Little Action=Big Impact

-- Quote of the Day --

“(re: Making Peace Conference) I do remember that they were really interested in getting a youth organizer …so at the age of 16 I was given a lot of responsibility and freedom and got to set up a bunch of workshops for this conference. …this was a really interesting event because there is a big problem of racism …and this event culminated on a round dance with people of all different backgrounds and cultures …and I remember thinking that this just didn’t happen. …I think that people, even nonpolitical people, if you ask them what some of the pivotal moments in their lives have been, they’ll usually site a concert or something like that – that inspired them …gave them a sense of what is possible. …(re: We Are Many Festival) …I started to think about how frustrating it is that what makes sense for the individual is destructive for society. As an individual, we cannot clean the bubble of air above our own head; therefore we decide to keep driving and continue to heat our homes inefficiently. …I thought maybe there is a way to get people to decide collectively to make a big enough difference at once that you could see the results – and that was the kernel behind the We Are Many festival. …We had people take a button that stated ‘I signed the WAM Pact’ – and people don’t like to be hippocrates and people ask questions too – people ask me about my button about. Also by signing the pack among thousands of others who are doing the same thing is inspiring.”
~ Ellen Quigley 09/23/08

This quote above ties in nicely with the Eco-News topic that I discuss a little later in today's post. So few of us realize the incredible impact that seemingly tiny actions on a daily basis can actually have on our family, our community - and in fact, across the globe. Our book Trash Talk has 192 pages filled with information on how the individual can leave a lasting positive legacy, while enjoying benefits like leading a more fulfilling life and reducing financial strain.

There is still time to add Trash Talk to your holiday shopping list; and remember - 30% of the royalties we receive from book sales go to charity: The Canadian Wildlife Federation, The Seeds of Diversity Organization and The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. So when you purchase one of our books, you not only provide a gift of hope to the recipient you are also helping amazing charities and supporting all the work Dave and I do here on the blog, on our radio shows, newsletter and so forth. Dave and I sincerely appreciate your support. :)

The quote above was taken from an interview with Ellen Quigley on Sept 23rd, 2008at the Conscious Discussions talk radio show - For those of you who are interested in hearing the full interview with Ellen Quigley simply click on the hyper-linked show title here in this blog or click link for the radio show on the right side of this blog.

-- Eco-News --

I was reading in an article by Michael Jessen in one of the local newspapers – The Weekender – that the “average Canadian home has 25 or more products that use standby power”. Stand by power is known by several other names including phantom power, vampire loads and others. Basically it means that little lights and charge wires are kept actively energized even when the product is not in use. The article goes on to give the example of a microwave oven which sits idle 99% of the time, running the clock, and therefore spends more energy over its lifetime in running that clock than it does heating food. That is certainly some food for thought! Think of all your electronics including: office and entertainment areas, unnecessary electric clocks, digital devices, chargers, radios, exercise equipment, kitchen appliances – including blenders, toasters and coffee makers, cable and satellite receivers… the list goes on and on. But really we can make a huge difference on our family budget - doing this one act alone can save the average household about $200/annually! According to Natural Resources Canada – it is estimated that standby power is responsible for 10% of the annual electric bill in the average home. According to the Home Home Magazine’s Winter 2008 issue, if we all did this one seemingly simple step in our homes and offices just in Canada alone we could save enough energy to power 400,000 homes for one year. The emissions that are saved are equivalent to closing down one coal power plant.


Find Dave & Lillian Brummet, excerpts from their books, information about their radio shows & free resources & articles at www.brummet.ca