Why and How: Saving Earth’s Natural Resources
Filed Under: Guest Post, Susatainable Living on June 30, 2009
Many countries including my country, Singapore, have started the “SAVE GAIA” initiative. Helping to save Earth’s natural resources means that Earth has time to grow crops (our food) naturally, safely and with the maximal of nutrition that Mother Nature has meant for them to be (for the benefit of all living beings). So I think this is a good start!
Sustainability of the environment must come with effort though. It’s not one or two exhibitions then forget about everything. It’s not about planting a tomato, watch it grow and forget about it. It’s not done with one or two speeches of our Prime Ministers or Presidents. More needs to be done. It’s about taking action, and making it a good habit.
Everyone can play a part – here are just a few examples:
- Farmers continue to practice tillage (with ploughing machines) without use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides.
- Shoppers can use hemp shopping bags (made from fibre of hemp seeds) instead of plastic bags that emit toxic when they are burned at disposal grounds.
- Households can use biodegradable garbage bags and organic insect repellants without chemicals.
- People can use shampoos, bathing foam, etc with lesser or no harmful toxics (some toxics in such products cannot be fully erradicated even with boiling or “the best water-filters”, and are usually tasteless so you don’t really know you’re drinking it).
- Anyone can start their own mini garden of non-GMO potatoes, flowers, etc even in high-raised apartments. This serves a dual purpose – can be your own un-contaminated food source; and also certain greens cleanse the air of cancer-causing toxics from the air (please ask your botanist for recommending plants which can do this).
- Children learn to throw litter into dustbins, or else use a portable biodegradable bag till they are ready to throw litter into dustbins. This keeps public environments free from flies, cockroaches, etc (where humans do not want them).
- Have a closer look into fish farms and animal farms. Know what they are eating and decide for yourself if they are really food you want to eat! (I personally feel that there’s NO VALUE whatsoever in eating meat from animals who are already sick from genetically-modified foods!)
- Government initiatives can consider solar-powered panels for schools, buildings, etc. This will reduce the need to for dangerous coal-mining and accidents associated with it.
- Stop cutting down trees in rainforests to make way for growing food for corporate-run animal farms! These animal farms pollute waters to such an extent that no marine animals and fish can ever live in some rivers.
- Start reading blogs and websites that truly care for the environment. Aaron has useful ideas on re-using materials for gardening like this resource here (you’re on his blog right now!).
Yes, the positive effects of helping to sustain Earth’s natural resources cannot be felt IMEMDIATELY but you can already see what pollution has done to rivers in Colorado, China and India.
People can already feel what 20 to 30 years of polluted air does to their respiratory systems and so on.
Russell Mokhiber spoke about corporations recklessly polluting the air. “As we move to the end of the millennium, it is important to remind ourselves that this has been the century of the corporation, where for-profit, largely unaccountable organizations with unlimited life, size and power, took control of the economy and the political economy—largely to the detriment of the individual consumer, worker, neighbor and citizen.” –The Criminal Element :: The 10 Worst Corps of 2005
Richard Gilpin and Ali Dale who write for Red Pepper said in their book THE GREAT GREENWASH, “Green petrol, ozone-friendly aerosols, plastic nappies that make great compost. . . If you haven’t noticed this kind of oxymoronic labelling the chances are you’ve been ‘greenwashed’. Don’t take it personally, you’re not alone. The Concise Oxford English Dictionary has only recently put a name to one of the most pervasive phenomena of the past 20 years. Corporations are engaging in phony environmentalism.”
What are your thoughts on corps who donate after polluting the environement? Do you have any ideas to help save our environment? Feel free to add yours thought by commenting below!
Related Info:
Singapore’s Mediacorp: Gaia Life Challenge
10 Things to Help save the Earth
Contaminated food: GMO effects on animals, etc
In fervent
support of:
Editor’s Note: Kelly is a good friend of mine who I met online. Hopefully, you will be seeing her posts here from time-to-time in the future. She is a fervent researcher and blogger from Singapore who write about many environmental issues surrounding health, wellness, and recently a multi-part series exposing Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs). You’ll find all that and more on her blog, MyQute.com! –Aaron
