Announcement! Crystal's going to grad school

So, beginning in August, I will be writing from Karlskrona Sweden, where I will be attending the Blekinge Institute of Technology.  Yay!  I'm joining their masters program for a really long title...'Strategic Leadership towards Sustainability'.  I should be learning buckets of stuff for exciting new posts.  

Craigslist, what a sharing world

My friend Linsey directed me to one of the nicest craigslist ads.  This ad is an endearing example of how we thoughtfully make the world better: less stank in your fridge after vacation and healthy food in anothers tummy.  This particularly looks like a sweet arse veggie soup finished off by a grilled pineapple dessert.  Yum!

Resolutions

This year I sat and pondered a whole list of things that I wanted to change about my life and improve. The list turned into a long, meandering one that ranged from petty hopes like “improve my body shape” and “make more money” to more altruistic things like “save the planet” and “achieve world peace”. Of course there is no one, best, course of action. So, I took a look at it big picture and came up with this one: Live Moderately.

Simple, right? At least it seems so on the surface. But applying this concept, across the board, to my life, and the attitudes of this country as a whole, we could begin a wave of change. Think about it. Here’s the first citation for moderate at m-w.com:

1 a: avoiding extremes of behavior or expression: observing reasonable limits b: calm , temperate

So, think, what would happen if, as a culture, we all started behaving moderately? What if we were moderate spenders? Moderate drivers? Moderate meat eaters? Where would we be if everyone drove the most fuel efficient vehicle possible, only spent the money they earned, and only ate beef once a week?

I’m going to try it. Our house is increasing the number of vegetarian meals on the menu, eliminating expenses on electronic entertainment and sticking to our one-teeny-car that doesn’t hold the car seat and a passenger at the same time (this doesn’t sound like much of a feat when you live in Chicago, but in the California Exurbs it’s near impossible). We will also work on the little things like; checking out books from the library instead of buying disposable paperbacks, not picking up printed literature that we will just dispose of later, checking the thrift store first when we’re looking for clothes, and shopping on Craigslist instead of at IKEA.

How about you?

The One Percent: Calling all designers!

The One Percent is an organization launched by Public Architecture in 2005, to allow designers and architects to give their time, creativity and care to non-profits in need of costly design services, pro bono.  

"1% of an 8 hour work day is 4.8 minutes.  Over the course of a 2,080-hour traditional work year, it amounts to just 20 hours per person per year." 

Considering that that's the amount of time you spend brushing your teeth, it makes sense that you can also help a brother, lady, doctor, patient, teacher, kid...out.  

Even if this isn't for you, I am positive that we were all inspired this week by President-Elect Obama's victory, and I see much more do-gooding coming to an everyone near you.

(this pie chart is 1% of your time in a year)