Archive for the ‘sustainability’ Category

I read an email last week that said…you/we need to run for office. You/we need to get in their and take back all the things we believe in and have relied on our government to do for us.

We are losing control of our individual freedom, and that is the fact.
It is occurring in small planned steps so we don’t even notice.

Yesterday I wanted to buy an old fashion hot water bottle kit. The kind that has enema/douche attachments.
I went to all the retailers (except Wal-mart whom I boycott) and all I could find were either a hot water bottle by itself or pre-made enemas and douches loaded with ingredients I am not interested in (including preservatives) using on my body.

Finally a pharmacist spoke with me. She told me there used to a big medical supply store across the street and last year an insurance company bought it out – just to close it down.
That is exactly what she said.
This is exactly what I am talking about.

Then I saw a bumper sticker that said “Support Diversity”.

Now that is a fascinating idea, because the fact of the matter is, we are slowing being driven into smaller and smaller boxes. We are losing diversity because many of our products are governed by large industrial businesses that are buying everything up and then often changing the product or taking it off the market. Wal-mart is the perfect example and many of us have already heard all the stories about how this bad guy comes into small towns and drives the local retailers out of business. It happens EVERY TIME.

It is the reason why I don’t support them with my dollars any longer. It made my household spending jump up but in the long run, I feel very passionate about coming back to local and sustainable living.
I don’t want to support cheap plastic and electronic things that are breaking quicker and quicker- and I doubt this is by accident.

We are losing our freedom and our ability to sustain our communities, locally and nationally, and for most of us, we don’t realize it.

Please consider your dollar is the most powerful vote you have.
Each time you drop a dollar on the counter or swipe your debit card, you are saying “I support this company, I agree with their business strategies and choices, and I want them to be successful.”

I can’t say that about Wal-mart, or Kraft, or Nestle, or BP oil, or Coca cola (all soda companies)…in fact all fast foods, processed foods, pharmaceutical companies, bottled water companies…
dang, this list is long…and it is growing every day.

So think about this the next time you decide you need something to eat or to go shopping…
“What are the long term ramifications for how I spend this dollar?”

Remember, YOU are making a difference,
Ramona and the Fountain of Wellness Team

What does it all mean…
Several big earthquakes, oil rigs exploding, volcanoes erupting, and the latest…

The Nashville region is flooded…now being categorized as 1000 year flood! Not sure how that is measured but we can report through one of our team members who is living outside the Nashville area, the scary part is over. But now for the hard part – recovery. Many friends are digging out the river mud from their homes and just now starting to really feel the exhaustion due to lack of sleep and emotional shock.

How quickly they recover will be greatly accelerated by the community efforts of all the neighbors, of their ‘tribe’. Funny how Mother Nature can so quickly yank the rug out and ask…

Are you prepared, how long can you survive without your grocer’s food source and clean water?

What if there are some small medical needs to attend to, never mind the big ones…let’s just ask, can you properly dress a wound to keep it from getting infected?

In a country that has become so dependent on technology and convenience; things like the simple flip of a light switch or immediately available hot running water or take out delivery for our meals – I think most of us would be very hard pressed (this is a nice way to say it) to find their daily routine interrupted by a hurricane, tornado, flood or fire. They will be more than “up a creek without a paddle”. My mother adds a more expressive word in there to take the place of ‘a’. She herself has sat through several nasty hurricanes in the Gulf area of Florida, including a direct hit from Ivan. She too witnessed first hand what it is like to sit helpless in during the beautiful fury unleashed by of the forces of Nature, and then re-build for weeks and months in the aftermath and debris.

So to end this post I have 2 last things to share…this website: www.primitiveways.com

and this cartoon:

Be prepared and be prepared to let it all go and laugh,
The Fountain of Wellness Team

It is time to remember. Time to gather. Time to learn and return to the basics.

There is a hard core truth staring us in the face. Of course, truth doesn’t ‘care’ if anyone believes it or not- it still remains true.

This truth is a simple math equation that says the model that we currently run and live our lives by is not able to sustain itself for much longer and certainly not indefinitely. Most of us are using a number of finite resources to operate our daily routine and do not KNOW how to operate any other way!

During the industrial revolution, we stretched ourselves well beyond our means as individuals, as a country, and as global inhabitants to take care of ourselves. Literally. If even the simplest and smallest of potential disruptions or natural catastrophes were to occur- hundreds of thousands of people will most likely die…

Are you prepared if:
1. You run out of clean drinking water?
2. Your grocer, hardware store, gas station, etc. stops receiving its shipments?
3. Your electricity goes out for more than a week?
4. You need basic medical care during these scenarios?
5. You can not draw money from your bank or some other financial disaster occurs?

Here is the hard core truth of the math equation I spoke of earlier…IF each one of us had to return to a life of “living” off our local area, no more grocery stores to purchase food that is manufactured in a factory or grown in another country, it has been determined that the natural balance of this reality would only sustain 1 billion people.

Our current population sits around 6.4 billion people.

So what happens to the 5.4 billion that are living in their non-renewable economy? 5.4 billion people are out of balance with the natural rhythm of our ecosystem. Will they be able to implement disaster recovery techniques, when necessary?

In the US, one person throws away about 4 pounds of garbage a day. Two thirds of it is food- wasted food that is still safe to eat.
This garbage pile is adding up to about 195 million tons a year = 39,000,000,000 pounds of garbage…
Where is it all going?

I ask these questions because the changes must occur on an individual basis, with you and me. This isn’t a scenario that is argued by scientists any longer…it is factually proven that we are not going to be able to live as we do now.

Our planet simply can not provide us the resources we have been reaping without any regard to replenishing them. Combine this with driving gasoline engines, industry pollution, and our enormous volume of trash we produce every day points to the hard core truth we must face, NOW.

WE MUST LEARN TO LIVE IN A SUSTAINABLE AND RENEWABLE LIFE STYLE or we will perish. Our planet is not really the one at risk…we are the one at risk- you and me and our family and friends.

Let these questions I ask only be the beginning, the catalyst for all the questions you need to ask yourself.
Look into your local area for answers. Google up ‘go green in phoenix az’ for example to find them.

I have found a local, organic farmer in a CSA program (Community Supported Agriculture) just miles from my house. I have recently found these and so many more:
http://schoolofsustainability.asu.edu/ this is the nation’s first school of sustainability.
http://greenhomeguide.com/ this is a cool resource directory for all kinds of Q and A’s

Go back and ask yourself those first 5 ‘Are you prepared?’ questions. How do your answers make you feel, prepared or possibly in deep s***?

With all the hopes and dreams for future of good fortune for us all, I sincerely say-
Please get prepared.
Ramona and the team at the fountain of wellness

In 2004 William A. Draves and Julie Coates, co-founders and senior
managers of the Learning Resources Network (LERN), the leading
association in the world in lifelong learning published “Nine Shift:
Work, Life and Education in the 21st century”.

According to Draves and Coates’ research studies and observations:
“In just twenty years, between 2000 and 2020, some 75% of our lives
will change dramatically. We know this because it happened once
before. Between 1900 and 1920, life changed. We moved from an
agrarian farming way of life to an industrialized way of life. Now
it is all happening again.”

What these two observers and reporters of the present are telling
us is that based on history and the changes that have already
manifested themselves from 2000 through 2005: “The way we work is
changing. The way we live is changing. The way we learn is
changing.”

I think at this point we can all say “Well, that is an understatement!”

What I want to highlight out of this is the fact that we know we are living in the technology age. This has brought such advancements that many us may never care to understand but it has also shifted the balance of power from the seller to the buyer. Thanks to the internet and search engines like Google- we are and continue to be super-educated consumers that retailers have never before had to contend with.

I want you to consider this: we can use this leverage to our advantage in the broad topic arena of our health. Even though our currency is weak, specifically referring the American dollar, it is still a powerful tool. It stands for our vote for what we believe in. Every time we spend a dollar, we are saying “I trust and support this company.”

Now it is time to do some research and find out what companies are supporting our long term needs for natural resources. What companies are respectful to an environmental sustainability model that provides value to all aspects of our lives and our global neighbors, including nature?

We have been living out of balance with our natural resources for the last century. We have forgotten that we are all sharing One Home! We have forgotten that is ‘Nature’ that took millions of centuries to develop and support the habitat we live in today.

We have already seen how the fast paced changes in the world we now live in, work in, and do business in have dramatically shifted our daily lives. We also know, these changes are causing great uncertainty, doubt, anxiety and stress.

If we let these current trends continue, it makes me think of the kid’s movie that came out a few years back called “Walley”. It is wonderfully surprising to see the message that speaks clearly of a future where we sit in land speeder like chairs that are out fitted with TVs and headsets for cellphones and don’t see what is ever happening to our physical and environmental bodies. In this pictured future, we are lulled into a vacation plan that cuts us off from any ‘real life’ interaction. Definitely a good movie for all.

Today remember to vote for your family’s healthy future.

More thoughts for the day brought to you be the Team at fountainofwellness.com

As we research the many aspects of what it means to live a sustainable lifestyle for the 21 Century, Toni and I had a great conversation about what it takes for emergency preparedness of any kind.

Being the Moms that we are, we went right to the root of applying this on a daily and practical level. We asked ourselves what would we need to have in order to deal with situations like no electricity, no petrol for the car, and some basic first aid requirements. Here is what we have come up with so far..

The key to this strategy is to start NOW and add to it each week. This will help spread the costs out over time and to be honest, both Toni and I have been through enough strange emergency situations that we are vigilant not to activate any fearful behavior. It is really interesting to watch what the mind does at times when survival is at the forefront of our thoughts…so be sure to keep your humor and certainty that all is well no matter what!

Get yourself a large plastic bin with a cover that fits in the closet or can be tucked away in the garage.

A.   a large box of matches, candles

B.   a crank or a shake flashlight.. *no batteries*    one for each floor of the house/one for the car

these are not expensive. You can find these on any survival site or the heartland company on line.

C.   a blanket in the car all the time and a couple bath towels

D.   a small tool box or tackle box to build a first aid kit:

1.  bandaids

2.  bottle of hydrogen peroxide/or in the gel form

3.  two wash cloths/a couple zip lock baggies for wet things

4.  one or two bottles of ionic silver

5.  package of needles and spool of surgical or nylon thread

6.  snake bite kit

7.  tube of  After Bite Xtra… rocks for bites, stops itching immediately

8.  bottle of Technu… stops poison ivy itch and heals it immediately.

(anyone traveling on foot/or coming to the woods would want bite remedies and Poison Ivy solutions)

9.  a couple bars of soap.

10. a small jar of honey… for disinfecting wounds.

11.  a roll of gauze and scissors.

12.  small cheap bottle/plastic of vodka…better than rubbing alcohol.

13. collapsible cup or dixie cups.

14.  bottle of daily vitamins for all ages.

15. a few folded trash bags.

16. generic pain killer/or White willow caps

Toni is writing a simple yet comprehensive E-book that I really recommend contacting her and ordering at www.springofwellness.com…she has such a wealth of information under her bonnet and it really shows off when it comes to having practical wisdoms about what it takes to live a healthy lifestyle.

Thanks for all your feedback and have a fantastic day!

Ramona