London Fireworks

Here’s to our new year’s wish that more people will see the urgency of saving the planet and its people.

[Let's just hope you weren't one of the thousands who chose to dump their garbage (including bottles that injured quite a few people) in the streets of London last night.]

Whilst experts and politicians are debating whether humans contribute to global warming, let’s look at other aspects affected by this issue. Necessity is the parent of all inventions.

This issue has triggered many researches in all aspects of our life. Because of this we have become conscious and forced us to re-evaluate our attitude towards how we use our resources and manage our wastes, which affect our world and has consequences to our children. We finally realised that no resources are really infinite, not even oil, land or potable water. Awareness of this issue caused an increase in research investments that resulted in more energy-efficient homes, more sources of renewable energy, more compostable/biodegradable materials for mostly everything we use (i.e. packagings), more modern energy-efficient equipment, more fuel-efficient vehicles, etc. True, all these things come at higher costs. I’d rather pay the premium today while it’s much cheaper as it will be more costly to our children in the future. As research and technology improve, premiums will be lesser in the long term.

If we have not become aware of this issue, whether true in the long term or not, we wouldn’t invest much in research. Development of more energy-efficient products/technologies would be at much slower pace; consumers wouldn’t be bothered to demand such things.

I’ll leave to the scientists (and politicians) to continue with the debate. It’s always natural for us humans to always disagree with anything. The results of this awareness are all positive from what I can see. In our time when the population of the world is growing (and we consume ever more as people become more progressive, i.e. China) and available resources are shrinking, it’s just right that we strive for higher efficiency.

A.G.
(What is life?)

I would love to see this done across London. I see too many little plots of land turned dumping ground or overgrown with weeds just on the way home. And to think it takes years to get an allotment!

Read on – Dump sites used for growing veg.

New year, a time to make a fresh start. Allow me to share with you a very apt message from a page in my calendar (credits from the living green Page-A-Day calendar).

I had it in my calendar for ages. It was supposed to be the first large scale green event I will be going to (the only one I know so far). And I was excited to see what they will have on offer and what new ideas i can find.

Imagine my disappointment when I looked at their website last week. I lifted this text from there,

“Unfortunately, The Green Show has been postponed indefinitely. We are sorry for any inconvenience.

We discovered that small companies did not have the budget to exhibit at a major show, and that larger companies did not necessarily want the two-way conversation afforded by an ‘green’ exhibition. We also discovered that the potential audience for a consumer ‘green’ show is limited: Some environmentally switched-on people were prepared to make the effort to come along, but in the main, there was considerable apathy from ‘the man in the street.’

It’s possible that someone will stage a large and successful ‘green’ show in London, as they do in other major cities around the world. We wish them good luck, and will be interested to speak with them if they wish to try. “

Apathy? And whilst being in London is where I started to make an effort to ‘green-up’ my lifestyle. This is also where every other person on the tube leaves their paper on the train. Where a mother scoldingly tells her teenage son to leave that can of soda on the pavement. Where builders eating their breakfast on the way to the train station drop their food and packaging as they eat. Where the old and young spit anywhere. And leave their dog’s mess for some poor soul to step on. Where the hurried and busy people dump their plastic sandwich packaging, coffee cups and plastic bags in the bin 3 times in a day. This is where household recycling is worst.

Maybe next year?

We sacrifice a lot for our children’s future – we spend so much time working hard so we can give them the best we can afford, we save money to fund their education, and we help them as much as we can when they start a new stage in their life.

How much of their future do we really think about? Do we only think about the economics of their future life? Can we include in our worries their future environment?

We don’t know what problems the future will bring. From previous generation to today’s generation we experienced wars, poverty, political and economic instabilities (which includes dot.com bubble and today’s credit crunch). I think the future will uncover a much worse problem than what we face now. How will you solve environmental problems caused by generations of neglect – climate change, pollution, food shortage? Money we’re trying to save will not save our children from these problems.

It’s worrying that majority of people and businesses don’t realise the urgency of this issue. Each individual has a contribution to make and they can also bring that contribution to their workplace. Businesses should take this seriously and not only use it for publicity or marketing strategy. They should actively implement their policies concerning the environment and energy efficiency. I would put this above the issue of health and safety as breathing polluted air and destroying the environment is a broad part of health and safety issue.

Our blog from previous weeks discussed many things how we can contribute to solutions on environmental issues affecting our children’s future. My sacrifice will not stop just providing them economic security.

How much are we willing to pay for our children’s future?

Read more: Companies need green directors article from the BBC.

brrr….It is beginning to feel so much like winter, but don’t put that budding environmentalist in you into hibernation.

Here’s a list of events in and around London to keep you (and us) going. And, of course, a dose of shopping wouldn’t hurt as well. We have scoured the web for this list, but this is not exhaustive. If you know of any other green events, email us here (info[at]guui.co.uk).

Plumstead, Greenwich. 9 October (10am-4pm), 12 October (12noon-5pm), 16 October (10am-4pm), 23 October (10am-4pm), 30 October (10am-4pm). Greenwich Eco House Open Days. More info here.

Hornbeam Centre 458 Hoe Street, E17 (corner of Bakers Arms). 11 October. 12noon-5pm. Good Food Swap. Swap your grown produce for somebody else’s pickles and bakes in a locally celebrated ‘good food swap’. Link here.

Highbury Fields School, Islington. 13-19 October. A week of eco activities and energy efficiency tasters. More details here.

Stratford Meridian Square (in front of Stratford Station). 15-17 October. 9am till late. The Keen Green and Ethical Market.

Royal Geographical Society. 16 October 2008 at 7pm. Earthwatch Lecture – Shrinking Habitats, Species Survival. Free! More info here.

Hampton Wick Library. 18 October. 11am. Green Bites. A series of environmental workshops in libraries. Free! Run by the Richmond Council. To book a place ring 020 8912 0653.

Camden Town Hall. 22 Oct 2008. 7pm. The Great African Scandal – Fairtrade event. Find out more here.

Brent Museum, Willesden Green. until 2 November. Exhibition – Greenopaedia. Free! Find out more here.

Scadbury Park, Bromley. 15 November. Tree Planting Event. 10am. Meet at the Old Perry Street car park entrance to Scadbury Park. Run by BEECHE(Bromley’s environmental education centres at High Elms). more information here.

Royal Geographical Society, 1 Kensington Gore, London. 20 November. 7pm. Small donation requested at door. Irreplaceable – The World’s Most Invaluable Species Debate. Run by Earthwatch Europe. find out more here.

Acton Market, The Mount/King Street, Acton Town Centre. Give or take market. Last saturday of each month. 12:30noon-3:30pm. Give away unwanted household or garden goods or pick up something someone else no longer needs for free. Find out more.

It’s up to the people of London to decide what kind of environment they want to leave their children with – do they want to leave them with better or worse than what we have now. If we want to help the future generations about the climate/environmental problems they are going to face, we have to start now. Whatever problems they will have in the future is the cumulative effects of what we, our current generations, are badly doing now. Do we want to leave our children with untidy surroundings, where thousands of plastic bags are scattered anywhere and blown by wind everywhere? Warmer climate because of disappearing ozone layer?

There are solutions to these issues, but today’s generation has to decide if we want to contribute to the solution or keep on messing. The longer we mess the worse will be the problems in the future. One simple solution we can do is planting more trees in our area, or maximising planting whereever we can. Trees, or any other plants, are one of the basic sources we need, yet we’re taking it for granted – cutting more and more of it without replacing and even destroying the land areas to develop to something more residential or industrial. Even here in London we can do something. We can re-asses our community development plans and include more plants in the landscapes. London can be creative and can show other metropolitan areas that it can be done. We need to be planting more to make it a sustainable source for future generations.

Another solution is being more responsible consumers when possible. Consuming products made from sustainable products and fairly traded. We’re not only responsible for the environment, for future generations, but we’re also responsible for other people. How can we wear our clothing, eat our food and use our accessories produced/made by people working in inhumane conditions? Or made by underpaid child labors? There are many manufacturers who still provide the same products we use today who are responsible in their tradings, we just have to know them. We don’t need to sacrifice our lifestyle.

The choice is with us on which direction we want to go. Sometimes, the right decision is the more difficult choice, but we have to see the big picture.

I’ll buy ethically produced, organic and fairtrade products…

I’ll reuse and recycle…

I’ll reduce my carbon footprint as much as I can by patronising local products…

Several years ago, you wouldn’t notice any organic section in supermarkets. We recently have a lifestyle change and consumers are now choosing organic products among other things. Now, organic produce are everywhere from fruits and vegetables to processed foods. You can even visit organic farms and stay in organic accommodations. 

I grew up in an island in the Far East and have hands-on experience in vegetable gardening. At that time, pesticides are always a necessity. It was too impossible to grow vegetables in organic way. The hot and humid weather is always a good breeding ground for almost all species of pests from the juicy aphids to the crawly caterpillars who likes your pak choi patch. If you attempt to grow organically and your neighbours spray their pesticides, you will get an influx of surviving pests immediately migrating to your garden. 

Vegetables seemed to grow very quick if you have the right fertilisers. In school competitions, I was in a fertiliser computation contest in the late 1980s, quantifying the right amount of NPK (Nitrogen Phosphorous Potassium) required in your soil. Looking back, it was a strange thing but that was an era not too long ago where we were encouraged high yield for crops. Food is priority in third world countries and not how these foods are produced that is good for the environment and the life that evolves around it.

Organic goes back a long way in the 1500s when it doesn’t mean what it means today. Only in the 1940s that organic was attested to mean ‘free from pesticides and fertilisers.’ Our old farming ways are organic, when fertilisers have not reached the shores of the islands. Crop rotation is evident in rice fields, planting Nitrogen-rich green mung beans on dry season and rice during rainy days. 

It’s not at all easy growing organic and it’s not easy too being organic. But it seems that the world is moving in the right direction and certainly the West. As organic demand grows, we will need more certified organic farms. These farms will expand to supply us even more. Organic farming practice will become popular again and time will tell it will reach the shores of the islands. 

Sometimes I do wonder if people will think it hypocritical – that we try to learn about eco-living without meaning to go the whole hog.

There is really something admirable in the stories of people abandoning modern conveniences to lead a sustainable life – the good life. Those who lobby for the rest of us so the laws could be changed. Those who made it their life to change and save the world. It would make you think they’re doing it for the rest of us who couldn’t get off our backside and do something.

But a good majority of us lead many lives, and priority goes to what puts food on the table or what makes us happy. And I guess, I am one of those people. But, I wanted to learn how I can do my bit. Without a drastic change to the way I live. Without feeling deprived of the niceties of life that I thought I deserve.

Maybe it’s better to do the little things than not to do anything. I care enough about what kind of future I leave my children to start doing something.

And sharing the things that we learn are really what guui is all about. It’s learning what needs to be done without blindly accepting what is commonly perceived as ‘good’. It’s not about being political. We accept that the government needs to do their bit. But, we can do so much more without the government’s bidding. It’s not about forcing people to do something, it’s about realising that everybody actually cares, most of us just don’t know that we can actualy do something or how important the issues really are. It’s about  voting with our money. Being a responsible consumer. Taking responsibility without sacrificing our standard of living.

It’s a small step at a time…until we make a habit out of caring…until doing these little bits become second nature. And keep doing more. It isn’t the good life. Nor is it all glamour and excesses. It’s the guui lifestyle.