Circle of Life

It was a long drive from Hillston, a regional town in NSW to Sydney. I had my headphones on, with music blaring in my ears, till I caught notice of the massive truck in front of our car. It was packed with sheep from head to toe. I could not see an inch of space between them. Wondering how they were coping with the claustrophobic environment, I suddenly noticed one of them, at the edge of the truck. With its left leg stuck outside, it was desperately trying to free itself from the bars of the cage it was trapped in. It kept trying to shake its leg off to relieve itself of the pain the awkward position must be causing it. I watched horrified, almost disgusted that I was promoting this industry. I was party to animals being ruthlessly transported from one place to the other, to be slaughtered for someone's afternoon meal.  I never spared one thought of guilt at any point of my childhood, to re-think what my lifestyle choices must be doing to other living beings. However that one incident really shook me up. I looked it up and was relieved I wasn't the only one perturbed about the way these poor animals were being transported http://www.stopliveexports.org/

The way the animals are being transported, is not one of the only concerns. The conditions in which they are made to wait for their end is another.

Family and friends were a bit taken aback when I told them that I am trying to transition towards being a vegetarian. I have a reputation of being a hardcore foodie, barely ever filtering any kind of food that I would say no to. I am currently trying to be vegetarian for small blocks of time. I am certain many of my friends would laugh, but being vegetarian for a month was a big commitment for a foodie like me. I am currently on day 10 and I can definitely say it's not that bad!

Whenever I would bring up the morality issue of eating animals to my parents, they would bring up the age old argument of the "circle of life" (they totally stole that from Lion King). I was too hungry to even argue and would dig into my chicken without a bat of an eyelid. However as years passed by, I began questioning this argument. Sure, it would apply to lions in a jungle, as this is the only source of food they know. However, does the same apply to us?

Don't we have enough options to sustain a balanced diet, which would provide us with the strength and nutrition to live a long and healthy life? Yes we do. Which is why, I am going to put it in all my efforts to evolve towards a vegetarian lifestyle. If you are struggling with trying to make the switch, learn about how it will benefit you here: http://time.com/9463/7-reasons-vegetarians-live-longer/

Disclaimer: I did not write this blog to make all the non-vegetarians feel bad, but simply to discuss the issue :). You may not wish to change your diet but I would encourage you to support the causes of stopping animal cruelty in transportation, slaughter houses and others. I myself may not be able to radically change to a vegetarian diet, however the first step is the hardest. The best part is finding out that the grass is still greener on the other side, and that you still have plenty of "fun" options in a vegetarian meal. Think chocolate!

Shark Encounters and Fear Mongering

Sharks have been particularly unfortunate in attracting bad media coverage over the years. Arguably, movies such as 'Jaws' only added fuel to the fire, creating a generation of kids who could not help but have an irrational fear of a shark biting an important part of their body off- no matter what water body they were in. If you weren't one of them, well then, congrats. I only recently overcame my fear of swimming in the open ocean even after being an accomplished swimmer for many years. This is because I found out that sharks are very low on the list of things that could kill me in everyday life.

Why is it that hippos have a cute and cuddly image of the friendly fatty when they are responsible for almost 3000 deaths in Africa alone per year? Around 40 people per year die because of dog bites, 20 from horses and a similar figure from cows. Well to be fair, that's a tiny fraction of the number of cows that die because of our steak cravings (sigh). Not just animals, texting while driving kills 6000 people per year, icicles falling cause around 100 deaths in Russia alone and 6000 people die from tripping and falling at home each year (you don't even need to leave the house). There are many more such examples but they all just point towards one fact: sharks aren't as big a threat to human life as they are made out to be, not even close. They have just been unfortunate in being the subject of perpetuating fear among the masses, grabbing headlines and also playing lead roles in ridiculous 'mockumentaries' (See: Megalodon: The Monster Shark Lives).

I live in Australia so obviously stories of shark sightings and shark encounters make top news on a regular basis. However based on records, there have been 975 shark attacks in Australia since as far back as 1791. Out of these only 231 have been fatal. That's roughly a quarter. Does this figure justify policies such as the shark cull initiated by Western Australia (WA) last year? Any rational person would say no. Thankfully the Environment Protection Authority (EPA) felt the same and have recommended the WA Government to abandon the policy this summer. However this action came a little too late since between January to April this year, 172 sharks were caught out of which 68 were shot. Little barbaric to say the least. The average fatal shark attack in Australia still remains at 1 person per year and to avenge this figure, we promptly killed 68 members of this threatened species.

The silver lining that came out of this was that the widespread protests by people in Australia created quite a stir worldwide and more people researched this subject: leading to better awareness and better judgement. This is also an important way forward. We must invest in furthering our understanding of sharks and research on non-lethal ways to protect ourselves in the ocean. Fear mongering media-tactics must be shunned and spoken out against. Better judgement must prevail.

Besides, look at this picture of this shark without sharp teeth, not so scary now right?

The Sustainable Consumer

Let's take a journey through the life of an average consumer, in a developed country.

Let's name her Sandra.

Sandra lives in the suburbs of an urban city alone and loves her city life. She drives everyday to her office. She buys coffee on her way to work everyday and also buys a water bottle on the way back, for the drive home. Her wardrobe changes from one fashion season to the other. Her old clothes mostly end up in the trash bin as she gets lazy about making a trip to the op-shop. Her home decor items too land up in the trash bin from time to time, as she gets bored of them easily and also wants to keep up with the latest trends in interior designing.  Her weekly groceries comprise of a majority of items that she buys on instinct and recklessly. A significant proportion of the edible items expire before she has a chance to eat them since she lives alone and only has limited food requirements. She only buys fruits and vegetables that look spotless, similar to the ones shown on the popular cooking show 'Masterchef'. Sandra doesn't believe in buying refills for items such as hand soaps, coffee jars etc., since she gets good deals on buying bulk of new bottles of hand soap and coffee jars. Eventually she finds her house too cluttered and on one Sunday cleaning session, she relieves the house of a large quantity of undamaged items, to make it look a bit more presentable.

No prizes for guessing, the above is not an example of a sustainable consumer. Although you might scoff at Sandra and condemn the way she lives her life, her habits are quite similar to a majority of the people living in developed countries. Due to the growing economic prosperity of developing nations, many of the people living in the urban cities of India and China, are no different. In fact, new found wealth in these countries is propagating the consumerism culture at an alarming rate.

If you would like an idea of what your impact on the planet is, calculating your Ecological Footprint would be a good idea. The Eco Footprint measures the impact of your demands, on the Earth's resources, thus giving a rough estimate on whether or not the planet can sustain your current lifestyle.

Take the test here- http://www.wwf.org.au/our_work/people_and_the_environment/human_footprint/footprint_calculator/

I am nobody to preach, my own footprint shocked me the first time I took it. How could I, an environmentally conscious person have a lifestyle that requires more than 1 Earth to sustain? But the purpose of this is not to sink into depression and guilt, but to get a reality check. We need to objectively analyse our current consumption patterns, identify what places are having the most impact and deduce ways in which we can reduce this. Living a more sustainable lifestyle not only saves the planet its resources, but also leads to savings. I can say from personal experience that the concept of saving money was much more popular in our parents' generation than in ours. Sandra for instance, goes from pay check to pay check, splurging her money on things she doesn't need, with minimal savings.

Small changes in our lifestyle can ensure that we have a lifestyle that the planet can sustain. Instead of buying a new coffee cup each day, take a reusable cup, that can be used each day. Similarly, say NO to the nuisance of plastic bottles. Fill your bottle from home, it saves money and reduces the unnecessary over-flooding of the landfills. Try car-pooling and making a trip to the local farmers' markets. Food miles is a major issue on the topic of sustainable living. Is it really necessary that our food has to travel thousands of miles, burning all that carbon dioxide, decaying all the while, only to be artificially freshened up right before it reaches our mouths? Why not support your local farmers and have food that is locally sourced and healthy? Another issue in relation to food sustainability is the amount of food that is discarded each year on the basis of it not looking cosmetically appealing. Referring to the above example of Sandra, who only chooses fruits and vegetables that look spotless- this trend is rather alarming amongst a lot of consumers. A lot of edible food produce reaches the landfills each year because of notions amongst consumers that just because they have a few bumps and are rough around the edges, they must be rotten. Bear in mind that we are exhausting our food supplies at an increasing rate and acute food shortages are faced by numerous countries, each day, all around the globe. We cannot possibly afford to throw away food that could sustain a sizeable population, because of ridiculous standards of cosmetic presentation of food perpetuated by the media and shows such as Masterchef. Furthermore, 'bulk-shopping' is another trend that must be fought by consumers and avoided at any cost. We as consumers get tempted by the clever marketing tactics of supermarket chains. The 'buy 2 get 1 free' offers are often too hard to resist. However more often than not, we land up buying things we don't need (to make a point to people, we don't care about). The only people benefiting in this vicious cycle are the already wealthy corporations.

Sustainability is all about driving change and the first principle of driving change is to start with yourself. 

Does Climate Change Cause Conflict?

A facet of the debate on climate change relates to the highly controversial topic of civil conflict. The belief that impacts of climate change can play a role in conflicts amongst societies may seem incredulous to some. While being careful as not to state that the impacts of climate change are causing rather than triggering civil conflicts, evidence can be found which might point to such trends. 

While conflicts and wars have occurred in the past, due to dwindling oil resources, how far-fetched is it to state that similar conflicts won't arise due to dwindling, life-supporting resources such as water? Not so much. Continued negligence by governments towards securing basic needs for its citizens can cause possibly catastrophic revolts by distraught citizens. 

Below is a small clip from a documentary series named "Years of living dangerously", co-produced by renowned film producer/director James Cameron, which is based on the different aspects of climate change and its impacts. In the clip Thomas Friedman, noted New York Times journalist, is discussing a possible linkage between the drought that occurred in Syria between 2006 and 2010 and the civil war that occurred towards its end. 

The drought in Syria was severe, the worst long-drawn drought in its history. It resulted in acute water shortages and massive crop failures. Herders in the northeast of the country lost close to 85% of their livestock. A report by the UN in 2009 stated that more than 800,000 people in Syria had lost their entire livelihood, because of the droughts. The food security of close to a million people was threatened. 

This disturbed lifestyle led hundreds of thousands of farmers, agriculturally dependent rural families and herders to the cities of Syria. This put the resources of the already over-populated cities of Syria under severe strain. The problem of bad governance only added to the problem. So how does this link to the war? Simply put, the simmering frustration and dissatisfaction with the government's attitude towards the suffering of the people, could have provided the final trigger for people to jump on the revolution-bandwagon. Quoting Friedman from the documentary-"If a drought is bad enough, it can help push an already stressed society to the breaking point."

I reiterate that it would be grossly inaccurate to ignore the social and political factors that unquestionably caused the conflict, however identifying and analysing possible environmental factors that could have played a role towards the same could help mitigate future conflicts.

Renewable Energy: The Game Changer.

The energy sector contributes the largest proportion of greenhouse gas emissions in the world. Burning of oil, coal and gas is pushing our Earth in deeper ecological debt than ever before. Most people are under the assumption that we can just go on looking for more fossil fuel reserves- mine and dig till there is nothing left. But advocating something like this would have devastating and irreversible impacts on our biodiversity.

The topic of our looming energy crisis although daunting, does have a solution. Renewable energy comprises of solar, wind, hydro-power, geothermal, bioenergy and ocean energy. These sources are available this very moment around us and can provide the answer to all of our energy needs. Did you know that the Sun provides enough energy in one hour to provide all of our energy demands for a whole year? The untapped potential of these resources is infinite, however the main question that lies before us is how to harness this energy and utilise it for all our needs.

Although renewable energy is taking off in a big way- mainly due to rising fuel costs, a drop in costs of technology and carbon pricing, there are a lot of political and practical barriers blocking them from reaching their full potential. The political consensus on the matter is different for each nation across the world. Needless to say, the countries taking the lead in this regard and not sinking in climate change denial, will soon find themselves at a significant advantage over the rest. Think Iceland, Germany, Denmark or Spain. Don't get me wrong, there are much smaller and weaker nations too who have taken up renewable energy and can put the G20 to shame. Take Bhutan for example. Not only are 97% of its commercial activities fuelled by hydroelectricity, the entire backbone of the country's economy is based on exporting renewable energy. Producing much more energy than it needs, Bhutan exports close to 75% of its power generation to India.

The advantages of adopting renewable energy are endless. Electricity generation in Australia, which is mainly done through the burning of coal, accounts for about 37% of the country’s emissions. In contrast, renewable sources produce little to nil greenhouse gas emissions- this is after accounting for their entire lifecycle processes such as manufacturing, operations, maintenance and so on. The inexhaustible nature of these resources can provide us with the security of having enough energy to sustain our needs many times over. Furthermore, there are also economic benefits involved. In contrast to the fossil fuel industry which is primarily mechanized, the renewable energy industry has the potential to create much more jobs for communities since it is more labour intensive. Besides the initial investment required to build renewable facilities, their actual operations can be done at a very low cost. Thus they can offer affordable energy and stable energy prices over a period of time. However, governments have a major role to play in this regard. It is imperative that they provide the necessary incentives needed for a mass up-take of renewable energy technologies.

Renewable energy sources such as solar and wind can also help build a more resilient energy system. This is because the distributed systems are spread out over such large geographical areas, that electrical failures due to bad weather in one region will not lead to power failure in another. In addition, these two sources require basically no water to run their facilities, reducing the risk of water pollution and health risks that are otherwise associated with coal mining and natural gas drilling. The health benefits that come with adopting renewable energy include lower risks of lung cancer, cardiac dangers, allergies and many more. What’s not to love?

Renewable energy is the answer. Whether it's the energy crisis, whether it's reducing our collective ecological footprint, whether it's improving the quality of the environment we live in or whether it's a strategy to meet a nation's emission targets. The barriers blocking the effective implementation of achieving the energy efficiency renewables offer, are largely political and not technological. Nevertheless, let that not stop you as an individual, community or a business to utilise the benefits that come with adopting them. Let's not make renewable energy a lost opportunity and have the environmental vision to secure a greener future for us and our future generations!

IPCC Report Condensed in Pictures!

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released the first instalment of its 5th assessment report last year. I'm sure I wasn't the only environmental student who felt particularly panicky when our teacher asked us to go through the summary of this intimidating report. While the report was 2000 pages long, even the summary was rather extensive and made my brain a bit fuzzy. I was therefore very pleased when I bumped across this work of art from a man by the name of Greg Johnson who brilliantly condensed the complicated IPCC report into images and poetic lines.

If you wish to gain a glimpse of the current state of knowledge in climate change, this is the easiest way to do so-

http://daily.sightline.org/2013/12/16/the-entire-ipcc-report-in-19-illustrated-haiku/

The Three R's of the Environment.

Reduce, reuse, recycle.

If you have the facilities, please recycle. Landfill spaces are running out at an alarming rate. Not only that, they are flowing into water bodies and destroying precious aquatic ecosystems. A vast majority of the waste in landfills is biodegradable. As this waste slowly decomposes, it releases the most harmful gases- methane and carbon dioxide into the atmosphere which adds to global warming.

So, don't get lazy about throwing that coffee cup in the right bin...you don't want this happening in the near future, do you? -