Brummet's Conscious Blog

-- Quote of the Day -- “We must not, in trying to think about how we can make a big difference, ignore the small daily differences we can make which, over time, add up to big differences that we often cannot foresee.” ~ Marian Write Edelman -- Authors Read -- Lynn Goodwin, owner of Writer Advice and author of You Want me to do What? – Journaling for Caregivers, was our guest today on the Authors Read radio show. Her extensive knowledge in the field of writing was dipped into during an interview that we had with Lynn over at the Conscious Discussions talk radio show on Sept 18, 2008 . I encourage our listeners to check that out when you have time. To hear either of these radio episodes with Lynn, simply click on the hyper-linked show title of choice or look to the right for the link to either of these programs. -- Updates -- We are currently completing the final publishing preparations for the 2nd edition of our 3rd book, Purple Snowflake Marketing - How to Make Your Book Stand Out i...

-- Quote of the Day -- “…New wood stove technology uses a secondary combustion system that burns off unused fuel, this is the secret. Old air tight stoves sat there and smoldered away and mostly the fuel would go up the chimney and if you were unlucky it would condense into creosote in the chimney and cause all sorts of issues from there. …So new stove technology means that you will use much less fuel, getting more BTUs out of each piece of wood …and polluting less. …Get your firewood in the spring, or the year before, let it dry over the summer - and don’t dampen those stoves down. …Get a thermometer, which will show you a range of temperatures you should be keeping your flue gas at in order to avoid creating creosote and pollution. ” ~ John Vere 11/20/08 This quote was taken from an interview on Conscious Discussions talk radio with John Vere, an environmental advocate, who explained how to burn wood as a fuel for winter heat more efficiently. Learn how to reduce emissions, burn wo...

-- Quote of the Day -- “Our society consumes at least 10 times as much per person as people did at the turn of the last century - but are we 10 times happier?” ~ David Suzuki --Eco-Resources -- – http://www.ecostiletto.com - Eco-Stiletto features green picks in Fashion, Beauty, Parenting and the Good Life and explains, in real-girl terms, how eco-friendly choices can help reduce your carbon footprint. - http://www.sustainlane.com - Sustain-Lane is the web's largest people-powered guide to sustainable living. The hub of Sustain-Lane Media's offerings, SustainLane.com is filled with personal accounts of how-tos, news, and local business and product reviews for sustainable living. The site connects interested consumers with the tools and information on everything related to green, including: * The largest directory of local, green-friendly businesses in the United States with over 20,000 small business listings; * Consumer-generated how-tos, news and product reviews of new green ...

-- Quote of the Day -- “I do feel that poetry chose me… The biggest attraction to poetry for me was when I started reading poetry when I was a teenager - To see that with such a compact amount of words you could get an idea across, you could validate people’s feelings, you could give people some joy… I think poetry is like the poor step-sister in the literary arts. When you say ‘I have a new poetry book coming out’, people will say, ‘yeah, well what else do you do?’ …There is a very fine line that you have to walk when you work with political poetry. You want to get your point across, inspire people and express yourself… but you never want to be dogmatic or polemical. So writing political poetry is very, very difficult. …When you write poetry you can write for yourself – or you can write for the public; but not both. …Poetry is getting out there on the Internet more and more. There is a plethora of people who take it on as a first love. …I think songs you basically take a poem …with e...

-- Eco - News -- Businesses and organizations are no longer waiting for international governments to initiate immediate positive change for the world. Examples of this can be found in every community across the planet. I'd like to share two stories of some amazing steps towards a more positive, ecologically conscious world: Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. announced on September 18, 2008, that it has developed a series of breakthrough painting technology that includes a streamlined process, which requires less painting equipment than usual and therefore cuts carbon dioxide emissions and volatile organic compounds by up to 50 percent. More recently, I read in the Japan for Sustainability Newsletter (www.japanfs.org) that the Hokkaido Green Fund, a nonprofit organization, is installing a community wind power farm in Wajima City. The article stated that " The Hokkaido Green Fund has played a significant role in installing community wind power in Japan ". Japan's wind turbine farm...

Happy Groundhog Day everyone :) -- World Wetland Day -- Today is World Wetlands Day and in honor of this I wanted to share a quote from Laurie Shutt who is the director of the Wye Marsh Wildlife Center: “…If there is a specific area, a wetland, that is not too far from a town and there is a threat of development, which seems to be the number one issue for wetlands… (Protecting the area) is a matter of talking and find out who else is concerned. So get a group of people that have a similar concern… You cannot stop development but you can work with them… Look for organizations that focus on a similar issue… It is a tremendous commitment of time – a committed individual to spearhead a project like this…” ~ Laurie Shutt 07/27/08 This fascinating interview about the value of wetlands and the amazing work the Wye Marsh Center's staff is able to do from rehabilitating animals to educating the public... simply click on the hyper linked show title here; or look to the right for a link to t...

-- Quote of the Day -- Re: Writing Technique... “ I found it really easy to make a list. …I think it is also important to find a writer’s group… somebody who will encourage and yet critique you. ...I think it is very important to set aside a definite time …where you write a stream of consciousness and let it take its shape, and then come back later and put it in order. … I carry a notebook everywhere I go to write down ideas, quotes.” ~ Sheryl VanWeelden 04/17/08 This quote was taken from an interview with Sheryl and her co-writing daughter, Sherry - which aired on the Conscious Discussions talk radio show on April 17, 2008 To access any live or archived broadcast, simply click on the hyper-linked show title, or click on the link on the right hand side of this page. -- Eco - News -- According to the Zero Waste San Diego Group " Carry a plastic bag in Delhi and you could be imprisoned for 5 years ". This serious move is in an effort to stop the flow of plastics in the envir...