We live in a fast-paced, plastic world. Like many of us, I long for a simpler life, closer to the earth, closer to life. As I have sought this out, I have learned more and more about the problems of the world we live in, and about the toxins and threat to life that are all around us. And, like so many others, my life is occurring against a backdrop of near poverty, characterized by lack of access to sufficient financial resources to pursue all that I might like to pursue.