Z for Zero everything

Zero carbon 

The big idea is zero tolerance. 

Don’t you just love it when you see a sign proclaiming an area to have zero tolerance to alcohol - signs proclaiming an alcohol free zone and strewn around it are beer cans? Or the nuclear free zone a random town declares itself to be? Yeah?! Right!

Eco equivalents abound. Zero carbon footprints. We are asked to take action towards zero food waste. All new homes in England will need to be carbon neutral by 2016 with Zero Carbon Hub conferences working towards the countdown and topics like fabric energy efficiency and carbon compliance definitions are part of the discussions - way out of my depth here...

Fancy a jargon buster to help you keep up??

I do hope these aims are more realistic than declaring a nuclear free zone in a random town in the middle of the UK.

But let me end this alphabet on a positive note. I think we can all contribute to the care of our planet in so many ways and that we should look for opportunities to make a difference wherever we can. My alphabet has just touched on 26 topics in the lightest, fluffiest way but the next challenge for me - and you I hope - is to work towards our impact being as light as possible too. 

Y for Yes, but...

I have tried to be as honest as possible about the topics I have covered – I think of myself as Ms Average so if I am confused other people must be.

I have learnt a lot from these daily snippets – such a lot to learn and what a big area. But will I do anything differently? 

This month I was galvanised to join a Love where you Live initiative in my town and here I am in my hi-glow gilet with the tools of the job – litter picking paraphernalia!

love where you live volunteer

On a more trivial note I have also made a new fabric bag out of a second hand skirt that did not fit me – from Monsoon and beautifully appliquéd – combined with a calico conference bag in the interior. 

bag from fabric scraps

I have found some other people writing great blogs on environmental topics. I have to mention the endangered species blogs and especially the issues with palm oil which I am much more aware of now thanks to Liz Brownlee and I have not even dared to start on a whole raft of issues but at least I have made a start...and thanks everyone for comments. I hope to go back and respond now we are not writing a blog a day!

X for eXpert

Didn’t I choose a great area for experts? I am awash with them. Five experts on each of my blogs would give five different responses, five counter arguments – all this research makes you realise how nothing is ever simple.... 

cartoon from http://mcdanielpolitics.blogspot.co.uk

There is just so much information out there, some of it mis-information and some of it linked to a selling opportunity or a government initiative of some kind [a selling opportunity] – its a bit like when you have your first baby – everyone thinks they know what is best but you have to make up your own mind.

an excuse to have a picture of Will Smith as an expert...

W for Wind power

no windpwer sign

The topic of wind power provides some real opportunities for NIMBYism when it dares to venture into a person's locality. All round the country there are signs fighting the possibility of wind farms.

And what a clever word “farm” is  – nice and cosy...not as unfriendly as stations or facilities. 

There are so many signs about it is almost tempting to have a sign against signs against things, they are such blots on the landscape! 

This from Wikipedia says it all for me, complex though it all is:

wind farm

“Wind power, as an alternative to fossil fuels, is plentiful, renewable, widely distributed, clean, produces no greenhouse gas emissions during operation, and uses little land. In operation, the overall cost per unit of energy produced is similar to the cost for new coal and natural gas installations. The construction of wind farms is not universally welcomed, but any effects on the environment from wind power are generally much less problematic than those of any other power source.”

V for Vegetarian

I wanted to see if becoming vegetarian could be one of the most important and effective actions I can take to ease the strain on the Earth's limited resources, protect the planet from pollution, prevent global warming, and save countless species from extinction... 

I am not a vegetarian though I did attempt to be one for a while in my 20’s, but I am pondering this quote:

‘if everyone skipped one meal of chicken per week and substituted vegetarian foods instead, the carbon dioxide savings would be the same as taking more than a half-million cars off our roads. ‘  [from Become an Eco-vegetarian]

edamame - a vegetarian staple

But then there is the fact that it is argued that the average rich world vegetarian may not consume much less of the planet's resources than the average moderate omnivore: a report for the Worldwide Fund for Nature (download pdf) on the impact of food production pointed out that highly processed vegetarian meat substitutes or foods made of imported soya might actually use more arable land and resources than their beef or dairy equivalents. Deforestation in the developing world to grow cheap soya for human and animal feed is a major issue in climate change. 

However some would say that the way we breed animals for food is a threat to the planet, that it pollutes our environment while consuming huge amounts of water, grain, petroleum, pesticides and drugs.

So are vegetarians more eco than meat eaters? 

U for Use by dates

I have frequent calls from my son - “Mum can I eat ...?” and he goes on to describe some food he has bought that looks fine but is just past its sell by date on the label.

But hooray!! The "sell-by" date on food packaging in the UK is to be removed in a bid to cut the £12bn worth of food needlessly binned every year. Research shows that a significant part of the blame for this is 

confusing food labelling.

use by date label

Packaging should only carry "use by" or "best before" dates, according to new government guidance, while "sell by" and "display until" labels currently used by supermarkets will be removed to deter shoppers from throwing away good food.

"Use by" labels should only be used if food could be unsafe to eat after that date, while "best before" dates should show the product is no longer at its best but is still safe to consume, the advice states.

We all know which foods to be careful with don’t we? That is the food likely to require a "use by" date, like meat, soft cheese, fish and ready meals, It leaves biscuits, jams, pickles, crisps and tinned foods needing only a "best before" label. Only down side is that there will be less bargains in the supermarket and less “cherry picking” opportunities but it is an eco victory so worth it.

I say , I say, I say! Have you heard the one about the three bears at the breakfast table – one says “Have you seen the use by date on this box of porridge?”

T for Travel

Confession time!  I lost an eco styled friend once because of a long haul holiday I took she did not approve of – was she right? Perhaps I was being irresponsible? I have also visited countries in Europe that have limited supplies of water and I have been on one inclusive holiday. Confession over.

Lorenzo Duran leaf art with a message

I like this quote from John Vidal writing in the Guardian a couple of years ago:

Green travel is not just what happens at the destination, or indeed how you get there. It does not demand that you eschew air travel altogether or hotels or comfort, or that your holiday is within 10 miles of your home. Rather, it asks you to pack your brain as well as your swimsuit, and to assess and then act on the impact of your visit.

He says

Hotels used to call themselves green if they offered not to change the towels every day; these days, people demand evidence of real commitment to community, place and the environment.

I would be interested in knowing about other people’s experiences of travel with the ‘eco’ uppermost.