Archive for Environment

Is The Global Water Shortage About to Shut Your Party Down?

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Peak Water and Alcohol PricesFor many Americans, it’s hard to believe that, globally, there is a water shortage crisis and it’s entirely possible that water is about to become a fought for and sought after resource. That’s because, in America, water still remains abundant and available and ready to be unfortunately wasted and over-consumed. In fact, when the average American takes a five minute shower, he or she wastes more water than an individual living in a slum in a developing nation uses in an entire day. The water shortage is real, and it’s already being felt by people across the globe.

At Postconsumers, in the past we’ve found that people understand the realities of how climate change and environmental concerns are really having an impact when we put them in the context of everyday “luxuries” that Americans frequently enjoy. For example, we know that many people really started to think about the climate shifting when we pointed out that climate change may make daily morning coffee a luxury for the rich. So, while the possibility of true global conflicts over water may be more than many people can digest on a first reading, talking about how the water shortage will impact something that lots of us love is a much easier way to put things into perspective.

So, if you like beer or whiskey, this article is for you. In the near future, prepare for the global water shortage to put an early last call on your party plans.

Beer: Are You Prepared for It To Be Priced Like Wine?

Globally, the international beer business is a $300 million dollar business. But beer prices may find themselves climbing as the massive water footprint left by the beer-making process becomes increasingly difficult to fund. Water is used profusely in the process of beer brewing. Firstly, the hops and barley need to be grown, using the essential plant nourishment of … water. Then, of course, there’s the actual water needed to brew the beverage. One consultancy estimates that it actually takes 300 liters of water to make one liter of beer. Beer companies, in fact, are already gearing up to prepare for the water shortage. While companies like MillerCoors are working with in-house water savings measures, the reality is that almost 98% of the water footprint of beer happens before it makes its way into the brewery. That’s to say that the agricultural process of growing the barley and hops requires massive amounts of water. So many beer companies are teaming up with the farms that provide their raw ingredients in order to work together to find more water-efficient ways to grow.

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Water is the Driving Force in Nature

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Water is the Driving Force in Nature

“Water is the driving force in nature.” Leonardo da Vinci

 

Are you ready to learn how to let go of stuff, spend less, live more and find the satisfaction of enough for today?  

Get the Get Satisfied BookRecycle all those other self-help books — this is the only one you will need. The secret to a true, deep happiness can be found in these beautifully personal stories from ordinary Americans. You will be genuinely inspired after reading this book. GET SATISFIED: How Twenty People Like You Found the Satisfaction of Enough will help you find joy in a place that you might have forgotten to look: your own life.Get started right now! 

What Are Peak Water and Peak Soil?

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Peak Water and SoilThere are parts of helping to preserve the planet that you can control as elements of living a Postconsumer lifestyle, but there are also parts that may be happening regardless of the small but ultimately highly important changes in our lives that we all need to make. Two of those potential inevitabilities are the phenomena of peak water and peak soil. It’s entirely possible that you’ve heard these terms tossed about without ever giving real thought to what they mean or the science behind them. If that describes you, then this is the read for you! And if it describes somebody that you know, then this is a great piece to pass along to them (hint, hint!).

So, what are peak water and peak soil? Are they even real things? And what can we do to manage them? Let’s take a look.

The Origin of the Term: Peak Oil

Of course, it shouldn’t necessarily be surprising that it wasn’t the most vital of natural resources (water and soil) that launched the discussion of “peaks.” It was, in fact, oil. Peak oil, quite simply, is the point at which the maximum amount of oil extraction from the earth has occurred, after which point it will be in a terminal decline. The formula for determining peak oil was actually created in 1956, which somewhat obviously leaves one wondering why alternative energy sources haven’t been a priority since it was first confirmed that oil production would at some point peak and decline. But we are not here to judge! While there have been several attempts to narrow down when peak oil will occur, the most frequently used operational one at this point is 2015. However, 1995, 2008 and other now-past dates have all been targeted at one point or another.

So, now, understanding how peak oil originated and subsequently became a large talking point, we can move on to peak soil and peak water.

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Wild Roses are Better Than Art

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Lousia May Alcott on Roses

“Wild roses are fairest, and Nature a better gardener than Art.” Louisa May Alcott

Are you ready to learn how to let go of stuff, spend less, live more and find the satisfaction of enough for today?  

Get the Get Satisfied BookRecycle all those other self-help books — this is the only one you will need. The secret to a true, deep happiness can be found in these beautifully personal stories from ordinary Americans. You will be genuinely inspired after reading this book. GET SATISFIED: How Twenty People Like You Found the Satisfaction of Enough will help you find joy in a place that you might have forgotten to look: your own life.Get started right now! 

The Music of the Earth

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Quotes About Saving the Earth

 

“The Earth has music for those who would listen.” George Santayana

Are you ready to learn how to let go of stuff, spend less, live more and find the satisfaction of enough for today?  

Get the Get Satisfied BookRecycle all those other self-help books — this is the only one you will need. The secret to a true, deep happiness can be found in these beautifully personal stories from ordinary Americans. You will be genuinely inspired after reading this book. GET SATISFIED: How Twenty People Like You Found the Satisfaction of Enough will help you find joy in a place that you might have forgotten to look: your own life.Get started right now! 

Give Nature a Chance

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Let Us Give Nature a Chance...

 

“Let us give nature a chance. She knows her business better than we do.” Michel de Montaigne

 

Are you ready to learn how to let go of stuff, spend less, live more and find the satisfaction of enough for today?  

Get the Get Satisfied BookRecycle all those other self-help books — this is the only one you will need. The secret to a true, deep happiness can be found in these beautifully personal stories from ordinary Americans. You will be genuinely inspired after reading this book. GET SATISFIED: How Twenty People Like You Found the Satisfaction of Enough will help you find joy in a place that you might have forgotten to look: your own life.Get started right now! 

 

 

© Photographer: Andrei Mihalcea | Agency: Dreamstime.com

Quotes About Trees for Arbor Day

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Arbor Day Tree QuotesFor anybody who loves the environment, nature and the idea of finding the satisfaction of enough for today, Arbor Day is a perfectly splendid holiday. After all, who doesn’t want to celebrate the glory of trees? Today, we’re celebrating with an entry that’s all about trees!

A Quick History of Arbor Day

The first Arbor Day was celebrated on April 10, 1872. Originating in Nebraska City, Nebraska and the brainchild of J. Sterling Morton, it’s estimated that one million trees were planted that day. Now, Arbor Day (from the Latin arbor, meaning tree) is an annual holiday that’s celebrated seasonally at different times across the globe. If you’d like to get involved but don’t have the land or resources to plant a tree yourself, you can find out how to become a part of this annual tradition within your own boundaries at www.ArborDay.org.

Quotes About Trees

We’re celebrating on the Postconsumers’ website today with our favorite quotes about trees and on Pinterest and Facebook with our favorite images of trees. Be sure to follow along wherever suits you best. Now, here are some of our favorite things that wonderful people have said about trees.

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A Tree Free Home: What is it and how do you create it?

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Tree Free Home AdviceAt Postconsumers, sometimes we think that the best way to become more eco-friendly and to consume less of the planet’s valuable resources is to look at the most extreme end of the scale and then work your way back to what is achievable and manageable and fun to you. One eco-activity that’s often advocated these days is the idea of creating a “tree-free home.” What’s a tree-free home? How do you create a tree-free home? More importantly, what’s a realistic way that you can create a “less-tree home” so that you’re helping the planet while not setting an unachievable goal? Let’s take a look.

The Extreme: Going All Tree-Free

First of all, we don’t want to make it sound like we think that you’re an extremist if you’re able to create an entirely tree-free home.  If you can do that, you’re an eco-superstar! However, the reality is that for most people, going entirely tree-free probably isn’t feasible and does feel like an extreme. We’re here to help you find your way to satisfaction with the amount of tree in your home no matter where you are on that scale. So let’s begin just by defining what a tree-free home is.

So what’s a tree-free home? It’s quite simply a home that has no first-time use products made from trees in it. How do you get there? Here’s a list!

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Every Day is Earth Day

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Celebrate Earth Day Every Day

 

“Every day is Earth Day.” Author Unknown

 

Are you ready to learn how to let go of stuff, spend less, live more and find the satisfaction of enough for today?  

Get the Get Satisfied BookRecycle all those other self-help books — this is the only one you will need. The secret to a true, deep happiness can be found in these beautifully personal stories from ordinary Americans. You will be genuinely inspired after reading this book. GET SATISFIED: How Twenty People Like You Found the Satisfaction of Enough will help you find joy in a place that you might have forgotten to look: your own life.Get started right now! 

 

 

© Photographer: Brandon Holmes | Agency: Dreamstime.com

Our Favorite Earth Day Quotes

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Favorite Earth Day QuotesHappy Earth Day! We could write all day about how much we love the earth, you love the earth and all of the things that we can do as postconsumers to help preserve the earth. But the truth is that so many people have said this better than we ever can! So, in celebration of Earth Day, here are our favorite quotes that celebrate the spirit.

1. “Every day is Earth Day.”  Author Unknown

2. “Only when the last tree has died and the last river been poisoned and the last fish been caught will we realize we cannot eat money.”  Cree Indian Proverb

3. “In wilderness is the preservation of the world.” Henry David Thoreau

4. “I conceive that the land belongs to a vast family of which many are dead, few are living, and countless numbers are still unborn”.  A Chieftain from Nigeria

5. “The Earth has a skin and that skin has diseases, one of its diseases is called man.” Friedrich Nietzsche Philosopher 1844-1900

6. “We have met the enemy and he is us.” Walt Kelly

7. “We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children.”  Native American Proverb

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