Tag: climate crisis

Counting on …. Day 56

9th January 2022

Eating beans and pulses instead of meat and dairy products is a good way of reducing our carbon footprint. The Ethical Consumer’s Climate Gap Report lists  a top ten of things we can do as individuals to reduce our carbon footprint (https://www.ethicalconsumer.org/climate-gap-report) of which the top two are reducing meat consumption by 20% and dairy by 20%.

You can use beans to make soups and stews; you can blitz them to make pasta sauces or use lentils in  place of mince for lasagnes; hummus is made from chick peas and you can use other beans to make a variates of other spreads or pates. Chick peas are used in making falafel and split peas for dhal and again you can adapt these recipes for to the beans and pulses. Flour made from dried peas and beans can be used in making pastries and pasta, as well as a variation of a frittata. Soya beans and peas are being used to make alternative milks. 

Try the Hodmedod website for lots of recipes – https://hodmedods.co.uk/blogs/recipes/tagged/vegan

Counting on … day 54

7th January 2022

Real (as opposed to plastic) and rootless Christmas trees will  probably now be on their way for recycling. Most local authorities provide a collection service, taking the trees to be ‘chipped’ into small pieces which can then be turned into compost or used as a mulch.  Sometimes the trees may be put to  alternative uses such as securing sand dunes or stabilising river banks. You can recycle them at home,  leaving them in a corner of the garden where overtime they will decay and in the meantime may provide a shelter for birds and insects. Or you can speed up the process by chopping off the branches and – once the needles have gone brown – use them as mulch around plants that like an acid soil – eg raspberries. 

The trunk you can use to make, or to add to, a log pile for garden wild life. For more nature friendly ideas for the garden see – https://greentau.org/2021/10/04/eco-tips-10/

Counting on … day 52

5th January 2022

The Ethical Consumer’s Climate Gap Report highlights the importance of we as individuals making changes now so that we will as a nation be able to achieve net zero by 2030. One area where  significant change is needed is our diet. We may not all  need to become vegan, but we will all need to reduce our consumption of meat and dairy products. Substituting oat milk and vegan butter in our cooking is an easy option. Use oat milk for custard and white sauces etc. use vegan butter in cakes and pastries. 

Bird’s Custard is an egg free custard that was originally developed because Alfred Bird’s wife had an allergy to eggs. Make it with oat milk and it is vegan custard.

Green Tau: LOAF

Caring for creation with every meal – Use your LOAF!

What we eat impacts the world around us – the welfare of animals, the welfare of wildlife, the fair sharing of water, the  fertility of the soil, the  well being of those who grow and produce food. It also contributes to the climate crisis. Making step by step changes, we can better care for creation.

The organisation Green Christian has produced the nemonic LOAF – Local, Organic, Animal friendly, fairly traded – to help us buy and eat sustainably with care for the world. https://greenchristian.org.uk/gc-campaigns/loaf/

L locally grown, locally produced. 

Local reduces the carbon miles attached to our food. Local keeps us in touch with those who grow, make and sell our food. Growing our own keeps us in touch with the soil itself!

O organic.

Food, whether that is crops grown or animals raised, that is produced organically removes chemical fertilisers and pesticides from the environment where they cause damage to water supplies, wild life and human health. Instead organic farming works in harmony with the environment boosting its well being and biodiversity.

A animal friendly. 

Animals including birds and fish, should always be treated with care and respect. Factory farming for example, treats animals as profit-making commodities. Arable farming also has a responsibility to be animal friendly, including the wellbeing of birds and insects.

F fairly traded. 

Throughout the supply chain from farm labourer to shelf stacker, lorry driver to barista, each person deserves to be treated fairly.

In a previous issue of the Green Tau – https://greentau.org/2021/08/14/green-tau-issue-12/ –

I have written about food and our carbon footprint. The Ethical Consumer’s Climate Gap Report notes that to be on track for net zero we need to reduce the carbon footprint of our food by 15% by 2030. So far (ie since 2019) reductions have not even risen above 0%.  It is imperative that we do look at and adjust what we eat, to reduce waste, to reduce our carbon footprint and to reduce the negative impact we have on the environment. Eating sustainably we can safeguard our own futures and improve that of the world in which we live.

  1. Eat less meat and dairy, replacing these with plant-based alternatives. “Veganuary” makes this a good time to try different vegan options. See the Eco Tips page on swopping to a vegan diet – https://greentau.org/2021/10/12/eco-tips-11/
  2. Use local food shops. Buy locally produced food. 
  3. In supermarkets choose UK grown rather than imported fruit and vegetables. 
  4. Eat what’s in season – strawberries in May/ June, blueberries in July/ August. 
  5. Subscribe to a veg box – eg Riverford’s or Abel and Cole – or OddBox which fills its boxes with fruit and veg that would otherwise go to waste.
  6. Use local farmers’ markets 
  7. Expand the variety of fruits and vegetables that you buy. Biodiversity is an important way forward for farming – https://greentau.org/2021/10/08/the-green-tau-issue-20-2/
  8. Opt for UK produce over imports. Hodmedod sells UK grown beans and pulses rather than those that come from Canada/ China etc.  https://hodmedods.co.uk/
  9. Opt for organic produce.
  10. Opt for fair trade products. This article relates to chocolate – https://greentau.org/2021/12/11/green-tau-issue-26/
  11. Use refill shops – also known as bulk stores. Take your own containers or use the shop’s paper bags to buy loose ingredients such as beans and pulses, grains, dried fruit etc. 
  12. When buying meat, find a butcher who knows where the meat comes from and how it has been raised.
  13. Be prepared to pay more for meat and diary products that have been reared to a higher ethical standard.
  14. Use a milk delivery service such as Milk and More for both dairy and oat milk in refillable glass bottles.
  15. When buying fish, check whether it is sustainably sourced and/or farmed. Refer to the Marine Conservation Society’s guide as to which fish are not endangered.
  16. Plan your meals and your shopping to avoid throwing food away – https://greentau.org/2021/08/09/eco-tips-4/
  17. Keep a habit of saying Grace at meals. Appreciation and gratitude go together. 

Counting on … day 48

1st January 2022 

A day to give thanks for the charities and activist movements that we are counting on to make our lives more sustainable and the earth a happier place. 

For Friends of the Earth, the WWF, the National Trust, the Woodlands Trust, A Rocha, the RSPB , Green Christians, Practical Action, the UN, Traid Craft, the Climate Coalition, the Wildlife Trust, Christian Climate Action, Cafod, Christian Aid, the Wetlands Trust,  Extinction Rebellion and more.

Counting on …. Day 47

31st December 2021

Whilst we are still in 2021 some countries in the global south will already be in 2022.
One of the first is Kiribati a nation in the Pacific Ocean comprising 33 islands, and rising, at present, not much more than 2m above sea level. As the climate crisis and rising sea levels escalates so the future of life here diminishes – the islands  may be largely uninhabitable by 2030. The government of Kiribati has bought land in Fiji to safe guard some future for the islanders.  New Zealand permits 75 islanders a year to  settle there. But what the people really want is financial support for desalination plants to ensure fresh water, flood resistant seeds and plants, early storm warning systems, housing that can withstand periodic inundation, and support to preserve and maintain their special culture and language. Kiribati has made a negligible contribution to the climate crisis but stands to be its first victim. Reparations are needed now from those nations that have both created and benefitted from the fossil fuelled climate crisis. One agency that is giving support is the United Nations Pacific Office.

 Counting on ….day 46

30th December 2021

As well as counting on ourselves, as consumers, to make changes, we should be counting on our  government and councils to make changes too. Chose a topic close to your heart (re-wilding, cycle lanes, biodiversity etc) and write to your local council and/MP and ask them how they are going to effect the change to a more sustainable world. 

Counting on … day 45 

29th December 2021

A New Year’s resolution is a good way of setting our own targets for a more sustainable, climate friendly life-style. What will you choose?

Buying from sustainable sources. Consuming smaller quantities of higher quality goods. Giving up the private car. Furnishing our wardrobe from pre- loved sources. Supporting tree planting, bog restoration and re-wilding projects. Volunteering. Switching to green energy suppliers, and ethical banks, insurance, mortgage  and pension providers. 

Counting on … day 44

28th Deecember 2021

A message from the COP26 Coalition: ’Because of our collective action, the climate justice movement is more powerful, educated and connected than ever before. Our movements are growing by the day. Climate justice is no longer on the fringes – it’s now been brought to the centre of every struggle. We’ll continue to build power and challenge governments and corporations across the world.

Across the world and across movements, we are seeing a new wave of resistance, global solidarity and grassroots organising. The world is at a crossroad as the crisis of climate, covid pandemic and inequality further exposes the inequalities within and between our societies. We can either intensify the crisis to the point of no return, or lay the foundations for a just world where everyone’s needs are met.

The era of injustice is over, the time for climate justice is now.’

Counting on … day 40 

24th December 2021 

A word for whales. Whales are important as tiller of the oceans. They circulate nutrients that are essential parts of the food chain and in particular nutrients needed by phytoplankton. These serve the same function as leaves, absorbing carbon dioxide and sunlight to create oxygen. As we count on whales doing their bit to maintain the global ecosystem, so they should be able to count on us not to harm them. 

However as has been widely reported, various groups are launching a last-chance bid to stop Shell using shockwaves in the Wild Coast of South Africa – a fragile ecosystem that is a vital whale breeding ground. The applicants, which included Greenpeace Africa and fishing groups, had been seeking to stop the survey on the basis it could cause “irreparable harm” to the marine environment, especially to migrating humpback whales in the area. (Yahoo News)

Do check out this Green Peace petition:  https://pages.greenpeaceafrica.org/shell-wild-coast?_ga=2.165965239.820789156.1640103673-781902025.1640103673