Shared Earth is a magazine I’ve been eagerly looking forward to laying my grubby green paws on since I first found out about its imminent creation back in August…

And, folks, I’m happy to report that it has now arrived – and ecstatic to add that it is everything I’d hoped for, and more.

Before I go into gushing details, though, let me first admit my own potential bias… one of the articles featured in the first edition is written by yours truly: “In Search of Good Food” (yeah, I got to wax lyrical about food and farmers’ markets – how unusual of me!).

But, whether my article was there or not, I’m certain I’d feel the same way about this fabulous magazine…

It’s practical, it’s useful, it’s well-designed and it’s bursting with well-written, hands-on articles I’ve been reading and re-reading with absolute relish since I got my first copy a couple of weeks ago (yeah, yeah, I’ve been a bit distracted or I’d have reviewed it a whole lot sooner!).

The cover is fresh and inviting (man, I can’t WAIT for tomato season to kick in…) and the inside is beautifully laid out, from pretty contents page all the way through to the adverts at the end.

The colours are well chosen, and consistent, and their images superb.

As for the content, I’ve already admitted to reading it several times over. And I’ll likely read it again, consulting their handy information tables – it’s that kind of magazine.

There’s everything from how easy it is to make your own bread (instead of buying chemically-treated supermarket loaves), to how to become a flowerpot farmer (you’d be surprised at how much you can grow) to practical advice on how to go about setting up a renewable energy system.

You can also learn how to build your own working sunstove using an old cardboard box and aluminium foil (the instructions do seem a little mind-boggling, but then I’m not that good at that sort of thing!), get handy comparisons on the various home wind turbines available at the moment (with a useful-looking table comparing their various specs) and even find out how to dry foods at home (I wish I could grow enough to try it out!).

Well, folks, Shared Earth said they would provide ‘practical ideas for self-sufficiency and sustainable living’ – and I think they have done a fantastic job.

I think editor, Steve Venter, says it best:

Living sustainably does not just mean sorting your own recycling – it is a way of looking at the world and thinking about our place and actions within it; a lifestyle that attempts to reduce our use of the Earth’s natural resources by altering the way we travel, our energy consumption and the food we eat, in balance with Earth’s natural ecology and cycles.

And, here’s the part I really like:

The journey to self-sufficiency does not mean “going back” to an idealised past and doing without the conveniences and technologies of modern living, it is to travel down the path towards freedom from the economic pressures which keep so many of us tied to desks and in unrewarding jobs.

Fact is, you don’t have to be a tie-dye-wearing sprout-munching hippie to be green and become more self-sufficient (no offense intended – it’s just a stereotype that seems to influence so many potential green beans out there) – and this magazine will help you find out how.

So, if all of that sounds good to you, it’s time get your hands on a copy of Shared Earth Magazine – I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.

Subscribers have already received their first edition, but the magazine should be on the shelves of Exclusive Books and CNA by now (if not, ask them why the hold up!). The retail price is R28.

UPDATE: Unfortunately, Shared Earth is no longer publishing its magazine, owing to financial constraints.

Why eat organic? Is it really healthier? What are rBST hormones, and are they really that bad? Is GM necessarily a thing to froth about, or is there too much emotion and not enough fact?

I think about these sort of issues all the time (I think it’s important to do so), and try to be as level-headed and informed as possible – but finding balanced information on what are often exceptionally emotive topics isn’t always easy to do.

Which is why I’m excited about Wikia Green, a new ‘wikipedia’ (launched today) that has been created to be a “flexible, dynamic community wiki that covers anything and everything in the environmental and sustainable universe”.

Green Wikia strives to become a trusted central place to share our growing and evolving body of knowledge about environmental topics and issues with people who want to inform themselves and live in a more sustainable way.

The Green Wikia community also believes that the threats to our environment are real and that they require action. However, the wiki also strives to foster a community where respectful debate and informed viewpoints can be heard. (more)

The focus, of course, is on green issues, which isn’t anything new, but instead of getting overly theoretical (potentially losing our interest) the website places great emphasis on practical solutions and advice for sustainable living:

Green Wikia content differs from that on Wikipeda in three main ways:

• The content is written from a green point of view. (Compare Leonardo Di Caprio to Wikipedia:Leonardo Di Caprio)
• The content is focused on things you can do. (Compare How to reduce your carbon footprint) to (Wikipedia:Carbon emission)
• The content is more accessible and relevant to an average reader (Compare Biofuel to Wikipedia:Biofuel)

So, as that all sounds like good news to me, I’ve duly joined the Wikia Green community, and I have a feeling I’ll be spending a lot of time there from now on…

I’ve only managed a tiny fraction of it so far, but the part that has the most immediate relevance to all of us is a smallish section at the back – the ‘Sustainable Lifestyle Guide’.

This section gives readers advice and tips on how to ‘be the change you want to see’ – everything from how to green your home (and save money doing so), why it’s so important to shop locally, how to travel responsibly, and much more.

Happily, for those who aren’t likely to buy the book there just happens to be a fabulous online version of it right here.

The guide is interactive, with sections dedicated to sustainable living advice ‘@home’, ‘@work’, ‘@play’, in ‘@ction’ and ‘on the move’.  Plus, you can download the sections you’d like to explore further offline.

Pretty cool indeed.   (via Treevolution)

PS.  In finding the online guide I also discovered that, as it happens, the entire Enviropaedia is also available online, and I needn’t have bought it.  But I reckon a bit of time away from the steaming laptop is probably a good thing (I wonder how spending hours online compares with paging through a book… but that’s a topic for another day).