G-n-L Ganesh and Lauren

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World Environment Day Celebrations

Sunday, 7 June 2009

Admittedly I'm a little bit late for a World Environment Day post, but I just managed to watch the movie, Home, on YouTube released specifically for World Environment Day and I'm particularly impressed. Apart from the stunning photography and glimpses of things I've only heard about - like the mining of the tar pits in Canada - the message is gentle but clear. There's 10 years tops to make serious changes before we face a very very different world.

Of course three quarters of the way through the movie I was feeling very depressed about the human race and the potential to make change, but the end does provide some hope for a greener future.

Definitely worth checking out: http://www.youtube.com/homeproject for a limited time only - final screening on June 14th!

Labels: environmentalism, home project, movie

$5000 bonus...

Friday, 19 December 2008

My sincere thanks to all those who voted... The picture to the left was chosen as the winner of the environmental prize!!!! We have our start up funds for the new venture :-) This is so so exciting!! It's really hard to believe one person could win a $10000 environmental prize AND a $5000 environmental prize all in 1 year but as I always say, anything is possible... This is the boost the project needed to get off the ground over christmas/new year...

I also made a fantastic discovery today... Health by Chocolate - fantastically organic chocolate, supposedly good for the environment AND good for your health. No more low iron or low anything else... I can chocolate way my good health! Unfortunately it's only available in the US... But Xin and I tried to create healthy, study enhancing chocolate during exams once so perhaps there is another business opportunity for us there! I have always wanted to make chocolate, from crushing the cacao beans to decorating the wrappers... and now that there is a plantation in Queensland it can be sustainable as well as healthy!

This blog is a bit all over the place today... I'll put more consistent and better blogging on my list of new years resolutions too, but I just felt I needed to mention a few startling facts.... Grace, an old friend from school recently recommended I read The Honey Spinner a worldwide honey adventure (yum!). The narrator (also named Grace) drizzles her way through various pots of 'liquid gold' discovering some serious issues behind the tasty industry. Albert Einstein once said that: 'If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe then man would only have four years of life left. No more bees, no more pollination, no more plants, no more animals, no more man'. While the current focus is on the US financial crisis another crisis is unfolding, the ramifications of which might prove to be just as serious. Colony collapse disorder, a phenomenon that has been called the Marie Celeste of the bee world, has been occurring since 2006. Colonies of adult bees just disappear. Few bodies are ever found and tests show that they are full of pathogens. Nearly a third of honeybee colonies have been destroyed by the syndrome and scientists do not yet know why it is occurring. I really don't know what we can do about this, but more people should know!

To really top off a very varied post, I couldn't resist including the story of another crazy Tesla devotee (my dad is another)... Tesla, while a great physicist, was slightly troubled in that he used to vibrate buildings at the exact frequency that it took to make them collapse... He was also famous for the Tesla coil... A doctor in Western Australia has chosen to follow in his footsteps make electrical art, Tesla style. Warren has launched Tesla Downunder to showcase his artistc experiments which use up to 500000 volts from the mains, and a long exposure camera...

Thanks again for your votes!!

Labels: bees, chocolate, competition, environmentalism, honey, winner

Walking the walk

Monday, 16 July 2007

Stop the Black Balloons website Since my 'eco warrior' post I've been trying to think of solutions to the climate crisis we face, as well as turning our home into a green haven to be proud of. Suprisingly this involved quite a large amount of research in order to get the facts, to learn about the issues and consequences properly and to really start getting our hands dirty. The basics were easy. We switched to green power, started collecting excess water from the shower in buckets or siphoning it off into the garden, we wore jumpers more and ran the heaters less, we shopped at local farmers markets to reduce food miles and we cut down significantly on meat consumption (although Ganesh still has his fortnightly pizza or KFC). We even attended electrical vehicle association meetings to learn how to convert Grandma's car to electric! And of course we switched all of our websites over to green webhosts. I felt we were making a lot of progress when I attended a climate conference run by the Fabians and Labor and was asked to advise the Boroondara council on environmental measures due to my extensive knowledge on the topic! But was later disappointed when they did not want further contributions or to take any of the more progressive steps I'd suggested. But now we've reached a plateau. There is so much more we can do and are capable of... but we're unsure of how to go about it.

The website I've been developing through Synergetics has been stalled for far too long waiting on contributors checks, legal issues, content and design. The site, Stop the Black Balloons, started off with too much ground to cover and is only now finding it's place on the web. I maintain that the idea is still unique and highly credible but I can not do it on my own and am finding it difficult to inspire in others what has been inspired in me. It has been a great learning process though... and I've realised now the importance of social networking to maintaining a steady flow of visitors. I've started up with YouTube and Facebook and will move on to MySpace and others when I get the chance. I am grateful everyday for the chance Dave has given me, and I know I am capable of making something fantastic, given the time.. I just hope Dave doesn't lose faith before then. Perhaps the dream of ethical and environmentally friendly businesses the world over and free environmental certification for all is within reach! For now I'd be happy with a complete site and a green home, ready and waiting to prove that walking the walk isn't so hard...

Labels: environmentalism