Thinking Blog Awards

I don't normally go along with meme-type things, but in this case it seems like a reasonable enough effort and introduced a significant number of new visitors to this site yesterday.  So I'll pay it forward.

Yesterday Laurie at Slowly She Turned, a blog that has been on my list at the right for a while now, awarded this site with a Thinking Blog Award.  The effort is designed to recognize other blogs that make us think, and I was flattered that Laurie chose mine.  So, without further ado, I'll point you to five specific blogs on the list to the right that I find myself returning to again and again, each visit leaving me with food for further thought:

1. Casaubon's Book has gone a long way toward introducing me to the ideas of Peak Oil and provides intellectually challenging meditations on many of the ways our life-choices impact our planet and other people.  Sharon's blog is enlightening and challenges me to aspire more aggressively toward a more sustainable lifestyle.
2. I really enjoy visiting with Tana Butler at I Heart Farms to take in the beautiful photography as well as the occasional angry declaration.  Her love of all things farm, farmer and slow food is close to my heart.
3. Greenpa at Little Blog in the Big Woods probably won't appreciate the recognition, but I visit his site about as regularly as any blog on the web.  He's been off the grid for decades and has a surprisingly loud message for all of us still plugged in -- it's not as hard as we think it is.  While I probably won't be building a sustainable outhouse any time soon, it's good to know the principles behind one so if I ever need to I'm not starting from scratch.
4. I respect the efforts going on at No Impact Man, where a small family is taking the plunge:  "For one year, my wife, my 2-year-old daughter, my dog and I, while living in the middle of New York City, are attempting to live without making any net impact on the environment. In other words, no trash, no carbon emissions, no toxins in the water, no elevators, no subway, no products in packaging, no plastics, no air conditioning, no TV, no toilets. . ."  And while Colin and crew take a regular beating for all the things they do wrong, they're doing a lot of good for themselves and others at the same time.
5. Finally, I have to commend all the contributors at The Ethicurean for providing one of the most comprehensive clearing-houses anywhere on all topics related to local food and sustainability in our diet.  I visit almost daily just to catch up on what's happening, and they rarely miss a beat when it comes to citing important information, whether it be on the Farm Bill, Community Gardening or great food.

So that's my top five out of a great group of blogs listed on my typelist.  They are each hereby awarded a **Thinking Blog Award**.  I highly recommend each of them to you and commend them for the service they do to web-surfers everywhere, serving as the proverbial fork that turns the compost of my brain.

From The Thinking Blog, the rules about the award:

The participation rules are simple:    

1. If, and only if, you get tagged, write a post with links to 5 blogs that make you think,    
2. Link to this post so that people can easily find the exact origin of the meme,    
3. Optional: Proudly display the 'Thinking Blogger Award' with a link to the post that you wrote (here is an alternative silver version if gold doesn't fit your blog).

That was that! Please, remember to tag blogs with real merits, i.e. relative content, and above all - blogs that really get you thinking!

Done!  Keep thinking!