Tag: global warming

The challenge to live a ‘no impact’ life

no-impact-manOf all the consumables I couldn’t live without, it wouldn’t be the internet. Neither would it be chocolate, ice cream or shampoo. I think I could cope without electricity just fine (I learnt how to make camp fires as a child). No, the one thing that would really chafe me (quite literally) would be not having toilet paper.

I’m not usually one for watching documentaries, but last night my wife and I forewent our trashy film fascination to watch the 2010 documentary ‘No Impact Man’. It follows a year in the life of New York writer Colin Beaven and his family’s attempt to live a year with no-net impact on the environment. No plastic, no elevators, no public transport, no electricity and only locally-sourced food. And no toilet paper.

For an upper-middle class family who think nothing of spending $1,000 on a handbag, their painful transition certainly makes for compelling viewing. Were they bonkers? Quite possibly. The US tabloid media certainly thought so, and were lambasted as self-promoting weirdoes. Their motives appeared genuine, and after watching their efforts it is difficult to not be challenged; which is perhaps why their experiment attracted so much antagonism. No Westerner likes to think that they are living a lifestyle that sucks the planet dry. No one likes to admit they’re wrong. No one likes to give anything up.

Few of us are going to cast everything modern aside and wash our laundry with borax and bicarbonate of soda. But if there was one thing – even a small thing – that we could change to make a measurable difference to the environment, what would it be? The answer to that question might surprise you. Read more

Save the Planet by… Becoming a Vegan! Do I really have to?

Veganism – it’s just something for middle-class ‘hippies’ right? Vegans are those tree-hugging, hemp-wearing festival-goers who say ‘man’ far too much. Well perhaps it’s time for a rethink on that stereotype. At least if you care about environment, that is.

Kale Sandwich (Gone Raw)
Could you fight Climate Change with a Kale Sandwich? It's very tasty (apparently) (Image: GoneRaw.com)
If you had thought you could do your bit to fight global warming by getting an eco-friendly Hybrid car – forget it. You’ll reduce your ‘carbon footprint’ more just by changing what you eat.

A new documentary called ‘PlanEAT‘ sets out to show the effects our dietary choices have on our health and the environment. Citing a selection of research, the film’s single purpose is encourage us to eat a more ‘plant-based’ diet (that’s the trendy new name for veganism). You could call it the ‘Super Size Me‘ for the animal-loving eco-warrior.

If this film has the impact it hopes to achieve, the future could be one that sees us ditching our hamburger and milkshake for Kale Sandwiches and Lime Mousse (made from Tofu, no less).

Hmm, I think some of us are going to need some very serious persuasion… Read more

Are Wind Turbines Ugly? New Research Gives Answers…

Wind turbines are the icon for the Green Energy Movement, but are they nothing more than an eyesore?
Wind Turbines have come to symbolise hope. The image of a slowly rotating wind turbine on a blue sky represents a rose-tinted future where energy is abundant and free; global warming has been conquered (and bunnies leap gaily around fields).

But who would really want to live near a wind farm? We long for a future without rising sea levels and greenhouse gases, but opponents to wind power say this is not the solution. The most hotly debated wind power issue is ‘Why are they so ugly?” No-one, it seems, would be happy having huge grey windmills spoiling their landscape.

What is the truth? Are wind turbines really that much of an eyesore? Recently published research gives us some clues and reveals that many of our concerns may be unfounded… Read more

Earn a Nobel Prize in your Lunch-Break! The Best “Citizen Science” Games Reviewed!

Have you ever felt like you could be an undiscovered genius? Well scientists have now come up with ingenious ways of you using your brain to push back the boundaries of science... by playing video games! So if you'd like the chance to see if you're the next Einstein (without the hair) just put down that Sudoku, stop playing Angry Birds and take a look at these computer games! You never know, by playing them you just might help discover the cure for cancer...

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