Review: How good are you?...

Over the last few weeks I’ve been reading How Good Are You?, by journalist Julian Lee. In it, he charts his investigations into the ethical choices we all face when we’re spending money. This includes environmental topics, as well as social issues like sweatshops, Fair Trade and truth in advertising. There are several chapters about food products, also cleaning products, clothes, investment, marketing and...

Earth Hour...

This Saturday, people around the world will be turning off their lights for an hour between 8 and 9pm. It’s called Earth Hour, and it’s an event started in Sydney last year to raise awareness of the things anyone can do to help battle climate change. I joined in last year, lighting some candles and chilling out for a while, and I’ll be doing it again this year. Perth has joined in this year too (news.com.au,...

Painterly pursuits...

Over the Easter long weekend, Dave and I painted our bedroom. Previously it had been a bland beige, now it is a lovely medium blue. We used an eco-friendly paint and picked up a handy tool for reducing the water you need to clean up afterwards. Paints are usually full of VOCs - Volatile Organic Compounds. These are chemicals used in many home furnishing products, and as they are released into the atmosphere they can make...

Happy Easter!...

SaveTheBilby.icemedia.com.au I hope everyone has a Happy Easter, and enjoys their long weekend. I’m trying to be a bit healthy and have asked people not to buy me any chocolates! But I wouldn’t want my nieces to go without a little treat, so I got them some Bilby chocolates from Darrell Lea instead of the usual eggs and rabbits. A percentage of the price goes to the Save The Bilby fund. Bilbies are cute little...

Tasmanian Devils...

Today I saw a National Geographic video on YouTube about the Tasmanian Devil (via Grist). It was good to be reminded of one of our unique animals that’s currently close to extinction. The Tasmanian Parks and Wildlife Service has some more sound clips and videos for you to watch, as does the DPIW site aimed at children and schools. Even though Devils are cranky little buggers, I still think they’re cute Tassie...

Make the switch to compact fluorescent bulbs...

Replacing your normal incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs is one of the first things you’re told to do by greenies, and I’m sure you’ve heard about it already! But I wouldn’t feel right not mentioning it, because it really is one of the easiest things you can change that will help reduce your greenhouse gas emissions. CFLs use 66-75% less electricity to light a room than an...

Quick links...

So, what’s been going on in the last week? Online: PM Rudd has signed an agreement with Papua New Guinea, partnering up to reduce deforestation. I found out about this via Larvatus Prodeo, an Aussie political blog. If you’re interested in that sort of thing, give LP a look. They do semi-regular posts on environmental issues in Australia, have knowledgeable commenters and links to good resources. There’s...

Vegetarian Challenge, Day 7...

Breakfast: muesli Lunch: leftover pumpkin pasta Dinner: vegetarian Indian, at 2 Fat Indians in Mount Lawley. For our last night, we wanted to go out to a nice restaurant that served vegetarian food. Some of the places in Perth are cafes that don’t open in the evening, so our choices were limited. We loved the food we had at 2 Fat Indians: stuffed mushrooms, black lentils, dum aloo, and nine vegetables in a korma...

Vegetarian Challenge, Days 4, 5 and 6...

Apologies for not posting each day: I came down with a cold, seems like a stupid time of year for it. Day 4 Breakfast: cold Milo Lunch: leftover cannelini bean salad (me) and egg and salad sandwiches (Dave) Dinner: vegetable soup After work, we went to the bi-monthly Green Drinks run by Wilma from O2, and had such a good time we didn’t leave until about 8pm. By the time we got home we were starving but didn’t...

Vegetarian Challenge, Day 3...

Breakfast: cold Milo Lunch: salad and fruit salad, at a friend’s place Dinner: filo pastry parcels filled with pumpkin, feta cheese, silverbeet, garlic and sauted onion, served with our chef’s own tomato chutney (me) and spinach, mushrooms, feta cheese, roast pumpkin, spanish onion & sundried tomatoes tossed through fettucine pasta (Dave), from Cafe Villa in Leederville. (Apologies for the less-than-good...