Let's cast amnesia - forget about all that evil

ONE TRIBEBlack Eyed Peas
Whoa-oh-oh-oh-oh!
Whoa-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh!
Woah-oh-oh-oh-ooooh!
Oh-woah-oh!

One Tri...
One Tri...
One Tribe, one time, one planet, one race
Its all one blood, don't care about your face
The color of your eye or the tone of your skin
Don't care where ya are
Don't care where ya been
Cause where we gonna go
Is where we wanna be
The place where the little language is unity
And the continent is called Pangaea
And the main ideas are connected like a spear
No propaganda, They tried to upper hand us
Cause man I'm loving this peace
Man, man, I'm loving this peace
Man, man, I'm loving this peace
I don't need no leader
That's gonna force feed a
Concept that make me think I need to
Fear my brother and fear my sister
And shoot my neighbor or my big missile
If I had an enemy to [enemy]
If I had an enemy to [enemy]
If I had an enemy, then my enemy is gonna try to come and kill me
Cause I'm his enemy
There's one tribe ya'll

One tribe ya'll
One tribe ya'll
One tribe ya'll
We are one people
Let's cast amnesia, forget about all that evil
Forget about all that evil, that evil that they feed ya
Let's cast amnesia, forget about all that evil
That evil that they feed ya
Remember that we're one people
We are one people
One people, one people [One People]
One people, one people [One People]
One people, one people [One People]

One tribe, one tribe
One tribe, one time, one planet, one [race]
Race, one love, one people, one [and]
Too many things that's causing one [to]
To forget about the main cause
Connecting, uniting
But the evil is seen and alive in us
So our hopes are colliding
And our peace is sinking like Poseidon
But, we know that the one [one]
The evil one is threatened by the sum [sum]
So he'll come and try and separate the sum
But he dumb, he didn't know we had a way to overcome
Rejuvenated by the beating of the drum
Come together by the cycle of the hum
Freedom when all become one [one]
Forever

One tribe ya'll
One tribe ya'll
One tribe ya'll
We are one people
Let's cast amnesia
Forget about all that evil [evil]
Forget about all that evil [evil]
That evil that they feed ya
Let's cast amnesia
Forget about all that evil [evil]
That evil, that they feed ya [feed ya]
Remember that we're one people
We are one people
One people, one people [One People]
One people, one people [One People]
One people, one people [One People]

One love, one blood, one people
One heart, one beat, we equal
Connected like the internet
United that's how we do
Lets break walls, so we see through
Let love and peace lead you
We could overcome the complication cause we need to
Help each other, make these changes
Brother, sister, rearrange this
The way I'm thinking that we can change this bad condition
Wait, use you mind and not your greed
Let's connect and then proceed
This is something I believe
We are one, we're all just people

One tribe ya'll
One tribe ya'll
One tribe ya'll
We are one people
Let's cast amnesia
Forget about all that evil
Forget about all that evil, that evil that they feed ya
Let's cast amnesia
Let's cast amnesia, forget about all that evil
That evil, that they feed ya
We're one tribe ya'll
We people, we people
One tribe ya'll
One people, one people [One People]
One people, one people [One People]
One people, one people [One People]
One people, one people [One People]
One people, one people [One People]
One people, one people [One People]

Lets, lets cast amnesia
Lord help me out
Trying to figure out what its all about [what its all about]
Cause we're one in the same [one in the same]
Same joy, same pain
And I hope that you're there when I need ya
Cause maybe we need amnesia
And I don't wanna sound like a preacher
But we need to be one

One world, one love, one passion
One tribe, one understanding
Cause you and me can become one.

hear it

Horrified by the mountain

...of crap that came with our new dryer. AND the mountains of cling-film that came with our new couch. I didn't expect it, so it wasn't avoided. I would rather the couch had come dented and dirty, truly. But worse than a huge ball of cling film was the mound of polystyrene ("styrofoam" in Canada). That stuff never goes away (doesn't break down). I find it almost criminally irresponsible that it is still used.

Step 1. Phoned the appliance store that sold me the dryer to ask if they would take back the polstyrene. They wanted to help, but would only throw it in the rubbish instead of me. They said that the manufacturer wouldn't reuse it.

Step 2. Researched alternative places that would recycle it. There were only two places locally. One was Expol, which makes and installs polystyrene insulation under floors.

At first I was going to take it there, but now I am having second thoughts. Why contribute to a business that creates more of the same problem? We don't need polystyrene under floors either, where it will also one day be a waste problem.

Step 3 is going to be calling Haier directly, and asking them to take back their perfectly "good" horrible packing material. If they don't take responsibility for it, I can start communicating with them and making some small change there.

Small change, anyone? Watch this mountain.

Update 16 August 2012.I ended up getting tired and overwhelmed, and...I should have done something about it, but I just wanted you to know I actually didn't.

Companies are changing though, so if I ever do get a new appliance (which I will, we will need a better water saving washing machine, and dishwasher at some point since we live on tank water), I will stop it at the source and tell them I don't want the packaging. I can at that point make sure the action is accompanied with letter or even a Facebook comment. I have helped create action with Pak'N Save before by nagging on Facebook from time to time (about Fair Trade bananas). There is nothing wrong with communication structures like Facebook for companies to communicate with the public. Then, actually, their marketing communications team has to figure out how to respond to it officially - which is a good thing.

In fact - I should make a comment right now...far easier than writing letters (and more effective too).




I did it! http://www.facebook.com/liveahaierlife

How hard was that? Posted the photo above, and: "Sorry - just had to pass something on. I got a Haier dryer last year - which is working great, thanks. Just was wondering if there was an option in future to give back all the polystyrene or program to recycle it? Just not very good from a waste (environmental) perspective."

It's good to be nice. If it's not said with love, would you listen?


17 August 2012

Hey, they got back to me!

"Hi Nonavee, in NZ most retailers have some form of recycling available at their warehouse operations. We are more than happy to accept your packaging at our locations in Auckland or Christchurch (13 Kerwyn Ave, East Tamaki Auckland or 79 Shands Road Hornby, Christchurch) and will recycle the packaging and old Haier appliances as well if required. :) Hope this is helpful."

That is great. If only I contacted them directly at the time. I could have shipped it or taken it over there... which although it's a pain in the butt would assist in their process of learning to deal with it. Next time -

Tibetan Children's Colouring Book II

We just had a really magical time colouring in these amazing drawings on the computer with the children (Troy and Luke). Being the artistic type, I always have to exercise self-control to prioritize their learning, remembering that the entire point of doing it is for Troy to do it herself. Troy is really good on the computer now, and had a really good time. She was extremely proud of herself. Luke was very exact and precise in using the mouse, controlled over what was happening, but as far as choosing what to colour was a crazyman. I had to control his choices. He wore out quickly - especially because the head of the creature he chose was a ridiculously more complex than his level. He filled in the shell and tailpiece though. Then, since he wore out, I actually went crazy on the rest of his "Harmony Snail". Troy's drawing was a Harmony Fish Otter, according to the label.


Children really help you relax and do things. I got a good vibe for future projects from this one.

By the way, I got this amazing colouring book from a website called Eternal Creation, which sells Tibetan children and babies fashion mainly. They are in Dharamsala, the refuge town in India for many Tibetan people (including the Dalai Lama).

Do your kids school you about going green? article by Lindsay Coulter ("Queen of Green", David Suzuki Foundation) Canada

Recopied and posted on Nonnie's blog fromhttp://www.davidsuzuki.org/blogs/queen-of-green/2011/04/do-your-kids-school-you-about-going-green/



A journalist recently asked me "How do you encourage families to instil green practices into their children?" But she was asking a one-sided question. "Real life" parents tell a different story.

There's a new kind of social pressure among six-year-olds, says one Mom I know. Two girls were teasing her son, but not because he didn't have the coolest gym shoes. Because he didn't have a truly litterless lunch! (Queens of Green in training? I can't be certain.) Dad ran out to buy reusable containers that night — no more plastic baggies. Now their son can eat his lunch with pride.

Are your children teaching you about going green? Is your little one begging for a backyard compost bin or rain barrel of his or her very own? Or, do you beg your kids to go play outside, like you did once upon a time?

Fact: we're raising a generation of indoor kids. In her survey, Dr. Rhonda Clements (PDF file, page 4) found that American children spend less time playing outdoors than their mothers did when they were young—even in rural areas. They go outside less often and for shorter periods of time.

Fortunately, there are exceptions. Last summer I spoke to 2,300 Girl Guides. And Girl Guides across Canada participate in:

•Park and community clean-ups
•Recycling milk bags into bed mats for the homeless
•Planting trees to green urban spaces and help alleviate soil erosion
•Water quality testing in the backcountry of Banff National Park
•Growing thousands of kilograms of organic vegetables donated to local Food Banks
It's an impressive list (and by no means exhaustive) of collective action by youth. I think we can all take something from the Girl Guide playbook.

You already know that green spaces like parks and forests are good for the birds and the bees. But did you know that people who live near green spaces are actually healthier? Green spaces encourage people to be physically active, and being active means reduced stress.

Get outside. Embrace your inner Girl Guide — guys, too! Voice your support for preservation of existing parks, sign-up for a local stewardship group or clean-up day, write to your city council asking them to create new parks. A little greenery goes a long way.

Teach your children well — kids who connect with nature grow into adults who care about protecting it.

How do you encourage your kids — or how do they encourage you — to spend time in nature?

Sincerely,
Lindsay Coulter, Queen of Green

Waveney Warth and Matthew Luxon' Rubbish Free Year website guide and store

By the way, for all the collecting I have been doing of people and their efforts, I had recently missed some of the main people in NZ that famously did zero waste, "Rubbish free year", Waveney Warth & Matthew Luxon, in 2008. (I had heard about them a few years before, but was a little overwhelmed by it at the time.) They have a really beautifully designed and easy to use website and online guide at http://www.rubbishfree.co.nz/. They also have an online store for really cool durable items like wooden toothbrushes, and stainless steel lunch boxes, and reusable sandwich wraps.

Add to my list! (Ok, top of the list for NZ local area.) Great job, guys! You're beautiful people too, like Bea Johnson in the USA!

Binn Inn - from an idea to reality

I love Binn Inn. I first found it a few years ago, when I had very little money and a new family. I was slowly researching and figuring. I was a pretty poor mom with a motley collection of washed out containers and a new idea. (This was the same time I made a clipboard sign-in sheet for our rubbish bin.) Although I did come in a few times, I lived too far away from a Binn Inn to make it a regular viable shopping location. I did however buy some various amazing grains and seeds that I peppered my family's food with.

But now that I have a household that I can run with a plan, as we are living more the country lifestyle out here, and near a few wholesale suppliers such as Binn Inn, I am really excited to go nearer to zero waste, refilling containers instead of buying new each time. Those aisles of huge containers of molasses, olive oil, liquid soap, shampoo, bins of baking soda, dishwasher powder, pet food, flour, beans, peas, linseed and quinoa, beckon to me. Everything you need, and nothing that you don't want. (Like a pile of plastic pollution.)

I am going to make a big list of anything that we already buy that we can get instead at Binn Inn, or My Bread Mix supplier, both in town nearby. Pasta, soup mix, yeast, moroccan spice, sugar, rye flour, what else does one need? Neat containers that are sturdy, and well organized in the pantry. Iron will to take over the shopping, as certain other partners are a bit more casual about zero waste, although supportive (and more "socially normal" too).

Grey-water recycling system

So, we inherited 1) raised veggie beds, 2) some fruit trees 3) a Jones-style food storage cupboard, and there is a 4)! The very industrious South-African couple that sold us their home had actually put in a system to reuse their washing machine water. It's a really beautiful system. There is a pipe across the footpath (behind Troy) embedded in the concrete. If you switch the hose above the washing machine to "garden", the water goes through there and into a bathtub with a wooden cover. It's so cool!

Since we are on tank water (water collected from the copious amount NZ winter rain) it's really great to have some water you can literally throw around. If it has been raining alot, and you don't have time to bucket it out onto your garden (or there is a hose from the tub, but it is low pressure and slow), then you can just choose to waste it and switch the hose to the drain.

Now that I see how it works right there in front of me, it is very simple. Each load of washing fills the tub about 50%. I can't believe how much water I have used, and wasted, doing all the loads of washing I did on the North Shore, when I wasn't aware at all of the water leaving the washing machine - and how much water is wasted by the entire North Shore! In general, having a limited water supply just makes you aware of water waste all the time, of my wasteful water habits.