Hello lovely readers! I’m sorry to admit I’ve been neglecting my blog slightly these last few weeks, and I’ve only just noticed why. It’s my summer holiday from university and I’m back in my hometown for a couple of months, visiting my family and my old friends. I realised today that the reason I haven’t been writing is because I see it as something I do when I’m at home. That is to say, in the city where I study and have my own flat with my boyfriend, it’s very much part of my daily routine to read up about environmental news and theories and write blog entries about my little discoveries. Here in my small and eccentric hometown I’m accustomed to doing nothing more than taking my little brother to the park and drinking cider with my friends.
But seeing as I’m here for quite a while this time, rather than the fleeting visit that’s been the norm since I moved away, I really need to get into the habit of writing here as well.
So that’s quite enough of my rambling, now I’ll get on and tell you a couple of things that are more relevant.
- Firstly, I’m very excited because I got a message from my dad today (who lives in Portugal and is a computer enthusiast) saying that he’s going to set up a new internet business for carbon-offsetting by tree-planting. I know there are several of these kinds of businesses already, but as he says, many of them charge quite a substantial amount of money, and some simply give money to people who were going to plant trees anyway. That’s great because such projects deserve the financial support, but it doesn’t mean any extra trees are going to get planted, if you see what I mean. Anyway lots of his friends in rural Portugal own land, plus the cost of basic things like seeds is very low there so he won’t need to charge much. The best bit is, he wants me to do the writing for the website, explaining the project to potential customers. This would mean I can a) help my dad b) support an ethical green enterprise and c) build my writing portfolio. Win win win!
- It’s my 20th birthday this coming Tuesday (the 16th July) and I’ve asked my mother for one or two books on post-growth economics. As you may of read, I was bowled over by Enough is Enough and I’m desperate to learn more about the concept. It makes so much sense to me, and yet seems too good to be true. To think that there might actually be a way to attain the kind of sustainable, equitable and compassionate society that seems so out of reach on a bad day – it’s incredibly exciting. When I’ve researched more about post growth economics I’ll write properly about it, but for now please check out my review of Enough is Enough, or this FAQ by Make Wealth History (which, incidentally, is one of my favourite blogs at the moment).
I hope you’re all having a wonderful summer and I promise I’ll be more on it with the writing from now on!
Earth Baby 
Thank you ..good luck tuesday …slammer time …….xxxxxxxx
Enjoy your visit at home, hope you get the books you asked for. Sounds like you had wonderful influences from your parents on environmental issues.
Thank you! And yes, my parents – though very different – have an environmental mindset in common and support my interests and studies very wholeheartedly. :)