The 'good stuff'

The good stuff

It is often the case in my life that I need to find out what doesn't work to be able to learn and work out what does. I gather this transfers well to the issue of Sustainability, as - without knowing what is not sustainable we would not think of or recognize - what is.

If we wouldn't have had an industrial revolution in human evolution with its resulting 'overproduction', we wouldn't have had consumerism at the scale we do now and the resulting pollution on this planet would have most likely stayed on a manageable (low impact) level.

If technology and science (and it's resulting waste products) would not have reached the level of where it's at now, we would not be aware of the consequences in regards to sustainability or the lack of sustainability of quite a few 'modern' inventions.

The negative consequences, environmentally and on people, are clearly what inspired some people to think: What are we going to do about this?



Greenpeace non profit organization:

One of the organizations I do admire for their 'in your face' approach, risk taking and courageous action, is Greenpeace. We do have our 'very own', seemingly strongly supported Greenpeace organization in NZ:

http://www.greenpeace.org/new-zealand/en/blog/24-million-treehuggers-and-counting/blog/44313/

or for Greenpeace NZ:

http://www.greenpeace.org/new-zealand/en/

Animal Testing:

I had an other 'good news moment' when I read this article yesterday:

Sourced: Facebook, Eco Warriors, shared:
http://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/animals/blogs/european-union-bans-cosmetic-testing-on-animals

In this article it mentions that a shocking 12 million animals were used yearly for testing products/chemicals on. It is good to know that this has now been stopped.



Food:

Guerilla Gardener in Southern LA, Ron Finlay; Educating the people:

This is a wonderful, inspiring video clip. There is a lot people can actually do in a non-intrusive, positive and educational way, and at the same time making a strong statement.

I jotted down a few notes while watching this vid:

- Managing one’s own reality rather than living other peoples idea of what my reality should be.

- Tool for education - what he’s doing! 

- Gardening is therapeutic. 

- Earth is like a plain canvas. 

- Growing food is like printing your own money.

- If kids grow kale they’ll eat kale.

- Educating kids rather than having someone (society) educating kids. 

http://www.ted.com/talks/ron_finley_a_guerilla_gardener_in_south_central_la.html

In my research into Sustainability, food - its quality and availability - is definitely one of the 'hot topics' of sustainability world wide. As food is an essential need for human survival, this doesn't surprise me at all. 

There is a group of people who are keen to spread the word on how to 'Grow Food - Not Lawns', which in my view is a good sustainable practice.

Sourced from Facebook page: www.GROWtest.org

There are some wonderful images on Google of peoples lawns having been dug up and turned into lovely gardens. 

I have been using Facebook as a social network site for some time now and once I started to 'click onto' pages which are dedicated to 'sustainable living' or 'living off the grid' 'mothers for sustainability', 'rooftop gardens', 'cooking and baking with sunlight' and so on with each one of them being connected to other pages of similar interests - I realized that there are a lot of people who simply want to step off the bandwagon of consumerism and change their life for the better because really - what is important? Quantity or quality? What is the point of working to then buy this or that, bigger and more is better, which is the message of success that has been transmitted through TV programs, advertisement, education - and lets face it - basically has become an acceptable, expected 'way of life' for quite some time now. I believe it has become obvious that a consumeristic way of life is not sustainable for people and the environment.  

Some links which might be of interest, even so these are only the 'tip of the iceberg' on 'what's out there'. One has to only think of some sustainable idea and I bet Google will have something about it:

Page about ‘grow your own food’:

https://www.facbook.com/FoodIndependence

Huge crop yield in India without any fertilizers:

http://grist.org/food/miracle-grow-indian-farmers-smash-crop-yield-records-without-gmos/

Living off the grid page:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Living-Off-the-Grid-228080417303590

Solar Electricity Handbook:

http://amzn.to/XSN9xG

Fossil Free page:

https://www.facebook.com/FossilFree?ref=stream

Eco Vision Sustainable Learning Centre:

https://www.facebook.com/ecovisionslc

Organiz NZ Magazine:

www.organicnz.org/

Biodynamic Farming Association NZ:

www.biodynamic.org.nz/

And here is an very interesting and informative link to a short film about the practice/philosophy of Biodynamics:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=USG40qCDv6A&feature=youtube.be

It is good for me to realize through my research, that the awareness for sustainability in this World is getting more widely spread.

Growing or recycling food in my teaching context at Addiction Rehab:

The meals are delivered via the Hospital (DHB) and there is no composting of leftovers. Those will be thrown out. 

I was hoping at some point to save some egg shells to create 'recycled art' with but that didn't work out. 

There is no garden for vegetables or herbs, but plastic, newspapers or cardboard is recycled; probably the tins for Milo or coffee too. There doesn't seem to be any glass in any form.