Greetings from Alison Wiley here in Portland, Oregon. I'm a writer/doer/thinker who lives happily by putting people, nature and God ahead of accumulating more stuff. Read more →
Here in Chicago at the BlogHer conference, I find a near-uniform reaction from people when they learn I am from Oregon. They almost swoon. “Oh, Oregon!” these nice ladies exclaim. “It’s so green and beautiful.” Learning I am from Portland in particular amps up the positive response. “Oohhh, Portland. I love Portland. I want to [...]
Tags: 97215·BlogHer·land use laws·Oregon·Portland·quality of life·volunteering
I saw this movie yesterday, intrigued by the series’ popularity among women and how it all relates to what I call the diamond-cut life. Fact one: I love fun as much as anyone (ask my many girlfriends). Fact two: Consumption drives global warming. Science has made this clear. While we have to consume in order [...]
Tags: 97215·cinema·consumption·culture·dying empire·environment·escape·fun·global warming·green lifestyle·green living·happiness·life·movies·Portland·satire·Sex And The City
How do we sustain ourselves as we work on sustainability? There is so much work to do, how do we keep from being just another group of American workaholics, set apart only by a bigger vision and slightly different consumption patterns? It’s 3:49 a.m. as I’m writing (I have insomnia). My upcoming day, my recent [...]
Tags: 97215·blogging·commuting·culture·grace·insomnia·life·lover·renewal·spirituality
I’m reading about the pain of high gas prices, and the auto industry shrinking, and Americans actually driving a bit less. While I care about people’s pain, I’m not experiencing it, myself. My husband Thor commutes via TriMet (the public transit here in Portland, Oregon), and I carpool with five other people to get to [...]
Tags: 97215·Carpool Match Northwest·carpooling·cars·cost of gas·saving money·thrift
Here in Portland, Oregon we’re expecting 95 degrees today, which for our mild climate is a major heat wave. How to cope with it? I suggest we do what people did for the 99.9% of human history prior to the invention of air conditioners. They slowed their pace down so they wouldn’t overheat themselves. And [...]
Tags: 97215·AC·air conditioners·coal plants·energy conservation·global warming·green living·hydropower·off the grid·Opal Creek Ancient Forest·Portland·solar panels
Read via RSS reader of your choice (for example, Google Reader).
Subscribe