Traditional economic theory dictates that ultimately any business or corporation will be successful only if it can make a financial profit; that is, keep the bottom financial line in the black. On the face of it, this makes a lot of sense. After all, if you keep on losing money it will be impossible to continue operating indefinitely.  However, increasingly the concept of maintaining a “triple bottom line” in your business venture is gaining traction around the world. This term was first coined by John Elkington in 1994. “His argument was that companies should be preparing three different (and quite separate) bottom lines. One is the traditional measure of corporate profit – the bottom line of the profit and loss account. The second is the bottom line of a company’s ‘people account’ – a measure in some shape or form of how socially responsible an organization has been throughout its operation. The third is the bottom line of the company’s ‘planet’ account – a measure of how environ...

On two different occasions people have asked this question regarding the oak trim and baseboards in  our house. It’s an unsettling question. We live in a 80 year old house that was lovingly restored and updated by the previous owners. While the  baseboards and trim aren’t original, they have been custom made to match the originals. Tall, stately  baseboards that echo of another time, milled carefully to match the era of the home. But now I suppose they have gone out of fashion, thus the questions which imply that something must  be done. Surely we won’t just leave them and let our house become “dated.” Surely we will pay attention  to Pinterest and Instagram and see that we need to update. In contrast, there is a tradition in indigenous traditions called the Honourable Harvest and here is a  sampling of its principles: Take only what you need. Use it respectfully. Never waste what you have taken. Give a gift in reciprocity for what you have taken. Now let’s...

In 1970, to make the world safer from humanity’s worst self-destructive impulses, most nations joined the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons . (Only India, Israel, North Korea, Pakistan and South Sudan are not signatories.)  Now the world faces a threat as great as or greater than nuclear weapons: global warming. That’s led to calls for a “ Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty .” Recently, 101 Nobel laureates — in peace, literature, medicine, physics, chemistry and economic sciences, including the Dalai Lama — signed a letter to world leaders endorsing the proposal.   “Climate change is threatening hundreds of millions of lives, livelihoods across every continent and is putting thousands of species at risk,” they write.   The letter points out that burning coal, oil and gas is responsible for 80 per cent of carbon dioxide emissions since the Industrial Revolution and that “pollution, environmental and health costs associated with extracting, r...

In the seminar, Transitioning to Simplicity, which Mark A. Burch facilitated a few years ago, he referred repeatedly  to the concept of “mindful sufficiency.” Instead of participating recklessly in a culture of consumerism which our  planet cannot sustain, Burch suggested that we need to simplify our lifestyles voluntarily if we want to leave a  positive future to our children and grandchildren.  In his recent book, The Hidden Door: Mindful Sufficiency as an Alternative to Extinction, Burch explains what he  means by mindful sufficiency: “Through bringing mindfulness to our daily routines, we seek the maximum of  well-being achievable through the minimum of material consumption. Well-being applies to all of life on Earth,  not just human beings. It is about enough, for everyone, forever” (3). In his chapter on Simplicity and Economy, Burch dreams about how life could be if more people would practice  mindful sufficiency. I quote him at length with...

The cabbage harvest this year was especially abundant. It seemed conditions were right to produce more cabbage than ever before! The question is how can one save those bundles of summer sunshine for use in the winter.  Most cabbage will stay quite well for a number of months in a cold room or an extra fridge. Another way to benefit from the cabbage harvest all winter is to turn it into sauerkraut. For the most part, our generation has forgotten about the process of lacto-fermentation. But it is making a comeback. And it is about time, since it is one of the oldest preservation methods known to humankind.  The process is really quite simple. Cut up the cabbages into thin wedges or send them through a food processor. As you layer this cabbage in a large container, preferably a stone crock, sprinkle on a bit of salt and break open the cells of the cabbage with a “stomper.” Repeat this process until either your container is nearly full or you run out of cabbage. Then cover it with...