Diamond-Cut Life

Sustainable Living: More Joy And Less Consumption In The Face Of Global Warming

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Our Portland CRAG Launches!

April 16th, 2008 · No Comments

Last night five friends of mine, new and old, got together at Colleen and Thad’s house in NE Portland. We had wine, a delicious potluck dinner and animated-to-hilarious planning of our Carbon Action Reduction Group.

Honestly, it would have been fun and funny even without the wine. The four sled dogs milling around our legs added a lot to the happy hubbub. Bottom line: We’re going to do it! We’re

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Tags: 97215 · carbon footprint · climate change · culture · economics · energy conservation · environment · global warming · life · simplicity · sustainability

Love In The Time Of Global Warming

April 9th, 2008 · 3 Comments

“Love In The Time Of Cholera” by Gabriel Garcia Marquez is about a fifty-year love triangle. Love in the time of global warming is, for me, my own love triangle. The three players are the world, global warming and myself.
Perito Moreno Glacier calving, Patagonia.
Photo by Hanmi Meyer

Perito Moreno Glacier calving, Patagonia, photo by Hanmi Meyer

When I am even halfway

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Tags: culture · environment · global warming · green living · happiness · life · lifestyle · sustainability

Skiing In A Snowstorm

March 17th, 2008 · 2 Comments

I just returned from Crater Lake, Oregon, where Thor and I went on a three-day cross-country skiing and snowshoeing trip with a group of 22 organized by Portland Parks and Recreation. It was sparkly, low-consumption, deeply satisfying, a good outing for the diamond-cut life I keep learning how to craft.

To clarify, we had sparkly snow and sun on Sunday, but a snowstorm on Saturday

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Tags: happiness

Cooking For Climate Change, Part 2

January 24th, 2008 · 1 Comment

My husband Thor and I love to have people over for dinner. At the same time I’m addicted to sociability, I ‘m also passionate about choosing food with the smallest possible carbon footprint (similar to ‘embodied energy’). Our guests keep coming back, so I gather our cooking tastes pretty good.

Here are the major guidelines we use:

  • Buying local food lowers carbon footprint more than the ‘organic’ label
    Example: Australian wine doesn’t make

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Tags: carbon footprint · climate change · culture · environment · food · global warming · sustainability