Brummet's Conscious Blog

The Real Cost of Technology and  Why You Should Recycle Responsibly  * Submitted by Zack Gallinger of  Revolution  (a company within the Shift portfolio)- a recycler based in  Toronto  and  Ottawa  that specializes in safe and environmentally-friendly disposal of old electronics, secure data destruction and IT asset disposition services. Check out the hyperlinks throughout the article, taking you to several articles on the issues presented here; also be sure to view the resources at the end of this post.  Before you buy your next electronic gadget, here’s something to think about that goes beyond the features on your wish list or where you’ll find that gadget for the lowest price. Does the amount you will pay accurately reflect the true cost of that item? If you’re like most people, you’d likely conclude that it does. Here’s why you’d be wrong. Direct and Indirect Costs Setting a price for any product can take into considera...

The Weight of the World Today’s youth seem to be going through a lot of conflicting emotions. With the influence of the media, they feel angry and want to blame others. In dark emotional moments they feel a sense of hopelessness, like nothing they do could matter. At the same time, today's energetic youth are more active, inspired, educated and hopeful than any other generation. Yet there is the real danger of becoming so busy with too many opportunities that they risk burnout.  People of all ages seem to be feeling the weight of the world... and I want to address this issue today. First, let me clarify that – yes, there is a huge amount of work left for us to attend to in order to create a sustainable planet. However: Let us remember the world my parents’ inherited. When they were teenagers in the 60’s, their parents were hardened, afraid and followed the rules… they didn’t rock the boat much, having just come out of a war and endured a sever economic...

-- Recommended Resources --  I really enjoy sharing resources, links, networking opportunities here in this section for anyone interested in having a positive impact with their time on this earth. Lately, I've been studiously going through the thousands of lectures put out by the TED institute's participants. It's a popular site. I look at it as free education, but more on the enlightening, inspiring, awe-striking knowledge and possibilities for our future. There are a surprising number of online educational and inspiring sites like this. It is exciting to see how much work is being done to create a better world. We can do our part by sharing the info we enjoy. So - why don't you help me by spreading the word about this blog, or sharing links to specific posts you enjoy? Or leave a comment, question or invitation for networking on the wide array of topics our blog offers. Perhaps you have an article, resources you'd like to share, or quotes that have inspired ...

 -- Quote of the Day --  “{re: today’s youth} If they can conceive it and believe it,  they can achieve it.  They must know it is not their aptitude  but their attitude that will determine their altitude.”  ~ Jesse Jackson -- Brummet's In the Media -- I am thrilled to announce that today - Wednesday, Feb. 4th - an article I wrote will go live at 5 a.m. EST on Darcia Helle's A Word Please blog. She is doing a special event called the Criminal Justice Series running through the month of February. She has several guests lined up besides myself including: " an ex-homicide detective, a young woman whose drug addiction landed her in prison where she had her baby, that young woman's mother, a psychologist, a lawyer, and a journalist who worked the criminal beat " (quoted from Darcia's email).   My article published today will speak from a victims point of view surviving a troubled childhood a...

 -- Quote of the Day -- “We think we live in the world.  We think we live in a set of circumstances, but we don’t.  We live in our conversations about the world  and our conversations about the circumstances.  When we’re in a conversation about fear…  then that is the world we inhabit.  If we’re in a conversation about possibility…  then that is the world we inhabit.” Lynne Twist – The Soul of Money -- Conscious Discussions Talk Radio --   Sign up via itunes for the Conscious Discussions Radio show: http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/id262138144   Author Susan Dean endured a troubled childhood, became a young mother and married into an abusive situation that lasted many years. Finally breaking away, she found comfort in unhealthy habits and had to learn how to love herself again. Today she is happily standing on her own ground and is working hard to use her past experiences to help ...