Look who's come to the party...

Picture courtesy of The Australian (You may recognise the boat from our logo, before Yushin was changed to Sushi)


So the Rudd government is going to take international legal action against The Whaling Fleet at the International Court of Justice.

But is it a last ditch effort for some green credentials before the federal election?  Does it matter, if it means they're finally going to take action on whaling?

It is interesting timing for the move. And after backing down on their proposed Carbon Trading Scheme, and doing nothing about the Japanese whaling fleet all through the hunting season, Labor are in dire need of some green votes for the up-coming election.

Also, it sounds very unlikely that the action will do anything more than strain Australia's relations with Japan.  Apparently the International Whaling Committee is meeting in June, and it is likely they will approve Japan's request for a commercial kill quota of 410 whales per year.  This will mean, that even if Australia successfully stop the Japanese whaling for 'Scientific' reasons, there will be little they can do to stop The Commercial Whaling Fleet.

Still, I'm happy to see the government taking a position and letting the Japanese know we're serious about the issue. Hopefully some other nations follow our lead. In the meantime, it's going to be Sea Shepherd down there defending our mammal friends. So if you fell strongly about this issue, head over there and lend them some support.

If the Earth Were Small...

I read this poem a little while ago. It was printed on the back of a thank you card given to guests at Al Gore's climate change summit (I wasn't a guest, just a friend of a guest).

If the Earth were small... we might appreciate it for the miracle it is.

Victorious

Nestle have crumbled, as we new they would. Only two months after Greenpeace launched their campaign to stop Nestle using palm oil linked to rainforest destruction, Nestle have announced they will stop using suppliers such as Sinar Mas & Cargill, who have been tearing down rainforests to plant palm oil plantations.

Consumers have the power and this proves it. Why stop here? Well done to everybody that signed a petition, emailed Nestle, or helped to spread the word. And well done Greenpeace.

Quote of the week

"Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response.  In our response lies our growth and our freedom."

               Viktor E. Frankl

Hmm powerful words...  makes you feel like there's a lifetime in that space between stimulus and response, like you have all the opportunity in the world in those few seconds!  If only we could pause time in that gap and really think about our next move.  There's more time in that space than we allow ourselves, but we're all in such a rush we never take that time.  Then again... sometimes it's best to act on impulse, without thinking; we all know that sometimes thinking too much leads to the worst outcome.

Dove is not the Devil

Well... Dove is no longer the devil. But they were, so I'm glad they made an appearance on Nature Haters and we all got to see that great video.

In all honesty, I made a bit of a blunder and pointed out that Dove was using cheap Indonesian palm oil in its products. Unfortunately, I had already said on a previous post that Unilever had announced it was removing palm oil from its products...  not realising Unilever is the parent company of Dove.

No such announcements from Nestle yet.

But good news... Greenpeace are fighting the good fight. At the Nestle AGM in April, Greenpeace activists broke in through the ceiling and unfurled two 'Give the orang-utans a break' banners right over the shareholders heads. Legends. I wish they'd dropped a massive Nature Haters banner!

Don't think this issue is just about saving Orangutans - the major killer here is deforestation. These guys tear down the rainforest, then they burn all the leftovers. They're tearing and burning at such a rate, that Indonesia is now the third largest greenhouse gas emitter on our planet!

If you want to do something about this terrible situation, head over HERE and help the peeps over at Greenpeace to give the Orang-utans, and our planets rainforests, a break.

An Apple's Ecological Footprint

Want to know an easy way you can dramatically shrink your shoe size? And in turn shrink your ecological footprint?

Buy local produce. That simple.

Check out this exert from David Suzuki' and David R. Boyd's Green Guide

An Apple's Ecological Footprint

    Consider two seemingly similar apples. One apple grew on a tree in your backyard (or your neighbours) using nothing but sunshine, compost, and rainfall, relying on natural processes to avoid disease and pest infestations. When the apple was ripe you simply picked it and ate it.

The other apple grew on a commercial farm in another country. This apple was grown in soil that required chemical fertilizers and irrigation to nourish the tree. Pesticides made from fossil fuels were used to battle pests and diseases. Large machinery powered by dirty diesel fuel was used  on the farm, along with migrant labour. The apple was waxed, packed in a box, and shipped thousands of kilometers to your country (using more energy and generating more emissions). Then it was trucked to a distribution center and eventually to a store. All along the line, the apple was refrigerated to keep it fresh, using yet more energy. You drove to the store to purchase groceries and returned home, where you ate this second, noticeably less tasty apple.

The local apple obviously requires far fewer resources to grow, harvest, transport, and store. By using less energy, it causes less pollution. In short, the local apple has a much smaller ecological footprint than the imported apple.

I think it helps to be reminded from time to time, that such a small action, like purchasing most of your groceries from your local farmers market, can make such a huge difference.

As they say in the Green Guide:

"When one person or a few dedicated environmentalists do it (any positive change), the effects are negligible. But when an entire community, state, or nation make the switch, the impact can be enormous... No one sets out to deliberately ruin the planet, but to varying degrees we are all part of the problem. In many ways, through ignorance, laziness (I hate laziness!), or indifference, our actions add up to a destructive effect. Once we become aware of the impact humanity is having, the challenge is to deliberately change deeply ingrained habits."

So this weekend, take a backpack, get on your bike, and ride down to your local farmers market. And you have to try the apples, they're my favourite thing to buy at the farmers market - so much better! I'm lucky enough to have an organic farmers market on every Sunday, within 1km of my place. Get on google if you're not sure where your local farmers market is.