World Environment Day aka #WED2010

* Word Environment Day 5th June *

Today is World Environment Day and crazy busy I am. But nonetheless it is my duty to honor this day. And I do so by passing on this call to action request from 1Million Women. I encourage you to sign up and join the movement. How great would it be great to see Melbourne Women leading the fight in climate change. But I ain't no feminist. So boys, you can do your bit too. Time to get yourself a KeepCup don't you think?

Thank you and to clarify…

One of my besties stated one of the obvious, which I’m pretty sure is in your thoughts as well. “Isn’t flying a huge carbon emitter?” I’m not going to argue that it isn’t because it is. Although I hope to be green, I don’t expect to disregard everything around me. Reality is that it’s not possible to be 100% green, especially overnight given our current living ways. The greenest person would be the one who sits in a box and does nothing but eat a bit of grass, drink a bit water and wait for the inevitable, bye bye world. For if they were to read a book that would be bad as a tree would have been destroyed and carbon dioxide would have been emitted from the production of the book. So, I’m not saying we shouldn’t live without certain things, what I am saying is to live with less and/or live responsibly.

I believe diversity creates better people. Diversity does not just come from within but also from afar. I would love to be able to cycle to every destination in the world but again in reality and at this point of time, for me, it is not possible. So the most viable option available to me is to fly. Maybe buying carbon offset credits is seen as a cop-out but for this time being it I believe is my only option to get to Rwanda in the greenest way. Using CarbonPlanet’s carbon credits calculator, the below is the cost to offset the return flight.

Should I make it to Rwanda, I am happy to pay this $105 as by paying this cost I get to experience one of Africa’s most biologically diverse regions.

Rwanda is a country that faces many challenges ranging from overcoming poverty and developing sustainable energy resources to land degradation. Even with these challenges, Rwanda, the ‘land of a thousand hills’ continues to develop forward-looking strategies including the development of renewable energies including hydropower, solar power, biogas and methane gas for power generation.

At present, Rwanda is internationally-renowned for introducing a ban on plastic bags, nationwide environmental clean-up campaigns and the restoration of previously degraded natural rain forests as part of a chimpanzee conservation programme.

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Thank you all for your comments, please do keep them coming!
But what I do want to reiterate is that we might not be able to give up everything we love and that’s fine but we can find a way to compensate for it and live responsibly.

*if you wish to raise any questions to “spark debate” as like my bestie, please do as I welcome your comments as it helps me in the green process and I sincerely appreciate that.

The power of one creates a little bit of magic

If no one takes that small step outside the box, then what hope is there for a future. It only takes one person to do something to make it count. No action is ever too small nor insignificant, for if we were to believe that one action cannot change the world, then we would be saying that this person doesn´t count and that would be wrong.

As consumers, we should feel empowered as we are in control of our purchases. Our purchases don´t just give a snapshot of who we are but it also tell us how much responsibility we are willing to accept as a consumer. When we make a purchase, true we are saying we like the item but we are also saying that this is how much I care about how it was made. The more we care, the more we are exercising our power in changing the way goods are produced such that it supports the environment and the rights of workers who produce the goods. Simply said, consumers are change agents. And we all are consumers.

If the US spends $680 billion a year solely on online advertising, can you imagine how much is spent worldwide in the advertising and marketing industry? Advertising is used to influence, manipulate and draw attention away from the things we wish not to hear, making it difficult for us to make informed choices. And so I started my blog. Joining many others out there who with the same thinking have decided to tell anyone willing to listen that we are exercising our power and they too can do the same by knowing where and how they can make better purchase decisions. The story of stuff is a great short clip that puts everything into perspective.

When I started blogging I had 3 objectives. To green my life, to eliminate the misconception that being green is costly, and to get people thinking, whether it be friends or random people I cross paths with. If from my blog I manage to instigate change, then I have achieved my purpose. I don´t expect readers to do a full 360 on me, though that would be nice but I am also realistic. I also believe individual actions can´t be forced. Longevity of our actions occurs when we do something because we want to not because we have been forced to. I draw parallels to those of a smoker. Smokers who quits cold turkey generally seem to relapse because they focus all their attention to forcing themselves to stop smoking that they don´t embrace the benefits of a smoke free life.

As I continue my green journey, I hope not just for people to follow my journey but the hope that by reading even just one of my postings, it will get people thinking and talking, maybe not directly about the posting but of the bigger picture and of World Environment Day. I have much hope. Take the story of late December in Philadelphia where a couple started a chain reaction by paying double: for their own meal and for the tab of another table of diners at the restaurant. For the next five hours, dozens of patrons got into that same spirit and paid the favor forward. This just proves how powerful one small action can create such magic.

* For this submission, the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) will donate $10 towards Gorilla Conservation projects in Rwanda.