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Day 9: REDUCE REUSE RECYCLE mobile phones

Oh my, oh my, oh my, its christmas time. a time filled with love, friends, family, baby jesus… and giving/recieving. I can imagine a lot of people use this time to bless their loved ones with the gift of a new phone, I mean who doesn’t love a new phone. 

HOWEVER what we do with the old phone is very important. 

Up until recently I had a draw filled with old phones, its both astonishing and sad how fast we move through those things. Anyway I thought the least I could do was to recycle my old mobile phones. You see many parts in a phone (even them oldies) can be reused and reduces the need for mining and keeps them off the landfill, which in turn helps our environment.

A lot of tech shops allow you to bring in old phones for recycling, but if your unsure you can send them to 'mobile muster’

http://www.mobilemuster.com.au/learn-about-recycling/why-recycling-matters/

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Day 7: PALM OIL

*WARNING, I WILL RANT*

Ah, it just frustrates me so much. Palm oil. we just need to stop using it. I understand that some palm oil comes from a sustainable source, but if in doubt leave it out! if we all check the products we are buying for palm oil and REFUSE to purchase it if it contains it, companies will have no choice but to stop using it! It IS actually is that simple! 

Its not worth purchasing those cookies if it comes at the cost of our orang-utans and our environment. Please spread the word. Just tell your friends and family!

C’mon people!

MORE INFO:

http://www.saynotopalmoil.com/Whats_the_issue.php

http://www.orangutan.org.au/palm-oil

PRODUCTS TO STAY AWAY FROM (in Australia):

http://www.palmoilinvestigations.org/products-australia

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Day 6: Fair trade Fair trade is a win win! You get the product you want, without compromising the environment/ other fellow human beings. Today I attended the 'Fair@square' Fair-trade festival in Melbourne and learnt a lot more about brands and organisations that a bringing fair trade products into the mainstream, everything from shoes to chewing gum! It's very unfortunate that somewhere along the line our integrity slipped, and fair trade has become something that needs to be introduced as a new idea. But slowly and surely more and more people are getting involved, and it's making a big difference.  Join the change/ Learn more: 

http://fairtrade.com.au

http://www.fairtradeshop.com.au

I will be going into more detail on some things i came across in the near future, so stay tuned!

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DAY 5: them sharks

Sharks suffer a whole lot of hating, especially here in Australia. Humans have been taught to fear sharks, and yeah, they are the top predators in the oceans, but they are from being vicious man-killing machines that they have been depicted as (ahem, Jaws). 

 The reality is there is only a tiny amount of shark attacks a year, and most are avoidable. The answer is definitely not to kill sharks! They are part of an ecosystem which has been around a lot longer than us humans. 

I think its important to remember that all creatures on this planet are equal, and if we further educate ourselves and strive to understand these magnificent creatures, we can hope to establish a healthier relationship with them. It would benefit us both.

"So often, the ‘smile’ of a dolphin, a fluffy seal pup or whale dragging 

behind a fishing boat dominate our attention in the world of marine  conservation. So rarely, does anyone stand up for those animals that aren’t smiling,  cute or fluffy. But who desperately need our help."

http://www.saveoursharks.com.au

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DAY 4 - are you a feminist? Oh wow another blog post about feminism. The word that has been thrown around like a bag of peas for pretty much the duration of 2014.  I don't have anything really to say except that I think it's important to be educated on the topic in order to make a decision on where you stand in terms of the word. I have linked some interesting articles below that have helped me understand both sides of the debate. :) 

Why women shun feminism:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/esther-cepeda-why-some-women-shun-feminism/2014/11/14/4a77a04c-6c45-11e4-b053-65cea7903f2e_story.html

Definition from Dictionary.com:

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/feminism

http://www.newrepublic.com/article/119412/feminisms-future-debate

You probably are a feminist:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/10/02/roxane-gay-beyonce-feminism-now-this-rant_n_5920206.html

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DAY 2: VAQUITAAASSS

So this is pretty urgent. there only 97 vaquitas left in the wild. 97! Sorry in case you didn’t quite get that.. NINETY SEVEN! 

 And humans are entirely responsible for their dwindling population. Great.

Luckily the awesome people at greenpeace are doing something about it, and  its very likely we can make a difference, which is awesome! 

They are so adorable (I get giddy just looking at their little faces! seriously, google them) and it would be devastating to lose such an incredible species, so if you’ve got a chance head over to the Greenpeace website and sign the petition or donate (or both!).

Help save the vaquitas from  being swallowed into extinction by mans toxic grip, us bloody humans.

https://www.greenpeace.org.au/action/?cid=82&src=SHTW1&utm_campaign=Vaquita&utm_source=Vaquita%20cyb&utm_medium=twitter&utm_content=twitter-share

And here are some facts from their website about the vaquitas, incase you have no clue what I’m going on about :)

It’s one of the two smallest cetaceans in the world, just managing to nudge about 1.5metres long on a good day

Its name means ‘little cow’, though it is also called the ‘desert porpoise’ as it lives near arid Baja California. They are the only porpoises found in warm waters.

It was only described by science in 1958.

It has a tiny geographic range, at about 4,000 km2 (about the size of Cornwall) it’s amongst the smallest of any marine mammal.

It’s possibly one of the cutest sea mammals around (with dark eye patches giving it a passable panda look), although very few people have ever gotten a good look at a live vaquita…

ps. i realise my first two posts have been very sea mammal related…it will not always be this way…completely unintentional, 

@greenpeaceaustp