Time we looked seriously at alternative forms of energy as well as a sustainable way of life.
All the money we have + all the money we can print can not buy us another life nurturing planet.
Archive for the ‘Eco-living’ Category
Make the most of your newspaper
Tuesday, May 4th, 2010
What do you do after you have read the newspaper ?
1. Wrap gifts – no more hunting for gift wrapping paper . Neatly pack gifts in newspaper . Make a card with left over regular paper and pieces of cloth / use a flamboyant fabric to tie the unusual ensemble
2. Make envelopes from newspaper . Splash a bit of color . And voila – you have envelopes that make you feel like writing letters.
3. Pens from newspaper (not possible perhaps to make at home )
4. Newspaper bags – use fabric strips to make the handles , color the bag , stencil messages on the bag
5. On days when you can’t get dried leaves – add newspaper shreds to your composting bin.
Why use a cloth bag ?
Sunday, May 2nd, 2010Why use a cloth bag when retailers recklessly and generously hand out plastic bags of varying sizes considering -
- Plastic Bags save you the effort of carrying a cloth / reusable bag with you.
- Plastic Bags can be used as bin liners
- Plastic bags can be used to store veggies in the refrigerator
- If the plastic bag is that of a fancy brand – you get to let your friends , colleagues , neighbors and all in visual range know that you are able to afford the fancy brand in question. Carrying it again and again establishes beyond doubt that you are a person that frequently buys that brand = you have taste + the financial resources to do so.
-Carrying multiple bags shows you’ve been shopping = you can afford it.
Why use a cloth bag ?
- There are innumerable everyday objects for which we don’t have easily available / alternatives to plastic – toothpaste , toothbrush , razor , primary food packaging (e.g oil , pulses , bread , biscuits), plastic water bottles , kitchen containers . These few items alone are enough for an average urban resident to be responsible for a hillock (if not mountain ) of plastic in his/her lifetime. At this point in time we don’t have easily alternatives (or even answers) for some of these everyday items that come in plastic. With a bag at least you have a CHOICE.
- Plastic does not bio-degrade . At least we won’t be alive to witness it . The plastic bag you use is going to hang around on the planet long after we are gone.
- Lives of birds , animals, marine life are threatened by the plastic remnants . They die due to ingestion of plastic . Those that survive undergo mutation . Would you like it if consequences of the thoughtless actions of another species affected your health and the duration of your life ?
- The plastic we throw away enters the food chain of human beings through animals , birds and marine life.
- We already have the challenge of dealing with depleting natural resources , pollution, consequences of climate change, terrorism, poverty . From being stuck in the problem end of the equation we need to move to being part of the solution. Governments alone are not responsible for the state of the planet . All of mankind is . No government forces us to use plastic , to leave the tap open , to drive around pointlessly burning fuel , to not reach out to someone whose life we can impact .
The changes needed to make this a sustainable planet need us to participate . Not just by clicking answers on some internet poll. Participate by making tangible , consistent changes.
Your actions matter. Every action matters.
Manufacturing content
Friday, April 30th, 2010Content..NOT as in content for a website or a blog . Content in the sense of feeling contented with what one has.
Plastic free magazines
Thursday, April 29th, 2010
It’s almost di rigueur these days for magazines (in Indian retail ) to be wrapped in plastic .
An alarmingly increasing number of magazines are choosing plastic…plastic that will remain on the face of the earth long after the magazine issue has been read and recycled. Ironically several of the magazines carry (from time to time ) articles on ‘how to save the planet’ urge readers to be ‘more eco-friendly’.
Not satisfied with 1 plastic bag some magazines have 2 bags per issue . One for the main magazine , one for the supplement. We’re guessing it’s to maximize revenue from the advertisers of the back cover of the magazine as well as the supplement.
It’s a case of short term gains entirely obliterating the larger issue of needless damage to the environment . The magazine industry is by no means the lone ranger in this regard. A whole host of companies and industries keep them ‘company’.
As readers and citizens of the earth – we should exercise the responsibility to write to magazines to eschew plastic . It’ll take a few minutes to send an email . Repeated messages from readers will eventually necessitate magazines to find alternative , earth friendly ways to transport the copies to retail.
Here’s a draft that you can adapt to write to your fav magazines that currently use plastic covers :
To Team ABC Magazine
I would feel a lot better about buying your magazine if you eliminate the plastic cover . As you possibly know the plastic is going to hang around on the planet long after you and me have moved on. It does not bother me if the copy in retail looks less than pristine. It bothers me immensely that it comes enclosed in a material that chokes our planet and poses risk to all species.
Let’s save the only place we call home – Planet Earth. I believe that while no one can do everything . Everyone can do something.
Regards ,
Eco-warrior (your name here )
p.s – I hope your magazine supports tree plantation in a systemic way to compensate for the paper used to print the issues.
Pl share the draft with your friends via email , Facebook , twitter . Take a few mins to email the message to your fav magazines that use plastic bags to pack every copy. Do so every month till you see plastic free copies in retail.
* The magazines in the pic are representative of the category . The problem is by no means limited to these specific magazines.
Birds need you this summer
Thursday, April 29th, 2010
Summer is here . Birds and animals are as impacted by the heat as us . It is found that birds and animals can die due to the heat and lack of water .
Let’s do our bit to make water available to birds and animals facing the consequence of the actions of our species . Keep a bowl of water in your balcony / terrace / compound .
Recyclable does not equal recycled
Sunday, April 25th, 2010In theory everything is recyclable. I could recycle a building, an airplane, a DVD, a camera…or even my tooth brush. For something recyclable to actually be recycled someone needs to take that something and want to turn it into something new. That is exactly where the problem lies with the recycling concept…Interesting article by Kathleen Boylan.
It’s a good idea to reuse and reuse as much as possible . Invest in quality products . And when you feel you no longer want to use a product even though it’s in perfectly good condition try one of the following (listed in no particular order)
1. Do a bit of recycling on your own. Make something else from the original object . Turn saris into tablecloth , gift wrapping paper.
2. Find an alternative/creative use for the object e.g turn old mouse pads into table mats or coasters.
3. Pl pass it on to someone who can use it.
Let’s remember that unless the object is bio-degradable – when we throw stuff away there’s no ‘away’. It remains here on planet earth.
Laundry gym
Wednesday, April 21st, 2010
A mechanical foot pedal powered washing machine that requires no electricity by Remya Jose . The kind of innovation we need to create a sustainable world.
When free of the constraints of convention the solutions that emerge are truly amazing.
Time to rethink and Rework a lot else..
