December 13, 2005
Urban skywatching!
I was at my niece's wedding last month, in a museum courtyard in Florida under a beautiful evening sky. A fine crescent moon rose behind the palm trees, with a bright star near it. Venus, I thought, vaguely remembering the the first star in the sky is a planet. I wondered, though, and asked around. No one knew more than I did--and that was all too little. Here is a great site for anyone who wants to be more attuned to the natural world: Urban Skywatching by Bob Parvin
Posted by Karen Christensen at 5:01 AM | Comments (0)
September 7, 2005
Cradle to Cradle Design
I'm in the process of gathering lots of new content for this blog and website, because I can see that in light of recent events we'll all be thinking much more about both energy conservation and our relationship with the natural world (though at this stage the hard-hit people in Lousiana and Mississippi aren't thinking like that, and my heart gos out to them). In the meantime, I want to recommend some of the most intriguing thinking around, when it comes to designing products and processes to put us in sync, and not conflict, with the process of nature:
Cradle to Cradle.
Posted by Karen Christensen at 7:40 PM | Comments (0)
March 5, 2005
The world in a bottle
This won’t save the planet, but it’s a useful and seasonal tip, here on the East Coast, because so many people go to Florida this time of year. It’s so tempting to bring reminders home—even when we should "Take only photographs, leave only footprints." (And traveling by any vehicle other than a plane is also a good idea.) I’m not a regular Florida tripper, but a couple of years back I found myself with a small bag of shimmery white sand, full of tiny bits of coral and seashell. Not much use, not much beauty, and an ecological no-no to boot.
What I did was this: I put funneled the sand into a long clear whiskey bottle with a wooden cap. On its side, lying here on my desk, it reminds me of the sea and sunshine, of the wider world, on the beauty we need to preserve.
Posted by Karen Christensen at 5:15 PM | Comments (0)
January 22, 2005
Old acquaintances
The holidays gave us time at home, cooking and baking, pulling out the dishes we always use for celery and baked squash, and figuring out where I left the other Christmas pudding. I've lived in this house for almost 10 years, far longer than I have ever lived anywhere, and during these inside months (we're expecting another 18 inches of snow this weekend) I've been noticing how many useful household items have become old friends.
This blender, for example. It's not a reproduction. It's an original 'osterizer' and god knows how old. It cost $2 at a tag sale a decade ago and still works perfectly. How long would a modern equivalent hold out? Secondhand shops, tag and jumble sales, and friends and neighbors are a great source of friendly furnishings, and a way to reduce consumption and waste, too.
Posted by Karen Christensen at 7:25 AM | Comments (0)
November 30, 2004
Talking about community
A couple of weeks ago, I was invited to talk about "Defining Community" at a conference held at Hancock Shaker Village, which is not far from here. It was a miserable damp day and we were in an unheated barn, but what a pleasure it was to talk about community, and the Encyclopedia of Community, with a knowledgable bunch of scholars and communards. I took this photo moments after we arrived--I love the turbulent autumn sky.
Posted by Karen Christensen at 4:30 PM | Comments (0)