Lets Go Shopping! Eco Shopping!

How eco friendly is your supermarket? Do you think they are actually making an effort to become more eco friendly?

If you didn’t see any of The Peoples Supermarket on TV last year then be inspired and see what is possible when a group of people get together to provide better shopping ethics. Visit www.ThePeoplesSupermarket.org

It is clear that the big names want to be perceived as more eco friendly but what are they actually doing? When I use my local supermarket I do my best to remember to bring my own bags. When I forget and reach the check out then I can sometimes receive a stern but polite reminder to bring my own yet other times when I forget I am being offered more plastic bags than I know what to do with! Why would I want a plastic bag when I have only bought one item?

But I have to ask myself…..

“We certainly can and should do our part but what are the supermarkets doing to help the problem!?”

Think about all of the packaging that the suppliers use! Did I really need all of that plastic and card with that new toothbrush? Just to throw it in the recycling when I get home?

Every little counts!

Embarrassing how the UK throws away billions of plastic bags a year yet Germany are leading the way with their no plastic bag policy! hmmmmm….

And what about other shops we go to? Some are really making an effort to reduce packaging and do as much recycling as possible. Can you think of somewhere you go to regularly that would be considered Green? What about your local garden centre? These guys should be the role models when it comes to being green but sadly some of them are more interested in selling cheesy gifts than doing any recycling. They could be great distributors for domestic solar panels and wind turbines! I wonder if they ever will venture into being green? How eco friendly is your local garden centre?

How eco-friendly are your local shops? As always I love to hear all of your comments so please feel free to comment below!

It’s Easy To Grow Your Own Fruit And Veg When You Know How!

Do you know how to grow your own food? All you need to do is get a few large pots or containers (or even an old wooden box, an old tyre or even an old pair of jeans or boots!), fill them with good compost and Bob’s your uncle and Fanny’s your aunt!

It is starting to warm up which means that it is time to start thinking about what you are going to grow to eat. Think about your favorite vegetable and how cool it would be to grow your own. To grow your own veg can be very rewarding, eco-friendly and cheaper than buying from the shops. And you can put your kitchen waste to good use by turning it into compost to nourish your crops.

What To Grow?

As a guide line for beginners, the easiest vegetables to grow for yourself are potatoes, onions, lettuce, beans, peas, pumpkins, beetroot, carrot and cauliflower. Most of these can be grown in any decent size container, but the beans and peas will need some sort of structure to climb up. Click here to check out the Wikaniko Veg Companion Plant Guide article!

And herbs are also easy to grow as many of them keep coming back year after year, try thyme, mint, sage, chives and oregano. Generally speaking, the herbs prefer full sun and they tolerate less water because of the oils in the leaves. Click here to check out the Wikaniko Herb Companion Plant Guide article!

You can even grow many cool vegetables and herbs quite easily in the kitchen (preferably near a south facing window). If you are anything like me then you will love being able to pick off a couple fresh chillies to throw in a curry fresh from the plant!

Rhubarb is also easy to grow (and hard to get rid of!). And things like apple trees and cherry trees can be very rewarding. Even if you have just a small garden you can still get fruit trees on a dwarfing rootstock so they do not grow too big and you can keep them in containers. They will need a bit of maintenance and care throughout  the year but definitely worth the grafting.

Now You Know How To Grow Your Own Food! Hungry For More?

For more tips on how to grow your own veg click here to see the brilliant site from the BBC!

And if you are really getting into the whole “Grow Your Own” scene then check out this smart way to plan your garden!

As always, I would love to hear your comments below (or if they are not there then click on the comments link at the top of this post to view them). Let me know about what you are growing. Now do you know how to grow your own food?

We all love our planet but what can we do to help us preserve it?

Global warming is a much more important subject than most of us think. I believe that the majority of humans will only see the importance of global warming when they are actually getting hurt by the process. We all need to be aware of the amount of co2 emissions that we are producing and what the effects are. Our planet is our life! Our future is our children!

So what can we do to help the future generations before its too late? Start looking for a new planet? Or… Just take some simple steps in order to reduce the global warming phenomenon. Which is easier said than done for some people but if we all participate then I am sure we can save the world!

Energy saving around the home. Do not leave appliances on standby. Almost half of the power used to supply the average tv is used when it is on standby! You can save more than 70% of the energy lost just by fitting double glazing! Use energy saving light bulbs! Simple! Be more aware on what your thermostat is getting up to. You could save a nice little sum of money if install a programmable thermostat. Also, move your thermostat down 2° in winter and up 2° in summer. This could save about 2,000 pounds of carbon dioxide a year with this simple adjustment. Take a shower instead of a bath. Simple!

Its not rocket science guys!

Energy saving on the road. You can reduce CO2 emissions by changing how you drive. Click here for tips on eco-driving!

Why not…. Plant a tree. Or save a forest! Support renewable energy projects. Get your school or business to be more green. Eat fresh, organic and locally grown food. Or become a vegetarian!

What? Become a vegetarian!?

Yeah, why not? Because you love a nice and succulent medium/rare steak? Become a vegetarian. This is arguably the best way to reduce global warming in our lifetimes (please do not be too rude in your comments on this article). Albert Einstein said it himself ‘Nothing will benefit human health and increase the chances for survival of life on Earth as much as the evolution to a vegetarian diet.’ I could go on with some more quotes about vegetarianism by well respected leaders (contact me if you want to hear them), but for now lets get on with some facts.

Methane is 21 times more powerful than the greenhouse gas CO2. Animal agriculture produces more than 100 million tons of methane a year. This methane is produced in the digestive processes of livestock, it may be a small amount of methane from each cow but this planet does have a lot of cows! And because cows eat a huge amount of grass and they have multiple stomachs this causes them to produce a large amount of methane, which they exhale with every breath.

If we eliminate our consumption of animal products by becoming vegetarian then we could eliminate the main producer of methane. I am not suggesting that we kill all of the cows! But once we all participate in being a veggie then we need not produce as many cows, which will result in lower amounts of global warming. Easy!