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Sometimes the news is hard to take, sometimes it requires a lot of personal growth and change. Finding out that what we are doing is hurting the environment, and our children’s future is inconvenient. Heck, it’s hard to remember to take your own bags to the store, but, when you do remember, it feels good. When you do something or write something that changes a few minds or starts a dialogue, it feels good. Since I have started writing the articles, creating green art for events in Austin, and consulting with local residents, I have been amazed at the overwhelmingly huge arms of acceptance that I have fallen into in the Wimberely Valley. It is like people here are so yearning for ways to help with the state of the world today that they welcome any new ideas for change even if it means changing something that they have thought to be a normal part of their everyday life for years. These are the people I work for, this is the reason I keep on keeping on. Do I still have to go to Austin to get Biodiesel? Yes, but it is worth it. Marc and I have decided that we will do whatever it takes to send our dollars and energy in the direction we want the world to go. Eventually, the hard work and dedication will pay off and in the mean time, it feels good. Our right to vote may not be the best and most effective way to change the course of things, I believe it’s our dollars. Our choices in purchases and places to shop is, in my opinion, the most influential, moral decision we have to make now. People aren’t reminded enough of this fact, they are voting with their dollars every day, if they feed them into a machine that makes widgets in China, that is what we will see more of. If they buy solar panels and biodiesel and carbon offsets, we will see more of those and a healthier planet. If you would like a suggestion of where to go locally, the Farmer’s Market is in the field across from Market Day on Thursday mornings from 8-12, I get as much of my produce there as possible and grass fed beef from Farmer Russell. Glenn’s Hill Country Natural Foods has it all, and Brookshire Bros. has a wonderful selection of organics, organic produce and Buddy’s Chicken. If I’m already in Austin, I go to Central Market for wild fish, other local area produce and the bulk section. Wheatsville Food Co-Op on Guadalupe is another wonderful place that I wish was closer to Wimberely. The Real Goods Catalog is a great place to shop on line, stores that sell organic cotton or hemp clothes made in the USA or if made over sees are made by companies that pay a living wage. For a list of these companies and where not to shop too, please go to this website: http://www.coopamerica.org/ Co-op America is a wonderful resource, full of interesting articles and facts. Please check out the new article called 10 Things To Never Buy Again. Where will you shop today? What will you buy? Don’t forget your bags!

So I went the the Co-op America website and checked it out the other day and found lots of things to get involved in and some to get enraged about. I hope all of you go to the site and sign up for the “low carb challenge”, carbon emissions, that is. Anyway, I was checking out that tomorrow, sorry I was too late to organize my own, there is a quarantine Wal-Mart demonstration where thousands will descend on their local Wal-Marts in Haz-Mat suits and yellow caution tape. There are already 27 planned demonstrations and I’m sure lots of last minute ones as well. Let’s hope it gets through to some of them. Wal-Mart epitomizes almost everything that has gone wrong with this country and it’s really hitting home now for me since the newly elected Mayor of Wimberley, a place people want to move to because there are no big box stores, stated, during his campaign, in a News 8 interview, that he wanted to invite a big HEB, and a large apparel retailer to Wimberley. And, I recently learned that Wal Mart had purchased land on the bypass loop. I’m sure at first the average person thinks, oh, cool, now I don’t have to drive to Austin or San Marcos for stuff, I can just get it right here in Wimberely… HELLOOOOOOOO? If you shop at Wal-Mart you are getting your “stuff” from some sweat shop in China, not from a local. If you shop at any big box store you are voting to keep the pave the earth society going strong and manifesting it in your own backyard. Not only does Wal-Mart take local businesses down, it doesn’t take care of it’s own employees, creates horrilble evironmental impact, and takes no responsibility for it’s products. There is nothing fair-trade about them. I have said it before, use your dollars as a vote, boycott big box stores including Wal-Mart and show how you feel about the future of our planet and our people. As I checked out how to organize my own demostration in a day, I plugged in my zip code to see where the closest Wal-Marts were, since, thank GOD there are none in Wimberley, and I was horrifed that there were 25 stores within 75 miles of me. AGHHHHHH! We are surrounded. There are 9 in San Antonio alone and that is just Wal-Mart. There are Targets, Home Depots, Dollar General, Kohls, Baby’s R US, oh there are too many to list them all…. I have to ask you, How many big box stores do we need? They are multiplying like a bad virus and believe me mother earth is definitely feeling sick from it.

I hope you all can come out the the 2nd Sustainable Shopper’s Ball on Saturday, April 22nd. The Green Guru has curated the art for the event and it promises to be a good one. Also there is a Green Guru Gate at the Rock the Block Festival at Block 21 just north of City Hall in Austin. Austin Green Art is heading up this event and it also promises to be a fun one. The green guru hopes that whatever you decide to do this Saturday you will remember our mother earth…. Hope to see you there!

Well, I don’t have to tell you if you were able to go, the Ball was a huge success. The green guru was proud to be a part of the first ever Austin original Sustainable Shopper’s Ball. I created just for the event a sundial to link all the the performers and speakers and their times to everyone who attended. It was a way to ground the festival and help everyone there to realize our position on the globe and in the solar system. Here’s a link to the article about the Ball in the Austin American Statesman: Don’t fret if you missed it, you can still catch the other 3 on April 22nd(earth day), May 20th, and June 17th. See you there!

Check out the new rainwater article and give us some feedback or feel free to ask questions. We truly believe that in Texas everyone should use rainwater collection and that in doing so it will bring back our rivers, streams and natural springs. It falls from the sky! Why not?! Next month: Organic food and safe meats….