Swallow this

Global warming is still often scoffed at and deemed a hoax. The irony of it all is there is a multi billion dollar hoax called Bottled Water that is adding to our overwhelming environmental problems yet has consumers so brainwashed they would rather pay for something that they can (for now) have for free.

Tap water in South Africa (as in many countries) is drinkable and ours is even said to be one of the best in the world. Despite this, people will still opt for the trendier bottled water, which is no healthier than what they can find at a tap. The massive irony here again is that this wasteful consumption is directly contributing to the degradation of out natural water supply.

The more bottled water you buy the more you are going to have to buy in the future as your trendy habit perpetuates the demise of our planet. Keep at it and one day you will pay more for it than anything else you put in your mouth. Some bottled water (aka tap water much of the time ) is already more expensive than petrol and fruit juices. If global warming leads to further pollution of our natural water (not to mention the glaciers disappearing), eventually everything you buy will cost more because tap water will not be safe to use in any product. You will not only be forced to drink bottled water but will incur the knock-on cost of every product that uses water. Imagine paying for ice by the cube at restaurants.

Besides opting for tap water, there are many ways to help protect the future of our water supply. If heavy metals are genuinely a problem in your water  add a filter to your tap or fridge, get a filter jug, or even a water cooler. Push for a ban on bottled water at your company or municipality.  All of these alternatives will contribute to breathing cleaner air and drinking cleaner tap water. Even just swapping to 5L bottles instead of hundreds of small bottles when there really are no other options (90% of plastic water bottles are not recycled and not even useful for reuse - PET1  ).

And when visiting trendy restaurants that push bottled water take a stand and ask for tap water! If you are gullible enough to think they are concerned about your health when refusing to serve tap water ask where the ice in your glass and food preparation water comes from. Pull the plug on the bottled water scam!

More articles related to this topic:

Pour the bottle watter trend down the drain

Bottled water makers in the hot seat

Bottled water: Causing global warming?

Thirst for bottled water may hurt the environment

Corporations replace bottled water with water coolers

Rain Gardens

If you find information in this article to be inaccurate please write to me

Making a compost bin - Home composting

"It takes a hundred years to grow just one inch of topsoil, but we lose 25 billion tons of it worldwide each year."

Making your own compost is really easy and doesn't take very long either. It benefits your garden by providing it with nutrient super-rich compost that enriches and boosts your plants. And its free!

All you need is a bin, a drill and some garden waste( like leaves, grass cuttings etc ) or newspaper and/or some dirt.

1. Get a new or used bin to suit your family size. In my household between 3 of us we use a bin about 80cm high that you can just about wrap your arms around. It takes between a month and 2 months to fill up. For more than 3 people who eat alot of home cooking it might be worth investing in 2 bins or a bigger bin.

2. Drill a few small holes at the bottom of the bin for aeration, and a few along the sides of the bin no bigger than the one in the picture.



3. Line the bottom of your bin with a shredded newspaper or leaves. Fill it about one eighth full and add a bit of soil if you have.


4. Your compost bin is ready! Now simply add your food scraps and start composting! DO NOT EVER add meat, fish or any derivatives of these to your compost bin. ONLY add plant materials ( fruit/vegetables/nuts), egg shells are ok but no dairy products. NO synthetic foods either (sweets, cakes, biscuits etc)

5. Its always good to give your compost a good stir every few days to speed up the process. Keep your bin in the shade so as not to dry out the contents. Also be sure to add soil on top of food scraps to prevent hoards of flies hanging out at your bin. If you don't have soil, grass cuttings or garden waste helps. Mixing it in also helps. Spray a bit of water to moisten the heap. This doesn't need to be done every time.


Cool links relating to this topic:

www.50simplethings.com/compost
ecocycle.org

350 International Day of Climate Action - 24 October 2009

24th October is International Day of Climate Action. In Cape Town a hike up Table Mountain has been planned for this weekend (on the 24^th) to raise awareness around climate change. The idea is to form a human “350” at the top of the mountain which will be filmed form the air and shown at the Climate Change conference to be held in Copenhagen in December. This is part of a global initiative.

350 is the number that scientists have indicated is the safe upper limit for carbon dioxide—measured in "Parts Per Million" in our atmosphere. 350 PPM—it's the number humanity needs to get back to as soon as possible to avoid runaway climate change.

IF you are interested in participating in the hike visit the following link http://www.cap.org.za/view.asp?ItemID=37&tname=tblComponent1&oname=&flt=&pg=front\

For more details on the 350 initiative visit http://www.350.org/

What's in the number?

Have you ever wondered what the numbers in triangles stamped onto plastic containers stand for? These numbers represent the type of plastic used in manufacturing the containers. These are useful to us for 2 reasons. Firstly it helps when trying to sort recycling trash. Secondly it helps in determining which containers are suitable and safe for reuse, for example we all like to reuse bottles for drinking water. Type 1 and 7 are recommended for one time use only, and is what most bottled waters come in. Types 2, 4 and 5 are ok for reuse and don't leak chemicals.Types 1 (PET) & 2 (HDPE) and 4 (LDPE) are the most wanted for recycling


Below is a detailed table of all the plastic types

Symbol	Plastic Type	Examples	Recycled into
	PET (polyethylele terephthalate)	clear coke, coldrink, water and juice bottles, plastic jam, spread and salad dressing jars.	Polar fleece, fiber, tote bags, furniture, carpet, paneling, straps, (occasionally) new containers.
	HDPE (high density polyethylene)	White or coloured milk, juice or shampoo bottles, trash and shopping bags.	Laundry detergent bottles, oil bottles, pens, recycling containers, floor tile, drainage pipe, lumber, benches, doghouses, picnic tables, fencing.
	PVC (Polyvinyl chloride)	Cling films, some juice and shampoo bottles, PVC piping, bottles used for turpentine, methylated spirits etc.	Decks, paneling, mudflaps, roadway gutters, flooring, cables, speed bumps, mats.
	LDPE (Low density polyethylene)	Most plastic bags, frozen food bags, squeezable bottles, cling films, flexible container lids.	Rash can liners and cans, compost bins, shipping envelopes, paneling, lumber, landscaping ties, floor tiles.
	PP (polypropylene)	Some yogurt containers, bottle caps, straws.	Signal lights, battery cables, brooms, brushes, auto battery cases, ice scrapers, landscape borders, bicycle racks, rakes, bins, pallets, trays.
	PS (polystyrene)	Disposable plates and cups, meat trays, egg cartons, CD cases, takeaway containers.	Insulation, light switch plates, egg cartons, vents, rulers, foam packing, carry-out containers.
	Other (includes Polycarbonate or ABS)	Three- and five-gallon water bottles, 'bullet-proof' materials, sunglasses, DVDs, iPod and computer cases, signs and displays, certain food containers, nylon.	Plastic lumber, custom-made products.

Parts of this article have been sourced from:
http://www.thedailygreen.com/green-homes/latest/recycling-symbols-plastics-460321,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plastic_recycling

Recycling 101

Definition: Any waste that is recovered and returned or reprocessed to a further useful purpose

Recycling is
- doing yourself and the environment a favour
- the right thing to do ( its your rubbish you are responsible for it)
- really easy! Follow some of the steps below


You will be amazed when you find that you can recycle most of your waste. I've listed some of the basics below:


1 - Find out where you can take your recycle rubbish, unless you are lucky enough to have a service collecting or recycling bins where you live. Look up local government sites and dig around for info (I'll be happy to add your links to this page if you know of sites) Here is some info for Cape Town:

No Standing is a private company offering residential and business pickups in Cape Town for a small fee
Think Twice is an initiative by government to collect household recyclable waste
Wasteplan is another company that has a very convenient drop off at the back of Bayside Center in Tableview. Very convenient because they have a team that will separate everything for you. They also collect for a small fee.
Here is a handy grid with all the depots and contact details in Cape Town at the local government website
More drop off depot information for western cape here. Different depots accept different materials so first find out what you can take where

2 - Store your recycling waste separate to your rubbish. Use separate bins if you have space. Some places will take mixed items and sort them for you but some don't so its a good idea to separate before you drop off.

3 - I wash my recyclable food containers with my dishes. If you are sending your recycling in once a week or less frequently the bin could get smelly and attract unwanted visitors. Also, it's just more hygienic, think about the massive recycling bins that have to store all these items and the people who are working with them. Also some of the recycling companies will not accept very dirty materials.

4 - So What can you recycle?

- Compostable waste : Vegetable, fruit and garden waste ( Make a compost bin or dig a whole in your garden to put it in) (remember not to put any proteins into the compost bin, not only is it not good for your compost bin, but you will also not enjoy the smell of meat going off!)
- Polystyrene
- Tetrapack
- Paper & Cardboard
- Glass
- Metal
- Aluminium & aerosol Cans
- Oils
- Plastic ( there are at least 60 different types )

not to mention any household items that can be given to the needy.

Recycling is only one form of waste minimisation. Others you can practice are reuse and reducing consumption.

You can adopt a Zero tolerance attitude for production of anything that cannot be re-used or recycled, or is costly to the environment.

Recycling starts with YOU. Be your own example to your own environment.

(if you find any of this information to be inaccurate please mail me so that I can rectify it)

Hello everybody!

Hello everyone! My name is Iva and I am passionate about nature, the outdoors, sports, science and loads more!

I have been wanting to start an environmental awareness blog for ages because I want the whole world not only to be aware of global warming but for everyone to WANT to do something about it.. I hope this blog will inspire people to do just that :)

Lack of awareness is scary enough, but MOST distressing is that thousands and thousands of people are aware but have no inclination to do anything about it. Complacency is easy and that is probably where the biggest potential for a massive shift in attitude lies.

So I hope you find this blog informative and inspirational!