Eco Friendly House And Garden

‘The uncomfortable truth about Biodiversity’, he says….

Basically this book explains how looking to save just one species out of a whole ecosystem is not the way forward for saving biodiversity.

And to prove it, he opens up with an Introduction with an image of a Dodo. Are we ecologically worse off after we lost the Dodo as a species?

The Book Itself:
This book is a very easy to read description of how science works in practice. And that sometimes this results in ‘bad’ things.

The Author helps to explain even the simplest concepts about why biodiversity exists (usually due to a poor or limited environment) and how saving or losing key species can have disasterous consequences.

He also uses fantastic and sometimes unbelievable facts about species and habitats that were even a surprise to me after having read widely about these things. And he managed to put a new ‘twist’ on some already obvious facts with cited examples across the globe.

He is not out to ‘pick holes’ in conservation work or the studies of biodiversity across the globe; he just states statistical facts based on current figures that can’t really be argued with (although changes in our behaviour could always change the end results).

He also makes it clear that ‘saving the planet’ and it’s ecosystems and environments is a totally different science to ‘saving the panda’ or any single species or plot of land. Frighteningly he places an argument that we could easily and cheaply save nearly half of the worlds land surface which is currently ‘wildlands’ and where there are less than 5 humans per square kilometer.

But we don’t (or haven’t yet) as they aren’t really ‘worth’ anything to us and have very low biodiversity.

However the services they could provide (for free) for humans is priceless – but we seem to want to save every species rather than just the habitats they live in.

I totally agree that our actions are a tiny bit selfish – in general we want to save cute pandas and butterflies more than pristine but ‘boring’ plains and tundra – but he lets us know that this is quite a good option for saving ourselves. After all, we can’t live on this planet if there is no food or clean water for us all.

Result: 5/5
I couldn’t put this book down! I loved every page and every fact!

It is a reasonably small book too which made for great readability – as you knew it wouldn’t take long to glean all his wonderful and truthful facts from.

I work in one of the environments that he discusses in the book, and he certainly showed me a different side to it – as well as a new look at the principles of evolution and indicator species too.

He has also written a few others books that I can’t wait to get my hands on…..

ISBN: 978-1-900322-86-7

A seemingly perfect eco friendly product could have a naughty little secret……

When people see an eco friendly alternative, or a potentially eco friendly product – they might not always see the whole story – and this is where enbodied energy comes in to the picture.

Basically – there is a hidden trail of things that go into making anything – and this trail could hold some less than eco friendly pathways that you hadn't thought of before.

They aren't all bad though – they just need to be taken into consideration when weighing up one thing against the other – for example local grapes might use more energy to grow than South African grapes – even though they have used less energy to transport to market.

But to make all this easier to understand, let's look at what embodied energy really means: "…..the total energy used to create a product from scratch and then dispose of it after use".

However, when you really pick this apart it includes an awful lot of things – so lets look at those grapes now.  So, we need to grow the grapes, pick them, pack them and get them to the shop – simple?  Not very……

photo credit: martingarri

Embodied energy would include the following list of things:

1) Maintaining the vine since the last harvest – which includes feeding, watering, clipping, treating and possibly heating or covering throughout the winter – which includes all the creation of all the chemicals used from scratch, energy to pipe the water, energy to move people and products to and from the site, energy to dispose of waste products, energy to heat or create covers for plants and the energy to create and maintain the necessary tools for the job.

2) Harvesting the grapes – which includes transporting all the staff and equipment to and from the vines, including and refrigeration, storage and internal transport of the grapes once harvested.  And the energy needed to dispose of all the waste created by this process.

3) Packing the grapes – which includes all the packaging needed to wrap and protect the grapes while they are moved through the packing process (and the energy needed to make all this packaging in the first place and the energy to package the packaging and transport it to the vineyard), energy to run the machines, conveyers, and storage facilities while stored and before transportation.  And the energy needed to dispose of all the waste created by this process.

4) Transporting the grapes – which includes all the energy needed to chill and protect the grapes while they are in transit – this of course will include all the energy needed to fuel the transport from vineyard to warehouse and could include road, rail and ship or air freight (and of course all the energy needed to keep that transport in tip top condition for transporting the product in the first place!).  You will also need to use a small amount of energy in all the paperwork that needs to be completed as the product changes hands and moves through countries.

And after they get to the warehouse – they may be repackaged and re-loaded onto other modes of transport to go to individual shops, and then are stored, protected, chilled and moved around the stores using yet more energy.  And of course, all the energy needed to dispose of all the waste created by this process.

You then need to buy them from the shop – using the tills and bags and your car or bus for transport which of course are all made of energy – and then you use your fridge to chill them, your water to wash them and your electricity to dishwash your kitchenware and then your bin bags to dispose of the stalks and packaging (and the dustmen have to use energy in their vans to collect it!).

Is That All?

Now, obviously this is a very detailed story of a grape's embodied energy – but is very simplistic as there are many things that haven't even been calculated here!  And who want's to have to think about all of that when choosing grapes for tea?

However, there are some very simple things you can think of when choosing between 2 or more products for their eco friendly qualities – and this is one of them.

By thinking of the processes that have gone into making each of the products, you can get a clearer picture of it's qualities. 

So, yes, those local grapes did only travel 20 minutes down the road to your local market – but did they have to use tonnes of energy-rich fertilisers to maintain in a not-the-best-suited environment as well as megawatts of heating to keep them alive through the winter waiting for the next harvest!  

Or is the energy of transporting those African grapes (which were grown in a perfect environment with no need for heating or treating) less overall?

So, the concept of embodied energy can switch many 'simple' ideas on their head – but it is itself a very difficult thing to put your finger on.  As you can see from the breakdown above – there are so many factors that it may be near impossible to fully estimate!

But at least you know what it is now!

What is this eco friendly living method that is creeping into our lives?

You have probably heard of the Permaculture movement, but aren't really sure what it is all about.  The prefix 'perm' doesn't immediately sound eco friendly or green, but suggests permanency – long term goals and aims.

But long term 'culture'?  The word doesn't instantly connect with your changing lifestyle – but it could.

Define Permaculture:
Well, there are plenty of definitions all revolving about the same point but emphasizing the particular niches within it:

"Permaculture is an approach to designing human settlements and agricultural systems that mimic the relationships found in natural ecologies."

"Permaculture is about designing ecological human habitats and food production systems. This synergy is further enhanced by mimicking patterns found in nature."

"Permaculture is sustainable land use design. This is based on ecological and biological principles, often using patterns that occur in nature to maximize effect and minimize work."

"A system of perennial agriculture emphasizing the use of renewable natural resources and the enrichment of local ecosystems."

Basically, permaculture can be seen as a way of living and farming in synch with the way that nature would do it herself.

In the way that natural cycles in weather, plant distribution, human activities and so forth carry on regardless when unaffected by humans – why can humans fit into that system rather than change it?

Forests grow from bare rock in nature; each plant or animal finding the best way to fit in to the changing habitats – so why can't humans exploit that natural series of events to help them survive – and without affecting it adversely.

Change Isn't Always Good.
We know that over time, a heath will become overgrown with scrub plants which will eventually turn into trees and so a woodland is born – and this is the way that nature works best. 

But when humans want the land to stay free of trees – they have to go against that very natural pattern – and this takes time, energy and money.  For example, large scale farmers have to plough the land regularly to stop other plants growing, kill insects with chemicals, kill wildlife by other means and basically fence off the natural habitats long term and feed and water it excessively in order to grow the 1 thing they want.

However, permaculture looks at growing crops that are naturally occurring there – or can grow well in that location without draining on resources or getting rid of natural plants and animals as a result.

It still isn't an easy job as you need to be able to survive on these crops and make a living from them- but you use nature to help you farm and grow them instead of chemicals and a life-long battle!

The Basic Plan:
Permaculture is a working science with some very technical examples - but its principles can be easily understood.

Ideally a working system would use less energy, increase productivity and help restore or balance the natural environment.

For example housing the duck pond near your flower garden or veg patch so that these ravenous feeders can eat all your garden slugs for free (saving you food for them and chemicals to kill your slugs).  Or growing mature trees over your water source, so that less water evaporates from it and the plants can water themselves. 

photo credit: george.schon

Much of this you might think is common sense – yet we still buy white bread (which has most vitamins and minerals bleached out of it – with man-made vitamins and minerals added back in afterwards) and we sell all our home-grown milk to other countries and then buy milk back from yet more countries to make up the difference!

And the principles of permaculture are just applied to farming methods – they can be applied to almost any human environment including cities!

But that's a whole other story……

Should you use normal plastic loads of times – or biodegradable plastic just the once?

There have been many recent developments in the plastic industry and the most controversial is the biodegradable versions that we had all waited so long for!

However, there are some unforeseen problems with these new versions – and it is a difficult eco friendly choice between them and ‘normal’ plastics.

See the 2 examples below of the 2 ways in which these plastic can be more eco friendly:

1) Buy a product in a normal plastic bottle and either re-use it forever or recycle it again and again, or;

2) Buy a product in a biodegradable plastic bottle (either HBP or OBP) that contains ingredients that will speed up its bio-degradation or turn it into compost when you dispose of it.

The 2 don’t mix!  It has to be 1 or the other!

What Does Biodegradable Mean?
If you first consider the word ‘biodegradable’ in its general meaning – it is any product (solid or liquid) that will break down naturally into environmentally safe and virtually natural products that can be used by living organisms in around 6 months.

However, there is no legal definition in terms of products in the stores – so anything claiming to be ‘biodegradable’ could be just that – or could be nothing of the sort; even if it has green pattern all over it and a picture of some wildlife on it!

So, what these biodegradable plastics are trying to do is to be better than existing plastics.  They claim that they will break down into less harmful and polluting particles relatively quickly compared to standard plastics, and so will have less of a detrimental effect on wildlife in the long term.

Don’t forget that existing plastics will also break down naturally (in the sense that if you leave a carrier bag part buried in your garden – it will eventually fall apart) but the plastic doesn’t actually disappear, it will just be in ever smaller parts.

Why Biodegradable Plastic Then?
Well, there has been an awful lot of bad press for plastic lately – what with sea turtles swallowing carrier bags and albatross feeding bits of plastic to their young – not to mention the Pacific Ocean Garbage Patch that people were looking for a way to make plastic bottles, containers and other products get a lot smaller a lot quicker.

By making a plastic that breaks down as soon as possible means that whole bottles and bags won’t be found floating in the sea killing birds and turtles any more!

Washed Up Plastic Waste

You still need to be aware of the way the products break down though to be most effective – for example the 2 types of biodegradable plastic currently available as HBP (hydro-biodegradable plastic) and OBP (oxy-biodegradable plastic).

And as their name suggests; one needs water to break down quickly and the other needs air – so bury these in bin bags in land fill sites won’t really make either of them disappear any quicker than normal plastics – but imagine they were litter in the countryside or rubbish floating in the Atlantic.

It’s a whole different story then!  They would soon disappear making our wild areas cleaner and safer for living things!

What’s The Problem Then?
We have discussed that biodegradable plastics must be the best for the environment then – as they don’t stay in the environment for ever and ever as whole plastic products – they break down fast into less harmful particles!  Right?

Well, it’s not so clear cut as you can’t recycle them. 

Adding either HBP’s or OBP’s to recycled plastic can actually be more harmful than good – as these new plastics are designed to break down – so they can actually render a recycled plastic product virtually useless in just a few months!  And many councils are actually trying to get them banned as a result!

We all know that there is only a reason to make a product if it is financially viable – so reducing the need for plastic recycling could cause an end to recycled products!

And if the biodegradable products are meant to break down – then we are actually creating a market for more and more plastic to be created.  Rather than re-use your old toiletries bottles and food containers again and again – you would have to keep buying new ones instead!

So, is the new plastic actually any more eco friendly than the old?

There are a lot of words being used to describe current weather events – but what do they all mean?

Sometimes people use the same word to descibe 2 different events or activities, and other people use completely the wrong one!  Sometimes the sources we use get it wrong too, to fit with a headline or because it gets better effect.

So what I have put together here are a few of the most heard of climate related words and a short explanation of each that follows:

Weather:
The outdoor experience you have on a day to day basis where you live, for example ‘sunny’ or ‘heavy rain’  Weather is only local to you, with sunshine and heavy rain sometimes only a few miles apart.  This is also true for events like hailstorms which fall in very specific locations.

Climate:
All the weather experienced in the whole world all summed up in one sweep.  So even if you had a lot of rain local to you, the whole climate could actually becoming drier – as it takes into account all the weather around the whole world.  This is why you might hear that the world is getting warmer, but you then get weeks of snow falling in the winter!

The Atmosphere:
All the air around and above us is termed the ‘atmosphere’ yet it is divided into 4 distinct layers that all have their own specific behaviours.  The lower layer that we are surrounded by rises only about 4 km into the air and contains virtually all the breathable gases out there.  There are 3 more layers above it:

Troposphere – Lowest Layer: Contains breathable gases and gets colder as you move upwards.
Stratosphere – 2nd layer: Contains the Ozone Layer towards the top, so gets warmer as you move up.
Mesosphere- 3rd layer: The coldest part of the atmosphere, falling below -90 centigrade.
Thermosphere – Final Layer:  Over 85km high, this layer is the thinnest and leads out into space.

The atmosphere is held in place by gravity, and is the only reason why there is an abundance of life on Earth.  Without the gases in the sky, the plants and animals would eventually be killed by the heat of the sun and there would be no water at all.

Ozone Layer:
This thin layer of the gas ozone in the upper stratosphere is very important to life on Earth.  Ozone is a very unsteady gas, and this is used to our advantage by the way it reacts to ultra-violet radiation – it basically absorbs it all way up in the sky so it doesn’t fall to earth and cause terrible damage to skin and genetic material hidden inside of us. 

As a result of damage to this layer, a hole appeared in the southern hemisphere and there was a very noticeable rise in radiation related illnesses and deaths.  Ozone, however, is also a greenhouse gas.

Greenhouse Gases (GHG):
These atmospheric gases are all able to trap heat from the surface of the Earth and also to reflect it back down to the ground – both action are raising the temperature of the surface. 

As humans have greatly increased the amount of one of these GHG’s (carbon) in to the atmosphere, this heating effect has been increased and the Earth is now experiencing much warmer temperatures than over previous centuries (and eras) this continued activity that is now referred to as global warming.

Global Warming:
The increased global average temperatures experience today as a result of increased human activity in relation to releasing GHG’s.  The stresses caused to the atmosphere and weather systems by these great and prolonged changes can put pressure and stress on some of the natural systems currently in place. 

For example, changes to rainfall patterns (due to changes in land and ocean temperatures), increased flooding (due to warmer water being ‘bigger’ than cooler water) as well as droughts and other severe weather events.  And all these events added together can be defined as climate change.

Climate Change:
By changing all the local events, there will become a great noticeable event – and this is represented y our changing climate.  Basically, stresses on natural systems have started to change weather patterns across the globe, and following the normal feedback systems in nature – this can only lead to massive change.

If you read about how delicate weather systems already are with regards to rainfall, storms and sea level rises – you will see how easy it is to disrupt them.  And this is just what rising temperatures are doing today. 

Not all severe weather events are purely down to human activity and the climate has changed over the history of the Earth on a massive scale – like ice ages; but never this fast.  There will soon be a change in the frequency and/or location of those events over time – and this will definitely be the effects of human-induced climate change as opposed to a natural change.