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Stuffing our environment
Yes, got your email thanks Len. I have gone to your website and had a shufty
through. I am not as far advanced as you but note some of the tips you give and have stored some away for possible use. I am looking to the simple changes first, some of the bigger issues are a matter of timing but I will get to these later on. As an example, you have recipes for home cleaners, detergents etc. I cant be bothered with elaborate systems for that type of thing. I use a basic washing soda/borax or baking soda mix and sometimes vinegar as a fabric softener. I find it works well and is really simple to mix together and store. About the only thing I would take a lot of time over is bio-fuels if I had the vehicle to run them in. I guess I am just frustrated that more people are not quickly moving to embrace simple changes. I can't establish a marine reserve myself, neither can my neighbour or work mates. We can change the way we do things at home however. It fairly ****es me off more are not. If you have things to add or discuss feel free to email me. I am looking very locally at the moment and changing things around me and with me (and my wife) that I can practically change. My immediate focus is (very) locally as opposed to anything globally. For example, Howard should sign Kyoto (and repeal his new labour laws) but I don't waste too much time in angst over it as I can't change it myself. I can tell the checkout operator I don't want a plastic bag and why. I just wish I could also tell the person next to me to dump their 10 plastic bags, stop killing my earth, and use some boxes instead. rob "gardenlen" wrote in message ... g'day george, count australia in there as well mate maybe even more so not sure? i did send a reply to your original post 1 via the return format in this program the other i sent to the e/mail addy ) in your original signature line. not sure if you got them (both the same text)? still would welcome chat with you about self changes, up to you i am on the same wave length as you, just think that as important as this topic is these av' garden forums/groups don't generate the sort of open discussion needed to lead to what can be done. you are welcome to contact me through our web site. len http://www.users.bigpond.com/gardenlen1/ "George.com" wrote in message ... "Mike" wrote in message ... Currently the availability of bio-fuels in New Zealand would account for something like.25% of the current energy demands of our nation. Put another way, it would take 400 years of bio-fuel growth to produce the same energy demands as 2006. rob but rob you are using your natural resources as well which is detrimental to your environment and you are not such a developed (in the industrial/suburban sprawl way) nation. http://www.mikecrowe.photosite.com/a...2ndLeg/?page=4 show the geysers at Rotorua which used to be a lot higher, but as the guide said, 'they are now being used to heat our houses'. What happens when they give up? Mike yeah, thanks Mike, thanks a bunch. It was an article in a magazine pointing out how we are cumitatively rooting NZs environment that threw me into this slough of despondency in the first place. Nice of you to throw me a lifeline, with a lead weight attached. The following discourse is not uk gardening as an advanced warning. More so how NZ is doing environmentally. The geysers are actually doing better than they were 20 years ago. The government capped many many back yard home heating systems as they were drawing off too much thermal heat and dampening down the geysers. They a re certainly no where near the level going back 100 years but are showing good signs of good health. In fact, in recent years hot pools and steam vents have started popping up in parks and peoples gardens showing the thermal activity is increasing. If you are talking about using natural resources faster than replacement (sustainability) you are indeed correct. One latest issue is water. In the drier parts of the south island water is being drawn off faster than it is replaced. ancient aquifers are running dry. The water is going in to irrigation for pasture mainly. Show me the logic of that. Other natural resources are being conserved, that is one area NZ is doing quite well. Land and wetlands are being locked away in national parks, native forests no longer logged, increasing marine reserves. We are also starting to invest quite heavily in wind power generation (though still a small % of total demand) although nimbys still exist. One example was the wind turbines may 'scare the horses'. My view on that is short and to the point. Whether this balances up the depletion of natural resources I do not know. I would suspect not however things are getting more in to balance. Eg, we dig up a coal seem but place more land in to a national park or create a new marine reserve. We hunt for more natural gas but also build a large wind farm. More of a concern however is air quality (worsening), water quality (disgusting deterioration), increasing consumer wastes, plastics etc etc. We are cleaning up past decades of DDT, copper, arsenic etc poisoining of land. Good. We continue to pump nitrates into our water ways causing infestations of water weeds. We are a new country with a short history of european colonisation (200 years) however we have gone a long way down the line of environmental degredation. Pity we didn't learn from europe with their centuries of destruction. We seem to emulate it but do so a whole lot quicker. We are still one of, it not the, cleanest country on earth however that is down to our recent development and low population. People are wising up, I just wish they would wise up a hell of a lot faster. rob |
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