My journey down sustainability lane started a few years back when I heard of and investigated peak oil. Then, there was very little on offer in terms of government environmental initiatives.
Today I heard an excerpt from a speech by Naledi Pandor where she is calling for SA boffins to find alternative energies for our transportation needs as (wait for it) fossil fuels “will run out”. She was talking today at the International Aerospace symposium of South Africa in Centurion.
I’m keen to know what else aircraft run on if they run “mainly on fossil fuel”. The guy that pedaled across the English Channel doesn’t count!
At least we’re moving in the right direction!
Compared to some of the turbine installations in Europe and the US, this is more of a wind paddock but it’s an important first step that is really a working proof of concept.
Darling Wind Farm, phase 1
The turbines are very visible from the West Coast road at the Darling turn off (between Melkbosstrand and Langebaan). It’s not possible to walk close to the turbines but if you drive to the locked gate this is the view of them you’ll get. They are massive structures; the scale isn’t clear in the photo.
The four turbines comprise the first phase of this private/public project. The aim is to have 10 turbines in total. Heck, the Western Cape is so windy there should be hundreds of these turbines!
Perhaps companies can sponsor one each and get to feel all warm and fuzzy in return for some spinning ads on the blades.
As far as I’m aware, this is the only wind farm in South Africa. C’mon Government – there is wind all over the country!
We are being drowned by statistics and arguments for and against global warming and whether or not the planet’s fate is being sealed by man or mother nature.
Melbosstrand's beach at low tide, early morning winter 2009
It’s a fact that our climate functions in cycles and rhythms of varying length and complexity. One only needs to experience the difference between winter and summer to understand this.This complexity is the reason weather forecasters are often caught out; and they are trying to peer a few days into the future.
So why bother being environmentally friendly and recycle or trying to reduce your carbon footprint?
In a word, sustainability. If not for you, then for the future of younger generations. The grab all, eat all consumer culture that has gripped the western world for the past 50 years and that is now thrilling the eastern half is not sustainable. At least not at the rate humans insist on breeding and consuming.
The amount of arable land is finite. If we chop down the rainforests to make more space for farms we are drastically cutting off our air cleaning and oxygen supply, which a growing global population needs.
The amount of stored energy is finite. Oils reserves will not last forever. Neither will coal, gas or uranium. Forgetting the debates around renewable energy and viability, it’s inevitable that we will use a combination of fossil fuel and renewable energies. As we seem to prefer fossil fuels, isn’t it better to go on a fossil fuel diet to consume less and therefore ensure they last longer? A growing global population needs energy, and lots of it.
Wild animals and ocean going fish are finite. We can satisfy our craving for yummy delicacies today but like the Dodo, our need to feed today will result in many creatures being relegated to books and museums as the weakest link.
Minor lifestyle choices on an individual and household level supported by local and national government policies and initiatives will help ensure our finite resources are better managed for the future. If we reduce the amount of carbon dioxide and reduce any possible impact on global climate change whether warmer or cooler; well this is an added bonus for the future of our global ecosystem of which humans are a part.
There are many sound environmental and economic reasons for buying local goods and services. Although not all labelling is entirely truthful about the origin of parts of the whole, the best you can do it look for the ‘Made in..’ and ensure you’re supporting local industry. This helps the local economy and global environment.
An example of what not to buy (the names have been removed to protect the globalised):
In the local Melkbosstrand Pick n Pay supermarket, they are selling a dried fruit snack whose packaging shouts out it’s USDA certified organic and American heritage. At first glance you’d be forgiven for assuming you were buying a product imported from the USA. However, the product is actually made in China. The packaging would identify the product as for the American market which an enterprising South African has decided we also want in this country.
As the product is certified by the USDA, once can only assume that the fruit is grown in the US (to meet organic guidelines) but exported to China to be processed and then re-imported to the US for sale to the public. Forgetting cost of production, does anyone spot any unnecessary steps?
Thank goodness our locally grown and processed dried fruit is available in our supermarkets. But where do those out of season grapes come from? One wonders….
A round trip from home to the gym is at least 20 kilometres. Given the frequency I gym, the average monthly kilometres just going to gym and back will be around 350 kilometres; this equates to roughly 19 litres of fuel in the Smart.
When you break down car and fuel usage like that, going to the gym isn’t really a matter of hopping in the car and going to gym!
Time and time of day is not flexible during the week but at weekends, what better way to do the gym trip (especially more so now that spring is here) than to go by bike? A round trip to gym now takes 2 – 2.5 hours but more calories are burned, fuel is saved and thus both the environment and health benefit from this simple but effective change. Of course, you need to have a bike before this is possible.
Photo credit Adriaan de Man at sxc.hu
We tend to not give any thought to discarded egg shell. We crack open and peel eggs daily and some of us (especially if on a high protein diet) will go though 6 or more a day.
Instead of binning your egg shell (in your non-recyclable kitchen bin of course) you could some of it to use.
If the shells are fresh (not boiled) dry them in the oven for half an hour at 100c or leave them outside to dry on a sunny day. This will make them easier to grind down.
- Crush the shells with rolling pin or pestle, or if adventurous, put them in a blender. How small you break the shells up is up to you and what you intend to use them for.
- Place broken shell pieces around plants to deter slugs and snails (there needs to be a degree of sharpness to the pieces)
- Dig finely ground shell into plant beds or pots to add organic nutrients to your plants
- Add small quantities of shell to home made dog food for added crunch and calcium (must not be too sharp)
- Add finely crushed shell to the bird feeder (if you have one). Birds need grit to assist with digestion
- I’ve never tried this, but apparently you can put finely ground egg shell into your drains to help with cleaning build up in pipes.
- Grind the shell into fine pieces and feed to your worms. I like to mix egg shell with coffee grounds for no reason other than I imagine the calcium in the shell will help neutralise any acidity in the coffee grounds.
Most of us drink coffee and tea daily. The ecologically responsible thing when buying your preferred hot beverage is to ensure you buy locally grown produce. However, for most of us, this in not possible given the places they are grown.
To help offset the carbon footprint of bringing your tea and coffee, rather than chucking the grounds and tea leaves in the bin, why not sprinkle them around your plant beds? It’s organic matter with some nutritional value and will do more good in your garden than the kitchen bin. If you have a worm farm, the worms also love a bit of tea and coffee.
Once you start taking an interest in your household rubbish, it becomes clear that there is a lot of food discarded. This waste is transported to a dump. Taking some of that food waste and recycling it into garden compost at home will save on transportation costs and help the environment!
One way to do this is with a home worm farm. It’s possible to do this in a flat but you will need somewhere to periodically put your compost and worm tea – either in your pot plants or communal garden.
The first thing is to get over any hang-up you may have with worms. They are harmless creatures and whilst looking and feeling a bit odd, are perfectly safe to handle and work with. In fact, in the day to day keeping of your worm farm you never need to come into contact with them.
What you’ll need:
- A dark opaque plastic box with lid to keep the worms and their food. The one in the picture has a capacity of approximately 40 litres and has a built-in hinged lid.
- A drill with 5mm bit or suitable tool to puncture the walls and bottom of the plastic box (a drill is less hard work)
- A tray with sides that the box can rest in
- A couple of terracotta pot plant saucers to sit the box on in the tray
- Some shredded newspaper (a whole newspaper perhaps)
- Peat moss
- Some food for the worms
- Composting worms
- Watering can filled with some tap water
You will need to search for composting worms in your local area. We have indigenous composting worms in South Africa but it seems the most used ones are Red Wigglers or Red Earthworms.
It’s important to note that regular earthworms are not the correct type of worm to use for composting. Composting worms are specially adapted to breaking down organic matter.
It’s pretty simple:
- Drill holes all over the bottom of the plastic box. You need these holes for liquid to drain out and into the plastic tray
- Drill holes around the top rim of the plastic box. These allow for airflow into and out of the box. If the box has a hinged lid similar to the one in the photo, you can put the lid flaps in various positions to allow airflow etc.
- Place the pot plant saucers upside down in the tray
- Place the drilled box on the pot plant saucers.
- Put the half the shredded paper in the box and sprinkle in some peat moss, ensuring it’s pretty deep and covers the entire area
- Dampen everything with the watering can (the pile of shredded paper will reduce in size)
- Place worms and food on top
- Cover with the remaining shredded paper
- Dampen again.
- Leave your worms to settle into their new home and enjoy their first meal.
When finished, it should look something like this.
What to give the worms
- They will eat most fruit and vegetables including peel
- Horse or cow manure (that is vermicide free)
- Egg shells
- Newspaper, cardboard or egg boxes
The fruit and vegetables can also be slightly off or rotting or even cooked – such as mashed potato leftovers. Ideally, chop their food as small as possible, or even liquidise slightly. This will make it easier for them to eat.
It’s important not to over-feed the worms. Rather give them small amounts, especially when first establishing your worm farm. Apparently worms eat half their weight per day. As you’ll have no way of knowing the worm weight, you’ll have to estimate the food you give them but if in doubt, underfeed! If you’re doing this in your directly in garden composting area, just chuck it all it.
After each feeding, it’s a good idea to cover the food with more shredded newspaper to deter fruit flies.
What not to give the worms
- Citrus fruit (all of them), pineapple, onion, garlic, chillies, dairy products and anything too acidic.
- Meat or animal fats
- Pet poo
- Manure that has vermicides in (it will kill off your worms)!
Then what?
The worms will eat everything you put in their home and convert it into castings.
Occasionally sprinkle their bedding/food with water to keep their home damp. They will drown if their habitat is waterlogged. The worm farm should be kept in a sheltered area and not allowed to freeze. It is possible to keep it inside as there is little to no smell from the worm farm, if you can believe it!
The brown liquid that will collect in the tray can be diluted and put into pot plants or on plant beds. This stuff is called ‘worm tea’. The plants love it.
The castings can be taken out and mixed into your pot plants or garden.
How to remove the castings from your home-made worm farm
As you add food to your worm farm and you notice the conversion to castings, it’s a good idea to remove the castings every now and then. There are several ways to do this.
- Add a second bin to your farm. When the first bin is full or at the stage where you want to remove castings, prepare the second bin (less the liquid collecting tray) and place it on top and into the second one. It should be lying directly on top of the old worm/castings mixture. As there is fresh food and bedding in the new bin, the worms should work their way through the drainage holes and into their new home. You can then remove the old bin, empty and clean it and store it for next use.
- If space or budget is limited, you can try moving the worms from old to fresh food in the existing bin. Scrape worm/casting/food mixture to one half of the bin and place fresh food and bedding in the now empty half. The worms should eventually migrate to the fresh side, allowing you to remove the castings.
- Empty the bin somewhere shaded and remove the worms by hand. As this is likely to take place several months after the worm farm was started, there will be a few worms! You can use a small rake or worm ‘grubber’ to pull through the compost and catch the worms. Place them on damp fresh bedding before putting them back into their newly cleaned and replenished home.
Just this week, scientists warn Asian countries about the disaster water mis-management could mean for them.
You can make your own small but significant contributions by reducing water consumption at home.
- When turning on a tap, trickle a necessary amount of water flow, rather than opening the tap fully.
- Only have the tap open for when you need to use water.
- When using water to clean or wash, fill a basin rather than keeping the tap open.
- Shower, rather than bath.
- Keep shower time to cleaning time only. Soaking under running hot water is lovely, but wasteful.
- Use a dishwasher rather than hand washing your crockery
- Water plants in the evening and only water the plants
- Replace some grass with flagstones or pebbles – lawns are incredibly thirsty
- If you live in a dry, arid area, keep indigenous plants – they are naturally water-wise for your climate
- Fix leaks in your internal and external plumbing! Dripping taps and outlets can waste a huge amount of water over time.
- If you are able to collect rain water, use it for your garden or pot plants.
The great thing is that none of the above is difficult to implement other than altering our habits slightly. It takes a little effort to make a big difference and still be able to enjoy life’s luxuries in a more sustainable manner.
On your way to work, switch off your geyser at the board. The geyser should be on it’s own circuit (but perhaps check this in case your home isn’t wired correctly!)
When you get back home, switch on the geyser.
