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Category Archives: Environmental Pollution
Plastic Free July…the last day…a recap!
Plastic Free July…Be the Change…
Who joined me for Plastic Free July…? (Sign up for the challenge here) It’s never too late even though we are on the last day of July…every little helps and there are some great ideas on the website..small changes combined DO make a difference.
Have you been the change in July?
Personally, Plastic Free July has been a stepping stone for me and will not stop on the 31st of July…If you have been looking at the figures and watched the video on the biggest garbage dumps around the world I hope that has encouraged you to think about your waste and how you can reduce it… I know many of you are already aware but we can all do more…
“You cannot get through a single day without having an impact on the world around you. What you do makes a difference and you have to decide what kind of a difference you want to make.”
—Jane Goodall
Let’s have a look at what good ideas I have seen throughout July…
I have now received my first pack of bamboo toilet paper…I have NO plastic waste packaging to dispose of and the only downside is it isn’t wound on a roll so we can’t attach it but the paper itself is very light beige not unpleasant in colour.. feels strong and soft not really any noticeable difference in texture apart from the middle bit is missing …I await the comments from the boys…
Bamboo is far more sustainable than trees and grows at a rate of knots…lol..it wasn’t overly expensive as some alternative products are but this is Thailand and it grows here…I can’t speak for anywhere else…The name of my product was Panda very apt…
Plastic Free July in Action has seen many great changes people have implemented
I have concentrated…Cleaning Products…
Cleaning products…so many plastic bottles on each shop to me to start there was a no brainer…
White Vinegar with water is brilliant for cleaning glass…If you watch this video you will get easy recipes and tips for drastically reducing your cleaning and it has a double whammy because what you are replacing it with doesn’t harm the environment when it enters the water systems…
I now have on order Castille soap to make my cleaners and hair soap which I will test and roll out to the family it is called Reef Safe and does not harm the environment and is not tested on animals…
I remember my grandmother using castile soap and her house was spotless…admittedly maybe she used a bit more elbow grease as my mum and nan used to tell us but it was the worse day when these time-saving cleaning products appeared…Just saying…
And then we had “Surf”
That was the start of all the worlds problems…
Overall just concentrating on those few products has reduced my plastic footprint…
My next step as July has just made me more conscious and determined to reduce our plastic footprint… is to address all the non-recyclable wrappers…I don’t think that will be quite so easy maybe I will have to make homemade sweeties for the little and the big kids or cook more popcorn as a snack…
I now have all my produce bags and once I go out shopping again I will be using them…sigh this covid is not getting any better here…They are easy to make and washable…
I changed my soap washing power at the beginning of Plastic Free July and the consensus is good which means another plastic wrapper bites the dust and there is no difference in the cleaning…
Elsewhere…
The action of the Month...worth a read as there are some interesting ideas.
Ye Olde Greengocer...Some delicious foods here…
Personally, I think this plastic bottle debate about leaching and harmful chemicals has gone on long enough…it’s our health and our families health for god’s sake I wrote about all this a couple years ago and I am going to revisit those posts and just see if any of the companies I mentioned have actually taken their promises forward …at a guess, I would bet my money on it…
This article just confirms it for me...Many of the world’s plastic containers and bottles are contaminated with toxic PFAS, and new data suggests that it’s probably leaching into food, drinks, personal care products, pharmaceuticals, cleaning products and other items at potentially high levels.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jul/09/toxic-forever-chemicals-plastic-food-containers?
Time for us to talk in the only language manufacturers understand…we have the power over what goes in our shopping trolleys…
How did you do for Plastic Free July..are you going forward? What changes did you make?
Thank you for popping in see you tomorrow for my weekly roundup…it is also the first day of August…where does the time go..it scary, isn’t it?
Saturday Snippets…The world of Plastic…
Welcome to Saturday Snippets where I indulge my whimsy and my passions… maybe a tune or two…something which has caught my eye this last week…just anything out of the ordinary or extraordinary…
For the last few weeks, I have taken inspiration from something I have read or watched… this week and also because it just happens to be “Plastic Free July” are you going to be the Change?
My chosen word is “Plastic” inspired by Jemina Pett...I was impressed at how Jemima conducted her plastic project and am going to do the same myself…Please head over and read the start and conclusion it is in 2 posts (Part 2) I defy you not to be impressed I hope it inspires changes in you and how you deal with plastic in your home…
I think, on a personal level, everybody, when you go through the checkout line after you get your groceries and they say, ‘Paper or plastic?’ We should be saying, ‘Neither one.’ We should have our own cloth bags.
– Woody Harrelson.
BUT…Plastic comes in many forms and NOT all bad in fact some are life-saving and life-changing…we just need to sort out the wheat from the chaff as the saying goes.
Some plastics nurture and are essential for everyday life and survival…Take plastic reconstructive surgery, Plastic instruments in your dental work, we cannot and don’t need to eliminate all plastic from our lives as one day it might save our lives HOWEVER we do need to eliminate unnecessary plastic that we DON’T NEED…it is not essential to our lives and Mother Earth’s life it clogs our waterways, spoils our beautiful beaches, it leaches chemicals into our bodies and foods…We need to think smart…
Time for a tune methinks…
Quote: We don’t need a handful of people doing zero waste perfectly. We need millions of people doing it imperfectly. – Anne Marie Bonneau aka The Zero-Waste Chef
I am currently reading this book it is brilliant..practical and down to earth…things we can do easily in our own homes and when we shop…
Pop culture’s silliest superhero, Plastic Man is as much a humour icon as a heroic one. During a heist gone wrong, petty crook Patrick “Eel” O’Brian was doused in chemicals, allowing him to stretch his body into any shape he desires. Nursed back to health by altruistic monks, he was inspired to embrace life’s brighter side.
Plastic Eating Bacteria…
Makes me squirm somewhat at the thought…it does seem though that some experts are on my wavelength…be careful what you for springs to mind…
Experts caution that large-scale commercial use of plastic-eating microorganisms is still years away, while their potential release in the environment, even if practical, could create more issues than it solves…amen to that I say…
I have watched many videos on how to craft many things from plastic bottles and I applaud them all for their creativity HOWEVER at some point that plastic has to be thrown away as it has outlived its life…
To my mind, we just must be more aware…I have been replacing some of my cookware over the last few months normally packaged beautifully in cardboard the one I received yesterday however was beautifully packed in cardboard which would have been quite adequate for the postal system it was however then put in a larger box and the gaps were filled with these swimming type armband size pouches filled with air…
Judging by the type of plastic… totally unrecyclable and my question was WHY?…
It also begs the question that it is a proven fact that online shopping has increased and I appreciate that goods require adequate packaging but this needs to be addressed as there are no surprises when I say I know where all this plastic is going to end up …it doesn’t bode well in my book…
Last tune of the day…
That’s all for Saturday Snippets thank you for joining me…I hope you have a great weekend…See you tomorrow for my weekly roundup…xx
The Environmental A-Z…the letter E…
Welcome to my new series…still an A-Z but with a difference …it’s not food-related!
In the meantime, the idea for this series came about because yes as my regular followers and commenters know I am passionate about the health of the world I am living in… however often when I am researching and reading articles I come across terms and have to look them up which spawned the idea for this…two-fold… it increases my knowledge and I hope yours…
The A-Z of the environment and Climate Change… letter E.
The best way to predict your future is to create it...Abraham Lincoln.
Ecosystem:
A community of organisms that depend on each other and the environment they inhabit…However, there is far more to the ecosystem than I first realised…It is divided into 4 categories…those being artificial, terrestrial, lentic and lotic which are all part of the biomes which are climatic systems of organisms and life.
Inside of the biomes systems, there are living and non-living environmental factors known as biotic(organisms, animals and plants) and abiotic (water, light and gasses)
Now let’s look at the 4 categories:
Artificial…as in man-made sometimes they are introduced as a way of replenishing the environment they are also a vital learning tool…Erected in the form of biodomes they are closed, artificial ecosystems created for the study of biology and an excellent learning aid for environmentalists…The Eden Project is a great example of this…
There are also plans to build a Marine Environment-Eden Project North.
Terrestrial…are land systems forests, deserts, grassland, tundras and coastal regions. It is the biomes climate that determines whether or not more than one terrestrial system is present.
An example is tundras where fewer plants grow due to the lower temperatures however this also applies to deserts where the high temperatures inhibit plant growth.
Forests and grasslands are different and may have exceedingly more growth …the biome has the right amount of sunlight plus moisture which enables more species to grow and thrive.
Lentic…a class of aquatic ecosystems found on land, ponds, rivers, streams, lakes and swamps…most are still bodies of water which may contain both animals and micro-organisms this is where sunlight plays its part as photosynthesis comes into the equation. ..it is necessary for the survival and growth of algae and underwater plants.
Lotic…are moving bodies of water that flow into others and eventually into the sea…unlike lentic they do not rely on photosynthesis.
Ecotourism:
Small-scale tourism in fragile and protected areas that aims to have a low impact on the environment, benefit local communities and enable tourists to learn more about the natural and cultural history of the place.
I think a great example of this was when we visited Australia as some of the places we visited were only open at certain times of the year to allow the animals to breed in peace…I thought it was a great idea also NO food or drink can be purchased on the island… A picnic area is provided but has NO bins. Visitors are expected to take their rubbish away with them. Brilliant idea I think…
Another beautiful island is where no cars are allowed bikes only…as the welfare of the animals is paramount…Rottnest Island home of the Quokkas…
The friendliest and most trusting animal on earth…which is why they need protecting from the human race…sad isn’t it?
Effluent:
Liquid wastes such as sewage and liquid waste from industries and our homes…Liquid waste can be defined as liquids such as wastewater, fats, oils or grease (FOG), used oil, liquids, solids, gases, or sludges and hazardous household liquids.
These liquids are hazardous or potentially harmful to human health or the environment. They can also be discarded commercial products classified as “Liquid Industrial Waste” such as cleaning fluids or pesticides, or the by-products of manufacturing processes. There are general regulatory requirements relating to waste, additional regulations apply to generating, storing, transporting, treating and disposing of hazardous and liquid wastes.
Emissions Trading Allowance…
Permission to emit to the atmosphere, one tonne of carbon dioxide equivalent, during a specific trading period. The allowance is only valid for the purpose of the Directive and can only be transferred in accordance with the Directive.
Although I understand some of the changes HAPPENING AROUND THE WORLD and to an extent know what we can do to slow it down, however, I also know that the earth has gone through changes over the centuries so how much can we manipulate and stop what is happening and how much is just a fact of life ???
That’s all for today…I hope I have explained it in layman terms and made some things clearer as I believe we should all have a clearer picture in our minds as to what we can change and how…And also what affects our health and how…
See you in two weeks for the letter F…next Wednesday it will be Part 4 of the new A-Z on food and terms with the middle letter being E as in polEnta.
Thank you for reading it is a pleasure to see you here I hope you come again… Love Carol x+
The Environmental A-Z…the letter D
Welcome to my new series…still an A-Z but with a difference …it’s not food-related!
In the meantime, the idea for this series came about because yes as my regular followers and commenters know I am passionate about the health of the world I am living in… however often when I am researching and reading articles I come across terms and have to look them up which spawned the idea for this…two-fold… it increases my knowledge and I hope yours…
The A-Z of the environment and Climate Change… letter D.
The best way to predict your future is to create it...Abraham Lincoln.
Deforestation:
The meaning:
Deforestation is the clearing of trees, transforming a wooded area into cleared land. … You can see the word forest in deforestation. The prefix de- means “remove” and the suffixation signals the act or state of. So deforestation is the act of removing a forest.
Deforestation refers to the decrease in forest areas across the world that are lost for other uses such as agricultural croplands, urbanization, or mining activities. Greatly accelerated by human activities since 1960, deforestation has been negatively affecting natural ecosystems, biodiversity, and the climate.
An Update:
There are areas like South East Asia where there is a downward trend BUT elsewhere and I do think the pandemic has been the cause for much to slip under the radar…The latest figures from Global Forest Watch are quite frankly alarming…
Primary forest loss was 12% higher in 2020 than the year before, and it was the second year in a row that primary forest loss worsened in the tropics.
I am getting to the stage now when I see that someone is promising to plant a tree for every bracelet or drink we buy… I fear it is just publicity and hiding the bigger picture and that is what we should be focusing on…an example is mining in Venezuela…
The destruction can be seen from space. Satellite imagery of Las Claritas, a mining town in Bolívar state, shows tan scars sprawling out into the otherwise dense forest. Since 2016, Bolivar has lost 74,600 hectares of primary forest. Amazonas has lost 76,850 hectares, which is almost 1.5 times the amount of loss from the prior 15 years combined.
Dioxins:
Dioxins are a group of highly toxic chemical compounds that are harmful to health. They can cause problems with reproduction, development, and the immune system. They can also disrupt hormones and lead to cancer. Known as persistent environmental pollutants (POPs), dioxins can remain in the environment for many years.
The major identified sources of environmental releases of dioxin-like compounds are grouped into six broad categories: combustion sources, metals smelting, refining and process sources, chemical manufacturing sources, natural sources, and environmental reservoirs.
Dioxins are found throughout the world in the environment. The highest levels of these compounds are found in some soils, sediments and food, especially dairy products, meat, fish and shellfish. Very low levels are found in plants, water and air.
This is why we should be avoiding mass-produced processed foods and know where our meat, fish and shellfish come from and also know that it is not susceptible to secondary contamination…which is what happens when strict processing guidelines are not in place or practised…
I agree we should not have to police every aspect of our food sources but unfortunately, it has reached the point where we have to…Many known illnesses and conditions are a direct result of Dioxins…it is down to us to safeguard our families and our own health…
This is why I am a firm believer that we should not be fixated on calories we should instead fixate on chemicals in our foods…Cheap foods are off the menu or should be… there are ways and means of eating healthily without breaking our budgets…
Dumping:
Is a worldwide problem…if it is environmental dumping then we need to know our individual towns policies or nations policies…for town policies, we can address our local candidates and the same for National policies…we need to vote wisely…
On a personal level…cigarette butts, sweet/cigarette packaging, cotton buds…I can stand outside my local shop and in the space of a few minutes watch as someone walks out opening a packet and casually dropping it…they are waiting for someone and having a cigarette and then flicking it when finished…multiple that around the world we are just as liable of dumping…
Environmental dumping is the practice of transfrontier shipment of waste (household waste, industrial/nuclear waste, etc.) from one country to another. … The economic benefit of this practice is cheap disposal or recycling of waste without the economic regulations of the original country.
Although I understand some of the changes and what we can do to slow it down however I also know that the earth has gone through changes over the centuries so how much can we manipulate and stop what is happening and how much is just a fact of life ???
That’s all for today…I hope I have explained it in layman terms and made some things clearer as I believe we should all have a clearer picture in our minds as to what we can change and how…
See you in two weeks for the letter E…next Wednesday it will be Part 3 of the new A-Z on food and terms with the middle letter being D as in hotDogs.
Thank you for reading and please leave a comment if you feel a need… I love to chat it makes my day…Love Carol x
CarolCooks2 weekly roundup…14th March-20th March 2021…#Recipes, Whimsy, Music and Lifestyle Changes
Recipes, Whimsy, Music and Lifestyle Changes…
Welcome to this week’s edition of my weekly roundup of posts…Especially for you just in case you missed a few posts during this last week…we are now well into March…yesterday was the first day of spring if you are in the Northern Hemisphere… lambs, snowdrops, daffodils all signs that spring is here please keep those images coming and the snow I have seen some pictures so those who are experiencing minus temps snuggle up and stay safe and warm…and for those who are experiencing high winds and lashing rain batten down the hatches and stay safe and warm…
Let’s go and see what goodies I had for you last week… snuggle up in your favourite corner with your favourite drink tea/coffee or hot chocolate although depending on where in the world you live it could be a glass of wine…Cheers!
Meatless Monday’s…#Brocolli Stems…
The best part I love them lightly steamed and as long as you trim of the woody outer then you will find the soft tender part of the stem inside…
Why Meatless Mondays?…a meatless any day you choose is fine it just makes more and more sense to cut down the meat we consume…
I have since discovered that you can also make Brocolli Rice has anyone tried that???
https://carolcooks2.com/2021/03/15/meatless-mondays-broccoli-stems-soup-anyone/
National Artichoke Day…
Among all the absolutely trivial days and there are some of them…a day like National Artichoke Day pops up and it serves as a reminder that Artichokes are indeed a lovely vegetable, low in fat, high in fibre with a nutty taste…beautiful to eat…it seems that many of you are in agreeance with that…Thank you for the hints and tips xx
https://carolcooks2.com/2021/03/16/national-artichoke-day/
Smorgasbord Food Column – Carol Taylor’s Green Kitchen – #Crumpets, #Baking Soda, #Minced Garlic and Egg Boxes uses. — Smorgasbord Blog Magazine…
Today I can be found over @Smorgasbord Blog Magazine in my Green Kitchen…Please come and join me…x
Time for my new series…
The Environmental A-Z… letter B.
Welcome to my new series…still an A-Z but with a difference …it’s not food-related!
In the meantime, the idea for this series came about because yes as my regular followers and commenters know I am passionate about the health of the world I am living in… however often when I am researching and reading articles I come across terms and have to look them up which spawned the idea for this…two-fold… it increases my knowledge and I hope yours…
https://carolcooks2.com/2021/03/17/the-environmental-a-z-the-letter-b/
Time to pop over to Sally’s for “Turn Back the Clock” this week it’s our brain …I want mine to stay the same and not degenerate into mush so I’m up for anything which helps as I am sure you are too…See you there x
Now it’s time for week 5 in my kitchen where I am going to share with you my tried and weekly tested Indian Spice Mixes…
spices for Indian Curry
I do not profess to be an expert in Indian cookery but I try to use authentic ingredients and as I live only 2 hrs and something flight time away I can source authentic ingredients…I make my own bread not all of it I plan to try making paratha soon …I make my own chutneys and we love them…The spices I make as I buy quite large packs of spice and I get a faster turnover plus no fillers and chemicals which makes me happy…
Fruity Friday’s…Thai Purple Melon…
I have now received my melon plant and it has been potted and we shall see how quickly it grows…it is smaller than I had hoped but it will grow …My very pretty looking Rainbow treasure chilli seeds are in the post and today I ordered 2 mini banana trees they only grow to about one and a half metres high which is good…
https://carolcooks2.com/2021/03/19/fruity-fridays-thai-purple-melon-peppin-pepinotree/
Saturday Snippets…
The heavens have just opened…a humdinger of a tropical storm…The thunder is loud no lightening yet…at least it will cool it down as its another hot one today…Blimey, that one made me jump…
https://carolcooks2.com/2021/03/20/saturday-snippets-20th-march-2021/
Well, that’s it for today…Thank you so much for dropping by…I hope you have enjoyed the read…if you have please head over and leave a comment it makes my day to hear from you …Love Carol xx
Retired? No one told me! 