One of the old-fashioned customs that I’m a fan of, right up there with playing games at parties and going to church, is newsy Christmas letters. I love reading the stories of people’s lives, which is to say, the story of how people are living out their values.
We just received a good Christmas letter from our friends Jan and Duke Castle, whose enthusiasm for sustainability is like a positive version of being ’sold out’. They’ve kindly let me publish excerpts from their letter here at Diamond-Cut Life.
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Jan’s creative business ‘Sustainable Interiors’ is taking shape. She’s been working with the Sustainable Furnishings Council on research into foam and textile issues to write two “green papers” for the Council’s website. Sustainable Interiors hopes to launch in the spring.
Duke’s Natural Step workshops have escalated from one or two a year up to seven, most of them sold out, with attendees coming from all over the country. Because many want to be trained to give Natural Step presentations themselves, we’ve started a train-the-trainer program, increasing our staff from two to five in the process.
Even our vacations end up being in places that focus on sustainability. Last January we went to Loreto Bay, Mexico, a new resort community featuring cutting-edge sustainability practices. Automobiles have been designed out; all energy is generated on-site from renewable sources; the golf course makes use of plants that thrive on sea water; and the staff has affordable housing.
We end this year in deep gratitude, blown away by the worldwide response to the election of Barack Obama. The way that he bridges political and ideological divides is something people are unaccustomed to, yet hungry for.
We are hoping Obama’s approach becomes a model for how we can all work together, because the need to make immediate changes in the way we use our resources is now a matter of survival. The economic crisis we’re experiencing, while very painful and frightening, may actually serve us well, if it can sweep the old economy, which was not sustainable, out the door, and usher in a new economy that can sustain a future for our children and grandchildren.
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Thank you, Duke and Jan! I welcome more guest posts; details on that here.
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