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 →
This emerging series is brought to us by an alter-ego of mine who calls herself Eco-Warrior Chick. She’s kind of edgy and out there. If she offends anyone, well, take it up with her in the Comments section. I hate gear. Anything with moving parts that isn’t in the human, plant or animal kingdom tends [...]
Tags: gear·Next Adventure·outdoors·Portland·rain
The following is a guest post by Hanmi Meyer, Diamond-Cut Life’s site admin. Portland Rise Above Plastics Single-use plastic bags represent one of the greatest environmental catastrophes of our generation. It is estimated that 60-80% of all debris in the ocean is plastic. Plastics take hundreds of years to break down at sea and most [...]
Tags: activism·climate change·conservation·energy conservation·environment·green living·Oregon·outdoors·peak oil·petroleum·plastic·saving money·surfrider foundation·thrift·waste
If less is often more, then haiku is one of my favorite ways to practice that happy discipline. I wrote these yesterday afternoon while camping on the Fourth of July. Fourth of July at Moss Creek Campground Fireworks, begone. The piney air penetrates My limbic brain-stem. Intoxicated On The Fourth Tipsy on pine air I [...]
Tags: Camping·Fourth of July·fun·happiness·independence·Little White Salmon·Michael@NW Lens·Moss Creek·Oregon·outdoors
My sidekick Hanmi Meyer and I are pleased to be posting this morning our new page Resources For Good Living. It’s a set of links, well-labeled and organized, to cool sites that help us increase our happiness and lower our consumption. While this opening date is a bit behind schedule (the summer solstice had been [...]
Tags: bicycling·carbon footprint·consumption·contest·energy conservation·family·fun·gift certificates·green living·happiness·life·links·Oregon·outdoors·religion·renewable energy·resources·thrift·water
Yesterday afternoon I alit at the Amtrak station here in Portland, heavily laden with my laptop, book-bag and purse. It would be quite a trudge to where I needed to go. What should conveniently appear at the curb but a pedicab, pedaled by a lovely young woman named Margaret? Margaret, who leases her pedicab from [...]
Tags: bicycling·carbon footprint·cars·Cascadia Pedicab·fun·green living·happiness·Oregon·outdoors·pedicab·technology
What did I do last night and how happy did it make me? I went running in the high desert, sang and got people to sing with me — for a 9 on my 1-10 scale of happiness. I’m in Bend, Oregon, for a conference on public participation. To the right is the type of [...]
Tags: American Pie·Bend·exercise·fun·happiness·high desert·Janet Johnson·Oregon·outdoors·public participation·running·thrift
Xeroscapes and drought-resistant gardens can be vibrant, colorful and beautiful. They can also be less work and create lower water bills than needier, higher-maintenance lawns and gardens. Water is increasingly dear in the world in general, and using it with care is smart and forward-thinking. As an admitted biophile [lover of life-forms in general] who [...]
Tags: catmint·conservation·drought-tolerant·gailf548·green living·Oregon·outdoors·sage·urban farming·water·water conservation·xeroscape
I cleaned up my desk at work right before leaving for Opal Creek Ancient Forest for the weekend, where I am now. I’m so proud of finally cleaning my desk it almost warrants a post of its own. But a single sheet of paper I found in that process vibrates with life and trumps all [...]
Tags: Colorado·conservation·development·environment·fishing·hunting·life·Oregon·outdoors·Tim Solley·wilderness Opal Creek Ancient Forest·wildlife
I’ve named Linda Quirk, the marathon-running founder of Run 7 On 7, as the first winner of the Diamond-Cut Carat Award, for making a change toward sustainability. As her website illustrates, Ms. Quirk responded to a challenge to offset the carbon emissions created by her air travel to seven continents by donating to the Carbon [...]
Tags: carbon footprint·climate change·global warming·Linda Quirk·outdoors·Run 7 On 7
The many good Earth Day activities last weekend got me to thinking: we act as if the earth is separate from us, with a big boundary between us and nature. I suggest that’s not accurate thinking, and not very joyful, either. I admit I have done this, too. It’s easy to think that we are [...]
Tags: Earth Day·Flatbush Gardener·green living·life·nature·Oregon·outdoors·water
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