05 March 2011

Being Eco-Friendly vs. Buying Eco-Friendly by Cassandra Perez

Cassandra Perez shares a perspective on what it means to be eco-friendly.

7 comments:

  1. You said it! It's true how some people think buying ecofriendly products is good enough to spin the world back to earth. Perhaps they are not aware about green-washing. I liked how you said about 'catching your own water.' Your house looks natural. Please make more v-logs about your ecofriendly living experience! Thanks for sharing! Namaste

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  2. Huh oh, I did not realize how fast my vlog was! Sorry, guys.

    The Hopi people believes we should depend on ourselves, naturally. Imagine that if we could learn how to depend on ourselves with natural resources in our present environment, without shopping at grocery stores or at hardware shops, We WILL abundantly reduce our carbon footprints!

    I live in the Chihuahuan desert (New Mexico, Arizona, and mostly in Mexico. My roots run around here). We have plenty of creosote brush, limestone, and dirt. Here's what I've learned. you can gather creosote leaves, hang to dry, then crush into powder. it can be used to cure athlete's foot! With limestone, we can crush into powder and add water to make it pastel. Apply to walls as we would for stucco. With dirt, we can easily make adobe bricks or replace cement to hold walls together! Pretty cool, huh?

    My next step is to plant native vegetables. I already have some non native vegetables growing in the community garden. With long hot summer days with limited water, growing non native vegetables is almost not possible. Thus, native plants from http://www.nativeseeds.org/ come in the picture! These seeds has been traditionally grown in the Southwest by different native people and is tolerable of long hot summer days with limited water.

    i could go on all night, but i think that also means i will need to make more vlogs :)

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  3. cass! can i say i love you? you rock! please, please, more vlogs on how you catch your own water and grow your own food. i know about cisterns, but how do you go about getting them and filtering them for showering and drinking? obviously brita filters aren't the answer, har, har. :)

    you're absolutely right--- being "eco" as in buying organic & eco-friendly products and driving fuel-efficient cars is actually a privilege that comes with having money. i wouldn't suggest people start buying SUVs, unorganic products or DRANO, but by going further and making our own products instead of buying eco-friendly products (e.g. shampoo, house cleaners, glass cleaner, etc) and frequenting farmers' markets rather than MEGA-stores with super air conditioning.

    you rock girl! (and your video speed was just fine, honey!)

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  4. A thought provoking vlog. I want your lifestyle, no question about it! I can imagine I'll be at my happiest self. Living simply is the best motto to live by. I am sure you have saved money and they can be put to a good use. Thanks for sharing.

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  5. Cassandra,
    Great explanation! I agree that, with the misconceptions of the term "eco-friendly" that goes around a lot, people need to stop and stand back to look at what they are really "wrong-doing" and at what they are NOT doing for our Earth.

    I would love to see more of your vlogs on this topic. I have a Deaf friend who is in school to learn how to make homes out of Earth, just like you said earlier in your own comment. I'm excited for him to graduate soon so he can get started on it for other people! Also, I would hire him to make me an Earthship as my house. :)

    Your speed was just fine by the way. More please, thanks!

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  6. wow i feel so inspired by your vlog about "bare necessities" i am not computer savvy i picked anonymous instead of url or wordpress cuz i dont understand them so my name is deaf moon thank you very much for your powerful inspiration xo deaf moon

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  7. I'm glad to know I've inspired you!

    I have just purchased my first used water tank and it holds 300 gallon of water! My very dear life partner and his friends has collected several free materials: old used tin roof, old telephone poles, and railroad tiles. My friend, Taz has passed down a wind generator to us.

    Here we go, building our house with nearly no carbon footprints. A vlog coming your way soon, watch out!

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