Following on from being on SBS and my recent posts on Freeganism, I managed to track down a clip from an Oprah episode where Freegans in New York take Lisa Ling along on a “Trash Tour” in search of some food. Its just incredible what they find, its hard to believe this stuff gets thrown out. You can watch it here.

“We cannot discover new oceans unless we have the courage to lose sight of the shore” – André Gide

Yep, that’s right! A manufacturer hailing from China, where bamboo resources are plentiful, that originally began as a flooring company, is now diversifying its production to include the latest in green design: bamboo keyboards. You can see it and read about it more here.

A friend of mine from Seattle, Kohl Crecelius, recently started a small non-profit with a few others called Krochet Kids International. In their own words, Krochet Kids is a “movement fighting poverty by producing and selling distinctive, life changing products.”

Originally selling their own home-made crochet hats to raise money for local organisations in Northern Uganda, they now provide sustainable economic development programs and raise money by selling an extended range of really sweet gear.

They have recently launched their Spring/Summer product range which includes hats (beanies), shirts, and stickers. So, check out their online store, pick up some rad gear and “clothe yourself in love.”

There’s something about story. It has the ability to turn, in this case, complex theological truths into a conversation that seems to make a lot more sense than reading doctrine. The Pilgrim’s Progress accomplished this, and more contemporary authors like Max Lucado and Philip Yancey use the art of story to illustrate concepts such as grace and forgiveness. Jesus himself loved to use parables to reach the heart of his listeners through their imagination.

In some ways, The Shack helped me to make sense of what can sometimes be tricky to understand. » Read the rest of this entry «

It seems that progress is finally being made towards phasing out plastic bags in Australia. May 4 marked the day that check-out style plastic bags disappeared from South Australian shops as the state became the first in the nation to ban them. Read the story here. Target Australia will also ditch plastic bags from next month across their stores nation-wide. Read about it here.

We currently use around 4 billion plastic bags per year, with over 10 million new bags being used each day. They end up in our landfill, they litter our streets, parks and waterways, and pose a significant danger to wildlife. Producing these bags is an enormous waste of energy and resources, particularly considering the fact that the use of plastic bags is, for the most part, unnecessary. » Read the rest of this entry «

“When reality gets ugly, fiction takes off” – Karen Bell, executive editor at B&H Publishing, on why Christian fiction sales are strong even as sales of Christian non-fiction have dropped off.

Great article in the Sydney Morning Herald by Lisa Pryor about the development of the “Small Movement“, a reaction against the big houses, big commutes and big debt of our society. It seems that going small is cheap, economic and environmentally aware.

Read it here: http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/small-is-beautiful-x2026-and-cheap-economic-and-environmentally-aware-20090501-aq4x.html?page=2

Great opinion piece in the Sydney Morning Herald by Peter Hartcher about Western narcissism in the face of immense global suffering. So encouraging to see articles such as these in the news media, not surprised its in the SMH. Great paper.

Read it here: Not now, poor countries. Can’t you see we’re busy?

World Fair Trade Day (WFTD) is on Saturday May 9, 2009. WFTD was adopted by the World Fair Trade Organization and its members in 2001 in Arusha, Tanzania, to promote global awareness of Fair Trade.

World Fair Trade Day has grown into a global festival of Fair Trade with events organized worldwide, on and around the second Saturday of May by members of the World Fair Trade Organization across 70 countries. » Read the rest of this entry «