Brummet's Conscious Blog

Today's post comes to us from Doug Rose, and is an excerpt from his book: Fearless Puppy On American Road. Doug approved my use of this excerpt, a valuable aide to those interested in travelling by backpack. Check out Doug's links when you get a chance and he welcomes you to reach out to him directly ;) FEARLESS PUPPY WEBSITE BLOG     FEARLESS PUPPY ON AMERICAN ROAD/AMAZON PAGE FEARLESS WEBSITE THE PROCESS There is a process to hitchhiking. Much of what holds true for the hitchhiking process often holds true for other parts of life as well. First, you’ve got to decide that you want to get somewhere other than where you are. Then you have to raise the energy and determination to actually leave your present location. All trips start with a determination that’s serious enough to get you off your butt and moving. You might have a very specific destination in mind or it could just be a direction. Regardless of the destination, you will probably have to overco...

  Reversing Arid Zones  With increasing scientific knowledge we now have an understanding of how we can reverse desertification. Let’s examine just a few of these scientific fields before we show you some ways that deserts are being reversed back into green, lush regions. Some of these scientific fields involved are: Permaculture Design , which considers the whole system through intricate investigation and planning, using what is on site and disposing of next-to-nothing. Maritime Effect in nature - where the moisture released by plants increases the amount of rainfall and dew production within the microsystem. Orographic Lift shows us how and where dew forms in specific areas on mountains due to air currents. The Dendrinic Pattern , which involves the natural pattern that water takes as it flows downhill on the surface of land. Soil building techniques, interplanting and agroforestry methods are also used. Using these, and a few other techniques disc...

Making More out of Lazy Leisure Days When the sun is out the last thing you want to do is spend a lot of time cooking a meal and when vacationing, the lure to purchase instant and snack foods is strong. Unfortunately, these convenience foods come with excess packaging. As we can see when we come across trash in the wilderness, snack wrappers and beverage containers are the most common litter we find. It is quite interesting that numerous studies prove tourists return to an area primarily for its cleanliness and greenery. In this era where the economy has come to rely more on tourism, cleaning up is truly a benefit for any community. When leisurely paddling the canoe and watching the water, one can often see the muddy bottom, where it is easy to spot larger debris. Put on a mask and snorkel to discover some amazing finds. One of the first times we did this, we found an expensive diving mask in about 30 feet of water - enough incentive to continue this practice! We have also found ant...

-- Quote of the Day --  "Animals give me more pleasure through the viewfinder of a camera than they ever did in the crosshairs of a gun sight. And after I've finished "shooting," my unharmed victims are still around for others to enjoy. I have developed a deep respect for animals. I consider them fellow living creatures with certain rights that should not be violated any more than those of humans."  ~ Jimmy Stewart -- What is Agro-Tourism ? --  * Note : In the article below I'm going to refer to "farmers" as anything from grain and seed suppliers, to gardeners and meat producers.  There are several different ways of looking at Agro-Tourism .  Basically it involves communities making information and tours and markets available to the general public. Manufactures from wine to cheese, jam to pickles might offer seasonal tours as well. Parks and wildlife centers might get involved. Businesses might offer special sales,...

 Things to do this Spring/Summer: Creston (BC, Canada) will be hosting another annual Home And Garden Show over at our modern recreation center! I missed last years, but went the year before that and was amazed and inspired by all the information, booths, food, and displays offered there. It was a really interesting and exciting place to be - and I will be going to this year's for sure. I hope to see you there: The city will also be offering free Spring Yard and Garden Clean-up collections on April 22, 23 and 24, 2014.  Click HERE for more information. The city website also announced the following which I thought you might be interested in knowing about: "WaCanId is an annual cycling tour that takes participants along paved roads that encircle the Selkirk Mountains (Washington, British Columbia, Idaho). This six day event will cover 560 km and showcase some of the magestic beauty that this region of the world has to offer. Anyone interested in participating ...

-- Quote of the Day --  “I think because I was so passionate about bringing attention to the ocean creatures, and the eco-awareness it gave a depth to what I was doing; it was more than dressing up; it was about using myself as a bridge between ocean creatures and land creatures – bringing the message that we really need to do something to help with these issues. …I think it is really important that whatever you do in life that there is a large part of it that you would do regardless of the finance or social status – it is purely something that you do because you have such a passion and a love and recognizing that something needs to happen. ...In one particular area the local fisherman decided to do eco-tourism rather than kill the animals - they set up a program where they take people out in tiny vessels, where you are not allowed to interact in an invasive way… to view their beauty and not kill them.” ~ Hannah Fraser To...

-- Conscious Discussions Talk Radio --  Sign up via itunes for the Conscious Discussions Radio show: http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/id262138144   Today's Best of Conscious Discussions vol # 19 offers interesting information on Volunteering Across the Globe with two amazing experts who share their incredible and inspiring experiences.   Join us for this fascinating discussion via the link below: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/consciousdiscussions/2012/05/15/global-volunteering Find Dave and Lillian Brummet, excerpts from their books, information about their radio program, newsletter, blog, and more at: www.brummet.ca * Support the Brummets by telling your friends, or visiting the Brummet's Store - every sale raises funds for charity as well!

-- Eco Events this Week -- April 19-26 – 20th annual EarthFair traditionally held in Balboa Park, the largest free environmental fair that attracts 70,000 people or more. April 20-25th - Paris-France Intermat 2009 at the Paris-Nord Exhibition Center: www.intermat.fr April 23rd – between 10 – 2 p.m. (pacific) there will be an Earth Fair held at the Gorton Quad building (center of campus) located at the center of the San Diego City College – this event is sponsored by the City College Environmental Stewardship Committee… & will have lots of activities from art and photography contests, garden demonstrations, tours, yoga and meditation workshops, dancers, live music and more. -- Win a Copy of Trash Talk !! -- Castilla, owner of SMS Book Reviews Blog , will post a review of the Brummet's book Trash Talk on Earth Day, April 22nd. The blog will also host a contest for their readers for Trash Talk as well - Dave & I wish all the contestants luck in the contest & are thrille...

-- Quote of the Day -- A lot of people are doing stay-cations (staying at home for vacation time) or touring within their country's borders, rather than facing the larger expences involved in international vacation travel, and the environmental impact that incurs. Today's quote is in regards to "Volunteer Travel" - meaning using the vacation time to volunteer in a important organization to delve deeper into the culture, learn incredible new things, experience things from the hands-on level and leave a lasting legacy at the same time: “Volunteer tourism involves a wide array of options. If someone wants to hammer nails… become a part of a conservation effort – they can do that. But you can also do things like teaching English to little kids, they can give bottles to little kangaroos or do what I did recently (in Bali with volunteering in Sumatran Orangutan Society’s office) which was all office work and didn’t involve hard labor at all. You don’t have to have experienc...