SNIPPETS FROM THE WORLD AND OTHER PLACES.....

So often I read something and make a mental note to write something about it on the blog.....and then along comes another bit of information and more ideas and so on until they start falling off the page! Here are a few recent ones I have found.... None of them offer steps for a rain dance, however. And the stupid water minister still doesn't understand the difference between growing food and growing a lawn.... I have been looking at New Zealand real estate again....cool and green, with rivers so thunderous they block out the world.

• The Gippsland Friends of Future Generations blog has a post about the NSW government's buy back of second fridges. Every fridge, with a capacity of at least 250 litres, taken out of circulation will save 1 tonne of greenhouse gas emissions each year.....read more and other interesting stuff on their blog.

 

• I subscribe to the newsletter of the Biological Farmers of Australia. At www.bfa.com.au you can read archives of the newsletters. This month's newsletter highlights the dangers of chemicals  used in fabric and clothing manufacture. An excerpt reads:

Chemicals used in clothing could include PFO’s (Perfluorooctanesulfonic acid) – a key ingredient in fabric protectors and found in some impregnation agents for textiles and apparel.

It was deemed persistent, bio-accumulative and toxic to mammals by the OECD in 2002, a view supported by the EU's Scientific Committee on Health and Environmental Risks (SCHER) in 2005.

It is very difficult or almost impossible to know what goes into our clothes and it is one of the things that worries me with so many people, including my children, often wearing black. The darker and stronger the colour the more dying chemicals are needed and the more fade-resistant the colour the more dye-fixing chemicals are needed to keep it that way.

The newsletter has a link to REACH which is the Regulation for Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals. It entered into force on 1^st June 2007 to streamline and improve the former legislative framework on chemicals of the European Union (EU).

• I also subscribe to the New Internationalist newsletter which is currently highlighting the problems faced by Indian cotton farmers and their slow but steady revolution of returning to organic production....here is an excerpt and some links to follow to learn more...

While you sleep peacefully tonight a cotton farmer in Vidarbha, a region in the eastern part of Maharashtra State in India, is likely to commit suicide.

And tomorrow another three farmers will die, most likely by drinking some of the expensive pesticide that has helped push them into financial ruin and despair.

The families left behind are condemned to a life of appalling poverty; often the life of an Indian widow is worse than death.

... Hope

In Andhra Pradesh State, next door to Maharashtra, a quiet revolution is under way. Every day more farmers are joining the Chetna Organic Farmers Association and converting to growing organic cotton. That's a huge step forward. The farmers no longer have to buy expensive chemical fertilizers and pesticides. They certainly don't buy genetically modified seeds. And growing organically is labour-intensive; it promotes more rural employment, exactly where it's needed.

Also, the Chetna Organic Farmers Association is a registered Fairtrade supplier, so the farmers are guaranteed a price that reflects the cost of production, plus a surcharge that helps provide education and hope.

... Your role

If you buy organic Fair Trade cotton bedding, nighties, pyjamas, towels and tshirts from our shop they're all sourced from the Chetna Organic Farmers Association

The "before" story -The Conventional Trap

The "after" story -Growing Back to Organic

 

• BREAZE.... Ballarat Renewable Energy And Zero Emissions have great initiatives like this solar hot water rebate system for members.

Ballarat Renewable Energy and Zero Emissions (BREAZE) is a non-profit grassroots organisation, which has come about because members of the Ballarat community want to demonstrate that individual and community-based actions can make a difference in our response to climate change.

Just goes to show what you can do with a group of people who get on with doing something and don't wait for governments. There is a lot to read on this site and I think they should be applauded for their efforts.

See you on Wednesday at the Botanic Gardens.