Thirty struggles of being an eco-warrior

Whether you're devoted to saving our precious planet or are simply attempting to be as eco friendly as you can, being green can be a struggle! Here are 27 struggles for eco-warriors:

1. Your sheer bafflement at some people's inability or lack of will to recycle. You put card in one box and cans in the other people, it's not hard!

2. Feeling guilty every time you drive your car anywhere, and dreaming of owning an electric car one day.

3. Feeling like a terrible person when forced to get petrol from BP or Shell due to that scary red light on your dashboard. But then wondering if other oil companies are actually any better...

4. Being angry at people who think development is the answer to everything ... Have you not heard of 'Prosperity without Growth'???

5. Being secretly heartbroken when you discover a company you love is being very environmentally damaging and having to publicly turn against them ... I'm looking at you Lego! (They ended their partnership with Shell now hurrah!)

6. Again feeling immensely guilty whenever you buy a remotely luxury item .... Charity and antique shops are your only safe haven!

7. Judging people who feel the need to constantly buy things ... Money doesn't buy happiness for you or the planet!

8. Failing at following a greener diet ... How do you cook tofu anyway?

9. Forcing yourself to endure the torture that is public transport.

10. Questioning why so many buildings without solar panels exist. It's like we're not even trying people!

11. Thinking wind turbines are actually very pretty despite everyone else's nimbyism ... Do people not see how ugly power stations are?

12. A thousand polar bear pictures later still feeling very sad at the thought of their melting home.

13. People assuming you are some kind of hippie, despite lack of dreadlocks and tie dye. And wondering what's so bad about hippies anyway?

14. Pretty much hating all politicians, except the Green Party

15. The existence of climate change deniers, yeah let's not even go there...

16. Hoarding things in your endeavour to reuse everything, knowing you'll find a use for that obscure giant envelope one day

17. That soul destroying moment when you realise you've forgotten to bring your tote bag to the supermarket and have to use a plastic one or buy yet another cloth bag for life.

18. Plastic is the devil incarnate, yet you can't seem to escape it

19. Doubling your time spent shopping due to having to hunt for Eco-friendly products

20. The colour green is so intrinsically linked to being eco that you get confused when it's used to represent something else

21. Judging everyone who owns a land rover 

22. Annoying your friends and work colleagues with numerous lectures about how environmentally damaging everything is and how they should try being greener.

23. Cursing climate change when the weather is horrible 

24. Wondering if you should feel bad about beautiful hot weather as it could be caused by climate change

25. The Daily Mail is blasphemy.

26. Defending Greenpeace with your life when anyone attempts to criticise.

27. Dying a little inside whenever you see an empty/closed office or shop with ALL its lights on.

28. Ignorant comments on the Internet .... Noo man made climate change isn't a myth simply because there isn't a 100% consensus from scientists (seriously 97% is still not good enough for you?), and the fact it still snows in the UK sometimes ... These are genuinely 2 comments I just found. And I know there are much worse out there...

29. Not understanding people's apathy ... How can you not care about the destruction being done on our behalf to nature and everything it provides us?

30. But despite all this, knowing it's all worth it to help save our beautiful home, for us, wildlife and future generations. You wouldn't give up this passion for the world (ok you would if it meant saving it!)

Have you experienced any of these struggles? Or are there some important ones you think I've missed? I'd love to hear from you!

Going Green Update #2

I have long been absent from this blog, I am ashamed to admit. So this Going Green Update is to update you readers on what I have been up to, my further attempts at being and acting environmentally conscious and why the prolonged absence!

Due to my growing interests in environmental issues and aspirations to help save the world, (the reasons why I started this blog) I decided I wanted and needed to learn far more and gain the skills to enable me to follow these interests in a future career. Therefore, I decided to undertake an MSc in Environment, Science and Society at University College London. I was sad (still am) to leave my beloved Cornwall behind, yet it has been one of the best decisions I have ever made. I looked at many environmental courses, many sounded great. Yet when I stumbled across UCL's course I found it was exactly the course I would have designed for myself if possible! So here I am, living in central London, surrounded by shiny dominating skyscrapers and the trundling sound of constant traffic (my introvertism and claustrophobia a little more active too), studying what is technically a scientific geography masters. Possibly, the last place I thought I'd end up.

Yet I am loving it, though London living is tough at times for me, the country girl. I feel I have learnt more in a term than a year of study at undergrad level. It is so refreshing to be finally studying something I am so passionate about, appreciating every ounce of knowledge and insight my lecturers and peers provide me with. This course is very multidisciplinary, an approach I have always valued, everything should be explored and understood from multiple perspectives. How else can things be effectively understood, analysed or problems solved? Most of my presuppositions about nature, environment and conservation have vastly changed. I have also realised dealing with environmental issues is even more complex than previously imagined.

So there's a little insight into my current life. My MSc demands most of my time and attention, resulting in the neglecting of this blog (not to mention social life and my many hobbies!) Yet now, the apparently more intense term and all its coursework are over, my New Year's Resolution is to be more of an active blogger. So watch this space!

As for my attempts at being green in the city? I would suggest they are going surprisingly well. At an urban planning session I attended yesterday, a Friends of the Earth local group member suggested that dense city dwellers have much lower carbon footprints than the more suburban and rural. I certainly feel that's true of my current lifestyle. I walk almost everywhere, and when I can't (which is rare) I take public transport. London prices also serve as the perfect deterrent to excessive and wasteful consumption! And when you live so close, you realise Oxford Street is really not that exciting. Exploring London on foot, without spending a penny, has become one of my new favourite pastimes. Although where I live has not made recycling very accessible (no door to door collections, we have to carry it to recycling dumpsters down the street), London public streets are covered in recycling bins. I also now try to eat as little fish, chocolate and hoofed animals as possible. I also never drink bottled water. Overfishing is of huge detriment to delicate marine ecosystems, which lowers biodiversity and resilience to the impacts of climate change. The meat industry has a very large carbon footprint due to imports, deforestation for pasture and methane production. I also wish to do it for animal welfare reasons. The majority of chocolate is made with palm oil, which is farmed unsustainably and results in the destruction of rainforest. The bottled water industry is one of the most unsustainable and completely senseless. Tap water is subject to far more health and safety regulations, is free and taste can be improved with filtering. In many cases bottled water is just tap water put in a bottle! However, despite my best efforts, it is difficult eating sustainably when you are a poor student in London!

So there we go, I hope to keep you posted with many more blog posts soon, and share my new insights into environmental issues.

You can help the rainforests and orang-utans this Easter

Palm oil has become the most used vegetable oil globally. It is used in a wide range of products, from use in cooking to chocolate and shampoo. It is easy and cheap to grow and therefore has become a major source of income for companies in countries such as Indonesia. As a result even more rainforest is being cut down, not only is this contributing to global warming, it's destroying the homes of many endangered species. Once rainforest is cut down, it cannot be replaced so these animals are losing their homes forever, ultimately resulting in extinction. No amount of palm oil should be able to justify this.

Sir Terry Pratchett presents the plight of the noble orang-utan, due to palm oil and rainforest destruction, in the very moving and enlightening programme Facing Extinction. I highly recommend you watch it. It has motivated me to do something, so I hope it can motivate you too.

When buying chocolate this Easter, and in the future, consider buying chocolate that hasn't been made with palm oil. If the demand for palm oil isn't there further rainforest will not be cut down to make room for palm trees. The list below outlines chocolate that does contain palm oil. Go here for a list of palm oil free chocolate.

Let's work together to protect the rainforests to combat climate change and protect the beautiful orang-utan.

We are killing nature...It is time we stopped

If you only do one meaningful thing today, make sure it is to watch this video. Everyone should watch this. It is heartbreaking but it truly shows the horrors we have brought to this world, the damage and pain we are causing but cannot see. We cannot continue to be this blind....

(Watch on full screen because I can't get it to fit the page)



If this cannot make us open our eyes, then nothing will. It is time to change.

What's so wrong with fighting for a better, greener world?

Another picture post to get you thinking :)

Consumerism isn't making us any happier so why do we do it, especially when it's so harmful?

Just because we can't see the damage we're doing, doesn't mean it isn't there

The issue with trying to 'fix' environmental problems with technology

Why it is important to have a mult-disciplinary approach, particularly with regards to the environment.

This is what I don't understand about climate change deniers

Is the environment a national security issue? Surely fighting for clean energy and sustainability  makes more sense than fighting each other over fossil fuels?

I just find this one amusing!

So what do YOU think about these?

I'm dreaming of a green Christmas...

(Terrible title  I know, but I simply couldn't resist and it fits!)

So we find ourselves in December, which of course heralds the time of sharing and goodwill. And yet, Christmas is possibly the worst time of year for staying ethical, eco-friendly and non-consumerist. We are, needlessly, expected to post hundreds of cards out to people which will end up in the bin (or hopefully in recycling) in a month's time, we use metres of wrapping paper which usually stay on the presents for a matter of days before being ripped beyond any kind of future use and discarded (and wrapping paper can't be recycled, which is even worse!) and of course we buy all matter of presents for friends and family simply because we are expected to, usually things they do not even need or want. Christmas is the epitome of wasteful consumerism, ensuring the continuation of corporate businesses' rule and the suffering of the planet and its less well off people. And climate change fits into this, with all that waste and the holidays, many people travell distances great and small to visit their families. I am sure our carbon footprints are much bigger at this time of year.

However, despite the world of doom I have just described, I am no Scrooge! I love Christmas just as much as the next person, even if I am wholly against the existence of Christmas trees in November. And it is a brilliant time of year for charities as people are far more generous and considerate.  I just wanted to highlight that humanity's issues often come to a head at Christmas, and it is possible that nature and people suffer more as a result. We should not forget this (though if you have been at the mulled wine, I fully understand!). Also we can still try to be ethical and green at Christmas. We can still reduce our negative impact and show corporate unethical business this is not the direction we should be travelling in. Every action we take, however small, can make a difference. So please consider making this year's Christmas a much fairer and greener one.

I shall be, if you will, your green Christmas fairy and guide you to a greener Christmas shopping experience which will not just benefit you, family and friends but the world too! So please read on.

Oxfam

Oxfam have many ethical and eco-friendly gifts to choose from. They have a wide range of presents from fashion to experience days at a wide range of prices. Also, which I think is brilliant, you can give an 'Oxfam Unwrapped' gift to some one who is less well off as a Christmas present for your friend or relative. So you could buy a chicken for a poor family or a water pump. A perfect present for that person who already has everything and also cares for the less fortunate. I would be much happier knowing money is going towards helping people than receiving another random stuffed toy that I definitely have no use for (I'm not bitter at all). As a  member of Oxfam, (technically I am an employee) I encourage you to do all your shopping at Oxfam! But, if not, check out the great shops below.

The Eden Project

The Eden Project also has a great online shop with many great gifts to choose from. If you have food and drink lovers to buy for (well mostly drink, I'll be honest) this is the perfect place. They have a wide range of alcohols to choose from, mostly brewed by local sustainable breweries in Cornwall. As a student in Cornwall I practically live off Cornish Rattler, so I highly recommend it. The Eden Project are very keen to promote sustainable and organic plant growing so it is also a great place to get gifts for any keen gardeners you know.     Need new Christmas decorations? Check out their Christmas flowers. They also provide a brilliant alternative to the evil that is wrapping paper. You can order personalised, decorative reusable jute gift bags to go with your Christmas gift which are much nicer, more useful and less wasteful than wrapping paper. They also have a lot of toys and books for kids. My favourite is a den making kit for children, I would have loved that as a kid! You can also "offset" the greenhouse emissions caused by the delivery by donating (and gift aiding) to the Eden Project's Climate Fund.

Lush

I absolutely love Lush products (hint, hint ... though no bars of soap!) They sell  handmade fresh cosmetics which are all ethically made, eco-friendly and include no nasty chemicals. They  smell amazing! The best shampoo I have ever used comes from Lush (it's called I Love Juicy). Also Lush campaign against animal testing and the use of plastic bags as well as donating to charity. It's the perfect place to buy green presents, you should be able to find something for everyone. They even have vegan products. There is a wide variety of gift sets to choose from and they have Christmas scented products too. Lush is probably the only cosmetics shop I can get all girly and excited about, which says a lot! Lush is a high street store so you don't necessarily have to shop online, I recommend you go and check it out. 

Ethical Superstore

As the name suggests they basically have everything you can think of (and more) and it is all eco-friendly, ethical and fair trade. They also have a Christmas gift guide and a wide range of presents, whatever your budget. So you should be able to find a green Christmas present here, if the sites above have not helped!

So there we go, I hope that has helped and I hope I have persuaded you to have a greener Christmas this year! If I discover any more great places for green shopping, I will let you know. And if you have any tips on staying green this Christmas, please let me know, it would be great to hear from you.

And finally, don't do any shopping at Waitrose this Christmas. They claim to be a company that follows ethical and sustainable values yet they have gone into partnership with Shell. This completely contradicts their promises to their customers. Shell plan to exploit the Arctic for unsustainable fossil fuels which is likely to cause harm to people and wildlife alike as well as contributing to climate change. Waitrose is very naive if they believe Shell will not harm the environment. Let them know this is unacceptable by telling them to dump Shell.

Merry Christmas!

It's time we opened our eyes...

Here are some interesting images that really got me thinking, I hope they get you thinking too.

Consumerism - are we not just needlessly damaging our world, its people and it animals with this way of thinking?

We can make a difference if we work together

The U.S.A. leads the way in many aspects of Western culture, let's not follow its extreme consumerism

I know which one I'd rather be, how about you?

Perhaps it's time to work with nature and not against it before time runs out?

Can we not see the foolishness ad selfishness of our arguments against clean power? I personally think wind turbines are very attractive and quite serene in their own way

It's time we stopped being so naive, wouldn't you agree? 

How can one species cause so much destruction? 

The Climate Paradox. I already knew some of the issues this video depicts. However, I was mainly shocked and horrified. How are these actions justified in any way?

The Climate Paradox from Watson Institute on Vimeo.

And, finally, a wonderful quote that I discovered on the internet which I think people need to remember (no idea who came up with, please let me know if you do!)

"We often forget that WE ARE NATURE. Nature is not something separate from us. So when we say we have lost our connection with nature, we've lost our connection with ourselves."

Going Green Update #1

Here is my first update on my attempts to be eco-friendly!

Firstly, I have made a vow to myself to not buy any more clothes for the next year (and longer if possible). I have plenty of clothes (my wardrobe has considerably grown since starting uni!) and many have been hardly worn even though I still like them. When I do buy clothes it's just because I think I have to have them because they look so nice and to satisfy the ridiculous desire of society to constantly have new things. By doing this I am contributing to the mass consumerist society which is a big factor in the exploitation of the environment. This is something that we need to stop. It is just wasting the world's limited resources and following consumerist ways doesn't make me (or you) any happier or any more satisfied. In fact it just increases our dissatisfaction with our lives and makes us more stressed. So what is the point to following this rat race? If we all did the small thing of cutting down on the amount of clothes we buy it would make a big difference and show corporate companies and government that consumerism and exploitation are not the way society should be run.

So from now on I will try to limit myself to buying absolute essentials, pre-owned clothes or clothes from eco-friendly sources (and perhaps the odd dress or two for going out). A great place to get good quality pre-owned clothes from is ASOS Marketplace. Check it out and join me in trying a greener approach to buying clothes!

Secondly, I shall attempt to spend less time on the internet. This will be much more difficult! We all do it, sitting on the internet procrastinating from things we should be doing, looking up Youtube videos that are just so funny that we don't even change our facial expressions, and hunting down pictures of cats doing bizarre and cute things that our own cats never seem to do. This addiction to the internet uses excess electricity and therefore produces more greenhouse gas emissions. I intend to spend less of my spare time on the internet and more time doing productive things such as reading and drawing. Go on join me, next time you're staring gormlessly at a meme, shut down your laptop and read a book!

On a different topic, check out this article 'This 17-Second Video Explains Why the Political Media is Failing Us on Climate Change' . Anthropogenic climate change is a worldwide problem that will negatively impact everyone, yet it's still treated by politicians as a slightly irritating issue. For example, they compare it with rising petrol prices.  If we do not take rapid action soon, I'm pretty sure petrol prices are going to be the last thing we worry about!

Let me know what you think, I would love to get some debates going!

Turn off the lights when you leave the room, how would you like it if someone turned you on and then left?

Perhaps, not the most original, awe-inspiring blog post title but it makes me laugh.

I'm back (and welcome to my first follower, Annie, thanks for following me!)

Sorry for the lack of activity lately, I've been busy coming back to uni and getting back into the flow of things. Also, I've had no internet at home until now so it has been difficult to keep up with my many internet pursuits. Which is a good thing really as it means I've used far less electricity in the past few weeks. However, it has meant I've used more energy on extra trips to uni to get internet, so perhaps it has balanced out. Though I do believe my campus (University of Exeter, Cornwall Campus) is mainly run by renewable power, so that's a bonus.

However, now I'm settled back into uni life I am determined to be as green and eco-friendly as possible. So I will keep you updated on how I do and I hope I can encourage you to do the same! Also, if you are a fellow student committed to being green, please let me know your attempts and methods of being eco-friendly as I would love to know and maybe use your ideas. Let's all get committed!

My new house at uni is a good starting point for going green as it has a washing line (which I intend to use as much as possible!) and we have a few energy saving lightbulbs. We also do a lot of recyling. So it's a start for now!

Join me in trying to reduce your carbon footprint and helping the environment, here are some useful tips:

Green Tips For Around The Home

Recyclebank Tips 1-7

25 Beauty Tips Reusing Household Items

Being a good shopper

I think one of the main problems with our society today (if not the biggest problem, see the Story of Stuff video in my first blog post) is our consumerism. We have this need to buy lots of new things we don't need and it all ends up as waste, it wastes resources and energy to make, transport and to dispose of. These are resources that we desperately need. We need to try to conserve as much as we can not only to bring down greenhouse emissions that cause global warming but because most of these resources are finite and could run out in our lifetime! Also the people making these things right at the beginning of the chain usually lose out and we are making their suffering continue by continuing to follow this ridiculous obsession with buying new things and having the latest update. Our parents and grandparents didn't live like this so why do we? And they were probably a lot happier too. How can we ever be satisfied with our lives if we are constantly wanting to get something newer and better?

I'll admit I'm a guilty of this as we all are but here are my attempts at becoming a good shopper!

I've found this amazing website Folksy. It only sells handmade goods from small British businesses (usually just one person who enjoys making crafty things at home!) and many try to be as eco-friendly and organic as they possibly can. Many things are recycled or upcycled. Buying from businesses like these supports small local businesses rather than international corporate chains that create huge amounts of emissions and exploit third world countries. We can show these big businesses that we don't agree with their ethics by changing our shopping habits. It also saves money and resources wasted on shipping goods all over the world and avoids waste by reusing stuff! As you can probably tell I love this website!

Here is some jewellery I recently bought from Folksy (A fashion blog post for you, enjoy!):

Owl Necklace £7.50, Ring £3,  Varnished Wooden Book Necklace (Laser Cut by Hand) £11,  Japanese Bird Necklace £7.50. I felt I needed to update my jewellery collection as I haven't bought anything new for a long time.  I love the unique vintage look of these, exactly my kind of style and the handmade touch makes them far more special I think.

This is an vintage button turned into a ring. It's so cute! Waste not, want not!

There are also many other ways I try to be a greener shopper when I feel I do HAVE to buy something. Charity shops are actually brilliant. I get really excited when I see one! You can get really good quality things, sometimes almost new for a cheap price. You are reusing unwanted things, being eco friendly and giving money to charity. What more could you ask for?

Also remember to take your unwanted stuff to a charity shop instead of throwing it away!

I found these converses in an RSPCA charity shop earlier this year. I happened to want some new converses and there they were! They were basically unworn and in my size. Got them for £3.50. Brand new they would be about £25 or more.

Car boot sales are also brilliant places to go, another thing that gets me very excited! I have got so many things from car boot sales and sold stuff too. We need to reuse as much stuff as we can and avoid throwing things away. What's one man's rubbish may be another man's treasure!

I got all these DVDs from charity shops and car boot sales (I do have more but I left them at uni). The Wii game was pre-owned , there are so many used games, books and DVDs out there it makes no sense buying brand new. They work just as well as new and nobody's going to know you didn't get it new! My mobile phone is also secondhand so I thought I'd include that. It's old owner found it too complicated so I took it off their hands instead of buying a new phone! I should have included my ipod too as that is also secondhand from a friend who didn't need it anymore.

There we go my attempts at being greener and I hope I've encouraged you to follow suit. Try to go for green local small businesses or secondhand whenever you can whether it's car boot sales, charity shops or online. Ebay and Preloved are great secondhand websites and you can even get free stuff on Preloved. Now no excuses about not being able cutting down on your unethical consumerist ways!

Want to know more about being less of a mass consumerist? Check out the Postconsumers website.