATVs, SUVs, and all the small every day electronic gadgets away from ourselves -- our addictions. Big savings there in power, fuel, oil.
4. Delete all the 3 letter acronyms from our lives for just a day and see what we have left!
5. Try turning off every thing in your home you don't need for actual survival for a day; even if it has more than 3 letters. Just be, just listen and just interact with the people and not the gadget. (personally, I had to "survive" the Maine ice storm for 8 nights; it was fun in a way and very basic. Obviously we went to bed early but we played games and talked in the dim light. So, try 24 hours without power, you can do it)
6. Don't drink bottled water for a week.
7. Walk, bike or bus to your Whole Foods store instead of driving your SUV, Beamer, or Volvo SUV.

Might be too complex for us to comprehend. How is this -- let's just go back to the 50's for a day and make it a holiday? We need a fall or summer holiday? Pick one and vote.

I need a "green scale" to understand how relevant some of this really is. Like we have become awash in our trash, "green" is washing up every where. Instead of a scale, I need a "green" filter.
Remember the old simple Re-Re-Recycle symbol. Well even that is no longer simple. Instead of reducing, there are now 100's of versions of these symbols. Green complexity syndrome. Too Much Stuff! And, yes we are "Internet adding" to it too. We all do.

Think green, be green, act green -- no, just Do green by behaving more natural in your every day habits. Go play in nature without stuff. Get dirty and be brown too. Get a worm composter -- very sustainable food garbage cycle and it does not smell. Makes great plant tea too.