I keep seeing warnings re safety of bamboo cups so am sharing this.
https://www.iamexpat.de/lifestyle/lifestyle-news/stay-away-bamboo-coffee-cups-german-consumer-group-warns?
This planet is dying and we are all acting too slowly. Thoughts, debates & suggestions on how we can act FAST and attempt to save the planet. No business posts or posts unrelated to saving the planet will be accepted and posters will be removed from the loop.
Open Loop 549
I keep seeing warnings re safety of bamboo cups so am sharing this.
https://www.iamexpat.de/lifestyle/lifestyle-news/stay-away-bamboo-coffee-cups-german-consumer-group-warns?
Help swapping to organic brands
It's all very well our telling ourselves (and others) that we'd rather use organic equivalents to familiar brands but finding truly organic ones isn't that easy.
Now the Soil Association has published a useful list of brands that have been certified as organic, which takes the pain out of finding a good substitute, see https://www.soilassociation.org/organic-living/beauty-wellbeing/our-certified-brands/?utm_source=supporter_enews&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=organic_september&utm_content=sept_2019&_cldee=bWR3QHNlbmlvcnMub3JnLnVr&recipientid=contact-9d35ec551e66e51180c5005056ad0bd4-da6df919a38d4da38ff6854805cbe210&esid=3222d381-b8cf-e911-8176-005056ad0bd4
I'd heard of hardly any of these, so they clearly need this kind of publicity if they're to become familiar.
Toy Rehoming (Edited)
Just saw this being advertised on a local Facebook Group. The Entertainer Toyshop organising rehoming of toys.
https://www.thetoyshop.com/bigtoyrehoming
Ethical Consumer mag-can you access this preview? Clothes etc. (Edited)
https://www.ethicalconsumer.org/sites/default/files/flipbook/Issue180Preview/?+Monthly+Newsletter+2019_newsletter+non+sub_COPY&utm_term=0_9856040c29-0fe84e4ef2-321073353
It`s about clothes but there are other articles. If you cant get-in then subscribe to their newsletter and you get snippets and previews even without taking out a subscription although I feel I ought to.It`s proving rather good. Like an Ethical & Eco `Which`!
Grocery delivery service using sustainable cartons
This company called Loop got a short mention on BBC London news this morning so I guess they have launched in London. Found this article.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/02/02/could-reusable-revolution-inspired-milkman-cure-addiction-plastic/
Wise up to Waste -North London
I always find this a very useful site. It only covers a few north London boroughs but it has a lot of info on it. Don’t know if other areas have similar sites.
http://wiseuptowaste.org.uk/about-us/
A solar power generating farm in Suffolk - owned by the council - seems to doing well in all respects. https://www.solarpowerportal.co.uk/news/council_owned_solar_farm_surpasses_generation_targets_records_highest_incom?
Sorry to mention the C word but Christmas is coming...how can we make it plastic free?
Came across this group which might interest some of you.
https://m.facebook.com/groups/444991182746638
How will you reduce plastic over Christmas?
"Don't relax fracking rules" and wanted to ask if you could add your name too.
https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/keep-current-fracking-levels
Cats, (and other pets) and sustainable care
I know zilch about cats. Another post has been discussing them and mentioned obtaining cat food in cardboard rather than plastic. Then I came across this
https://natusan.co.uk/?
Hope link works - it’s about cat litter which it says accounts for 2% of domestic waste. So folks, please add suggestions for more sustainable pet care.
I just signed the petition "Halt the solar and storage VAT hike" and wanted to ask if you could add your name too.
https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/halt-the-solar-and-storage-vat-hike
An inreresting plastic waste article...
... From the BBC. It discusses what can happen when your inflatable bursts and it needs to be discarded.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-49488120
https://www.businessinsider.com/arctic-on-fire-satellite-images-from-space-2019-8?r=US&IR=T
Petition:
https://secure.avaaz.org/page/en/
Is it ok to take money from dirty oil company BP?
I just signed the petition "Stop supporting BP" and wanted to ask if you could add your name too.
sign the petition here:
https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/arts-institutions-stop-supporting-an-oil-giant?bucket=email-blast-8_8_2019_BPEnvT&utm_campaign=blast2019-08-09
I just signed the petition "Amazon: please stop using unnecessary plastic packaging" and wanted to ask if you could add your name too.
https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/tell-amazon-to-stop-using-un-necessary-plastic-packaging?bucket=email-blast-23_8_2019_plastic_amazon_kick&utm_campaign=blast2019-08-23
Going plastic free in the home: A guide from Friends of the Earth
This guide brings a lot of tips and links together in one place.
https://friendsoftheearth.uk/plastics/living-without-plastic?
Avoiding plastic wrapping - with added bonuses
My cousin shared this sensible and charity-benefiting idea on Facebook: https://uk.whogivesacrap.org/?utm_source=talkable&utm_medium=facebook&utm_content=email_michelle_Invite_Standalone&utm_campaign=104250&talkable_visitor_uuid=0c9aaf41-a576-4d23-a34c-9a9d1110e4f0&talkable_visitor_offer_id=104292177
The only improvement that this really needs is a 'click and collect' facility, to prevent all those individual household deliveries. And bulk buying might not be feasible for those living in tiny flats without much storage space.
This discussion is now closed.
Read about this technology 10 years ago.
Copied: Plastics are generally recycled back into oil in massive facilities, but a Japanese inventor has built a tabletop machine that can accomplish the same task safely and cleanly. It's called the Blest Machine and was put together by Akinori Ito, after he began to see the places he played in as a child disappearing.21 Oct 2010
https://www.wired.co.uk/article/blest-machine
For around £6000.00 you can have your own recycle machine.
In Swindon they started to produce plastic to oil machines.
https://www.letsrecycle.com/news/latest-news/swindon-mp-opens-plastic-to-oil-machine-factory/
I have not come across any drawbacks and did write to my MP Con. years ago but never received a reply.
FREE Ecoegg for students! (Edited)
Get a free Ecoegg worth £9.99 for just the cost of £2.99 P&P
https://www.ecoegg.com/product/student-laundry-egg/
A Deluded and Misguided Man (Edited)
Perhaps not the right group to post this in, but I think Trump is one of the greatest threats to the planet. A man who thinks he’s “the second coming” and has his finger on the button which could trigger the annihilation of all life on the planet.
https://apple.news/AfxQUMO0MQ4GYyVB-xCgK_A
Small businesses, start ups, charities etc for sustainability and vegan nutrition event.
HI All
I’m helping someone who is looking to do a panel type event about sustainability and vegan nutrition. She has an amazing free event space in central London and the event will be free for everyone to attend.
She wants to to cover anything from sustainable fashion, makeup, plastic usage, reusable goods etc..
Do you know of any small businesses, start ups, charities etc that would be interested in taking part ?
Please feel free to send me a private message if you do.
Thanks everyone.
Lest we all despair: some bits of good news to spur us on.
https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/theconversation.com/amp/climate-change-six-positive-news-stories-you-probably-missed-in-2018-108785
Should we leave supermarkets at the checkout?From the Ethical Consumer Mag.
Article/podcast discussing the pros and cons of supermarkets. Not 100% sure if it`ll let you all access it but thought it was worth a try.... https://www.ethicalconsumer.org/retailers/podcast-episode-4-should-we-leave-supermarkets-checkout?
Has anyone tried these, and if so, what did you think of them? I looked at one in the supermarket the other day. £9.99 for 70 washes, then £4.99 (I think) for a refill, good for 50 washes.
Thanks
North London Uprising (Edited)
Date: 07.09.2019. Time: 10:00
Location: Turnpike Lane and Downhills Park
Hackney Fashion Festival - Summer Series
Hackney Fashion Festival - Summer Series
Date And Time
Sat, 17 Aug 2019, 11:00 –
Sun, 18 Aug 2019, 18:00 BST
The Hackney Fashion Festival brings 40+ of the nations most inspiring clothing and accessory vendors to Hackney Central. From vintage and rare clothing to handmade jewellery and handbags. This Sat & Sun we launch the Ethical Emporium on Bohemia Place! Ethical & sustainable fashion, independent brands, jewellery crafting, casting, up-cycling, swap shops, knitting and crochet! Plus street food, drink and live music!
👕 A Range of Workshops throughout the weekend including; 👗
👢Knit with Reused Materials
👢Jewellery Making - Sign up - http://bit.ly/STOOKI_BOHEMIAS1
👢Learn the Basics of Crochet
👢Rework DIY Fashion
👢Zero Waste Sanitary Pads
👢Betsys Closet Swap Shop
👕 MARKET DATES 👗
👢 August 17th
👢 August 18th
👉 Plus:
🍔 Street Food
🌿 Vegan Options
🍺 Craft Beer & More!
More info via www.bohemiaplacemarket.com
Sign up for free here:
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/hackney-fashion-festival-summer-series-tickets-69004794197?fbclid=IwAR1R7UdHowLS5nznNO1Ug6TotCsoG3-w-3fJOlag-rfWs6Df0Fmj-gLWMi0
Finding help to repair our broken gadgets
It belatedly occurred to me that I may know more than others about how the new interest in repairing (rather than replacing) our stuff is developing in practice.
When the Restart Project ran seminars about its Restart Party system, I brought in Sustainable Hackney, who then developed Hackney Fixers jointly with the local branch of Friends of the Earth. HF hold regular repairing events all over the borough - helping people not only with small electronic repairs (the Project's original focus) but also clothes, furniture and bicycle repairs.
Other groups around London and, increasingly, further afield (including abroad) evolved likewise, some with an even more 'analogue' focus. They all contribute to Restart Party Hosts, a Facebook group which helps new volunteer repairing groups to get going.
All the repair events notified to the Restart Project are listed on its searchable events page at https://therestartproject.org/parties/.
Not everything can be fixed on the day by whichever volunteer repairers happen to be there, so the owners are referred to small professional repairers wherever possible. The Project has therefore set up a Repair Directory of small and medium-sized repair businesses, based on a pilot run three years ago in four east London boroughs. That's still in beta form, available at https://therestartproject.org/repairdirectory/ but it now covers eleven north and east London boroughs.
For instance, I was trying to get a very old Dyson vacuum cleaner repaired this summer, after finding that our local domestic repair shop had recently closed down. After Dyson's official repairer condemned it as irreparable, I resorted to the Repair Directory which offered me three possibilities, including an excellent small repair business within feasible travelling distance - even for a non-driver. I wrote a community post about that, which no-one seems to have noticed; hence, this more general post. I hope that it's useful.
The north east of England leads in educating young on climate change
The UN wants all children to be educated about climate change and wants teachers trained to understand the issues and teach effectively. Sounds like a really good idea. Children can be powerful influences within a home.
https://www.theguardian.com/education/2019/jul/30/north-of-tyne-mayor-signs-schools-up-for-climate-training?
The most effective ways to curb climate change might surprise you!
https://edition.cnn.com/interactive/2019/04/specials/climate-change-solutions-quiz/?fbclid=IwAR0ds5s5nMra3nXeLUAgh656fuFZvE8h2Jru2nk5QLX51bphK0VY42M1Rak
So surprising I have trouble believing some of them!
Article on Economic growth and sustainability
Haven’t quite finished it but this is an interesting article.
https://theecologist.org/2018/feb/22/why-economic-growth-not-compatible-environmental-sustainability
Think this may have been discussed before but if not here’s all you need to know to make an informed choice.
https://www.ethicalconsumer.org/home-garden/shopping-guide/toilet-paper
https://oxfamapps.org/secondhandseptember/?
Oxfam are asking people to avoid buying new in September.
Make what you wear (Edited)
Date: 10.08.2019. Time: 11:00
Location: The Warehouse 47 Thames Road Barking
Eating less meat and dairy - the sustainable 'diet' (Edited)
This subject is all over the BBC news today but it's far from new; the serious media have been discussing it for years eg https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2009/dec/11/eat-less-meat-dairy-diet . So why did it take so long to become a mainstream concern? It's only because the UN's IPCC has taken the initiative that we're now being told this, as if it were somehow novel.
I've been eating like this since I was a broke student who'd grown up in a 'meat and two veg' home but then spent a semester living with a German-Jewish Quaker family who didn't eat meat at all but seemed to have much more interesting food than I'd been fed for the previous 18 years. They introduced me to 'Diet for a Small Planet', which discussed the science of balancing vegetable proteins at great length but. more usefully, then provided lots of recipes for putting that into practice.
The theory has been slightly debunked since - one doesn't have to eat the various types of protein at the same time to maximise the usable protein in one's diet, for instance - but the sustainable principle of feeding people grains and pulses, rather than growing vegetable crops to feed to animals and eating those, still holds good.
This is a link to the Mayor of London’s environment newsletter saying what they are doing in the capital.
http://email.london.gov.uk/interface/external_view_email.php?AL846359559742404592886462816
Ethiopians break tree-planting record
According to the Ethiopian government, yesterday, 353,633,660 trees were planted in Ethiopia by volunteers to help tackle climate change. I hope they remember to water them.
The aim is to plant a total of four billion indigenous trees.
The previous record of 50 million trees planted in a day was set by India in 2016.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-49151523
We are supposed to be planting an additional three billion trees. How long will it take us?
As it was a nice day we took two of our grandchildren to Southend yesterday and intended to have a swim. We got knee-deep and noticed hundreds of jellyfish so decided to get out. My eight-year-old granddaughter asked me if there was any useful point to jellyfish and I said "probably not". I googled it anyway and was amazed to find in Asia people eat them, and they also have medicinal uses as well.
Sleeping during a heatwave - the energy-saving approach (Edited)
A clever idea that I'd never heard until today but will adopt immediately: to help one sleep in this hot weather, fill a hot-water bottle with cold water and put it in the fridge until bedtime. Enthusiasts can also freeze their sheets and pillowcase but the cold-water bottle seems likely to have a longer-lasting effect.
https://coach.nine.com.au/latest/summer-sleep-tips-to-beat-the-heat/e7e20fb5-242c-4c5c-bb4f-aaccb49094dd?fbclid=IwAR1ExhGwklOVVtxW-BYk-CjYS9FXrv0fYZ2YJMrDpIM2q5wP2kD7Pd67zBA
Interesting article re Extinction Rebellion
I found this article interesting and challenging.
https://medium.com/@wtmsinclair/the-real-problem-of-hypocrisy-for-extinction-rebellion-4a6851dcdeb7
https://pebblemag.com/magazine/doing/plastic-free-shopping-13-of-the-uks-best-zero-waste-stores
Green roofs are becoming fairly common - although often only visible from flats high up in developments, so not of much (if any) benefit to the public realm generally. I find them fascinating, especially on small structures like garden sheds and bin cupboards.
There are some extra-sustainable ideas at http://greenengineers.co.uk/green-roofs, where they try to reuse materials, wherever possible.
Is 'distilled malt vinegar' the same as 'white vinegar'? (Edited)
This was a question raised in a local community thread, prompted by the labelling of Sainsbury's (cheap) colourless malt vinegar.
The simple answer is: 'yes', which I discovered by reading a section of the Wikipedia article about vinegar: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vinegar#Spirits
This is the relevant paragraph:
"The term "distilled vinegar" as used in the United States (called "spirit vinegar" in the UK, "white vinegar" in Canada) is something of a misnomer because it is not produced by distillation but by fermentation of distilled alcohol. The fermentate is diluted to produce a colorless solution of 5% to 8% acetic acid in water, with a pH of about 2.6. This is variously known as distilled spirit, "virgin" vinegar, or white vinegar, and is used in cooking, baking, meat preservation, and pickling, as well as for medicinal, laboratory, and cleaning purposes. The most common starting material in some regions, because of its low cost, is barley malt, or in the United States, corn. It is sometimes derived from petroleum. Distilled vinegar is used predominantly for cooking, although in the UK it is used as an alternative to brown or light malt vinegar. White distilled vinegar can also be used for cleaning, and some is actually sold specifically for this purpose. "
[As an aside, if you are ever offered "non-brewed condiment" for your chips, the acetic acid has been produced using chemical processes rather than fermentation. It's kind of 'artificial vinegar'!]
Some zero waste links that may be useful
https://www.zerowastelife.co.uk This looks like an interesting blog. https://m.facebook.com/groups/JZWUK/? And this is a facebook group (Journey to zero waste). They also have some local groups . Enfield has one for instance.
Install microplastic filters on new washing machines as standard
Microplastics in the environment were referred to in the post ‘Reusing expanded polystyrene’. A petition to 'Install microplastic filters on new washing machines as standard' can be found on the parliament website. There are 16,027 signatures and a long and non-committal response from the Government. 100,000 signatures are required to force a parliamentary debate on the subject.
https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/248269
Use of Plastic Bottles at Major Events
Apparently, the decision for this year's Glastonbury Festival to ban the use of unnecessary plastic was a success. I hope other major events will follow suit, eg, Wimbledon, other rock festivals, flower shows, etc. Fingers crossed!
Home made yoghurt - tips needed
One of the last things we buy wrapped in plastic is yoghurt...specifically greek yoghurt . I do have a yoghurt maker but don’t find the results less than pleasing. It seems, thin, watery and just a bit slimy. Has anyone perfected a nice thick creamy yoghurt at home with or without a yoghurt maker.