I saw this very funny yet poignant video that aired on the Colbert Report about Oil companies and their false environmental credibility. It is about 5 months old, but still relevant.
I am so glad that the oil companies don't advertise here as much as they do in the US. It would drive me crazy!
Enjoy!
[Ed] I spoke too soon! I just saw a very similar ad on TV tonight from Chevron Australia trying to push their oil induced eco creds down our throats!
Earth is here so kind, that just tickle her with a hoe and she laughs with a harvest. ~Douglas William Jerrold, about Australia, A Land of Plenty
This is the last post in the series and it focuses on something dear to my heart. Gardening. My garden, is place of joy and tranquility. When I spend time working in my garden, I instantly relax and forget about the worries of the world. I feel connected with what I am doing at that very time and place. The simple act of planting new seeds or seedlings and watching them grow in the following weeks, fills my heart with a warm glow. When one of my hand raised seedlings die, a little bit of me goes with it, but when they thrive, I feel strong and filled with a sense of accomplishment. It is the best feeling to be able to walk out to the veggie patch and harvest the ingredients for a summer salad or meal, safe in the knowledge that you are reducing your food miles and therefore, your carbon footprint.
So here are today's tips about reducing your water usage in the garden and decreasing your carbon footprint.
Using water wisely cuts your overall water usage by up to 50%. Mulch is a wonderful tool to have in your gardening armoury. It keeps the moisture in the soil, keeps the soil cool in summer and warm in winter. Think of it as a big blanket for you garden beds. They also keep weed growth down. A great book on the subject is "The Miracle of Mulch" by Mary Horsfall, which describe the types of mulch and its many uses.
Simple things are also effective for saving water. Checking the weather forecast for possible rain in your area before venturing out to water the garden. Check how damp the soil is before watering. The mulch may look dry, but by looking underneath the soil is most probably moist enough and could last another day.
Wicking beds or wicking boxes are a great idea. They water the plants from the bottom up with a constant supply of water near the root zone. Hardly any water is lost to evaporation. Have a look at this video to get a better understanding of the technique. I will be giving them a go in the next few weeks. The principle looks simple enough.
Here is another water saving tip I received from Kate over at Hills & Plains Seedsavers. I think she called it a wicking pot. I tried it out last weekend, with some amazing results. What you do is lay your hands on some terracotta pots that are unglazed and unsealed.
Then you plug up the hole in the bottom with silicone (I used a rock and some silicon to stop the water from leaking out.
Then you bury the pot into your prepared garden bed up to the lip leaving about 2 cm above the ground to allow for the mulch.
Then you plant you water loving plants around the pot. Veggies like lettuce, celery that need a lot of water are a good idea. In this example, I planted lettuce.
They look a bit sorry for themselves as it was a hot day, but they soon recovered. Water the plants in well and fill up the pot to the top and bung on a lid to prevent evaporation. Then mulch well around the plants and the pots to keep the moisture in.
Since I planted last Saturday, I have filled the pots twice with water. All of the lettuces survived the transplant and have new growth. The pots structure lets the water seep out slowly, therefore keeping the soil moist at all times. I find that it takes about 3 days for the pot to drain completely, and the soil around the pot out to about 20cm is damp to touch. Fantastic tip, thanks Kate! Kate used this method last year, and found that she could pick the lettuce during the heat of the midday sun, and found that the leaves were still nice and crisp.
Other great and easy ideas are reusing your greywater for watering fruit trees and non-root and leafy vegetables. As long as the greywater doesn't come in contact with the edible part of the plant, you should be fine. Watermelons love greywater, as do most cucurbits. Make sure you wash the produce well when picking after having used greywater just to be sure. If you do decide to use greywater, ensure that you use an plant friendly laundry detergent with low sodium and phosphorous content. We use Planet Ark Aware laundry powder, and the plants love it.
If you have the space and the funds, a rainwater tank is a must. Even though I only have a 2300L tank, it saved my veggie patch last summer. By only being able to use mains water twice a week, the ground dries out very quickly when the temperature get over 35 degrees C and the rainwater is a godsend.
Cultivating less lawn and more garden reduces garden water usage by 40%. When I see a well groomed lawn covering an entire front yard, I see wasted energy, time, and money. Last time I looked you can't eat a lawn. I will give you that kids can play on lawns but for all the effort to maintain them, it is easier to take them down the park for a frolic. Plant vegetables where the lawn is. Not only do you use far less water, but you get a tangible benefit out of your effort in the form of food. Front yard vegetable patches are the new black! Gone are the days of the lush lawn and all the petrol required to mow it. So by not having to use fuel, or artificial fertilizer you can drastically reduce your carbon footprint by converting that antiquated lawn to vegetable production.
Planting native Australian species reduces garden water usage by another 20%. I dig native plants. I have a few that require absolutely no watering at all. After all, this is the climate they survive in so it comes naturally to these plants to last a long time in prolonged droughts. I have been trying to get my hands on some local bush tucker plants other than the Lilly pillies that I already have, but the knowledge at the nurseries around here is lacking. All I got were stupid looks when I asked the other day. I will have to do a bit of research to see what will survive around here and that is edible. Wish me luck.
Gardening is a kind of disease. It infects you, you cannot escape it. When you go visiting, your eyes rove about the garden; you interrupt the serious cocktail drinking because of an irresistible impulse to get up and pull a weed. ~Lewis Gannit
Well, sad but true, but today is the final day of Zero Footprint Week. I hope you all enjoyed the series as much as I did writing it, and I would like to thank the team at One at a Time Foundation for contacting me, in particular Dan, and letting me run with the idea. I hope all of the tips have been helpful and all I ask is that you have a think some of them, and try and make a difference to your carbon footprint in your part of the world.
Transport: How we get from A to B.
Before man invented the wheel, the only choices we had were shanks pony (our feet), and riding animals. Both modes of transport were and still are, extremely low carbon. Then we invented the wheel which for thousands of years were attached to various types of vehicles that were pulled/pushed by humans or animals allowing for greater loads to be carried. Once again, very low carbon options.
Then the steam engine was invented in the early 1700's and it took George Stephenson to put wheels on it in the form of the Rocket, thus began the industrial revolution and the beginning of the human race's addiction to burning fossil fuels.
Then, with the discovery of oil and the refining process, and the subsequent invention of the internal combustion engine, it all quickly went to custard. Cars were relatively rare early on, and it wasn't until Henry Ford invented the production line method of manufacturing cars making them affordable to the masses, did the automobile have any real environmental impact. From that day in 1908, carbon emissions have been increasing exponentially ever since.
So now we know a little history behind transportation, what can we do to reduce our own personal carbon footprint in this area? Well here are three tips that will help you achieve this goal.
Walk, Cycle or Use Public Transport
A trip to the shop or the beach can be much more enjoyable if you leave the car at home and walk or cycle. Not only do you save money on petrol, but you can also save time spent waiting in traffic and looking for a car park. Also remember that kids have legs, and as they begin to look for more responsibility, let them ride or walk to school instead of you being the local taxi service or if they are too little, then walk to school with them. I used to have a neighbour who's drove her kids to the same school as Ben, and when I left for school at the same time as her, I actually used to beat her to the classroom, and then win the race back home as well. We are only talking 1km here people. So many people forget to factor in the hassle of parking, that they get much more stressed than I ever would walking, and all because of pure laziness. You also would not believe how many people actually drop their kids off in their pyjamas that also live very close to the school. Obviously, none are too worried about their carbon footprint and too eager to get straight back in to bed when they get home! Which leads me to the next tip.
Drive Smart
Making sure your car is healthy and planning trips ahead of time for maximum efficiency can save on time, money and carbon. Planning trips will save you a lot of money. Why do two trips when one will suffice? When I go out on errands for Kim, she writes me a list of things to do and get, and the places to visit. I then map the best route out in my head so that I don't have to backtrack and waste any fuel. Also, don't skip on the maintenance. Make sure your tires are inflated as per the manufacturers recommendations. Flat tyres increase rolling resistance, and you burn more fuel. Regular services ensure that the engine is at peak performance and not struggling by moving thicker dirty oil around its block. This also burns more fuel. I also find that by accelerating gently from a standstill, I save a lot of fuel. In my hybrid, it can make the difference of 2 litres per 100km if I have a lead foot for a few hours. Just think what that is like in a normal car!
Choosing your next car on the basis of fuel efficiency also helps. Visit www.greenvehicleguide.gov.au to find out more about choosing a more eco-friendly car. I have notice of late that there are so many V6 and V8 cars for sale on the side of the road around our town. Even now that fuel prices have gone down a bit from before the global recession started, people are still ditching these gas guzzlers in droves. I know it is not because everyone in my town has suddenly become environmental superheroes, it is just that the price of fuel is cutting into the household budget more than it used to. Even by buying a second hand 4 cylinder car, you will reap the environmental benefits and lower your carbon footprint.
Try Car Pooling
Sometimes you need to drive to work, but why not have some company while you do so? Driving to work with your fellow employees saves money, fuel and stress on your car. For more information visit http://www.travelsmart.gov.au/links/. Hey, what a cool link. Thanks Zero Footprint Week site! I have asked so many people in my town who work in the same building as me if they want to car pool, and I always get some lame excuse. I am quite happy to do all the driving, because I have to pay for the lease anyway and have to do a ludicrous amount of kilometres per year to get a tax benefit. But, alas no one want to share my green trip in with me :(
I will definitely be checking out the travel smart site to see if there are any tips on getting fellow travellers in my area. Share the love I say!
Tomorrows post will be about Sustainable Gardening, and how you can reduce your carbon footprint in this area.
Keep an eye on the official Zero Footprint Week web site for more tips on how to reduce your carbon footprint during the week.
See you all tomorrow for the last post on Zero Footprint Week!
According to the Zero Footprint Week site, electricity accounts for 50% of energy consumed by Australian households and for 85% of greenhouse emissions. The main reason for this fact is that the majority of electricity in Australia is generated by burning Coal which released massive amounts of greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere.
So I will also add in my experiences on reducing electricity consumption during my sustainable journey so far. So here are the three categories for today, plus a few tips of my own.
Switching off appliances and power points can save 10% on energy bills. I might be preaching to the converted, but standby power adds up over a year. So what can you do about it? If you can group appliances together then put them all on a powerboard and you then only have one switch to worry about. Don't let the fact of not being able to reach the power point deter you, there are powerboards with switches on them that make it easier to reach. I have used this system for each PC (we have 3 PC's and 1 laptop), and the entertainment system in the lounge. I found that the week I implemented this, we saved 2 Kilowatt hours a day and have done so now for 18 months! At 15.99 cents per kWh that is a savings of $116.80 and 876 kg of CO2e per year. All for turning stuff off at the wall! It is also a good idea to read your meter daily for a week if you can. This way you can determine if the small changes you make over a week are making a difference. Have a look at your previous electricity bill, because most of them have your daily average usage listed. You can use this figure as your baseline and try and improve each month. If you would like more information about the other things I did have a look at the post titled "Eco House Challenge Electricity 1" and "Eco House Challenge Electricity 2". Since I wrote that post, we have had two adult kids move out of home, and our daily average electricity usage over the last 32 weeks was 12.2 kWh. This total includes grid and solar. The grid daily average was 3.2 kWh! I love the Sun.
Choose energy efficient appliances can save another 10% on energy bills. Our big electricity sucking machines are the Fridge/Freezer, Clothes Dryer, Swimming Pool Pump, Entertainment System, and Gas Stove. Since I began my journey in sustainable living, we have replaced the a Fridge/Freezer, a Chest Freezer and combined them into one twin door energy efficient model. The old fridge died, so we did our research for an energy efficient model, and found that the one we purchased used 60% less energy per year than the old Fridge/Freezer and Chest freezer combined. It was a great feeling to see the results. I only ever replace an appliance when it breaks for good, because I take the embedded energy into account for the new item. Embedded energy is the energy that it takes to make the new appliance which should be taken into account if you can get the information that is. To find the most energy efficient appliance for you have a look at the Commonwealth Government Energy Rating site. It is full of great information that I used when looking for my fridge. For the appliances that you can't or don't want to replace just yet, try and use them less. We rarely use the clothes dryer anymore and prefer to hang clothes either on an airer or under cover if it is raining. I got rid of a bar fridge that I rarely used, and turned the pool pump down from 8 hours a day to 3.5 hours a day in Summer. The pool still stays clean and chlorinated, so I don't why people insist on leaving these energy guzzling pumps for many hours during the day. Once again, try and take meter readings while you make changes to your consumption to check the results.
Switching to GreenPower reduces your carbon footprint by up to 70%. This was one of the first things that we did. By visiting www.greenpower.gov.au we found that our current provider Origin Energy provided accredited GreenPower to our area. We first signed up for 20% Wind, and then when our Solar PV system was installed, we changed to 100% wind for the excess that we drew from the grid. Origin also threw in GreenGas, for free, which is a scheme where they invest in projects to sequester CO2e like new renewable energy, planting trees, research and development etc.
I am proud to say that our home is carbon neutral for all of our imported energy needs.
Tomorrows post will be about Transport, and how you can reduce your carbon footprint in this area.
Keep an eye on the official Zero Footprint Week web site for more tips on how to reduce your carbon footprint during the week.
Since I began recovering from my back injury, started the pain management sessions in the form of self hypnosis, and began exercise rehab, I wake up every morning feeling like this guy! One of my favourite childhood cartoon heroes.
In the last two months I have been so full of energy that my usual optimistic self is extra optimistic. Kim asks me how I do it. Well, I suppose the power of suggestion during the hypnosis helps, so does the exercise and the knowledge that I am still getting stronger, but I think it maybe something else. That something else is having a big goal.
My goal is (with your help) to tread very lightly on the Earth, and keep it livable for future generations of not only humans, but every species that inhabit the planet.
A lofty goal I know, but one I attempt to make a reality each and every day. Little by little I am achieving a sustainable, simple, and joyful lifestyle. Common sense really, but hard to come by in this crazy, mixed up, conspicuous consumer society we live in. Some would look at me as the odd one out, but I believe they are the individuals out of touch with reality!
Yes, my super hero friends, common sense is so rare these days it must be a super power!
Gavin
Today's theme is the Office and how we can reduce our carbon footprint where we spend a fair bit of time.
I work in on the 30th Floor of an office tower in the central business district of Melbourne, Victoria, so I have quite a few suggestions for this theme. I see resources wasted every day where I work, because people are very nonchalant about environmental issues. A few people practice green principles at home, but most (not all) seem to fit the usual mould of a conspicuous consumer by using as many resources as possible, because they don't have to pay for them! Anyway, enough of a rant for now, here are the three tips from the Zero Footprint Week site for today with my personal experiences thrown in for good measure!
Switch off! Not your brains at work, the appliances like PC's, printers, photocopiers, and lights. In the same way you turn electrical items off in your home, please do so at the office (this includes the home office for those that work at home). Treating your office appliances just as you would those in the home can greatly reduce your office's energy consumption and carbon emissions.
By turning off PC's at night and then taking the next step by switching them off at the wall to prevent standby power, goes a long way to reducing consumption. That includes all peripherals like your monitor as well. With at least 70 computers on a typical city office floor, that is huge saving that can be made by simply switching things off at night.
Lights are another big one. How many times have you driven past a city late at night and seen office blocks lit up like a Christmas tree. From experience, no one works that late, and usually it is sheer laziness that has prevented these lights from being turned off. Same goes for empty bathrooms and meeting rooms. I am forever turning off the lights in vacant meeting rooms when I walk around the floor yet there are signs everywhere asking people to turn off the lights as they leave the room. Once again, care factor zero.
By implementing a responsible energy usage policy, your business can save as much as 20% on its monthly energy bills.
Starting or revitalising and office recycling program. My office goes through hundreds of kilograms of paper each month. Reams of paper disappear faster than a cold meat pie and a warm beer at a footy final. I sit no more than 3 metres from a printer when at work, and I actually see queues forming during the day to collect printouts. Surely people don't need to print that much, At least the default setting on the printer is to print on both sides of the sheet. This is a simple solution for those paper junkies.
There is hope at our office. We have recycling bins for office paper, cans/bottles/plastic, and some floors have organic waste collections which is great. Now if we can only get people to throw the right waste in the right bin we would actually get somewhere! By reducing paper and organising an office recycling program you can reduce your carbon footprint at work considerably. If you already have a reduction and recycling program, get behind it, and energise those around you to do so. What do you think they make recycled toilet paper from? Nice, white, recycled office paper, that's what. No bum is that special that it needs virgin paper to be wiped on it! Recycle your used office paper and save our old growth forests from being felled.
Measuring, offsetting and reducing carbon footprints. Many businesses will be aware of the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme (CPRS) that will be implemented by the Commonwealth Government in 2010, but not many will know what it means to them. Well basically the more you pollute, the more you pay for the privilege. The first step is to take an audit of your businesses carbon emissions. If you don't know how, take a course on Carbon Accounting. It will serve your business well in the near future. Once your footprint is determined/calculated, you and your fellow co-workers can set policies in place to reduce it or offset it. By acting early, your business can be saved from the last minute scramble for green resources in 2010 when the mandatory CPRS goes into effect. If you are interested in starting a green career, now is one of the best times to begin acquiring the skills that will be required for the future.
To find your office’s environmental footprint and more tips on how you can best improve it, please visit the EPA Victoria’s office footprint calculator. It is a great place to begin to see what area needs to be tackled first.
Tomorrows post will be about Energy, and how you can reduce your carbon footprint in this area. At last, my favourite subject!
Keep an eye on the official Zero Footprint Week web site for more tips on how to reduce your carbon footprint during the week.
I was tagged with the "The Tree of Happiness". Thanks Cabbage Heart (my wonderful sister)
The idea of this tag is to list six things that make you happy and then tag others with it and spread the love.....
1. Family. My family (Wife, kids, parents, siblings) give me happiness every single day. In fact it is the only thing worth getting out of bed for in the morning. Isn't that why we go to work 5-6 days a week in peak hour traffic!
2. My Chickens. Yes a funny one to put at number two, but they make me smile every afternoon when I let them free-range around. Butch makes me happy too, now that he and the girls are best mates.
3. Sustainable and Simple living. I get immense joy out of doing my bit to live as sustainable and simply as I can. I look forward to reducing my wants and needs each week, and try and supliment our diet with home grown produce, which leads me to the next one.
4. Gardening. I love gardening. Learning about the Earth by running your fingers through soil when gardening is the simplest way to get in touch with our Planet and Mother Nature. The food tastes great as well!
5. Renewable Energy. There is nothing quite like making your own electricity from the Sun. After all, that is where all other energy originated from. Why not harness it directly?
6. Life. Life makes me happy. Every single day, I give thanks for the life I have and lead, and the people that share it with me! If you can't love life, what else is there?
And here is my quote for the day before I tag the next lucky recipient.
Be daring, be different, be impractical, be anything that will assert integrity of purpose and imaginative vision against the play-it-safers, the creatures of the commonplace, the slaves of the ordinary.
Sir Cecil Beaton
Thanks Sir Cecil, now I tag Karen from Karen's Choice.
So what can you do around the home to lower your carbon footprint? Both home owners and renters alike can do simple things to reduce their CO2e emissions. So, today from the Zero Footprint Week site are the three categories or challenges if you like, with my own tales of how I did it.
Reduce, reuse, and recycle. By recycling just 20% more saves money on rubbish rates. That is straight from the site, but what do they mean? Well I have a perfect example. Two years ago, I used to have three wheelie bins. One 120 litre landfill bin, one 240 litre Recycling Bin, and one 240 litre Green waste bin. Due to a lot of composting and vermiculture, I no longer needed the green waste bin so in June this year we returned it to the council and we now pay $57 less in waste rates. I believe that if we keep it up, we should be able to change out the 120 litre landfill bin to an 80 litre size, which would then reduce our waste costs by another $21 a year.
Now saving money on rates is not the only reason why you should try and use the 3R's. By reducing consumption and therefore waste, you generate far less packaging waste, and save dollars by not buying stuff. Reusing items like ice-cream containers for storage, jars for preserving, and soft drink bottles for homebrewing for instance, you can saving on having to buy brand new items for these purposes. For more information on recycling visit the Visy Recycling Project. Or have a look at one of my past posts called "Eco House Challenge - Waste".
Borrow, Swap or Buy Second Hand. How many drills, hammers or shovels do we really need in this world? How many DVD's are purchased each week, and just sit on a shelf only and have only been watched once (guilty as charged sir). Instead of buying something that you might only use once, see if a friend has what you require and borrow or swap for what you need. Hiring a movie at your local Video Store is much better than buying a copy and you rid the world of another piece of landfill that takes thousands of years to break down. Go and visit your local opportunity shop (Vinnies or Salvos), and browse for a while. It is amazing what you can find. I personally have found many fowler-vacola jars for my preserving kit as at least 90% discount. I have even bought a pair of house jeans (Levi's) that are still in nick that I wear when gardening. They cost me $20 and were a bargain. Imagine how much money you could save just by buying second hand stuff for a month!
Insulate Your Home. Now all you renters don't switch off. There are simple things that you can do as well. Ever heard of draft proofing. Remember that door snake or draft sausage that your Nana used to have at the front and back door. They were used to keep a cold draft out, and guess what, they still work today. Two bits of long, thin material filled with wheat or sand. Bung it up against the bottom of the door and you stop the cold air getting in. If anyone has written a post about making a door sausage, please share a link in a comment. I am sure those handy with a sewing machine could whip one up.
If you are a home owner, fit a draft stopper on the outside of the door that seals when the door closes. I have also fitted rubber strips around the front and back door frames that seal tight upon closing. Check anything that opens to the outside for drafts. I use an smoking incense stick to detect drafts. It works a treat. The smoke moves (other than upward of course) when there is a breeze. You can use the same type of rubber strips for windows as well.
Another item that most people miss are exhaust fans. Most exhaust fans are installed straight into the ceiling without anything preventing the hot or cold air from entering your living space from the roof cavity. Shut your bathroom doors on a hot day, and you will notice the difference! You can also buy a device called a Draftstoppa which seals the vent when you turn it off, or do what I did and simply wrap the cover/filter of the exhaust fan with aluminium foil for the summer (it was one we didn't use in the kitchen). Make sure you tape over the switch so that no one burns out the motor by turning it on accidentally. Last summer we notice that we did not need to use the air-conditioner half as much, and saved at least 20-30% on our cooling bill for the season.
If you do own your home, then make sure that your have insulation in the roof space with a high R value. The higher the better. We have cellulose loose blown insulation (made from pulped wastepaper and mixed with borax and boric acid to make it fire proof) in our roof cavity, which was cheap and has a good R value.
With all these measures in place, and with your doors and windows shut early in the morning, you will have no problem keeping your house cool in the summer and warm in the winter and you will save swags of money in electricity, natural gas, wood, or heating oil.
Tomorrows post will be about how you can reduce your carbon footprint at the Office.
Keep an eye on the official Zero Footprint Week web site for more tips on how to reduce your carbon footprint during the week.
As I wrote this morning, eating less meat helps reduce your carbon footprint. So, in no more than four minutes after my "ZFW - Food" post hit the web, that I received a request for my Chickpea and Potato Curry (thanks Anita).
Now this recipe is my own creation, so excuse the vagueness in the instructions. Ben calls this dish Bombay Potatoes and it is his favourite vegetarian meal. I find that because it has an exotic name, Ben thinks it is cool and eats every last morsel.
Gavin's Chickpea and Potato Curry
Serves about 6.
800gm re-hydrated and cooked Chickpeas, or two 400gm tins of chickpeas.
500gm Potatoes, peeled and diced into 2cm cubes
300gm Sweet Potato, peeled and diced into 2cm cubes
1 Brown Onion, finely chopped
3 cloves Garlic, crushed
400ml Light Coconut Milk
750ml Vegetable Stock, (I use 3 veggie stock cubes)
1 tablespoon Curry powder
3-4 tablespoons Curry paste (your choice of flavour and according to taste)
2 tablespoons Ghee or vegetable oil
Salt and Pepper to taste.
1. Heat the Ghee/oil in a large wok and add onion and garlic. Cook until translucent.
2. Add curry paste and curry powder and combine well and cook for a further minute.
3. Add both types of potatoes, mix and cook for a further 3 minutes until all the potatoes are coated with the curry mixture.
4. Add the coconut milk and vegetable stock, stir well and bring to the boil. Taste to see if anymore seasoning is required and add a little salt and pepper to taste.
5.. Reduce heat to a simmer and cover. Cook for 25 minutes, stirring twice. You will know when it is done, when the sauce has thickened and the potatoes are soft and break apart.
Now I know that it is very hard to get coconut milk made in Australia, but I have seen it around. I have substituted light evaporated milk for the coconut milk once, and it tasted OK. You can also substitute butternut pumpkin for the sweet potato if it is not in season. Either way, it is a low carbon footprint meal if you can buy mainly local ingredients.
As I said yesterday, this meal is a family favourite. I serve it with basmati rice, pompadums and some of my home made brinjali (eggplant) pickles. It goes down a treat and is not very spicy, just a very, very tasty curry.
Bon Appetite!
Where does your food come from? Do you buy it from the supermarket that stocks food from all around the globe? Do you buy fresh fruit and vegetables at a local farmers market? Do you know how far your food has travelled to get to your plate? Each food choice we make on a daily basis contributes to our carbon footprint.
Canned tomatoes from Italy, Curry sauces from the United Kingdom, Lamb from New Zealand, grapes, cherries and oranges from the USA. The distance, and in turn the fossil fuel burned during transporting these foods to you is costing us the Earth! This brings me to the concept of food miles. Wikipedia states that;
Food miles is a term which refers to the distance food is transported from the time of its production until it reaches the consumer. It is one dimension used in assessing the environmental impact of food. The concept of food miles originated in 1990 in the United Kingdom. It was conceived by Andrea Paxton, who wrote a research paper that discussed the fact that food miles are the distance that food travels from the farm it is produced on to the kitchen in which it is being consumed (Iles, 2005, p.163). Engelhaupt (2008) states, that “food miles is the distance food travels from farm to plate, are a simple way to gauge food’s impact on climate change”
So it is the distance that our food travels that makes the difference to our carbon footprint. So what are some of our options?
You can buy fruit and vegetables that are local and in season. By buying locally, you reduced the amount of food miles that the produce has had to travel to get to you. You are also supporting local farmers, and not some uncaring supermarket chain, who doesn't care where the food comes from. You can save money by buying produce that is in season. Fruit and vegetables that is imported in the off season is usually much more expensive and the quality is questionable. That is one of the reasons that I do not buy out of season produce, especially fruit, because it just tastes horrid. Give me a ripe, local plum, peach or strawberry any day!
Choose produce with less packaging. The packaging of food adds to the overall cost of the produce and the additional weight adds to transport costs. Buying food with less packaging also helps reduce your household waste. I have found that our non-recyclable waste has reduced considerably since we started taking packaging in to account during our purchasing decisions.
Eat less Meat. I know, most people love a steak on the BBQ, but did you know that it takes nearly 16 times as much water to produce 1 kg of beef than it does to produce 1 kg of wheat. It is a fact that it is easier to transport and process vegetables and grain than it is to produce meat. Now, I am not saying that you can't have meat, just think of reducing your consumption to lower your carbon footprint. We have about three vegetarian meals a week, and have found that our grocery bill has fallen considerably. My favourite is a very nice chickpea and potato curry that I am famous for here at home. Everyone raves about it, and it is a very cheap meal to make. This video from Dothegreenthing.com says it all!
Grow your own produce. Well this tip is not from the website, but it is bleeding obvious. By growing your own fruit and vegetables, you can harvest organic produce, use less water, and use no packaging, all in the comfort of you own back (or front) yard. Now I am no gardening expert. I have just had the good fortune to remember some of the lessons that my Dad taught me when I was a kid, and I have read many books on vegetable gardening and many gardening blogs. Every little bit of knowledge helps. Once you get the hang of it, it comes second nature for what works and what does not. You also get to recognise what produce is in season and what is not, and it helps you to avoid out of season produce at the green grocer or supermarket. It is cheap and rewarding growing you own food. Once you pick your first home grown tomato, you will never look back! More about Sustainable Gardening on Saturday.
Tomorrows post will be about how you can reduce your carbon footprint at Home.
Keep an eye on the official Zero Footprint Week website for more tips on how to reduce your carbon footprint during the week.
So what is a carbon footprint? According to Wikipedia a carbon footprint is a "measure of the impact that human activities have on the environment in terms of the amount of greenhouse gases produced, measured in units of carbon dioxide".
It is used so that individuals, companies and nations can conceptualise their carbon dioxide contribution from the burning of fossil fuels which has been proven to contribute to Climate Change.
So, now that you understand the concept, how do you measure it? There are many carbon calculators that can help you determine whether your lifestyle has a large carbon footprint or a small sustainable one. The site CarbonFootprint.com has a good calculator that is fairly simple to use if you want to work out your own impact. I worked out my family of five's footprint and it works out to be about 3.5 tonnes of CO2e per year.
Australians on average each have a carbon footprint of 14 - 20 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) depending on what source you use. That makes us the highest emitters of CO2e per capita in the world. That is a bad thing, but by reducing our emissions and therefore the impact to the planet, we can help avert runaway climate change.
The video below will give you a few tips on how to reduce your carbon footprint. It is from the U.S. so it talks about pounds of CO2e instead of kilograms and tonnes. Just remember that a kilogram is 2.2 pounds. The video is from howcast.com (thanks Marina)
Over the next week, I will write a post each day about ways I have reduced my carbon footprint from being a massive emitter before my green epiphany, to a dark green, low carbon emitting, planet loving, sustainable living, every day sort of bloke.
Tomorrow is a post about food, and how I reduced my carbon footprint in this area with a few simple behavioural changes.
Keep an eye on the official Zero Footprint Week website for more tips on how to reduce your carbon footprint during the week.
It is going to be an educational kind of week!
November 23-29th is Zero Footprint Week, which is an initiative of the One at a Time Foundation. It is an educational week of awareness that is aimed at helping individuals reduce their carbon footprint.
Going Zero is a big ask, and hard to achieve, but by having a look at the simple things we can do as individuals and as a community, we can reduce our footprint.
The One at a time Foundations site states;
"With the federal government’s Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme due to take effect in 2010, Zero Footprint Week is an opportunity for individuals, businesses and communities to reduce their ecological footprint before the scheme’s fees are introduced.
Founder and Director of One At a Time Foundation, Amanda Little said, “Zero Footprint Week is a great forum for businesses and community groups to showcase their green initiatives, and aims to provide simple, practical information on how we can reduce our ecological footprint, one easy step at a time.”
Each day of the week focuses on a different area:
Sunday, November 23: Zero Footprint Week Launch
Monday, November 24: Food
Tuesday, November 25: Home
Wednesday, November 26: Office
Thursday, November 27: Energy
Friday November 28: Transport
Saturday, November 29: Sustainable GardeningAbout One at a Time
The One at a Time Foundation is an independent, entrepreneurial, not for profit organisation dedicated to fostering change to reduce and halt global warming. "
So in the spirit of the event, I will posting each day starting from tomorrow, with a post about each focus area.
I invite other bloggers to join in. The more the merrier I reckon!
Now, if you are thinking that "Hey, I never heard of this mob", well I had a lengthy email conversation with Dan, who works for Edelman. Edelman is a communications agency, that does pro bono work for One at a Time Foundation
Here is my initial response to his email and his follow up. I believe that these people are passionate about making a difference, so therefore my involvement in the event.
Hi Dan,
Looks like a good initiative. Can you tell me what sort of advertising campaign is going to be run for ZFW? What sort of media types do you intend to cover.
I am interested, but I am not sure if I will cover the event. You need to convince me Dan that this is not just a PR company with a flash website trying to make a buck for some anonymous client.
I want to see the passion. Want to know that your company Edelman have green policies like energy efficiency, a green car fleet, a green incentive program for your employees etc.
Don't get me wrong, I love a green cause and ZFW sounds good, but without evidence, it could all be smoke and mirrors.
Regards,
Gavin
Hi Gavin,
Thanks for your email and sorry for my late reply, but handling my master-thesis, working for two green not-for-profits and also for Edelman is quite time consuming sometimes :)
Yes, ZFW is a great week, and this is not only my professional opinion but my very personal one. I've tried to support green initiatives for years now. In Germany (where I'm from) I worked for the renewable energy field to push the establishment of offshore wind energy structures in Germany, last year I went to the States and worked for the Green Ambassadors, a green initiative to make pupils and kids more aware of how to act more conscious with our earth and here in Australia I work also mostly in the environmental field.
I totally see your point, as the sender of the email is a PR agency. But please let me share with you, that Edelman does this work pro bono. That means, I don't get paid for this work. And Edelman also doesn't get paid for this work. Amanda Little, our Acting Managing Director, founded the environmental not-for-profit One at a Time Foundation, before she joined Edelman.
We try to raise attention for ZFW nation-wide. We want to encourage Australians to take simple steps to measure and reduce their impact on the environment, to make them aware that they also can save money, and to make Australian aware that they also help to halt climate change by reducing their ecological footprint. For this, we try not only to get the newspaper's attention, but we decided to also inform environmental bloggers like you in hope that you spread the word as well.
Gavin, I hope you see that this is really passion-driven. And all the people that work for One at a Time are environmental conscious. Me for example, I don't have a car, try to commute only with my bicycle, don't buy to-go stuff, shop only locally, we grow our own food in the backyard, no plastic bags of course, try to use as less electricity as possible and so on.
if you have any further questions just write me an email.
Cheers,
Dan
This is starting to irritate me a lot. I know I can't change the weather, but at least give us a little bit of rain Huey!
Here is the latest weather radar image from the BOM. It shows that it is raining in nearly every population centre in Australia, except here in Melton. Click to enlarge.
I am still waiting for the rain, and have been since I cannot remember when. We had about 3mm two weeks ago, but it only wet the first cm of the soil and that was it. Before that, it was 3 months since we had an entire day of rain. Huge cracks are popping up everywhere in the clay soil we have around here. The medium strip outside our house looks like an earthquake has recently hit.
At least the east side of Melbourne is getting rain, where our water storage is located. You can see by the map how far away we are from the City.
Maybe we can avert Stage 4 water restrictions yet if the rain in the east keeps up! It is forecast to rain for the next 4 days, but I have heard that one before. It always rains in the east of Melbourne, but never the west. After 8 years of drought, maybe I better get another rainwater tank, so that when we get the Summer storms, we can capture it for the dry times.
I know that this post will prompt many comments from those who live to the north of us in NSW and Qld. It is like the great flood up there and they probably wish it was dry like it is south of the border!
Sorry for complaining, but my garden is not growing very fast due to the extreme lack of nutrient rich rain. Tap water just does not cut the mustard! Maybe this rain dance post will bring it on. Here is hoping for at least some precipitation.
Julie over at Towards Sustainability has tagged me for a meme. I have never done a meme before, but I figure that it is just like an interview for a green magazine, but kind of local (and not in a magazine!).
Here are the Guidelines:
1. Link to Green Meme Bloggers (click on the pic above).
2. Link to whoever tagged you.
3. Include meme number.
4. Include these guidelines in your post.
5. Tag 3 other green bloggers.
Anyway, here goes.
1) Name two motivations for being green?
A well documented motivation of mine was attending a screening of An Inconvenient Truth back in September 2006. Before that date, I was just as ordinary as everyone else. I experienced many emotions after that movie, and went about changing my ways towards a sustainable lifestyle.
The second motivation is my family, and the future unborn generations to come. I want them to have a nice planet to live on, and not the trashed one we are creating at the moment.
2) Name 2 eco-UNfriendly items you refuse to give up?
I am not sure I have any left, maybe the PC, but it doesn't draw much power. But seeing that I make my own, it is then not very eco-unfriendly. When I dispose of it, it will be recycled via a reputable e-waste processor.
Maybe my big screen rear projection TV, but once again, it draws much less power than an LCD or Plasma, so it is a vice I can live with.
3) Are you at peace with or do you feel guilty about number 2?
No, I am totally at peace with these two items. They are the greenest I can make them. I switch both off at the wall at night to avoid standby power.
4) What are you willing to change but feel unable to/stuck with/unsure how to go about it?
Greywater recycling is my biggest hurdle at the moment. I recycle the washing machine water onto the ornamental garden and fruit trees, but I would love to capture all of the waste water from the shower and bath. Unfortunately the outlet pipes are at ground level, and I would have to cut through 15 cm of concrete to install a decent system. Maybe sometime down the track, when I have run out of other projects and when we go to stage 4 water restrictions.
5) Do you know your carbon footprint for your home? If so, is it larger/smaller than your national average? (http://www.carbonfootprint.com/calculator.aspx)
Yes, it is about 3.5 tonnes of CO2e per year, according to the calculator above. I buy GreenPower and GreenGas and Honda paid for carbon offsets for my car when I bought it. The big ticket items are food and clothing for us. We try and buy local food if we can't grow or bake it ourselves, but it is so hard to get bread flour around here, so I get it from Adelaide. We still shop at Aldi for essentials , but only buy their Australian produce. The National average carbon footprint for Australia is 16.3 tonnes.
6) What's eco-frustrating and/or eco-fantastic about where you live?
The eco-frustrating thing is that our local council has done the bare minimum to promote any type of climate change action besides the standard curb side recycling collection. They are improving, but not fast enough for me.
The eco-fantastic thing is there is actually an environment team employed by the council to heighten local awareness, but I don't think they received much funding. The other thing is that I live here, so it can only get better. ;)
7) Do you eat local/organic/vegetarian/forage/grow your own?
We grow most of our own vegetables, but not enough to be self sufficient like in the Good Life. We do our best with the land we have, and practice organic gardening techniques. It is very hard to buy local in Melton, except if we make a special trip to Bacchus Marsh where there are large market gardens. It is about 15km away, so not too bad.
8) What do you personally find the most challenging in being green?
Watering the garden at 6am on a Sunday morning! No, really it is the frustration that I feel when I meet ignorant people who don't care about our future. Unfortunately, I meet a lot of these types of people, but it is improving. However since the financial crisis, Climate change and the environment have taken a back seat, and that needs to change quickly. The Financial crisis will only last for a few years, but Climate Change will be with us for a very long time if we don't change our ways soon.
9) Do you have a green confession?
I have a crush on Tanya Ha. I think she is a very cool lady. Don't tell Kim or my green thumbs will be in a vice!
10) Do you have the support of family and/or friends?
Always, even most of my siblings and both parents are fairly green. Kim is my biggest fan, but the kids think that their dad is a middle aged hippy, but still pretty cool! They even go to rally's with me.
So, now I get to tag three more green bloggers. So here are the lucky recipients.
Teena @ Green Lettuce Soup (welcome back Sis)
Kate @ Inner City Garden
Deb @ Footprint Reduction in the 'burbs
Enjoy.
Well I thought it would never happen, but today at 0317 AEDST, I received my 10,000th visitor. Here is a snapshot from Sitemeter.
The lucky winner of my love (sorry no prize) was from Saint Louis, Missouri, who was searching for vegetable garden pictures. Luckily I have lots of those posted!
What a monumental event, and would you believe that when I started out I really just blogged for my own sanity whilst I was recovering from my back injury (which is improving again BTW). Obviously, Kim and friends had a hand in convincing me to start writing, because they were always on at me to write a book. A book, no, but a blog was the next best thing. I am so glad they urged me to start writing down the great things the family does around here. I have had so much feedback about how this blog has inspired other to act, that I feel honoured just to be a part of it.
This blog has begun to take on a life of its own, and I am proud to be the writer that reaches out and touches so many individuals on a daily basis. Here is a huge thanks to all my readers for helping me reach this milestone.
Keep on reading, there is so much more to come!
As I mentioned the other day, Kim made us all home made pizza from scratch to take to the Walk Against Warming. Well, lucky for us all, she made it again last night, and she showed me how she made it. I watched carefully and recorded the event in images for all to see.
First of all she made the pizza dough, which was simply the same recipe we use for making a loaf of bread. We through the ingredients in the bread-maker as per the instructions on the pre-mix bread flour from Laucke and set the bread-maker to the dough setting and come back in an hour and a half. When the dough has finished, she took the dough out of the pan and rolled it in a little flour and started to toss it in the air just like an Italian pizza shop. I was waiting for her to drop it, but she was very skilful. Here is the finished dough laid out on a pizza tray with tomato paste all over it.
Next are all the toppings. Kim made a bit of a four seasons pizza (four different quarters) with a big slice for everyone's individual tastes.
As you can see there is a little bit of everything for everyone.
Here is the fully dressed pizza with a little bit of cheese on top.
Into the oven for 15 on 190 degrees, and then 10 minutes at 170 degrees C or until cooked. This is what it comes out like after baking.
The pineapple is Kim' piece, mine is the circle of tomato, Megan's is the half a tomato, and Ben's is the quarter of a tomato. Very cute, just like the four little bears.
It was absolutely fabulous, and so simple to make. The next job on my plate is to make a pizza oven outside. I have the stand/base already that I scrounged about 4 months ago, so all I need is some lovely autumn weather and I will be set!
On Sunday, Moo from "Moo I Made It" presented me with a blog award. As you can see it is the Premio al esfuerzo personal (Spanish) award, which roughly translated into English means, "Prize to the Personal effort". Thank you Moo, it is an honour to receive it. Moo writes a great blog about sewing, gardening, and of late she has joined the Permablitz team in Melbourne and is getting stuck into making veggie patches of otherwise crappy old backyards. Of course all of these awards come with rules, so here they are; Only 6 blogs. Well here goes are the well deserved recipients.The Rules
1. Select 6 bloggers to whom you would like to give this award- prize (definitely not easy to choose - only 6)
2. Put the award - prize on your blog and indicate who gave it to you by identifying her/his blog
3. Paste these rules on your blog
4. Write 6 of your most important values and 6 negative points you condemn
5. Inform the 6 recipients by leaving a comment on their blog. Inform the 6 recipients by leaving a comment on their blog.
Camp Quality Country Mile Tour. Read about Phil, and his trials and tribulations of planning to ride a recumbent tricycle and trailer around Australia clockwise. He will be collecting donations for Camp Quality along the way. Say gidday to him, as he sets off around the country in March 2009. Plus he is a nice bloke, and I like having a beer with him!Footprint Reduction in the 'burbs. A relatively new blogger on the scene, but full of great gardening content. Follow the adventures of greenfumb in Sydney, who is trying to reduce her family's carbon footprint.Cluttercut. All the way from New Zealand, Daharja is passionate about setting up a Transition Town in Dunedin on the South Island. I love her passion and determination, and with a few more like minded people in my town, it would be something I strive to achieve. Well done. I know she has just received two other awards, but share the love I say.taurus rising. Kel in Adelaide has just finished making a outdoors pizza oven, and with all that hard work gets presented with this award.Hills and Plains Seedsavers. Presented to all the writers at this wonderful blog. All passionate gardeners, and willing to share so many tips and tricks and the goings on of everyday life around the Adelaide Hills.Greener Me. Sarhn is a photographer and has been writing for a few month now. She runs her business in an environmentally friendly way, and is on her own green journey.
The Premio Dardos award acknowledges the values that every blogger shows in his/her effort to transmit cultural, ethical, literary, and personal values every day. Finding Simplicity. Sharon does her best to simplify her life, one day at a time. I love her writing, and like her frankness and honesty.Margaret's Ramblings. Margaret's blog documents her simple lifestyle, and she is an avid backyard gardener like me. I love the way she preserves just about everything!A Greener Way. Nevyn is getting solar PV installed in about 8 weeks and is very excited. Well done. It will be the best investment you have ever made, and I am looking forward to reading about your installation experience. She is also an inconsistent gardener, but at least she admits it!Go Greener, Australia. Julie is an advocate for heightening awareness about Climate Change. She writes about the environment, focusing on Australia and talks about issues and solutions and what she is doing at home to make the world a greener place.
