The inspiration behind this day came from the interest that surrounded “Five Billion Day”, which was the day the world population ticked over five billion people on July 11th 1987. Now, 33 years later in 2020, the worlds population is fast approaching 8 billion people worldwide with China and India leading the way with in excess of one billion each, largely due to poverty, illiteracy and lack of contraceptive needs to women. At this rate, we’re expected to hit 10 billion people worldwide, which many scientists believe is the maximum number of humans the Earth can sustain, between 2040-2050. Between limited availability of fresh water and constraints on food production, things could turn ugly very quickly. (Read more). The purpose...
In my opinion reusables should be used over a single use throwaway any day. Whether it be a bag, a cloth, a bottle or anything in between. And this goes for both plastic and non plastic items. So, the use of paper towel vs a sponge or cloth? For me, it'll always be a reusable cloth or sponge. The manufacturing of either of these goods are going to include water and energy, harvesting, transport, processing, packaging, storage, and then more energy to sell the goods, lighting in the stores, the list goes on. So when you think about it like that and how much an item has gone through just to end up being used by me, you soon realise why it's...
Bread is the staple of life. There’s nothing like fresh bread. Crusty on the outside, soft and fluffy on the inside. It’s heaven in a slice and most of us love it. The hard part is keeping bread fresh so you can enjoy the whole loaf. Leave your lovely loaf out on the bench, unprotected and it will start to go dry and hard within hours. Put it in the fridge and it loses its softness, fluffiness and crustiness all at the same time. Plastic bags have been hailed as the saviour of fresh bread for many years, keeping it fresher for longer. But in reality, they don’t breathe, meaning you lose your crusty crust in the best case scenario, and grow...
As the trees outside begin to change colours and leaves fall at a rate you wouldn't think possible, many of us are digging out and setting up heaters or ensuring our firewood stockpile is looking healthy. But which of these is better for the environment one might ask? Let's look into each option a little further. Electric Heaters If you are using an electric heater, the cost to the environment of heating a room by as little as one extra degree for a year can be equal to between 310kg and 360kg of extra carbon dioxide that is being released into our atmosphere. That’s a little bit scary!! Oil Heaters Oil heaters are not such a good choice either. Oil...
In todays society, we've become very accustomed to having everything we need at the drop of a hat. Whether it be a car, a kitchen utensil or even a wheel barrow. Just about every item you could possibly need, you would have in a drawer, a cupboard or buried at the back of your garage somewhere. Although this is handy, it unfortunately also contributes to the world wide problem we have of overconsumption. How, you ask? Let me explain a little more for you... What is overconsumption? When I say consumption, people immediately think of eating right? Well consumption isn't just about food. The very meaning of consumption is 'the action of using up a resource'. Therefore overconsumption is the...
