Tag Archives: War on Waste

Plastic…The latest News…Week 3…Bioplastics are they really the way forward?

Plastic Free July, was so successful that I decided that I will carry on from Plastic Free July and repost some updated previous posts on plastic from 2019…the reason being sometimes I feel we are going round in circles and promises are made and not kept…

I just want to revisit those initiatives praise those who are and have been as good as their word and taken their ideas forward and made a difference…

It is good to talk the talk but you have to walk the walk…

As you know because I tell you…haha…  I am constantly 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 your carbon footprints and coming up with ideas to cut waste and protect the environment.

Politicians THE WORLD OVER make promises to the electorate…That is us... we need to become Climate Voters…Not because we are told to BUT because we have checked and are sure that who we give our vote to …HAS and WILL continue to make a difference and to honour their election promises…

The time has come for us to make our voice heard…Our beautiful natural wonders are being decimated, polluted we can stop this with our carefully, researched and considered vote… Politicians who endorse and allow what we consider to be environmentally wrong…we have the vote and can VOTE THEM OUT!

Be a climate Voter!

 

green foot prints eco system

 

♦♦♦♦♦

Have a look and see what this community in Amsterdam, Holland is doing …

What a fantastic idea…and one which could be adaptable anywhere…Not a plastic bottle in sight…

♦♦♦♦♦

Bioplastics…There has been much written and many innovative products like straws made from mango peels which are now a bioplastic product…On the face it even I have thought wow how inventive is that all those mango peels and avocado pits made into something we can use…

That product however still required disposing of correctly…

Let’s look at Coca Cola...we all know who they are and how profitable their products are…

Another Sustainable Innovation they say and want us to believe and continue buying…can you feel the sarcasm?

The world’s first fully recyclable PET plastic bottle made partially from plants…They say!

Planet over profit ..they say!

But what does the small print say?

It’s easy to assume…I hear plant-based and my ears prick up…MADE FROM PLANT-BASED PRODUCTS…Smile…

It all sounds familiar though doesn’t it…Low Fat, Low Sugar, Low Salt, Organic, Fair Trade…I could go on but I am sure by now you got the picture…

Not all bio-based plastics are biodegradable, and not all biodegradable plastics are bio-based. And even biodegradable plastics might not biodegrade in every environment. Sounds confusing? It certainly is…

The answer does not lie in Bioplastics say the experts...experts who did not go to… The Google University or the elite Facebook University…Real experts who know more than me as they have studied and trained for years for their degrees…

Only a minority of these plastics are home compostable, so, the label “compostable” most often means industrially compostable. That coffee cup with a Seedling logo you’re drinking from won’t decompose very quickly, if at all, on your home compost heap, but will break down inside the right kind of industrial equipment.

We need to be more aware… we need to read the small print we also need to home in on words…home compostable…the right kind of industrial equipment…much of our waste can be compostable BUT only if your state, province has the right kind of equipment IF not our carefully sorted waste still goes to landfill or just a garbage mountain.

That my friends unfortunately is the stark reality!… Companies like Coco-Cola need to be producing bottles that can be recycled at home or pay for proper industrial equipment to recycle THEIR bottles.

Failing that …do your health a favour and stop buying soft drinks in non-recyclable bottles…

All we can do is cut our waste in our homes by buying in bulk, making sure we refill bottles where we can, finding alternatives that are just as good…but are more sustainable…I am doing mine one product at a time…

Choosing glass bottles over plastic when we shop as then we can reuse them when we cook from scratch…or make our own carbonated drinks…Let the kids help they will love it…

Most importantly 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…

♦♦♦♦♦

Two years ago I posted about the Uk’s first local circular economy drive…when Sky Ocean Rescue campaign, a region of the UK had created the country’s first local circular economy.

The UK has re-affirmed its commitment to recycling 65% of municipal waste by 2035 as it on  (30 July) 2021 set out its approach to transposing the EU circular economy package (CEP) into domestic law.

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

Update 2021

The UK has re-affirmed its commitment to recycling 65% of municipal waste by 2035 as it today (30 July) set out its approach to transposing the EU circular economy package (CEP) into domestic law.

It also seems that the local Cambridge authority is forging ahead and going forward which is good to read…

Lego…The name ‘LEGO’ is an abbreviation of the two Danish words “leg godt”, meaning “play well”. The LEGO Group was founded in 1932 by Ole Kirk Kristiansen. The company has passed from father to son and is now owned by Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen, a grandchild of the founder.

My children and my grandchildren have loved Lego and it has been passed down through our family for years and now Lily plays with it building her shops and houses…

Lego has now taken it one step further and listened to the children and their parents and are turning plastic bottles into Lego…

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 ???

Just once I would love to pick something up off a supermarket shelf be it labelled healthy or just junk food and know with absolute certainty that it contained no harmful chemicals or preservatives and that the package was fully decomposable…I can but dream…

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

 

Latest recycling and environmental news…23rd September 2019

Good morning…I hope you all had a glorious weekend…Let’s look at what has been going on in this everchanging world of Climate Change??? There is always news every day now but I do wonder how much is really true and how much is scaremongering…Am I the only one?

Lots of protests the school children and their supporters were out in force last week all around the world…It is lovely to see such passion…Young Greta in many ways is to be admired for taking a stand…

BUT…

Do the majority of these kids really take a look at their own pampered lives…AND HOW THEY CAN CHANGE?

For example, many children here want air-conditioning in their classrooms…In fact, in some schools, there is a very distinct class line depending on which programme parents/children choose and pay for…air con will be in every classroom for the better off the other children open the windows and may get a fan …This is a quite recent generational thing and growing…You get what you pay for…

Something which was a luxury is now becoming a necessity…Note: I have aircon(pre ) installed in the house we do not use it…we use fans to cool the air…Just saying x

School classes...Many lessons are now computerised and hands up…How many TV’s do you have in your house and do all your kids insist on a TV in their bedroom??? Personally, I have been a wicked parent and we have never allowed or had TV’s in bedrooms and still, don’t… we have one TV situated in the lounge… devices are all well and good but no one needs every single new device which comes out on the market…

It is also how you dispose of those devices when broken or unwanted…Don’t just throw them in the general trash…

Greta was very admirable taking a boat instead of flying around the world…Not practical in every situation but we should all consider alternative means of transport where possible…

However...How many of these striking children arrive at school in private cars which worsen rush hour traffic instead of walking, taking the bus or riding a bike????

Trendy Teenagers… Are the biggest consumers of manufactured goods ever and update perfectly good expensive luxury items to stay trendy, their entertainment comes from electric devices.

I hope all these striking and protesting teenagers are looking at their own lifestyles.

I hope…When they are in school or continuing with their day to day activities that they consider this…Will they be changing their lifestyles like they want us to? Are they considering what their constant use of electronic devices does to the environment or are they only intent on joining the masses …
Will they…

  • Walk, ride a bike or take a bus to school
  • Tell the teachers to turn off the aircon
  • Make a sandwich instead of buying fast food
  • Turn off your device and read a book

Will all you prince and princesses who have been brought up to be selfish and are pandered by adults who pamper their kids because they have a need to show the world how much they have and that they love their kids… Look at their own lives instead of telling the world to look at ours…

Have you done your own research to ascertain the facts or are you just blindly following others?
Who are the people behind your protests are you a means to their ends? Once they have done with you …Will you be able to continue your lives…unscathed?

These are all questions going through my head…Does anyone else have the same questions? Is it just me?

What I do admire is those two little girls who took their concerns to both McDonald’s and Burger King…They were undeterred by the lack of initial response from these two companies and persisted in collecting their signatures…Writing their letters…They enabled the help of Anita and Hugh…

THE RESULT:

Burger King is removing all plastic toys from their children’s meals…Way to go Burger King and… Well done Emma and Kaitlin…

They have achieved this by quietly writing their letters ( after school) Collecting their signatures and unwanted plastic toys….What a result…Love it!

It’s the little people who get great results by quietly doing their thing…

This next horror story because it is… came through my friend Pat…She lives in a beautiful part of Australia and is gradually seeing her world destroyed by bad, greedy government decisions…I made a promise to highlight this for her…

This is apparently now reached crisis point…People cannot even clean their teeth…They have 2 dams and one is completely dry the other is at 8% capapcity almost dry…The water is still being diverted or illegally stolen…The Murray Darling River is running dry..

Life expectancy if you live in this area is 37 years for men and 42 years for women…Yet corruption continues to be sanctioned by successive governments…

When will man stop and realise what damage they are doing to both the planet and its inhabitants????

green foot prints eco system

 

That is all from me for this week I look forward to your comments…How are you reducing your families carbon footprints?

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 are now regular columns on my blog this year. It is important that we are mindful of the world we live in…These honeybees dining on forget me knots say it all to me…

forget-me-not-257176_640

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

Carol is a contributor to the Phuket Island Writers Anthology: 

Connect to Carol

Blog: 
Twitter: 

Facebook: 

Pinterest: 

Email:

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

Waste Not! Want Not! Week 20…Food Waste and Climate Change…

Week 20…Who would have thought I could find so much to write about the news just keeps coming…The world is definitely waking up to what is happening and some sensing the urgency…Just this morning I was reading about a World Forum of environmentalists, chefs, farmers who are looking at how they can ensure that no one in the world will be starving like they are now it may mean changing farming and manufacturing methods a full report is not available yet.

green foot prints eco system

So much is happening in the world around us that there are going to have to be many changes or life as we know it will not exist…Climate change, food. plastic, waste they are all connected to each other they all affect one another…Seriously the world is in trouble it may not seem like that to many of you cocooned in your comfy part of the world but food affects our health as does climate change everything is interlinked…

To me and many around the world, Sir David Attenborough is the voice of climate change…the voice of our planet…Listen to what he has to say he believes that things have escalated far quicker than he initially thought.

Sir David Attenborough

 

Photo credit: JrScientist on VisualHunt.com / CC BY

Flies and Fungi…

As the earth heats up it will make our food less safe…Did you know?… Food contaminated with bacteria, viruses, parasites, toxins or chemicals causes more than 600 million people to fall ill and 420,000 to die worldwide every year, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

We have soup kitchens and places where people can go get dry/tinned goods if they are on the breadline…What I find really sad is the fact that the image underneath was taken many years …People are still starving …That is a tragedy that man and governments have still not solved the problem of the poor and in fact compound that problem in many ways…They should hang their heads in shame…

soup Kitchen

Photo credit: classic_film on Visual hunt / CC BY-NC

Community refrigerators is another idea with the aim of stopping food waste…a British environmental charity is turning to an innovative bit of technology: community refrigerators.

However, they help to solve the problem of waste in countries like the Uk but not the problem of the fact children are still starving all around the world …I am guessing there will be no community refrigerators in India( 190.7 million), China ( 150.8 million), Pakistan (39.6 million) appalling figures…

Food waste is a major issue...around the world…about 13 billion pounds worth of food gets wasted every year.

food cycle waste chart

Photo credit: usepagov on Visual hunt

We have zero waste stores springing up around the globe we now have Loop joining the party…Everyone knows food packaging is one of the leading causes of pollution on land and in the sea. From water bottles to potato chip bags, that plastic litter is everywhere. People have tried politely protesting at supermarkets, others try to buy in bulk, and some are so frustrated they try to only buy direct from farms and wholesale markets. That does not work for everyone.

https://sevenseasmedia.org/introducing-loop-a-zero-waste-shopping-option-for-some-of-our-most-common-brands/

KONICA MINOLTA DIGITAL CAMERA

Photo credit: i.R.P.i on VisualHunt / CC BY-ND

Guinness is owned by the worlds largest drinks company and they have joined Carlsberg in the quest to end plastic rings…Which when dumped in the sea cause problems and death to marine life…Initially, I wasn’t overjoyed with this new concept as I felt it wouldn’t stop littering however in the real world although we are all conscious of our actions and don’t dump some people always will so I suppose I will have to admit they have a place in the bigger picture.

Victoria Zigler who is known for her beautiful children’s books always supports my blog posts and if she comes across anything she drops me a line …These pretty little seed bearing lollipops which are the brainchild of Amborella Organics are awesome once finished the seed-bearing sticks can be planted and will happily grow…

 

Thank you for reading this post later just in case you weren’t aware I also write a regular monthly post over at Esme’s Salon and at the moment I am trawling through the Culinary alphabet today’s post is about recipes, ingredients maybe cooking terms beginning with the letter O…Please pop over and say hello…

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

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

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

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

 

WasteNot! Want Not! Week 15

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! …Australia plans to dump one million tons of sludge on the Great Barrier Reef!

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