Eco Divas

Divas come in all shapes, sizes and professions; the only rule to being a Diva is you must fabulous. There are wedding Divas, performing Divas, medical Divas, taxi driving Divas and marketing Divas... and all of them... fabulous.

I,Deborah Lindsay, I am an Eco Diva and of course, I'm fabulous, too.

Every Diva knows glitter is rule #1 for Diva status, but you may have some preconceptions about what an "Eco" Diva may or may not do. An Eco Diva may or may not paint their toes, they may or may not shave their legs or under arms, they may or may not dye their hair to be rid of sneaky greys... but they're always environmentally minded and they always, always wear glitter. Cause, as you know, life's too short no matter what your profession to not keep a Diva's glow and sparkle.

My friend, Biodiesel Betty, www.bettybiodiesel.org....who travels the country telling people about the pros and cons of using biodiesel as an alternative to fossil fuels, she's fabulous; she wears glitter.
Another friend of mine, Juliet Johnson, the Sustainability Director for Esalen Institute in Big Sur... she's a civil engineer by training and I know for a fact, she wears glitter. And there's Laura Murray... a farm inspector for the CCOF (California Certified Organic Farmers) and you guessed it... she's covered in glitter.

So many women, all over the world working to pass hope and abundance to our children...more then I can name in ten thousand blogs, and all of them Eco Divas.

So, if you're wondering how to achieve Diva status, add a little sparkle. Maybe a hint around the eyes, or a whole body application, doesn't matter cause Diva's glow, shine and sparkle in just the right amount for all occasions.
For me, as I head now to the TV station to discuss an upcoming series... a little dab here and there, just to keep the spirits up and the wobbles down.

Try it and see how you feel, it's simply brings your already amazing self to the surface for all to see.
And if you want to carry the "Eco" status attached to Diva, just ask yourself what you did for the Planet today... if you answer, "Everything!', then you're set.

Inside Outside Upside Down

I’m writing a lecture right now that I’ll be presenting to a local rotary club next week, and at first I thought to talk about the lists of things we can do... the 50 ways to save the planet according to Deborah.

But as I mediated on it, I thought “You know, if I only have this one time to present to these people ...if I were to never lecture again, what would be the one thing I say?" Knowing if I never got a chance again to say anything then I better make it good.

So... I’ve decided to talk about our crazy upside down world that’s unfolding...peak oil is here, the recession we've been expecting is here, the war in Iraq is in it's 5th year and Iran is about to get a a big US Welcome, fisheries are collapsing, and on and on...in a handful of years, our world won't be recognizable.

The most important thing for all of us to do is to get ready for this upside down world... die or evolve... which do you want cause you better start now.
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A saner world possible?

How many people spend their weekends catching up from the week?... Saturday and Sunday spent doing laundry, mowing the lawn, getting groceries, fixing the broken swing, completing the science fair projects,...while the thought of enjoying the bounty of our lives is not even a part of that conversation. When Monday arrives the cycle begins again... with our families on the fast track just trying to keep up with work, commuting, school, societal pressures... often at the expense of our health, and happiness. And the big question... when do we get off this crazy ride? When the kids leave for college, when we retire?

A great t-shirt I read once said, “Spend, Consume, Die”
Highlighting in effect that we’re on this planet for little more then an impossible rat race and then the ultimate resignation.

Interested in a more sane and sustainable lifestyle... we’ll the folks in Ithaca NY would say they have found the key to successful living, it's called an Eco village and there are hundreds emerging around the country and world.

Could you live in an intentional community?

Community Bulletin

March 8th at the Monterey Fair grounds it’s a ewaste recycling day... 9 to 4 pm... free, just drop off your old computers, cell phones, printers etc.

March 12th at the Big Sur Grange Hall for a Town Hall Meeting that is being organized by Big Sur Powerdown.
6:00 PM for a potluck dinner at the Grange Hall.  The Town Hall meeting and brainstorm will follow (starting promptly at 7:00 PM and ending promptly at 8:30 PM)

March 15-16 American School of Herbalism and Five Flavors Herbs
Herbal First Aid
This fun and practical class will teach how to respond to commonly encountered first aid and emergency situations with Western and Chinese herbal medicine and other therapeutic strategies. Contact: Benjamin Zappin
(831) 420-0124 5flavors@fiveflavorsherbs.com

March 20th a film showing of ‘A Convenient Truth:  Urban Solutions from Curitiba, Brazil’
Monterey Green Action is hosting the first of a regular film series, the Environmental Film Café, on Thursday, March 20, 2008 at 7:00 p.m. at the East Village Coffee Lounge. Free of charge. 
Film producer Maria Vaz of Del Bello Pictures will host a post-film discussion.  

March 22nd Sustainable Pacific Grove and Tomorrow Matters Present a fog catching workshop ... totally free to attend, at the Green Spot in Pacific Grove, corner of Pine and Forest in PG 10 to 11:30 am,

March 14 - 17, Community Built Conference - Building Dreams/Connecting Communities,
at Asilomar Conference Center in Pacific Grove
Community builders from around the country are coming together to share information and experiences ranging from creating public art to natural building techniques.  Visit their web site www.communitybuilt.org for more information on the conference or email them at cba@communitybuilt.org work/study trades are available.

March 29th is Earth Hour, people around the world are turning off their lights for one hour at 8 pm.... take the challenge and do it too... go to Earth Hour.org to get more info.

April 11, 12 and 13th a straw bale presentation and workshop by Michele Landegger of Boa Construction in San Jose, call for more info at 408 291-0696

April 12-13 Sustainable Pacific Grove Open House during Good Old Days.
at The Green Spot, located on the corner of Pine and Forest Ave., will showcase their demonstration garden, environmentally friendly products found in Pacific Grove and exhibits offering interactive approaches to green building products, renewable energy, toxic household waste, recycling, rain water catchments and composting.

April 21 4pm - 6pm at CSUMB - University Center
Symposium on: Earth’s Environmental Crisis & the Fate of Humanity: Ocean Solutions                                                                 
csumb.edu/climate or call 831.582.3578

April 22-26, EcoCity World Summit coming up in San Francisco, California,
The Ecocity World Summit will be convening an international community of inspired change-makers; courageous individuals who are addressing problems of the world's environment with thoughtful long-range solutions that are truly sustainable, ecologically healthy and socially just. go to their website at www.ecocityworldsummit.org

April 27th in Santa Cruz Earth Day.

Save seeds, save ourselves

If you don’t know of Vandana Shiva, you should... she’s an East Indian Woman who has studied bioethics, or the ethics of combining biology with medicine or technology for several decades. She has written over 300 scientific papers on eco feminisim, physics, globalization, quantum theory, international public policy... an one topic threads through her papers and lectures... and that is that we need change in the paradigms of agriculture and food. She spends much of her effort talkina g about seeds... That the simple seed is a most basic human right and link to much of our heritage and our future.. and that story,... the essential human story is at risk due to corporate greed and monolpoly and we must do as much as we possibily can to protect biodiveristy in our seeds... with the great risk of extinction if we don’t...

Can we use Astrology for a Better World?

You may wonder why on Tomorrow Matters I often have guests who offer different perspectives or different ways to look at solutions to our eco-problems..., maybe even these guest seem to offer “woo woo” methods of looking at the world.. I’ll tell you straight up that I strive to ignite the passions in my listeners in whatever way possible. Passions to make changes in their lives and their communities. Who am I to say what gets one person off the couch and plant a garden on their front lawn and makes another roll their eyes.. as far as I can see, anyone who has a solution to the environmental problems of today for a better world tomorrow is welcome.

What gets you off the couch and into the community to make some radical change?

Getting involved? Me?

A good question to ask ourselves is.... when is a good time to act? or get involved? Is it when all the bills are paid, when the kids are out of school or when the dog has left home? When?  

When is there time enough to really change the world... and why bother anyway?  We didn't get ourselves into the mess we're in, why bother taking our own time to get us out of the trouble? We might as well live your lives in quiet complacency... it's easier, way more fun and most likely the problems of the world won't be solved by us anyway... so why bother?

Really, this is my question today... why bother?