Category: Counting On …

Reflections and actions during COP26 and going on

Counting on … day 1.136

31st July 2023

To keep sourdough starters healthy they need regularly depleting and refreshing – often more frequently than the demand for more bread. The sourdough starter can be used for things other than bread – such as crumpets.. It can also be used to provide the acidic element for soda bread or soda scones.

Soda farls made with sour dough starter

Heat a heavy frying pan. 

Mix 200g of plain flour with a two generous tablespoons of sourdough starter.  

Add 1/2 teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda and some grated nutmeg.

Stir in a handful of raisins. 

Mix with enough oat milk to a soft dough. 

Brush the frying pan with oil. Scope the dough out and into pan and Pat it with the back of a spoon to a roundish even shape – about 2cm deep.

Once the bottom is cooked and the edges are beginning to form, slide the soda bread onto a plate. Invert the pan on top, flip over so that the uncooked side of the soda bread is now face down in the pan.
Cook the second side.

You can vary the flavour by using dried cranberries, dried chopped apricots, diced apple etc instead of the raisins. And you can use cinnamon or cardamom instead of nutmeg.

Counting on … day 1.134

22nd July 2023 

The Conservative by-election win in Uxbridge is being presented as an opposition vote vis a vis the extension of the ULEZ in London. Transitioning to net zero (including halving emissions by 2030 – less than 7 years away) is something we all need to be engaged with. That includes appropriate investment by Government and Local Authorities, appropriate investment and market by businesses, sound information to keep people in the picture, and a determination by all of us to make it work. 

Counting on … day 1.133

20th July 2023 

Thinking about the value of trees, this comes from a Guardian article earlier in the year.

“Heatwaves tend to be the deadliest type of extreme weather, the scientists…

Roop Singh, at the Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre, said: “The results of the study indicate the need to work more urgently to put in place adaptations known to reduce heat-related mortality.” Lisbon, for example, has reduced the city heat-island effect by increasing the area covered by green spaces and water features.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/may/05/april-mediterranean-heatwave-almost-impossible-without-climate-crisis?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

Counting on … day 1.132

19th July 2023 

Today I signed a petition organised by Friends of the Earth calling on the government to plant more trees to help us adapt our environment to cope with increasing summer temperatures. Not only will these trees provide shade, they will also help the local ecosystem cope with extremes of rainfall absorbing excess rainfall in the soil against times of drought and slowing the flow of waters in times of potential flooding. 

This may be a good prompt to plan to plant another tree in our own garden (if we have the space), or maybe to sponsor a tree via organisations  such as the Woodlands Trust, the National Trust, Trees for Life, and even  via the NHS which is planting a nationwide NHS forest.

https://action.friendsoftheearth.uk/petition/green-our-streets?utm_source=call-to-action-supporting&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=trees&utm_content=FY2324-07_lm2307013_sign-my-name

Counting on … day 1.131

18th July 2023

What should the fossil fuel industries be doing? 

Christina Figueres, former Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, diplomat and renowned climate leader, says “Let’s remember what the industry could and should be doing with those trillions of dollars: stepping away from any new oil and gas exploration, investing heavily into renewable energies and accelerating carbon capture and storage technologies to clean up existing fossil fuel use. Also, cutting methane emissions from the entire production line, abating emissions along their value chain and facilitating access to renewable energy for those still without electricity who number in their millions.”

Counting on … day 1.130

17th July 2023

Earlier I wrote about the bee hotel in our garden and its high level of occupancy (https://greentau.org/2023/05/21/counting-on-day-1-117-2/)

I have since read in the RSPB magazine that the bee larvae won’t hatch out until next spring and that to protect them against the cold, it is a good idea to put the bee hotel in a shed or porch over the winter, before returning the hotel to its outside location in the spring. 

Counting on … day 1.129

16th July 2023

We can be part of the solution too creating wetland areas in our gardens, on a balcony, at church or school. Wetland areas help absorb carbon dioxide. They slow the flow of water into drains and rivers  helping to prevent flooding. They provide for greater biodiversity.

The WET has a guide for creating domestic wetlands from a pond in a pot to a bog garden. 

Click to access wwt-make-a-big-splash-for-nature-guide.pdf

Counting on …. Day 1.128

15th July 2023

 Becky Speight comments in the current. RSPB magazine that we may think we are at a crossroads where we can either address the climate crisis or the biodiversity crisis, but in fact we can have both and! She writes that this future “is one where we work far more closely with nature, to mitigate and adapt to the worst effects of global warming; to help species adapt to the changes already locked into the system; and to recreate and reimagine our lives and homes as vibrant , lush, functioning and joyous places. The future could be better than today”! And chiming in with the WWT, there is much emphasis on the importance of using water to create climate resilient, biodiverse rich habitats.