Brummet's Conscious Blog

-- Quote of the Day  --  “…When we first walked into the rescue center it was just surreal, because there were nearly 19,000 oiled penguins in this massive warehouse that had been set up as a temporary animal hospital in only 3 days time. …The volunteers that came were from every walk of life and everybody was so earnest, so eager to do what they could to help. …We had the largest animal rescue ever taken and the highest success rate – a wonderful tribute to the 12,500 volunteers that showed up to save them. …There are tens of thousands of ships – many of them from WW2 – lying on the bottom of the ocean, and there are recreational and fishing vessels. And what happens is there is oil and fuel in these ships and some of this is released during the sinking, but over time as corrosion takes its toll and metal begins to break down this oil is released. And so these mystery oil spills have an impact on the environment as well.”  ~ Dyan DeN...

-- Conscious Living Event -- Oct 31-Nov 2 11th Annual Conference on Renewable Energy from Organics Recycling Location : Madison, Wisconsin Info : www.jgpress.com -- Conscious Shopping Habits -- Nov/Dec is traditionally a time of higher shopping habits due to the holidays, so we thought we'd put together some conscious shopping habit tips for you to consider. First - don't idle your vehicle, shut it off. Park somewhere central where you can walk to a number of different shops. Keep a few lists going on the fridge where you can jot down things for the grocery store, gift items, and hardware store items... making your shopping experience more efficient. And consider using public transit when possible.  Interesting studies were done in our town where they evaluated the busiest days and least available parking time: The busiest being Tues & Wed, with the peak parking time between 12-1:10 PM. So one could hypothesize that c...

-- Quote of the Day --  " It is one of the commonest of mistakes to consider that the liit of our power of perception is also the limit of all ther is to perceive."  ~ C.W. Leadbeater -- Positive Eco-News -- I've been learning about something called sea-water horticulture... Have you heard of it before?  Apparently it is very promising, especially for some of the poorest communities in the world. Desalination is one way of using ocean water, so is fish-farming - however there have been cultures in the past who have created floating islands of crops, keeping it safe from predators and raiders. But many modern scientists are experimenting with all kinds of interesting aspects of getting food from water - including the cultivation of seaweed and algae as a potential worldwide food source for future generations. Here are a couple resources on using ocean waters for horticulture: TheManzanarProject.com biofueldaily.com/reports/Energy_Crops_...

-- Quote of the Day -- “ Of the bio-fuels (we currently know of), I siezed on algae as being a reliable feed stock, it has the properties that has the ability to meet our requirements. …it can use brackish water, salt water… The productivity of the algae is such that it promises to yield more than other alternatives. ...Incubation is the first hurdle – the second one is growing to harvest without culture crashes. …The third one is harvesting the algae out of the water. The fourth is extracting the oil once you’ve harvested it. Algae can help us with our emission issues… capturing CO2 from the air using a design with sodium carbonate dissolved in water... and using a solar heater during the day, the CO2 is forced out in and piped to the algae. ”  ~ Ron Brown  Check out the full interview that aired back on Dec 21/'10, where this quote came from, via this hyper-linked title: Oil from Algae   or via the archive section either on our site: Brummet.ca   or on th...

-- Quote of the Day -- " Tension is who you think you should be. Relaxation is who you are ." ~ Chinese Proverb -- Updates & Announcements -- * We will be slowing down a little bit for the holiday season and to mid-January as well, in that I won't be hosting the radio show as frequently and there will be a few less other things going on. This is due to the holiday season - of course - but also due to the many changes we have planned for January 2011.  * We now have a new widget for our blog readers... by entering your email address in the green widget (look to the upper left sidebar on this blog), you will receive the bi-weekly newsletter - Brummet's Muse - and a copy of an e-book (12 page) titled: Jump Start 4 Writers . You will also be given the opportunity to sign up for writing or environmental tips and articles.   * Raise funds for your favorite charity, community group event (i.e. a seniors gardening group), or support your own services - Become...

-- Quote of the Day -- Re: Inspiring people to become proactive in their communities: “… One thing, if you are involved with a particular group, they often have social events and this is a great way to get people you know interested in the cause. …There are all kinds of things – for instance, if one of the charities a bake sale for instance you can get people you know who like to bake together to help. It is just a matter of getting the right people with the right skills involved. …my local church is a resource for me because they accept me as I am …and allow me to reach out and share my skills. …In my writing I do information about the events that are going on about the peace groups, things that help fight global warming, green living, groups that are working to fight poverty, and supporting civil rights. …These all help me bring about my overall goal of bringing of peace in the world where we can all get along and allow everyone to contribute, to live in peace – and with respect. ”...

-- Quote of the Day -- Re: When someone becomes ill or injured... “… Almost anything that you do will help. …Figure out what you can do and offer something specific – such as ‘Can I come by on Thursday afternoons and mow the lawn?’ …Appoint a Captain of Kindness so that when people come up to you and say ‘What can I do to help?’ you can say, well Joan Smith is my Captain of Kindness, so you can contact her if you’d like to help. …The Captain of Kindness can ask for things that the patient may not be comfortable asking for – like money. …(Patients) appreciate getting a card from someone, but they really appreciate the person who gives them many cards – it means that person is continually thinking about them. It is hard to support someone long term, and that is why it is more meaningful. I would say, just do what you can do. …My job is to… help cancer survivors function at their highest level. I’m working with hospitals to …provide the kinds of services that survivors really need and are...

** There's still plenty of time to enter this week's draw - scroll through previous posts for more info... -- Quote of the Day -- Mark Tewart joined us in December, 2008 to discuss his views on today's marketing opportunities: “I think it is tremendous, even more so in today’s economy, because people are thinking they don’t have a budget, that there is too much out there and that people are not going to listen right now. …The first thing is to acknowledge that there is a vast market out there for your product. Business people are bombarded by news of the economy and are wanting to cut, cut, cut – but the reality is that if you want to grow you cant cut your way there. Especially now - and you have to think of terms of growth and that involves marketing in a effective, responsible manor. …They are practicing “one stage marketing” – meaning radio commercial, display ad that says: ‘Come buy from me’. What we like to do is to do is 2-5 stage marketing… I might run a much smalle...

-- Quote of the Day -- "Writing is an adventure. To begin with, it is a toy and an amusement. Then it becomes a mistress, then it becomes a master, then it becomes a tyrant. The last phase is that just as you are about to be reconciled to your servitude, you kill the monster and fling him to the public.” ~ Winston Churchill -- Eco-Travel Tips -- Vacation Station radio - Join Nancy Reid & Lisa Smith and their guests as they discuss saving money, investing in a vacation home, and eco-tourism; Lillian was one of these guests in to discuss green eco-traveling options for about 20 min. - archive available at: www.blogtalkradio.com/vacation-station -- Authors Read -- Why Epiphanies Never Occur to Couch Potatoes, by Mark Amtower, is a wonderful self-help book about defining the ethical parameters you are willing to operate within and staying within those bounds. Visit the Authors Read radio show to hear today's featured author share an excerpt from his published work. To acce...

-- Bio Fuel: What is that? -- The term Bio-fuel encompasses many variants of plant-based oils and alcohols that can be used as alternative fuel. While alternative fuel sources like these are certainly greener than traditional fuels, there is already strain on the global food production and that raises concerns. Other sources come from a "waste" product like bio-solids (human/animal manure), methane collected from landfills and composting facilities or used deep fryer oils. Because this is relatively a new technology with many different branches being explored, I’ve asked one of our more knowledgeable friends, Don Noble, to clarify the various terms that people in the industry use when referring to bio-fuels. “It's generally referred to as "cellulosic ethanol" production (meaning ethanol made from cellulose). However, cellulose can be turned into all forms of energy depending on how you transform it. Anaerobic (without oxygen) digestion generally converts it to...