Category Archives: Green Waste

Plastic Part 6…PET and Climate Change…

11 Replies

There has been so much in the news about Climate change that I thought I would break it down and explain how it comes about…

green foot prints eco system

Climate change is bought about by Global Warming which is characterized by a general increase in average temperatures of the Earth, which modifies the weather balances and ecosystems for a long time. It is directly linked to the increase of greenhouse gases in our atmosphere, worsening the greenhouse effect.

Although the greenhouse effect is a natural phenomenon the increase in greenhouse gases is linked to human activities.

The massive use of fossil fuels is obviously the first source of global warming, as burning coal, oil and gas produce carbon dioxide – the most important greenhouse gas in the atmosphere – as well as nitrous oxide.

I have previously mentioned how everything I talk about in my blogs is interlinked one has an effect on another…and so it goes…

Fossil fuels are used to produce PET…( Polyethylene Terephthalate)

recycling-294385_1280

This is the most commonly used plastic for consumer products which include:- Water bottles, soda bottles and some food packaging.

It is intended for single use only….One time usage…as reusing increases the risk of leaching and bacterial growth. It may leach carcinogens and should NOT be reused.

Still confused about the numbers on plastic bottles then click here for a guide

So to the solution...The first way to prevent climate change is to move away from fossil fuels. What are the alternatives? Renewable energies like solar, wind, biomass and geothermal.

energy-159105_640

 

The German government realise what a problem this is and plan to close all 84 of their coal powered power plants.

https://www.latimes.com/…/la-fg-germany-coal-power…

Roughly 27 % of Germany’s electricity is from renewables; the goal is at least 80 % by 2050. Following the March 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster, Germany has permanently shut down eight of its 17 reactors and pledged to close the rest by the end of 2022. It sounds to me like Germany are serious about using renewable fuel.

Italy voted overwhelmingly to keep their country non-nuclear. Switzerland and Spain have banned the construction of new reactors.

However, statistics show China and the USA are the largest users of fossil fuels which makes for scary reading…https://cdiac.ess-dive.lbl.gov/trends/emis/prc.html

Which brings me to the conclusion that all these demonstrators do have a point…Governments need to be made to take notice particularly the ones at the top of the list as they are certainly making a huge contribution to Global Warming.

It is heartening to read about towns which are making their own efforts to combat Global Warming like the Finnish town of  Li in Northern Finland

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=980637838806635 

Globally is it going to be enough? I do hope so…

China who are top of the list for burning fossil fuel and it seems their answer is to deploy the army to plant trees…All well and good but is it addressing the true problem?

Thank you for reading and I do invite your comments what do you think about the most polluted country planting trees????

About Carol Taylor

Enjoying life in The Land Of Smiles I am having so much fun researching, finding new, authentic recipes both Thai and International to share with you. New recipes gleaned from those who I have met on my travels or are just passing through and stopped for a while. I hope you enjoy them.

I love shopping at the local markets, finding fresh, natural ingredients, new strange fruits and vegetable ones I have never seen or cooked with. I am generally the only European person and attract much attention and I love to try what I am offered and when I smile and say Aroy or Saab as it is here in the north I am met with much smiling.

Some of my recipes may not be in line with traditional ingredients and methods of cooking but are recipes I know and have become to love and maybe if you dare to try you will too. You will always get more than just a recipe from me as I love to research and find out what other properties the ingredients I use contain to improve our health and wellbeing.

The environment is also something I am passionate about and there will be more on this on my blog this year

Exciting for me hence the title of my blog, Retired No One Told Me! I am having a wonderful ride and don’t want to get off, so if you wish to follow me on my adventures, then I bid you welcome! I hope you enjoy the ride also and if it encourages you to take a step into the unknown or untried, you know you want to…….Then, I will be happy!

Carol is a contributor to the Phuket Island Writers Anthology: https://www.amazon.com/Phuket-Island-Writers-Anthology-Stories-ebook/dp/B00RU5IYNS

Connect to Carol

Blog: https://carolcooks2.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheRealCarolT
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/carol.taylor.1422
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/caroltaylor56/pins/ 

MeWe is a new social media and one which many of us are turning to mainly migrating over to as FB has banned many of my friends and for what seems no good reason that we can see I hope you will join us there.

MeWe: mewe.com/i/caroltaylor3

Thank you once again for reading this post I hope you all have a great week  xx

 

Waste Not! Want Not! Week 18…Washed up on the beach…Dead!

23 Replies

Before I kick off…I would like to truly thank everyone who sends me good news stories and who share/reblog these posts to spread the word that plastic IS A BIG PROBLEM WORLDWIDE very, very much…

This rant started building inside me when I read a FB post about whales found dead with shit loads of plastic in their stomachs…

Over the past two weeks, two whales have washed up on shores—one in the Philippines, and one in Italy—with stomachs stuffed with disposable plastic trash. On March 16, a young Cuvier’s beaked whale died and was found in Mabini after having consumed about 88 pounds of plastics. Last week, a pregnant sperm whale washed up dead in Sardinia with a little less than 50 pounds of plastic in her stomach. The beaked whale was found in a state of advanced dehydration and starvation, while the sperm whale’s death has not been fully diagnosed.

Of course, I opened it and started to click the links…Way back in 2014...Yep…California’s Governor Jerry Brown signed Senate Bill 270…

Now comes the kicker…the ban was put on hold until a referendum is voted on in 2016.

Officials said that based on a random sample of 800,000 names submitted by the American Progressive Bag Alliance at the end of last year, opponents to the ban had mustered 555,000 names — more than the 505,000 needed to force a vote.

“It’s not surprising that after spending more than $3.2 million, 98 per cent of which is from out-of-state, the plastic bag industry has bought its way onto the California ballot to protect its profits,” said Mark Murray of Californians vs. Big Plastic, an advocacy group that supported the plastic bag ban and includes the Sierra Club, Heal the Bay and the Surfrider Foundation. Full story here

On November 8, 2016, California voters approved Proposition 67, the statewide Single-Use Carryout Bag Ban.

California proposes phaseout of single-use plastics by 2030…Wow, that’s some jump!
16 years from the initial Senate bill 270
What do you guys think when someone utters a statement like this???

However, some contend the state should stay out of the business of restricting plastics, whether straws or packaging. They also claim a small percentage of plastics in the ocean are coming from the United States.

“It won’t change anything, and nobody will see a difference,” said Kerry Jackson, a fellow at the Center for California Reform at the Pacific Research Institute, a conservative think tank based in San Francisco. “This is a freedom issue as well. [Companies] should be able to decide what they’re going to give to customers, and customers should be able to decide what they want to get.”

Freedom issue?…. Companies should be able to decide.?.. What planet apart from planet greed and money are these people on…It certainly isn’t the Blue Planet!

Blue Planet

Why can’t everyone be like the French? Banned from NOW…No arguments, no votes Just BANNED!
All the time that statement and amendments are allowed we will see horrific pictures like the ones Debby posted on whales and other marine life being choked and dehydrated until they abort their young or just die will continue…
Ostrich syndrome no longer works!
I make no apologies for my rant…If you do disagree feel free to comment here…You will get short shrift
♦♦♦♦♦

 

Now for the fluffy bits…The good News Stories…

Readers Corner…

Noelle said…

PLASTICS are polluting our oceans. Two young Americans have founded something called 4Oceans – I’ve done some research and it seems to be on the up and up. For every twenty-dollar bracelet, you buy, made from recycled plastics in Bali, they promise to remove one pound of plastic from the oceans. They are located around the world and it seems like a good place to donate. The bracelets aren’t much, but then most of the money goes to the cleanup and the local Bali economy. Check it out.

Victoria Ziglar sent me the info on Patch Plasters…

Patch’s hypoallergenic adhesive strips, perfect for kids and adults alike, are free of plastic, parabens, latex and silicon. Bamboo is a rapidly renewable resource that grows many times faster than trees, uses much less water, produces up to 35 more oxygen and doesn’t need pesticides or herbicides!

Ideal for me in two ways so thank you, Tori, as I have a plaster allergy…

Also from Tori…Who is a little star…thank you xxx

The UK’s biggest coordinated beach clean-up, organised by Surfers Against Sewage, will see volunteers across the UK removing plastic from natural spaces including mountains, as well as contributing to the UK’s biggest ever Plastic Pollution Audit to help further track and tackle plastic pollution to stop it at the source.

Thank you, ladies …You Rock! 

Finally, if you are still buying takeaway drinks then maybe …No, yes it is time to step up and take your own reusable cup  

Thank you for still being here if you have survived my rant…xxx

Until next time ….with updated news on the plastic front…

Thank you for reading this post which I believe will point the way to a few changes we can make to really make a difference as I know I am not doing enough and should be doing more and that seems to be backed up by much in this post what do you think?… Are you doing enough to Save the Planet ???

About Carol Taylor:

Enjoying life in The Land Of Smiles I am having so much fun researching, finding new, authentic recipes both Thai and International to share with you. New recipes gleaned from those who I have met on my travels or are just passing through and stopped for a while. I hope you enjoy them.

I love shopping at the local markets, finding fresh, natural ingredients, new strange fruits and vegetable ones I have never seen or cooked with. I am generally the only European person and attract much attention and I love to try what I am offered and when I smile and say Aroy or Saab as it is here in the north I am met with much smiling.

Some of my recipes may not be in line with traditional ingredients and methods of cooking but are recipes I know and have become to love and maybe if you dare to try you will too. You will always get more than just a recipe from me as I love to research and find out what other properties the ingredients I use contain to improve our health and wellbeing.

The environment is also something I am passionate about and there will be more on this on my blog this year

Exciting for me hence the title of my blog, Retired No One Told Me! I am having a wonderful ride and don’t want to get off, so if you wish to follow me on my adventures, then welcome! I hope you enjoy the ride also and if it encourages you to take a step into the unknown or untried, you know you want to…….Then, I will be happy!

More and more of my blogging friends have joined me on MeWe…A social media site which is fairly new and which promises much without the restrictions some other social media sites are choosing to impose on many of us…Join me if you will on  mewe.com/i/caroltaylor3 

 

Carol is a contributor to the Phuket Island Writers Anthology: https://www.amazon.com/Phuket-Island-Writers-Anthology-Stories-ebook/dp/B00RU5IYNS

Connect to Carol

Blog: https://carolcooks2.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheRealCarolT
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/carol.taylor.1422

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/caroltaylor56/pins/

Thank you once again for reading this post I hope you all have a great week xx

green foot prints eco system

 

Waste Not! Want Not! Week 16…Rice Husk…Wild Life Crossings…

13 Replies

I am really heartened by the initiatives which I am discovering that are happening from all around the world…Your comments are also a revelation when I hear from you guys what is going on in your neck of the woods all good stuff…How you are reducing the carbon footprints and coming up with ideas to cut waste and protect the environment.

green foot prints eco system

But we mustn’t get complacent there are some great things being actioned around the world but also some unsavoury practises still happening…

My Intrepid reporter ( Tori)has been hard at work finding new initiatives to send me… this one is called ecoware …Thank you, Tori…… Please pop over and say hello to Tori she is recovering from surgery and I am sure she would love to hear from you…Get well soon, Tori xx

Rice field- harvest time- small child-grandmother

Lily helping nanny in the rice field

Ecoware is a UK initiative using rice husks…Ecolunchware was created by Matt Vincent and Emma Swain in 2017. We set Ecolunchware up after realising how easily we have been part of the problem with damaging our environment in the products we use in our daily living. We had been making an effort by using reusable coffee cups but realised that although this was much better than single-use the materials were generally non-biodegradable and therefore would eventually end up in a landfill site or in the ocean as the recycling was difficult at the end of its life-cycle. We came across rice husk and wheat straw as materials and have loved that they are not only durable but biodegrade so have since sought to get these materials more widely used.

Here in Thailand… Rice husk is traditionally used as an energy source through direct combustion in the large rice mills, or as fuel in the production of charcoal from wood  Nowadays, rice husk can be used as fuel to generate electricity that is a 1 MW of electricity using 9,800 ton of rice husks.

It is lovely to discover the many uses that a by-product or what used to be classed as a waste product put to good use…

I came across this and I think it is a wonderful idea…Wild Life Crossings… they are popping up all over the world…

Another great idea is kids helping to build bridges…Which I think is great as we need to encourage kids to help save the ecosystem and wildlife and who better to take ideas forward?

https://www.kidssavingtherainforest.org/wildlife-bridge-program.html

Today let’s relook at waste in our own homes…How can we reduce waste?

  1. Do you know your local rules on recycling? Some areas are great and others not so great but if we know our local rules and have suggestions to improve local recycling I am sure they will be all ears as it is such a hot topic now…Visit your local council or municipalities website it will all be there…It may surprise you in a good way…
  2. Say no to plastic bags and use reusable ones even here when I take my own bags I get extra brownie points at the till and the home of plastic…haha…I no longer get that look when I refuse a plastic bag Thailand is really getting on board with plastic reduction and some places have changed their bags to recyclable plastic bags
  3. Look at how you store your food save empty glass jars and use for storage and ditch the plastic containers…Serve your food in jars…so fashionable now…But ideal to take to work…yoghurt and oats glass-617387_640
  4. Plan your meals …It works even I got told off last week by my Thai daughter in law for buying too much when I go to market…It gave me wake up call as I do see so much lovely fresh veg I go overboard sometimes…
  5. Composting...your plants and vegetable will love you particularly if you grow some in pots they need nutrients more…fresh compost green waste
  6. Repair or remodel instead of throwing away clothes…That is one thing which Thais are good at and they also have stalls on markets for your unwanted clothes and they get packed it is like a coffee morning or a morning out very social…With clothes being passed around …Seriously though clothes, if sent to landfill, do not compost very quickly …This list is scary…
  7. Mail…Do you get a lot of unwanted mail? Check subscription lists and unsubscribe…Save trees… More importantly, if your letterbox can take that much mail could someone get an arm through and access your home? letterbox filled with mail

Image by bluebudgie from Pixabay

8. Stop buying plastic water bottles buy glass or buy ones using reusable/recyclable plastic and treat yourself to your own reusable coffee cup …Coffee shops here are used to people taking their own …it is trendy and you get some great ones… to help you negotiate the maze of what is what and understand the symbols this older post of mine will help…  https://carolcooks2.com/2018/02/15/plastic-are-you-confused/

9. What is your favourite recycling tip for the home????

Thank you once again for reading and please share your recycling tips or discoveries with us we would love to hear them…xxx

About Carol Taylor:

Enjoying life in The Land Of Smiles I am having so much fun researching, finding new, authentic recipes both Thai and International to share with you. New recipes gleaned from those who I have met on my travels or are just passing through and stopped for a while. I hope you enjoy them.

I love shopping at the local markets, finding fresh, natural ingredients, new strange fruits and vegetable ones I have never seen or cooked with. I am generally the only European person and attract much attention and I love to try what I am offered and when I smile and say Aroy or Saab as it is here in the north I am met with much smiling.

Some of my recipes may not be in line with traditional ingredients and methods of cooking but are recipes I know and have become to love and maybe if you dare to try you will too. You will always get more than just a recipe from me as I love to research and find out what other properties the ingredients I use contain to improve our health and wellbeing.

The environment is also something I am passionate about and there will be more on this on my blog this year

Exciting for me hence the title of my blog, Retired No One Told Me! I am having a wonderful ride and don’t want to get off, so if you wish to follow me on my adventures, then I bid you welcome! I hope you enjoy the ride also and if it encourages you to take a step into the unknown or untried, you know you want to…….Then, I will be happy!

Carol is a contributor to the Phuket Island Writers Anthology: https://www.amazon.com/Phuket-Island-Writers-Anthology-Stories-ebook/dp/B00RU5IYNS

Connect to Carol

Blog: https://carolcooks2.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheRealCarolT
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/carol.taylor.1422

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/caroltaylor56/pins/

MeWe is a new social media and one which many of us are turning to mainly migrating over to as FB has banned many of my friends and for what seems no good reason that we can see I hope you will join us there.

MeWe: mewe.com/i/caroltaylor3

Thank you once again for reading this post I hope you all having a great weekend xx

Carol Cooks2 …Weekly roundup…Phoenix, Smart Watches and The Nectar of the Gods…

17 Replies

Welcome to my weekly roundup if you have missed any posts  …Take a pew, grab a drink, settle down and enjoy!

I have baked my first sourdough loaf…

great reads a weekly roundup lady with electronic reader

After all the trial and tribulations…I have baked my very first loaf…Phoenix arose and did the job he is now quiet in the fridge but bubbling slowly so I am guessing he is a strong, feisty boy…I wonder who he takes after??? Haha, it has been said…..

More about this later… 

Smart watches were the subject for the first post of the week and I am loving my recent purchase… Not very much impresses me especially gadgets I am probably the most anti-gadget person I know…

But I also know I need to look after the one body I have…Not be fanatic and exercise madly, (walking), become vegan(said)quietly or follow faddy diets. I have all those t/shirts…

legs people walking

Just to eat sensibly a healthy balanced diet with lots of veggies and fibre and have the odd piece of sourdough bread which will be thoroughly enjoyed with butter and not an ounce of guilt or remorse…and just walk…So there you have it!

https://carolcooks2.com/2019/03/12/healthy-eating-smartwatch/

Honey certainly deserves the name of nectar of the gods ...For thousands of years it has been used both as a nutritious addition to diet and as an effective medicine and the oldest reference to this delicacy dates back to 5500 BC.

https://smorgasbordinvitation.wordpress.com/2019/03/13/smorgasbord-health-rewind-cook-from-scratch-with-sally-cronin-and-carol-taylor-honey-nectar-of-the-gods/

Waste Not! Want Not! Week 15 and there is so much happening from the scandalous to the good… My wish is that man who is the biggest threat to the world and the ecosystem will be neutralised that corrupt governments and officials will be outed and that the people in charge will grow or have some balls to stop bad practise and say NO to damaging practices!

Young Greta Thunberg was correct when she said government have not and will not listen… I for one hope these young people’s voices will be heard.

https://carolcooks2.com/2019/03/14/wastenot-want-not-week-15/

Thursday saw my monthly post over @Esme’s Salon and the letter was N…I hope you will pop over as these posts need some love… Thank you, John, for your continued support 🙂 x

nutmeg nettles and noodles blog header

https://esmesalon.com/the-culinary-alphabet-the-letter-n/

Lastly my very first wholemeal Sour Dough Loaf courtesy of Phoenix who arose and did his job…

I won’t say it was an easy journey but we are here and baking…And very nice it was we can only improve from here but I am so pleased I didn’t give up as the result was worth it…

https://carolcooks2.com/2019/03/15/week-11-in-my-kitchen-my-first-sourdough-loaf/

Thank you so much for bearing with me throughout the ups and downs of Phoenix and for the very helpful tips that Tabula gave me…She is a star…

Thank you for reading xxx

About Carol Taylor:

Enjoying life in The Land Of Smiles I am having so much fun researching, finding new, authentic recipes both Thai and International to share with you. New recipes gleaned from those who I have met on my travels or are just passing through and stopped for a while. I hope you enjoy them.

I love shopping at the local markets, finding fresh, natural ingredients, new strange fruits and vegetable ones I have never seen or cooked with. I am generally the only European person and attract much attention and I love to try what I am offered and when I smile and say Aroy or Saab as it is here in the north I am met with much smiling.

Some of my recipes may not be in line with traditional ingredients and methods of cooking but are recipes I know and have become to love and maybe if you dare to try you will too. You will always get more than just a recipe from me as I love to research and find out what other properties the ingredients I use contain to improve our health and wellbeing.

The environment is also something I am passionate about and there will be more on this on my blog this year

Exciting for me hence the title of my blog, Retired No One Told Me! I am having a wonderful ride and don’t want to get off, so if you wish to follow me on my adventures, then I bid you welcome! I hope you enjoy the ride also and if it encourages you to take a step into the unknown or untried, you know you want to…….Then, I will be happy!

Carol is a contributor to the Phuket Island Writers Anthology: https://www.amazon.com/Phuket-Island-Writers-Anthology-Stories-ebook/dp/B00RU5IYNS

Connect to Carol

Blog: https://carolcooks2.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheRealCarolT
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/carol.taylor.1422

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/caroltaylor56/pins/

MeWe is a new social media and one which many of us are turning to mainly migrating over to as FB has banned many of my friends and for what seems no good reason that we can see I hope you will join us there.

MeWe: mewe.com/i/caroltaylor3

Thank you once again for reading this post I hope you all having a great weekend xx

WasteNot! Want Not! Week 15

13 Replies

I am really heartened by the initiatives which I am discovering that are happening from all around the world…Your comments are also a revelation when I hear from you guys what is going on in your neck of the woods all good stuff…How you are reducing the carbon footprints and coming up with ideas to cut waste and protect the environment.

BUT…Hand on heart…

A heart map held by a hand

Are we truly doing enough?

This young lady doesn’t think so…Greta Thunberg is 15 years old with a wise head on her young shoulders and tomorrow 15th March 2019 around the world young people will skip school to have their say…If one of those young people is your child then I urge you to support them…

A young girl called Greta who shows quiet determination for what she believes in…

♦♦♦♦

Last week I touched on how an initiative in Mexico 8,409 km from the UK…  a region of the UK has created the country’s first local circular economy.

The traditional system of getting rid of waste is linear: packaging is made, used and disposed of but the local authority in Cambridgeshire along with a local plastics processor and packaging company have joined together to create a model which is circular.

Thank you, Tori, for spotting this update…

The initiative is being led by Huntingdonshire District Council working with Charpak Ltd, a Huntingdon-based plastic packaging manufacturer, and has seen discarded plastics collected, cleaned, reprocessed and reused, all within the local area.

The council says the new approach, which has been 18 months in the making, has helped to reduce the amount of plastic going to landfill.

A spokesman for the district council said: “Our residents are already great recyclers diverting more than 55 per cent of waste from landfill. We need more plastics recycled and less going to landfill, so the next step is to improve the quality of materials that are collected for recycling.

https://www.huntspost.co.uk/news/huntingdonshire-s-circular-economy-for-plastic-recycling-a-success-1-5923327

♦♦♦♦

This mismanagement of environment issues continues in Australia and another damming report on Water Wars in the Murray-Darling Basin has been issued …It seems young Greta who I mentioned in this post above is worth listening to…Because those in power are not listening once again I urge all you Australians to become a climate voter

What does this mean for the fish in this river basin?

December and January saw three devastating mass fish kills in the Darling River. Now it seems a fourth is on the cards.

A new paper released today by the Australian National University found that water savings in the Murray-Darling Basin may only be one-tenth of the expected amount.

Simply put, greedy corporations and government mismanagement meant too much water was taken from the Murray-Darling Basin and not enough water was put back to allow the river to cope in a drying climate. And now we’re seeing the devastating consequences.

Even in the drought season rivers like this are not supposed to dry out…

http://asiapacific.anu.edu.au/news-events/all-stories/water-wars-murray-darling-basin

♦♦♦♦

Monsanto… At long last seem to be fighting a losing battle…slowly but surely people power is winning…There was Costco…

And now?

ONCE AGAIN Monsanto is losing millions of dollars now that farmers in India are switching to indigenous cotton seeds rather than Bt cotton.

The agrichemicals company is known for pushing a form of Bt cotton in India for the last decade. They have been accused of manipulating laws in order to enter the Indian market.

https://www.nationofchange.org/2017/03/09/monsanto-loses-millions-dollars-indian-farmers-switch-indigenous-seed/?fbclid=IwAR3-i9fRJj1scifNSsrObv8XxZVa390dYmj9cBFGQ97LN0mVgx6gYIhZy1M

Some FURTHER good news is that these edible parks are springing up all over and I think it is a great initiative FOR URBAN DWELLERS…

 

♦♦♦♦

Good News…The Middle East has opened the First Zero Waste Shop….Reducing your environmental impact in the Middle East just got a whole lot easier. A zero-waste lifestyle shop called EcoSouk just opened in the Hamra neighbourhood of Beirut, Lebanon.

How good is that? 

https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2019/03/lebanon-organization-pioneers-eco-movement-with-the-middle-easts-first-zero-waste-shop/

Thank you so much for reading this post …Your ideas on how we can save our carbon footprints and the environment we would love to hear any new initiatives or updates please share…I love to hear from you in comments xxx

About Carol Taylor:

Enjoying life in The Land Of Smiles I am having so much fun researching, finding new, authentic recipes both Thai and International to share with you. New recipes gleaned from those who I have met on my travels or are just passing through and stopped for a while. I hope you enjoy them.

I love shopping at the local markets, finding fresh, natural ingredients, new strange fruits and vegetable ones I have never seen or cooked with. I am generally the only European person and attract much attention and I love to try what I am offered and when I smile and say Aroy or Saab as it is here in the north I am met with much smiling.

Some of my recipes may not be in line with traditional ingredients and methods of cooking but are recipes I know and have become to love and maybe if you dare to try you will too. You will always get more than just a recipe from me as I love to research and find out what other properties the ingredients I use contain to improve our health and wellbeing.

The environment is also something I am passionate about and there will be more on this on my blog this year

Exciting for me hence the title of my blog, Retired No One Told Me! I am having a wonderful ride and don’t want to get off, so if you wish to follow me on my adventures, then welcome! I hope you enjoy the ride also and if it encourages you to take a step into the unknown or untried, you know you want to…….Then, I will be happy!

Carol is a contributor to the Phuket Island Writers Anthology: https://www.amazon.com/Phuket-Island-Writers-Anthology-Stories-ebook/dp/B00RU5IYNS

Connect to Carol

Blog: https://carolcooks2.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheRealCarolT
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/carol.taylor.1422

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/caroltaylor56/pins/

Thank you once again for reading this post I hope you are all having a great week xx

Waste Not! Want Not!… Week 14…Waste to Bioplastics…

12 Replies

Good morning from sunny Thailand the Banana Bread is in the oven…so many bananas… After my rant and rave last week about sludge dumping on The Great Barrier Reef after a call to arms for all you voters in Australia.

The heartening news is that if you are Australian and have a vote then you can become a Climate Voter…So if you care about your beautiful natural wonders and want to stop pollution sign up…I just wish I was an honorary Aussie and could vote as I would… These politicians who endorse and allow these acts to go ahead need telling and voting OUT!

Be a climate Voter!

https://www.acf.org.au/

 

Now for the good news stories…I am really heartened by the initiatives which I am discovering that are happening from all around the world…Your comments are also a revelation when I hear from you guys what is going on in your neck of the woods all good stuff…How you are reducing the carbon footprints and coming up with ideas to cut waste and protect the environment.

green foot prints eco system

 

Take heart all these great local initiatives will gradually spread and we will make a difference…

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This community in Amsterdam, Holland is doing just that…

 

What a great idea and easily adoptable anywhere…

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My kids always wore Lacoste polo shirts...In an effort to raise awareness for endangered species, sports fashion brand Lacoste has replaced its iconic crocodile logo with 10 different animals, which represent species that are sadly facing extinction. Featured on the brand’s classic white polo, the limited edition collection—titled Save Our Species—marks a three-year partnership between Lacoste and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

Well Done Lacoste!

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I think by now most of us realise that the reduction and killing of bees will serve as a death knell for the ecosystem…What can we do? We can plant our gardens with plants and flowers which attract bees. To attract honey bees, start by planting single-petal flowers with yellow, white, blue, and purple blooms in your yard. You can also plant bee-friendly herbs like rosemary, lavender, sage, and thyme. Next, stop using pesticides on your lawn and let the foliage grow a little wild to provide shelter for the bees.

I know many people see dandelions as a weed but they have many uses medically and as food…Allow them to grow but restrict their growing area so they don’t take over…Bees love the dandelion…Dandelion is also one of the 13 essential plants for human survival…Did you know that? there is also  A dandelion May Festival in Amish Country…

Not such a humble weed after all…To read about the Dandelion its uses and health benefits click the link below…

https://draxe.com/dandelion-tea/

Still on the subject of bees…Did you know?

Beehives are disappearing at an alarmingly rapid pace, and this isn’t just affecting our honey supply. Without bees, a whole lot of the food we eat wouldn’t exist anymore; produce such as almonds and cherries, for instance, are dependent on bee pollination to grow. Bee disappearances are partially due to pesticides and mites, but climate change is also a big factor… Read More…

http://www.whydontyoutrythis.com/2017/04/man-creates-homemade-beehive-save-the-bees-going-absolutely-viral.html?fbclid=IwAR3EX_DtZ-bx8nFuS6dQRCI6Y_AdHR_PCVDBm-pesk_dfq78x_F6nF8J4q8

honey bee

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Mexico is famous for tequila, avocado and corn…All which are proving their worth beyond Mexican fiesta staples as key components for a fast-growing bioplastic market, with companies transforming waste from processing food crops into products such as bags, plates and even car parts.

How innovative is that? Turning plant waste into bioplastic?

 

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mexico-environment-plastic/turning-waste-into-bioplastics-mexico-strikes-green-gold-idUSKCN1LS23B

I don’t know about you but when I see and hear initiatives like these around the world I am amazed at just how talented some people are and how they really care about minimising waste…

But please do not think that what you do in your own home doesn’t count because it does …It really does every little bit no matter how small adds to the bigger picture and that picture is growing and there will soon be enough to fill many galleries BUT we cannot rest on our laurels there is still much to be done and if you think of an initiative join  a group make it a group effort if it requires that…

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Now let’s go 8,409 km from  Mexico to the UK… Where inspired by the Sky Ocean Rescue campaign, a region of the UK has created the country’s first local circular economy.

The traditional system of getting rid of waste is linear: packaging is made, used and disposed of but the local authority in Cambridgeshire along with a local plastics processor and packaging company have joined together to create a model which is circular.

Waste bin and bags

Image by kalhh on Pixabay

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/spotlight/from-waste-to-resource-is-this-the-future-for-plastic/ar-BBTER3r?li=BBoPWjQ

Thank you so much for reading this post …Please share your ideas on how we can save our carbon footprints and the environment and if you live in Oz please try to stop this happening…I love to hear from you in comments xxx

About Carol Taylor:

Enjoying life in The Land Of Smiles I am having so much fun researching, finding new, authentic recipes both Thai and International to share with you. New recipes gleaned from those who I have met on my travels or are just passing through and stopped for a while. I hope you enjoy them.

I love shopping at the local markets, finding fresh, natural ingredients, new strange fruits and vegetable ones I have never seen or cooked with. I am generally the only European person and attract much attention and I love to try what I am offered and when I smile and say Aroy or Saab as it is here in the north I am met with much smiling.

Some of my recipes may not be in line with traditional ingredients and methods of cooking but are recipes I know and have become to love and maybe if you dare to try you will too. You will always get more than just a recipe from me as I love to research and find out what other properties the ingredients I use contain to improve our health and wellbeing.

The environment is also something I am passionate about and there will be more on this on my blog this year

Exciting for me hence the title of my blog, Retired No One Told Me! I am having a wonderful ride and don’t want to get off, so if you wish to follow me on my adventures, then welcome! I hope you enjoy the ride also and if it encourages you to take a step into the unknown or untried, you know you want to…….Then, I will be happy!

Carol is a contributor to the Phuket Island Writers Anthology: https://www.amazon.com/Phuket-Island-Writers-Anthology-Stories-ebook/dp/B00RU5IYNS

Connect to Carol

Blog: https://carolcooks2.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheRealCarolT
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/carol.taylor.1422

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/caroltaylor56/pins/

Thank you once again for reading this post I hope you are all having a great week xx

Waste Not! Want Not! …Australia plans to dump one million tons of sludge on the Great Barrier Reef!

29 Replies

Good morning from sunny Thailand although we have had the mother of storms this week and huge hailstones it has cooled the air down somewhat…

I am really heartened by the initiatives which I am discovering that are happening from all around the world…Your comments are also a revelation when I hear from you guys what is going on in your neck of the woods all good stuff…How you are reducing the carbon footprints and coming up with ideas to cut waste and protect the environment.

green foot prints eco system

Then just the other day I heard and read something which shocked me to the core...One of the biggest, most beautiful countries in my part of the world with breathtaking natural wonders is allowing an absolutely abhorrent action to take place…

Australia plans to dump one million tonnes of sludge in the Great Barrier Reef.

Great barrier Reef

Image by 127071 on Pixabay

Despite strict laws on dumping waste, the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA) gave the go-ahead.

A loophole was found – the laws don’t apply to materials generated from port maintenance work.

It comes one week after flood water from Queensland spread into the reef, which scientists say will “smother” the coral.

Dredged from the sea bed near Hay Point Port who are one of the worlds largest coal exporters and a substantial economic source for Australia this industrial residue is going to be dumped on that beautiful reef…

My thoughts on that statement..substantial economic source equals money/backhanders for someone…

The North Queensland Bulk Ports Corporation have said the dump will have a minor environmental impact… Please, it should not be happening and then there would be no impact…Their investigations of course ( it is in their ) own interests ( profit) showed risk to be predominantly low with some temporary short-term impacts.

So let’s be clear the Bulk Ports Corp is paying for reports to justify their own dump and which probably also found the loophole which they now are now exploiting …

My question is WHY? When Australia has pledged A$500 million( 275) million to protect the reef… Are they allowing this dump?…

If this doesn’t smack of cronyism, blatant pocket lining and profiteering then I don’t know what does…

Read the full story here… When you have please if you feel the same as me share the hell out of it…

https://www.iflscience.com/environment/australia-greenlights-dumping-1-million-tons-of-sludge-in-great-barrier-reef-waters/

That beautiful coral home to lots of sea life which has already lost 30% due to bleaching… and now they plan to dump sludge they say well away from that but given the tide and weather conditions, no one can guarantee where the sludge will end up …

Whitsunday islands

Image by werner22brigitte on Pixabay

I myself cannot believe that government/ politicians can sanction this ...It is their country for God’s sake and after pledging all that money to save the Barrier Reef they are allowing this? It is an abhorrent, cruel, wicked way to treat that beautiful place…

Humans are the worst perpetrators of harm to the environment…

The dredging is due to start in March and is set to last 40 days. 

I defy anyone to try to justify such actions or to tell me it has nothing to do with pure unadulterated greed and profiteering.

I have lost heart and don’t feel I want to dim the importance of these actions unless anyone can stop it happening by telling of some of the wonderful efforts to save the environment …They are for another post on another day…

Thank you so much for reading this post …Please share your ideas on how we can save our carbon footprints and the environment and if you live in Oz please try to stop this happening…I love to hear from you in comments xxx

About Carol Taylor:

Enjoying life in The Land Of Smiles I am having so much fun researching, finding new, authentic recipes both Thai and International to share with you. New recipes gleaned from those who I have met on my travels or are just passing through and stopped for a while. I hope you enjoy them.

I love shopping at the local markets, finding fresh, natural ingredients, new strange fruits and vegetable ones I have never seen or cooked with. I am generally the only European person and attract much attention and I love to try what I am offered and when I smile and say Aroy or Saab as it is here in the north I am met with much smiling.

Some of my recipes may not be in line with traditional ingredients and methods of cooking but are recipes I know and have become to love and maybe if you dare to try you will too. You will always get more than just a recipe from me as I love to research and find out what other properties the ingredients I use contain to improve our health and wellbeing.

The environment is also something I am passionate about and there will be more on this on my blog this year

Exciting for me hence the title of my blog, Retired No One Told Me! I am having a wonderful ride and don’t want to get off, so if you wish to follow me on my adventures, then welcome! I hope you enjoy the ride also and if it encourages you to take a step into the unknown or untried, you know you want to…….Then, I will be happy!

Carol is a contributor to the Phuket Island Writers Anthology: https://www.amazon.com/Phuket-Island-Writers-Anthology-Stories-ebook/dp/B00RU5IYNS

Connect to Carol

Blog: https://carolcooks2.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheRealCarolT
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/carol.taylor.1422

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/caroltaylor56/pins/

Thank you once again for reading this post I hope you are all having a great week xx