| Powerful Ideas, Practical Actions |
May 2012 |
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In this newsletter, a preview of the new issue of YES!
Making It Home: After the Crash
When the real estate bubble popped, we learned what happens if we make our homes into commodities. The mess is not yet cleaned up—but it’s a perfect opportunity for a fresh look at what “home” means. The new issue of YES! Magazine tells the stories of people who are fighting foreclosures, finding cooperative ways to own homes, and building small and green on a budget. They’re showing us how to create homes for stability and long-term, soul-sustaining links to the natural world and to community. Here’s how we can make it home.
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6 Ideas for Sensible Homes
Small, supportive, affordable, recycled—and you can build your own.
For years, the rule when buying a home was “Borrow as much as you can, buy the biggest place you can, and fill it up with stuff.” Turns out that didn’t make sense for a lot of people. We found six examples of sensible approaches to a new model of homeownership, including: test the limits of “small,” finance without a bank, share your space, and dump your stuff. If enough of us do it, we’ll create homes for everyone.
READ MORE ...
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How I Found Happiness (in 130 Square Feet)
Photo Essay: Think you don't know how to build your own house? Neither did 23-year-old Ella Jenkins, before she picked up the tools and started.
“The building of my tiny house has been the single most rewarding and terrifying thing I have ever undertaken.”
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| Multigenerational Lessons
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Decades ago, the legendary journey of the open-ocean canoe Hokule‘a revealed secrets of Hawai‘i’s past and sparked pride in native culture. Now, a voyage around the world offers a new generation lessons about Earth’s uncertain future.
Rising Sea Levels: The View from a Canoe
by Sena Christian
Nearly 35 years—and 140,000 nautical miles—after her first voyage from Hawai‘i to Tahiti, the oceangoing canoe Hokule‘a was hauled into drydock, her hull rotten. Since then, volunteers have logged 15,000 hours returning the vessel to seaworthy condition.
Among the volunteers working to return Hokule‘a to the sea by 2013 are members of Kapu Na Keiki (“to hold the children sacred”), young people who are learning traditional sailing and wayfaring, some of whom will be part of the crew for a planned four-year worldwide journey.
Hokule‘a’s first voyage demonstrated that, far from an accidental landfall by sailors lost and adrift, the discovery of the Hawaiian Islands was the result of a sophisticated system of instrument-free navigation. The 2013 voyage is intended to raise awareness of climate change and its potential effects on island culture and to show how Hawai‘i can provide a model of sustainability.
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6 Tips for Green Pet Care
Sustainable, low-cost, and natural ways to care for your critters.
Studies show that pet owners are healthier and happier. You want those benefits, but you’re concerned about the environmental impact. Here are six ways to make your pet more Earth-friendly:
- The Perfectly Sustainable Pet
- Low-Cost Vet Care
- Adopt a Mutt
- Flea-Free Home
- Toys and Treats
- Waste Not
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