Conservation Made Easy

Little tips on how to be environmentally friendly in your daily life. If you have any tips of your own, submit them, please! And remember, you can always find more tips from more detailed sources like the ones we link to or the ones in our bibliography.

[acti-veg]

Almonds are out. Dairy is a disaster. So what milk should we drink?

A glass of dairy milk produces almost three times more greenhouse gas than any plant-based milk. But vegan options have drawbacks of their o

Finally, a balanced discussion of this issue in the mainstream media which actually acknowledges that any plant milk is far more sustainable than dairy.

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It’s so gross and hypocritical to frame food waste as a personal failing. Like, people are dying of hunger because someone forgot some leftovers at the back of their fridge and ended up throwing them away. Major chain grocery stores throw away millions of pounds of food because it’s “too much work” to donate it, and then poison it and destroy it when they throw it away to punish dumpster diving. 

Waste is not a personal failing. It’s engineered by corporations, and they profit off of obscuring that.   

[decepticonsensual]

This is very true.  We do, as a society, waste a shocking amount of food, but the majority of that is wasted by the food industry, not consumers.  It’s over-ordered by supermarkets and restaurants, it’s rejected between farm and store for not looking perfect (some estimates say up to 40% of fruit and vegetables in the UK are rejected for cosmetic reasons!), it’s thrown out after reaching its (artificially shortened) Display Until date, it’s occasionally destroyed because of trade rules.

But the recommendations for reducing food waste always seem to start with a list of “great mid-week recipes to use up your leftovers!” and while I’m not knocking that, food waste is like fossil fuel use.  You’re not going to solve it by scolding people for their individual behaviour without fixing systemic problems.

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That’s it for our food blogging event! Thanks to everyone who helped!

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Food Price vs. Quality

Look at any fast food menu, and you’re likely to find a dollar menu. Compare that to the prices of healthy foods such as fruit and vegetables, and you’ll be inclined to live off of hamburgers and fries for the rest of your life.

Many people see produce to be so much more expensive than convenient fast food, which is often true. A pound of apples in an average supermarket sells for $3, and you often won’t be able to buy more than two apples per pound.

However, according to the Harvard School of Public Health, the healthiest diet only costs $1.50 a day more than the unhealthiest diet. This amounts to $550 more per person a year, which definitely adds up in big families. On the other hand, consumers must think about the long term consequences. $550 can look insignificant next to the potential amount of money spent on health issues caused by unhealthy diets such as chronic diseases or type 2 diabetes.

The $1.50 extra a day is also derived from the two extremes, the healthiest and unhealthiest of diets. That being said, it is possible to achieve a happier medium between the two for even cheaper.

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Pros and Cons of Organic Food

Pros: 

Organic meat is often farmed more humanely

No genetic modifications

Organic farming involves fewer pesticides, so organic produce has less chemical residue

Organic farming is usually more environmentally friendly, since it practices techniques like crop rotation and doesn’t use as many chemicals

Cons

There is no consensus on whether or not organic food has any actual health benefits

If you don’t live near a farm, organic food could be shipped in to your town from a long ways away, increasing carbon emissions during transport

Organic food is very pricey

Organic food is usually only available in-season

Organic food tends to spoil more quickly

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Local Food or Imported?

Have you ever thought of how far your meal had to travel to get to your dinner table? Every bite, every munch, and every sip had to come from somewhere. According to CUESA,  a meal travels an average of 1500 miles to get to your dinner table at home. 

Everyday items such as apples travel an average of 1555 miles, lettuce at 2055 miles, and grapes at 2,143 miles. From District of Columbia, that could very well mean that the apples are from Denver, Colorado, the lettuce from Panama, and grapes from Las Vegas, Nevada. 

Little do we know that our foods have huge carbon footprints, requiring millions of gallons of gas every year. Dangerous amounts of carbon emissions are released, and preservatives have become necessary for these food imports.

Here are a few ways to decrease your food’s carbon footprint:

Support your local farmers: Go to a local farmer's’ market and gain the experience of knowing where your food is from.

Check food labels: Going to a farmer’s market can be too much of a burden to some, but next time you’re at a supermarket, check the labels on food items and choose whatever is grown most locally.

Eat what is in season: This way, food won’t have to travel thousands of miles to get to your supermarket.

Grow your own produce: There is no shorter distance from farm to plate than from your own backyard. 

Because food is such a big component in our lives, it’s important to be mindful of how it affects our lives and environment, even if it’s not in plain sight. So next time you sit down for a meal, think about where your food had to travel from to get to your table. 

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Preventing Food Waste

Plan your grocery lists in advance - don’t buy more than you think you can eat.

Make sure you store everything properly so it doesn’t go bad. Keep in mind that expiration dates aren’t concrete, they’re estimates! A lot of food is thrown out the second it hits the sell-by dates, even though it’s unnecessary. If you use your common sense you should be fine. (Avoid being risky with milk and meat products, though.)

Leftovers! If you don’t eat them, someone will. Ask your friends if they want any of that frozen pizza you’ve still got in the fridge. If you’re sure no one wants it, and you really, really don’t want to eat it, you can always use old fruits and veggies to compost in your garden. 

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Be careful how much you buy. If it comes to it, remember that food shelters would love to accept any packaged products you aren’t going to eat.

Check out the source for more cool environmental art.

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For the next few minutes or so, we’ll be making a lot of posts about being environmentally conscious when it comes to food. We’re calling it “Food for Thought.” Stay posted!

[sixpenceee]

6 Billion Pounds Of Perfectly Edible Produce Is Wasted Every Year, Simply Because It’s Ugly.

(Source)

[leaving-nature-intact]

This is a really big contributor to food waste in america. Buy the less-than-perfect fruit once in a while, guys!

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What you see above isn’t in fact leather made from animals- it’s made out of pineapples.

””It was one of those coincidences of life,” said Carmen Hijosa, founder of Piñatex, a new sustainable textile made from pineapple leaf fibres. Hijosa was speaking of her trip to the Philippines that led to a career change, which involved going back to university to get a PhD from London’s Royal College of Art, starting her own business, Ananas Anam, and patenting her own textile. 

A small coincidence, and a big change.

Hijosa had been working in the leather industry for over 15 years in Ireland, when she was invited to consult on the exportation of leather in the Philippines. When Hijosa arrived, she was exposed to the poor quality of the materials, the working conditions and the toxic impact of leather on the environment. Hijosa advised, rather than try and export leather, why don’t you work with what you got, and what the Philippines has is an abundance of natural fibres.

She began to explore different fibres and came upon the pineapple leaf. “I realized they are very strong and flexible,” she says. “I wanted to see if I could make them into a non-woven mesh textile [like leather] and to do that I had to do full research and development that only a degree could provide.”

“Piñatex is a byproduct of the food industry,” explained Hijosa. “Once the pineapples are harvested the plants are left to rot.” Instead of letting that happen, pineapple farmers gather the leaves, extract the fibres and degum them in closed tanks. Once they have been degummed, the fibres become soft and breathable and can be put through a mechanical process that turns them into a non-woven mesh material that ends up feeling much like felt. 

The entire process does not use any extra water, pesticides or fertilizer beyond what is used to cultivate the pineapples. By comparison, to produce 1kg of cotton - enough for one t-shirt and a pair of jeans - it takes up to 20,000 litres of water.”

This demonstrates that not only is the leather industry cruel, but it is also unnecessary. This product will hopefully be one of the future; one that manufactures waste to create something fashionable and hopefully successfully overtakes and thus eradicates the current industry.

[capitalveg]

Hope to see this on the markets soon!

[breadandflowers]

I really wanna support this!!

[opinionatedsilly]

YES PLEASE!! :)

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Could You Live Without Oil?

Most people have a healthy level of skepticism regarding oil companies. They have been involved in environmental disasters, human rights abuses and many of us would rather do without them in the world. However, this poses an interesting question: Could you live without oil? To explore this issue let’s look into the basics of our lives and how we could all cut down on our petroleum consumption.

Hygiene

How do you keep yourself clean without the help of oil? We use it in our water heaters, and even in the cleansing products we use. The truth is, if you’re determined to have a hot shower from the tap, it’s almost impossible to free yourself from oil completely. However, for the dedicated there are some options.

Bucket showers or sponge baths with water collected either from onsite wells or rainwater reservoirs can keep you clean and green. For those in cold climates, heating the water can be done through solar panel heaters. And for those worried about the chemicals/petroleum in the products they use, there are a range of all natural soaps that can be used on hair and body and come in a variety of green packaging.

For clothes, there’s no better method than the bucket wash. I’ve personally used it for years, along with drying my clothes on a line. It is time consuming, and it’s not nearly as convenient as a washing machine. However, it can cut gallons off water waste and save a ton on electricity. Also just another small benefit: toned arms.

Transport

It is likely that your primary consumption of oil comes from your method of transportation. Even public transport, with few exceptions, uses petrol in their vehicles. So while mass transit is a good solution, it does not help one live an oil free life.

Enter the bicycle. Not only is it an efficient way to get around that millions around the world use daily, but it’s environmentally friendly and a wonderful form of daily exercise. Although many Americans find the use of bikes inconvenient, in countries such as Holland they are used daily by those in every strata of society. For difficult rides to formal workspaces, a change of clothes and wet washcloth can provide the level of professionalism necessary.

However, an even better option is to try to live near your place of work. Of course it’s not always an option, but it’s worth checking out. Not only is it a refreshing way to start your morning, but walking to work introduces0 you to local shops and cafes you might have otherwise passed by in your car.

Food

When it comes to buying food with a low oil factor, it is imperative to buy local. Researching who produces the local cheeses, dairy, meats, vegetables and flours should be your number one goal. Of course what you buy will be influenced heavily by your diet, but eating with a low oil impact just means learning how to produce your own basics. It might sound hard, but most of our grandparents could cook bread from scratch, dehydrate their own meats and can their own produce, which are all skills that are worth knowing. It also means buying fresh produce and meats, and cutting down on plastic packaging (which is made with oil).

If you have a yard, starting a garden can be a great approach to sustaining your own food source. However, for those who live in apartments or cold climates, indoor vegetable and herb gardens are a great alternative. As an added bonus, learning how to preserve your own veggies can help you eat locally year round.

In terms of cooking, this can be a stretch. Whether you use gas or electricity you’ll be using oil. However, you can cut this down considerably. Using pressure cookers can reduce cooking times by more than 60%. Also cooking large batches at once and using efficient equipment (such as glass instead of metal) can help reduce cooking times. For the very dedicated, solar cookers are available.

Electricity

When it comes to electricity, the most obvious solution might be solar panels. While there are issues regarding solar panel waste, and the chemicals within them, for those who live in cities this is likely your best option. If you live in a rural area, it might be possible to use wind as well.

If you are relocating or buying property in a particular area, study the climate and try to choose a dwelling that is built to withstand these particular climate needs. For instance, where I live in Uganda, houses are made with high ceilings, cement floors and vents to increase air flow. Because of this, despite being two hours from the equator, I’ve never needed air conditioning. My home always remains about 10 degrees cooler than outside temperatures.

Keeping appliances unplugged when not in use, switching to energy efficient item and sizing down your appliances will also help. For instance, if you are single, you might not need a full size fridge.

If you are reading this, you realize it is impossible to not engage the petroleum sector at all. After all you are using a computer, made with parts that require electricity and petroleum. Yet many companies including Apple, Dell and HP have come out with green computer models that use recycled parts that can later be recycled again after you upgrade to a new model. Also don’t forget to ensure your computer uses power saving modes, like hibernate, when not in use (read: no screen savers).

It has been said that all oil does is give us the illusion of an easy life, free of work. Yet our everyday choices can still have a drastic impact on how much petroleum we do use. With a little knowledge, and a tiny bit of effort, we can all reduce our oil waste considerably.

[theoreticalpermaculture]

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How Our Weekly Grocery Shopping Trips Could Be Killing the Amazon

A new study reveals that consumerism has led to a dramatic uptick in illegal ground clearing in the Amazon, and what’s worse is that we might be contributing to the problem without even knowing it.

The study, published by Washington D.C. non-profit organization Forest Trends, finds that from the start of the century until 2012, forty-nine percent of all tropical deforestation was down to illegal ground clearing to provide room and materials for commercial agriculture, something that has at least played a part in an increased overall level of tropical forest loss, reversing years of progress. What that means is things like clearing the ground for livestock rearing and feeding, planting for crops like soy and harvesting for palm oil, are all helping to undo the good work on which environmentalists and international governments have campaigned.

The report is the first of its kind to look at the process of illegal conversion for the purposes of sustaining the growing consumer demand in Europe and the U.S., and as a result carries some significant insights because, even though the disappearing of our rainforests has been a topic for several years, until now there has been little distinction made between legal and illegal ground clearing.

To that end, the report finds that about 70 percent of all soy that is currently on the international trade market was cultivated on cleared tropical ground. In addition, one-third of beef supply and almost all palm oil, which is used in products from peanut butter to some cosmetics, comes from tropical forests. While it’s important to stress the negative environmental impact of clearing any of our major rainforests, illegally cleared land can be even more harmful in some senses because there is no oversight or monitoring. With this in mind, the exact proportion of soy, beef, leather and palm oil that comes from illegally cleared land is hard to determine, but the research puts it at about 44 percent of palm oil, 20 percent of all soy and 14 percent of beef.

The impact of this isn’t just on the forests themselves, however. Obviously, the wildlife that are killed or displaced during ground clearing suffer, but in addition to that the report estimates that the illegal conversion of tropical forests specifically for large-scale commercial agricultural during the 2000-2012 period was responsible for an average of 1.47 gigtonnes of CO2 per year, most of which can be attributed to the goods exportation trade. That’s a sizable amount of the insulating gas that has been shown to contribute to the rise in global temperatures. Obviously, governments aren’t factoring this into their fossil fuel use or emission targets, but if they did it would put a significant dent in their figures.

The report finds that even in countries where commercial agriculture isn’t a main driving force behind illegal deforestation, that situation is rapidly changing and that could be something that will threaten more and more indigenous human populations soon too. While the researchers accept that domestically both the U.S. and the European Union have strict laws that ban illegal ground clearing, and that many global governments have actively sought to find solutions to curb the practice, they have not gone so far as to ban the sale of products that result from illegal ground clearing and that means there’s actually more monetary incentive for sustaining the practice and other regions getting involved to boot.

“At the moment EU is giving large amounts of money to these tropical countries to reduce deforestation while at the same time it is shooting itself in the foot by importing all these dodgy products from illegal clearances,” lead researcher Sam Lawson told BBC News. “It needs to close that vicious circle, it needs to stop importing these products as a first step.”

It’s clear from this report that only strong government action can help reduce the incentives behind the illegal ground clearing problem, and companies will have to commit to refusing to take ingredients like palm oil from illegally cleared sources, but how can we as consumers try to limit how much we are contributing to this vicious cycle?

Looking for domestically made or sustainable brands is one solution. For things like soy that can be fairly easy, with labels like RTRS soy or ProTerra certified soy being helpful and easy indicators. While there are some sustainable sources of palm oil, it’s health profile isn’t particularly good, so it may be that we want to avoid it as much as possible anyway. In terms of general strategies though, buying locally sourced produce will be beneficial, as well eschewing-mass produced furniture in favor of new items bought using sustainable local wood, or finding second-hand items instead of new.

For more ideas on how you can incorporate sustainable living into your day-to-day life, please click here.

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Eternal Reefs

A way for someone to recycle their body and help marine life. Eternal Reefs transform human remains into artificial coral reefs for marine life. They help restore the fragile ecosystems off our coasts, providing an environment that supports coral and micro-organisms.

The idea was that of two students at the University of Georgia in the 80s. The idea to help came to them when they were diving off of the Florida Keys on break and saw all the deterioration and degradation of the reefs and decided to do something about it.

You can be useful to the environment even after death.

SOURCE

[lifehackable]