Reflections and actions during COP26 and going on
29th October 2022
A week to go until the start of the COP27 conference on climate change. We shall be expecting a lot from world leaders: radical plans, actions and financial input. We too need to be part of the solution. What radical action could you take to make your life style more sustainable?
27th October 2022
I recently mended the vacuum cleaner – where the hose connects into the body, the plastic collar had broken – and the charging cable for the iPad – which was showing signs of cracking – using Sugru. This malleable silicone substance can be moulded to the required shape or location and then left to harden binding to the substrate. So far it seems to have been effective! I have previously used it to mend the clay birdbath which had cracked in half.
Repairing anything that can be repaired is always a good option as it prolongs its useful life.
26th October 2022
I saw a picture of a teddy bear in a dry cleaner’s window with the words: “Soft toys washed and mended”. What an excellent idea!
Whilst Loved Before ‘is a social enterprise adoption agency for unwanted soft toys of any kind. Donations are washed, restored if necessary, and photographed before a profile is added to the website in the hope of finding them a new home.’ https://www.positive.news/lifestyle/we-embrace-imperfection-the-adoption-agency-for-preloved-playthings/
25th October 2022
Professor Kate Fletcher of the Centre for Sustainable Fashion, London College of Fashion recommends caution when clothing companies claim green credentials for their garments. “The most powerful thing we can do “ she told Positive News, “is not to run out to the shops, but just to really want what we’ve already got..”
This sentiment applies not just to clothes but all the things we surround ourselves with.
24th October 2022
Liz Truss was dead set against solar farms but it is not a sentiment shared by those who farm the land. Mark Tufnell, the president of the Country Land and Business Association told The Gaurdian: “We have members who say these are temporary sites if needs be, they are then able to concentrate on growing more food on their other land. The solar would be on their less good land, and … if that is what they so choose to do, why shouldn’t they be allowed to do it?” He added that the land was not lost to agriculture as the sties were easy to remove, and the area could be grazed with sheep. “There is no reason as to why the area underneath it couldn’t be grazed with sheep, but it could also provide very good habitat for farmland birds and increase biodiversity so help the environment.”
23rd October 2022
Solar farms in the UK are also producing a diversity of additional benefits. Creacombe solar farm in Devon reports “ In essence, a solar farm is a nature reserve that is left largely untouched for 25 years, resulting in huge benefits for wildlife and biodiversity [and will] help to reverse the decline in wildlife due to intensive farming practices [with]
22nd October 2022
Euronews Green reported on an interesting solar panel scheme. The solar panels are suspended above a field at a height that allows farm vehicles to pass underneath to tend and harvest the crops. The solar panels are fixed such that they can rotate through 360 degrees to catch as much sun as possible. When it rains they can be set to vertically to water the crop – or in the case of hail, horizontally. The panels can also be used to shade the crop during high temperatures and when frost is a risk.
21st October 2022
O what joy! The first baby bison in thousands of years has be born in the UK at the Knepp rewilding project. The three female bison arrived at the project in July but unknown to everyone one was carrying a calf.
20th October 2022
Again to conserve water, we recycle grey water. Water for hand washing collects in a bowl and is saved in a jug and/or flushed down the toilet. Water from flannel washes and from the hot water bottle are also recycled. At more expense you can install a tank, some form of water treatment and a pump to recycle the water to toilet cisterns and/ or a garden tap.
19th October 2022
Sometimes it is hard to get a feel for the scale of the things we are trying to achieve. This reports comes via The Guardian: “The UK is one of more than 100 countries committed to protecting “30×30” as a way to halt the destruction of the natural world. However, just 3.22% of land in England and 8% of the sea is being properly protected and managed for nature, according to the report from the environmental charities coalition Wildlife and Countryside Link (WCL).”
The Wildife and Countryside Link is a coming together of 66 wildlife related organisations whose combined membership exceeds 8 million. Hopefully this will give this new grouping a powerful voice.
The Green Tau 