A thought or two about our planet-
As “Conscious Folk” we have considered our impact on this planet. This is not a “is global warming man-made” discussion….where I sit right now mammoths roamed in a tropical jungle and an ice age formed the landscape.Warming and cooling is not a modern phenomenon.
Messing up our planet
This is just a tiny piece about how after all that, people are messing it up.
On our travels, as I look through the glass of the van windscreen, I have become aware of the piles of discarded waste – be they in land fill sites, lay-bys or pieces of thrown litter with colours rivalling the hedgerow flowers. We see oily films casting rainbows over water courses and bags waving gaily from tree branches.
Fridges and cookers stand in beautiful outdoor kitchens – miles from the nearest plug.
Even if one has the weird sense of humour to see pretties, this is not doing the environment any good.
Who are we to talk?
Ok, it is difficult to preach whilst driving around in a 3 ton, dirty-diesel guzzling VW CREE, but it isn’t going to stop me. Our excuse is that the vehicle already existed and the footprint of scrapping it may be bigger than the miles we cover.
And we can’t afford a new one.
To make up to Mother Nature for the diesel, we are trying to think how we can be more conscious of our impact and reduce it. Packaging is a good thing to rant about – the amount of plastic we use as a species is frightening, much of which is not recycled or even recyclable. Putting something in the recycle bin is not a guarantee of it not causing further damage. It isn’t even a guarantee of it being recycled apparently.
There are shampoo and conditioner bars which save the use of a bottle. Better NO bottle than a bottle to recycle.
Is there a bar for washing up? It would be a good idea.
Fruit and vegetables are often cheaper when packaged. Is this to allow the supermarkets to control the amount we buy maybe? Or because if buying loose fruit and veg, we reject the less than perfect ones? Or maybe because people with a “cause” will pay more.
Beyond packaging, what about the phenomenon of the upgrade … how many cars and electrical items are sold daily when the old ones still perform well? Where do the discarded items end up? We are all encouraged to keep up with the latest fashion as this keeps the money rolling in.
I could go on, and often do, but this is well researched and publicised territory….we all KNOW but do we act? What conscious efforts can we make?
Wombling Free!
I am a bit of a Womble in that I find a use for bits I pick up.
Not that I am much like a Womble in looks – apart from the lack of height and an odd taste in hats perhaps.
I try to reuse containers – sometimes going a tad too far I am told. But tubs with lids are SO handy! I donate clothing, books etc. to charity shops and have been known use end-of-life clothing as dusters and floor cloths. Broken things often have a secondary use somehow. It is too easy to bin things rather than reuse or upcycle.
I wish I had the time to make rag rugs, patchwork quilts and to grow our own food.
Conscious Thought:
But we are thinking consciously. We are trying to use less electricity, eat locally produced food, and generally be mindful of what we are doing.
This rant is not to advise – I don’t have the expertise nor the time – it is more to ask for ideas. And if it makes one person think and react in one tiny way, then job done.
Our world can be changed for the better by one tiny action after another. Be part of the change.
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