Sustainability – Page 10

Counting on … day 100

6th May 2024

We are lucky enough to have a good sized garden. Not being successful growers of vegetables, we have chosen to make the garden more of a wildlife haven. We don’t use pesticides, herbicides or fertilisers – other than home made compost. Nor do we use peat. This approach also means we aren’t buying things that come in plastic bottles, bags or containers.

Over the years we have planted a number of fruit trees – apple, plum, pear, cherry, fig – as well as having raspberries, strawberries, rhubarb, currant and gooseberry bushes and a grape vine. In between the fruit grows a mix of herbs, self seeding salads and green leaf crops, bulbs, and wild flowers. Other flower beds are a mix of roses, herbs, and perennial plants, whilst the lawns remain uncut for most of the year. I have tried to transform these into meadows by transplanting into the grass suitable plants such as buttercups, plantain, ox eye daisies and sorrel etc. The garden also has a pond with flags, buttercups and pond weed, and is home to small pond creatures including dragon fly larvae. Usually there is frogspawn but none this year, which is disappointing.

We replenish a number of bird feeders daily and have a bee hotel and a dead hedge all to encourage more wildlife.

Counting on … day 98

2nd May 2024

I would like to say that we grow all our own fruit and vegetables – but the snails have a different view on this! We get the bulk of our fruit and vegetables from OddBox which specialises in filling its boxes with foods that would otherwise go to waste – either because of a glut in the fields or a downturn in demand at the supermarket, or items being too big/ too small/ too wonky. The produce comes from the UK, Europe and other parts of the globe (but only if it has come by land or sea – not air).

OddBox reports “Every box makes a difference – by rescuing a Medium Fruit & Veg box every week for three months, you’d save a whopping 85kg of fruit and veg. Roughly 200 meals’ worth.”

This is topped up with some from the garden – salad leaves, nettles and chard, and summer fruits and berries – and from a local deli cum greengrocer.

Ideally all the produce we buy would be organic which we could do by swooping an organic fruit and veg box – but on balance we have gone for the reducing food waste option. Food waste accounts for 10% of greenhouse gas emissions. Food wasted is also water wasted and a poor utilisation of arable land.

https://www.oddbox.co.uk/why

Further reading on the issues around food waste – https://www.sofea.uk.com/blog/the-environmental-impact-of-food-waste/

Counting on … day 97

1st May 2024

As well as seeking a sustainable supplier for beans and pulses, we have also sought out sustainably motivated suppliers for other food stuffs.

Our flour comes from Priors Flour and is made from locally grown organic grains which are milled in a windmill! Its small scale business model maintains good human relations – a person who answers questions, and a company which can shut down to allow staff a holiday – and preserves an old but still highly functional building. And the flour is full of good feel and flavour.

Our oats – for porridge and oatcakes – comes from Pimhill which grows, mill and sells organic oats, and which come compactly packed in paper packaging. (Waste and plastic free is another feature we support).

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Counting on … day 96

30th April 2024

Even within the option a vegan diet, it is possible to look for the more sustainable options. The bulk of our protein comes from beans and pulses. By buying these from Hodmedod we can opt for beans and pulses – as well as pasta, chia seeds, quinoa and other staples – that are grown in the UK. This supports the UK’s farming industry and especially in these cases, smaller farms and businesses including many innovating with new varieties. It also reduces food miles – the distances over which food is transported from field to plate.

As well as buying dried beans, we buy bean flours from Hodmedod which adds to the richness of the dishes we eat. We also buy Brazil nuts from them which are wild-harvested nuts that come directly from the Kayapó people of Brazil. This is solidarity trading which ensures the protection of the local forest and an income for the indigenous people.

Counting on …. Day 94

26th April 2024

Green wash is advertising or marketing that makes out that a product is greener/ more environmentally friendly than it actually is. It is an attempt to delude or deceive the consumer.

TerraChoice has identified ‘seven sins of greenwashing’ –

“Hidden Trade-off”: a claim that a product is “green” based on an unreasonably narrow set of attributes without attention to other critical environmental issues.
“No Proof”: a claim that cannot be substantiated by easily accessible information or a reliable third-party certification.
“Vagueness” is a poorly defined or broad claim that the consumer will likely misunderstand its meaning. “All-natural,” for example, is not necessarily “green.”
“Worshipping False Labels”: a claim that, through words or images, gives the impression of a third-party endorsement where none exists.
“Irrelevance”: a claim that may be truthful but unimportant or unhelpful to consumers seeking environmentally preferable products.
“Lesser of Two Evils”: a claim that may be true within the product category, but risks distracting consumers from the more significant environmental impact of the category.
“Fibbing”: a claim that is simply false. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenwashing)

The BBC suggests the following certification schemes that can give assurance as to the ethical values of a producer:-

Leaping Bunny – which means that the product has not been tested on animals.

B Corp – means that a business is legally required to do beneficial things for the environment and the people who help create their products.

Carbon Trust – meets a certain standard of carbon emission reduction, meaning the product is trying to minimise its carbon impact.

Fairtrade – the product has been made by people who received a fair wage for their work.

Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) – the product is made using sustainable or responsibly managed wood sources. (https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/58465027)

Another source of good advice is Ethical Consumer via their web site or magazine – https://www.ethicalconsumer.org/

In a world where we already consume too much, I can’t help feeling that any advertising that encourages us to consume more than we need, is greenwashing.

Counting on …. Day 93

25th April 2024

Earth Overshoot Day is the day on which our global ecological footprint exceeds the earth’s bio capacity. (This year’s date has yet to be announced).

“Humanity is living beyond its means, which results in an environmental dilemma – because it is living at the expense of the Earth. Every year, the consumption of resources outstrips the natural regenerative capacity of our planet.” (1) So reports myclimate.org

The day on which we have consumers one year’s worth of resources and tip into the red, is known as as Earth Overshoot Day. Last year, 2023, it fell on 2nd August, which means that in the whole of that year we consumed resources that were equivalent to 1.7 earths! Clear this is cannot be sustainable on an ongoing basis.

To create a sustainable lifestyle that safeguards our future, we need to address three key things:

“Efficiency: better usage of resources so that goods are produced with less energy and resources.

Consistency: linear production replaced by the circular economy, which minimises waste. Renewable energy is key here.

Sufficiency: A sustainable change in lifestyle under which the economy is geared to moderate consumption of resources rather than constant growth. The goal is to fulfil the wishes and requirements of our society without disproportionate waste or consumption.” (1)

For further information –

https://overshoot.footprintnetwork.org/about-earth-overshoot-day

The Green Tau: issue 45

(1) https://www.myclimate.org/en/information/faq/faq-detail/earth-overshoot-day-how-do-we-handle-our-resources/

Counting on … day 92

24th April 2024

Ecological footprints are a measure of how much of the earth’s natural resources needed to sustain human life – ie how much clean water, clean air, soil for growing crops, oceans for fish, trees for timber, water/ wind/ fossil fuels etc for energy, land for buildings, etc needed for each human. This footprint will vary from person to person depending on their lifestyles – how much and what they consume, and how much and what sort of waste they produce.

The ecological footprint of someone who lives off the grid, growing their own food and recycling their waste, will have a smaller ecological footprint than someone who owns multiple homes, flies and drives a large SUV, eats a meat rich diet, and buys lots of clothes and other consumer goods.

Ecological footprints are also measured in terms of global hectares per capita (see yesterday’s blog).

Using information from https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/ecological-footprint-by-country, 

USA – 8.04 gha

Australia – 7.77

Oman – 7.29

France – 4.6

UK – 4.20

China – 3.71

Brazil – 2.81

India – 1.19

Zimbabwe – 1.03

Democratic Republic of Congo – 0.01

You might like to use an online calculator to estimate your carbon footprint (these can be very rough and ready rather than precise but give a ballpark idea). These calculators are not just measuring your carbon footprint but your ecological footprint – how much of the earth’s resources your lifestyles uses.

https://www.footprintcalculator.org/home

https://footprint.wwf.org.uk

Counting on … day 90

19th April 2024

How sustainable is wind power?

The following comes from a report by the German broadcaster, Deutsche Welle (DW).

“On average, wind turbines are operated for about 25 years. During this time, they generate 40 times more energy compared to the energy required for the production, operation and the disposal of a wind power plant.

“So-called upstream emissions, generated mostly through the production of carbon-intensive steel and cement, are included in the overall carbon balance of a wind turbine’s life cycle.

An onshore wind turbine that is newly built today produces around 9 grams of CO2 for every kilowatt hour (kWh) it generates, according to according to the UBA. A new offshore plant in the sea emits 7 grams of CO2 per kWh.

“Compared with other technologies, wind power does well in terms of carbon emissions. By comparison, solar power plants emit 33 grams CO2 for every kWh generated. Meanwhile, power generated from natural gas produces 442 grams CO2 per kWh, power from hard coal 864 grams, and power from lignite, or brown coal, 1,034 grams.” (1)

But what about the renewability of the turbines? Can their component parts be recycled so conserving the materials used? Wind turbines have a lifespan of 30+ years. At present the number being decommissioned is small but will grow – DW suggests that by 2050 up to 50,000 wind farms in Germany alone will need replacing. Whilst to some extent the concrete for the bases can be crushed and recycled as hardcore etc, and the steel and other minerals from pylons can be recycled, recycling the blades is less easy as they are a composite of glass fibre, plastic, carbon etc. Old blades may end up in landfill. However – “The first recyclable rotor blades for large offshore plants are currently being produced in Denmark. By 2030, the plant constructor Siemens Gamesa plans to only sell recyclable rotor blades: from 2040 the production of the company’s wind power plants is expected to be completely carbon neutral.” (1)

Nevertheless, wind power is one of the least environmentally damaging sources of energy.

https://www.dw.com/en/how-sustainable-is-wind-power/a-60268971

Counting on … day 89

18th April 2024

How Renewable are Renewables?

Many things are renewable as in they can be naturally replaced – timber is a renewable resource in that for every tree used/ consumed, another tree can be grown. Water is a renewable resource in that once used it can be recaptured and reused: this might be through the natural water cycle of evaporation, transpiration, condensation and rainfall, or through collecting and cleaning waste water for further use. Fish for use as food is a renewable resource – this supply of food is maintained through the natural reproductive processes of the fish.

However the renewability of things isn’t necessarily limitless.

If oceans are overfished, the rate at which new fish are born and mature will not keep pace with the rate at which fish are caught. Eventually there will be no fish.

If trees are felled faster than the rate at which new trees reach maturity – which can be 40 to 150+ years depending on the species – the landscape will become deforested.

If an ecosystem is not maintained, more can be lost through evaporation in a locality than falls as rain. Without forests in the middle of large continents, rainfall in these areas would be negligible reducing the landscape to desert. If rainforests are cleared, rainfall in those areas will be diminished reducing the landscape to bare earth.

Solar energy is a renewable energy source – the sun is constantly producing heat – as is wind, as the earth’s weather system continues to be generate wind. (Sometimes resources such as sunshine, wind, tides and geothermal energy are known as perpetual resources).

But whilst solar and wind energy are constant/ renewable, the means by which we capture that energy may not be as readily replaced. Solar panels that convert the sun’s energy into electricity are made of non-renewable minerals – silicon, silver, aluminium, and copper. Wind turbines that capture the wind’s energy converting it into electricity are made of large amounts of non renewable materials such as steel and carbon fibre.

The source of the energy is renewable but not always the means by which we capture the energy.

Here is an interesting blog describing how solar panels are made – https://blog.ucsusa.org/charlie-hoffs/how-are-solar-panels-made/

and wind turbines – https://blog.ucsusa.org/charlie-hoffs/how-are-wind-turbines-made/

Counting on … day 88

17th April 2024

Green steel and cement alternatives

Steel, cement and concrete are major contributors to global climate emissions using manufacturing process that are challenging to green. Therefore one approach to safeguarding the environment is to reduce the use of new steel, cement and concrete.

This could be by not wantonly discarding things before the end of their lifespan. Where I live, it is not infrequently that someone will buy a house only to knock it down and replace it with a new one. This unnecessarily adds to local carbon emissions. The same can also be true of commercial buildings. Simply demolishing an office building to replace it with another is a poor use of resources.

Where buildings or other structures are of necessity demolished, the prudent use of resources would see the different building materials being salvaged and reused. Equally before demolishing a structure, consideration could be given to re-purposing the building – upcycling!

The same approach of making full use of an item over its lifespan could equally apply to vehicles, domestic appliances, etc.

When building new structures, alternative materials with a lower carbon footprint can be used. This might be using timber for beams and columns, straw for insulation, compressed clay for bricks as well as recycling materials from other buildings. However if using naturally renewable resources such as timber, there has to be an awareness of the time frame and forwarded planning needed to ensure an ongoing supply of such materials. Trees may need to be up to 80 years old before being used to create structural building elements – and that timescale also implies large areas of land being set aside for trees (which is not a bad thing but needs to be planned).

Did you know you can buy bicycles made with a bamboo frame? – https://www.nethambamboobikes.co.uk/