The Ministry of Environment has selected October 15 to celebrate the Day without Plastic Bags. The members of Rede Ecoblogs—of which I’m a proud participant—have prepared this beautiful e-card (above) to make people aware of the number of plastic bags consumed in Brazil and stimulate them to go an entire week without using them.
And I will go even further: I’m working to eliminate them for good. With patience and determination, we can replace the infamous plastic bags with alternative bags.
I’ve written several posts about it:
Ladybug Lu Freitas has precious tips on how to get rid of plastic bags. Take a look and do your part too: help to spread this campaign! You can e-mail this e-card to your friends; or tell in your blog what you are doing to replace the plastic bag, with a link to Rede Ecoblogs: http://www.ecoblogs.com.br/, all right? I’m counting on your contribution!
To paraphrase our dear Cintia Costa: “kisses (one from me and another one from the planet)!”
Forget that image of birds dating or flapping their wings happily during spring: in my balcony, there are no peaceful white doves. Ever since some parakeets started to come by daily, starting at 6:00 am, what I see the most are bird fights.
In one of their brawls, three parakeets monopolized the can of sunflower seeds and didn’t allow a forth one to get anywhere near it. The poor thing tried to approach from one side, then another, but it was always thrown back. I decided to come up with a larger bird feeder—preferably shallow and very long—to keep those sharp claws and beaks very far from each other.
I made do with a flowerpot hanger, made of iron. It holds a large rectangular tray which, luckily, fits perfectly in the bottom part. This allows me to pull it from the hanger as if it were a drawer to take off the shells before replenishing the buffet. The new device was welcomed with excitement by the greenies, as you can tell by the large number of tails and wings here.
Today, in the middle of a quarrel, I saw a tiny little head fighting for seeds, very noisily. I ran to tell the Omblogsman: “We have a baby-parakeet!” Still sleepy, he took a look at that beaky thing and told me with amazement that he had already seen one of them in our balcony. “I thought it was a sick parakeet… it kinda looks like a leper, doesn’t it?”
In fact, the “thing” looked like a product of a voodoo session: its wings are already green, but its chest and head are still covered with that feathery fuzz so typical of birds that are barely out of the egg. After a closer look, I realized that there is another baby. However, this one is a little more “well-finished,” let’s put it this way.
Judging by the pace of the births, my window will become greener and greener…
It’s an irony of faith. Usually, when you buy a little tree, the roots and the soil around it are held together by a black plastic bag. The seedlings used for reforestation also come “wrapped” in bags. Now, imagine how much plastic is thrown away after they are planted—the bags are not reused to hold new seedlings to avoid contamination.
With this in mind… Scientists from the Federal University of Sao Carlos (UFSCar) together with Corn Products Brasil and BASF have created an “ecologically correct” and rigid plastic that can be used to manufacture tubes for seedlings.
The new material is made with EcobrasTM—a BASF’s biodegradable and compostable plastic that contains a corn-based vegetal polymer—and vegetal fibers such as ground cassava bark and coconut fibers. The material decomposes when in contact with microorganisms present in the soil, generating water, CO2 and biomass.
According to Elias Hage Júnior, professor and coordinator of the project, this partnership between UFSCar and these multinational companies arises from the fact that EcobrasTM is a flexible material and can’t be used to manufacture sufficiently hard molded pieces. He says that the new compost can be used to manufacture any type of molded piece—the cassava bark provides rigidity and the fiber offers mechanical resistance, making the material less likely to rupture—meant to be disposable, such as package trays.
The first step of the project, responsible for adapting the use of the cassava bark and the coconut fiber was complete in the beginning of 2009. From now on, they need to optimize the process and improve the product. Then, it will have to be produced in large scale.
The idea is good. But there is a controversy. Some experts say that biodegradable plastic decomposes quickly because it breaks down into tiny pieces. This could pollute rivers. Others say that because the material “breaks down,” it is easily decomposed and safer for the environment. Oh my, I’m feeling so critical lately.
This is causing a real hoopla at Etsy, one of the coolest online shops we can find overseas. Lena, a potter, had the idea to create this truly sustainable t-shirt.
The “I’m Compostable” design was created in honor of several friends of hers who are turning 40. It made everybody laugh and talk “trash”. She did it in an attempt to inspire other people to think about the environmental benefits of composting.
Lena wanted to inspire people to think about the benefits of composting so she made a small print run of these truly biodegradable t-shirts. Instead of using plastisol inks—used in regular prints—the letters were printed with water based ink. The cotton is 100% organic cotton from North Caroline.
Use it until it is worn out. Then, cut the t-shirt to shreds and feed them to the worms, which will turn them into a nice fertilizer for your garden.
The women style t-shirts are available in small, medium and large sizes. The men style t-shirts come in medium, large and extra-large sizes. This cute invention is on sale at her store on Etsy and can be ordered from Brazil—by those who have an international credit card, of course.
Also, the sustainability doesn’t stop on the shirt. The product is wrapped in a biodegradable cellophane bag with twine and the boxes are reused shipping boxes or Lena’s neighbors’ shoe boxes. Shipping: $8.00 USD; t-shirt: $20.00 USD
Via the Ecotece Blog
Photo: publicity
John Novis, photographer for Greenpeace International, spent weeks living at the Yunnan province, China, amongst the local population and made a brilliant record of these farmers’ lifestyle, whose lives are intimately connected with rice farming. Their plantations, which spread over large areas and assure the livelihood of thousands of people, gave John the opportunity to see a rich traditional culture that, unfortunately, is under threat by the large corporations that want to seize control over the rice production.
Check out this slideshow, narrated by John, and its beautiful soundtrack to understand the details of this beautiful homage to farmers of China and the entire world.
Speaking of food, the New York Times published a very interesting piece this week about how the food industry leads consumers to eat things against their own will. Research by Dr. David Kessler, former head of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)—the powerful American institution responsible for regulating drugs and food—and author of the book “The End of Overeating: Taking Control of the Insatiable American Appetite,” shows that the food industry operates more or less like the tobacco industry.
According to Dr. Kessler, by combining fat, sugar and salt in different ways, food manufacturers were able to tap into our brain’s reward system, creating a feedback loop that stimulates our desire to eat and leaves us wanting more and more even when we’re full.
In his book, Dr. Kessler admits: “I wouldn’t have been as interested in finding out why we can’t resist food if I didn’t suffer with this myself. I gained and lost weight several times over. I have suits in every size.”
The food industry is also the theme of a documentary that has been generating lots of debate in the United States. Food Inc. questions many procedures adopted by food manufacturers, a little along the lines of what films such as Super Size Me and Fast Food Nation have done, focusing not only on health and nutritional issues but also on ethical, environmental and political aspects.
It’s the same old story: to eat well, one has to be well informed.
As the saying goes “A stitch in time saves nine.” So, people, get ready. It is not enough to take our own fabric bag when we go shopping at the drugstore or the supermarket. Thaís Horta, educator and coordinator of the A3P program in the city of Sao Paulo, said recently during a lecture that she refuses to drink coffee or water in plastic cups. The solution? She always carries a mug and a squeeze bottle in her purse.
If somebody offers her a drink in a plastic cup, Horta uses her super ceramic mug. The squeeze bottle, adopted by many people, is “used” to drink water. What does it have to do with the plastic container in the title? A-ha. When she goes to the bakery to buy cold meats, she takes her own plastic container! By doing this, she avoids using plastic and paper that would end up in the garbage.
Girls, she gave a suggestion for our shower. Rinsing off hair conditioner requires a lot of water—especially if you have long hair, like myself. So… Horta chooses leave-in hair products. She said that this gives movement to her hair—and she sure had shining hair.
What is A3P
The Public Administration Environmental Agenda (A3P) is a program that seeks to implement good practices in public institutions in order to preserve the environment. Their actions range from implementing the use of recycled paper to checking the building’s pipes. Horta told us that Edificio Martinelli, a historical building located in downtown Sao Paulo, used to spend, per day, an amount of water that could fill 10 olympic-size swimming pools. After the remodeling, the building is saving R$100,000 Brazilian reals in their water bill. Another example of the A3P work: an amount equivalent to 10% of the Brazilian GDP is spent on government purchases. The government program stimulates the purchase of “green” products—less harmful to the nature. To find out more about the program, click here.
Note: I’ve just spotted, from my bedroom window, a flock of migratory birds flying towards the coast. How cute!
If I still had a doubt regarding which operating system I wanted to use in my next laptop computer, it disappeared when I read this: Linux is not only cheaper and safer that Apple’s and Microsoft’s proprietary systems, but it’s also more ecologic!
The Australian ZDNet listed 10 items on which Linux beats its rivals in environmental matters. For example, because Linux is lighter, it doesn’t need a very powerful computer to work appropriately, which saves energy.
I know that many people are reluctant to use computers based on Linux, alleging that Linux is too complicated and that they are already used to “Ruindows” by M$. The first argument used to be true, but it isn’t anymore. Check out Ubuntu and tell me what you think. I worked for the government of the city of Sao Paulo during the implementation of the local digital inclusion project and saw people from the outskirts of the city using Linux very easily. I asked some of them if they found it much different and their answer was kind of obvious: of course not; after all, they were using a computer for the first time.
This leads us to the second issue, the habit of using this or that program. Well, you may be used to drive a car and start taking a bus for financial reasons and/or environmental awareness. You are not used to giving rides but start doing it more often. You may be used to brushing your teeth with a running faucet and then find yourself having to get used to not doing it. And so on so forth.
Changing our habits (especially the bad ones) is crucial to drive us to new levels of civilization, one where there is respect for the environment, for people and for the rules of life in society, even in this great capitalist market. Sharing, tolerating, reusing and recycling. Everything in life is a matter of choice. And our choices define our future.
The 5-feet tall “cleaning tractor” crosses the office and heads to the balcony, carrying a bucket, a broom, a mop, rags, a brush and the vacuum cleaner… Ops, the vacuum cleaner? I tiptoed to see what Val was doing and caught her—looking really mad—on top of the bird drinking fountain, attacking the air using the vacuum cleaner’s hose.
– Val?
– …
– Val! Vaaaaaal!!!
– Did you call me, Carol?
– Turn oooooff the vacuum cleaneeer, Vaaaaal!
– Oh, right!
– Val, what the hell are you doing with the vacuum cleaner, woman?
– Sucking up the bees, Carol.
– !
- Didn’t you tell me that hummingbirds die when they are stung by bees? I saw that poor thing’s agony, flying from here to there, unable to reach the drinking fountain because of the bees.
– Val, you weren’t trying to suck up the bees with the vacuum cleaner… Were you?
– Of course I was… I’ve been doing it since last week. Didn’t you notice that the bees have disappeared?
I wrote a post for Blog do Planeta about the invading and exotic species found in the Atlantic Forest. I talked with Helena de Godoy Bergallo, a researcher at the Rio de Janeiro State University (UERJ). She pointed out some of the things that people do in the hopes to preserve the environment but that end up harming it. Things such as feeding stray dogs and letting pet cats walk across rooftops.
This conversation reminded me of the issue of urban trees. Since the Brazilian colonization, people have been planting trees from other regions of the country and the world in front of their houses and in their backyard. For example, the mango tree mentioned in the song—”when I step on dry leaves, fallen from a mango tree”—comes from Asia. However, years ago, it was chosen by our local government to decorate public streets. Find out more about the risks it poses on the post.
So, which trees can be used in urban areas? The endemic (native) species for the area in question, of course. But there’s a detail that is worth pointing out. My beloved Araucaria tree, for example, is native to the Atlantic Forest. However, it is no longer found in the Sao Paulo coast. So, it should not be planted on the seashore. Remember that the biome also has its particularities.
Yeah… urbanization and landscaping are a little bit complex. Before planting your little seed or seedling, contact your local Secretariat of Environment. Get their help to select the right species. They can—and should—be able to give you a list of endemic species. Also, be aware of the urban technical requirements that must be observed should you decide to plant a tree on a sidewalk. In the city of Sao Paulo, it needs to be at least 1.20 meter wide. The tree should not get in the way of this measurement. I know that in practice…
Well, I’m going to leave (below) some information related to trees in urban areas. Have fun:
- Their size must be appropriate for the space available;
- Preferably, their fruit should be small to avoid accidents;
- The tree top should be compatible with the space available to avoid obstructing traffic and building facades;
- On sidewalks, choose species with deep roots to avoid damaging the public pavement;
- Choose pest and disease resistant species as the use of pesticides and fungicides is not recommended;
- Be careful with power cables; with water, sewage and gas pipes, and with directional signs. Trees must not interfere or damage these public properties;
- Make sure the trees do not interfere with the buildings’ natural and artificial lighting;
- It’s best to avoid species with thorns along their trunks and branches;
- Fallen leaves can clog gutters and sewers; therefore, prefer planting trees with small leaves.
Note: The government of the city of Sao Paulo has started a photography contest called “Árvores da Cidade de São Paulo.” See here: Anyone with a beautiful, poetic, conceptual photo or else, of a tree planted in this chaotic metropolis can participate. I’m going to enter my photos—I took the one below from my window. Kisses. Have a nice Friday.
Lucia Malla, a biologist and a dear friend of mine, wrote an alert in her post Sharkwater na China about the “lie” that consumers of shark fins in China–the world’s largest shark fin consumer market–are being told. Approximately 80 percent of the shark fins collected in the world end up at Hong Kong port.
According to what Lucia heard from a dive master, Chinese divers claim that “there is no problem in taking out a shark’s fin because it grows back”. Lucia says that “this is not true because once a shark loses its fin it can no longer swim and dies from starvation–a consequence of its inability to hunt–and from drowning, since most sharks need to swim in order to “vent” their gill and breath”.
It is high time people rethink their habit of eating shark fin soup which, according to Lucia, is eradicating an entire group of animals from the planet. This is a truly barbaric practice, carried out on behalf of people who think that they are not causing any harm to the environment.
Read Lucia Malla’s full post on her Uma malla pelo mundo blog.
Photo by André Seale - Barbatanas de tubarão secando em embarcação brasileira.
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