http://www.littlegreenguide.com/living-green Self-Sufficient Sustainable Living Fri, 15 Aug 2008 13:47:45 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en "Bureaucracy is the death of all sound work." -- Albert Einstein Bureaucracy irritates me, I mean REALLY <blanky> irritates me. All my friends hate bureaucracy. All my family hates bureaucracy. In fact, everyone I've ever mentioned the word bureaucracy to hates bureaucracy! If so many of us (seemingly all of us) hate ... http://www.littlegreenguide.com/living-green/2008/08/un-sustainable-complexity-bureaucracy/ As a fabricator, I'm constantly looking online for input, ideas or even working plans for my self-sufficient living projects. One of the best sources of information I've found are the various patent sites. The other day I downloaded a patent for an efficient wood heater. The drawings were detailed enough to ... http://www.littlegreenguide.com/living-green/2008/08/patents-for-diy-self-sufficiency-projects/ There are very few humans currently living on planet earth that would dare claim that everything is rosy with our system. Yet we've had a hundred years - a whole century of rapid developments in mechanization, technological advance and social tinkering which promised to deliver a better world. One of ... http://www.littlegreenguide.com/living-green/2008/08/consumerism-sustainable-job-creation/ I came by a recent copy of the Warwick local newspaper and was appalled to see the headline story was an unveiled threat by local council to vigorously pursue shire residents who were "living illegally" in sheds and other unapproved dwellings. Local council crackdowns on non-approved dwellings are nothing new. Councils, ... http://www.littlegreenguide.com/living-green/2008/07/affordable-sustainable-housing/ These days interest in renewable energy is high and naturally interest in renewable energy investment has risen dramatically. Typical of societies driven by rampant consumerism all manner of con-men are stepping up to the plate to fleece well meaning investors with what amounts to little more than gambling in a ... http://www.littlegreenguide.com/living-green/2007/09/renewable-energy-investment/ Australian prime minister John Howard and his world-leader bureaucrat buddies have just demonstrated their utter contempt for the real environmental issue and the "common" people of the world. It's disgusting... These world leaders attending the APEC meeting have just squandered around $700 million on little more than pomp and ceremony to ... http://www.littlegreenguide.com/living-green/2007/09/apec-orgy-consumption/ There's no doubt that the Australian government is dragging its feet on the environment. And it's highly likely that we'll never see an adequate response to climate change and environmental degradation until we the people demand it. Typical of governments blinded by their desperation to be re-elected their focus is still ... http://www.littlegreenguide.com/living-green/2007/06/rampant-consumerism/ The Australian Political scene is ugly. People's opinions don't count anymore. We're not consulted. We're actively ignored... Iraq springs to mind here. Our government was sent a clear message at the time. "Not in our name" was the cry. When questioned Howard's response was "The mob haven't made up their mind". To ... http://www.littlegreenguide.com/living-green/2007/05/australian-government-reform/ The Australian government is building an unsustainable economy. As GST increasingly becomes the revenue base for government we are confronted with a serious dilemma... Rampant consumerism is the primary cause of environmental degradation. Yet thanks to the GST the government now has a real vested interest in us continuing to consume and ... http://www.littlegreenguide.com/living-green/2007/05/building-a-non-sustainable-economy/ When you boil it all down sustainable living is about efficiency. That’s why no serious discussion about sustainable practice can ignore the rise of big bloated governments and their attendant bureaucracies. Fact is the institution of government is directly responsible for unsustainable practice. The French philosopher and libertarian, Bastiat, said it best: "Government ... http://www.littlegreenguide.com/living-green/2007/05/governments-bureaucracy-and-sustainable-living/