Lights Changing

Change a Light Day

Really?

Change a Light DAY?

Ok… here goes nothin’…

 

 

Right…

today was created to encourage

 us to change our light bulbs

 from the older,

conventional light bulbs…

to the newer,

more energy efficient bulbs.

Too easy.

 

I do remember when my light bulbs

 were changed over

to the newer, greener bulbs…

A guy was being paid to go

 to people’s homes and change

 the bulbs for them…

That was his job, at the time…

So, I let him come to my house,

step up on a foot stool

 and change all

 the light bulbs in my place.

 I felt like such a hopeless girl!

I was cringing at the possibility

 that he thought I didn’t know

 how to change a light bulb!

 I was so ashamed!

But, before long,

the bulbs had been changed,

the old bulbs were taken away,

the footstool was packed up

and I was left with

new light bulbs…

If you haven’t already gotten

the energy efficient bulbs,

today would be the perfect time

to put some in!

(And, if it’s too tricky…

call someone in to do it for you…

like I did!)

Wikipedia pictures from here.

 

 

Lamb Stew - Hold the Lamb

 

Happy October 

 the months are flying by!

Today is a World Day.

World always stands out,

punching me in the face –

 making me realise

the importance of the day.

World Days are,

therefore, difficult to ignore!

Today’s World Day is…

World Vegetarian Day!



 

 

 

I have lived in countries,

where meat is stored carefully

 on hot cement blocks…

where meat is protected from flies

 by an occasional flick of a hand…

or, more elaborative,

the slowly rotating, man-made device,

which is hung above the meat

 and drips plastic bags…

scaring the flies away.

I’ve walked past bowls of fish,

eels and crabs, slowly flicking

 in shallow water…

and yet, my stomach

coped with every meal…

Well…there was that one time…

In an Irish Pub in Bangkok.

I was having Irish stew –

as you do…

Lamb, it was.

There were huge chunks of tender lamb,

filling my bowl of stew.

It was good.

And then, it happened.

I pictured a buffalo –

something I saw every day

 when I lived in the North East of Thailand.

The buffalo tends to have a huge,

 round stomach.

I pictured someone with a huge knife,

slicing the side of a buffalo a

nd turning the flesh

into chunks of meat for my stew.

Right then and there,

my stew lost all appeal.

That was years ago…

and, don’t get me wrong –

I eat meat.

 I do.

But, sometimes, every now and again…

I picture the animal I am eating…

Not the "cute little lamb",

but the knife - chunking the flesh… 

I lose my appetite a little.

 

Once, a young boy came to me

and told me he had cut

 his leg on a seat.

“Show me”, I said…

and watched him twist his knee

 to show me a small hole in the skin.

Something yellow was poking out –

Muscle? Sinew? Fat? 

There was no blood.

It seemed ok…

and then, it happened.

The blood started.

It didn’t trickle…

it didn’t dribble…

It pumped.

Squirt.

Squirt.

Squirt.

 It was the smell that got to me.

Bloody flesh.

The smell lingered in my nostrils

 for some time. I

t’s a butcher shop smell.

It’s not a good smell for me.

So, today is World Vegetarian Day.

The site has facts and figures…

forests and bushland turned into crops

to feed the animals we will later eat…

overgrazing and the damage it does…

animals and plants becoming endangered

through habitat loss…

water costs of animal rearing…

increased carbon monoxide…

All that aside,

the thing that pushes me

towards my vegetarian diet

 is my imagination!

 Some information from

the North American Vegetarian Society’s

webpage:

Logo, facebook 

 

Can it

It’s Crush a Can Day.

I’ve been waiting

for this day for so long!

Crush a can!

Woohoo!

So, today is far more important

 than simply crushing a can

 against your head.

Today is also about

focussing our attention

on the greener side of cans

 – recycling them!

Three cheers to Australia –

we have one of the highest

consistent aluminium can

recycling programs…

in the world!

The aluminium can industry

 is a leader in waste reduction…

cans are being made

lighter every year.

Old cans can be turned

 into new cans…

Which reduces landfill!

In 1996, 1.64 billion cans

 were recycled!

Making new cans from old cans

takes far less resources

and energy than making

new cans from scratch.

I remember as a kid,

collecting cans,

stamping on them

and crushing them

and carting them to the

weighing place, where

 the bag of cans would be

 turned into a pile of coins...

That was such a great incentive

 for kids to recycyle.

Bring that back! 

 

Earth Day

Mobilize The Earth:

That is the message

for Earth Day this year.

Scanning the Earth Day webpage,

I see this:

collect A Billion Acts of Green.

Of course, I’m intrigued!

You pledge to do something

“Green” to help out

the environment.

I found a footprint calculator...

Give it a try.

You know what...

the Hairy Cow

holds her head up high

and declares that each

and every day,

although she is a heavy,

four hoofed beast,

her footprint is small.

I’ve blogged facts and figures before...

This year, I want to share this...

a representation

of the timeline of the Earth.

Dinosaurs didn’t turn up

until 57 minutes into the hour!

We have been on the Earth

for the tiniest,

most miniscule moment...

It’s not taken long

to have a huge impact! 

 (At least when the dinosaurs died,

they gave themselves up

so that we could use them

 later as fossil fuel!)

Finally, we are starting

to clean up our act. 

 Jump on board,

the Earth needs us

and today is her day.  

Photos from here and here.

And, to a little girl

who’s big enough

to ride the big slide

all by herself ...

Happy Birthday! x

How's Your Water Footprint?

Water. 

We take it for granted.

  You turn the tap...

water comes out. 

The quality is good enough

 to drink!

  You flush the toilet...

water. 

You start the washing machine...

water. 

 It’s everywhere,

but we shouldn’t

take it for granted. 

 It’s time to learn about

 our water footprint! 

Seven billion people

live in our world. 

Each of us "drinks"

between two and four litres

of water a day. 

What!? You say...

I don’t drink that much! 

But... We do. 

The number comes from

considering the food we eat...

  a kilo of beef –

that’s 15,000 litres of water! 

 A kilo of wheat –

that’s 1,500 litres. 

 So, on World Water Day,

they want us to think

 about the food we eat. 

Do we buy food,

only to leave it

in the fridge until its disgusting

 and then, throw it away?  

 (30% or the food produced

worldwide is wasted...

that’s a lot of water

wasted, too!)

They want us to think

about the clothes we buy

– and the water taken

to make them...

They want us to think

of the paper we use –

and the water taken

to make it... 

They want us to think

of the obvious ways

we use water –

washing, cooking, cleaning... 

Meat consumption

seems to be rising

about as fast as

the human population

is increasing. 

The production of meat is a huge

water-user!

With increased populations

 comes reduced land...

so the animals grown for their meat

 will need to be fed grains...

which also require

significant amounts

of water to grow. 

How’s this scary prediction:

By 2025, 1.8 billion people

 will, basically,

be living without water. 

Check the World Water Day

 webpage. 

There’s lots of information. 

I guess, sometimes,

we need to be scared into action...

Food photos from here.