By Carla Blackmar

On New Year's Eve 2004, I resolved that I wouldn't buy anything new (with some exceptions) in 2005.

There were a bunch of reasons for this resolution; political and personal, but the overriding motivation was a desire to reduce the size of the "ecological footprint" I'd been making.

Over the course of 2005, I found keeping this vow to be an increasingly interesting experience. There were times when I broke it. But when I did, I really thought about what I was buying.

That moment of questioning before I bought something, that was the main point of the ExConsumer Project. If it is true that we vote with our dollars, what could be more important than checking up on the candidate's background before we committ?

Back in June and July, I was looking forward to the end of December, when I could finally buy all the stuff I'd been wanting. Now that I'm here, though, I can't seem to remember what all of that stuff was. So, perhaps naively, I am planning to renew my ExConsumer Contract for 2006.

Taking my cue from public radio, I have decided to embark upon a year-end membership drive for the Project. The main differnece here is that you don't have to give any money to support the station. Just a little commitment, and maybe the occasional post on the forum to let everyone know how your membership experience is going. So take a second and check out the "Step into ExConsumption" steps. I hope that you'll join for 2006!

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