PLANET OVER PROFIT
Please share this information with your neighbours, your community, anybody and everybody
Climate change and the loss of biodiversity are probably (in my opinion) the most challenging issues we've ever faced. Instead of feeling powerless and anxious about this overwhelming potential looming disaster, if we all did something on a local level, in our community, we could genuinely make a difference. We got ourselves into this mess and each and every one of us needs to take responsibility to try and get ourselves out of it. Rather than relying on someone else to sort it, we all need to do what we can as individuals, before it's too late. The government is a big unwieldy machine and takes a long time to react and change things for the better. So we have to start small, start local. This very short (1'29") video with Jane Goodall says it all "every individual makes a difference every single day: the choices we make; what we buy; was it made ethically; did it harm the environment; was there cruelty to animals; is it cheap because of child slave labour. When hundreds, thousands, hopefully billions of us make ethical choices, then we start moving towards a better world" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_aGhzbDFOQ&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAR3_YjWthQkBxVMJ0IlbUl409PWuGDbBlifQLkyMV9wnd8y-xHxmRmAkCrI
PLEASE SIGN & SHARE MY PETITION TO BAN BBQs in WATERLOW PARK
Did you know that one grilling session on a charcoal BBQ emits the same amount of CO2 as a car driving 22 miles?
Camden have already banned some ice cream vans as their engines idle and pump out CO2 and particulates. Hackney council have banned BBQs as they discovered that barbecuing for two or more hours resulted in ‘very high’ localised levels of particulate matter pollution during the summer of 2018.
From mid-June 2019, Camden have decided to restrict BBQs in Waterlow Park to two zones: the bandstand area and the large patch of grass near the cemetery. However, the children's play area is sandwiched right between these two zones. So children will be exposed to concentrated levels of toxic smoke and particulates. Camden Green party measured air quality in various parts of north London and the junction next to Waterlow Park (Highgate Hill, Dartmouth Park Road and Hornsey Lane) is already in the 'black zone' for toxic NO2, nitrogen dioxide, (the darker the level, the higher the NO2 levels).
More than 3.28 billion tonnes of timber is needed to make the amount of charcoal imported into the EU every year, roughly equivalent to 11 million hectares of forest - or almost half a football pitch per second. To put this into context, England's area is 13 million hectare. The UK is the 3rd largest importer in the EU. The UK is importing large quantities from countries with a high risk of illegality and high rates of deforestation. The WWF is fighting to try and get retailers to get their charcoal from sustainable managed sources.
A picnic is a much better, non-polluting option. If you live, work or study in Camden, you are eligible to sign this petition. I need 500 signatures in order for this to be debated at full council meeting. Here's the link http://democracy.camden.gov.uk/mgEPetitionDisplay.aspx?id=27&TPID=51256070 - once you are taken to the page, scroll down, click on 'Sign ePetition', then enter your contact details, and tick one of the 3 boxes (live, work or study in the area), click 'continue' , on the next page click 'sign'.
PETITION (I didn't start this one, but it's very worthwhile):
This is petition to stop Camden council using Roundup (glysophate) in parks and kerbsides and estate gardens - it can cause cancer (a couple in the US recently sued Monsanto, the manufacturers of Roundup, for causing their cancer). It may also kill bees and other wildlife. Please sign and share https://www.change.org/p/camden-council-follow-other-councils-and-stop-using-roundup-weedkiller-in-camden?recruiter=31198852&recruited_by_id=e7164170-f5ef-012f-7ac5-4040ea65fa16&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=copylink&utm_campaign=psf_combo_share_initial&utm_term=2ba94e003a514e0998efc8499aed23a5&share_bandit_exp=initial-12155815-en-GB&share_bandit_var=v0
RECYCLING:
If you're unsure about what/where you can recycle, this is a good resource: https://recyclenow.com/?fbclid=IwAR0O1KPjXXGpMT7Hk4E6n9RbJ2ui0FV5-A4mB5-jV_xzhF1-5zZMJO6qduk
This is another good site - a-z of what you can recycle where http://wiseuptowaste.org.uk/recycle/a-z-of-materials/
If you have any good ideas you want to share on this page, email me (click on the link in the top right corner, the little envelope).
PLEASE SIGN & SHARE MY PETITION TO BAN BBQs in WATERLOW PARK
Did you know that one grilling session on a charcoal BBQ emits the same amount of CO2 as a car driving 22 miles?
Camden have already banned some ice cream vans as their engines idle and pump out CO2 and particulates. Hackney council have banned BBQs as they discovered that barbecuing for two or more hours resulted in ‘very high’ localised levels of particulate matter pollution during the summer of 2018.
From mid-June 2019, Camden have decided to restrict BBQs in Waterlow Park to two zones: the bandstand area and the large patch of grass near the cemetery. However, the children's play area is sandwiched right between these two zones. So children will be exposed to concentrated levels of toxic smoke and particulates. Camden Green party measured air quality in various parts of north London and the junction next to Waterlow Park (Highgate Hill, Dartmouth Park Road and Hornsey Lane) is already in the 'black zone' for toxic NO2, nitrogen dioxide, (the darker the level, the higher the NO2 levels).
More than 3.28 billion tonnes of timber is needed to make the amount of charcoal imported into the EU every year, roughly equivalent to 11 million hectares of forest - or almost half a football pitch per second. To put this into context, England's area is 13 million hectare. The UK is the 3rd largest importer in the EU. The UK is importing large quantities from countries with a high risk of illegality and high rates of deforestation. The WWF is fighting to try and get retailers to get their charcoal from sustainable managed sources.
A picnic is a much better, non-polluting option. If you live, work or study in Camden, you are eligible to sign this petition. I need 500 signatures in order for this to be debated at full council meeting. Here's the link http://democracy.camden.gov.uk/mgEPetitionDisplay.aspx?id=27&TPID=51256070 - once you are taken to the page, scroll down, click on 'Sign ePetition', then enter your contact details, and tick one of the 3 boxes (live, work or study in the area), click 'continue' , on the next page click 'sign'.
PETITION (I didn't start this one, but it's very worthwhile):
This is petition to stop Camden council using Roundup (glysophate) in parks and kerbsides and estate gardens - it can cause cancer (a couple in the US recently sued Monsanto, the manufacturers of Roundup, for causing their cancer). It may also kill bees and other wildlife. Please sign and share https://www.change.org/p/camden-council-follow-other-councils-and-stop-using-roundup-weedkiller-in-camden?recruiter=31198852&recruited_by_id=e7164170-f5ef-012f-7ac5-4040ea65fa16&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=copylink&utm_campaign=psf_combo_share_initial&utm_term=2ba94e003a514e0998efc8499aed23a5&share_bandit_exp=initial-12155815-en-GB&share_bandit_var=v0
RECYCLING:
If you're unsure about what/where you can recycle, this is a good resource: https://recyclenow.com/?fbclid=IwAR0O1KPjXXGpMT7Hk4E6n9RbJ2ui0FV5-A4mB5-jV_xzhF1-5zZMJO6qduk
This is another good site - a-z of what you can recycle where http://wiseuptowaste.org.uk/recycle/a-z-of-materials/
If you have any good ideas you want to share on this page, email me (click on the link in the top right corner, the little envelope).
Things you can do right now, in the next 5 mins, that will make a differencehttps://www.ecosia.org/?c=en ecosia.org is a free browser extension, each time you search, 80% of their profit goes to planting trees - this is a review about using them and some handy tips to make it just as good as google https://www.patharoundtheworld.com/ecosia-review/
For travel bookings, go via https://bedandtree.com/. They'll plant a tree if you sign up to their newsletter and if you use them as a search engine for your hotels/flights for each booking they'll plant a tree (they host the big sites like agoda, expedia, skyscanner, booking.com) Stop using insecticides/pesticides in your garden, including slug pellets (they kill more than slugs, eg hedgehogs). One of the most effective forms of pest control is companion planting i.e. if your rose is infested with greenfly, use soap spray to suffocate them or underplant them with a member of the aromatic sage family. Other companion planting combinations: basil with tomatoes, and marigolds with carrots. Natural ways to help: https://www.peta.org/living/humane-home/natural-harmless-alternatives-garden-pesticides/ Don't use products with palm oil. Various rainforests have been decimated and replaced with the oil palm tree, therefore causing huge loss of biodiversity. It's used in food, soap, shampoos, pizza - in about 50% of the products we buy - here's how to spot it lurking under different names on the ingredients list https://www.ran.org/the-understory/palm_oil_s_dirty_secret_the_many_ingredient_names_for_palm_oil/ Make a single donation or monthly contribution to this charity https://www.treesisters.org/ - local, community-based reforestation with native trees in the tropics. the tropical forest belt provides cooling and rainfall. It’s part of the delivery system for a habitable climate for all of us. Their goal is twofold: reforestation and poverty alleviation. |
Switch to a green energy supplier https://friendsoftheearth.uk/business-partnerships/take-part-switch-renewable-energy - good energy and ecotricity are the best but some of the bigger suppliers have a green tariff too (i.e Scottish Power's electricity is supplied by windfarms) Turn your heating down -put on a nice cashmere jumper instead. You can get some real bargains at charity shops and then you'll be ticking lots of boxes: recyling, giving to charity, reducing your heating bill and saving energy. Win, win. Pick up litter in your neighbourhood and take it home and put it the recycling bin or at the very least in a public bin. It's good exercise too - if you don't know how to bend over properly, then come to my yoga class! Ask shops to shut their doors in the winter - their boilers are belching out CO2 as they are trying to heat the whole street under the mistaken impression that they get more business if the door is open. Direct them to this website which states that it has been proven that their profits will not increase if they keep the door open http://www.closethedoor.org.uk/ Take your own cup to coffee shops - you can usually get a discount too eg - Costa 25p off, Caffe Nero - double loyalty points, Papa Dels in Archway Road - £1 off Don't use plastic bags, take your own bag. Ask retailers to stop offering/selling plastic bags too, especially those filmy ones that are next to the cakes & croissants (Marks & Sparks have stopped using them). Their single use can be as little as 15 seconds - i.e. putting the cake in the bag, paying for it, eating the cake once you've left the shop, throwing away the bag. Madness. |
Free Trees, wildflowers, hedges and bees
If you've got a garden, plant more trees or hedges to soak up Co2 and particulates. If you haven't got a garden, then you can get someone to plant a tree on your behalf, or give a tree as a gift: https://www.nationalforest.org/get-involved/plant-a-tree You can get free saplings from http://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/plant-trees/free-trees/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI6ePih6yi4gIVzLDtCh0ygAkdEAAYASAAEgL5tPD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds - two delivery periods in November and March, contact them now to get your order in. They have schemes for schools and communities too. They can advise you on the best trees to plant in urban areas i.e. london plane trees can tolerate cramped roots, grow quickly and have broad leaves and crab apple, hawthorn and amelanchier are examples of good small trees for urban environments. There are local nurseries (this one in Haringey, N4) doing the same thing - next giveaway: November: https://www.tcv.org.uk/railwayfields ( The government has recently announced that 130,000 trees will be made available through the Urban Tree Challenge Fund - individuals, charities, NGOs and local authorities can apply. Grants given are for planting trees in towns and cities and for the first 3 years of their care. The grants will require matched funding from applicants https://www.gov.uk/guidance/urban-tree-challenge-fund Trees soak up CO2 - on average, each tree stores 10 kg of CO2 a year. Not only that, a single tree can produce up to 130 kg of oxygen a year. They also cool the earth by contributing to cloud formation. You could try turning part of your garden into a wildflower garden - not only will it look stunning, it will also support bees and other insects and wildlife and keep the soil healthy. Many fruit and vegetables rely on insect pollination. The RHS states that hedges can strip particulates and be a barrier against pollution - good varieties for this are hawthorn, coton-easter species and the English Yew. If you can only grow a lower hedge, then lavender, box and spindle are recommended . |