I’ve done several things my parents don’t love. Near the top of that list is bike touring, which has become an important part of my life in the mere two years since I started. They just don’t get why I would exert myself so much, put myself at the mercy of nature and man-operated vehicles,… Continue reading Am I Risking My Life to Bike?
Tag: sustainability
Painting Without Plastic
My exploration into natural clay paints has been unexpectedly inspiring. I used to use acrylic paints. My last acrylic painting was in 2019, a large replica of a de Chirico oil painting I really love. Oil paints have been used for centuries, and are made of pigments suspended in a hardening oil, like linseed oil.… Continue reading Painting Without Plastic
Year Three of No Flying
My last flight was in the fall of 2021, so it’s really been about three and a half years, but this has become an annual holiday post and I like that (see Year Two and Year One for some throwbacks and more context). Speaking of holidays, I’m on vacation right now. Staycation. I finally decided… Continue reading Year Three of No Flying
Save America’s Ecovillage
This time last year, I was biking through Western North Carolina and Eastern Tennessee, regions that have now been devastated by Hurricane Helene. It’s shocking to see pictures of charming mountain towns I recall riding through, now torn-up and buried by the flooding. One of those places is Earthaven Ecovillage, one of America’s longest-running (30… Continue reading Save America’s Ecovillage
Biking 1000 Miles Through Michigan
This June I completed my longest bike trip yet—one thousand and seven miles over thirteen days, starting near Detroit, looping around Michigan’s lower peninsula and ending in Cleveland, Ohio. The idea began way back in early spring when some new friends (also Community Rebuilds alumni) invited me to their straw-clay work party in Boyne City,… Continue reading Biking 1000 Miles Through Michigan
Stop Asking if It Scales
Point: “Big, global problems need big, global solutions. Big solutions spread fast, to lots of people: that is scalability. So scalability is a requirement for any solution that seeks to solve big problems.” Counterpoint: “Big, global solutions proposed are often ineffective, unfeasible, or counterproductive, because people and places are different. Any long-term solution is adapted… Continue reading Stop Asking if It Scales
Year Two of No Flying
Emily here, reporting on my second straight calendar year of no flying (first year post). At first, I couldn’t think of much to say about the absence of an experience, the same way I have nothing to say about not riding a camel and not driving a tractor. I just haven’t done it; it’s not a… Continue reading Year Two of No Flying
I Made Lunch
I had just gotten back from my big trip when the farm I volunteer at asked for someone to take the lead on food/catering arrangements on their annual humble harvest celebration. This was an up-to-50-person event: no small fry, and it would be the biggest audience I’d cooked for yet, if I did. So of… Continue reading I Made Lunch
Biking to a Cob Workshop
In the middle of October I spent two weeks embarking on an adventure I’d been planning for a while: this is the whole story of that adventure. Earlier in 2023, I was thinking about how important it is to have some idea of not only what I am trying to reduce (ecological disaster, suffering, injustice,… Continue reading Biking to a Cob Workshop
Soup
Hello friends! I’ve been encouraged to provide my Soup powerpoint (circa 2022) in a more easily accessible location, so I’ve converted it to blog post form. Enjoy! bean soup or becoming a better person through soup (Updated Spring 2023) I’m going to break it down, easy as soup. Table of contents 1. What I do… Continue reading Soup
evoiding 