Carnival of the Green #197

More Minimal is proud to host the 197th consecutive edition of the Carnival of the Green, coordinated by Kara DiCamillo and our friends at Treehugger.

A special thanks to Gaiam’s blog, Stream of Consciousness, which hosted last week’s Carnival. Today’s edition wasn’t originally scheduled to make a stop here. In fact, More Minimal is pretty much a new site. We’ve just relaunched after over two years of being away. This is the sister site of a longtime Carnival of the Green venue, Lighter Footstep.

But circumstances sent everyone looking for a backup Carnival site this time out. If you’ve not read through one of the Carnivals, the concept is pretty simple: it’s a weekly roundup of articles from some of the web’s best green blogs. At More Minimal, our mission is to help people learn to reduce their consumption and simplify their lives. I think that’s a pretty good definition of living green, so out comes the welcome mat.

If you’d like to browse or participate in the next Carnival — which should appear on its regular Monday publication schedule — check the end of this week’s entries for information. You’ll also find information about #bestgreentweets, a way you can contribute to the Carnival of the Green even if you don’t have a blog. On to the stories we go.

This week’s Carnival entries

When it comes to sustainability, it’s best to set some personal priorities. Let go of what’s uninteresting; Consider your most important values, and work on those first. That’s advice from Tyler over at Frugally Green. As the Grateful Dead’s Jerry Garcia used to say, “If it’s not fun, why do it?”

Go Green! Green Web-Hosting Companies For A Sustainable Future: The datacenters which make up the gossamer connections of the web are incredibly power-hungry installations. It’s not just the computers themselves, but the cooling systems necessary to keep them healthy. That’s why it’s great to see a new generation of environmentally conscious hosting companies. Energy Idealist has a rundown on several green webhosts who are trying to keep their clients online in a responsible way.

At The Sustainable Living Project, Goo (that’s the authoress’ nom de web) has been a busy publisher as we move into autumn. She submitted a whole selection of articles, from this snapshot of her amazing English country garden to the progress of the local bee population. The photographs are beautiful, and you’ll be charmed by the gentle and earthy spirit of this site.

Autumn Beck has four kids and knows a thing or two about cloth diapers. This week, she reviews two new diaper products by Cotton Babies: Have You Seen Cotton Babies New Cloth Diapers?. Both diapers feature washable shells and disposable or prefolded inserts — a step-up system for parents making the transition to traditional cloth.

Like all of us, the U.S. Post Office is struggling with an economy in recession. They’re cutting jobs and expenses. One way for us to cut our postage costs is using more email. But will this cycle eventually force permanent post office closures? Stacey Doyle from The Smarter Wallet examines the pros and cons.

On Veggie Revolution, Sally Kneidel has a great common sense tip that can cut your energy use (while feeding your appreciation of nature): annex the Great Outdoors for living space. We can look to Japanese ponds, gardens, and sitting areas for inspiration. You’ll also find this article at Sally’s new personal site, SallyKneidel.com.

Our oceans are filling with plastic. What are you going to do about it? Beth Terry — at the appropriately named Fake Plastic Fish — has a series of specific actions you can take to make your voice heard in Washington. And just for fun, it’s tied to your chance to win some cool and eco-friendly lunchware.

Se we all love our furry friends, but are there any earth-friendlier options when it comes to feeding them? That’s what Brenda at Pragmatic Environmentalism wanted to know. You can benefit from the research she put in to find some green chow for her one year old kitty, Ollie.

Staying at a hotel soon? Surprisingly, these bog-box lodgings are getting green. Kate has the second part of her series on eco-friendly lodging up at the Green Thinking Blog. Looking for Part One? It’s here.

Climate change concerns and the end of cheap petroleum — we’re getting to the end of of oil-powered energy. It’s really impossible to overstate the drama of this transition, since practically everything we think of as “progress” stems from readily available fossil fuels. The upside is millions of green jobs. Read about it at Boots on the Roof.

Want to be a part of the Carnival of the Green?

Next week’s Carnival moves on to Lill’s List. If you’re a blogger, you can contribute an article anytime before Sunday. You’ll find instructions here.

Something new to the Carnival of the Green is Best Green Tweets. Have you seen a great green link somewhere on the web? Just tweet it, adding the hashtag #bestgreentweets. We’ll see them in time for the next Carnival. This week’s best is from Sally Kneidel.

Thanks for visiting More Minimal. Do you run a website? I license my content here under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 United States License. This means that as long as you properly attribute my work, you’re welcome to republish it on your own site. Take what you want. If you have any questions about how this works, just drop me a note. Here’s to leaner, greener, happier living!