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Adventures in Sustainable Living206_How to Become the Best Version of YourselfAdventures in Sustainable Living Podcast
Episode 206
How to Be the Best Version of Yourself
There are many aspects to the concept of sustainability and having a regenerative lifestyle. As you could most likely guess, the planet would be just fine without people. But without people there is no culture and no economy.
However, our modern economy has largely lead us down the wrong path. Consumerism has both consumed our lives and our planet. As we get closer to a true environmental disaster many people feel helpless to do anything a...
2024-11-2035 min
Adventures in Sustainable Living190_How to Maintain Your Internet Privacy and FreedomHow would you feel if your neighbor came to your mailbox everyday and opened your mail? How would you feel if someone was always looking over your shoulder to monitor everything you did on the internet? I think most people would say "NO!" And they would say no because such things are an invasion of our privacy.
We now live in a very connected world. More and more we depend on the internet for personal services, business purposes, data storage, communication and entertainment. But what most people do not realize is that there is very little...
2024-07-0853 min
Adventures in Sustainable Living#149 A Time of GratitudeAfter the last two episodes where I gave you nothing but good news about our world, I have decided to continue on that trend. I have often said that if everyone in the world could come home to a place of peace and quiet and have the ability to just mentally shut down, the world would be a much happier place and people would be a lot less angry. There are a number of things that have been proven to increase our happiness and well being and one of those things is gratitude. Taking a...
2023-10-1821 min
Adventures in Sustainable Living128 Ten Ways to Test Drive the Off Grid Life Before You CommitIf you have been following me at all, you already know that I have lived off the grid for many years. In fact, as of August 2023, I will have owned my homestead property for 27 years. I greatly enjoy the lifestyle that I have and would not have it any other way. It is one of the few things that has been a major driving force in shaping my adult life. Often times I wonder why more people do not choose to live the way I do. Perhaps it is fear of the unknown because it is such a...
2023-05-2425 min
Adventures in Sustainable Living128 Ten Ways to Test Drive the Off Grid Life Before You CommitIf you have been following me at all, you already know that I have lived off the grid for many years. In fact, as of August 2023, I will have owned my homestead property for 27 years. I greatly enjoy the lifestyle that I have and would not have it any other way. It is one of the few things that has been a major driving force in shaping my adult life. Often times I wonder why more people do not choose to live the way I do. Perhaps it is fear of the unknown because it is such a...
2023-05-2425 min
Adventures in Sustainable Living#100 Sustainability SummitIt is hard for me to believe that this is episode 100. It has taken me almost 2 years to get to this point and I am still going strong. Over the last 99 episodes I have covered a wide variety of topics. In this episode I want to simply review some of the more popular episodes and hopefully continue to instill in everyone not only the desire to start living more sustainably but also prove that there is an enormous need to do so. I also want to show once again that living sustainably is actually more ec...
2022-11-0931 min
Adventures in Sustainable Living#099 Earth Overshoot Day Years ago I used to work in a small veterinary practice in Conifer, Colorado. At the time this community was a very small and at lunch time I would walk up on the hill side and sit in a groove of old growth forest. It was quiet, very green, and offered a little reprieve from a busy practice. One day at lunch I walked up the hill as usual only to find that someone had cut a huge swath right through the old growth trees and had started excavation to build a home. I counted the rings on...
2022-11-0235 min
Adventures in Sustainable Living#098 Sustainable Leadership Lessons We Can Learn From AnimalsIf you focus at all on sustainability then you already know that the 3 pillars of sustainability are economic, environmental, and social, less formally referred to as people, planet, and profits. But in order for any of this to be feasible, for any of us to have a stainable future we have to work together. Yet we have forgotten how to do this. We have actually lost a lot of our social skills, and even forgotten how to be effective leaders. But all we really have to do is to look at the animal kingdom in ord...
2022-10-2626 min
Adventures in Sustainable Living097 Climate Adaptation: Can We Do It?As talks about climate change become increasingly serious, many of us are either weary of hearing about it, we are anxious about it, or we just do not know what to do. More and more often we hear this term “climate emergency” knowing very well the use of the term“emergency” usually means do something now. Despite our present predicament, are we as humans resilient enough to adapt to what is going on? What is the difference between climate mitigation and climate adaptation? How is all of this going to affect our daily lives? These and many other questions...
2022-10-1933 min
Adventures in Sustainable Living#096 How to Start a Homestead Part TwoIn my first episode about homesteading I covered a variety of topics to help point you in the right direction. I did not talk much about the specifics of homesteading but I did lay the basic foundation for success. In this episode I want to get down to some specific actionable tips that you can start doing today. After all this is a lifestyle choice. It will take some time and a lot of hard work. When most people starting thinking about this, they don’t even know where to start. But after this episode you will be...
2022-10-1226 min
Adventures in Sustainable Living#95 How to Start a Homestead Part OneI find it interesting that humanity has grown into a global community that is so interdependent that if one country suffers an environmental disaster, a financial collapse, massive crop failure, a water crises, or even a foreign invasion that it has a dramatic affect on the global economy. Does no one but me see this as a bad thing? While this globalization provides many obvious benefits, it actually creates a lot of insecurity. My answer to all of this is that it is time to commit yourself to a lifestyle of your own making. And one of t...
2022-10-0530 min
Adventures in Sustainable Living#094 Can the Entire World Thrive on Renewable Energy?As you may well know, talks of climate change are becoming increasingly serious. Updates are in the news almost daily so it is difficult to ignore. Furthermore, there are some new books soon to be published on the topic that paint a pretty grim outlook for our future on this planet. In 2018, 89% of greenhouse gas emissions came from the burning of fossil fuels and from industry. Although the use of coal seems to be fading, the use of other fossil fuels are replacing it. So, why are we not pushing the transition to renewables? Is there a p...
2022-09-2826 min
Adventures in Sustainable Living#092 The Science of Climate Change: Are We There Yet?As most of you may know by now the discussions and concerns about climate change are becoming increasingly serious. Additionally, recent surveys in the United States and United Kingdom reveal that approximately 75% of us are concerned about it. But there is also rampant disinformation out there concerning climate change. All it takes is a few minutes of research and you can easily find articles that both confirm and deny that this is even happening. Consequently, while there remains to be a level of concern, most people are not sure what to believe. In this episode I...
2022-09-1443 min
Adventures in Sustainable Living#091 Eco-Anxiety and How to Cope With ItYou have likely heard me say before that we are in fact living in unprecedented times. We now live in a world that is changing so rapidly that even the most sound minded person is likely having trouble feeling some sense of security. If that is how you feel, you can rest assured that you are not alone. If your concern for the state of the planet has you deeply worried then you may be suffering from eco-anxiety. That is the topic of this episode. Eco-Anxiety and how to cope with it. Always remember to li...
2022-09-0727 min
Adventures in Sustainable Living#090 Carbon Paw Prints: Sustainable Pet Ownership Part TwoWelcome back folks to the second episode on sustainable pet ownership. In part one I tried to get you prepared for the fact that the dogs and cats that we keep as pets do in many ways have a significant environmental impact. Mostly I talked about food and poop, what goes in one end and what comes out the other end. Now in this episode I am going to cover several other topics that will help you to be a more sustainable pet owner. And lastly I am going to talk about a couple of very important su...
2022-08-3129 min
Adventures in Sustainable Living#089 Carbon Paw Prints: Sustainable Pet Ownership Part OneFor months now I’ve been focusing on the environmental impact of human activity, our lifestyles and our diet. But so far I have failed in one respect. I have failed to include the furry friends that we have and how they impact the environment as well. Of all the things we do as humans that affects the planet, we often forget about the dog and the cat. After all, they have to eat, drink water, and when we walk them they leave poop in the environment just like every other animal. Obviously they have an impact on...
2022-08-2435 min
Adventures in Sustainable Living#88 Ten Myths and Misconceptions of Sustainable LivingBy far the most common reaction I get when I talk about my off grid lifestyle is “You are crazy. How is it even possible to do that?” When I discuss sustainable living I get similar reactions such as it’s too difficult, it’s too expensive, or I just like beef too much.”That being said, there are many myths and misconceptions about living a sustainable life that keeps people from taking steps in the right direction. And that is the focus of this episode. I want to debunk a few of these myths and misconceptions about livi...
2022-08-1736 min
Adventures in Sustainable Living#087 From Local to Global: Is Simplicity a Thing of the Past?Truly there are few things simpler and more satisfying than walking out to your garden to pick the fresh produce that will be a part of your dinner. What is even better is picking fresh herbs from your garden that are packed with a tremendous flavor that you never get from store bought products. These are only a few of the advantages of going local because it doesn’t get more local than your own backyard. But our backyard now consists of the entire planet thanks to the affects of globalization. And while this has obvious advantages it...
2022-08-1031 min
Adventures in Sustainable Living#086 Sustainability Trends for 2022We now live in a world that is changing so rapidly that even the most sound minded person is certainly having trouble feeling some sense of security. And while that may be true, not all of the changes are necessarily bad. You have often heard me say that you’d better choose to live sustainably while it is still choice. Yet in order for us to get on track toward a sustainable future, we need systematic change, bold ideas, and radical rethinking of how we work and how we consume. But how are we going to get the...
2022-08-0334 min
Adventures in Sustainable Living#085 What Happened to Our Energy Security?As you have likely heard me say before, sustainability is your best security blanket. But part of being sustainable is managing as many of your personal resources as possible. After all, as long as someone else is in control of your resources, someone else is in control of your life. It really doesn’t make any of us feel secure when someone else decides when we get electricity and when we don’t. Yet that is what happens when there are rolling blackouts. I don’t think any of us would have ever predicted there would be a short...
2022-07-2733 min
Adventures in Sustainable Living#084 The True Cost of Sustainable LivingFor years I’ve heard complaints about how expensive it is to live off the grid. Now I hear all about how expensive it is to live sustainably. But is this really true? And even if it is, no matter what the cost, is our convenience really worth compromising our future on this planet? In this episode I want to closely examine several aspects of sustainable living and compare costs. At least if I do that then you will know which lifestyle is more expensive. So stayed tuned for E84 which focuses on the true cost of sust...
2022-07-2040 min
Adventures in Sustainable Living#82 Walls, Weapons, and WisdomWe pay our federal income taxes every year as a “price of civilization” and then we sit back and watch our government spend our tax dollars like an irresponsible teenager with a credit card. Furthermore I sit back and observe this massive machine of civilization that we have created and wonder how it is that we got so far off track. After all focusing on a sustainability does not seem difficult to me. But this possibility of a sustainable future is too often clouded by the mighty powers that still insist on building walls and weapon...
2022-07-0641 min
Adventures in Sustainable Living#081 Apathy, Optimism Bias, and Fossil of the DayFrom time to time we have all been apathetic about something. meaning we are simply indifferent to what is going on around us. If left unaddressed, apathy can lead to significant consequences in our lives. But sometimes we are even informed of those consequences and yet we do nothing. This is exactly how we are addressing climate change and living sustainably. We are simply apathetic for a number of reasons. Despite steady warnings from scientists regarding climate change, we are doing a sum total of nothing. Some believe this is because of optimism bias. If yo...
2022-06-2931 min
Adventures in Sustainable Living#080 Household Hazardous Waste and How to Avoid ItWhenever someone mentions hazardous waste, you most likely think of big industry, or perhaps even radioactive material that is stored in some unknown place out of harms way. But unfortunately we commonly have numerous hazardous materials in our homes.Furthermore we actually produce 13 tons of hazardous waste every second? That amounts to over 400 million tons every year. Presently there are over 700 man made chemicals that have been found in the human body that are not supposed to be there. In this episode I want to talk about common household hazardous wastes, how to handle them an...
2022-06-2222 min
Criminal Justice EvolutionCriminal Justice Evolution Podcast: Retired LEO’s Keith Knotek and Mario Oliveria and Their Stories and Hope and InspirationHello everyone and welcome back to the Criminal Justice Evolution Podcast. A top ranked show because of YOU, the listener and supporter. Please pass this episode, and the cjevolution.com website to others. Please give us that 5-Star Rating on Apple Podcasts.
A big thank you to YOU, the first responder professional. Remember you are honored, cherished and loved. Keep up the great work.
Even have a questionable ID handed to you? Do you wish there was a way to check that document for its validity? I remember those times as a police officer when I...
2022-06-1536 min
Adventures in Sustainable Living#079 Recycling Part Three: 6 Common Household Items and How to Recycle ThemRecycling is all about reducing the amount of waste that goes to the landfill. If you talk about recycling, most people instantly think about paper, plastic, glass, aluminum, and vegetable cans. However, there are a number of other things in our homes that can and should be recycled. For example, light bulbs.In this episode I am going to talk about how to recycle 6 common household items that most of us never even think about. It may require a little bit more work but it is something that is doable. If you want to be i...
2022-06-1520 min
Adventures in Sustainable Living#78 Recycling Part Two: We Need to Ditch Performative EnvironmentalismWith all the talk about going green, I look at some of the things we do and question if we are doing more harm than good. Now more than ever we use every “R” word in the book: reuse, recycle, regenerate, reclaim, reabsorb, recreate, and even more.But is this all just a public performance. Are we just showing off instead of showing up. In this episode I want to discuss performative environmentalism. By doing so, I am going to make you feel bad about some of your green choices. Then I am going to tell you how...
2022-06-0830 min
Adventures in Sustainable Living#077 Recycling Part One: Recycling is Broken. How Do We Fix It?In today’s world you would think that recycling would be one of those no brainers. But then again you would think that climate action would be a no brainer as well especially since we have known about climate change for over 125 years. But yet here we are. Since I travel some for work I have the opportunity to live and work in different communities. I consistently work in places where it is almost impossible to find options for recycling. So why is it that recycling is so difficult. Why is it that the United States lags so...
2022-06-0134 min
Adventures in Sustainable Living#076 How to Thrive Outside of MainstreamLiving sustainably is really truly nothing new. Yet because our modern culture has warped our way of thinking and sense of values, most people think of it as an “alternative lifestyle”. When the reality is that living sustainably should be considered mainstream. But I have often said that when you find yourself in agreement with 90% of the people around you, pack your bags and run the other way as fast as you can. But, so says the guy that has lived off the grid for 25 years. Obviously I am not afraid to step outside the norm and live...
2022-05-2539 min
Adventures in Sustainable Living#075 Can We Change Human Instincts?My niece, who by the way is wickedly intelligent and artistic, recently pointed something out to me that I’d never thought of before. Her observation of humanity is that we are nothing more than a huge evolutionary experiment. Not only that, but this experiment is running amuck and that is what is getting us in trouble. The challenge for humanity is that we retain many instincts from our early years on this planet when we were still living in caves. These early instincts served us well and in many ways guaranteed our very survival. But our pres...
2022-05-1841 min
Adventures in Sustainable Living#074 Growing the Next World WonderUnless you are particularly interested in Earth’s history, most people do not think in terms of a geological time scale. This is because geological time is measured in eons, eras, periods, epochs and ages. This corresponds to anything from 1 billion years to millions. But due to our lifespan we only relate to a human time scale, which is centuries, decades or less. In fact civilization as we know it is thought to have been around for only 6,000 years. Yet the changes that we have made to the planet during that time is the very reason we nee...
2022-05-1135 min
Adventures in Sustainable Living#073 Tips and Tricks for Living SmallI mentioned in E67 that our homes account for approximately 30% of our ecological impact. I have also mentioned before that most of us can live on much less than what we do. Helping you to accomplish just that is the focus of this three part series on the art of living small. There are unique challenges to living in a small space. I know this from personal experience. But, there are also numerous ways to make the most of the space that you have and that is the focus of this episode. So, stay tuned for Tips a...
2022-05-0424 min
Adventures in Sustainable Living#072 What No One Tells You About Living SmallIn my last episode I spoke about the pros and cons of living small. I talked about how it is more affordable, how you can live without a mortgage, how you can simplify your life, how it is possible to be debt free. While all of that may sound attractive, you also have to realize that living small is a lifestyle choice that comes with a unique set of challenges. In this episode, I am going to discuss all the things about living small that no one tells you. This episode is going to be packed with u...
2022-04-2723 min
Adventures in Sustainable Living#071 The Pros and Cons of Living SmallPart of the focus of sustainable living is being mindful of the impact you have on the world around you. As you have no doubt heard me say, every single thing we do has some sort of impact. But there are numerous ways to reduce our individual ecological foot print. I have spoken of this before in previous episodes on reducing your carbon footprint and life without plastic. I now want to continue that trend by giving you further options on how to live more sustainably in ways that more or less go against our cultural trend.
2022-04-2028 min
Adventures in Sustainable Living#070 Life Without Plastic Part Two/ Homemade ProductsDespite our best efforts to rid our lives of plastic and reduce plastic pollution, there is the possibility that we may loose, meaning plastics may actually win out and we have to deal with this problem forever. But we have to remind ourselves to do the best we can and to make slow steady progress. In episode one of Life Without Plastic, I covered some valuable tips on what I call the no brainers. This gives you an easy place to start going plastic free. In this episode I want to cover some some additional things you c...
2022-04-1327 min
Adventures in Sustainable Living#069 Life Without Plastic Part One/The No BrainersWe are often told to reduce our waste production, conserve water, recycle, eat less meat, drive less, convert to renewable energy, and thus be more sustainable. The challenge is that a great deal of the time we are not given easily accessible, affordable options in order to live more responsibly. By far one of the largest challenges we have these days is that of plastic pollution. Plastic is literally everywhere. It fills our oceans, landfills, food, water, and micro plastics have even been found on top of Mount Everest. This is why I want to devote a c...
2022-04-0634 min
Adventures in Sustainable Living#068 It All Starts At Home: How to Reduce Your Carbon Footprint Part IIIOne of the most common questions I hear is "How to I reduce my carbon footprint?" In the first two episodes of this three part series I covered how we travel and how we live. In this episode I am going to focus on what we eat. Our agriculture systems have truly put us in a predicament. It has long been known that this is the source of our greatest ecological impact. Yet we must continue to produce food to feed a growing world population. But, believe it or not, it is actually our agricultural systems that a...
2022-03-3029 min
Adventures in Sustainable Living#67 It All Starts at Home: How to Reduce Your Carbon Footprint Part IIOne of the most common questions I hear regarding sustainability is “How can I reduce my carbon footprint?” The answer to that question is not the same for everyone. For example, a sherpa in Nepal that spends his time taking people up Mount Everest has a completely different carbon footprint compared to your average urbanite in the United States.That said, there are three different areas of our Iives where we produce our greatest ecological impact: how we travel, how we live, and what we eat. E66 I covered the topic of how we travel. In this epis...
2022-03-2325 min
Adventures in Sustainable Living#066 It All Starts At Home: How to Reduce Your Carbon Footprint Part IAs the result of my association with several groups and forums focused on sustainability I have begun to see trends in the types of questions that people ask. One of the most common questions that comes up is “How do I reduce my carbon footprint?” Maybe I’ve spent way too much time over the last 3 years examining and dissecting my own life because I’ve gotten to the point to where I think the answer to that question is obvious. But perhaps that is not the case after all. As individ...
2022-03-1633 min
Adventures in Sustainable Living#065 Blue Foods May Be the Green FutureThere is no doubt that our daily diet plays a major role in our environmental impact. Our choices of the food that we consume on a daily basis does make a difference. But the good news is that even small changes can add up to significant environmental benefits.It has long be known that our agricultural activities are the greatest drivers of environmental changes. But there is a vital resource that we have that is often overlooked and that is the ocean. If done properly, farming the oceans could be a primary means of providing the world...
2022-03-0926 min
Adventures in Sustainable Living#064 What's Cookin' With Synthetic MeatWe already know that agricultural activities produce some of our greatest environmental impact. Yet some sort of agriculture is needed in order to produce food because we are beyond the point of hunting and gathering. World population is expected to reached 9.8 billion by the year 2050. It is projected that agricultural production will have to increase by 60% to 70 % above current levels in order to feed that population. That places us in a conundrum. If we expand our current agricultural activities we continue to destroy the environment that is vital to our survival. Yet if we do not find a...
2022-03-0237 min
Adventures in Sustainable Living#63 One Simple Thing Can Change the WorldThere are several things that I can look back on and definitively say that those things changed the course of my life. For example decisions and choices I made, unexpected events, simply being in the right place at the right time, and sometimes just plain bad luck. And I am sure that many of you can say the same thing.But you know, this is really not all that unusual. I can easily point out several different things, small things, that have been a defining point and have changed the course of history. In fact, I believe...
2022-02-2327 min
Adventures in Sustainable Living#062 Pick OneI think we can all agree that we truly live in unprecedented times. We now live in a world that is changing so rapidly that it is difficult for even the most sound minded person to feel some since of security. But that can change by learning to manage some of your own resources. That can change by learning to live a little more independently. That can change by simply living a more sustainable life.Now you would think that would be obvious to all of us. Yet we continue to drive along in our t...
2022-02-1625 min
Adventures in Sustainable Living#061 Twelve Tips for Sustainable TravelOver the past year or so, many of our normal activities have been put on hold. But that is starting to change, albeit slowly. If you are at all like me, you want to simply get out of the house and go do something, possibly even travel. But as the world returns to tourism activities once again, what will this return to tourism look like? Or maybe a better question is what should it look like? Although in this episode I want to focus on the basic principles of how to travel with less of an impact, y...
2022-02-0934 min
Adventures in Sustainable Living#060 The Value of Reconnecting with NatureIn 1950 less than 65 percent of Americans lived in cities. But presently nearly 83% of us live in or around a major city. And this trend is remarkably similar on a global scale. By 2050, it is projected that nearly 70% of the global population will live in urban areas.Now there are a number of reasons for this transition. In fact there are many benefits to move into an urban area. However, while most people may gain something by such a move, we also loose something in that transition. Most people are already disconnected with the very things that sustain u...
2022-02-0229 min
Adventures in Sustainable Living#059 Climate Migration Has BegunSince the founding of St. Augustine, Florida by Spanish colonist in 1565, and the establishment of the first English settlement in Jamestown, Virginia in 1607, America has always been viewed as the land of opportunity.Economic opportunity, political freedom, and religious freedom were the initial draw to come to the United States. But in the 20th century immigration was stimulated by globalization. Now in the 21st century, there is a completely different reason that people still want to come to the US. So if you want to find out the reason for this, then listen to this e...
2022-01-2626 min
Adventures in Sustainable Living#057 Life According to the WeatherDid you know that you can calculate the atmospheric temperature by using a cricket? Yes it is true and I can even give you the formula if you like. But did you also know that dogs can sense a coming storm? Did you know that sharks can sense an approaching hurricane? And some animals are capable of genetic adaptation in less than 5 years. All of these things are true simply because animals, and even plants, are much more attuned to the environment than the average human. As humans, we have long since mastered the art of manipulating o...
2022-01-0922 min
Adventures in Sustainable Living#56 Stop Eating C.R.A.P.I actually have no memory of eating store bought meat until I was 18 years old. This is because there were two working farms in my family. We had a large garden and raised a lot of animals. There were numerous fruit and nut trees on the farm. We foraged for berries and went on frequent fishing trips. If that still did not provide enough, we would go to the local farmers market because the things we did buy simply came from local farms. Then I moved to Colorado when I was 18 and started working a construction job. And...
2022-01-0227 min
Adventures in Sustainable Living#055 Faith in HumanitySince this is the holiday season, I want to diverge a little bit from my usual format but still of course focus on the principles of sustainability.The three pillars of sustainability are economy, society and environment, which can also be translates as profit, people, and planet. Now I am quite certain that the environment would be just fine without any people. But, without people there is also no society and no economy. Consequently, we must address all three pillars to be successful. But what I want to focus on in this episode is the people. Th...
2021-12-2616 min
Adventures in Sustainable Living#054 How to Have a Sustainable ChristmasSome of my best childhood memories revolve around holiday celebrations. The holidays were always a time of great excitement and anticipation. They were about family, fun, lots of good food and, of course, Santa Claus. But as I have gotten older, my views on many things have changed, including what I do around the holidays, how I spend my time, and of course whether or not I lay awake at night waiting for Santa Claus. As the Christmas season gets ever closer I really wanted to discuss my personal transition into what I call a su...
2021-12-1922 min
Adventures in Sustainable Living#053 The Dirty Details of Paper TowelsAs Americans, we use more paper towels than any country in the world. In fact, in 2017 we spent $5.7 billion on paper towels. But, we do this as simply a matter of convenience. But this is a habit that is enormously detrimental to the environment. . Every day over 3,000 tons of paper towel waste is produced in the US alone. But you see to make one ton of paper towels requires 17 trees and 20,000 gallons of fresh water. So, every day we are throwing away 51,000 trees and essentially wasting 60 million gallons of fresh water. So that amounts to well...
2021-12-1230 min
Adventures in Sustainable Living#052 Your Carbon Footprint is Just a ShamIf you have listened to some of my previous episodes, then you have heard me say more than once that preventing a single piece of trash from going to the landfill is not going to save the planet. But, a lifetime of sustainable habits will. Similarly, focusing on your carbon footprint is not what is going to save the planet. Although I discussed the concept of a carbon footprint in E47, there is much more at stake than that. In fact, the whole topic of carbon footprint is a propaganda sham promoted and popularized by a large oi...
2021-12-0534 min
Adventures in Sustainable Living#51 Is E-Commerce Killing the Planet?There are few things I dislike more than going shopping. When I do, it is out of sheer necessity. I walk into a place of business with a mission in mind, purchase what I need and immediately leave. However, online shopping from some e-commerce platform saves me from all of that. It saves me time, gas money, and is enormously convenient. And while I suspect that most people use e-commerce platforms for similar reasons, I really got to wondering if e-commerce is truly our friend or if online shopping is just as harmful to the environment as an...
2021-11-2827 min
Adventures in Sustainable Living#050 Edible Insects: A Sustainable AlternativeThe United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization say that agricultural production on a global scale will have to increase by 70% in order to feed a global population that is expected to reach 9.1 billion people by the year 2050. Yet agricultural production is one of the largest drivers for environmental destruction. Decreasing meat production and intake would reduce or eliminate the expansion of livestock operations in order to feed a growing population but we would need an alternative protein source. There is an overlooked and underrated sustainable alternative to meat. If you want to know the whole stor...
2021-11-2125 min
Adventures in Sustainable Living#48 Should We Ditch ChinaHaving lived and worked in several different countries what I have learned is that no country or government is perfect. Every place has its problems, its share of corruption, and quirky little things that seem to make life more difficult than it really needs to be. And this includes my home country of the United States. As you could have easily guessed some countries are far worse than others. Now I am not very politically oriented and rarely do I feel compelled to make any sort of strong political statement. However, something was brought to my attention r...
2021-11-0728 min
Adventures in Sustainable Living#047 Your Carbon Footprint ExplainedDid you know that I can list 10 simple things that you do everyday that pollute the environment. Things that you have perhaps done thousands of times and never given it a thought. And maybe it was the same for me until I produced over 40 episodes about sustainability. But having done so, I have certainly learned a lot of things which has changed my views. For example, the other day as I was holding a can of soup I had purchased from the supermarket, I was thinking about all the energy and resources that went into that simple c...
2021-10-3127 min
Adventures in Sustainable Living#046 The Best Economy in the WorldAs you can easily believe, the products we products, the things we use everyday and the things we choose to eat directly influences how much waste we product. But what most people do not think about is how we manage our waste has a significant impact on our economy. In fact, that waste management produces one of three types of economies. One of those economies is much more sustainable than the other two. So, if you want a simple, and not so boring lesson on economics, and how it relates directly to sustainability, listen to this episode to l...
2021-10-2433 min
Adventures in Sustainable Living#045 Green Growth in ActionAs you likely know by now, I like to criticize how we live and all the wasteful things that we do. And I am especially critical of my own culture in the United States. However, there are a lot of positive things going on in the world related to sustainability. There are governments, international organizations, and some very large businesses that have recognized the importance of sustainability. Some of those businesses, as well as some countries, have been working in that direction for over 40 years. The point of this episode is to help you realize that as an...
2021-10-1731 min
Adventures in Sustainable Living#042 Lights OutFor multiple reasons, it is entirely possible for our power grid to go down not just for a few days, but for weeks to months. In this episode I discuss some very real scenarios of how this could happen and how it has happened. But what most people do not understand is that if there is a grid down event, whether that be from nature causes or a malicious attack, if the damage is widespread enough, it could take over a year to repair the damage.Our power grid is far more vulnerable that most of us...
2021-09-2629 min
Adventures in Sustainable Living#041 How to Overcome the Resistance to ChangeAmong the hundreds of people waiting to visit Mahatma Gandhi was a mother and her young son. When it was their turn, the woman asked Gandhi to speak with her son about eating sugar. Gandhi asked her to come back in two weeks. When they returned Gandhi spoke with the boy, who agreed to begin working to eliminate sweets. After thanking Gandhi for his advice, the mother asked him why he did not offer his advice the first time. Gandhi replied, “Upon your visit two weeks ago I too was eating sugar.” He then explained he cou...
2021-09-1929 min
Adventures in Sustainable Living#040 Troubled Waters: There is a Perfect Storm on the HorizonAbout 10 years ago, Annette and her son and I were sitting in a small cafe in some far corner of Costa Rica. Her son Erik was still very young at the time and this was his first trip out of the country. As we were sitting at the table looking at the menu, Erik proclaimed, “I want a glass of orange juice.” I informed him that he could not have a glass of orange juice because they just don’t have that here” It was his first lesson that when you travel outside y...
2021-09-1228 min
Adventures in Sustainable Living#039 When the Rubber Meets the Road, Where Does It Go?We literally live in a sea of micro-plastics. These tiny particles can be found from the deepest place on the planet, the Mariana Trench, to the highest mountain, Mount Everest. By simply living, eating, breathing, and going about your normal day, you are consuming plastic particles. This is just another contaminant that scientists, the government, and health officials are going to tell us that there are "acceptable levels" and there is nothing to worry about. But, get informed and make that decision for yourself. Listen to this episode and find out what you can do to m...
2021-09-0529 min
Adventures in Sustainable Living#038 The Value of SimplicityTake a good look at your lifestyle. I think it is safe to say that most of us live under such a cloud clutter that we have long forgotten what it is like to live a simple life, much less a sustainable one.Yet there is a lot of value in having a simple life. In fact, simplicity tends to push us toward sustainability. And that is the point of this episode. First I want to prove to you how I was guilty of the same thing for many years. Then I want to tell you how...
2021-08-2935 min
Adventures in Sustainable Living#037 Sustainability is Your Best Security BlanketIt is basic human nature that at a subconscious level, all humans crave normalcy, routine, and familiarity. This is especially true during a disaster or some other stressful event. Small children carry stuffed animals and security blankets for comfort. As adults we mentally carry security blankets in the form of “having our own place”, or “waking up in our own bed”. We also find security in starting our day with our favorite coffee, tea, or some other food item. But what would you do if someone or something took your security blanket away from you and you loss all sense of...
2021-08-2223 min
Adventures in Sustainable Living#036 Ignorance is a ChoiceAs Americans, plain and simple, we are addicted to convenience. It is almost to the point of being ridiculous. And that convenience results in a short attention span, very little patience, and a wasteful lifestyle. But there is a different way to live, and a better way to live that is more environmentally friendly. And in the end of this episode I am going to give you 12 different ways to live differently. But in the end I truly believe that it is the responsibility of each and every one of us to figure out ways to live d...
2021-08-1528 min
Adventures in Sustainable Living#035 How to Make a Clean Get AwayIn this episode, I want to focus on the topics of sustainable travel and ecotourism. Now that travel restrictions are starting to relax, we are all anxious to get out and about, which I totally understand. I know I feel that way as well. But, as we all start to think about travel again, it is important that we make responsible choices and that includes when we travel. What I want to do in this episode is first define ecotourism, give you some examples of ecotourism activities, and also give you some resources and some companies and o...
2021-08-0829 min
Adventures in Sustainable Living#034 Staying Wild May Save Us AllIn this episode I want to first give an overview of how nature, wildness, and wilderness was actually a key factor in defining the American experience. It actually represented limitless opportunity and freedom. It fostered the self reliance and individualism that still runs deep in our culture to this day. And yet over time we have gone from wildness and wilderness to no sense of wild at all. But as you will soon realize, staying wild maybe the one thing that saves us all. Listen to the entire episode and find out how you can make a d...
2021-08-0132 min
Adventures in Sustainable Living#033_How to Kill the Vampires in Your HouseDid you know that vampires are not a thing of the past? There is actually a vampire culture that is alive and well in our modern age. But they keep that a secret of course. However, when we all think of vampires we automatically envision the vicious creatures of folklore that rise from their graves at night and suck the vital essence out of the living. And one more fun fact, there is actually a vampire killing kit. It’s kind of interesting and if you want to see it I have a link to a page tha...
2021-07-2526 min
Adventures in Sustainable Living#032 There is No Away: Now We Have to Live With Our LeavingsDid you know that every piece of plastic that was ever produced is still on the planet? Did you know that disposable diapers take between 250 and 500 years to decompose? What that means is that the disposable diapers that your mother used on you as a kid are STILL in the landfill. For much of human history we have disposed of our garbage by carting it somewhere away from our living space and dumping it, burning it, or burying it. As our culture began to grow, disposing of garbage and human waste became more problematic which of course p...
2021-07-1833 min
Adventures in Sustainable Living#031 Twelve Practical Ways to Cook Sustainably.What if I told you that I could give you some 12 simple tips that you could implement today that would save you about $2000 per year? Would you do it? Well, the easiest and simplest place to start is right in your own kitchen. Making you home kitchen more eco-friendly doesn’t have to be overwhelming. Just start with one simple change, which will lead to another and another. That is the point of this episode, practical ways to make your kitchen more eco-friendly by cooking sustainably. As you will see later on in some of my examples and...
2021-07-1125 min
Adventures in Sustainable Living#030 Nature's Treasure Chest: Why We Must Conserve Our Natural HeritageIn this episode I want to discuss one of my favorite topics. And in the process I hope to give you some interesting and useful information. What I want to touch on is a very broad topic which is covered in numerous books. But to get to the point, the topic of this episode is the natural things around us that are completely overlooked yet they tremendously useful. What I am talking about are the edible and medicinal plants and trees, some of which we see everyday, that are of tremendous value yet we never realize it. And this...
2021-07-0430 min
Adventures in Sustainable Living#029 Ransomware Hacks: A Clear Case for Sustainability and SimplicityI think by now that we are all aware of the recent high profile ransomware hacks on the Colonial Pipeline as well as the JBS meat supplier that shut down their packing plants for a couple of days resulting in meat shortages. While such things may have only affected certain parts of the country, it certainly gets the attention of everyone.Such things have a tendency to completely disrupt the flow of vital commodities to thousands of people. In this episode I want to talk a little bit about how these things can happen, how it affects...
2021-06-2728 min
Adventures in Sustainable Living#028 A Walk in the WoodsIn this episode I am going to first try to convince you how important it is to take a walk in the woods on a regular basis. Then I am going to discuss how important that resource really is to all of us, how that resource is being destroyed and why, and what you can do about it. I am of course talking about deforestation. Deforestation causes climate change, global warming, soil erosion, species extinction, habitat loss, ocean acidification, loss of biodiversity, and food insecurity. Any one of these things could and would eventually produce devastating changes t...
2021-06-2025 min
Adventures in Sustainable Living#027 The 2000 Watt Society: A Proven Process for Courageous Climate ChangeIn this episode I want to cover this topic of the 2000 Watt Society, what that actually means, and why it is an extremely important topic. In episode #3 titled How Much Should One Person Be Allowed to Use, I touched on this topic. Additionally, this topic is closely related to episode #2 The Most Sustainable Countries. But I want to go much more in-depth this time around because I think this is a very important topic and it is one of the pillars to our sustainable future.Okay for a minute here I want you to put aside your...
2021-06-1332 min
Adventures in Sustainable Living#026 The Real MeWhat I want to accomplish in this episode is to give my listeners an in-depth background on where I came from and how I got to be where I am today. And at the end of this episode, I want to leave you with an important message that will help you to drive some positive changes in your own life.If there is one thing I have learned in working on the blog and the podcast, is that people appreciate hearing from someone who actually has the background experience. People enjoy, and perhaps trust in a person...
2021-06-0626 min
Adventures in Sustainable Living#025 The Keystone Life of CoralIn this episode I am going to introduce the concept of a keystone species, the importance of a keystone species and what happens if that species is taken out of an ecosystem. And as you could guess, the keystone species that I am speaking of in this episode is coral. I am going to discuss the importance of our coral reefs, what is happening to them, and why we should truly be concerned. This concept of a keystone species was introduced in 1969 by a zoologist named Robert T Paine. A keystone species is a species that has a...
2021-05-3033 min
Adventures in Sustainable Living#024 Never Cry WolfIn this episode I want to talk about how, as humans we have the tendency to destroy things that are in the way of what we view as “progress”. First I want to talk about this from a historical perspective and then give you a more modern example of how we continue to do the same thing. We still have not learned and we still do not appreciate that it is the balance in nature that provides us with all of the things we need to survive. When I first purchased my cabin property in 1996, I truly lived...
2021-05-2329 min
Adventures in Sustainable Living#023 Waste Not, Want Not, Pollute NotIn the United States, there is an estimated 130 to 160 billion pounds of food that goes to waste each year, as much as 40% of our food supply. And much of this food is perfectly edible and nutritious. This wasted food cost this country about $218 billion a year. Not to mention the added strain on the environment and the use of resources that also goes to waste. But to be fair, there is a difference between food loss and food waste. Food loss often occurs before we as consumers have anything to do with it. For example food is los...
2021-05-1631 min
Adventures in Sustainable Living#022 Are We Recycling or Wishcycling: Who is to Blame.Many of us think that recycling is a fantastic thing and that is what is going to help us save the planet. However, in many ways we are not recycling we are wish- cycling. Sadly, many times recycling is just another term for a long, expensive trip a plastic bottle takes in order to end up in the landfill. Besides, if recycling was the answer to our garbage pollution, why do we still have a problem. This episode focuses on the challenges of the recycling industry. In my opinion, putting so much money in teaching us how to r...
2021-05-0926 min
Adventures in Sustainable Living#021 Is Sustainable Air Travel Just an IllusionThe first commercial airline flight took off on January 1, 1914. It flew from St Petersburg, Fl to Tampa Bay. It was a flight of 21 miles and took 23 minutes. This flight service only lasted 4 months but it paved the way to the airline industry that we see today. Now, I am sure that when that first flight took off, carbon emissions were not their first concern. At least not like it is today.I think we all know that air travel is not going away any time soon. And I think we all know it is one industry that h...
2021-05-0235 min
Adventures in Sustainable Living#020 A Good CountryI want to start this episode by asking a simple question. If you were told you had to live in a different country from now until the rest of your life, where would it be? Where would you go? That said, how would you go about choosing a new country? What criteria would you use? How would you go about giving each country a “report card” so to speak? How would you rate each country? And furthermore, what are the factors and characteristics of the country of your choice that would be the tipping point of your decision? B...
2021-04-2529 min
Adventures in Sustainable Living#019 The True Impact of Fair TradeAfter my last episode titled Choices Make Changes; What is a Sustainable Product and How to Find Them, I thought it was fitting to follow that episode on something having to do with fair trade. Because the products that we choose to purchase not only affects sustainability but it also affects the lives of so many other people.The value of imported goods in the US in 2019 was 3.1 trillion dollars. That is about $9,365 per person in the United States. Furthermore, about 53 % of the fresh fruit and 33% of fresh vegetables in the United States are imported. A huge...
2021-04-1828 min
Adventures in Sustainable Living#018 Choices Make Changes: What is a Sustainable Product and How to Find ThemThere is one thing that we know for sure, our choices as consumers drive the market place. If consumers demand something or if the demand of the general public is for one specific product or service, then the market changes accordingly to provide for that need. If not, then some savvy marketer will come up with a campaign to convince you of the need for something anyway, even though that may not be the case. Well, the simple fact is everything you purchase, regardless of what it is, is still going to have some impact on the e...
2021-04-0529 min
Adventures in Sustainable Living#017 Take Extinction Off Your PlateYou may find it interesting that scientist have a better understanding of how many stars there are in our galaxy than how many species there are on planet Earth. There was a study that was conducted in 1980 in the tropical forests in Panama. This one study included only 19 trees. There were 1,200 beetle species that were noted in this study and 80% of those species were previously unknown. What this means is that we truly have no idea what is actually out there. Consequently, we have no idea how many species we are loosing each year simply due to th...
2021-04-0530 min
Adventures in Sustainable Living#015 Back From the LandDuring the 1960's and 70's there was a tremendous and powerful social movement in the United States. As many as one million people left their jobs, their educational institutions, and families to transition into a simpler life that was close to nature. This new lifestyle simply fit with their moral values and enabled them to work outside of the "system" that they saw as corrupt. However, years later, there was a significant and much less popularized "Back From the Land" movement. So, what happened to all of these people. Why did their ideals crumble to the point of...
2021-03-2226 min
Adventures in Sustainable Living#016 Don't Grow Up-It's a TrapMany people wish they could just turn back the clock and go back to their younger years. As children we had complete emotional liberty, few if any responsibilities, and our life ahead of us was full of possibilities. Then we grow up only to be trapped by bills, responsibilities, working, and just trying to make a living. However, as children we only saw a small portion of the world. We have a very narrow view of reality. As adults, yes we have responsibilities but our mind expands and we finally form opinions and values of ou...
2021-03-2020 min
Adventures in Sustainable Living#014 The New Self Sufficiency-Doing WithoutIn this episode, I want to share with you how over a 5 year period of time I went from $295K in debt to zero debt. And I want to share with you how you can do the same thing as well as what that all has to do with a simple sustainable lifestyle. Now if you want to hear that story and get the real scoop, then stayed tuned.When I was growing up on the farm, we spent our time raising animals, working in the garden, hunting, fishing, picking fruits and nuts from the trees on...
2021-03-0733 min
Adventures in Sustainable Living#013 Fast and FatalUnfortunately, I think we are all familiar, at least from a historical prospective, with the term genocide. And if you are listening to this episode and you are very young, perhaps you are not familiar with this term. Genocide is the killing of a large group of people from a particular nation or ethnic group with the aim of destroying that nation or ethnic group. While such things certainly raise eyebrows and make you think that such a thing could never happen in modern times, the same thing is happening right now in our own country and c...
2021-03-0236 min
Adventures in Sustainable Living#012 Self Sufficiency is Impossible-and EssentialIn this episode I am of course going to talk about the importance of self sufficiency and how that is connected to sustainability. I am also going to discuss how self sufficiency means different things to different people so there are different ways to go about it. But, in the end self sufficiency is also impossible to attain yet vital to our survival.So, how do we get around that? Now fast forward into our present time, when you mention self sufficiency in front of a group of people, I can almost guarantee that 10 different pe...
2021-02-2729 min
Adventures in Sustainable Living#011 A Simple Act of KindnessSustainability has just as much to do with relationships as it has to do with solar panels. Sustainability has just as much to do with relationships as it has to do with recycling. Sustainability has just as much to do with relationships as it has to do with being a smart consumer. Someone told me once that the best time to make a friend is when you don’t need one. Allow me to explain. You see, whether you like it or not, while you sit quietly in your living room at night watching a good...
2021-02-2227 min
Adventures in Sustainable Living#010 A Bottle of DeceptionBy the end of 2020, the population of the world was approximately 7.8 billion. According to the World Health Organization, one in three people in the world does not even have access to an improved water source. This means approximately 2.6 billion people on our planet do not have access to a safe water supply. In contrast, according the the Center for Disease Control (CDC) the United States has the safest water supply on the plant. Yet Americans are obsessed with drinking bottled water. In fact, in 2016 bottled water sales surpassed that of soft drinks for the f...
2021-02-1734 min
Adventures in Sustainable Living#009 Nature is WorthlessNature is worthless!! Right??? Well you would think that is how most people feel because most of us treat nature as if it is worthless. You have heard the old saying that "People are truly defined by what they do, not by what they say." If you believe that, then you would also believe that most people think nature is worthless because we keep doing things to destroy it.Listen to this episode if you want to know my true opinion. Patrick
2021-02-0832 min
Adventures in Sustainable Living008 Our Off Grid Sustainable FamilyThis episode is a brief interview with my 15 year off-grid partner Annette. We talk about our lifestyle and how it all came about. I wanted to produce this episode especially for my listeners to let them know that what I do and how I live is very real. I do in fact live an off-grid sustainable lifestyle. Patrick
2021-01-2527 min
Adventures in Sustainable Living#007 A Culture of ChangeWelcome back to the Adventures in Sustainable Living Podcast. After several episodes on various topics, such as our consumeristic society, how much waste we produce, and various sustainable countries, I felt as if it was time to produce an episode on just how we can go about changing our culture. The simple fact is that developing a sustainable future is not possible unless people believe in the underlying intrinsic value and they act in ways to support it. But, as we all know, it is difficult to get people to change their ways. Add...
2021-01-1228 min
Adventures in Sustainable LivingThe One Basic Principle of Sustainability
Adventures in Sustainable Living
Episode 6
The One Basic Principle of Sustainability
Hello everyone. This is your host Patrick Keith. This is the Adventures in Sustainable Living Podcast and this is Episode #6. This episode is called The One Basic Principle of Sustainability.
Now if you listen in long enough, I will give you one simple principle to guide you through your journey toward sustainability. It is something easy to remember and this one principle can be applied to every are...
2020-12-2731 min
Adventures in Sustainable Living#005 12 Steps to a Zero Waste Lifestyle.Having a lifestyle with zero waste is one of the most sustainable choices that you can make. This lifestyle has tremendous impact on the environment and on the planet as a whole. A zero waste lifestyle is about reducing what you need, reusing as much as you can, and composting what is left over. The following is a brief overview of what this episode is going to cover:-First I want to talk a little more about what I eluded to just now, and that is the fact the zero waste is a lifestyle choice. ...
2020-12-1431 min
Adventures in Sustainable Living12 Steps to a Zero Waste Lifestyle.Adventures in Sustainable Living Podcast
Episode 5
Twelve Steps to a Zero Waste Lifestyle
Hello everyone, and welcome back to the Adventures in Sustainable Living Podcast. This is your host Patrick Keith and this is episode #5 called 12 Steps to a Zero Waste Lifestyle. And I have to say that I am particularly excited to bring you this episode because once again, during my research I truly learned a lot and I really want to pass this on to you.
Having a lifestyle with zero waste is one of the...
2020-12-1431 min
Adventures in Sustainable LivingThe Most Sustainable Countries002-The Most Sustainable Countries_FINAL - 9-13-20 5.12 PM
[00:00:00] Welcome to the adventures and sustainable living podcast. Your host has lived an off-grid sustainable lifestyle for over 20 years. His homestead is run on solar energy. It has an earth shelter, greenhouse and produces much of his own food. And all of this takes place in the middle of the forest and Colorado.
Now let's join Patrick. The man that not only teaches the skills of sustainable living, but lives that life every day.
Hello everyone. And welcome to the Adventures in Sustainable Living...
2020-09-161h 04Criminal Justice EvolutionCJ Evolution / July 11th / Episode 218 - High-Performance Coach & Law Enforcement Executive - Aaron Keith HawkinsHello everyone and welcome back to the show. Thank you all for the continued support. We continue to grow because of you, the supporter. A special thanks to all the brave men and women who work in the criminal justice field. Thank you for your sacrafices everday. You have much support.
In this episode, Patrick welcomes Aaron Keith Hawkins. In addition to being the host of Unbreakable Success Podcast, Aaron's a hgh-performance coach who loves working with entrepreneurs and those looking to create a powerful impact with their business and life. He works empathetically and strategically to...
2018-07-1137 min