Category: Counting On …

Reflections and actions during COP26 and going on

  Counting on …day 195

27th May 2022

“Pesticides are poisons and there should be no place for them on supermarkets shelves. We should not be using these chemicals in our gardens and allotments, where our children and pets play, and where our wildlife should be thriving. In any case there is no need for them – it is easy to garden without pesticides.” Professor Dave Goulson, University of Sussex https://www.pan-uk.org/take-pesticide-products-off-supermarket-shelves/

PAN UK believes that there should be a ban on selling glyphosate to the public and is leading a campaign to press supermarkets to stop selling pesticides in their stores. Both the Co-op and Waitrose no longer stock high risk synthetic pesticides.

safe to use?

For gardeners who wish to avoid using pesticides, PAN UK provides guidance on combating pests without the use of pesticides  – https://www.pan-uk.org/gardening-without-pesticides/. 

Counting on …day 194 

26th May 2022

Chemical residues from pesticides and herbicides can affect human health. When applying these chemicals it important to follow the appropriate protective protocols. Residues can contaminate fruit and vegetables and thus put those who handle and eat the food at risk. Glyphosate  for example is now considered as carcinogenic and its  use is currently being phased out in Luxemborg, Italy,  Austria, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, France and Germany.  The EU (as opposed to individual countries)  has, disappointingly, postponed its decision over whether to renew the licence for glyphosate from this December to 2023. Under post-Brexit government policy this could see the weedkiller approved for use in Britain until at least July 2026. https://www.fwi.co.uk/news/farm-policy/eu-delays-glyphosate-renewal-decision-until-2023

PAN (Pesticide Action Network) UK is calling for a rapid phase-out of glyphosate in agriculture and support to help farmers adopt safer approaches to managing weeds. We can add consumer-based weight by asking UK producers – eg producers of oil seed rape who routinely use glyphosate to kill the ripe plants as this makes harvesting easier – why they still use glyphosate. 

 Counting on …day 193

25th May 2022

Pesticides and herbicides not only kill pests and weeds, they are also kill others higher up the food chain such as ladybirds, frogs, and birds. In the recent review, the  State of the World’s Birds it has been noted that across the globe more than half of bird species are in decline with farmland birds in Europe declining by 57%  since 1980.

“‘This is due to the intensive agriculture that supplies cheap food, Lees said, adding: “If we want farmers to farm wildlife, we have to pay for that as a society.”’ https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/may/05/canaries-in-the-coalmine-loss-of-birds-signals-changing-planet

There are two things we can do: first opt where possible for organic produce, and second, avoid using pesticides and herbicides in our own gardens. 

Counting on …day 191

23rd May 2022

Marking Rogation-tide yesterday, we walked round the parish boundary and finished with tea and cake  in the church garden. 

Vegan fruit cake

8oz flour plus raising agent

3oz vegan butter

3-4 oz sugar

12 oz dried fruit

Nutmeg

1 tbsp egg replacement powder

1 sliced banana

Oat milk

Rub butter into flour. Add nutmeg and egg replacement powder, sugar, fruit and banana.

Add milk and mix to achieve a firm dropping consistency.

Put into a lined loaf tin.

Bake 160C for 40 – 50 minutes or until cooked!

 Counting on …day 190

22nd May 2022

This month saw the launch of FlexCollect, a 3 year trial project in which  flexible – soft/ scrunchable – plastic will be part of the kerbside recycling collection  made by local authorities. The first council taking part will be Cheltenham Borough Council.

https://flexibleplasticfund.org.uk/

For more articles about recycling  see https://greentau.org/tag/recycling/

Counting on …day 189 

21st May 2022

HDPE and LDPE are widely used for packaging – plastic bags and wrappers, margarine cartons and milk containers  – and both can be recycled. As with PET bottles closed loop recycling is possible but more often these plastics are recycled into none food items such as pipes, plastic ‘wood’ for outdoor furniture,  recycling bins and rubbish bags. Clearly it would be better for the environment if all recycling were closed loop recycling as this is the best way of eliminating the use of oil to make virgin plastic. 

Again ask companies whether they use recycled plastics and of not, what not. 

NB the recycling of plastics is made much easier of the plastic is washed/ cleaned before it is put in the  recycling bin. Dirty plastic can contaminate a whole batch sent for recycling .

Counting on …day 187

19th May 2022

If only 44% of plastic packaging waste is recycled, what happens to the other 56%? 

Some will litter the streets and pavements, before being blown into hedgerows and trees, into waterways and out to sea. There it will break down into smaller and smaller bits until it is small enough to count as micro plastic (less than 5mm in length). Micro plastics have been found in the ice at both north and south Poles. They have infiltrated the food chain. They have even crossed the placenta from the mother to the foetus. 

Some of this litter will be eaten by animals and birds almost certainly causing premature death. Some will go via domestic dustbins,  public waste bins and commercial waste bins, into either landfill where again it will break down over time into micro plastic particles, or it will be burnt in an incinerator further adding to air pollution. 

The Green Tau Issue 6, 4th July 2021 Plastic: the pollutant we live with daily.

Want to recycle ‘hard to recycle’ plastics? Here is a partial solution – https://greentau.org/2022/04/13/counting-on-day-150/

Counting on ..day 186 

18th May 2022

This is Christian Aid week. The work Christian Aid supports includes projects to assist people affected by climate change and to make their communities more resilient. Their recent report Scorched Earth focuses on drought caused by global heating. Many large cities around the globe – from London to Cape Town, Phoenix to New Delhi – face running out of water. Whilst the problem is wide spread, the means for resolving it are not. “Cities in poorer countries are also far more vulnerable than those in richer countries as they have fewer resources to adapt to the water shortages. The lack of state funds and infrastructure makes it harder to import water and ensure it reaches those that need

it. Urban drought is yet another example of the injustice of climate change impacting most the people who have done least to cause it.” https://www.christianaid.org.uk/sites/default/files/2022-05/Scorched-Earth-2022.pdf 

Countries that have contributed least to the climate crisis are often the least well financed making the contribution we make all the more important. https://www.christianaid.org.uk/give/ways-to-donate

 Counting on …day 185

17th May 2022

The public are being urged to keep an eye out for any signs of disease in local trees, as the UK launches a hi-tech, £5.8m tree laboratory to fight the spread of pests and diseases. The UK is especially vulnerable to the growing spread of plant pathogens because of warmer, wetter winters, and because it is a hub for global trade. The public can report sightings via the Tree Alert site, and a specialist will come and look at the tree, or send samples for further testing. One pest that affects Richmond Park is the oak procession are moth.

“First identified in London in 2006, it probably arrived on imported live wood. It has since been found in some surrounding counties. The caterpillars will be emerging over the next three months. They are black with long white hairs and move in long nose-to-tail processions, which give them their name. The nests are usually the shape of a dome or teardrop and are around the size of a tennis ball. They strip bark off oak trees and cause them to lose their leaves. The caterpillars can cause rashes and breathing difficulties, and should not be touched.”

https://www.newsbreak.com/news/2602005258609/how-to-spot-bark-beetles-and-deadly-fungus-the-uk-s-new-tree-saving-lab-needs-your-help