1000 Flowers for the Planet - #594 Demand Sustainable Fishing

1000 Flowers for the Planet - #594 Demand Sustainable Fishing

Over three-quarters of our global fish stocks are either over-exploited or fished right up to their limit. This is a rather scary fact, one which begs the question, “have we already gone too far?” Maybe we are able to recover from the damage already done, but only if we demand sustainable fishing practices, worldwide – NOW.

Everywhere, fish populations are exploited, overfished through poor practices such as trawling which takes not only huge quantities of the target fish, but also takes and kills huge quantities of non-target fish, and other sea creatures such as dolphins, turtles, marine birds and many more. These species are left to rot in the ocean. We not only kill more than we need, we use the ocean as a giant rubbish dump as well.

For a very eloquent delivery of the information you need go to http://www.marineconservation.org.au/pages/sustainable-seafood.html where you can learn about the issue and exactly what sustainable fishing practices are. Individually, we can make a difference by purchasing only what we know is caught sustainably. In Australia we have guides and apps for phones that will help us with those decisions. Maybe your country has these resources too. If we don’t stop over-fishing our resources, and continue to take from the ocean as we currently do, there will be nothing left to take. Consider the consequences when we reach that point (which will be soon).

1000 Flowers for the Planet - #593 Defend the Sea Lions

1000 Flowers for the Planet - #593 Defend the Sea Lions

This Flower suggestion is prompted by a Sea Shepherd campaign as follows:

“Sea Shepherd’s Sea Lion Defense Campaign on the Columbia River

Up to 368 California sea lions face execution by Oregon and Washington state workers for the crime of eating endangered salmon on the Columbia River near the Bonneville Dam. The states are authorized to kill 92 of the federally protected pinnipeds annually through June 2016. The sea lions will be branded with hot irons, hazed with rubber bullets and explosives, and killed by lethal injection or shotgun for eating less than 4% of the salmon at the dam. All of this mayhem, conducted on the dime of taxpayers, takes place while commercial, sport, and tribal fisheries are allowed to take up to 17% of the same endangered salmon and the dam itself claims approximately 17% of adult salmon.”

Source: http://www.seashepherd.org/dam-guardians/

Please check out the website to educate yourself and learn how to support people who are fighting for animals rights all across the world.

1000 Flowers for the Planet - #592 Have a Family Environment Day

1000 Flowers for the Planet - #592 Have a Family Environment Day

Families of all shapes and sizes can do this – have a family environment day. Put aside one whole day to be together. Make it soon. Turn off all your electronic devices, your phones, your radios and sit down together. Make eye contact. Start to talk about the environment and your impact upon it. Talk about how much waste your family generates, how much of it goes into landfill and how much of it could be directed elsewhere. Create some challenges for yourselves: remove the rubbish bin from the kitchen to see how you might get rid of unwanted things if there was no garbage collection; de-clutter your house, starting with one room and working around the whole house; talk about how you treat animals and consider how well or how poorly that might be (do you forget to clean out the rabbit hutch and bunny lives in his own filth?) – do something about it; plan to join in on Clean Up Australia Day; decide to make some donations to worthy causes like Save the Whales, The Australian Marine Conservation Society; Animals Australia etc.; take the plastic challenge and see how much single use plastic you can completely avoid. There are many things you can do – I’m suggesting 1000 ideas for you here.

Discuss the issues at length as a family and get serious about doing things that will make a better planet. Learn. Find out what you need to know. Turn the computer back on and start gathering information about how your actions impact the planet. Take action. Find out how you can live a better life.

Be that family that makes a difference.

1000 Flowers for the Planet - #591 Avoid Disposable Chopsticks

1000 Flowers for the Planet - #591 Avoid Disposable Chopsticks

According to Washingtonpost.com (https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2013/03/14/chinas-disposable-chopstick-addiction-is-destroying-its-forests/) China uses 20 million trees each year to feed the country's disposable chopstick habit. There is growing concern that China will have destroyed all its natural forests within 10 years. Greenpeace are so concerned about the issue they have devoted a whole campaign to the banning of disposable chopsticks – see more at http://www.greenpeace.org/eastasia/campaigns/forests/work/protecting-china-forests/. Added to that are concerns by the Chinese themselves that disposable chopsticks could have health risks (http://www.shanghaidaily.com/feature/news-feature/Disposable-chopsticks-hazardous-to-health/shdaily.shtml) due to manufacturing practices. If you read these articles you may certainly be encouraged to abandon the practice of using disposable chopsticks in your country, if not simply because of suspected health concerns, then certainly because of the loss of natural forests. If China continues to use its resources wantonly, where will they turn when there are no trees left to cut down? Where will they expect to obtain the resources they require to make their product? And pay attention to the fact that we are only talking about one single wood product – there are thousands more products made from wood globally. It should be considered a type of madness to steam ahead without any thought for the future. Ten years is mind-blowing. Even if we considered this an exaggeration and multiplied it by 5, would 50 years still be an acceptable time frame to use up all one’s resources? No!

Say “NO” to disposable chopsticks.

1000 Flowers for the Planet - #590 Recycle Non-Stitck Cookware

1000 Flowers for the Planet - #590 Recycle Non-Stitck Cookware

Non-stick cookware contains a lot of aluminium, which is 100% recyclable, so take advantage of the opportunity to recycle it. Find a place in your area that will take this product, or lobby your area to start a programme for recycling cookware – or any other aluminium product. In Flower #588 it was recommended to change over to cast iron cookware because of the health risks from non-stick cookware – here is the solution to getting rid of the cookware you no longer want. Flower #584 Avoid Virgin Aluminium gave another reason for recycling this particular metal, which is toxic to manufacture in the first instance. Taking advantage of the fact that aluminium is completely recyclable is a good step in ensuring we get better use from the resources we take from the earth. It makes sense.

1000 Flowers for the Planet - #589 Avoid Bath Salts

1000 Flowers for the Planet - #589 Avoid Bath Salts

Bath salts and bath cubes are not particularly menacing products but a little bit of consideration about what their use means for the planet may help you rethink them. In the first instance it means putting a compound of various ingredients into your bath water, which will soon be gurgled down the drain and into the water system where all the ingredients must then be extracted by the water filtration system in your area. This simply adds to the immense concoction of chemicals, biological waste and debris that has to be dealt with, simply for the sake of sitting in fancy smelling water. Furthermore, there has been some concern that lengthy soaks in the tub with commercial bath salts is increasing yeast infections in females delicate areas, so that would be one good reason to avoid them (do some research for yourself or ask your doctor’s advice).

The other reason is the plastic packaging. If you want to live a plastic-free life then this is another way to go about it. Even if the salts come in glass that you may put into the recycling bin, commercial bath salts are still contributing to the use of natural resources and/or fossil resources for very little benefit. If your body is weary and aching then you probably simply need to go to bed early and get a really good night’s rest. If you need to feel like you’re doing something more, buy Epsom salts packaged in a cardboard box and avoid all the added perfumes etc. Your actions will then have much less impact on the planet.

1000 Flowers for the Planet - #588 Use Cast Iron Cookware

1000 Flowers for the Planet - #588 Use Cast Iron Cookware

Teflon has been a contentious topic for years now, with none of the tests appearing to be conclusive, yet there does seem to be some evidence to suggest that Teflon, under high heat (over 446ºF) will off gas toxic particles. This is damaging to health. Teflon is a type of plastic product (Polytetrafluoroethylene), which means it is based on fossil resources.

With this albeit basic information, even though the health effects are supposedly inconclusive, if there is any doubt as to the safety of the product with which you prepare your meals, why would you use it? That’s why this Flower suggestion is to use cast iron cookware – it has been used for millennia, won’t damage your health, will last a very long time and will therefore create many benefits for the environment. You won’t have to replace your cookware for decades (if ever), saving money and valuable resources from the earth, and the health benefits have immense hidden knock-on benefits for savings in all kinds of ways. It’s a simple, effective solution.

1000 Flowers for the Planet - #587 Go Natural

1000 Flowers for the Planet - #587 Go Natural

Many Flower suggestions have been to go organic, but this one is as straightforward as choosing to go natural. Some people find it difficult to source organic foods or fabrics, or they complain about the cost of them and claim they’re unaffordable. So this suggestion is to make it a little easier and suggest you simply go natural. Instead of buying fake foods like non-dairy creamer, margarine and sacarin, buy foods that are actually foods and not processed chemicals: raw sugar, full cream, butter, ground coffee, fruit. You see, the more processing a food has gone through, the less nutritious it is, and your health is suffering because of it. A fantastic book about this, first published in 1998, is called Changing Habits, Changing Lives, by Cyndi O’Meara. It will tell you all about this principle in detail and help you get on track to a better diet and a healthy body.

By going natural we put fewer chemicals into the environment through waste and production. Improving our own health will therefore improve the health of the planet. A healthy planet will sustain us more easily. This should surely be our goal.

1000 Flowers for the Planet - #586 Ditch the Insinkerator

1000 Flowers for the Planet - #586 Ditch the Insinkerator

I just watched an advert for an insinkerator that told me it was environmentally friendly. Somehow I wasn’t convinced. Keeping food waste out of landfill completely is definitely what we should be aiming for but flushing food waste down into the sewerage system is not the best way of handling the problem. There are better steps we can take for dealing with food waste, the first of which is to dramatically reduce our food waste in the first instance. We do this by eating smaller portions to prevent leftovers and managing leftovers well by storing properly overnight and consuming them the next day. However, this doesn’t deal with things like fruit and vegetable peels or fish and chicken bones, for example. These are food waste items we cannot avoid, but there are better ways of dealing with them. Fruit and veggie scraps are good food for chickens if you have a few of those magnificent creatures in your back yard. The scraps can also go into compost where they become good food for your garden. Bones can be buried in your garden where they will break down and return to the earth as they were meant to.

Shoving your food waste down a hole in your sink is like putting a blindfold on to pretend you’re doing the right thing by not creating landfill, but this food waste is going into the water system where all the nutrients from that very same food waste can create the growth of algae which uses the oxygen in the water and harms marine life. These nutrients should be put to better use.

The only way I’d own an insinkerator is if the waste was crushed up and liquefied, then transferred to a holding tank, which contained the nutrient-rich water that I could then use on my garden – it would be like a type of fertiliser, but all natural – no chemicals.

Until they produce a better solution, ditch the insinkerator.

1000 Flowers for the Planet - #585 Update Your Fridge

1000 Flowers for the Planet - #585 Update Your Fridge

If your refrigerator was manufactured before 2001 it is not as efficient as the newer models. An old fridge will be costing you more money than it should, as well as contributing to environmental damage, such as green house gases by using more energy – which we know comes from fossil fuels in most places. If you think replacing your fridge will only serve to damage the environment even more, there are answers to this coming up in Flower #600 Recycle Your Fridge. Meanwhile, take a look at the fridge you have, check when it was manufactured and considered its cost to the environment. When you update to a new fridge, get the highest star rating possible and consider the size you really need. Most people cram their fridges full of unnecessary food waste, which they eventually throw in the bin/trash. This food waste need not exist in the first place, and if you’re using leftovers properly and cooking only what you need to feed your family, you will discover that you really don’t need a huge fridge at all. By thinking smarter about how you function as well as how your fridge functions, you can save money and help the environment.

1000 Flowers for the Planet - #584 Avoid Virgin Aluminium

 

1000 Flowers for the Planet - #584 Avoid Virgin Aluminium

Aluminium (aluminum) is a toxic product to make but it is 100% recyclable. This makes it a two-edged sword. There has been debate for a number of years about the health risks from aluminium but we can put those aside for this particular Flower suggestion and concentrate on production methods. To manufacture products from virgin aluminium takes a huge amount of energy. For example, twenty recycled cans can be made with the energy needed to produce one can using virgin ore. Recycling only one aluminium can saves enough energy to run a television for three hours.

Aluminium is found in many products but the most common one to consumers would have to be the drink can. From the above mentioned statistics it is easy to see that we should put more effort into recycling as much aluminium as possible, to save energy, use fewer resources and keep stuff out of landfill. Maybe you could find different ways of working in the kitchen to prevent the use of aluminium foil - try not replacing your next roll of foil and see how you adapt your habits. But aluminium is also used to make: bike frames, ladders, mail boxes, staples, nails, computer parts, golf clubs, sinks, faucets, screen door and window frames, patio furniture, pots, pans, gates, fencing, car rims, silver lined wrappers on your snack bars, the silver cap on yogurt and the foil that wraps your chocolate. All of these things are actually recyclable, but seldom are – we need to change that.

1000 Flowers for the Planet - #583 Find an Eco Dry Cleaner

1000 Flowers for the Planet - #583 Find an Eco Dry Cleaner

Ordinary dry cleaners clean your clothes using Perchloroethylene, a powerful chemical with a powerful smell that can be harmful to you and the environment. It's not particularly good for people who work in these dry cleaning businesses either. If we speak with our feet and our finances by seeking out green dry cleaning businesses that are environmentally aware and use harmless cleaning methods, we can eventually reduce the amount of destructive chemicals being used to clean our clothes. Also have a think about whether you truly need to use a dry cleaner. It’s quite possible you can clean your garment yourself by hand washing it. My daughter’s debutante gown was a straightforward polyester fabric with a ‘dry clean only’ tag, but it washed perfectly fine in the washing machine at home. There’s a better way to treat the environment and that’s by making the effort to find an eco dry cleaner in your area, promote their green business, and let’s help the planet breathe more easily.

1000 Flowers for the Planet - #582 Choose Alpaca

1000 Flowers for the Planet - #582 Choose Alpaca

In light of pressures on the environment created by demand for cashmere (Flower #581) this Flower suggest you choose alpaca instead. Alpacas, a South American animal, have become a modern farming choice in many countries around the world. The animals are easy to care for and provide a beautiful soft fibre that is pleasant to wear. Alpaca farming is popular, and as the yield from an alpaca is greater than cashmere, the product is less expensive and more readily obtained.

Still, when making your purchasing choices, ensure the fibre has come from responsible farming practices with animal welfare the main concern.

1000 Flowers for the Planet - #581 Rethink Cashmere

1000 Flowers for the Planet - #581 Rethink Cashmere

Cashmere is a beautiful soft fibre that comes from goats, and is very expensive in the final product such as coats and cardigans. Cashmere goats are bred in various places, but this Flower suggestion is to make you think about the exact source of any cashmere product you may consider purchasing. Much of the cashmere industry begins near the Gobi Desert in the north of China. With cashmere becoming more popular, the breeding of cashmere goats has increased substantially. This has led to a string of events: the goats take more land for grazing along the edge of the Gobi Desert, where they then eat all the vegetation, creating more desert area. The size of the Gobi thus increases and larger dust storms are the result. These dust storms even reach Beijing where they can cause health problems, such as respiratory disorders. This means there is an imbalance in the environment, which can only be worsened by an increase in demand for cashmere from this area. It can be improved by a decrease in demand. The outcome for this area depends on the choices we make, so rethink cashmere, ask about its origins, check for animal welfare rights and ensure you’re not adding to any environmental issues.

1000 Flowers for the Planet - #580 Avoid Bubble Bath

1000 Flowers for the Planet - #580 Avoid Bubble Bath

There are a couple of good reasons to avoid bubble bath. The first is your health. Bubble bath usually contains all the toxic mix of most items in the bathroom, which are bad for your health, can cause headaches or skin irritations, and some ingredients may even be carcinogenic. You may as well use the detergent for washing up the dishes – it’s practically the same thing and they both produce wonderful amounts of bubbles.

The second reason is that bubble bath comes in a plastic container, which then gets thrown into landfill. It’s one of those things mentioned in Flower #578 Sweat the Small Stuff – it all adds up.

In the end, you pour some chemicals into your bath water with the aim of enjoying lots of bubbles, sit in it for a while soaking all those chemicals into your skin, lose the bubbles as soon as you put the soap in the water, drain all the chemicals down the plug hole into the water system and eventually the environment, then toss a piece of plastic into landfill where it doesn’t break down for hundreds of years or longer, and when it does it becomes part of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch …

Was it worth it?

1000 Flowers for the Planet - #579 Leave Krill in the Ocean

1000 Flowers for the Planet - #579 Leave Krill in the Ocean

Well, I’m no scientist, nor am I a nutritionist, but I’m good at asking questions. During the thousands of years humans have walked this planet, when did they start eating krill? During the thousands of years of dogs walking this planet, when did they ever eat krill? Since when did krill become a necessity in the human, or canine, diet? Humans only began eating krill in the 19^th century, which equates to the time of human population explosion. However, in the 1970s the harvesting of krill really got serious, probably because (and you can do more of your own research on this one) krill became a money-making venture for large corporations with the power to pay off environmental watchdogs and take what they want. They also have the money to spend on brainwashing people through their advertising to make people think they ‘need’ this product. Large ships that pump out nasty smoke into the pure air of the Antarctic are ‘harvesting’ hundreds of thousand of tonnes of krill every year. The krill is fed to fish in fish farms (same as factory farming for cattle, pigs, chickens etc, except the fish aren’t cute and furry and can’t squeal so no one seems to worry about the practices), the krill is used in dog food and the krill is sold to you as an essential ‘pill’ that will solve all your ailments and make you feel better.

People would feel much better if they ate fresh fruit and vegetables, maybe some meat and fish and kept healthy with good food and exercise. Health isn’t obtained via a krill capsule. And have you ever heard of packs of dogs thrashing into the ocean to catch krill for their dinner? I thought not. Why do they need to eat krill now? Is krill really going to be the solution to the world’s food problems or will we be cutting out nose of to spite our face?

As they are near the very bottom of the food chain, krill are a vital part of the whole ecosystem of this planet. If we harvest them to meet our short term needs and end up over harvesting (as we have done already with so many other species) then every species on the planet is put at risk. Leave krill in the ocean where it belongs and let’s find better ways to provide food for ourselves (and out pets).

Check out http://www.seashepherd.org/commentary-and-editorials/2013/04/16/krill-fisheries-the-next-collapse-605

1000 Flowers for the Planet - #578 Sweat the Small Stuff

1000 Flowers for the Planet - #578 Sweat the Small Stuff

There won’t be any point at all in fixing the ‘big’ stuff if you don’t sweat the small stuff, because the small stuff can actually be bigger than what you consider is the ‘big stuff’.  Using a bamboo toothbrush instead of a plastic one is not actually ‘small stuff’ – it’s multiplied by the numerous brushes you use each year, then multiplied by the millions of people who use toothbrushes, making the final number enormous. And that’s only one item of plastic going into the environment. Take your toothbrush number and then multiply it by all the other plastic ‘stuff’ you throw away every day – meat packaging, bread ties, coffee pods, take away coffee cups, water bottles, milk bottles, biscuit wrappers, chocolate wrappers, Q tips, disposable nappies etc etc. Now add the ones you don’t throw away every day but which are manufactured and eventually ‘tossed’ in the millions: pens, CDs and jewel cases, shampoo bottles, disposable razors etc etc. Have you ever head of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch? It’s not a small issue. And it starts with one little toothbrush.

Change has to start with each of us as individuals. If we think the problems are too big to deal with, nothing will be achieved. We have to start somewhere, and that’s with each person taking lots of really small ‘good’ actions. Those actions are then multiplied by each of us who takes them, and the numbers become enormous – in a positive way. Sweat the small stuff!!

1000 Flowers for the Planet - #577 Observe World Lizard Day

1000 Flowers for the Planet - #577 Observe World Lizard Day

This may be a special day you’ve never heard of. Mostly it seems to be observed at the local level with kids having fun days at school learning about lizards, or the local pet shop highlighting them as great pets. Some people adore lizards, and that’s terrific. They like to keep them as pets, which is probably fine as long as they look after them correctly and develop a deep knowledge of the animal/s they keep to ensure a long and healthy life for each reptile.

Let’s take a look at the more serious side to lizards, though. Firstly there is the fact that many species are endangered, yet because lizards are not particularly appealing to the majority of the human species because they’re not cute and furry, their plight tends to be overlooked. Let’s take today as a day for gathering better knowledge about lizards and what they need to ensure their survival well into the future. Secondly, some lizards are considered to be very exotic, hence they find themselves on the ‘exotic pet’ list and the victims of illegal trade. They can be shipped inside all manner of strange objects inside suitcases to be taken illegally from one country to another, where they command amazingly high prices. Often they die during the torturous journey. The reason this is illegal is because it is ‘wrong’ and usually because the species is endangered, so poaching in this manner is a huge threat to their continued existence.

If we take time out to think about lizards and the part they play in the environment, the food chain and the whole ecosystem, this better understanding will lead to better actions, and a better planet.

1000 Flowers for the Planet - #576 Demand Organic Sugar

1000 Flowers for the Planet - #576 Demand Organic Sugar

Growing sugar in Australia is big business. It’s grown along the eastern coast of Australia in the state of Queensland. The Great Barrier Reef runs along the same coastline. Unfortunately, growing cane also mean using pesticides and these chemicals are washed through the environment and into the ocean as storm water, where they then cause damage to marine life – and the reef, one of the seven wonders of the modern world. Getting rid of industry is not a solution, but we could use our brains to create a better planet if we acknowledge a) our practices are not healthy for the environment, b) nature does have the answer and c) short-term financial gain is pointless if long-term financial gain is impossible (no reef = no tourism). If we demand organic sugar then industry will be encouraged to provide that and in doing so will help create a healthier environment and healthier people. It’s a win/win situation.

What’s the sugar can industry doing to your local environment?

1000 Flowers for the Planet - #575 Observe World Elephant Day

1000 Flowers for the Planet - #575 Observe World Elephant Day

Today is World Elephant Day – a day to pay attention to the plight of the world’s elephant populations. The current population estimates are about 400,000 for African elephants and 40,000 for Asian elephants with African elephants on the ‘vulnerable’ list and Asian elephants on the ‘endangered’ list. There is argument that these numbers are much too high.  Isn’t it a shame that a) we have lists to categorize species into ‘endangered’, ‘vulnerable’, ‘extinct’ etc. and b) that people are arguing over the exact numbers? I think there’s something wrong with our behaviour. Let’s concentrate on positive ACTIONS that will ensure a sustainable future for elephant herds in their natural environment. The solution lies in concentrating on the human population levels and bringing our own numbers down to a level that the planet can reasonably sustain (not an easy problem to solve, but it is the elephant in the room, so an appropriate day to discuss the issue). Humans encroach on elephant habitats, humans poach elephants for their ivory tusks, humans hunt elephants for trophies – elephants don’t have any natural predators. Their numbers decrease because of US so we’re the ones who need to change our behaviour and deliver the solutions to prevent elephant extinction. Visit a site that will teach you more about what can be done such as http://iworry.org/ or http://www.elephantconservation.org/ or https://www.sheldrickwildlifetrust.org

Remember – one elephant is killed (that’s killed, not ‘dies naturally’) every 15 minutes – at this rate there will be none roaming wild within ten years. Do something!

1000 Flowers for the Planet - #574 Drink Organic Wine

 1000 Flowers for the Planet - #574 Drink Organic Wine

Did you know your wine could include chemicals, additives, silica, clay, and fish bladders? Do they really sound like the type of ingredients you want to put into your body?  If not, then organic wine is the way to go. The best wines are those that taste of the earth where the grapes are grown – that take on the characteristics of their region. Organically grown grapes will have that taste, and keeping synthetic fertilisers and chemicals out of the environment is the best option for the earth that sustains us. Drinking a beverage that is as close to nature as possible is the way to go – better for your health and better for the health of the planet.

1000 Flowers for the Planet - #573 Avoid Gel Shaving Cream

1000 Flowers for the Planet - #573 Avoid Gel Shaving Cream

Some of the reasons for avoiding gel shaving cream may seem minor to many a man who prefers the convenience of the spray can, but if you want to do something to help the planet, this is definitely another small step with a big impact.  Gels and foams contain preservatives and dyes, and some even contain menthol and/or benzocaine. None of these things are healthy for your skin, and as the skin also absorbs these chemicals into your body, they may well be affecting your health.  Furthermore, the propellants of foams and gels are sometimes isobutane or propane, hence you are putting toxic gases in contact with your skin. Finally, the can itself is often tossed into landfill. Even if it’s not, it cannot be entirely recycled, so it still contributes to waste.

Change to the old fashioned way of foaming up with pure soap and a natural bristle brush, and make that the ‘new’ way of shaving. You will then avoid putting chemicals onto your skin and into the environment through the water system and you will create zero waste that would otherwise clog up the planet.