Green smoothie...

You should drink this every day if poss.. But you need a juicer. After you've juiced each veg/fruit, scoop out the pulp and put it in a container in the freezer. You can add this to the pan next time you are making soup. Or muffins. broccoli, 3 heads celery, 3 sticks ginger, an inch lemon, a half or whole apples - 2 or 3 spinach, a handful barley grass powder get from health food shop spirulina, get from healthy food shop.

Ask yourself...

Are you part of the solution? or are you part of the problem... Ecologically I mean.
Tagged Green Stuff

Notes taken...2006

I'm spring cleaning, and throwing a lot of paper away - years of copious note-taking - it's hard to let go but I feel better if I can write certain bits of my notes down here. Walmart now controls as much wealth of 40% of the US population. The water needed to produce 1 lb of beef could be used to be in for months. Producer responsibility is a new idea in the US. In Brazil, in 1993, it was decided that food was now a right of citizenship. The city acts as convenor, bringing together business and labour - there were dozens of innovations of how to make food accessible - such as accessible priced food listed at bus stops. How the developing world is "holding" our natural way of doing things... We have to move from a carbon fossil economy to a living carbon economy. the fossil age has created a a mechanistic paradigm of thinking.. Soil not oil Preparing for climate change - eg farmers who have been forced to grow indigo for textiles for a national market, should now be growing food to feed themselves. Save ancient varieties of seeds = adaption capacity Skyscrapers reflect the human condition in our time - they don't touch - isolated. Technology isolates. Future visions: we'll take ships across Atlantic, keep working on the internet on the ship The more you can empower others the more you can empower yourself Don't keep digging up weeds, plant better trees...

Addressing climate change though art

I like this organisation. George Monbiot, Mark Lynas, Herbert Giradet are all on the board. They give funding to organisations applying with specific projects addressing climate change. Eg, Trees For Life. http://www.treesforlife.org.uk/groves/ape.html Here's their website and vision: http://www.apeuk.org/who-are-we Through music and the arts, APE aims to achieve permanent reductions in greenhouse gas emissions to levels that minimise further degradation of ecological systems and human livelihood. APE recruits internationally known musicians and artists through albums, concerts, art exhibitions and art related projects to raise awareness of climate change and funds for campaigns and disaster relief.

Our Mission

We identify both the opportunities that enable people, especially in the world's richest countries, to reduce their emissions and the obstacles that hold people back. We devise innovative and effective ways of communication that encourage people to share this experience. We recognise that individuals cannot make the required changes on their own. We aim to create a powerful and vocal community of people working together to move technology, government and business forward to reduce emissions and make real and lasting changes to the way we live. All our projects will demonstrate that our vision of stabilizing greenhouse gas emissions is practically attainable. APE believes that the many of the solutions are within reach, if only we have the will.
Tagged Arty Green Stuff

Food Waste

Following on from my Bloody Well Smell It post, I want to investigate how food outlets and restaurants in my local area deal with their waste. Here's a professional service for food waste collection and composting, but it's based in Essex. I wonder if anything similar exists in Brent. I need to get a campaign going under the Transition umbrella... and then tie it to free compost for our gardens... Juniper Food Waste Run by a team of dedicated and experienced professionals, our sole purpose at Juniper is to provide a food waste collection service that is cost effective and efficient, that addresses corporate social responsibility and regulatory requirements, in a manner that is environmentally sound.

Sprouting - the joys of

I've given up using the 3 tiered sprouter from Planet Organic as it didn't work - seeds went mouldy, water went stagnant, seeds all clumped up, etc. Turns out you just need a large jar anyway. 1) wash the seeds. Lentil, mung bean, alfafa, chickpea, fenugreek, try 'em all. Bigger ones take longer to sprout. 2) Fill the jar with an inch or 2 of water and leave the seeds in there for 24 hours. 3) Rinse out the water and leave the jar on its side with the seeds spread out. Cover with a teatowel - they have to germinate in the dark.Don't screw the jar lid on too tightly so a bit of air can escape. 4) Every 24 hours or so, rinse the seeds. 5) after 3 days, check to see if you can harvest them.... It's absolutely worth getting into the habit of doing this because they're so yummy in salads - and they are the healthiest food you can eat, full of living enzymes. See these for inspiration: http://www.sproutpeople.com/cookery.html https://www.livingfood.co.uk/

Artists, Art and Climate Change

In the last few months I've been thinking about studying and documenting the way artists are now engaging with climate change, and the organisations, exhibitions and websites springing up around this. For example, I've just been asked to come to a meeting of Meld (http://www.meld.cc/#/why/) , a group of artists and filmmakers who've started a "collaborative catalyst" for social change... (to tell you the truth, I have something else to say about the THOUSANDS of collaborative catalysts for social change that exist now, but not here!) Art engaging with climate change interests me because like other flurries of interest, no-one seemed to be doing it and now everyone is, it seems - the wave of consciousness again.  Having said that, I was surprised at the Venice Biennale 2009 how few artists were actually engaging with the topic of climate change. Envrionmentalist artists particularly appeal to me. Artists have a new take on it all, and it's refreshing. It's not preachy, as you might have thought, and some of it is very entertaining.. So I've been to visit the Royal Academy's exhibition -

Earth: Art of a changing world

3 December 2009 - 31 January 2010

The Royal Academy of Arts presents GSK Contemporary 2009, the second annual contemporary art season at 6 Burlington Gardens. Opening this December, Earth: Art of a changing world will present new and recent work from more than 30 leading international contemporary artists, including commissions and new works from the best emerging talent. Some of my faves: I'm going to have to put these in later.. After this, Cape Farewell's expeditions to the Arctic are well worth a look too. http://www.rethinkclimate.org/exhibition http://www.artsandecology.org.uk/your-space/directory http://www.ecoartsonline.org/about_ecoarts.php
Tagged Arty Green Stuff

Favourite Photographers: Yann Arthus-Bertrand

Everyone likes this one. He's been documenting our planet and people for years and his photos are life-affirming, shocking, breath-taking.He also founded a not-for-profit organisation devoted to sustainability. http://www.goodplanet.org/en/ www.yannarthusbertrand.org
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vehicle to grid systems

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