Eco Friendly House And Garden

photo credit: koadmunkee

‘Why dense cities, nuclear power, genetically modified crops, restored wildlands, radical science and geoengineering are essential’ – he says….

Basically this book looks at the way in which many things that were thought of as ‘anti eco friendly’ a few years ago, are actually the essential ingredients for the eco friendly living of the future.

And to prove it, he is immediately supportive of the non-carbon emitting high-energy producing wonders of a nuclear power station!

The Book Itself:
There have been times in the past when nuclear power, genetically engineered crops and radical thinking have all seemed to be ‘bad’ for people or the environment.

However, when the variables change – so do the answers.

And it in this was that the Author helps to explain these new variables – and why the solutions we need might not automatically spring to mind as being eco friendly.

He uses a great pile of facts and experiences to try to convince you that the way humans are moving forward means that the way humans act needs to change alongside that.

Yes; the thought of putting the gene or a fish into a grain of rice seemed ludicrous and somewhat of a waste of money when it was first reported in the news – but now that climate change, flooding, biofuels and a burgeoning population have limited the availability of food for millions of people across the world – making a strain of rice that can improve yields and which also includes extra vitamins and minerals seems the perfect solution – even if it needed a microscopic amount of fish in it!

In the same way a highly lethal pile of radioactive rods and waste products seemed the worst thing that a country could build next to a city – but now that we are running out of cheap oil, trying to limit our carbon emissions and needing to cater for a few million extra humans every year – this high-enery carbon-clean fuel seems to be at the forefront of future energy resources.

Things always change – and I like the way that this book tries to show you the otherside of the argument. I totally agree that our initial thoughts on something are sometimes influenced by a news story (without all the facts) and I am guilty of shying away from GM (or more correctly GE) foods initially – but when you find out that people in African countries are starving because they can’t accept GM food for free incase it ‘pollutes’ exports to Europe. Why? Because Europe still have a ban on GM crops.

Result: 4/5
I would have hoped for more intriguing facts in a book like this – and from both sides of the argument.  Science has probably come a long way since writing – so I look forward to an updated version – with maybe a chapter on the technologies we are all relying on. 

I wasn’t totally convinced by all of his arguments, and there is still a difference to me between things that promote healthy living and things that are purely decorative or just for ‘something different’. But sometimes these things progress together; something that is developed purely for money can have better financial and intellectual resources than something for charity.  But hopefully these ideas are shared. 

I like the way it made me think about my ‘eco’ perceptions.

ISBN: 978-1-843548164

Eco Friendly Food Has Just Got Really Tiny – And Really Crunchy!

If there was a nutritious food that you could buy in the shop, that wasn’t a cow or a pig – would you consider eating it for the sake of the planet?

Bearing in mind that meat production – especially beef – is currently one of the biggest concerns in the ‘fight’ against world hunger and deforestation (thus a curse to humanity and biodiversity!) – and then think of a way to get the same animal protein but at a much smaller environmental cost.

Below are a list of this new foods eco friendly qualities – and decide for yourself:

1) Living Space:
This food supply does not need a very large space to live in -  therefore there will be no need to leave millions of acres of land bare just to graze them – and the rainforests can stay standing!

2) Living Requirements:
This food supply comes in many different forms so can quite easily be farmed anywhere in the world without any extra requirements such as heat, specialist foods or disease resistance.

3) Food Supply:
As this food source has only minimal food requirements as an adult – there will be no need to use valuable farmland to grow food for our food (i.e.cows) to eat rather than for our people to eat directly.

4) Land Supply:
This food will not be affected by rising sea levels or other changing environments that prevent food being grown – so supply can continue to be produced regardless of the weather events.

5) Land Requirements:
Due to the way this food would be farmed – there are no specific land needs other than not too polluted or too cold.  Therefore you could use wasteland, roof space, disused factories and any salty, exhausted or otherwise useless farmland, etc.

6) Human Interest:
This food already has a successful market around the world although it has never really been a favourite of the developed world.  Millions of people around the world already eat this food almost every week and there are a whole host of recipes and uses already being used for these foods.

photo credit: waywuwei

So what am I going on about here?

Well, the UN are now starting to take the current food crisis seriously and are looking for serious solutions – and they have come up with insects.

Weight for weight; grasshoppers hold almost as much protein as ground beef, crickets are high in calcium and red ant eggs are great for carbs (and low in calories).

What if you could breed millions of insects in every town or city in just a large warehouse and feed hundreds of families nutritious food that is grown at low environmental cost and using only a fraction of the land and resources of cattle farming?

I know the thought of eating bugs doesn’t immediately appeal – but think what is in black pudding and all but the best sausages.  What is the other 40% in most hamburgers these days and even the ingredient breakdown of different cheeses doesn’t make for good reading!

Think about it.

Source: National Geographic Magazine 2010

A Story of what Man leaves behind, he says……

It wasn’t about eco friendly anything really – however, it covers some very interesting points.

Yes, it covered how all our impact in most areas would cease for the better immediately – zero carbon emissions, no more deforestation or over fishing etc, but it also highlighted what would happen to the things that we need to manage – like nuclear power plants, dams, exotic species, farm animals and pets!

If we don’t keep working with these – they will go astray, and can’t work or survive on their own!

I was gripped throughout the book (although it’s not a read cover to cover in one go type of book), not just by it’s attention to detail regarding individual people and actions – but by the wealth of natural forests and habitats that I never knew existed and now want to learn more about!

The Book Itself:
We have created so many things that are durable that they won’t be going anywhere fast!  And infact some could threaten the very planet after we are gone!

The book assumes that humans literally vanish in a second and leave the world right as it is in that instant., so factories still running, shops still open, communities still farming – then we go.

The author – Alan Weisman doesn’t even entertain for a minute that there will be any surviving humans, and even if there were – it wouldn’t be anything like the BBC drama Survivors.

There are things out there that just can’t be controlled without the skilled people who work with them now.  Yes, the electricity and water stopped and the stores closed – but what about that nuclear reactor still burning away?  What about oil pumps sucking out millions of gallons or flammable and toxic oil above the surface?

And all the plastic we have ever made is still out there – it never goes away – it’s just getting smaller and smaller. So if it’s a bag for example floating in the sea, it get eaten by a turtle (aling with other plastics and so the turtle dies; however when the turtle has decomposed or been eaten, the bag becomes released again. Then the bag is in smaller bits floating on the sea so it gets eaten by and kills an albatros, who then dies – and then when they get eaten, the bag bits come out again, and gets smaller. Then it gets eaten again and again and again through the food chain – forever it would seem!

He tells us that there are patches of woodland dotted around the world that are so old that they defies everything we now know about woodland management. 

One on the Polish-Belarus border hasn’t been affected by humans since the dawn of time – literally.  It is called the Bialowieza Puszcza and means ‘forest primeval’.  There are a whole host of ancient – and giant – species of trees a whole host of rare and unusual native European mammals including the lynx, wolf, bear and even the wisent – a European bison!

There is also an ancient forest right in the heart of the Bronx, New York.  There is a patch of historic woodland that was there when the first Europeans came over to the state – and there is stays!  The rest of New York has been deforested and flattened while this pocket of history goes on!

Result: 4/5
It’s a really good place to start if you are trying to think of a reason to reduce your waste (big section on plastics), change your habits (farming and food waste) and cut your energy uses (power sources).

Basically, it can make you think hard and fast about what we are doing to the very planet we depend on, whether we are here or not!

After reading this book, you need to look at the trail of every item you hold in your hand that day, whether it’s food, an electrical item or clothing and ask yourself the following questions:

• Where was it from, and what did it take to make it and get it here?
• What does it actually do to improve your life (if at all) and why do I need this exact thing over the alternatives?
• And, where does it go after it leaves my hand?  And is that a good place????????

So, go out to the book store or library at read this book!

ISBN: 978-0-7535-1357-6

Funding conservation of an animal can help protect the very place you love to visit!

If you sponsor an animal for someones birthday or wedding present or even a corperate gift, you could actually be saving the area of the world that that person (or you yourself) loves the most!

If wildlife societies and international conservation societies need to save the vampire bats that live in South and Central America, then they will also be protecting the places that they live in. 

This will also, in turn, help preserve all the other species that help form and maintain that particular ecosystem – leaving the rainforest for you to visit on your next vacation – or at least to watch on TV knowing that you have helped to keep it intact!

Why Just 1 Species?
It’s not really just the one species that you will be saving, but it gives you a particular focal point from which to begin your adventure. 

Nobody wants to receive a toy tree for their gift – but if you can put a face on something that lives there, it can make a difference.  I know I’d rather receive a cuddly animal than just an information sheet!

Also, there is no single environment that is made up of just one species – they belong to a whole network of animals and interations.  I remember one study on how to save one species that opened a whole can of worms!

There was the main species (animal A) that was becoming ‘at risk’ of extinction, so they needed to find out about it; what it ate and where it lived.  The tree it lived in was very numerous which was good news – until they found out that it was only fertilised by a certain bird (animal B) that had to eat the seeds first before they would germinate – and that bird was becoming rarer and rarer…….

So, to save Animal A, they needed to save animal B first!  So they had to find out what animal B ate and where animal B lived and so on.

So by investing in an animal adoption of just 1 species, you are automatically contributing to saving a whole network of other animals and plants that make up the environment it lives in!

If you like a particular animal – then by all means invest in conservation for that in every way – but if you want to help save a certain area of the world – like the Arctic circle (polar bear or walrus), the African Savannah (meerkat or cheetah), the oceans (sea turtles and dolphins) or the rainforest (jaguar, toucan, vampire bat, three-toed sloth or spectacled bear,etc) then get sponsoring!

PS: It’s also and eco-friendly gift in the sense that you don’t need to wrap it up with shiny paper and sticky tape – AND – it creates no waste! Perfect all round!

Start your search with WWF and enjoy yourself…..

Is Eating Meat Eco Friendly?  Should We Convert To Being Vegetarian Or Even Vegan?

There has long been the argument against eating meat – although it covered many aspects it now has another twist.  Rather than just worrying about the health of the animals, the cruelty of killing them, the risk of diseases from them and the whole ‘is it healthy’ debate – the new angle is about how eco friendly eating meat is.

For the Vegans, it’s just another string to their bow about the all-good angle of veganism, but are they losing a few points as the argument unfolds.  I have just covered a few points from both sides of the fence – so to speak – although I must admit that I lean to one side – but obviously you must decide for yourself.

Cows Verses Corn.
Should we feed our animals with grain that could be feeding humans in the first place?  Basically, there are plenty of people who believe that the grain we grow should be eaten by humans rather than processed into food for livestock. 

There are many figures showing that the energy and protein derived from eating the grain is greater than the energy and protein that you finally get out of the animal – however it has also been shown that the proteins from meat are more easily digested and cause less damage to the teeth than grains and pulses.  You would also need to eat more vegetable matter per unit of protein or energy than meat.

Animals farmed for food have to have large areas of land to roam while alive, therefore reducing even further the amount of land available to grow crops on. Others would argue that many livestock – like sheep and goats – roam in fields that cannot be farmed for anything else so would be ‘wasted’ otherwise. 

In addition many animals are fed on plant materials that are not suitable for human consumption – think of your guinea pig in the garden eating the outer cabbage leaves and the ends of your carrots!  Therefore, are all livestock competing with humans for food?

In contrast – eco-friendly organic animal farming uses more land than factory farming, so can the cute organic lamb we are all crying out for actually be reducing the amount of food available for humans?

Cattle & Carbon:
Every kg of beef sent to the stores has apparently emitted 14kg of carbon dioxide during it’s lifetime.  Even cheese releases around 10kg of carbon per kg!  And even milk has churned out around 1kg of carbon per liter produced!  So gulping down a glass of the white stuff is damagingthe atmosphere! 

These figures are very high, and obviously the intensive farming of lifestock uses a lot of oil in machinery and feeds. The United Nations Food & Agriculture Organisation has recently been quoted as saying that ‘animal farming is eco-hostile’.

There are around 1.3 billion cows on the earth at the moment and the total number of all farmed animals is expected to double to 40 billion by 2050.  And we all know that rainforests are being destroyed to make way for some of these animals – therefore causing even more carbon to remain in the atmostphere.

Meat = Methane:
It has been calculated that cows and animal farming are responsible for 18% of human climate change – particularly with their methane emissions.  Methane is such a dangerous greenhouse gas in the short term that we should really be reducing the amount of this gas in the atmostphere as it turns into Nitrous Oxide.
 
To put this in perspective, if carbon dioxide = 1, then methane = 23.  Quite a difference!  But what if I told your that using that same scale, nitrous oxide would be 296!!!

Although 18% is quoted – in a weird manipulation of the figures – it’s not that bad?  Most of the nitogen produced by a cow is held within it’s manure which is usually pumped straight back into the soil to fertilise the next crop – reducing the need for chemical intervention.  However, it can also be used for fuel – which can be seen to be reducing the pressures of deforestation to get wood for cooking and heating etc, but the flipside is that burning it actually releases all that stored gas into the sky!

Local Fresh Meat Vs Less Food Miles:
Many vegans eat staple foods like nuts and grains for protein that need to be imported from across the globe.  This increases the total food miles of a particular product. 

Surely the carbon used in the worldwide transportation of their meat-free foods is adding up somewhere.  Don’t forget – the figures given for the energy used to grow a particular crop may not take into account all the fuel, staffing, building and maintenance costs of running a ship or airplane to transport it to your plate.

Packaging for long-distance foods also includes refridgeration techniques, excess protective packaging and ultimately environmental damage.  Why not just eat some home-grown meat un-packaged from a local farm shop you walked to instead and save all that waste?

Vegans say that just refusing to eat meat for one day a week is more environmentally friendly than switching to a completely local diet.  They really think it’s that bad.  Worse than their own food miles.

Opposition would say that reducing our dependance on meat would certainly make a big difference to the global impact of animal farming, but that a totally vegan diet is not as efficient as one containing a small amount of meat and dairy.  And getting rid of all farm animals would have a huge knock-on effect for wildlife, humans and plantlife – and would frankly not be feasible.

Is it just a cow?
And don’t forget, farm animals are not just about meat.  They give us wool, leather, milk, cheese, manure, transport, traction, security and pet food. 

We would have to find substitutes for all of these products – and many if not all of those substitutes will probably involve more oil and plastic – or ironically plant products.  And aren’t they all as bad as the livestock we are trying to eradicate?

Nothing is ever just black and white……

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