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(Preface: Regardless of what our government leaders do or say, there is lots that we can do as everyday people; that’s really the focus of my blog. My occasional rants about the powers-that-be notwithstanding, I feel that we the people are the real power-that-be.)

Shame on President Biden for barely mentioning climate in his State of the Union Address. And for not including climate action on his short list of unifying priorities.

“So tonight I’m offering a unity agenda for the nation. Four big things we can do together, in my view.”

• Address mental health, good.
• Fix opiate crisis, good.
• Support veterans, good.
• Fighting cancer — nothing wrong with that.

But no mention of climate action in there (other than electric cars)? Really??
Nothing about repairing the water cycle; building regional food resilience; insulating homes; retrofitting buildings for rainwater collection and graywater harvesting — and other sensible actions that might help check biospheric collapse, stabilize temperature extremes, and make us more resilient to what may come.

There’s more to infrastructure (a favorite rah-rah word) than just roads and bridges. We need to invest heavily in green infrastructure. Things like wetland restoration, regenerative agriculture, planting of vegetation to restore bare hills and mountains that are susceptible to erosion and mudslides. Projects to harvest excess nutrients that are polluting our waterways, and transfer those nutrients “uphill” to farms and barren landscapes that need the minerals and organic matter. Projects to rebuild topsoil. Restore dune and prairie grasses. You get the idea.

Besides building deep infrastructure, climate-action projects give people of all ages and walks of life the chance to be heroes. People need paths to glory and heroism besides the military. (Actually I would love to see our highly capable military forces deployed for climate-action projects.)

President Biden’s virtual silence on climate was almost like a live demo of #DontLookUp!
“We really did have it all, didn’t we?” — and our official and collective stance is to just take it for granted.

On the subject of stabilizing climate, there’s a video I would really like for you all to watch. Watch it now if you can. Or sometime today. It’s about 11 minutes long, and gives an exceptionally clear and concise overview of how we have “broken” the natural rain cycle, leading to drought-flood extremes, wildfires, and desertification. The good news is we can fix it.

Although obviously flooding and hurricanes are a major concern, the thing I worry about most is a “heat dome” like what happened in Portland and Sicily and other places last year. Temps soaring up to 120F, with a high-pressure bubble keeping away rain. And wildfires are another big worry.

This is why I wore burnt toast and carried a flaming thermometer poster at City Commission: to raise awareness of heat & the importance of repairing the natural water cycle.

This video points out that water is the main regulator of temperature extremes on our planet. The animated illustrations of how clouds are formed with the help of trees, how water gets pulled around the planet thru the atmosphere, etc. are excellent.

The video, by Water Stories, is called “Hope in a World of Crisis: Decentralized Water Retention.”

Please watch this today if you can! And think about how it applies to the place where you live. What have you observed about rainfall & temperature patterns in your area; how have they changed? I look forward to hearing your thoughts. And if you have any questions I’ll do my best to answer.

Further Reading:

• Here is the transcript of the State of the Union Address.

• Water Stories website. Water Stories is “A learning, training, and action platform focused entirely on Water Cycle Restoration. Water Stories offers a community-centered approach to solving our most pressing environmental crises. One that delivers meaningful results after the first rainy season. We empower people to create healthy landscapes and water abundance by transforming water-sheds into water-catchments. People around the world are learning how to quickly create real substantive change for the health of their landscapes and communities — by working with water.”

My aim as an eco educator is to explain in simple terms how things are connected, and how we can each make a difference. To do this, I often have to boost my own knowledge first; it’s easy for my brain to get tangled up in the various connections and causalities. Fortunately I have lots of really helpful expert resources to draw on. For the facts in this post, I’m deeply grateful to Flight Free USA.

This post is about how we, everyday people, can take away the power of global bullies by reducing our dependence on fossil fuels.

How does our oil- and gas-dependency support tyranny?

In a nutshell: 1) In the particular case of Russia, oil and gas account for 60% of their exports, and thus are a major source of funds for their military actions, including the current invasion of Ukraine. 2) Because disrupting the flow of oil & gas causes global prices to rise, our own dependence on fossil fuels limits our leverage and political will to impose sanctions, for fear that we will have to pay higher prices at the gas pump (in the USA) or that home heating prices will spiral out of control (in Germany and other European countries). 3) Access to the vast riches generated by control of oil and gas resources enables thuggish behavior in general, be it by governments or private interests. 4) Because oil and gas infrastructure (as well as nuclear) are centralized, it’s easy for an enemy to knock out a power plant or gas refinery with bombs. Not so easy to go around a whole country knocking out every solar panel, windmill, or woodpile.

Furthermore, since oil and gas go into pretty much everything, a rise in oil and gas prices causes pretty much all prices to rise. This makes us very vulnerable and thus unwilling to rock the boat for fear of antagonizing oil and gas interests. But every single act of conservation we can do; every shift to renewables we can make, helps weaken this stranglehold. However tiny it may seem on the household level, every little drop makes up the ocean.

Back in World War II, the Allied governments put out posters and leaflets informing everyday citizens of their duty to support the war effort by conserving gasoline and other resources.

“When you ride ALONE you ride with Hitler!” admonished one US government propaganda poster from 1943. “Join a car-sharing club today!”

In this case the purpose was to save gas at home, so we could use it for the war effort overseas. But now we know that conserving fossil fuels and other resources can help reduce the grip of authoritarian and tyrannical regimes in a broader sense. Furthermore, this effort is essential to defeat the most deadly enemy of all time: climate change; the collapse of our planet’s life-support system.

You can read more detail in the articles linked below.

The information in this post, including all of the article links, comes from Flight Free USA’s email newsletter, which you can subscribe to by visiting their website.

On a personal note, even if my efforts to minimize my dependency on fossil fuels (and on electricity, which is still mostly generated from fossil fuels) were not helping (however infinitesimally) to reduce the destruction of Spaceship Earth’s life-support system and weaken the grip of evil empires, they make me instantly more free and less vulnerable. And that’s power.

P.S. People living in cold climates, particularly, might like to look into compact energy-efficient woodstoves for home heating and cooking. And people everywhere should look into passive solar heating (and cooling). Also, people everywhere should insulate their houses (and landlords should insulate their apartments etc.) as much as necessary/possible to buffer against extremes of heat and cold. I have touched on these topics in my book and at various times on this blog; you can also get a wealth of current info by turning to our dear friend Google.

Further Exploration:

• “Caring about the Ukraine is caring about an end to oil and gas,” says Flight Free USA in its latest email newsletter.

• Flight Free USA website urges us to “Sign the #FlightFree2022 pledge to stay grounded for the climate. PLEDGE TO FLY A LOT LESS, TALK ABOUT IT MORE, AND DEMAND SYSTEM CHANGE.” (I recently signed it, choosing the option “for life.” You can opt to take the pledge just for the year, just for vacations, or for life.) Says Flight Free USA: “The solution to the climate crisis is straightforward: to significantly reduce our emissions. Flying in an airplane is the most polluting activity we commonly do. Pledge to not fly, as a signal to our communities, leaders, and businesses that climate solutions are needed now. Together, we can reduce emissions by choosing to not fly, shifting the fossil fuel norm, and laying the foundations for strong climate policy.”

• “This is how we defeat Putin and other petrostate autocrats” (Bill McKibben; TheGuardian.com). Clear explanation of the various connections between petro-dependency and tyrannical regimes. “If you’re an apologist for fascism, high gas prices are your first go-to move. So now is the moment to remind ourselves that, in the last decade, scientists and engineers have dropped the cost of solar and windpower by an order of magnitude, to the point where it is some of the cheapest power on Earth. The best reason to deploy it immediately is to ward off the existential crisis that is climate change, and the second best is to stop the killing of nine million people annually who die from breathing in the particulates that fossil fuel combustion produces. But the third best reason – and perhaps the most plausible for rousing our leaders to action – is that it dramatically reduces the power of autocrats, dictators, and thugs.

• “What It’s Like to Give Up Air Travel to Curb Climate Change” (Emma Pattee; wired.com). “These three families gave up flying to reduce their emissions. Here’s how it’s shaping their relationship to people and places.”

• (This one is from the New York Times “Climate Forward” newsletter): “U.S. Oil Industry Uses Ukraine Invasion To Push for More Drilling at Home” (Hiroko Tabuchi; nytimes.com). “The goal is ‘energy security,’ lobbyists said, although clean-energy advocates counter that wind and solar provide more protection from boom-and-bust oil markets.”

• Good news update: “The leaders of the European Union are expected to announce a proposal next week that would ‘accelerate the clean energy transition and reduce permanently our dependence on imports of natural gas.’ If it goes through, it could significantly blunt one of the Kremlin’s most formidable economic weapons: piped gas to heat and power the continent. … The 26-page E.U. draft proposal, seen by The New York Times, proposes to swiftly renovate old, leaky buildings to reduce energy demand, simplify regulations to attract investments in renewable energy, encourage more rooftop solar installations and produce more energy from biomass. … If the major elements of the European proposal are carried out, Russia’s war in Ukraine could have a huge, albeit unwitting, consequence: It could hasten Europe’s transition away from fossil fuels.” (Somini Sengupta; NY Times Climate Forward newsletter.)

File under #WhatsWrongWithThisPicture:
Free food distributions by churches, nonprofits etc. are becoming more common, to help remedy the food-insecurity that many people are experiencing as rent and other costs of living keep getting higher. What I consistently notice on the announcements is the instructions “Please remain in your vehicle” (as in car — I gather this is for Covid reasons).

So, what’s wrong with this picture? If you’re about to say “Well if someone can afford a car (especially a big or fancy car), they have no business taking food handouts” — No, that’s not what I’m getting at.

What I’m getting at is: Large numbers of people deal with food insecurity on an ongoing basis. And yet, most people, because of the design of the typical USA-merican life, don’t have the option to cut expenses by doing without a car. In most places it is difficult to impossible to do without a car, and that is bad design. It’s a combination of many things, including the fact that things are big and spread-out (giant homes distant from giant shops & schools & workplaces); how unfriendly most roads are to anyone not in a motor vehicle; how hostile our overall culture is to public transportation (having buses and trains and things be supported by publuc tax dollars is communist, right?).

I have heard it said that car ownership costs the typical household an average of something like $8,000 a year when you factor in insurance, repairs, gas and all.

Now, I’m not saying every household will become automatically food-secure and housing-secure if they find a way to do without the financial burden of owning a car. I’ve spent most of my adult life car-free, and yet at times in the past I’ve experienced extended periods of both food-insecurity and housing-insecurity. That said, being free of that huge 4-wheeled expense was one factor that allowed me to stay afloat and continue at my desired freelance occupations and community work. And I have been able to manage without government assistance. (Not bragging here, and also definitely not disparaging anyone who has needed government assistance. I may need it at some point — like if I need to get health insurance. Am just saying that cutting major expenses like car ownership helped me avoid needing to seek out government assistance for food, housing, etc.)

Now. Even in cases where a person/household could feasibly do without a car, there is another obstacle to living car-free. This obstacle is cultural rather than logistical. I’m talking about the fact that our culture views car ownership as a marker of success, prestige, and respectability. I would even go so far as to say our mainstream culture views car ownership as ESSENTIAL to being a “real adult” / “respectable citizen.”

If car ownership is part of how our culture defines prestige and success and respectability, then of course people are going to aspire to own cars. I have lost track of how many times I’ve heard people be all happy and excited because they just got a car. Never mind that they are having trouble keeping a roof over their head or getting enough to eat (none of which is their fault, by the way — this is structural, societal stuff).

Mainstream cultural norms are emotionally compelling and very stubbornly rooted, even among many of us who like to consider ourselves “free thinkers.” All is not lost, though: Many of the people adopting car-free lifestyles are on the wealthy and privileged side of the socioeconomic spectrum. And for better or for worse, what rich people define as “cool” and desirable tends to catch on. Of course, if we want it to catch on, there need to be plenty of walkable/cycleable/wheelchair-able neighborhoods and plenty of commute-free work options for people.

When I see those community food distribution announcements instructing people to stay in their cars, I always cringe. I have often contacted the organizers to ask if they offer alternative arrangements for people arriving on foot or other human-powered transport. And they generally say yes; that the person can just come up and get food. But it’s disturbing to me that as far as I know, I am the only person who has questioned this or brought it up. I see this as a marker of just how deeply the cultural norm of private automobile ownership has its hooks in us.

Hospitality doesn’t depend on having a fancy house or matching silverware or perfectly clean floors. Hospitality isn’t something to postpone til after you dust the furniture or get a big enough dining-table. Hospitality is simply extending your heart and receiving someone as an honored guest. Whether you live in a mansion or a trailer park or a shed or garage, or even if you don’t have a roof over your head at all, your hospitality is a unique blessing that only YOU can offer. At my tiny trailer-home in an urban RV park under the oaks in south Austin, I hosted tea-parties and cocktail soirees and late-night kaffeeklatsches and slumber-parties, and was blessed with hundreds or maybe even a thousand guests over the 10 years I lived there.

I’ve dined with millionaires and kings (well, the United Statesian version), and have stayed in the richest palaces — and yet, possibly the most heartfelt, generous hospitality I ever received was a drink of coffee in a styrofoam cup! The man who shared it with me lived on his sailboat. He had only one cup, but he offered it to me, a stranger on the beach. (This was back around 2004 in south Florida; I was on one of many trips to “find myself”.) Our conversation started casually, but it quickly left the safe shallows and plunged into the offshore depths. The leather-skinned stranger spoke of sailing over to Africa as casually as many folks talk about driving to WalMart. We sat on the edge of a pier, but I felt as though he had sat me down on a plush velvet sofa in front of a 12-foot-wide, 3D television with surround-sound, the better to treat me to the breathtaking footage of his life.

So no, don’t wait til after your house (or trailer, or garage, or car, or bench) is perfectly clean to have people over. (Psst: Re. “perfectly clean” — that’s never gonna happen.) Ask that friend or stranger you’ve been meaning to invite; don’t count too much on “someday”.)

Honestly, I think the deepest and biggest form of hospitality is simply a smile, and a listening heart.

Back in the early 2000s, I started trying to live a lifestyle such that, if everyone were living at a similar footprint, we’d have enough resources on the planet for everyone to live comfortably, rather than exceeding the earth’s carrying capacity. I hadn’t yet seen the graphics showing “how many planets” it takes to maintain the lifestyle of the typical person in each country, but I had intuitively hit on this idea and was seeking to be an example of a person living in what is by some measures the richest, most resource-hogging country of all, who is voluntarily living at a low footprint and enjoying a comfortable, indeed abundant, life. In community, in an urban setting, not “off the grid” (a bogus idea in my opinion; romantic artifact of pioneer colonizer culture and “Little House on the Prairie” reruns; ultimately no more sustainable than the mainstream middle-class USA lifestyle).

When I first started, I didn’t really have a catch phrase for what I was doing, other than “try to minimize my footprint.”

Later, a friend (thanks dear Cedar!) turned me on to the Riot for Austerity community and movement. The phrase “Riot for Austerity” comes from George Monbiot’s excellent book HEAT, which I have often referred to in this blog and in my book, talks, and classes. The Riot for Austerity group is really not about austerity at all; it’s about taking back our lives from the corporations and government, and designing our lives as examples of how a person or household can live at a tiny fraction of the average USA resident’s footprint and still live a comfortable life — indeed a happy and abundant life.

“Riot for Austerity” is a nice catchy phrase. Trouble is, the word “austerity” has a connotation of deprivation, which feeds into many people’s mainstream fears of what eco-friendly living entails. Deprivation for individuals; and recession/depression for the economy. No wonder so many people seem to find the prospect of cutting their eco footprint about as pleasant as going on a low-calorie diet.

This is a problem of perception, not reality. And as many ad copywriters know, perception can be changed quickly by using different words.

A few months back, I stumbled on the word Degrowth, when a group focused on degrowth popped into my feed. For people turned off by the word “austerity,” I offer “degrowth” as a more accurate term. Of course, this word is sure to be threatening to many people and corporations, as we’ve been indoctrinated to think that steady, perpetual economic growth is the only way to have a healthy society. It’s not. In fact, the “perpetual growth” paradigm is deadly to people and and the planet.

Yesterday someone in the De-growth group posted an article she had written: Degrowth is Not Recession. Nor is it Austerity (Erin Remblance; illuminem). This gem of an article really sums up de-growth, why we need it, and how it differs from austerity or recession. I’m posting a few snippets for you below.

BTW when I refer to “the degrowth group,” this is the group I’m referring to. “Degrowth – join the revolution,” it’s called. For me this community is a real lifeline, right up there with the Deep Adaptation group in terms of weaving a worldwide web of community and giving each other emotional support, practical tips, and reality check amid the “Don’t Look Up” consumer-colonizer insanity that our mainstream culture normalizes and glorifies.

Further Exploration:

• Degrowth is Not Recession. Nor is it Austerity (Erin Remblance; illuminem): “I often hear degrowth conflated with recession, austerity or some version thereof. The result is a mistaken belief that degrowing a wealthy economy means that people will suffer. There is, implicit in this stance, a notion that our growth-based economy is necessary to ensure we are meeting everyone’s needs. … It shows just how significantly our collective minds have been ‘capitalised’, and how our current economic framework restricts our thinking. Furthermore, the immense blind spot this perspective has to the harm capitalism has caused, and continues to cause, to indigenous peoples, people in the global south and even to a large number of people from wealthy nations is excruciating to witness. Degrowth is not recession. … Degrowth is not austerity. … Degrowth is a deliberate set of strategies to reduce the material footprint, including energy use, of wealthy nations. The concept of Degrowth applies only to those nations with lifestyles that require more than one planet and it recognises that millions of people will need to increase their material footprint if they are to live a life of dignity, providing space for them to do so while, globally, we remain within the planetary boundaries. Degrowth is a rebuke of ‘growth for growth’s sake’ … and instead it puts people and the planet firmly at the heart of the economy.” Please go read the whole article; it might be the best five minutes you spend today or even this month. She gives excellent explanations of all three terms and explains concisely how deliberate degrowth can enable everyone to live abundantly.

When I first started on my intensified low-footprint journey,* I was motivated by concern for the planet; specifically, for the survival of humans given that we seem to be on a fast self-destructive path to trashing our own life-support system.

Over time, though, I noticed I was also getting many intrinsic personal benefits from my low-footprint path. The main immediate ones were (are) time freedom and money freedom, which in turn allowed me the freedom to choose my own occupation and to engage in creative hobbies and volunteer community work.

As time went on, I realized that I had gained a measure of freedom and security for myself, but that I could never really be satisfied unless I was helping other people gain freedom and security too.

So, my eco quest became a roundabout path to trying to help as many people as possible get free of the relentless financial pressure and consumer treadmill that is so-called “modern, civilized” society.

The fact that so many of us in the wealthy industrialized nations are stuck on this treadmill is bad for the biosphere and all life forms. It is extremely bad for humans in the less-privileged nations.

But: People stuck on the treadmill don’t have the luxury of time to think for themselves and make better choices for the planet. It’s really true what I say in my book: It’s not our fault — BUT, we can do something about it. Those of us who have time to make a blog post, or even a few minutes to read and reflect on a blog post, have the power to help shift things.

In my profession, permaculture design, one of our core favorite ideas is “sharing surplus.” We aim to share our surplus time, money, skills, knowledge, and energy back into the land and into our communities.

Having surplus time, energy, or money is a privilege. But instead of beating myself up for having privilege, I can use my privilege for the good.

Being able to choose my profession is also a privilege, which I was graced with by growing up in a houseful of books, with parents who were extremely dedicated to making sure we kids had high-quality education. Even though the profession I chose has not been a high-income path, being able to have the choice is still a privilege. I used to feel guilty about this but now I just try to do what I can to help make a world in which everyone has access to books, education, economic opportunity, and various freedoms of choice. And after all, if a person who has the privilege to choose, chooses an occupation focused on restoring ecosystems and creating an equitable and sustainable society, that’s surely not a bad thing.

On the topic of using my freedom to help other people be free: A few weeks back, my horoscope from Rob Brezsny quoted several great writer/thinkers about how the ultimate purpose of freedom is to free someone else:

“‘Develop enough courage so that you can stand up for yourself and then stand up for somebody else,’ counseled poet and activist Maya Angelou. Author Toni Morrison said, ‘The function of freedom is to free someone else.’ Author and activist Nikki Giovanni wrote, ‘Everybody that loves freedom loves Harriet Tubman because she was determined not only to be free, but to make free as many people as she could.’ I hope the wisdom of these women will be among your guiding thoughts in the coming weeks. As your own power and freedom grow, you can supercharge them — render them even more potent — by using them to help others.”

*(I’ve sort of naturally just been drawn to minimal-footprint choices for my whole life without thinking about it, but about 15 years ago I became more active/deliberate/intensified about it. That story is told in my book.)

One more thing: Even if you’re not into astrology, you might really enjoy Rob’s horoscopes for your sign, and find that what he has to say resonates with you.

Further Exploration:

• One thing that has been key to my creative and occupational freedom was minimizing my housing overhead cost. A roof over our heads is the highest item in most of our budgets. Unfortunately it’s getting harder and harder for people to find low-budget housing options, as the housing ecosystem in most places has become stripped of the old standard options like SROs, boarding houses, cheap weekly hotels, and low-priced Mom & Pop RV park / mobile-home parks. I am blessed to have a house of my own since 2018, but will always continue to advocate for the re-addition of missing options to the housing menu. Some cities are starting to reintroduce/revive the old-fashioned options. One is Minneapolis. This article “Back When There Were Boardinghouses” (Southwest Journal) reports encouraging news and gives some good historic background also: “Boardinghouses and sleeping rooms are rare today, but as Minneapolis looks for more tools to battle a growing affordable housing crisis, they may become more common. Following a July request by the City Council, the city is now fleshing out the details of a plan to allow for new rooming houses, single-room occupancy units and congregate living facilities.”

• Also on the topic of housing: Back when I lived in Austin there was an SRO right downtown for $100 a week. Single-room-occupancy rooms with one shared bathroom down the hall on each floor. One of my friends, a writer and carpenter, lived there. I myself lived in an RV park where the monthly rent was only $220 when I moved in in 2000, and still only $375 a decade later when I gave up my sweet RV spot to move to Florida. The low rent in that park fueled a lot of people’s creative aspirations and enabled many of us to downsize and de-escalate from the rat race. It also just plain allowed a lot of us to survive financially despite not having high income.

• “The ‘struggle’ is not real: From tiny houses to my own lunch, poverty chic commodifies working-class life; The linguistic fetishization of hardship is one more way we appropriate from — and erase — people like my family” (Brooke Bolen; salon.com). This article makes some really important points, and I am definitely not advocating “poverty chic.” As a tangent, I’ve gotta say, the author’s homemade lunch sounds really wholesome and delicious, I have often enjoyed similar lunches, and I feel sorry for her bougie co-worker who doesn’t get it!

• “Life without Principle” (Henry David Thoreau; 1863 issue of the Atlantic — posted at atlantic.com). Yes, Mr. Thoreau was surely very privileged to have had the freedom to make the choices he made. But, the fact remains that he writes a mean paragraph! He certainly has served up some deep and liberating truths. He could have chosen not to share the thoughts that both impelled and were the fruits of his experiences — writing is a lot of work, after all! — but I’m very grateful he chose to share them! This is a long and delicious essay; here’s just one of my favorite parts: “Let us consider the way in which we spend our lives. This world is a place of business. What an infinite bustle! I am awaked almost every night by the panting of the locomotive. It interrupts my dreams. There is no sabbath. It would be glorious to see mankind at leisure for once. It is nothing but work, work, work. I cannot easily buy a blank-book to write thoughts in; they are commonly ruled for dollars and cents. An Irishman, seeing me making a minute in the fields, took it for granted that I was calculating my wages. … I think that there is nothing, not even crime, more opposed to poetry, to philosophy, ay, to life itself, than this incessant business. There is a coarse and boisterous money-making fellow in the outskirts of our town, who is going to build a bank-wall under the hill along the edge of his meadow. The powers have put this into his head to keep him out of mischief, and he wishes me to spend three weeks digging there with him. The result will be that he will perhaps get some more money to hoard, and leave for his heirs to spend foolishly. If I do this, most will commend me as an industrious and hard-working man; but if I choose to devote myself to certain labors which yield more real profit, though but little money, they may be inclined to look on me as an idler.” And this: “Those slight labors which afford me a livelihood, and by which it is allowed that I am to some extent serviceable to my contemporaries, are as yet commonly a pleasure to me, and I am not often reminded that they are a necessity. So far I am successful. But I foresee, that, if my wants should be much increased, the labor required to supply them would become a drudgery. If I should sell both my forenoons and afternoons to society, as most appear to do, I am sure, that, for me, there would be nothing left worth living for.”

On Saturday February 26 from 9am to 4pm US EST, I’ll be co-teaching a workshop on how to escape from the rat-race and live life on your own terms. The rat-race (or “hamster wheel,” as we call it in the event flyer) could be financial stress, soul-sucking job, or any combination of undesirable aspects of our consumerist go-go-go society that are dragging you down and keeping you from living fully in accordance with who you really are.

I’ll be teaching along with my two good friends and fellow permaculturists Koreen Brennan (Grow Permaculture) and Laura Oldanie (Rich & Resilient Living). This practical and inspiring workshop is about forging your path to financial resilience, creative & occupational freedom, and more. There will be mini exercises and lots of time for Q&A; networking; informal chat over lunch.

The day-long workshop will be conducted by Zoom, and we’ve set the tuition at $50 to make it affordable while providing great value.

To find out more and to register, go here!
https://growpermaculture.com/event/design-your-escape/