The Sustainable Living Podcast

Episode 102 I embraced feminism at an early age.  It seemed like a no-brainer. Women should have the same rights as men. Period. I honor and appreciate all the pioneering women who came before me and through their efforts, made it possible for me to vote and choose to have the career that I want.  Many continue fighting for our rights to this day and I am grateful. The Big Picture Somewhere along the line, though, I began to wonder if, perhaps the cause was a little short-sighted. What I mean by this is, though I believe women and men should have equal rights, the problem is bigger than that. Our society values traditionally masculine activities and attitudes much more than it does the feminine versions. And to be healthy, we need a mix of both. This was highlighted for Marianne when she recently listened to a podcast for working moms. To be clear, both Marianne and I believe we women should be able to choose our own paths, unencumbered by oppressive practices designed to  control those choices. But, as you'l

Carl was hungry and out of money when he found some onions growing. Just growing right next to a parking lot -not in a garden, not cared for, not planted by anyone on purpose. That onion tasted so good! And it was free. One little onion changed Carl’s life and that of countless others who since have learned from him. “What is he teaching?” You might ask. Carl teaches how to get rid of all bills in your life. You know the ones you have to pay every month. * house payment/rent * water * electricity * trash * and the list goes on. At one point, Carl was living in Northern California with bills totaling $5300 per month. He got that down to $ 75. Impressive!! But Carl is special, right? Not everybody can do that! Wrong! Carl took 19 families under his wings and helped all of them to reduce their bills to nothing. But they all lived in California in the one spot where there is plenty of rain all year long and tomatoes are ripening in December. That is why this can work. Carl heard the argument that his method will

Episode 100 Our journey on the sustainable living path led Marianne and I to create a weekly podcast a little more than two years ago. This episode marks 100 times we've recorded and shared our thoughts, interviews and tips via the podcast. In celebration of this milestone, Marianne traveled to my Big Bear homestead last weekend to brainstorm about our future plans and to record this episode. Connecting with You We've been on a mission to connect more directly with our listeners and to share and recognize your contributions.  So we decided to build this episode around the many useful sustainable living tips you've shared with us in our Facebook Group, Sustainable Living Tips, Tools & Tactics; and on our Instagram account. We also announced the long-awaited beginning of the Sustainable Living Podcast Tribe Connector - our e-newsletter. I'm one of those people that doesn't believe in coincidences.  In my opinion, Marianne and I were meant to meet and work together.  Too many things aligned to ensure that it

Episode 99 Permaculture and agorism. Both offer methods for changing the world for the better. And both have become hot topics over the last several years, thanks to independent thinkers and alternative online media. In this week's episode of the podcast, I had the chance to engage in an exhilarating discussion about these topics with Eric McCool. , Eric is using his webisite, Permagora,  to highlight ways in which people can combine permaculture with agorism for the betterment of humans and planet Earth. Non-Agression, Permaculture and Agorism During the chat, I explain how I have been exploring the ideas of voluntaryism (sometimes referred to as anarchism) and agorism and what spurred this exploration. I've learned that, voluntaryism, is not the absence of rules. Rather, it's the absence of authority or hierarchical structures.  At its core, is the non-agression principle which decries the use of violence or coercion on others for any reason except self-defense. My "wake up" moment  came when my son, throug

Episode 98 I'm excited about food swaps. Why? There are SO many reasons!  I mean who doesn't like fresh, locally grown food? Or building community with your neighbors? Or trading your excess garden produce for something that you really need? Start a Food Swap Those are all wonderful reasons for starting a food swap.  But perhaps most importantly, food swaps can provide some protection against economic downturns. Think about it.  If we actually do have to face a SHTF moment and items we need are no longer easy to get, wouldn't a local food swapping group be helpful? So I've decided I'm going to start a food swap here in my small town of Big Bear City, California.  But there are a few things I need to know, so I talked to Sheri Menelli of EarthFriendlyHomeowner.com about it.  Sheri attends, organizes and advertises food swaps in her local area of Carlsbad, California. Our discussion is part of this episode. I also talked to my favorite homesteading mentor who is also my podcast co-host,  Marianne West. She's an

Let us know what you think! Feedback and topics you like to hear from us. Let us know. Email us at SustainableLivingPodcast@gmail.com    Support us on Patreon!     Lindsey McCoy has a master’s degree in nonprofit management and spent the last 10 years working on environmental education in the Bahamas, islands full of single-use plastic.   She and her sister co-founded a company, Plaine Products, that offers shampoo, conditioner and body wash in aluminum bottles that can be returned, refilled and reused.   In this interview, Lindsey explains how plastic affects all of us. It never disappears, just breaks down into smaller and smaller particles. Much of the plastic ends up in the ocean where fish are ingesting it and so do we by eating fish. Lindsey describes her experience in the Bahamas. She also gives us insights in the trials and In this interview, Lindsey explains how plastic affects all of us. It never disappears, just breaks down into smaller and smaller particles. Much of the plastic ends up in the ocea

Let us know what you think! Feedback and topics you like to hear from us. Let us know. Email us at SustainableLivingPodcast@gmail.com    Support us on Patreon!   Sunday Conversations Usually, you don’t hear from us on a Sunday. But here it is - Sunday Conversations. For now, Sunday conversations is a three-part series sharing the stories of three remarkable people who have faced great challenges in their lives.   Each has a very different story, but they have in common that they have taken their individual challenges and turned them into an opportunity to help others.   Extra Bonus: After the interview, Dr. Adrian Cooper is answering listener questions and giving more tips on how to create a nature reserve in your community - one backyard at a time.  Today’s interview is featuring Win Charles. Win is a podcaster, a published author, an athlete, and she happens to be born with Cerebral Palsy, CP. I asked Win if she was willing to answer some questions from the perspective of a person dealing with a disability.

Episode 95 - Healthy, Handmade Food As a child, my experiences with healthy, handmade food were few and far between. My mom would be the first to say that cooking was not her forte'.  But , thankfully,  Mr. Swanson, Mrs. Stouffers and many others provided pre-cooked meals that could be bought at the super market and stored in the freezer until needed. So, for many of us, cooking amounted to opening a package and heating a frozen or canned meal up on the stove or in the oven. Hey, it was the "modern" way, wasn't it? The Allure of Handmade Food Women had entered the workforce and needed a quick and simple way to ensure their families were fed. Convenience foods fit the bill.  And when the freezer was empty, there was always McDonalds! I experienced handmade food when I spent the night at a friend's house or on visits to my grandparents' farm in North Dakota. Because it was so rare in my world, it always seemed special to me.  And it always tasted SO good! Thus began my fascination with handmade food and from-sc

Episode 94 Mark Lefko, Author of Global Sustainability 21 Leading CEOs Show How To do Well By Doing Good   Please send feedback to sustainablelivingpodcast@gmail.com or join us on Facebook   We appreciate your support! You can do so on Patreon.   If you have listened for a while to our podcast, you know that we talk a lot about small steps towards a more sustainable life we all can implement. All these individual actions together have the potential to make a big difference. Mark Lefko has a different approach. His goal is to influence big companies to do better. That doesn't mean to make more money - at least not exclusively. Mark is deeply committed to teaching CEOs about the benefit of the Triple Bottom Line. Each action must be good for the people, good for the planet and bring profit. Many see big industry as the enemy. But how would the world look like if the large corporations become leaders in people care and earth care? Pretty good, I say. Here is Mark's answer to the question "What is global sustaina

  Sunday Conversations Usually, you don’t hear from us on a Sunday. But here it is - Sunday Conversations. For now, Sunday conversations is a three-part series sharing the stories of three remarkable people who have faced great challenges in their lives. Each has a very different story, but they have in common that they have taken their individual challenges and turned them into an opportunity to help others. Today’s Interview is featuring Darrell Smith, also known as Big D. I let Darrell introduce himself: “My name is Darrell Smith. I am a writer, podcaster, and former postman who was taken out of my profession due to a physical condition which caused me to lose my vision. I documented my journey, as well as discussed my mental health issues in a podcast known as The Mailman's Survival Guide to The Galaxy.” I hope you will tune into Darrell’s podcast and share it with a friend who is dealing with depression.   Support us on Patreon! We love your support! Please visit our page and pledge as little as $1 to he

Episode 92 - Jennifer Osuch of Self Reliant School Jennifer Osuch discovered the art of self reliance through parenting. As the mother of two children with asthma, she wanted to do whatever she could to reduce toxins and support their health. Through her research she learned techniques and lost skills that really made a difference.  She began to make healthy meals from scratch using old-fashioned techniques like canning and food dehydrating that also saved her time and money. Jennifer  and her husband Bill teach people how to do these things and more on their website, Self Reliant School.  There you can find: a whole series books Jennifer has written on the topic of preparedness  live and recorded episodes of her "Self Reliant Living Show" online courses on everything from gardening and cooking to preserving and making your own natural remedies From Parenting to Self-Reliance I stumbled on Jennifer's blog a couple of years ago (probably through Pinterest) and have been sharing her posts ever since.  So I wa

Organic - Many of us immediately start thinking about food. But the material much of our clothing is made from has probably a much higher negative impact on the earth than the food crops have.     Nicola Syme is the designer/creator of sustainable, environmentally friendly and ethical sleepwear, loungewear and yoga wear company, Happiest Girl In The World. Her vision is to bring awareness and education to people, surrounding the negative effects the fast fashion industry is having on the planet while also providing a sustainable, high-quality clothing alternative. Through Happiest Girl In The World, Nicola aims to teach and support women of all ages, to truly love themselves, and to encourage women to create positive body image and self-confidence within themselves and remind them that they are unique and amazing JUST THE WAY THEY ARE. She is on a mission to create lasting positive change and to have a massive impact in the lives of women all around the world.   Topics of discussion: - Effects of fast fashion

Episode 90 - The Venus Project When first I learned about The Venus Project five years ago through a video on You Tube, I was blown away. It's creator, Jacques Fresco, had thought of everything needed for building and maintaining a society that actually allows humans to live the lives they long for. No more 40 hour work week at a job you hate No more waste No more pollution No more lack of food, clothing or shelter And no more oppressive governmental structures A Vision for a New Millennium Like so many before me, I was inspired by the project to begin envisioning a world that was enticingly unfamiliar. I wanted to do what I could to help make it happen. Not long after that, I met Marianne and we started this podcast. Over the past two years of interviews, I've met others who were just as inspired by Jacques Fresco's vision as I was.  Most recently, I was introduced to Saso Luznar and Jennifer Huse who work directly on The Venus Project. (Thanks again to the amazing Michael E.V. Knight.) In this episode of

Blake Akers is working on an alternative to the organic certification, USDA Organic, offered by the federal government. Not long ago, we had Grace Gershuny on our show who played a major part in the creation of the standards we follow today.   The two are somewhat in separate camps. Grace is greatly invested in a standard and certification for organics set by the government, while Blake wants to see that farmers self-regulate and that consumers enforce the standards by voting with their dollars and by making their opinion known.   In the end, the really agree on many things. For example: Both feel very strongly that the soil is the key to producing good, organic food and for that matter, to producing food - period. Both are deeply concerned that we are losing topsoil at an alarming rate. Both want to see regeneration rather than sustainability. Both want to see that farmers are able to make an income during the transition to being completely organic.   And there are many points where the disagree.   Part of

Episode 88 - Online Clothes Swap & Help for Bees An online clothes swap? What a great idea! That's what I thought when I first heard about SilkRoll, an online fashion-sharing community that aims to bring sustainability to the fashion industry. In this podcast, I interview Janet Wu and Erin Wold, the founders of SilkRoll.  (But please stay tuned after the interview for an important tip from our resident local wildlife expert, Dr. Adrian Cooper, on how to help our endangered bee populations.) Matching Resources to Needs Years ago, when the Internet was much younger, I learned about a website that matched book lovers with each other for the purpose of swapping books.  Once you joined the site, all you had to do was post what books you had available for swapping. The site matched you up with people who were interested in your books and even provided a way to download the postage you needed to send the books out to others. I was blown away with how this simple site, dedicated to matching resources to needs, si

Episode 87  - Homestead Update and Listener Tips In this homestead update Marianne and I discuss chickens, irrigation, garden pests, listener sustainable living tips and much more. Homesteading Tasks It's Spring and the gardening tasks are mounting.  Marianne is re-doing her chicken coop and shares how the whole process gave her an up-close-and-personal encounter with local wildlife!  Marianne's backyard garden in San Diego is the very definition of abundance after the recent California rains. She is realizing that a better system of irrigation could make a huge difference in future harvests so she has added that to her to-do list. Here in Big Bear temperatures are still dipping below freezing at night, so gardening outside will have to wait - though I am starting seedlings indoors.  My biggest concerns are gophers and a sick chicken. Seriously, just have a look at the picture below to get an idea of how bold and resourceful the gophers around here are.  I can't WAIT till Marianne writes that blog post about 

Laughter Yoga with Linda Leclerc Linda spreads Laughter Yoga wherever she goes. A few years back, she was in San Diego for a training and we met up for lunch and to pick up a couple of items at the mall. By the time we said goodbye, Linda had brought smiles to the faces of at least a dozen people - overworked waiters, bored shopkeepers and fellow shoppers alike.   It is easy to get everyone to laugh at a Laughter Yoga session. The people there came for that reason, but it is another thing to sprinkle joy everywhere, all the time. Linda does that. And I love her for it.   What is Laughter Yoga? What is that Laughter Yoga you are talking about, you might ask. Most people think of Yoga as skinny people in tight clothing putting their bodies into pretzel like positions which seem not to be meant for humans to get into.   So, is Laughter Yoga folding into a pretzel and then laughing? The good news is that Yoga really doesn’t require a person to be super flexible to practice and the even better news is that everybo

Episode 85 - Michael Tellinger Michael Tellinger is a relentless questioner, taking no information for granted. His investigation of the ancient stone circle structures found near his home of South Africa resulted in three books: Temples of the African Gods; Slave Species of god and Adam’s Calendar. Hidden Origins In those books, he shares the research that led him to his theory about the real purpose of these structures and his conclusion that human civilization is likely much older than scientists have previously believed. I became aware of Michael by watching the Internet subscription channel, Gaia, where he can be seen on several interview shows as well as on his own series, "Hidden Origins." On these shows, Michael pulls together disparate pieces of information to weave a new tale about our ancient past as well as our possible future. His relentless questioning also led him to found the Ubuntu movement - an effort that seeks to promote a contributionist economy.  (Not long ago I interviewed Brandon Shalt

Being a Father Brings Change   Being a Father, growing into that role, does not happen overnight. Sure, the physical part, the birth of a child, usually happens relatively fast (and often during the night), but being a father is an ever evolving undertaking.   Ideas of how to be a parent formed prior to the arrival of the baby often change rapidly when faced with the reality of having a real live little person with a mind and a personality of her own as part of the family. Sometimes, change comes about slowly. Values, expectations and life goals might change completely and are constantly in need of being reexamined as the children grow and change.   For Diego, the birth of first daughter was a bit of a shock - life changed dramatically. After the initial “honeymoon” phase with the new baby, reality hit. It is not as easy to get up and go and do whatever you want once a baby is part of the equation.        Who is Diego?   If asked that question ten years ago, Diego probably would have answered that he is a you

Episode 83 - Community Nature Reserve Dr. Adrian Cooper is on a mission to spread a new idea which could help to save local wildlife: the community nature reserve. The term "community nature reserve" may bring up visions of national parks and there are certain similarities. Both community nature reserves and national parks are created to help support and protect wildlife. Both are also supported and frequented by nature lovers. But unlike national or government-run nature conservation projects, community nature reserves are actually created by neighbors planting wildlife-friendly plants in their own backyards. Alarmed and Frustrated Like so many of us, Adrian, a wildlife friend, scholar and speaker on the topic, became alarmed by the rapid decline in wildlife populations he was seeing. When he saw that politicians were ignoring the issue, he decided to take matters into his own hands. He connected with like-minded neighbors, and together they hatched a plan. Each neighbor would plant wildlife-friendly plants