A Year of Living Green , livre ebook

Dwell Well and Build a Better World

“This book offers a low-impact lifestyle that will make your daily life easier and positively affect the Earth for generations to come.” —Cheryl Hahn, founder and president of Tomorrow's World

A Year of Living Green is a daily chronicle or journal from author Julie Fisher-McGarry to help keep your mind and heart open to all that lives.

Have a positive impact on the world. A Year of Living Green is a collection of nonreligious, yet deeply soulful suggestions for demonstrating concern, kindness, and consideration for nature and its animals. Organized by month, it includes tips on living green, where to purchase organic and fair-trade products, how to unplug from the grid, supporting local economies, nourishing the earth, and creating a sustainable lifestyle. Julie offers you daily personal anecdotes, inspiring quotations, verses of poetry, simple vegetarian recipes, women’s health tips, environmental facts, and green thoughts.

Written especially for women. Julie Fisher-McGarry was once a personal fitness trainer to Saudi Arabian royalty, and now works to promote environmental issues in every way she can. A vegetarian since the 1980s, she has fought against animal cruelty and promoted better human health. A Year of Living Green was written especially for women because Julie believes that women are less afraid to show emotion and act upon it.

• Get a copy of A Year of Living Green and…
• Discover why individual acts really do matter
• Learn how to start small and make a big difference
• See how simple acts can inspire others and help build a better world
• Keep a journal as you read along so that you can record your own green and compassionate ideas, plans, and daily acts

If you have read and learned from books such as The Four Agreements, A New Earth, The Path Made Clear, Have You Seen Luis Velez, No One Is Too Small to Make a Difference, Let it Go, or Pay It Forward; you will love A Year of Living Green.

From the book:

August 23 - Oxford Delight

Here is a soup recipe perfect for a summer evening. It was inspired by a bowl of soup I ordered while in the Cotswolds, near Oxford.

Cotswolds Chowder

• 1-2 tablespoons vegan margarine
  
• 2 small leeks, white parts only, thinly sliced
• 3 stalks of celery, sliced
• 1 medium potato, peeling and diced
• ¼ cup white basmati rice, rinsed
  
• 8 cups of plain soymilk, plus extra water if necessary
• 1 cup parsley, chopped
• 1 cup fresh dill, chopped
• 1 teaspoon white pepper
• Instant mashed potato granules or powder, to thicken
• Chopped chives and dill to garnish

Melt the margarine in a large pot. Stir in the leeks, celery, potato, and sauté them for a few minutes, stirring. Do not brown. Stir in the rice and soymilk. Bring to a boil then reduce the heat to a gentle simmer for about 20 minutes until the potatoes are softened, adding some water if it needs it. Stir in the parsley, dill, and white pepper. Stir well, bring back to a gentle boil and cook for about 5 minutes. Salt will spoil the flavor so do not add! If you like thicker chowder, stir in a tablespoon or two of instant potato granules. Do not overcook. Garnish each serving with a sprinkle of chopped chives and dill. Serve with crusty bread and a sprinkle of sunflower seeds. Serves 6.

August 24 - Wildlife in Danger

When I was a child back in the 60s, I collected tea cards. Tea didn't come in little square bags; it was loose leaf and came in oblong packets. Inside was a little picture card for children to collect. My most treasured set was a series of 49 cards entitled “Wildlife in Danger.” There was a box in art class where you could swap your doubles; it was my first insight into wildlife. I would love to have those cards now to see which of the animals did not become extinct and made it through.

Habitat destruction—too many humans and too much greed—has doomed millions of creatures and plant species to extinction worldwide, leaving us a bleaker world. Only when we humans realize we are all in this world together, and this is not just our world, can all live in harmony.

Long before my tea cards were printed, indigenous people respected nature and were a part of it. Every major decision that Native Americans made, nature was considered: they did not over hunt, destroy unnecessarily, or pollute. We must follow their example to transform our decaying world by changing our attitude about the wild.

August 25 - A Fountain of Transformation

The sound of running water can help transform your garden into a place of peace and tranquility. Even the smallest of areas can be turned over to water.

As long as it's watertight, almost any container can be transformed into a water feature. Choose a colorful shallow bowl or create a bubbling urn, or a pebble-based fountain that will look and sound delightful as the water trickles gently, yet is also safe for children. I recommend moving water so that mosquitoes are not attracted to the water and birds will love to take showers and flutter their feathers. My hummingbirds love the gentle spray from my fountain for their morning bath while still hovering, and they grab the tiny bugs that like it too.

Of course you'll want to be mindful of your water consumption, but most of these ponds and fountains simply recirculate the same water around and around. Check your local garden center or hardware store for ideas and add an area of serenity.

August 26 - Something to Whet the Appetite

By tradition, Greeks only drink alcohol if accompanied by mezedes—nibbles. The only rules for the food are that it is nutritious, appetizing, and unusual, and combines soft and hard, subtle, and bright, and fresh and mellow.

These same versatile, colorful, very flavorful dishes make a fantastic easy summer lunch or buffet to serve to your friends. Much of the preparation is done in advance and the food is served at room temperature. It's also a great way to eat communally as meze are not to be eaten with any fuss, just everyone dipping, scooping, and dunking raw vegetables such as cucumber, yellow, orange, and red peppers, celery, and the very necessary pita bread into a big bowl of lemony, garlicky hummous. (For vegetarians rather than vegans, you could also add Greek Feta cheese, rounds of fresh goats' cheese, and finish with fresh fruits drizzled with honey and served with dollops of thick Greek yogurt and some baklava.)

Foreword
Acknowledgments
Introduction

January Awakening to the New Year
February Kindness Does Matter
March Celebrate All Life
April Nature Renewed
May My self in Nature
June Love Is in the Little Things
July Summer's Inspiration
August Go Where Your Heart Draws You
September Honor and Respect the Creatures
October Harmonious Balance
November Appreciation
​December Peace and Reflection

Afterword