Some of you may know that besides my work at Green Renters, I have my own small craft business where I make items from vintage and reclaimed materials. So I was excited to recieve a copy of Big Green Book of Recycled Crafts ( Leisure Arts #4802) (Perfect Paperback).
I’ve been quite enjoying watching Carbon Cops. If you are at all concerned about your children’s future and the state of the planet and you want to know what you can do about it, then Carbon Cops is a must see.
This six-part series blends science and the environment in simple and practical terms offering up a step-by-step guide to tackling global warming. Each half hour episode focuses on a different family who are led through a step-by-step process of how their current use of energy is creating an uncertain future, and that a few simple changes to their lifestyle can make a huge difference.
The Carbon Cops inspire the families and audience with the science and the practical take-home tips that will save money, energy and ultimately our way of life. It’s an odd show to watch as renter as it very much gives an idea of how the other half live! In last week’s episode, the family featured had an enormous house with a swimming pool, five fridges, 8 tv and stereos and central aircon and cooother cooling! As a renter, it’s hard to imagine having those kind of excesses, let alone needing them!
Even so, it is interesting to watch the families change as usually the most ardent energy wasters are the best converter…The show is almost identical to SBS’s Eco House but I figure more the merrier!
Tuesdays at 8pm on ABC1. You can even watch previous episodes on ABC IView
Fermenting Revolution (How to drink beer and save the world)
Christopher Mark O’Brien
I love Beer for many reasons, but especially because I love the way I can travel around the world and try a completely different brew in every town that I wont find elsewhere. It seems that Christopher Mark O’Brien is one man who loves beer as much as I do, in fact, quite possibly, a lot more than I do
This book is an enthusiastically written documentation all about beer, it’s History, it’s culture, it’s health benefits, it’s present, it’s future and how so many small breweries across the world are helping their community and the world.
The Author’s sheer passion for his subject is hard to dislike and I found myself tearing through this book in rapid time, enjoying every moment and discovering many fascinating nuggets of information.
For example did you know that beer has been around for an incredibly long time and was created as a palatable substitute for water, not only that, but drinking quality (i.e. fairly naturally made) beer in moderation is pretty good for you, containing many beneficial nutrients. Also, that until the industrial revolution, beer was generally brewed by small local breweries and by women, in fact for a substance that is more recently associated with men, it’s past is most definitely feminine.
Now that microbreweries are rapidly cropping up around the world and are experiencing great and deserved success, it’s refreshing and illuminating to read about so many of them following strict environmental practices and bringing the wonders of beer drinking firmly back into the friendly, sociable, community bonding activity it always was until it’s recent corruption into a bland mainstream fuel for macho violence.
Available in Australia from Foot Print books
I enjoyed follow the series on the Ready Made blog about going a week without various environmental harms (they’ve done plastic previously and this week attention was turned to processed foods.
The writer, Amy Palanjian plans a week without “anything that is made in a factory/comes in packaging” with some interesting results. Her account provides lovely photographs of each meal served, recipes and a interesting commentary on the experience. I was particularly interested in the issue of time as Palanjian spends a lot of time making initial meals (lessened with the use of leftovers on later days), with a considered response to a right wing newspaper article equating the lack of ‘women in the kitchen’ to women at work.
Palanjian also does quite a bit of detective work, even managing to find several sources of unprocessed chocolate! She also reveals several health benefits she has experienced as a consequence of the new way of eating. She also comments it also turned out to be a week of me deciding to recommit to supporting my local sustainable growers and saving money by cooking everything myself. Inspiration for anyone’s kitchen…
