Sustainable September 2016 - Day Nine

Hello wonderful people,

Today was all about using a reusable straw or saying no to using straws at all. 

 

This is a photo of me using my metal straw whilst hanging out at the National Museum of Australia. Notice I didn't get a plastic bottled drink either. Glass is much better for the environment. :) 

It can be quite difficult to say no or remember too. But that skill or habit could be a lifesaver for a sea animal or other forms of wildlife. Not to mention helping ourselves and our children in the future. 

Today is all about bags. 

Sustainable September Day Nine: buy/use a reusable shopping bag and say no to plastic bags. 

I must say this is one of the easiest for me to do every time I shop. I have these small roll up bags that go into my handbag. I pull one out whenever I need one and then re-roll and put it BACK into my bag as soon as I finish this. I probably have about 15-20 of these little roll up bags in total around my house. I probably only keep 4-6 in my bag at any one time. My sister has 4 in her hand bag. And mum has a couple too. 

This leaves a few extras so that some can be chucked in the wash (best part about having cloth bags) and some can be filled with bits and bobs on their way somewhere. It also means I can cycle out the ones that need repairs, but thankfully I only have to do the repairs occasionally. And it's usually the elastic that keeps it all rolled up nice and tidy that dies first. 

Kindness Idea: learn how to make plastic mats for the homeless. 

if you have a horde of plastic bags at home or you know where there are a lot, think about this as an idea... Using those single use bags to make something reusable and long lasting. This could be the idea for you. However, if you can't yet crochet, maybe you could learn. Or maybe you could do the cutting and "making of the plastic yarn" for someone else to use to make mats. 

Front Lines: there is a gorgeous TED talk by two young people in Bali who are wanting to ban the use of plastic bags in their country. What amazing champions of their country. 

I have visited Bali myself and it will make a huge difference to the place to be plastic free. :) I can't wait to go back and see the difference in a few years! :) 

I hope This finds you all well! 

Love Daena 

 

Sustainable September 2016 - Day Two

Hello lovely people,
So today was the first day that we did Sustainable September. And it was all about using reusable cups and cutting down on disposable ones. So today I did it.
I took my sister, who is recovering from eye surgery, out for the first time in a few days as she can go into the sunlight today. We had out coffees at the shop so didn't need to have them "take away".



I also used my Keep Cups today, but not to get coffee/chai take away. More to be able to give mum a cup of tea on her way to the doctors. So not only was it handy for mum to use a keep cup as she went out, it also saved money because she didnt need to buy a cup of tea whilst out. Money saving and environmentally friendly = WINNING!!!

  

Todays idea is along a similar theme.

Sustainable September Day 2: Use (or buy and Use) a Reusable Water bottle.

Plastic water bottles are rather popular here in Australia. I know these single use bottles are popular all around the world. But single use plastic water bottles account for one in ten piece of rubbish collected during "Clean Up Australia Day" (according to the website). Basically they account for an ENORMOUS amount of waste that ends up in our landfil, our environement and on our roadsides.

THe impact of plastic Water Bottles on our environment is huge. For example:
"In production: Most bottled water is packaged in PET (polyethylene terephthalate) plastic bottles which are derived from crude oil. It can take up to 3L of water to produce 1L of water.

In transportation: Transportation of bottled water around the world requires burning of fossil fuels  

In landfill and the litter stream: Although plastic bottles are recyclable, many end up in landfill and take up to 1000 years to break down. When littered they often end up in the sea where they break up in small pieces, killing marine life that mistake them for food...

...By avoiding bottled water and refilling your own bottle you can help conserve virgin resources and protect our pristine nature. Another great side effect is saving money. One bottle of water can cost you around $2.50 versus only a few cents per litre for tap water. So start refilling your water bottle today." (Clean Up Australia Website http://www.cleanup.org.au/au/Whatelsewesupport/avoid-bottled-water.html).

If we can just reduce our need and use of single use plastic water bottles, or avoid them completely, we can make a HUGE difference to our environement.

Kindness idea: Purchase a reusable water bottle for someone in need. Or buy a water refill card for water stations so people can fill up their reusable water bottles.

In and around Perth, Western Australia, there are new water refilling stations that charge about AUD 50c per litre for oprdinary water or about AUD $1.00 per litre of sparkling water. I have used these myself and i think they are a pretty clever idea. Considering if i buy sparkling water it can cost about AUD$4.50 on average. Its a financial saving as well as an environmental saving. One of these prepaid cards could fill several water bottles for several days. For more information about the Perth based water refill stations check out http://www.proacquaaustralia.com.au/shop/

Front Lines: Here are a couple of TED talks to help you get a better idea of the affect plastic is having in our environment.

The first Video is by the discovere of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, Cpt. Charles Moore. It is quite a shocking and compelling piece.

This second video is what is being researched to fix the problem of plastic in our ocean. I just dont want you all to think being Sustainable is a hopeless venture.

Hopefully plastic being removed from our oceans can be a huge game changer. However, we need to be concious about NOT making the situation worse. So lets only use reusable water bottles from now on. Maybe even choose something like glass, or aluminium, which are longer lasting, reusable alternatives to plastic.

Let me know what is your favourite reusable water bottle is. I have two metal ones and a reusable plastic one. 

I hope you have a wonderful day and I will post a new blog tomorrow. 

I am catching a plane tomorrow to see my friend in Canberra, Australia. I will be there for 9 days, so i am hoping to check out what awesome environmental ideas the countries Capital has to offer. :) 

I hope this finds you all well. 

Love Daena xx

Sustainable September 2015 - Day Seventeen

Hello my lovelies,

I had to stay home from work today because I was so crook/ill/sick. I spent the day resting and healing, with lots of vegetable soup, hot tea, tissues/hankies and a couple good books. I think often when we look at kindness we forget ourselves. So today was a day for me to get myself healed and rested, a true kindness to myself. If I am not well, how can I act with kindness to others?
I admit I had had a very busy weekend, and I have not had a chance to slow down since returning from Sydney. I am so blessed that my boss allowed me the time off today to recover. I am not completely 'fixed' yet, but I am well on my way now. At least I hope so. :)

Sustainable September is always a perfect time for me to get in a daily act of blogging. Sometimes it is simple, sometimes a lot of research goes into a subject. Some ideas I have had for a long time and been meaning to add them to the list of possible Sustainable September ideas.

Tomorrows idea is one of those 'long time' ideas. This idea sprang from last years Sustainable September idea for a Meat Free Monday (which is an awesome idea to undertake regularly not just in September). I have been watching a lot of TED talks recently. I am learning everything I can on all sorts of issues. The one that stuck out for me was this one below.

September 17: Become a Weekday Vegetarian. 

I saw the video by Graham Hill on TED about why he is a Weekday Vegetarian. It is pretty good. Plus its only a short 5 minutes, as opposed to the video yesterday that was 43minutes. Here it is.. 

Now this sounds really hard for us meat lovers everywhere. However I love the benefits that becoming a Weekday Vegetarian can afford you.

Lets look at the financial benefits first. Meat is often the most expensive component of any meal you prepare. I often spend on average about $4 AUD per person per meal on the meat component of any given meal. Sometimes its less, sometimes more. The Vegetable part of the meal is often less... way WAY less. Plus with vegetables you can also often grow your own. Winning!

Then there is the part that it is better for the animals on this planet if we don't eat them. The cows, pigs, sheep and chickens in this world (the most consumed meats in the Australia, and perhaps the world), often are not treated as well as they could be. The smaller of the animals often stuck into intensive farms, that do not allow quality of life. Being a weekday vegetarian helps or reduces the impact on these animals.

Then there is the environmental impact of the meat. In 2006 the Independent News wrote that "A United Nations report has identified the world's rapidly growing herds of cattle as the greatest threat to the climate, forests and wildlife. And they are blamed for a host of other environmental crimes, from acid rain to the introduction of alien species, from producing deserts to creating dead zones in the oceans, from poisoning rivers and drinking water to destroying coral reefs. The 400-page report by the Food and Agricultural Organisation, entitled Livestock's Long Shadow, also surveys the damage done by sheep, chickens, pigs and goats. But in almost every case, the world's 1.5 billion cattle are most to blame. Livestock are responsible for 18 per cent of the greenhouse gases that cause global warming, more than cars, planes and all other forms of transport put together." Read the article here.

Then there is the whole Carbon Footprint side to it too. What resources have gone into producing the meat?  How far has the meat travelled before it got to your plate? The distance your food travels from the farm to your plate, the better it is for the environment. Environmentally speaking reducing the amount of meat we consume and therefore demand for it, has to help. It might not seem like it but it does make a difference.

Then you look at the waste that the meat packing industry creates. I know I throw out a whole bunch of plastic, in either plastic wrap, plastic tray or even polystyrene tray form (i use the old meat trays after they have been washed, as pallets for my paint and my artworks - its a nice way to reuse something that would otherwise be thrown into landfill).

I love that on this Weekday Vegetarian lifestyle you can still eat meat, you don't have to give up Bacon! mmmm Bacon! You just save it for a treat on the weekends, where you have time to savour it, enjoy it and celebrate the deliciousness. mmmmm... bacon! Did I mention the bacon? mmmmm. Bacon! Bacon! BACON!!! Forgive me for my mild obsession with the deliciousness that is bacon. I know that for some religious people bacon is not consumed, so just imagine you have replaced all the bacon in this blog post with your favourite type of meaty goodness! :)

If you are looking for recipes for being a Weekday Vegetarian the simply google "vegetarian recipes" and thousands, probably MILLIONS of recipes will come up. You might be lucky too if you add what ingredients you have in your fridge/garden that you could add to the meal.

KINDNESS IDEA: Make a vegetarian meal to share. You could make it for a friend or family member going through a rough time. Or you could invite a friend, neighbour, colleague over for a meal to share something different with them. Be aware of some peoples allergies, and dietary requirement.

I hope this finds you all well. And if you are not well, that you are on the mend. And if you are not yet on the mend, that the tide will break soon and you will heal fast when you can. Sending healing love to you all.

Much love to you all,
Love Daena (Bacon) Guest

PS. I going vegetarian for 5 days straight is hard, start with Meat Free Mondays. It is a great way to regularly reduce the quantity of meat we consume.

Sustainable September 2015 - Day One : And so it begins!

Hello beautiful people, 

Seeing as last year’s Sustainable September was such a success I have decided to do it again. I chose to do this for a couple of reasons:

1. I like to be KIND (in general and) to the environment as much as possible! After all we have to live on this planet for the rest of our lives and then our children have to too. So I guess it is a KINDNESS for future generations too really! 
   
   
2. It keeps me accountable to post regularly through the month of September. It is basically a month of daily blogging. Seeing as my track record this year for blogging is not as good as i would like it to be, it helps me to focus on a month. Also if I hit a day where I can't make it to the Blogger website, I have to be prepared for that. So technically this is an exercise in me getting my stuff together and being organised.YAY organisation!!! 

So this year I am going to start with some inspiration.

September 1: Watch one of the following videos on how a girl, Lauren Singer, was able to go completely waste free. She is an environmental inspiration to me!

Here is the Short video Interview, for those short on time.  

Here is the longer TED talk, for those who like more detail. 

And for those who just love videos you can watch BOTH!!! :) Doesn't Zero Waste Girl sound like an awesome super hero? She could join Captain Planet and save the world! :)

Are you interested in having a trash/rubbish free home? The website Trash Is For Tossers is from Lauren Singer and she shares here about the steps to get to the point of being as rubbish free as possible. 

I have just bought the book called Zero Waste Home by Bea Johnson. My plan is to read it as the month goes along. Hopefully we can all learn more about this idea of creating a waste free home together and help each other in achieving this. Even if it can never be completely 100% waste free, a point Bea Johnson has already made in the first chapter of her book, even the first steps make a huge difference. If you want to check it out the book here is a listing on Book Depository.

What is next for Sustainable September?

For the next few days I am going to give you a few things you can change fast and easy to help the environment. Then I will progress to other things that may take a little more effort.

I have also decided to include tiny kindness ideas for those who are wanting to share Sustainable September with other people. 

So a simple idea today is: pay it forward. If someone does something nice for you, pass it on to another. If someone buys you a coffee (preferably in a reusable cup), pass it on, and buy one for someone else. It is really as simple as it sounds. If someone buys you a book, like "Zero Waste Home" pass the kindness on - in face just give people books all of the time...okay... maybe that might not be the best kindness for everyone. Just ME!! hehehe. You all know how I feel about books! Love, love, love!

I hope this brings you a little bit of knowledge and a lot of inspiration. We need to be KIND to this planet of ours. It is the only one we have got! or as my sister says "There is no planet B"!

Much love to you all, 

Daena x