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Elsewhere

Dec 10, 2004
Living easy with Greg Seaman

Greg Seaman has long been an admirer of GoodNewsIndia, which is why the regret is greater for not having featured him in this site so far. It has taken all this while to realise that Greg’s life could be a great inspiration to people all over the world, who are concerned by the damage wrought by mindless development on the environment.

Greg is neither a crusader nor a well-known name. He is a man who has chosen to live the quiet life — by his own convictions, using the solutions he considers to be the right ones for these times. For over twenty years, this native New Yorker has lived close to nature in Vancouver Island, Canada. In that time he has looked around, discovered how it is possible to live a comfortable, modern life without being driven by money or consumerism. And the Seamans have raised a family, in that time.

Greg and his wife were both mainstreamers in the USA, when a chance opportunity gave them a taste of life in the rural wilds. They were bewitched. There was no road or electricity or any of the conveniences we take for granted. Greg was just 30 then, but he set out to create his Walden.

Twenty years later, electricity and the Internet came to his homestead. That impelled him —thank, God!—to share his experiences with everyone. And that was how eartheasy.com was born.

The site is worth visiting for its sheer visual, aesthetic delight—Greg is a very sensitive photographer. Beneath the visuals, is a treasure chest. There are solutions to many issues that concern us. Many are usable by even those in the cities. Topics are classified under sections titled, live, grow, eat, play, wear and give. Those seem ample heads to classify all our needs and delights. There are pages on waste-less gift wrapping, merits of hemp over cotton clothing, natural mosquito repellents, camping, canoeing, birding, outdoor education and car pools.

Sample just this month’s offering at the site, to get an idea of Greg’s thrust: ‘bio-degradable plastics for cell-phone covers’, ‘air quality inside your home may be worse than that outdoors and how to find out’, ‘how spending time with nature helps in Attention Deficit Disorders [ADD]’, ‘eating with a conscience’ and so on. While at the site don’t fail to read ‘Four common anti-environment myths’ by Mark McElroy, who is a practicing business consultant. McElroy counters the myths that claim, man was created to be the dominant species, the under-developed world is better off emulating the western mode of civilisation, there is no limit to growth and, the ability of science to solve all our problems is endless.

Greg’s voice is gentle — it merely informs. There are no harangues. He says there is the often asked question, “What is the world coming to?” and we all answer it everyday “with our activities, our purchases and what we teach our children”. How often we say we can’t help what we are doing. Greg quietly shows what we can do, and persuades that our little initiatives do matter.

EarthEasy is not a static site. Greg constantly updates it with seemingly endless ideas and how-to’s. It began as a one-man effort but along the way appears to have attracted contributors. A couple of years ago EarthEasy got an Honourable Mention in the prestigious Stockholm Challenge competition. It will be worth you time to keep revisiting the site. But be warned: it will alter your thinking and behaviour.

Click to visit the site: http://www.eartheasy.com

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