For this episode of The Trip for Life, I didn't have to travel far for a change. In my adopted hometown of Ann Arbor, there is a burgeoning localvore movement inspired by Lisa Gottlieb and Jeff McCabe, long time residents with a passion for good food, good cooking, and local agriculture. The pair is the brains (and much of the brawn) behind the Selma Cafe, a weekly breakfast salon that brings together local farmers and the community to enjoy the fruits of our labor and our soil in the form of a delicious meal. But the two are not satisfied with this accomplishment; they are also working to transform our local food system into one that works throughout the year by raising funds for, and organizing builds of hoop houses for local farmers. Please watch this fascinating interview with a couple of forward thinkers, on the Trip for Life.

I stop by St. Louis to chat with Jeff McIntire-Strasburg. We talk about his blog, Sustainablog, what the years of blogging have taught him, and the difficulty in securing funding for new media ventures. Also, we touch on his new green comparison shopping site, and his hopes for the future. It's a great, wide ranging interview, and if you are at all interested in green topics, or the future of journalism and commerce, you should watch.

If you want to spread the Trip for Life around a bit, why not hit the Share Article button below! 

The latest episode is about monolithic domes; what they are, what benefits they confer, and how to build them. It is centered around an extensive interview with David South, president and founder of the Monolithic Dome Institute. This technology is really cool, and it could save the future in many different ways if widely implimented. 

And here is part two:

Domes may be a key to cheap, complete infrastructure for the global south.

Be sure to check the Monolithic Dome Institute web site for lots of information about everything I've talked about here, and tons of great pictures and stories from the people who have chosen to build with the technology. 

 I visit the Crosby Mint Farm, a small family farm that weathered the financial crisis with a combination of gumption, cottage industry, and social networking. It's a elevating story for anyone that has had to overcome financial hardship in order to embrace their dreams.

The Trip for Life: The Monroe Institute Part III from Aaron Fown on Vimeo.

The Trip for Life: The Monroe Institute Part III from TheTripforLife on YouTube.

I complete my exploration of the Monroe Institute and it's brain enhancement technologies, with extended excerpts of interviews with their Executive Director, Paul Rademacher, regarding the structure that TMI has developed to help the meditator remember and learn as much as possible while meditating, some possible applications of the technology, and an exploration of the morality of the joy that meditation can create in a person in this world of suffering.

This is episode 3 of 3 on this topic.

The Trip for Life: The Monroe Institute Part II from Aaron Fown on Vimeo.

The Trip for Life: The Monroe Institute Part II from TheTripforLife on YouTube.

I continue my exploration of the Monroe Institute and it's brain enhancement technologies, with extended excerpts of interviews with their Executive Director, Paul Rademacher, and President, Skip Atwater. The focus of this episode is on the institutes mission, and future plans, with a bit of explanation as to why this topic is important for The Trip for Life.

This will be episode 2 of 3 on this topic, if only because of the richness of the interviews. The interviews should be uploaded concurrently, though it's a huge file and will take a while to upload.

The Trip for Life needs you help! I want to travel out west on an extended trip, with stops at a number of innovative future-building groups, such as the Earthship community and the Monolithic Dome Institute, and places that combine art and science in innovative ways such as the Crucible in San Francisco, along with many many others. But I need funding, as my own savings are running dry funding this project. If you want this experiment in independant television to survive, please visit my Kickstarter page at: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/165894289/a-vodcast-on-green-tech-and-society-the-trip-for-l?ref=live‬

The Trip for Life: The Monroe Institute Part I from Aaron Fown on Vimeo.

The Trip for Life: The Monroe Institute Part I from TheTripforLife on YouTube.

I travel to an intriguing group, dedicated to the exploration and expansion of human consciousness; the Monroe Institute. While there, I scored interviews with their executive director, Paul Rademacher, and their president, Skip Atwater. In this episode, I first briefly explore the practice of meditation in many global cultures, before excerpting roughly a third of the fascinating and wide ranging conversation I had with Mr. Rademacher. If you are interested in meditation, meditation enhancement technologies such as binaural beats, or if you just believe that the human race needs to learn how to relax and adapt to change, then this episode of TTFL is for you!

This will be episode 1 of 3 on this topic, if only because of the richness of the interviews. I will be also uploading a complete copy of both interviews before the end of the week, if you prefer to focus on the interviews.

The Trip for Life needs you help! I want to travel out west on an extended trip, with stops at a number of innovative future-building groups, such as the Earthship community and the Monolithic Dome Institute, and places that combine art and science in innovative ways such as the Crucible in San Francisco, along with many many others. But I need funding, as my own savings are running dry funding this project. If you want this experiment in independant television to survive, please visit my Kickstarter page at: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/165894289/a-vodcast-on-green-tech-and-society-the-trip-for-l

The Trip for Life Visits the North American International Auto Show from Aaron Fown on Vimeo.

The Trip for Life Visits the North American International Auto Show in HD from TheTripforLife on YouTube.

I visit the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) to see what technologies the major automakers have on offer this year. There are some steps forward, and some steps back. Watch and see who is winning the green technology race; you might be surprised!

Please visit my Kickstarter page (https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/165894289/a-vodcast-on-green-tech-and-society-the-trip-for-l?ref=live) and donate to the show!

This was supposed to be episode 18, but. . .well, I was dissapointed by the lack of real innovation on display. It thus stands as a mini-ep. Enjoy!