Take a technology break, part 2

August 27th, 2010

Photo via Flickr: Per Ola Wiberg ~ Powi

I’m now two days past my due date, and I’m starting to get the sense that this little lady isn’t going to arrive until I take a deep breath and devote the next few days (or week-plus — it’s up to her when she gets here!) to mentally preparing for her welcome into the world. So, much as I’ve loved the distraction of working and blogging and tweeting and texting right up until Week 40, I’m now going to follow my own advice and do what is unfeasible for most BlackBerry-toting, iPad-loving Americans: take a technology break.

I’ve written about the trend toward unplugging before (read about: Sabbath Manifesto), and it’s no secret that I’m a fan: Disconnecting, as it turns out, is the best way to start reconnecting — with the natural world, with our friends and family, with all the things that are essential for a simpler, greener life. And let’s not forget that taking a technology break from time to time could have a collective environmental impact as well, since information and communication technology contributes to two percent of global CO2 emissions (as much as the aviation industry).

So while I know there will be plenty of eco-related happenings to communicate about during this hiatus (my plans for a natural birth, those first few days of cloth diapering, whether or not I think that Golden Path Alchemy Beautiful Belly Oil actually spared me any stretch marks), I hope you’ll forgive me if I hold off on them for the meantime so that I can truly appreciate everything I’m about to experience. I promise to divulge all when I return.

–Jennifer Grayson