The world of beautiful

Have you ever asked yourself: "How important is it to me that there is a future with birds, seals, and other magnificent creatures?"

How can we move from where we are to The more beautiful world our hearts know is possible?

A 5min video by Charles Eisenstein and Ian Mackenzie

The language dominion

What do we even aim for when we talk environment?

Video: The language dominion by Tom Butler

Tom Butler was one of 45 leading scholars, authors and activists who convened at The Great Hall of Cooper Union, New York City, on October 25-26, 2014, for the public presentation: "Techno-Utopianism and the Fate of the Earth." Speakers discussed the profound impacts—environmental, economic and social—of runaway technological expansionism and cyber immersion; the tendency to see technology as the savior for all problems. For more info, see http://ifg.org/techno-utopia/program/ .

Buy Nothing Christmas

Last year I gave you an inspiration on how to enjoy nature friendly holidays and the year before I wrote about meaningful gifts: last minute green presents. 

BuyNothingChristmas.com holds further ideas on how to give more by giving less.  

The Economics of Happiness

It is pointless to talk of all the crisis we are living. Better would be to know a way out. How can we dismantle the craziness that takes us to collapse? How can we recover and return to happiness?

"Going local is a powerful strategy to repair our fractured world, our ecosystem and our selves…"

Movie Trailer "The Economy of Happiness" by Helena Norberg-Hodge

RELATED: Happiness and materialism far apart

Nature is speaking… it has always been...

"The best thing a human could do for this world is to lie down and die" said a friend of mine when years ago we were debating a way forward. It has stroke me how harsh but truth this was. Human arrogance has carried us to the cliff. We, humans, have boosted about their cleverness but we have lost all our wisdom. What is our intelligence for when we are not wise enough to know how to use it? 

For decades Deep Ecologists, spiritual leaders and those connected to nature have been recognizing the need of humanity to step back and to recognize other beings as more than a convenient resource. Animals, plants, rivers and lakes, forests and mountain tops have been subject to human exploitation due to greed.

Today, when we stand on the cliff of little return, it is our celebrities who warn us. Perhaps this time we will listen? Perhaps this time we will reflect and do more than rise a Facebook thumb...

Deepest reverence to you, mama Earth.

Video Nature Is Speaking by Conservation.org

Meat today is the new asbestos, more murderous than tobacco...

We torture or kill 2 billion sentient beings every week

90% of small fish are ground up into pallets to feed our livestock

Although vegetarian, cows today are the world's largest ocean 

We torture and kill 2 billion sentient being every week

90% of small fish are ground up to feed livestock

Although vegetarian, cows today are the world's largest ocean predators

Billions of chicks get ground up alive, simply because they are male

10.000 entire species are wiped our every year because of one

50.000 litres of water are needed to produce 1kg of red beef

(Philip Wollen)

Video Philip Wollen - Animals should be out of menu

Philip Wollen is an Australian Philantropist, a former vice president of Citybank, which he left to dedicate his life to animal rights movement. He initiated Earthlings - an award winning documentary about society's tragic and unforgivable use of non human animals that are suffering for food, fashion, pets, entertainment and medical research. 

Years of Living Dangerously

Hot from the owen, this is the recently released first episode of an excellently narrated documentary. An account that joins the dots for us to see the bigger picture of the consequences of our modern living based on excessive consumerism, which we claim necessary and which multiplies as the global population and hunger for Western living-style rises.

In the "age of rights" for humans we have forgotten our responsibility. We all fall victims to our inability to see and account for the our disconnection with the nature. Unless we fix our understanding of the world of nature, of which we are an inseparable part, we will make the history as the next extinct species.

Time is counting…

Years of Living Dangerously, 2014 (movie 52min)

The Next Economy

Those who follow my blog might have noticed substantial inactivity. Yes, I stopped posting articles, mainly out of despair. So much to say, what first, and how? Even if I wrote every day, we would not cover all the complexities of the self-destructive system that humans have created out of greed.

As the speed of natural devastation picks up and the response to the natural rampage becomes short,  obsolete, and mostly non-systemic, many who strive to keep this precious Earth alive with all its beauties become speechless. But as a famous quote whose author I do not recall states "there is no time to be a pessimist", we must now, more than ever, reflect on our actions and their consequences. We must now rethink our way forward.

If the way forward is based on understanding our need for biological sustainability, since without biological sustainability there is no other sustainability, I let you ponder on this way forward for the outbursting population of 7 billion. 

Video by Tompkins Conservation, The Next Economy

Words of a long time environmentalist and conservationist, Doug Tompkins who, together with his wife Kris and a large team of people dedicated to preserving our nature, have embarked on a challenging path. They have been able to succeed, so why can't we all?

Related articles: 
Picasso's organic landscapes by Douglas Tompkins
Why tree hugging makes sense
Give yourself a present - find who you are

WebRep

currentVote

noRating

noWeight

Tiding up the unsustainable mess?

Have you wondered what might be the "solutions" to the mess we have created on this planet? Annie points out we need to refocus, start thinking differently, and change the rules of the game. Different people might be up for a different strategy from shifts of individual values to circular economy. Here is Annie's food for thought. Watch for yourself...

Video: Annie Leonard, The Story of Solutions

WebRep

currentVote

noRating

noWeight

Prospering business of green

It is always good to remind yourself why you do what you do, why are you in business and what matters. 

Video: Yvon Chouinard, CEO of Patagonia on living his green values 

You might be familiar with the work of Yvon Chouinard, a legendary climber, environmentalist and a  founder of an outdoor clothing company Patagonia. In this video Yvon proves that ecological responsibility doesn't contradict economic success. Let's be part of the solution.

Change your way of thinking, change your world!

You are what your deep, driving desire is. 

As your desire is, so is your will. 

As your will is, so is your deed. 

As you deed is, so is your destiny.

                              (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad)

There is nothing impossible, we just shall change our way of thinking. There is always a different way, another possibility... Can you see it?

Keep it sunny side up!

Forget the climate change, mind what is on your plate...

As dumpster diving becomes a popular sport and bin cooking is a perfect adept for the next bestseller, climate change might be of a secondary interest to some environmentalists.

„Tell me what is in your bin and I tell you who you are!“ comes to mind when the issue of food waste is discussed.

Storing pig feed in household bins Europe-wide has become a standard, with 89 million tons of food being tossed away on the continent each year. A Western trend where wastefulness is an accepted paradigm. 

Discarded fish alone amounts to as much as 30 million tones/year 
(UNEP, 2012)

Why not? What is not forbidden, is allowed. More so, if wasting is free of charge.

World leaders‘ myopic „growth“ rhetoric surpasses the logic of our system: worldwide, we produce enough to feed 12 billion, only to dump half of it. Is this a remedy for depression? Another planned obsolescence? Or can we just not do the numbers? 

In a world of 7 billion where one billion people starve and another 1.4 billion are overweight, we blame underproduction for world hunger, creating a justification for Monsanto’s crimes: more pesticides, more food. More GMO, more food security...

One sided political interests, citizens’ blindness and fading ethical values prevent a five-in-one solution. Cutting your food waste will:

-stimulate resource conservation

-eradicate world hunger

-shrink landfills (fewer plastic carrier bags, packaging of processed food. "In the USA, organic waste is the second highest component of landfills" - UNEP, 2012)

-reduce global warming (by cutting transport and storage of food that never makes it to our plates, as well as cutting methane emissions from food waste) 

-ensure food security 

With activists like Tristram Stuart at the front and the UNEP on their side, can this trend be reverted? Can uncovering the food waste scandal change our wasteful habits? 

Hope rises but the task is much too big. Each and every one of us must lift the lid of our garbage bins, dig into our consciences, and put into action what our grandmothers told us long ago „food is not to be wasted, there are far too many going hungry in this world“.

...or is there just too much on our plates?

It all starts with our thinking, it is all about our attitude. Can we be inspired by nature where everything is a source rather than waste?

You have the power to change because nothing is waste until you throw it. It is up to you to re-thing food waste! 

RELATED: The global food waste scandal
Waste not trim your carbon footprint

Life sentence for Ecocide?

We cannot achieve any change towards sustainability, if polluting is free of charge, or even promoted and subsidized (e.g. landfill subsidies), while sustainable practices are discriminated. 

How can we let those who get rich on exploiting the Earth - our common property and the condition of our lives - to get away with their irresponsible actions? 

Ecocide is a crime:

-against nature 

-against humanity 

-against future generations

-against peace 

It is time (or even well overdue) that we spoke and acted on such issues. Now you can vote to make Ecocide crime in the EU! Please sign the petition here. 

Details of citizens' initiative to be backed by at least one million EU citizens can be found here.

Polly Higgins - Ecocide, the 5th crime against peace

Waste NOT - trim your carbon footprint

One of the characteristics of today's society, and I dare to say worldwide, is wastefulness. We waste everything from food, clothes, electricity to natural resources like land and water! We waste even our time by creating problems and then attempting to solve them in a way that generates new problems.

Our materialistic lifestyles and production logic of short-term products generate huge landfills. We do not worry when we buy, we care nothing when we throw. As long as we keep our commodities in check, we are delighted. Three TVs, two cars, a new mobile each year, a couple of laptops per person, full fridge and a rotating stock of fancy clothes that get tossed with fashion. Multiply that by 20% of the world's population, since 20% of the world's population consumes 80% of the world's resources.

Lets not forget to stock in sales! Even if we don't need any of that stuff, isn't it just great to buy new things that are so "conveniently cheap"?

Being an ethical consumer is a tabu. Life is good far from a landfill. Let others worry about sorting out our waste...

No need to go further, everyone can dig in his own consciousness and his bin. Here are some inspiring European initiatives to rethink our waste:

www.whatsmycarbonfootprint.com

- Clothes library in Sweden where you can borrow clothes just like books!

- German Ecomoebel is a source for re-designed furniture

- French based traveling books

-or Munich public events practices such as the famous beer festival Octoberfest, which is almost garbage free: no plastic cups, plates or forks! And trust me, there is a lot of food movement. How do they do it?

All voted 2012 best pre-waste practices can be seen here.

What do you say, can you start your ZeroWasteHome?


RELATED: The global food waste scandal
Wasted food major cause of avoidable CO2 emissions
Story behind electronics 

The global food waste scandal

Tristram Stuart, founder of www.feeding5k.org, TED London 

I recently heard from a former Monsanto employee that if it was not for their GMO and related herbicides and pesticides, people would go hungry. Well, we have their solutions and yet, people go hungry. It is more, their solutions create two lines of problems:

-first environmental destruction and health problems related to the production of the food 

-second, and worse, environmental damage resulting from the food surplus

For instance, "US has twice as much food that it requires to feed their people" (Stuart, TED 2012). Now, guess where the surplus is going.

Just watch for yourself to see how we all are part of it.

Here is how you can be part of food waste change:

1) Stop wasting food

2) Create awareness by sharing the news on Facebook and twitter 

4) Sign the Feeding the 5000 pledge and make your voice heard

Related: Wasted food major cause of avoidable carbon emissions

Wasted food: major cause of avoidable CO2 emissions

We live in a world of 7 billion, where 935 million people go hungry, 300 million are obese and 1 billion people are overweight.

When food that could be eaten, used as animal feed, or transformed into compost, ends up in a landfill, we talk of food waste. Food waste occurs at all stages, from initial agricultural production (pre-consumer waste) to final household consumption (post-consumer waste). While in the rich Western world food waste often results from overproduction and is largely seen at manufacturer' and consumer' levels, the non-industrialized world's food loss originates in poor infrastructure such as food processing technology or transport infrastructure.

Global outlook at per capita food losses and waste in different world regions. Source: FAO, 2011

Directly related to affluence, “food waste is more a problem in industrialized countries”, most often caused by both manufacturers and consumers throwing perfectly edible foodstuffs into the trash. Per capita waste by consumers is between 95-115 kg a year in Europe and North America, while consumers in the impoverished South each throw away only 6-11 kg a year (FAO, 2011).

In the EU countries, consumers together with manufacturers are responsible for the largest share of food waste. Source: Andrea Segré 2012

According to a Greenpeace report, the food industry is responsible for creating up to 30% of the world's total annual carbon emissions. Just imagine how much land, water and energy would be saved, if all the food that is wasted was not produced or if it was evenly distributed to those in need. Statistics of Uncovering the global food scandal by Tristram Stuart reveal that the food surplus could feed as many as 3 billion people. We therefore do not need to produce more food, we need to waste less!

How wasted food is destroying the environment  can be seen through work of renowned artists who call for consciousness. Just monitor how much food is going into your dustbin. Although much of the responsibility lies with food manufacturers, here is what you can do to achieve zero food waste on your side. After all, European and US consumers are responsible for the largest share of food trash. 

Action: 

• Avoid bulk shopping such as three for price of two and large packaging. Purchase only what you know you will eat.
• Eat less than you need to keep a healthy body weight. Obesity and overconsumption are part of your personal carbon footprint.
• Consume fewer meat and dairy products as their production carries largest carbon footprint.
• Opt for locally produced and seasonal food.
• Avoid food spoilage and make sure all food you buy gets eaten. Engage in creative cooking and invite friends for "a clear-my-fridge party" before you go on a trip.
• Switch to organic and bio-produce that requires no pesticides for production.
• Spread the knowledge of this absurd environmental damage and join the Food Waste campaigns.

Feeding the 5000 in Bristol (UK) with food that would end up in a landfill

Related: Three main reasons to become vegetarian                                                                      Food dictatorship       

Expand your green horizons

Good news fellows Earth Carers, you are not alone! You must have noticed the increasing amount of environmental websites, blogs, and networking groups sprouting all over the world. Today, I wanted to draw your attention to a few of them:

The Spring of Sustainability -  is a free online seasonal series of events prepared by LOHAS that can inspire you to live a greener, healthier, more spacious life and transform any frustration you may feel about the state of our planet. It features more than 100 pioneers of sustainability - Jane Goodall, Ed Begley Jr., Bill McKibben, Van Jones, Vandana Shiva, John Robbins, Hazel Henderson, to name a few - who will share the most cutting-edge insights and tools for creating a sustainable and thriving world (I understand these are running for the next few days, so check them asap).

A fabulous new kid on the blog amongst green magazines is a free online publication CleanTech region magazine - inspirations from Sweden.

Great green blogs like Tree Hugger and exhaustive Green Living Tips that consider fantastic by an Australian Michael Bloch.

Contribute to a good cause - Act Now

Part of the green living is to take volunteer actions and support others. Check, for instance, how you can help in your area.

Those who are short of time, can also contribute from the comfort of their home by signing an e-petition or sending a pre-designed letter. Spread the world by email or through the social media, it has never been so easy. Of course, if you can spare cash to support activists, that will be of a tremendous help.  The options are endless. Whatever you do, act now...

                                                  

www.survivalinternational.org

...there is no excuse for anyone to be minding just his business...

Anyone can change the world

No matter who you are and where you come from, you can change the world from within. Illiterate, too young, too old, there is no limit to your potential. Lets just listen to our intuition and let it guide us. 

                                            Bunker Roy at TEDx talking of Barefoot college

It is easier to change the world than to keep it static. Change is the only constant in the equation of life. Lets just make it Earth conscious. 

Hidden secrets of processed food - the many Es

Described as dangerous, forbidden, suspicious or carcinogen, below you will find a summary list of E numbers to avoid in your food. While Europe is generally better equiped to ban those, the US and other countries might not be. In case of doubt, bring this list with your shopping list. However, you will best avoid these if you eat fresh, non processed food (including canned and frozen, which also have a large carbon footprint due to packaging, transport, refrigeration and so forth). Genuine bio and organic products will not include these and will have much higher nutritive value.

E number	Name and category	Side effects
E102 - E172	Colorants	May increase hyperactivity in children, asthmatics can react badly, alergic. Not to be taken with aspirin.
E173	Aluminium	Neurotoxic
E210 - E220	Benzoic acid and related salts/ often in milk and meat products	May cause headaches and intestine upset. May increase hyperactivity in children. Asthmatics sometimes react badly. Be cautious if you suffer from allergies or intolerances.
E220-E228	Preservative - sulphur dioxide and related salts/ often in milk and meat products	Headaches, intestine upset, skin disorders, destroys vitamin B12
E230	Preservative - Biphenyl and its derivatives	Headaches, intestine upset,
E249-E252	Potassium Nitrate and related salts	Skin disorders
E338-E343	Phosphoric Acid and its Salts	Digestive problems, stomach acidity
E450-E452	Sodium and Potassium Phosphates and Polyphosphates	Digestive problems, stomach acidity
E620-E625	Flavour Enhancers     Monosodium Glutamate (MSG)	Headaches, intestine upset, skin disorders
E951 (code used in the EU)	Artificial sweetener aspartam	Obesity, neurotoxic, serious adverse reactions such as muscle spasms, vision problems, hearing and memory loss, breathing difficulties, anxiety attacks, joint pain etc.
E952	Artificial sweetener sodiun cyclamate	Carcinogen (approved in 55 countries, banned in the US)
E954	Saccharine	Carcinogen

 Sources:  Curezone.com (Educating instead of Medicating) and other 

Aspartam is used by various brand names such as Equal, Spoonful, and Equal-Measure as well as NutraSweet, Monsanto’s subsidiary since 1984 sold in 2000.

...and talking of poisons, it is best to avoid chewing gum (ignoring other chewing gum dangers), if you have amalgam fillings as it may allow the relase of mercury.