Homestead

If you want people to be healthy, and not overweight, then two things need to happen: 1) Everyone must have access to healthy food, such as fresh fruits and vegetables, regardless of their income level.  2) Everyone must have access to safe places to exercise, and society must make it easy to live an active lifestyle instead of pushing people towards a sedentary lifestyle. Sadly, these are not popular choices.

Check out “Help the Vanishing Bees” over on Bloggers Unite.  Honeybees are under threat from Colony Collapse Disorder, parasites, pesticides, and other hazards.  Organic beekeeping is an improvement for beekeepers.  There are many other things you can do to help the bees.  Among the best is to plant a bee garden.  I took the photo below at Allerton Park, which has many gardens attractive to insects.

I was amused by this article about an office pod that looks like a coconut.

Would You Work in a “Coconut” Office?

These coconut-shaped offices are actually called pods. They are manufactured by the UK-based company, Archipod (pronounced ‘ark-ee-pod’, as in ‘architecture).

Well, these ergonomic offices of the future may make a lot of sense, if you telecommute or want to have your own home-office away from the everyday household din (noises).

Today is National Seed Swap Day.  You can read more about this holiday, and browse some related posts, by visiting the Bloggers Unite event page.  

January 30 is National Seed Swap Day.  This is a time for people to raise awareness about open-pollinated seeds and to exchange the ones they have. You can read more on the Bloggers Unite event page.

Holidays are busy for everyone, so “Change the World Wednesdays” is hosting a long challenge that runs through January 2010.  The goal is to track your energy use, then find and apply ways to lower it.

“Reduce Footprints” has a huge list of places where you can shop for Earth-friendly gifts, sorted into over a dozen categories.

You might want to send a National Park ecard instead of paper cards.

There is also a sale at Mythic Images if you are looking for altar statues.

Or you could buy a poem for someone, another tree-free gift.  There are some nature poems on this list.

Today is “Black Friday,” the busiest shopping day of the year in America.  Many folks don’t have much money to spend on gifts this year, and unbridled consumerism isn’t good for the environment anyhow.  But with some careful planning, you can make your holidays frugal, Earth-friendly, and joyful.

Previously we talked about favorite Thanksgiving foods and recipes.  Now let’s consider some other fun things you can do to make your holiday special.