I find a lot of information about offsetting our carbon dioxide foot print in our homes, at work and in our personal activities… but until now I have never heard of ways that musicians could pitch in, but I have always thought there must be a way since we all create CO2 all day everyday, even Musicians.
Easy being green is doing something about this issue easy being green through community programs will offset the exact amount of greenhouse gasses created by a gig or event.
This seems like a simple idea that may work for you and if it does … Great at the very least you will get some more information of being carbon neutral from their website.
Go check it out!
As Always… If you find this information helpful… leave us a comment!
It’s not just about the environment… it’s about LIFE! Live yours well today!

Ok…So the live Earth concerts have come and gone… So now what?
Well to start with in between those spectacular performances we were told some things that would help us reduce our consumption excesses, reduce our carbon footprints, help make our homes and lives more sustainable… were you listening?
Hopefully you have all join me as a friend of Live Earth, and signed the Live Earth pledge.
Long after the music has faded we still have to get on with this formidable task, so the following links are a path to possible directions for you to go in your own lives.
Cause as I have said before this will take all of us, so lets not make it a riddle to be solved you are welcome to add your comments here to help out the rest of us, don’t keep it to yourself talk about it!
Talk to your friends
Talk to your kids
Talk to your mother & father no one gets left out.
Who knows where your great idea might lead.

http://www.liveearth.org/ : It’s been all the talk lately … but have you actually paid a visit to the website?

http://abc.net.au/tv/carboncops/ : The website for a television program that helps families reduce their carbon footprint

http://www.usgbc.org/ : The US Green building council , aims to help create new more sustainable ways to build.

http://www.thegreenguide.com/ : The National Geographic’s helpful guide to things sustainable

http://www.greenlivingshow.ca/ : A great resource from Canada, news , tips etc.

http://www.greenlivingtips.com/ : Well that really says it… Tips for green living

Here in Victoria, Australia (Melbourne actually) there is an organization that was created to cultivate a culture of sustainability in the buying practices of this states local government.

ECO BUY

To use their own words … “ECO-Buy is a program that supports local government and businesses in purchasing environmentally friendly products.”

After a year of hard effort they decided to have an awards ceremony to congratulate all the concerned councils for their contributions and to highlight the council that had the most success.

As AusPen’s duly anointed representative, I had the pleasure to attend the function held at the Melbourne museum’s Treetop function room.

On arrival, this is the scene that greeted me:

Three silent characters meant to represent french aristocracy greenies?

I’m not quite sure … but they were great, and colourful costumes.

After a sample of organic wines, and tasty veggie hors d’oeuvres the awards began. As you might expect there were speeches, and a few more speeches, it wasn’t too bad though.

Uh… Yeah, nice… even if a bit inscrutable.

And the winner is… well we all win really , but the envelope said….MELBOURNE CITY COUNCIL!

All in all a great opportunity to network a bit and to meet the people behind the program.

Photo credit: Bruce Forester–Gerding-Edlen Development Co., LLC

The Brewery Block Redevelopment is a step towards integrating (quite well) solar technology into modern design.

In fact this project in Portland, Oregon has a number of features that make positive steps toward sustainability and energy conservation and much more … go ahead click the link and take a look.

It’s not just about the environment… it’s about LIFE! Live yours well today!

There was a time when recycling was the way to develop a green tinge to your life.

Then there was the time to plant trees, wear hemp clothing, conserve, re-use, re-fill, and now carbon offsetting and all the rest.

I can’t tell you what it takes to be “green” but I do know the truth when I hear it, and to me the truth about living green is the same as truth telling… the important bit is intent.

When our governments install some policy that leans towards sustainability, what is the intent. Is it to quell the surge of green ideas that are troubling to governments and ultimately bad for business, or is it to promote some positive change that would in the long game, enhance all of our lives?

What do we as individuals think about our chances of actually making sustainable lives practical? And by practical I don’t mean easing the extra effort that it will take to change our wasteful ways, it should be evident by now that it is mandatory that some colossal changes will have to be adopted, no… when I say practical I mean something very basic, what will it take before we realize on a global level that we are … truly… all in this together.

Black ,White, Asian, Australian, African, no matter what our extraction or global position, we are all going to have to fight damn hard to save ourselves. Notice here that I did not say save our planet, because in true statement of fact the planet doesn’t need us… in fact a case can be made that it is trying to expel us much the same as we would a piece of gunk lodged between our teeth.

So the solidarity we are trying to achieve in the aim of saving the planet is again myth, It needs to be replaced by a solidarity of humanity, for to save ourselves humanity must become a “WE” without exception.

This Eco-logical near horror must become what all of our past horrors have fallen short of being, a rallying point for the salvation of humanity on this planet.

Dare I coin a phrase “The WE generation”.

Can we become the generation that understands what (to read the innumerable texts) has always been understood… that we are all inextricably tethered one to the other to the other and down the line forever and ever… amen.

The cynic in me says we don’t have a hope in Hades of ever coming together on any single issue quite simply because we have spent all of our time and energy building the walls that still separate us, and we show no real ability to destroy any of the barricades that we have so lovingly built, but then the hopeful idiot in me wants to be heard the one that knows as he knows his own name that there is nothing beyond the grasps of humanity, he also knows that we have shown glimpses of what we can truly be, he knows that we can be so true, so honest, so strong when we have to be, so there we go again right back at … INTENT.

So in the days ahead, when some new policy, program, or cause pops up ask first what is the intent… what is the truth and where do “WE” fit in.

It’s not just about the environment… it’s about LIFE! Live yours well today!

So really, what difference will a few million whiteboard markers really make?

Well… Quite a lot actually!

Think back just a few short years when the landscape was littered with Styrofoam. Fast food containers, coffee cups and all the other things we were happy to create from that crazy magical foam were everywhere just a few years ago now try to remember the last time someone handed you a Styrofoam container and what you thought about it. That’s right… our perception of Styrofoam has taken a 180 degree turn.

This is the kind of change I like to think about when I think about AusPen and whiteboard markers in general.

If I could make it as objectionable to chuck away that dried up, unusable disposable marker I would be very happy.

We have all seen the effects of the throw away lifestyle… it’s in our streets, rivers, oceans, our very own homes… it’s in our minds… still.

The amounts of trash we produce is nothing short of astounding.

If we can apply what we did to Styrofoam to every waste issue well… that would be something.

Don’t you think we’re better off without it?

I do!

It’s not just about the environment… it’s about LIFE! Live yours well today!

AusPen was created in an attempt to combat the ever increasing number of whiteboard markers that find their way into our landfills every year, and to do our part help foster the idea that as a society we must change our thinking on how we use our resources… ALL our resources.

Time, energy & knowledge are as valuable as fuel, water & food.

No matter how small the changes may seem, turning off a light, fixing a tap or simply having a dialogue about how to create a sustainable lifestyle as individuals, we believe that no significant change will ever be made until we all share information, ideas and ACTIONS!

So this Blog is in part a place to communicate your ideas, a place for our ideas & to relay good ideas we’ve heard about.

We believe that building a world–wide eco consciousness can’t stand alone in its problems or its solutions, it is inextricably connected to all the other problems that we must face in this ever changing world, so for us building a better world is a job for every one of us!

We all have a responsibility to fulfill when it comes to this and other incredibly difficult and multi-faceted societal problems, a responsibility we must try to live up to for ourselves and our families.

So welcome … don’t just sit there in the background, in the days, months and years ahead pitch in and share your opinion, we welcome it … in fact we NEED it!

It’s not just about the environment… it’s about LIFE! Live yours well today!

I truly believe that we are at the doorway of a new way of living with our planet, and if my belief is true then I must admit to having some concerns, for even though it is not a hard and fast rule history has shown that mankind does not handle serious change well.

The dawn of a bold new age implies that bold actions will be necessary… and right now there is not a lot of bold ideas around, we, as humans seem to have a habit of digging our heels in deepest on issues that could do us the most good. Don’t get me wrong there are some bold plans and ideas around, for instance “Save Our Selves” - Live Earth and the concerts that will soon take place on all 7 continents now that’s bold!

More and more climate change, conservation & Eco sustainability are becoming the subject of conversation in places that even a year ago it was not.

This is progress.

It would do us all well to remember that while we have a gigantic problem on our hands, that was not made overnight it was made by us … all of us and it is likely that it will take all of us to fix it.

Our lives will change but who says that’s a bad thing?