On a Big jet plane

I am a fan of Angus and Julia Stone. #Justsayin.

But I guess as a sustainability campaigner (which is what I note as my occupation on custom forms!), I really ought not to be a fan of big jet planes. But travel is important.

For Norwegian environmentalist, Erik Dammann, travel allowed him to “challenge Western values and lifestyles in order to promote a more responsible attitude to the environment and the third world.”

Dammann returned to Norway with the realisation that the West’s focus on competition for personal gain had more to do with social structure than human nature. He also came back with a deep respect for other cultures and with a sense of responsibility for the way they were being destroyed by the consumption-oriented Western lifestyle and world view. He perceived an immense gap between the stated values of Western society, such as justice, freedom, responsibility and solidarity, and the actual impact of that society on people in other countries and on the Earth.

So for the following month I will be blogging from http://www.travelgreenchic.tumblr.com/, documenting the amazing stuff happening in the UK, Denmark and Germany. I am out to prove being green is simply not all mung beans and no style. Far from it. It's everything we know but just simply tweaked for the better.

*this blog post comes to you from the skys... Emirates A380 OnAir internet... crazy this technology stuff!

A place called Commonground

The 2011 Sustainable Living Festival may have wrapped up a month ago, but the team behind the Festival continues to live and breath the magic as they plan for 2012.

2012 planning kicked off with a weekend away at Commonground in Seymour. A magical place that fosters collaboration in the mist of serenity and nature.

"Commonground is an Intentional Social Change community established in the early eighties. The founders were a small group of social activists exploring their best collective contribution to the creation of a just, nonviolent and sustainable world."

Commonground is a place that fosters the "keep it real" movement. The place seems to put me at ease, where social norms are no longer a priority. Getting in touch with nature, getting in touch with the people around you, and quite simply just breathing. And to think all this is found in our own backyard. I can only hope this kind of community spirit continues to thrive. It may have taken years and much blood, sweat and tears to achieve what they have, but the outcome, well it sure makes me wonder why one would ever doubt magic. Think, a place made from recycled materials, a place where resources are shared (co-housing), a place where the pool is the damn that is warm from the natural sunlight. Make it what you want. For the crazy Festival kids, 3 words: Royal Rajasthan Discotheque.

Selling out to travel

I have a confession while I try to live a "green" sustainable life, there is one thing I just can't give up. Travel. I absolutely adore traveling. Immersing oneself in another lifestyle, another culture, knowing that there is so much out, is something I constantly crave, that is to seek out the unknown. So what can I do? I can offset my travel.

While I do see purchasing offsets as a cop out, it is necessary when there is no other option. Well the other option is to take a year off and gradually make my way to each desired destination, but that's not possible... well not at this point in time.

So how do I make my travel the greenest it can be? Take my weekend away to Sydney and Canberra.

Flights:

• Melbourne to Sydney [.23 tonnes = $5.75]
• Canberra to Melbourne [.15 tonnes = $3.75]
  

Shared car travel:

• Hawthorn to Burnley to Tulla Airport (return) [7.4kms]
• Sydney car rental to National Gallery of Australian Canberra [288.1kms]
• NGA to Food to Canberra Airport [7.1km]

=> Total car travel per person = 302.6km = $62.75/3 = $20.92

TOTAL travel offset $5.75 + $3.75 + $20.92 = $30.42

Offset calculations via Climate Positive

[I've only offset my flights as I'm not too sure how to go about offsetting my portion of vehicle travel, or whether I have to offset the whole lot ie $62.75]

*Car travel 3 peeps
*Staying in the area we want to hang avoided any car/taxi travel as most things were within walking distance. Tho we did take the bus twice!
*Eating organic. An abundance of choice in Surry Hills, so that's where we stayed!

yes that's Anne Hathaway, she too paid a visit to Collector Store (tho not @ the same time as moi!)