Earth-Friendly Meal Preparation

As an environmentally-concerned vegan, I have to put a lot of thought into how I prepare my food and what goes into it. I've already posted about the latter (the food you eat), but today, I want to talk about the former (how you prepare it).
Like most people, I do enjoy a hot meal, and am not particularly fond of half-cooked or boring foods. However, eco-friendly meal prep can be so much more than that-- read on to find out how!

• Try a solar oven before winter settles in! You can find out how to make one here: http://www.ehow.com/how_2083_make-solar-oven.html. Please note that it may take twice as long for the food to cook in a solar oven, and you should not use it to cook raw meat or other foods that must be cooked in order to be safe. You can make vegan cookies, re-heat veggie lasagna, and more, and from what I've heard, it works!
• Eat a cold meal once in a while. Chickpea salad, PB&J, vegetarian sushi, bean salad... the list is endless. To see a portion of the endless creative recipes you can use, please see http://goneraw.com/.
• Instead of using an electric mixer, mix those ingredients manually by hand-- use that muscle power!
• Buy food in large containers that can be re-used.
• Avoid using plastic wrap to cover your food in the fridge. Either cover it with a plate or transfer it to a resealable container.
• When washing food, put it in a bowl filled with water instead of running each piece individually under the tap.



Raw Vegan Food can look just like typical westernized food!
Photo courtesy of www.lucidnutrition.com

Until next week!

Things To Watch Out For In The Media

I'm heading off for the Maritimes tomorrow, and I'll be packing like crazy today, but first, I've got to post. Today, I'll be talking about media traps.
Controlling your own personal intake of media is important, seeing that what you are exposed to every day influences how you view the world. It is hard to resist assimilating into a culture that is so prevalent everywhere you go-- yet it can be done, and should be done, because our Western culture is built on the basis of aquiring more material possessions.
And so, here are some things to avoid in the media:

1. Celebrity gossip and worship: Yes, I said "worship". For many people, they worship celebrities as idols (and even sometimes admit it, like American IDOL). This is the worst on television and in magazines, and on the Internet, of course. You can take all sorts of quizzes comparing yourself to celebrities-- on things like personality type, fashion style, dream date, body type, BMI... It is as though we need to match ourselves up to a celebrity to have worth! Unfortunately, most celebrities lead luxurious, and, ultimately, unsustainable lives; if we all tried to live like them, I'll bet the Earth would be depleted at least twice as fast. So please, surround yourself with the real world instead of celebrity magazines and such... You'll be happier anyway.
2. Advertisements: ARGH! They are everywhere nowadays. You can't use a search engine or check your e-mail without advertisements popping up left, right, and centre! Even my beloved virtual pets website has ads all over the screen and it makes it less fun :( Not like I play on Neopets anymore, really, but I still go on once in a while! It is best to distance yourself from hordes of advertisements, telling you to buy, buy, buy. Even if you don't rush out to the store and buy that particular product (does anyone actually do that?), you might order it online, or simply be encouraged to go shopping in general. Even if you don't notice a difference before and after you see an advertisement, look out-- your mind might be on "shopping mode" for the rest of the day!
3. Certain movies and TV shows: Especially the ones with the "product placement" woven right into the story line, in which the characters of the show talk about how wonderful a certain brand is (they're paid to do that).
4. Certain songs: Especially the disrespectful new pop songs. True, they do not actaully tell you "buy stuff NOW!" but they do originate from the same faulty and obnoxious culture that is destroying the environment.

To put a long story short, the media is poisoned with the "buy stuff and get happy" motto. It is best to look for media that does not contain this. For example, I listen to CBC Radio 1, which doesn't have any advertisements or sketchy "product placements". You can opt for watching movies that aren't the type to use product placement, and hey, maybe you can just ditch television altogether!
By now you might be wondering what to do instead of immersing yourself in a flawed culture. After all, it wouldn't really work to pull yourself out of one culture only to find that there is nothing to replace it. The key is to join groups that think like you. Try joining any one of the following types of groups:

1. Environmental Organizations and Other NGO's: You can go to the meetings, events, etc. and meet people who also don't believe that we should be consuming the amount of stuff that most people do. You can join local nature centres, vegetarian associations, etc.
2. Libraries, which are amazing for many reasons, including the fact that they hardly ever focus on business and consumeristic habits. You just go and borrow a book and take it home and bring it back... and hang out for free at one of the tables, without anyone expecting you to buy anything.

Can you think of anything else? If so, please let me know by commenting on this post. I'll try to get to a computer next Friday while I'm away, but as I stated before, don't worry if I don't post-- I haven't given up on all of you!
See you later, then... :)

Top Ten Rules of Eco-Friendly Camping and Explorations in Nature

Hi! I'm back from camping. Here is what I have to say about keeping it eco-friendly, both from my previous knowledge and what I have learned over the last few days.

My pup-tent from when I was camping with my parents and sister right before I went into Grade 8. (not a recent camping trip)

1. "Take nothing but pictures, leave nothing but footprints" is an excellent rule to live by. Nature is a sacred place, and in order to be a respectful visitor to a natural spot, it is important to leave it how you found it-- or in better condition, if you clean up trash.
2. Don't bring your own wood! This is widely publicized, but I feel I ought to re-inforce it. If you bring your own wood, tiny insects hiding just under the surface could make their way into the eco-system. These insects-- such as the emerald ash borer-- could completely destroy the region. Only buy wood from the campground office or store. If there isn't one, you can collect dry wood from the surrounding areas-- but make sure to take only what you need!
3. Drink the camp water, assuming that it has been tested and is safe. If you don't trust the camp water for whatever reason, then bring your own in large containers, as we did while camping. The worst thing you can do is bring along a multitude of little water bottles.
4. Don't feed the wildlife; this will only make them more trusting of humans, which will in turn make people more keen to get rid of them.
5. Camp food-- oh, how easy it is to slack off on healthy and eco-friendly eating while camping! Still, you should try to avoid the highly packaged foods, like individually-packaged cookies, granola bars, juice boxes, soy milk :) /cow's milk :( cartons, and little boxes of raisins. Instead, bring bags/containers of non-perishables and/or hardy foods, like bags of trail mix, re-usable containers of oatmeal cookies and snack foods, cans of beans and soups (if you are lucky enough to have the space to store the cans), carrots and other root vegetables, potatoes and sweet potatoes, rice/quinoa/oatmeal packages, etc. I am guilty of using some of the pre-packaged foods while camping, but I used the better bulk-packaged foods, too.
6. Use the car as little as possible while camping. My aunt wanted to drive to the ampitheatre at the campground for a show, but I told her that it was only a 5-minute walk, so we walked there instead. For longer distances you need to travel, try to combine as many of your outings as possible into one car trip. "Outings" refers to things like shopping, hikes, and sight-seeing.
7. S.V.P.-- please do not use paper plates and plastic cutlery! Whenever I had the choice while camping, I would use the re-usable plates. Not only are disposable plates wasteful, they are also often toxic!
8. There really is no need to purchase souvenirs. If you are completely stubborn about buying souvenirs or gifts while away, please buy things that you need/can use, like a tin of candies, a pen or pencil or eraser, a sun-hat (if you need one), some re-usable containers, or a wrist-watch. (Remember: "souvenir" is exactly the same to the French word "souvenir", or "to remember". Photographs or a journal are far more likely to spark your memory than a touristy mass-produced gizmo ever will.)
9. There is also no need to bring excess electronics! If you are camping with other people, just bring one cell phone for safety reasons, and leave the other ones at home. Video games, laptops, ipods and mp3 players, portable DVD players, and the rest can stay at home.
10. When you can help it, do not stray from the path. Not only does wandering into the undergrowth trample down the ecosystem, it also increases your risk of getting a poison ivy (or stinging nettle or whatever) rash or getting lost.
11. *Bonus* Read the rest of my blog for tips to take with you!

    

    Have fun camping! Photo courtesy of http://www.showroom411.com/dir/Living-Green/Outdoor-and-Recreation.html



Looking Forward to My Summer Vacation... and Eco-Friendly Office Supplies

Hi everyone!
There are three things I would like to talk about today-- first, I'll tell you about my summer vacation and how it will affect my blog posts. Second, I'll let you know about some of the eco-friendly school and office supplies that are available. Third, I have a very serious question to ask you >:) Let's go!

On August 2nd, I'm heading off with my aunt to go camping near my hometown. I'll be there for about 4 nights before going home. I'm not sure whether I'll get a chance to post, although there will probably be an Internet cafe somewhere. If I don't post on that Friday, don't think I've forgotten you, though!
I'll be at home on Friday August 10 and on Friday August 17. Then, on August 18, I'm heading with my parents and sister to Quebec and Nova Scotia! Although I wish I could make it a more eco-friendly trip, it is difficult to convince the others to do this, as they have their own ideas of how a dream vacation should go. At least we'll be driving instead of flying. Our vacation will last two weeks, which means that my blog posts will possibly be all over the place (time-wise, of course). Just keep checking back and I'll post whenever I can, also giving you updates on my trip (well, why not?)!
On September 1, things will be back to normal. School starts late for me, on September 10. I don't like school... but I'll have to give this new one a try before I claim to dislike it.

Photo Courtesy of http://www.learning-to-save-money.com/how-to-live-green.html

Speaking of school-- surely there are some eco-friendly school and office supplies to be used? It really can get on my nerves when I see everyone using up uncertified paper by the notebookfulls, not even writing on both sides of the page!!! In fact, there are some other products you can use. Here is a list of alternatives to the usual supplies:

1. Pencils: Have you ever heard of EarthZone pencils? They are made of 100% recycled newspapers. It's really cool to write with them-- every time you sharpen them you get a new pattern on the part that normally would be wood, and sometimes even colour! These may be fun, but they are also very acceptable to use in any sort of office or school environment-- even for tests and documents. You can purchase EarthZone pencils at an office supplies store, local environmental shop, or online. Here is what they say on their website, www.earthzone.com:

   special features:

• They're made from 100% recycled newspapers. No trees were harmed in the making of these pencils!
• They last longer than regular pencils and won't break when you sharpen them!
• You get smooth, high quality writing each time.
• The erasers are latex free!
• Sharpens really easily.
• Each pencil is made from a different newspaper and really looks cool when you sharpen them.
• No toxic chemicals!
2. Paper: Go tree-free! There are many different kinds of eco-friendly papers you can use, including banana leaf paper, bagasse paper, and, of course, 100% post-consumer recycled paper. Even while taking these considerations, you should only use paper that is blank if you need to-- otherwise, use scrap paper-- paper with writing on one side already.
3. Erasers: Use the eraser on the back of the EarthZone pencils! If this does not appeal to you, you can use FLOMO erasers instead: made with Thermoplastic Elastomer instead of the toxic ingredients typically found in erasers.
4. Pencil Sharpeners: Please, forgo the electric sharpeners. Instead, use the handy and portable pencil sharpeners that don't require any electricity. You can even buy a pencil sharpener made of recycled vending cups: see this online store for details.
5. Binders: go PVC-free! Buy recycled ones! (Please don't expect me to dig up another URL for this one-- I'm sure you can find some nice eco-friendly binders at your local store or favourite online office-supply store.)
6. Technology: My advice-- stay away from all those fancy gadgets and devices. They are truly unnecessary and are not good for the planet. If you must use one, buy one of the "eco-friendly" ones, at least.

Most of all, try to use as little as possible of office and school supplies as you can. The eco-friendly ones are an improvement on the regular ones, no doubt, but they still have a small impact. Judge for yourself how far you can go into the eco-friendly supplies before you seriously annoy your teachers or boss. People may be more accomodating than you expect, even if they don't share your environmental beliefs.

Finally, here is my question-- how do you think I am doing with my blog? I don't understand why, but I haven't been getting as many pageviews as I used to... Am I being too philosophical? Who knows!
Wait-- you do. You, reader, have a pretty good idea of what you like about my blog (I hope). So tell me-- what do you enjoy most about my blog? Do you like the useful lists of things you can do, the anti-consumer rants, or the personal anecdote (the latter I fall rather short on, I think)? Please comment below to give me an idea. I look forward to your responses!

I'll be writing again next week-- if I can!

Sustainable Transportation: Part I

Did you know that transportation is responsible for 22% of all CO2 emmissions? Carbon dioxide may be just one of many gases, but it should give you an idea of the percentage of other gases emmited by transportation-- including the dangerous nitrogen oxides and ozone.
Because transportation has such a heavy impact on our environment, we need to adjust this practice drastically. Here are some of my suggestions:

• Don't commute by car! I know, some of you (feel that you) must commute, because you live such a long way away from the place that you work. But that is no excuse, really. Find a job close to home, or find a home close to your job. If neither of these appeal to you, take the bus or find someone who is driving along the same route so that you can carpool.
• Make it a rule: whenever you are going somewhere "for fun", like the movies or to a friend's house, rule out the car and bike, walk, or take public transit.
• If you have a car, give it to someone going car-shopping. Or use it as a carpool car.
• Long distance trips should be made by train and charter bus. That includes summer vacation-- imagine the rustic calmness of the train, instead of the high-tech stress of a car or plane!
• If you are completely stubborn about having a car, at least make sure that your next one is an energy-efficient hybrid or one run by restaurants' leftover vegetable oil (yes, some of them can run off used oil scraps!).

Electric Scooter: Courtesy of http://theitsaboutelectricscootersblog.blogspot.ca/

You know, I was thinking about what a future might be like if we all took action now. If we stopped buying cars and saved them for the sick, impaired, and threatened. If we all bicycled, walked, skateboarded, scootered, and roller-skated. If we used mopeds, electric bikes, and electric scooters when we couldn't get places with our own power. If long-distance travel entailed trains and buses...
And you know what gets me angry? That future-- that wonderful, attainable future-- is being stolen from me a little bit more every day. We have already hit peak oil, which means that from now on, we will keep finding less and less oil in the ground. The prices will steadily increase until eventually, only the billionaires can afford it. And one day it will be all gone. Sooner or later, industry will collapse, and we won't even be prepared! Life may get very hard from that point forward. We will be forced to be self-reliant. I am fine with growing my own vegetables, but some things, like heating my house and going to school, will suddenly become so complicated! A sustainable yet still comfortable future is not only being stolen from me, but also from you, your neighbours, your current/future children, and all other life forms on the planet. The thieves are the people who carelessly suck away all the energy they want; of course, they often do it unknowingly, so you can't hate them for it, but that doesn't make what they are doing any more ethical.
I figured I would have to rant a bit about the reasons why this matters so much in order to convince you to make wise transportation choices. After all, changing the way you commute is a big deal. But it is oh-so-important. It can be used to measure what kind of person you are choosing to be in your life. It also dictates how the Earth will exist in the future-- whether many species, including our own, will even survive!

Should City-Dwellers Feed the Urban Birds?

A while ago, I was filling up the bird-feeder, when the philosophical question popped up in my head: Is it ethical to feed the birds?

Most people, I think, would say yes immediately. But think about where that bird seed came from: large fields of chemically-sprayed swaying sunflowers which totally destroyed the surrounding habitat for other creatures. Many birds would have starved when the previously forested area was clear-cut. Many more will die for farmland. For this reason, it is much better to avoid supporting these operations. Besides, who knows what sort of toxic chemicals commercial sunflower seeds expose your backyard birds to?

I stopped re-filling the bird feeder after that-- after all, it doesn't make any sense to take away an entire ecosystem to give to a few backyard birds (no matter how beautiful and important those birds are)!

I can imagine the complaints from people already... "but I like watching birds in my yard" and "but those birds will all die out if we don't feed them", etc. Well, don't worry about your backyard birds. They are well-accustomed to finding food for themselves. If you still want to attract them to your yard and give them a nutritional boost, however, you can follow a few of these suggestions:

• Grow native plants on your lawn. Black-eyed Susans in Ontario, for example, will attract many birds. You can always grow sunflowers, too (where did you think sunflower seeds came from, eh?). :)



Black-eyed Susans



• Toss your leftovers into the garden. If the birds don't get them, the urban wildlife will-- and if that doesn't happen, it will naturally compost. My city has a composting system, but if yours doesn't, why not set up a bin for you to throw things in to bring outside later? The birds will thank you for it! (I threw a pear core into the garden one morning, and a few hours later, I saw a squirrel running off with it down the fence... It's a lot better than sending it to the landfill or some fertilizer company.)
• If you are completely adamant about filling your bird-feeder, at least use organic sunflower seeds!

Tell me what you think about eco-friendly ways of feeding the birds!

Eco-Savvy Remedies

Do you ever wish that health care could be more eco-friendly? I do.
The current state of our healthcare system is disastrous. Toxic chemicals from pills are polluting our waterways and killing off fish. People are feeling ill and not knowing why. And they are suffering from side-effects of medications that they are supposedly taking to feel "better".
Surely there has to be a way to solve these problems and create a win-win situation for humans and the environment?

Welcome to the world of alternative medicine!

Alternative medicine uses methods other than medications to help treat health problems. Alternative health practicioners use herbal remedies, essential oils, yoga, meditation, acupuncture, art and music therapy, and many other treatments to help people feel their best. And the best part is this: there is no harm done to the environment!
Herbal remedies, for example, are an amazing way to treat virtually any illness. They typically are drunk as tea. Recently, I have started drinking herbal tea (organic, fair trade, and forest-friendly, of course), which is amazing for stress relief, and it helps with sleep. And herbal teas can help with any ailment, from indigestion to anxiety to headaches to Alzeimer's Disease! There's absolutely nothing to lose (except a couple dollars), as there are either no or very few side effects.
I recommend that you go to your local library and take out a book on herbal medicine. I found some great books in the health section at my library. Herbs are definitely a viable alternative to medications that leave you groggy and sometimes in pain.
The other treatments can be found in shops and alternative clinics around the world. Although I haven't done much with essential oils or acupuncture, from what I have read they seem to be very effective.
Be sure to check back for my next post next Friday!
Carolyn
"[W]hich would you rather have in your neighbourhood: another chemical company or a field of rosemary?" Brigette Mars, A.H.G., from Healing Herbal Teas

Eco-Friendly Eating

I have touched on a lot of important points on my blog, but I haven't said much about how to greenify your diet. To be honest, "greenify" just about sums it up-- local, organic, and vegetarian foods!
I'll begin with some stats:

• A 2006 UN report describes the meat industry as "one of the top two or three most significant contributors to the most serious environmental problems." *
• The same amount of greenhouse gases are emitted by eating a pound of meat as are emitted from driving an SUV for 40 miles! *
• The meat industry is the leading factor to anthropogenic methane emissions. *
• 53 different carcinogenic chemicals are used in increasingly great quantities on crops in North America. **
• 1600 L of oil per year is used for each American who eats industrially-produced food ("regular" food). **
• The World Cancer Research Fund states that the maximum amount of meat that can be safely ingested per year is 30 kg. The average Canadian consumes 101 kg of meat per year! **
• 1/3 of all the world's grain harvest is fed to livestock! Meat production is the largest user of land in the world, when you include the grain required to grow it. **
• Each vegetarian in North America saves 1 acre of trees and 4.4 million litres of water each year, and uses half as much water as a meat-eater does.**
• The average distance that our food travels to get to us is 2000 km! **
• 1/3 of waste in landfills in Canada could have been composted. **
• The average vegetarian saves 50 animals per year***, but every vegan saves the lives of 100-200 animals every year, simply by not eating animals or their "products". ****
• When we cook our food, not only do we waste precious resources, but we also destroy its "living" quality (killing the cells). Raw foodists argue that since humans are living beings, we should eat living food.*****
• The production of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) has gone up from 1.7 million hectares worldwide in 1996 to 102 million hectares in 2006!****** GMOs are dangerous because they can have untold effects on local ecosystems and human health. **

* National Capital Vegetarian Association
** The Otesha Book: From Junk to Funk!
*** http://www.chooseveg.com/vegetarians-save-lives.asp
**** http://www.peta.org/b/thepetafiles/archive/2010/12/13/vegans-save-185-animals-a-year.aspx
***** http://www.stickam.com/viewMedia.do?mId=193124761
****** http://www.gmo-compass.org/eng/agri_biotechnology/gmo_planting/145.gmo_cultivation_trait_statistics.html

Wow-- it seems like eating local, organic, and vegan is a lot more crucial than most people may have thought!

It's really quite easy, although it will obviously take a few days/weeks to get used to. Many foods at the grocery store are already vegan (chips, rice cakes, bread, cereals), and organic produce is often sold there, too. Here are a few things to make it even easier for you.

• Farmer's Markets! Buy your fresh fruits and vegetables here, straight from the producers. You can ask them whether they use organic and GMO-free seed and growing practices.
• Health Food Stores: Although you don't ever have to set foot into a health food store to be an environmentally-concious eater, they certainly can provide a lot more variety than the typical grocery store.
• Health food sections at your grocery store: Many major chain grocery stores now have health food sections. If not, you may be able to find specialty products intermingled with the other "foods". It is always best to support small retailers first, however.
• Amazing companies: Lydia's Organics, Amy's Kitchen, Larabar (for an entire list of vegan/natural food producers, please visit: http://www.vegparadise.com/foodmakers.html)

I am a vegan who tries to eat as many organic, local, and GMO-free foods as I can, but seeing that I still live with my parents, I have to compromise on how much of the food is eco-friendly (no compromises on my vegan diet, though). I haven't really gotten into the raw food diet thing, but I still advocate it for anyone looking to take their eco-friendly diet one step further! I've taken a picture of some of the eco-friendly foods currently at my house, many of which are also raw and gluten-free:

There are so many more products out there, however-- never stop searching! I forgot to add my oatmeal and quinoa companies... oh well, there's no point in re-assembling the whole thing now.

If anyone tries to tell you that your eco-friendly diet is nonsense, don't let them get away without you telling them what you think of the "normal" modern diet. I mean it. If there's one thing that gets me riled up, it's ignorance!

For more information on achieving a healthy vegan/organic/local/waste-free/GMO-free diet, please visit the following websites. Keep in mind that you will have to do a bit of research into getting all the right nutrients-- but you should do that even if you aren't following a special diet. If you think that there are too many websites listed below to go to, just click on whichever one has the most interesting name :)

Vegetarian/vegan:

http://www.veganoutreach.org/

http://www.vegansociety.com/

http://www.ncva.ca/

https://www.vegsoc.org/

http://www.vrg.org/

http://www.veganhealth.org/

http://www.happycow.net/vegan_diet.html

Organic:

http://www.organicfoodinfo.net/

Raw Food:

http://www.happycow.net/raw/raw_living.html

http://www.vegansociety.com/lifestyle/nutrition/raw-food-diets.aspx

http://www.thebestofrawfood.com/

http://rawfoodhealthwatch.com/

There you have it. Everything you need to know to begin your journey into an eco-friendly diet! Have fun!

Get Set for Earth Day... How Will You be the Change?

Earth Day is on Sunday, April the 22nd. Personally, I feel like it is an extremely important day of the year. On Earth Day, all of your environmentally-friendly actions seem to really count. Of course, they count on all the other days of the year, too-- but there is so much more motivation to be green on Earth Day. It might surprise you that I, as an eco-blogger, sometimes run low on motivation to help save the planet, but believe me, I do. It happens to everyone. What really matters is overcoming that and doing great things anyway!

Anyway, here are some of my ideas for going even greener this Earth Day:

1. Start a new habit. Sometimes it only takes a little bit of time and energy to start up something that can last year round. For example...
1. Set up a clothes rack in your basement or clothesline in your backyard. This way, you can get into the habit of drying your clothes without the clothes dryer. By doing this, you will save $85 (US) per year and untold amounts of electricity!
2. If you aren't already a vegetarian, go out to a vegetarian restaurant to discover some delicious vegetarian foods (many of which will also be organic and vegan). You may be able to pick up a cookbook with great recipes. What would be a better time to start a new vegetarian lifestyle than on Earth Day?
3. Make some candles or start using rechargeable flashlights for use in the evening. Walking around your house at night can be an amazing experience with a candle in your hands!
4. Another good idea I found on the Internet is to get into the habit of reflecting. Reflect on your way of life and how it affects those around you (and those who are far away from you!). The more you think about it, the easier it will be to make necessary changes to your lifestyle.
2. Attend an Earth Day event in your community. For those of you who live in Ontario, you can participate in Ontario Nature's Our Special Spaces events that include tree-plantings etc. (I'll be going to the one at Lemoine Point in Kingston.) Otherwise, simply type in "[your city name] Earth Day events" on a search engine to find some. If you happen to be reading this on or after Earth Day, you might still be able to find "Earth Month" activities that last through April to take part in.
3. Sit down and plan out your eco-friendly goals for the next year. You can get started by reading my New Year's blog post, "Make Your New Year's Resolutions Sustainable", at http://hugatreetodayseriously.blogspot.ca/2011/12/make-your-new-years-resolutions.html.
4. Educate yourself! Simply read a book on environmental issues or eco-friendly tips. You can get one at the library. Many people have said that one of the best things you can do for the planet is to educate yourself. This is probably because knowledge inspires wisdom, and wisdom inspires good choices...





As Zachary Shahan said on planetsave.com, "Today should still be Earth Day, perhaps, but it should also be the beginning of Earth Week, Earth Month and Earth Year. And Earth Year should be an annual thing." (See http://planetsave.com/2010/04/22/what-to-do-on-earth-day/ for the rest of the article.)

Earth Day is all about really making a difference... So how will you be the change this year?

Curbing Consumerism

Did you know that industry created the consumer? A children's non-fiction book called Made You Look: How Advertising Works and Why You Should Know looks at just that. According to the author (Shari Graydon), businesses had to convince people that they were, in fact, consumers:

"You might think that families would have been happy to give up the time-consuming process of [making things]. But they weren't used to buying things. They had to be persuaded to stop being so self-sufficient. They had to be convinced to start spending their money on products that companies were making for them.
That's when advertising really jumped into high gear. It's job became not only to get people to buy, but to convince them to think of themselves differently-- as consumers."

Since we are not innately consumers, we don't need to constantly buy things the way we do. We can make our own stuff when we need it-- but this will no longer be considered "stuff", because it will hold much more personal importance, and because we'll have less of it.
When North Americans were given a questionairre on what decade they would prefer to live in, the majority answered "the 1960's". The 1960s is the decade when it is estimated that happiness stopped growing with affluence. Nowadays, our buying habits and our "stuff" weighs us down more than it could possibly help us. I heard about a survey somewhere where people said that their lives had changed the most at the turn of the millenium by simply becoming more complicated and stressful. It's true.
Here are ways to curb consumerism in your lifestyle:

• As David Helvarg, the author of 50 Ways to Save the Ocean, says, "focus on 'having more fun' as an alternative to 'buying more stuff.'" Go out with your family and friends and play board games-- it will be much more memorable than some new gadget, anyway. Remember that when you have to take a habit out from your lifestyle, you'll need to replace it with something else.
• Reduce, reuse, recycle! I'll be talking about this more in the next few weeks.
• If you need something, make it yourself. Try to make it as much "from scratch" as possible. Examples of things that you can make/grow by yourself are candles, meals, fruits, vegetables, beans, clothing, houses, kitchenware, gifts, and paintings.
• For things that you can't make yourself but you still do need, buy it secondhand, from a thrift or consignment store. You can also ask to borrow someone else's, if you only want to use it once.
• Give the gift of time together during the holidays! How many materialistic gifts have you recieved over the holidays that you don't even need or want?
• Pass on the message and watch "The Story of Stuff" with Annie Leonard at http://www.storyofstuff.com/.

For more useful information, please another of my blog posts, "Simplify Your Life", at http://hugatreetodayseriously.blogspot.com/2011/11/simplify-your-life.html. It gives many supplementary ideas!

Are you Buying Tap Water For $4 a Litre?

Today I'll be talking about bottled water and recycling. "The Story of Bottled Water" is a quick illustrated video (by the same woman who narrated "The Story of Stuff") informing you about the realities behind bottled water. I apologize for the bad formatting of my blog (there was nothing I could do about it), but please sit back and watch it right now:

Recycling, although not 100% effective, is very important. DoSomething.org has partnered with Nestle (which is weird, because Nestle is known as one of the most socially and environmentally irresponsible companies on the planet) to encourage recycling. Please go to http://www.dosomething.org/trashy/gallery for the rest of these funny pictures and statistics:

People often think that buying some bottled water and then throwing it away afterwards doesn't really hurt the planet. But it does. Here is a rather ironic article, "'How Bad For The Environment Can Throwing Away One Plastic Bottle Be?' 30 Million People Wonder", that sums up my point nicely: http://www.theonion.com/articles/how-bad-for-the-environment-can-throwing-away-one,2892/.

I understand how you might already have a bunch of water bottles stored away in your cupboard or ready to be recycled. There's nothing you can do about all those water bottles you consumed in the past, but you can become part of the movement by not buying any more and by reusing those which you already have!

I took this picture of a water bottle bird feeder while out walking with my aunt and cousin:

You can also use old water bottles to store change, nuts/bolts/nails, collections, and as pencil holders and cookie jars (once you cut the top off). Don't store anything wet or moist in water bottles, though; that could make you sick. For the birdfeeder above, I recommend only using it in dry weather, and if it rains, you should change it.

On the whole, bottled water should be avoided! If you haven't watched "The Story of Bottled Water" yet, please scroll back up and watch it or go to http://www.storyofstuff.org/movies-all/story-of-bottled-water/ to see it at it's original website. If you are really interested in this sort of thing, you should go on a movie marathon and watch all of "The Story of..." videos. I've only seen three, but that was three really good videos I spent my time watching!

Shopping Green

I don't really understand why people are so obsessed with shopping nowadays. After all, it's important to remember that the exhileration of buying something-- whether it be a new gadget, appliance, pastime, or "necessary" object-- wears off very quickly. Once you leave the store and get home, you fiddle around with your new toy for a while and then throw it off to the side.
Sound all too familiar? Take a look at some of my tips for shopping "green":

1. Only buy it if you NEED it. Before buying anything (well, apart from food and eco-friendly shampoo, I suppose), complete this process:
1. Write the name of the product down on a list, and go home.
2. Once you get home, ask yourself again if you really need it. How will it change your life? Will it cause more harm than good? What are the pros and cons, anyway? Can it cause health problems? After a few days, will it simply gather dust?
3. Research the environmental impact of what you wanted to buy. Is it still worth it?
4. Finally, wait as long as you can before going back to the store. Then decide: do you really want it after all?
2. Educate yourself on advertising tricks that the companies use to make you want to buy their products. For example, an effective ploy used by industry is to use the words, "essential", "natural", or "necessary" on the packaging. They use attractive symbols and colours to make you think that this product was meant for you. Apparently, the colour red makes you hungry (but seeing that I am a vegan, it doesn't work on me! Besides, the colour red is too strong for my eyes.). They also use tricks such as implying that:
• Everybody has one. Why don't you?
• You'll look cool, beautiful, etc. if you use this.
• You'll be behind the times if you don't have one.
3. When you do have to buy something, always go with the most environmentally-friendly option. For example, if you want to get some crayons for the kid you babysit, look out-- crayons are coated in toxins. Try to buy things that have labels like "organic", "no preservatives", "free of animal testing and by-products", etc. It is also just better for your health to avoid toxins and the like.
4. Shop from environmental stores. Although big chains like WalMart and Canadian Tire may sell the same product that you are looking for, it is better to buy from smaller businesses-- regardless of higher costs. That way, you are supporting that small store from going out of business, and that's important because they are an outlet for many environmentally-friendly products.
5. If there is something that you would like for yourself, wait until Christmastime or your birthday. I figure that if people are going to give me a present anyway, it might as well be something that I would buy with my own money if they didn't give it to me. ;)

Well, that's my rant for this week. See you later!