Steve McAllister

Steve McAllister is an acclaimed author, filmmaker, actor, and musician. In addition to contributing to Modern Hippie Mag, he also writes InkenSoul, a blog focused on literature and information that promotes commerce, charity, creativity, spirituality, and environmental sustainability. Purchase his most recent novel, The McAllister Code as an e-book at www.themcallistercode.com. Find Steve on Twitter, @InkenSoul. Read his reviews and articles here.

Celebrate Earth Day Every Day is a post from: Modern Hippie Mag

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Earth day is a day to honor planet Earth.  It’s also a day to commit to environmental awareness in our lives and in our businesses.  There are many paths to green living.  Some celebrate Earth Day once a year, while others are looking to live green all year long.     Regardless of which path you choose, being environmental aware includes utilizing resources already present in our lives to lighten the load on our environment.    Most of us have access to technology, so why not use it to go green on Earth Day?  Here are 27 eco-friendly tips to do just that:

1. Telecommute one day a week or once a month.
2. Recycle cell phones that are no longer used.
3. Switch to paperless billing.
4. Have a virtual meeting. Use video conferencing instead of travel.
5. Use a smart thermostat to reduce energy costs.
6. Use a smart power strip for your computer or wireless phone charger.
7. Sensors in the strip turn off the power supply when the items are not in use, saving electricity and money.
8. Use email for correspondence.
9. Create an e-brochure vs. a printed brochure and for sales calls and presentations.
10. On sales calls, use a USB memory stick and electronically leave your e-brochure and presentation with your client.
11. Move to a paperless office.
12. Replace your paper planner with an electronic one. PDA‘s: Blackberry and smart phones all have contact management capabilities.  Take it a step further and close the reuse/recycle loop and purchase a used one from eBay or Craig’s list.
13. Get your daily dose of green and subscribe to blogs: BestGreenBlogs, ModernHippieMag, and Taiga Company.
14. For birthday cards and notifications, try sending an e-card or using an online party planning tool.
15. Share your photos online.
16. Commit to all online banking:  statements, bill, and payments.
17. File your taxes electronically; if receiving a refund, elect to have it automatically deposited to your bank account.
18. Empty file cabinets: scan and store electronically, use the paper as scratch paper then recycle it.
19. Read your books online: subscribe to e-books.
20. Use Digital Post it notes
21. Online e-zines, blogs, and PDF versions of printed magazines are becoming more and more popular, both as a replacement for and a supplement to printed publications.
22. Utilize social media tools (Facebook, digg, StumbleUpon) to share information: favorite websites, cool videos, and even gift ideas.
23. Learn 50 new ways to use your iPod for more than music.
24. Continuing education: look into online education and online classrooms.
25. Stay in touch with friends and family via email, Facebook, or start your own blog.
26. Use the internet for resources for Eco Awareness and Action.

Here’s wishing the best to you and Planet Earth this Earth Day!

Julie Urlaub

Julie Urlaub is Founder & Managing Partner of Taiga Company, a sustainability consulting firm located in Houston, Texas dedicated to accelerating the integration of sustainability concepts in business. Today, Julie speaks, writes, and advises clients on a variety of issues related to the intersection between environmental stewardship, and sustainable business practices. Her writing has been featured in SocialYell’s Corporate Advice, the GreenEcomonyPost, the Business Exchange and, the ThinkGreenAlliance. Connect with Taiga Company on Facebook and Twitter. Also Find Julie on LinkedIn.

Go Green on Earth Day with Technology is a post from: Modern Hippie Mag

Johan talked nostalgically about the music he loved: Joan Armatrading, Pink Floyd, Bob Dylan, Led Zeppelin. He was telling a young female colleague of the magic of those days. As he talked I located the songs that he mentioned on my laptop. I had every one.

I recounted the concerts and festivals of which I was a part, the Isle of Wight 1970, Bickershaw 1973 …

“You’re a closet Hippie,” he exclaimed.

His words rang a bell.

I had never defined myself as a hippie. In those days nobody actually called themselves a hippie, but I had been part of the ‘hippie’ generation, the ‘alternative society’ that found new ways to look at how we live and how we eat. We were concerned about opening the doors (or perhaps the windows) of perception.

This was the generation that transformed the environmental movement from a tiny fringe minority into a mainstream organization, the generation that began the movement towards organic foods (you are what you eat), the generation that rejected materialism in favor of spiritual growth.

We looked for alternative ways of seeing things. Everything from politics to music to art became more thoughtful. There were alternatives to the old left and the old right. Pop groups had to become virtuoso musicians, and each band member had to do an obligatory solo at least once on each set.

Perhaps one of the greatest legacies of the ‘hippie’ movement was the strength that went into the anti-war protests. Opposition to the war at home may have played the major part in bringing an end to the Vietnam War.

The ‘closet hippie’ part really got to me. No-one ever called themselves hippies. That was an invention of the media. But no one today advertises their part in the movement. The establishments have perhaps won the propaganda war. Hippies are somewhat derided – until we discover that many of the movements that the hippies began have today become mainstream.

Timothy Leary coined the phrase “turn on, tune in drop out.” It was a big slogan of the era. Of course it was not possible for many to do that on a sustainable basis. Most became ‘straight’ and joined mainstream society. They became scientists, doctors, artists, professors, lawyers, musicians and business consultants. They joined the ‘other side’, they SOLD OUT. They became closet hippies!

But in 2009 there is a modern hippie movement. I have discovered Modern Hippie Mag and then there are the Cultural Creatives. These are the modern hippies, an underground group of subversives hoping to inject some thought into what we are doing to our environment, ourselves and each other …

Barry Marcus

Barry Marcus is the author of Breathing Space, a blog about politics, human interest, and life in South Africa.

Barry lives in Johannesburg with his artist wife Lorraine, sons Adam, Joshua & Asher, and cats Minnie and Zena.

Closet Hippies? is a post from: Modern Hippie Mag

Lynn is on a crusade to keep us informed of issues that affect our health and the health of our children.  She is spearheading efforts to spread the word about the environmental hazards of plastic bottle manufacturing and why switching to reusable bottles is a much “greener” option.

Check out www.ICountforMyEarth.wordpress.com.  Support her reusable water bottle campaign Rescue H2O, join on Facebook.

I Count for My Earth – A Really Cool Site! is a post from: Modern Hippie Mag

Van Jones

I was first introduced to Van Jones through an extremely articulate interview in the Utne Reader in which the civil rights leader proposed that one of the greatest ways to push the Green movement into the viable mainstream was to educate the lower class population how it could help them. When one is worried about how to pay his rent, the plight of the polar bear doesn’t really leave much of an impression. However, when you make that person understand that fighting global warming will create a better paying job for him, he is much more likely to get on board.

And that, in essence, is what The Green Collar Economy is about – realizing the possibilities of bolstering our economy by taking care of our planet, our community, and our health. Currently, our society is based in what Jones calls a Grey Economy – a system based on deriving energy from non-renewable, quickly depleting resources that create greenhouse gasses and pollute our environment and our health. The subtitle, “How One Solution Can Fix Our Two Biggest Problems,” refers to how transferring our energy production to renewable resources like solar, water, and wind can revolutionize the job market and help to clean up our environment.

The introduction to the book defines “green collar job” in three parts. First, it is blue collar employment that has been upgraded to better respect the environment. Second, it is family friendly, career track, vocational or trade level employment in environmentally friendly fields. Examples of green collar jobs are electricians who install solar panels; plumbers who install solar water heaters; farmers engaged in organic agriculture and some bio-fuel production; and construction workers who build energy efficient green buildings, wind power farms, solar farms, and wave energy farms.

Jones discusses the first two waves of environmentalism, conservation and regulation, while paving the way for the third wave, investment – investing in our community, our resources, and our future. Should a fraction of the ideas espoused in Jones’ book be made manifest, the investment would indeed have a grand payoff. By making the investment in the inevitable shift to renewable resources now, it will provide new jobs for those who will have to create the infrastructure and release us from scrambling around when oil reaches its last few drops.

In making this shift toward a more sustainable future, Jones is careful to point out the importance of avoiding the current schism of eco-apartheid for a more balanced eco-equity. By this, he means that currently, the rich can afford to eat organic foods, add solar panels to their roofs, and drive hybrid cars while the poor eat what fits their budget, live in houses that leak energy, and guzzle gas because it’s all that’s available to them. By creating a system of eco-equity, all members of society will have access to a sustainable future because all members will take part in creating it. Jones defines eco-equity as “equal protection and equal opportunity in an economy that respects the Earth.”

Jones suggests a Green New Deal whereby government would act as a sort of midwife whereby this new economy can be implemented, but does not opt for the bureaucratic governmental control that many have recently accused him of. Instead, he sees the government as a partner with Labor groups, social justice activists, environmentalists, students, and even faith organizations that would come together realizing their shared goals and unique contributions to the greater good.

Those of us with progressive aspirations can only hope at this point that Van Jones had the time to lay some of the groundwork for some of the governmental programs discussed in his book before he was forced to resign his White House position. But regardless of what happens in the government, Jones offers up a great appendix of organizations, resources, and websites devoted to transforming our culture into sustainable operations.

Though Van Jones is currently mired in controversy over innuendo and gossip that received more news coverage than it should have, more attention should be placed on the ideas espoused in The Green Collar Economy. For as interesting and entertaining as the politico-celebrity debacle might be, our attention and interest is much more better spent on creating a future in which people can work, communities can prosper, technologies can advance, and the planet can survive.

Book Review – The Green Collar Economy by Van Jones is a post from: Modern Hippie Mag