Here is one of the most interesting pieces that I have seen on voluntary simplicity. A bit artsy, perhaps, but it explains in a nutshell exactly why you would want to opt out of the Western materialistic rat race:
I was a bit dismayed when I discovered that my energy bill for the past month was over $300 dollars. I don't know about you, but I can think of many more interesting things to do with my hard-earned money than to contribute it to the already over-flowing coffers of the local utility company.
Then it struck me that I myself was partially to blame for the high costs of my energy bill. While I have made some efforts over the previous two years to make my home more energy efficient, I still have a long way to go. The problem is that, being a rather impractical academic, I really didn't know where to begin to conserve energy in my home.
That's when I came across a government site that provided the opportunity to perform a home energy audit on-line. The site is located at http://hes.lbl.gov/ and I, for one, found it extremely useful.
Like me, if you are seriously interested in living a more sustainable lifestyle, give this site a try. If nothing else, it may save you a few dollars that you can probably put to much better use.
Sure I eat meat. Maybe not as much as the guy down the street, but a heck of a lot more than my friends at PETA. That wacky, wild organization put out a commercial starring Casey Affleck that has been banned by TV Networks nationwide. PETA tried to buy time on the air, but Madison Avenue apparently does not want people like you to know what goes into making your tasty Big Macs.
Don't watch this banned commercial if you are squeemish!
"When people ask me why I don’t eat meat or any other animal products, I say, ‘Because they’re unhealthy, and they’re the product of a violent and inhumane industry...Chickens, cows, and pigs in factory farms spend their whole lives in filthy, cramped conditions—only to die a prolonged and painful death. Their bodies are then turned into food products proven to contribute to heart disease and cancer. To eat that is to eat poison."
