#sustaibability

[modedeterre]

One Mango Tree

Buy a tunic - plant a mango tree!

[thehouseoffleurfleur-blog]

Everyone should take steps to be more sustainable!

[mcsl1]

It's not everyday that you go to dig up your potatoes and the start moving, that's what happened at MCSL this week. 8 tiny spuds with legs, heads and cute little eyes came tumbling out of the ground when the volunteers went to harvest the potatoes in the sustainable farm. After a little wash it was found that these cute little guys are baby Eastern Long-neck Turtles. I must say that it never fails, cute baby animals always seems to stop any work going on around here.

[torribletheadorable]

Know the Facts about Monsanto

Monsanto is one of the largest agricultural businesses in America. Their fields are expanding and are becoming a large portion of crop fields among our nation. However, it is their fields of monoculture crops that are at the source of our food crisis. Monoculture is a single, homogeneous crop lacking diversity. It is this method of farming that is a distortion of the ecosystem, and this farming is becoming the majority. The lack of diversity within an ecosystem ultimately weakens the system as a whole. In a nature, biodiversity is a way of natural protection. Allowing many different plant and insect species to live in harmony and thrive. But what are we doing? Growing thousands of one single crop allowing in pests, ruining the soil and starving the bees. Those single crops have a single period in which it requires pollination, and this allows a small amount of time in which the bees are able to pollinate and sustain their way of life before the crop no longer requires this pollination. Companies like Monsanto then have to import bees and spray with pesticides all in the name of efficient, but non-sustainable monoculture farming. The transportation of the bees also leads to a lower vitality rate of the species and acts as an invitation for disease and the starvation of the hive after bees have provided the needed, seasonal pollination. Without the bee's pollination we would not have the fruits and vegetables we enjoy on a daily basis. Recent Monsanto commercials want us to believe that they are a happy, healthy and natural food source, however their agricultural methods are far from sustainable. Know the facts. Remember Monsanto doesn't want to feed the world, they want control over the world's food supply. Help create an awareness of the importance of bio-diverse agriculture.

[awarenessinitiative-blog]

ALMOST 5 YEARS LATER, THIS IS A PROBLEM WE NEED TO COME BACK TO

- 12 Nov 2014 - 

Earlier this year San Francisco banned bottled water (on city property)- its time for the rest of the developed world to follow suit. 

A video that was release almost 5 years ago helps us to understand the rise of the bottled water industry. 

[infinite-ideas-publishing]

Quiz: How environmentally friendly are you?

Let’s face it, as a generation we’re spoilt rotten, and may not even be fully aware of the detrimental environmental effects our self-indulgent habits are having on poor old Earth. But there’s nothing like a bit of self-assessment to kick start the conscience. The idea behind the quiz is to give you a rough idea of how much work you need to do in your quest for an environmentally friendly lifestyle that leaves less of an imprint on our troubled planet.

  1   How do you mainly shop for food? (a)  You don’t – it’s all home produced. (b)  Online certified organic delivery schemes. (c)  At local markets and grocers. (d)  At the supermarket.

2   It’s lunchtime in the office. Do you: (a)  Dive into your organic, homemade packed lunch? (b)  Order something decent at an upmarket macrobiotic café? (c)  Go where everyone else is going, e.g.the pub? (d)  Head for the nearest fast-food chain or work canteen?

 3   How do you get to work/school? (a)  Walk or cycle. (b)  Take public transport. (c)  Share lifts. (d)  Drive.

4   When the temperature drops, what do you do? (a)  Do nothing – your home is insulated and solar-powered. (b)  Put on another jumper and shiver. (c)  Turn up the thermostat just a little. (d)  Whack up the heating as far as it goes and bring in extra heaters.

5   What kind of holiday do you mainly take? (a)  A working conservation holiday. (b)  Something low-key and national. (c)  A package holiday somewhere warm. (d)  As exotic and far flung as possible.

6   What are your cleaning materials of choice? (a)  Lemon juice and bicarbonate of soda. (b)  Eco-friendly products. (c)  Anything from the supermarket that works. (d)  A whole army of branded mousses, sprays, wipes and liquids.

7   How much do you recycle? (a)  Virtually everything, and the rest goes to charity. (b)  Newspapers, bottles, cans, vegetable matter. (c)  Newspapers and maybe bottles sometimes. (d)  Nothing – it all goes straight in the bin.

8   What kind of car do you own? (a)  You don’t. (b)  A small, low-emission model. (c)  A people carrier or family saloon. (d)  A nice big SUV.

9   What sort of presents did you give last Christmas/birthday? (a)  You didn’t – the money went straight to charity instead. (b)  Ethical presents for good causes. (c)  Catalogue/online goods where some profits go to charity. (d)  Whatever the recipients wanted.

10  How ethical is your bank? (a)  Very: that’s why you chose it. (b)  It has several good environmental policies. (c)  Not sure, but hopefully pretty good. (d)  You went for the best deal – ethics didn’t come into it.

Mainly (a)s. Congratulations, you are fully committed to the environment and well on your way to becoming a green goddess – or god, of course.

 Mainly (b)s. You’re definitely aware of what it takes to be green although there are one or two luxuries you’re not prepared to give up just yet. But keep up the good work, and you’ll be doing your bit for the planet in no time.

Mainly (c)s. The will to change is there, but you’ve got some way to go before youwin the Zayed Prize for the Environment. You just need to spend a little more time thinking about how your actions could affect the planet.

Mainly (d)s. Oh dear, you’re something of a walking eco-disaster. Time to change your wasteful and spendthrift habits for a greener, cleaner lifestyle.

[anechoofshade]

To Live:

I want to live in the forest. I want to walk at least twenty-five miles from the nearest road into the woods at the base of a mountain, find a clearing next to a lake, and build a house. I want to make a garden and a fireplace, make it warm and cozy with a wood stove, plant two trees for every one I chop down and use to live, stock the lake with fish that will thrive there in the most natural way possible, grow all of the things I need to survive, hunt when I have to, and enjoy the beauty of the lake and my surroundings with the person I love until the day I die. That's all... Nothing unreasonable, just something sustainable that will bring me happiness until the end of my days... Is that too much to ask for?