We recommend a read of this informative and engaging blog post from WWF team member, Nick Heath > Fighting to save my home reefs | WWF-Australia BLOG Nick's connection with the Great Barrier Reef began from a young age on his father's dive boat and he writes about the decline he sees in the Great Barrier Reef today.
Among the issues, Nick explains "We’ve learned that outdated farm practices cause 14 million tonnes of mud, fertilizer and pesticides to pollute up to 700 reefs within the World Heritage Area every year, where the mud kills the inshore seagrass habitats of turtles and dugong. A thousand turtles died last year from causes related to seagrass loss."
He talks about the work by WWF to fight for the reef and achievements such as the fishing ban across 33 percent of the reef. There is still much work to do -- and you can help by sending a message to Queensland politicians before the 26 March election. See the link at the end of Nick's post.
Introducing this environmental message to children
One of our favourite children's books at Biome is Kim Toft's "The World that we Want" (pictured above). Each illustration has been exquisitely created by hand painting on silk. The World That We Want brings to centre stage the rare beauty and fragile environment of North Queensland and its native inhabitants of this great land for all to share.
Clean up Australia Day sneaks up on us every year--and it is now only 12 days away. The main day is on Sunday, 4 March; Business Clean Up is 28 February, and Schools on Friday, 2 March.
Does it seem like forever since you last checked a printed telephone directory? You can cancel receiving phone books at the official site. You will receive a postcard confirming your cancellation during each book
delivery period to your area....
And, don't forget that any old books you do have can go in your household recycling bin.
WWF is asking you to send a letter to the next Queensland Government to help save the Great Barrier Reef.
Every election is an opportunity to help secure commitments
from the political contenders. Queensland votes this March. Not sure what to say? WWF has provided a draft letter for you to start with.
They're also asking you to spread the message on Twitter with the hash tag #hanginthereturtles
When 80% of the 20 billion bottles of wine produced in the world each year use natural corks, why do nearly all wine bottles in Australian bottle shops seem to have screw caps?
Is it a reflection of Australian culture? After all, we drink a lot of beer with screw tops, perhaps we expect to be able to casually screw the top off a beverage.
Australia and New Zealand are among the leaders in this technological "development"--and it's uptake--along with other cork alternative, the Diam petrochemical plastic cork. Commercial reasons must be driving the change because it's cheaper and reduces spoilage. But, we seem to be accepting the move away from hundreds of years of tradition without much fuss. Does some small percentage of wine oxidation really matter when we are once again replacing a truly sustainable solution with an non-renewable, petrochemical answer?
James Halliday posted his views of this debate and attracted some passionate replies! Apparently, the makers of screw caps contend that an aluminium cap generates less carbon in its manufacture and transport - compared with cork that has to travel all the way from Spain!
As someone comments on the Halliday post, "How can you suggest that screwcap production has minimal carbon
footprint consequences? Have you considered the environmental impact
associated with mining and smelting aluminium and the total amount of
energy used in the process of manufacturing screwcaps? Transport is only
one component when determining the environmental performance of a
product over its life cycle."
And another reminds us that the bark of a cork tree regenerates and is harvested between 10 and 14 times during its 200 year life, in the process capturing 7 or 8
times more CO2 than had the cork bark never been harvested.
Australian environmental commentator Tanya Ha explains in her book Greeniology, the disappearance of cork is an environmental tragedy. "Cork is a wonderful, sustainable resource. The cork oak survives without chemicals, fertilisers or irrigation. Cork trees aren't cut down, only their outer bark is harvested every nine years....Over half the world's cork comes from cork-oak forests in Spain and Portugal. These forests are home to the endangered Bonelli's eagle and the Iberian lynx. As the world buys more wine with plastic stoppers or screw tops, these forests are losing their markets and the farmers are having to clear the land in favour of more profitable crops."
Cork is also biodegradable and readily recyclable so it does not need to end up in landfill. We have a well established recycling stream for cork in Australia. According to the Planet Ark cork fact sheet:
Girl Guides Australia has been a world pioneer in cork recycling, beginning its program in 1990. Since then, this program alone collected over 160 million corks. Currently, other community organisations including Motor Neuron Disease, Friends of the Zoos and Green Collect also collect corks for recycling.
Both Biome eco friendly stores take pleasure in accepting your corks for recycling and handing them onto the Girl Guides.
Interestingly, Australia may lead the way with screw caps, but Planet Ark says, we also have the world’s largest wine cork recycling plant run by Logic Australia. The end result are new products like flooring, memo boards, placemats, coasters, floor tiles, gaskets, horse-float mats, boat decking and inners for hockey and cricket balls.
The story of cork is a common
modern eco-dilemma, but we think that it is worth standing up for nature's
solution. It may seem like you're fighting against a tsunami of change, but every purchasing decision you make sends a message.
What Australian wine is bottled using a cork?
Searching online bottle shops, no one seemed to mention whether each wine has a cork or not. The only winery that came up in searches was Harris Organic Wines, WA, who publish a statement about their commitment to cork. Way to go!
We asked this question of our Facebook fans last year and they told us: Brown brothers Riesling, Golden Grape Estate in the Hunter Valley,"Stones Gold" sparkling ginger wine, Brown Brothers Zibibbo Rosa, Bleasdale Vineyards eg. for "Frank Potts" Cabernet blend.
Perhaps you can add to our list by posting the names here or on our Facebook? Homewares made from cork
Cork wine bottle stopper
You can support cork through other products of course. We have just introduced to Biome some cork homewares made in Spain from pruned branches and bark of oak trees grown on the Iberian Peninsula - a cork wine bottle stopper, cork trivet and cork soap dish.
Why not upcycle your corks into a real cork memo board?
Find inspiration on the behomemade.com blog. They made the gorgeous memo board pictured here from an old door frame and corks.
We all need the injection of energy that the start of a fresh year brings. It's hard to avoid the reminder to stop the wheel of life, re-group, tweak priorities and chart a course for exciting new destinations. There's something about opening a fresh diary, that same feeling of writing for the first time in a crisp new exercise book back in school days. How about pencilling in those blank pages some appointments to expand your mind?
On your schedule this year, consider undertaking further learning about a topic that interests you. The environmental sphere has so many issues and opposing points of view to learn about, and the technology is moving fast. New ways of doing things, new organisations, new resources and clever consumer choices are coming to fruition relentlessly.
You don't necessarily have to enroll in University or even leave the house! The internet opens an incredible field of resources from all over the world. An internet-based course may not be the choice for everyone if don't wish to spend more time in front of a computer screen. However, the internet will also give you leads to classes where you do meet face to face with a group of like-minded explorers. Your local book store will have plenty of environment books on topics by authors such as Australia's Tim Flannery. Why not combine your leave with a hands-on educational tour or working holiday where your time, labour and money supports environmental projects.
Here's a start with some of our favourite resources. We invite you to post links to any other eco-educational resources.
Sustainable Furnishings Council. This US organisation offers excellent resources and runs a GREENleaders sustainability training course. They are offering a free one-hour webinar on Monday, 16 January 2012. The webinar will provide a grounding in the environmental issues
related to home furnishings, including the factual basis for climate change,
problems with indoor air quality, toxic waste, and water conservation. This webinar is intended
to give participants useful information you can begin using in your business
immediately. To reserve your seat at the webinar, follow this link.
Centre for Environment Education Australia in collaboration with CEE
India offers exciting tours to India with a purpose. These tours offer
much more than the standard tourist experience as they provide a unique
opportunity to get involved with projects and people working to conserve
the nature. The 10 day wildlife tour to Northern or Western India
includes guided tours to National Parks, interacting with locals,
experiencing the rich culture of India and hands-on-experience on an environmental project.
University of the Third Age (U3A) is a non-for-profit international movement for
older people who want to continue to enjoy learning in later life. Online and in-person courses are low cost, require no prior qualifications, and are run in most capital citites of Australia.
Conservation Volunteers. Australia's Conservation Volunteers welcomes people with a love of the outdoors
and an interest in the environment to take part as a volunteer in one of its many conservation projects, like the Tasmanian Devil. Volunteers require no prior skills or experience. Projects are managed
in conjunction with project partners that may include regional
councils, national parks, museums, landcare groups, conservation
departments and other national conservation agencies. They also run a range of Education Programs.
Have you participated in a course, workshop or study on an environmental theme? We would love to hear your ideas...
For inspiration on some other New Year resolutions, check this video story from Planet Green on their Top 5 green resolutions (#5 Swap clothes, #4 Save Paper, #3 Go Vegie, #2 Ditch Plastic, #1 Act now). Or visit the Planet Green page here with more resources and links.
For all of us concerned about the earth's precious and limited resources, Christmas time really stretches and strains our conscience. We think carefully about the purchases we are making, about whether they are necessary and whether they are responsbile.
At Biome Eco Stores, we agonise over finding the balance between encouraging consumption at Christmas and operating a viable business. For any retail business, and particularly one like ours that operates at the margins, Christmas is vital to our survival throughout the rest of the year.
Our mission at Biome has to be two-pronged - one is to help everyone who visits our stores make a difference to the planet, and secondly, to continue to exist so that we may help people with those choices!
While loading the brilliant new range of Tegu magnetic building blocks onto our website, there was the reminder we needed about what we are doing. In the below video, the founder of Tegu, Chris Haughey says that parents will always spend money on toys for their children. Tegu's aim is to help people spend that money where it will have a positive social impact.
As Chris explains, Tegu is a "for profit" engine for positive social change in Honduras. Being able to support businesses like Tegu is what makes us at Biome happy!
Some of us choose to live a minimalist, buy nothing life, and some of us choose to consume with a conscience. Obviously, Biome is a store for the later - but, we have great respect for the former!
For every product we choose to stock, we run through our selection criteria assessing what the product is made from, where it is made, who
made it and under what conditions, how long will it last and what will
happen to it at the end of its life.
We need stores such
as ours with an ethical and eco focus to ask the questions and demand
standards that profit focussed retailers overlook.
Thinking about reduce & recycle at Christmas
Planet Ark has produced an excellent list "The 12 do's of Christmas" (thank you to our facebook friend for letting us know about this!). All very easily achieveable actions to help you reduce and recycle this Christmas. Ideas like:
Buy good quality decorations that can be reused many times, or make your own from reused materials.
Gather all your steel bottle caps and save them in one can, then fold down and send the whole lot off to recycling.
When giving new electronics, recycle the old electronics - Planet Ark's RecyclingNearYou.com.au has an excellent resource on where to find places to recycle just about anything.
Invest in a battery recharger for your home and give rechargeable batteries with gifts.
Introducing Tegu magnetic wooden blocks
Tegu's product designer talks about the thought process and 'maths' behind Tegu's magnetic wooden building blocks, which have the unique ability to
build stronger minds for children.
