Sunday links

video via Unconsumption

For the past six months, I have been collecting links to share on this blog. It is a very long list. Here are some of the more recent reads:

• "Admire success. But do not praise excess." 7 Reasons Why We Should Stop Praising Excess by Joshua Becker. (Becoming Minimalist)
• I would like to master The Elegant Art of Not Giving A Shit. Imagine how much worthwhile stuff I could get done. (Raptitude)
• Lifestyle blogger Sarah Wilson has written a Slow Food and Outdoors Guide to Perth and Fremantle. While I am certainly not planning to quit sugar (she authored the best-selling I Quit Sugar program), I do enjoy Sarah's blog and will be trying out some of her recommendations of places to visit in my home town. It's worth checking out the comments for further suggestions. I'm excited to try some new places that popped up while I was out of town for six months.
• Australian blogger The Rogue Ginger recommends some sites for collaborative consumption.
• 'The Great Fish Swap': How America Is Downgrading Its Seafood Supply - NPR interview with Paul Green, author of American Catch: The Fight for Our Local Seafood, about how the US exports a lot of its best quality fish (eg wild Alaska salmon) and imports poorer quality seafood.
• Two Economic Concepts That Might Just Save Us ( or at least help us make better decisions) by Aussie doctor Alessandro R Demaio. (The Conversation)
• A supermarket in the UK is planning to power one of its stores completely off food waste. I hope it works and becomes standard practice. I wonder if other businesses could be powered off their waste? (Unconsumption)
• While we're on food wasted, closer to home, a "campaign for ugly fruits aims to end food waste". Personally, I prefer ugly fruit and vegetables. They usually taste better and I like ugly things in general. Wabi sabi. (ABC) The video at the top of the post addresses the same subject.

Sunday links

Now the federal election is over, I feel able to share some (not-too-political) reading. Most found via blogs or twitter (where I am @cerebral_e or @Elissa_Campbell).

Why Generation Y Yuppies are Unhappy. The comments on this article make me so glad to be Australian, where my Gen Y yuppiness is easier to bear (Gen Y being defined by the author as the generation born between the late 1970s and early 1990s). Wait But Why via @PearlyProductns

The future "social cost" and economic costs of carbon far outweigh any short-term financial cost of cleaner energy.  Counting the Cost of Fixing the Future - New York Times

The fascinating story of James Miranda Barry, who lived her life as a man so she could be a doctor in 19th century England. I'm glad I didn't have to resort to this. Her Courageous Life As A Man by Natascha McElhone (yes, the wonderful actress) - Intelligent Life magazine

Listen, Girlfriends has started a series of blog posts on ethical fashion.

On the same topic, some links to reads about combating the fast fashion movement - The American Edit

Why I broke up with the supermarket, by Aussie blogger Down To Earth Mother. I have to agree with her and I love that she buys her toilet paper from Who Gives a Crap.

A nice story on one of my favourite Aussie blogs about one of my favourite Perth stores, Remedy. They stock Australian-made and fair trade goods, which are invariably lovely - The Design Files.

I am terrible at making decisions and have always had FOMO. That's why, when I find a brand or business I like, I stick to it. Routines can help save your energy for the important decisions. Reducing Decisions to Focus Better - The Art of Non-Conformity

Russell Brand says some very sensible things, sometimes - The Guardian via @Monika_Dutt


A few links to stop you from buying too much stuff:

When did goods get so bad? - Raptitude

Beware, the Diderot Effect. I have fallen victim to this on more than one occasion - Treading My Own Path

5 Reasons You're Earning More But You're Still Miserable - Daily Finance

Sunday links

Times Haiku: Serendipitous Poetry from the New York Times

This New York Times piece talks about the power of citizen lobbying and the hurdles that citizen lobby groups must overcome. In the words of Captain Planet, "The power is YOURS."



One of my first posts on this blog was about the Peter Singer book, The Life You Can Save. In his recent TED talk on Effective Altruism, he argues the ethics behind that book. I think it's worth 20 minutes of your time.

Bigger Than Yourself is starting a letter-writing campaign to Australian fashion labels, asking about the ethics behind their clothing production. She's starting out with popular brands Sportsgirl, Review, Portmans, Alannah Hill and Witchery and she's had a few typically vague responses. I'm going to write to a few of the brands I no longer purchase because I'm not confident they're sweat-shop free.

Three Australian-based, ethical fashion/lifestyle blogs I discovered this week: Indigo Bazaar, Green Flings and Eco Warrior Princess.

One of my food heroes, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, is heading to Australia for a River Cottage Australia. Unfortunately, it's on Foxtel. I may need to find a friend with Foxtel...or wait until it comes out on DVD. I'm hoping there will be a River Cottage Australia cookbook.

Another of my food heroes, Michael Pollan, was on ABC Radio National this week along with celebrity chef Peter Kuruvita and "Salt Sugar Fat" author Michael Moss. They talk about taking back control of cooking (from food corporations) as a source of pleasure and self-reliance. (Thanks to @timsenior for the link.)

Fat City: What can stop obesity? is a long, but eloquent and thorough, read by Australian physician Karen Hitchcock. (Illustrated by a faceless fatty, I see.) She discusses the individual and societal factors leading to obesity, and the costs to the individual and to the public.  She concludes, "If you come to me, your doctor, and you ask me to make you thin, for now I will have to cut you or drug you, as these are the only weapons I have to ward off the sirens." We (not just doctors but everyone) need to tackle obesity at a societal level because as Dr Hitchcock says, our options are limited at an individual level.
 
Please comment if you find these links of interest and would like to discuss their content.