A Victim of Climate Change

A heart-breaking image to see. A beautiful noble creature broken due to the affects of climate change.

We are responsible for this harrowing image. It's our responsibility to try to prevent it from happening again ...and again.

From The Guardian:

Dr Ian Stirling, now at Polar Bears International, said the bear had been in apparently good health when it was examined by scientists in April in southern Svalbard. It was found dead three months later in northern Svalbard, far from its normal range. Stirling said most of the fjords in Svalbard did not freeze normally last winter, driving the bear further afield in the hunt for food. From his lying position in death, Stirling said, the bear appears to simply have starved and died where he dropped, having been reduced to little more than skin and bone. Arctic sea ice fell to its lowest recorded level in 2012, which scientists say is due to global warming.

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.

Vote for Nature ... Help Farmers to Protect Wildlife

The European Union has to decide every seven years what to spend its money on.  A large part of this budget goes towards agriculture. This is a key area for promoting sustainability and protecting biodiversity. However, only a very small amount ends up contributing to nature friendly farming methods that will help the countryside to remain full of wildlife. One of my greatest joys in life is horse riding through the country, surrounded by animals of all kinds. To think that these animals may be harmed or killed due to a lack of funding and understanding from farmers, many of which are keen to protect wildlife, is upsetting. These animals have a right to life in the countryside and a right to food and habitats as much as we do so we should be helping to protect them. This funding is also one of the few sources that protects nature conservation sites in the UK.

Due to the current economic climate securing funding is a challenge. The RSPB are fighting to save the funds that support farmers who work to make space for nature as well as food production. We have to work together with nature as, after all, we are part of it ourselves. Help the RSPB by signing the petition to tell David Cameron to fight for nature.





If we don't work to protect nature then who will?

Sign Petition

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?

Land Grabs ... A Poverty and Environmental Issue

How would you feel if a foreign company claimed your home, your land and your livelihood as theirs and then sold it off? You would not be able to do anything about it or have any say. Your rights count for nothing, you are not even seen to have rights. No home, no money, no source of food and likely to have a large family depending on you, what would you do? This happens to thousands of people everyday, in third world countries, it needs to be stopped.

Oxfam are campaigning against Land Grabbing and I have been involved in this campaign with my local Falmouth Oxfam group. Oxfam have been claiming land and well known landmarks across the UK to raise awareness and encourage everyone to help their battle against land grabbing.

Our 'Sand Grab' at Gyllyngvase Beach in Falmouth

Governments, food exporters, tourism providers, Wall Street speculators and many more have seized land of all kinds and sizes for various resources in many poor countries including Honduras, Indonesia, Liberia and Sudan. Most of the investors are using this stolen land to export food back to rich countries. Others have used it to reach biofuel targets in the developed world. These companies are making the hunger and poverty issues we are already struggling to deal with much worse.

Land grabbing could also be a huge environmental problem. These large companies, as well as some of them using the land for mining and likely deforestation, are using the land to grow crops to export. But this is in a very unsustainable way, using large areas to grow just one crop with the use of pesticides and fertilisers. As a result in these harsh delicate environments, within a few years the land is ruined and no longer usable. Then these companies, no doubt, will seek to steal more farm land that is yet to be ruined, therefore, continuing the land grab process. It has been suggested that farming in this way is contributing to climate change and that the farming on small areas of land done by local people is sustainable and actually able to work against climate change. Vandana Shiva, Indian environmentalist and writer, discusses this in the video below. Definitely worth a watch and I agree with Shiva's suggestions. This video is actually focusing on geo-engineering, however, it considers similar issues to that of land grabbing and unsustainable farming by large foreign companies, especially in India.

 

The World Bank has begun to listen to Oxfam, however, we still need more support to bring it to an end.

Sign the Petition

Email your MP

It takes up about 2 minutes of your time :)

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!