Carbon Free Entertainment....

Things are getting expensive out there, and it's got me wondering what can people do to pass the time and not break the bank, nor break the planet. So in anticipation of July 4th, I'm declaring energy and financial independence for enjoying the holiday. The following are five (see a pattern here) suggestions for carbon free enjoyment this upcoming Holiday Weekend.

1) Spend time with friends and family at a bar-b-que or picnic. There are few easier ways to past the time then prepping food with friends, and then grilling them and eating the fruits of your labor. Don't forget that fruits are excellent grilling items as well. Try to avoid disposables wherever possible and when necessary get compostables.

2) Take a walk in the park, or play in the park. If you have them already play frisbee(tm), croquet, catch, badminton, volleyball or some other game with friends and family. If you don't have them be sure to ask neighbors if you can borrow them. It's a great time to get to know your community.

3) Play board games. If you are on Facebook, and it seems like here in Silicon Valley who isn't. Scrabulous made scrabble wildly popular again. So take a break from the computer and using that electricity and play in person. Again, if you don't have a Scrabble set (then what's wrong with you - just kidding). Then try to borrow one. It's inexpensive and most of the games are actually biodegradable being made of wood and cardboard. I find them at garage sales all the time and have picked up sets and left sets at work. A non biodegradable game is the travel edition which I enjoy thoroughly.

4) Watch a movie, the act of watching a movie is pretty carbon free except for the utilities and the transportation. See if you can reduce those down (at least the transport). Wall-E is a post apocalyptic version of a world of garbage. Maybe a lesson there, can't tell you since I haven't seen it yet. But I plan to.

5) Sit around the table and shoot the breeze. Isn't amazing what great stories happen when you're just talking. The great conversations of our youth were sitting late in the dorm room. I recommend listening to the Feelies to set the mood. I just read the linked article and remember the great potential of being smitten with the thought of life and the school's number two singles tennis player. Relive that over again. If you want a great shoot the breeze kind of story about shooting the breeze, here's a bonus thing to do, go to the library and check out this story.

Shopping is not a hobby, and while we live aspirational lives, we can choose what we aspire to. This is a particular moving post by Madame X, of www.myopenwallet.net, a personal finance blogger who blogs anonymously. The post focuses on being able to call herself a writer after many years and the awkward tie to financial capability that a job may entail. Our wealth translates into our aspirations, and perhaps our impact on the planet.

I realize that I am very lucky, and have less fears than others. As we pursue our happiness this weekend, it doesn't hurt to ask what type of life and by extension what kind of world results of our pursuits. Our liberty is impacted by what's around us and the permission of others to keep the world around us so that we have the freedom of choice as oppose to the mandate of fighting for survival.