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    The Greening of Gavin: My First Year of Living Sustainably
    The Greening of Gavin: My First Year of Living Sustainably
    The Greening of Gavin: My First Year of Living Sustainably
    Ebook87 pages56 minutes

    The Greening of Gavin: My First Year of Living Sustainably

    By Gavin Webber

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    About this ebook

    As he walked out of the cinema, Gavin knew that his life would change forever. It was the impact of a documentary that kicked him into action, whereby he decided to lower his family's impact on the planet, in the attempt to live a more sustainable lifestyle. This is the story of his first year of 'The Greening of Gavin'.

    Gavin's philosophy is a simple one and he describes it as this;

    "An Ordinary Australian Man Who Has A Green Epiphany Whilst Watching A Documentary, Gets a Hybrid Car, Plants A Large Organic Vegetable Garden, Goes Totally Solar, Lowers Consumption, Feeds Composts Bins and Worms, Harvests Rainwater, Raises Chickens, Makes Cheese and Soap, and Eats Locally. All In The Effort To Reduce Our Family's Carbon Footprint So We Can Start Making A Difference For Our Children & Future Generations To Come."

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherGavin Webber
    Release dateJun 25, 2012
    ISBN9781476209166
    The Greening of Gavin: My First Year of Living Sustainably
    Author

    Gavin Webber

    By day, Gavin Webber is a mild-mannered IT professional working in the heart of Melbourne and recently earned a Diploma of Carbon Management.However, at night and on weekends he becomes a committed and feverish blogger and writer, informing the world and giving practical tips on cheese making, fruit and vegetable growing, chickens, DIY backyard building and many other sustainability topics.Married to Kim, with four children scattered around the globe, he currently lives in Victoria, Australia, and continues to write about his journey at his blog, The Greening of Gavin. The blog has over 1400 posts and has received over 1.7 million page views.Gavin's sustainable living work was recently acknowledge when he received the 2013 Green Lifestyle Award for "Local Green Hero". He was also listed as Highly Commended in the On-line Eco Information site category.

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      Book preview

      The Greening of Gavin - Gavin Webber

      The Greening of Gavin

      My First Year of Living Sustainably

      by

      Gavin Webber

      Copyright 2013 by Gavin Webber

      Illustrations by Kim Webber

      All rights reserved.

      Revision 1.7

      Smashwords Edition, License Notes

      This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

      Visit my website at www.greeningofgavin.com

      To my loving wife Kim, and my children Adam, Amy, Megan and Benjamin.

      Their patience shows no end.

      Just remember kids, we are making a better world.

      Table of Contents

      Forward

      Preface

      Chapter 1 - 'E' Day

      Chapter 2 - My First Action

      Chapter 3 - Awareness

      Chapter 4 - Energy Efficiency

      Chapter 5 - Organic Food Gardening

      Chapter 6 - Water Conservation

      Chapter 7 - Waste

      Chapter 8 - The First Summer Crop

      Chapter 9 - Solar Electricity

      Chapter 10 - Wrap-up

      Afterward

      About The Author

      Connect with Me Online:

      Other eBooks by this Author

      Forward

      This book documents the actions that my family and I took, and the emotions I felt, during the first year of 'The Greening of Gavin'.

      I describe my journey as thus;

      An Ordinary Australian Man Who Has A Green Epiphany Whilst Watching A Documentary, Gets a Hybrid Car, Plants A Large Organic Vegetable Garden, Goes Totally Solar, Lowers Consumption, Feeds Composts Bins and Worms, Harvests Rainwater, Raises Chickens, Makes Cheese and Soap, and Eats Locally. All In The Effort To Reduce Our Family's Carbon Footprint So We Can Start Making A Difference For Our Children & Future Generations To Come.

      As you will read, I was greatly affected by a single event which became a pivotal turning point in my life, and one that I will never forget nor regret.

      I have come a long way since that very first step towards a more sustainable lifestyle, and it is hard to imagine that my life is now so different than it was when I was a consumer. Yet, I wouldn't have it any other way, and I relish what each day may bring.

      Life is happy, joyful, and exciting, so come along for the ride. I promise that you won't have to peddle too hard.

      Gavin Webber, Melton West, Victoria

      June 2012

      Preface

      "Affluenza: n. 1. The bloated, sluggish and unfulfilled feeling that results from efforts to keep up with the Joneses. 2. An epidemic of stress, overwork, waste and indebtedness caused by dogged pursuit of the Australian dream. 3. An unsustainable addiction to economic growth." - Clive Hamilton

      There have been four main phases in my life. There was ‘Before Children’, where I was carefree and reckless. As a young man, and being a sailor, I lived how I wanted to, when I wanted to, except when the Navy told me otherwise.

      Then came the day that my first born son, Adam, arrived into this world. It challenged my perception of things and changed my world forever. Having children to care for made me more responsible and I had to alter my attitude from that of reckless youthfulness, to that of a role model and father figure. I am still in this latter phase, though I can subdivide my timeline even further.

      The other two distinct phases that further divide up my life to date have been the 'Consumer' period that began in July 2000, and the period after what I shall call my 'Green Epiphany' that occurred one sunny spring day in September 2006.

      I want to start off by describing how I lived and behaved B.E., or Before Epiphany. It is a little told part of my life that needs to be documented so to understand why my change has been so transformational.

      My wife Kim and I were well and truly entrenched in the consumer culture of our age. Since the time that I resigned from the Royal Australian Navy in July 2000, after twenty years of loyal service to my country, I landed an Information Technology career that paid well.

      Suddenly we were flush with disposable income, which gave us, on the surface, the illusion of a better life. We spent our excess pay on trinkets and material items, with the continuous

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