What If We Did Large-scale Mutual Aid. Like What If Everyone In A Community Contributed, Idk, Like, A

california anti-drought measures are always like “take shorter showers! consider brushing your teeth with the sink turned off” and never mention the fact that nestle is bottling all of our fucking water and selling it to people who live in areas with plenty of water

so i just heard about solarpunk today and i LOVE the idea. 

Does the vertical garden in Milan count as something you could call “solarpunk”?

Actually you know what. Just don’t mow. Get rid of your lawnmower. Turn your whole yard into a wildflower field or an edible garden. Lawns are the invention of the upper class to show wealth through wasted plots of grass that is meticulously tended for no reason other than to be grass. It’s literally an empty plot of land they kept because they had so much money they didn’t need it to grow food. Not using a yard as just a yard is an act of rebellion.

One of the main industries still supporting lawns is chemical pest control companies, and they’re also responsible for the insecticides that crashed the bird populations in the 40s and 50s as well as a lot of what’s killing bees and butterflies now. The herbicides they produce specifically targets “bad” plants like dandelions, buttercups, and clovers, which are plants bees rely on for early spring feeding. Grass is just grass; it would be great for feeding small mammals if people would let it grow more than three inches, but they won’t.

So, yeah. Kill lawnmower culture. Plant some native flowers. Grow some vegetables and fruit trees. Put out bird feeders and bee sugar spots and homes for both. Be kind to bugs and birds and rabbits and opossums and whoever else might wander by. Make your neighborhood a lot more beautiful.

Do y’all ever just get ANGRY about how cool technology is inevitably used for evil. Like, smart homes could be such an exciting concept?

Imagine: your home is entirely voice activated. You can run yourself a bath when you’re exhausted and sore without having to get up to turn the water on. You can alleviate your anxiety about having left the stove on without having to leave work. The roomba can find your glasses for you when you drop them and all you have to do is ask.

Now imagine that this is all on a closed circuit! Your TV can predict what shows you’ll like, but it won’t give that information to a company that will use it for disturbingly specific advertisement. And everything has manual overrides, just in case.

Can you imagine a future where every car is self-driving? Maybe even solar powered? Or better yet, apply those same concepts to widespread public transportation! We could almost completely eliminate traffic jams.

My house could feed my cats while I’m on vacation! My fridge could tell me when I’m low on milk! I could brew coffee without getting out of bed!

Hell, most of this stuff already exists!

But nooooo, I can’t have any of it because there are people and companies out there who will actively use that stuff against me and I don’t want fucking Amazon to know what kind of underwear I own.

I’m not bitter or anything.

BBC: Millions attend global climate strike

“A global climate strike is under way, with millions of people protesting for “an end to the age of fossil fuels and climate justice for everyone”.”

8 vegetables that you can regrow again and again.

Scallions

You can regrow scallions by leaving an inch attached to the roots and place them in a small glass with a little water in a well-lit room.

Garlic

When garlic begins to sprout, you can put them in a glass with a little water and grow garlic sprouts. The sprouts have a mild flavor than garlic and can be added to salads, pasta and other dishes.

Bok Choy

Bok choy can be regrown by placing the root end in water in a well-lit area. In 1-2 weeks , you can transplant it to a pot with soil and grow a full new head.

Carrots

Put carrot tops in a dish with a little water. Set the dish in a well-lit room or a window sill.  You’ll have carrot tops to use in salads. 

Basil

Put clippings from basil with 3 to 4-inch stems in a glass of water and place it in direct sunlight. When the roots are about 2 inches long, plant them in pots to and in time it will grow a full basil plant.

Celery

Cut off the base of the celery and place it in a saucer or shallow bowl of warm water in the sun. Leaves will begin to thicken and grow in the middle of the base, then transfer the celery to soil. 

Romaine Lettuce

Put romaine lettuce stumps in a ½ inch of water. Re-water to keep water level at ½ inch. After a few days, roots and new leaves will appear and you can transplant it into soil.

Cilantro

The stems of cilantro will grown when placed in a glass of water. Once the roots are long enough, plant them in a pot in a well-lit room. You will have a full plant in a few months.

Concept: Wakandan-inspired futuristic Philippines or Neo-philippines!

Would you be able to recommend any how-to books on going zero waste? I'm really upset at all the plastic I have to throw out in everyday life (mostly from food packaging, whether restaurant or grocery store) but I'm not sure where to begin in changing it. If there's a book that describes steps to take, that would be very helpful for me. Thank you!

Going zero waste

Realistic goals:

First of all, good on you for wanting to lessen your waste output!

Second of all, while going zero waste is a really noble goal, it's not always feasible, especially in our current economy. That's nothing you should feel guilty over. That's just a fact.

Those pictures of people who can fit a year's worth of trash in one mason jar look great, but it's okay if you can't do that. For example, while I personally try to avoid having to throw out plastic, I'm also very grateful for the fact that plastic allows me to have an emergency asthma inhaler on hand at all times. Another example could be how bulk shopping can help cut back on waste, but might not be feasible due to financial or physical constraints.

That being said, replacing some single-use items is still better than doing nothing at all. Don't let perfectionism stop you!

It's important to set realistic goals. For example: you mentioned you'd like to try and avoid waste from food packaging. If you often eat on the go, you could keeping a set of reusable cutlery in your bag so you don't have to use single-use utensils every time you buy food. You could check if apps like Too Good To Go or imperfect produce boxes are available in your area. Maybe you've got a local farmer's market or a bulk shop or a community garden around. Maybe your supermarket allows you to bring your own produce bags while shopping. You could try looking for brands that use less or recycled packaging if your financial situation allows for that. If you enjoy cooking, you could look into bringing your own food on the go more often, or learn how to freeze or preserve food.

You don't have to do all of these: pick out ideas that seem like a good match for your personal situation. Start with small changes and turn them into habits, rather than going all-out from the start.

Resources:

The one book I often see referred to when it comes to zero waste is "Zero waste home: the ultimate guide to simplifying your life by reducing your waste" by Bea Johnson. I haven't read the entire thing yet, but I've read parts and it's a handy place to start. If your local library doesn't have a copy available, you can borrow a digital version for free on Archive.org.

While not necessarily focused on zero waste, I quite like Marie Kondo's philosophy too. The manga version of her book is an easy read if you want something quick to get started with.

Not books, but Shelbizleee and Sustainably Vegan on YouTube also run interesting zero waste channels.

Take what you personally find useful from resources like these, but don't feel obligated to follow them to the letter. Eco-anxiety can sometimes push us to try things we're not comfortable with or which aren't safe for us, so it's important to remain mindful of your personal boundaries.

I'm sure others can add more book recommendations to this post. :)

The five R's:

One way to get started is to take a look at the five basic zero waste principles.

There are different versions of the zero waste "R" list, but the one cited the most is the five R's of zero waste: refuse, reduce, reuse, recycle, and rot.

(Image source) [ID: an inverted pyramid with five steps, reading from the top to the bottom: "Refuse, reduce, reuse, recycle, rot".]

Refuse: a lot of waste comes from things we don't really need. Will you actually wear that t-shirt that's on sale right now? Do you need another free pen even though you still have ten unused ones lying around at home? What about your junk mail, do you actually enjoy receiving all those flyers? The idea is to re-evaluate the objects that come into your possession, and to refuse the ones you won't use.

Note: the "refuse" and "reduce" principles can be stressful when you've grown up in an environment that was lacking certain material needs, or when you still find yourself in this situation. Take small steps, stick to your personal boundaries, and be mindful of your (mental) health.

Reduce: a lot of us own more than we actually need. If you find you've got objects you barely use, e.g. shirts you haven't worn in years or unused craft materials bought on a whim, ask yourself if you really need them. Would you miss them if you got rid of them, or would you barely notice? Do they make you happy, or do they just take up space? Maybe it's time to find a new home for these items.

Note: there are certain things in life we just really need, even if some of those things might seem frivolous to others. Don't get rid of things you might regret later, or that you actually need even though all the zero waste sources say you could probably do without. Everyone's situation's different. When you do get rid of things, don't just throw them out even if you plan on replacing them with sustainable alternatives: this will just create more waste. Use what you have first, and consider selling, donating or gifting items you don't need any more.

Reuse: one way to avoid waste is to reuse an item until it falls apart, or to find new uses for something. Mend your clothes, repair your stuff, reuse packaging when shipping parcels, cook with food scraps, shop second-hand,... Once you've finished something, check if you can replace it with a reusable alternative instead of buying it again (e.g. water bottles, reusable cutlery, fabric tote bags,...).

Note: be mindful of your health. Sometimes, things just have to be replaced!

Recycle: recycling isn't perfect, but it's important. Look up your local recycling policies, and sort your trash accordingly.

Rot: when organic trash goes to landfill, it will likely decompose in a way that will make it release a lot of methane. When we compost it, it will turn into plant food. If you've got access to an outdoor space, start a compost heap. If you've got a balcony, you could try vermicomposting or bokashi. If you don't have access to outdoor spaces at all, you could try indoor composting (if you're comfortable with that) or find a neighbour who composts and who'll take your scraps.

Conclusion:

Reducing our waste output is a great way to add our proverbial drop to the bucket. You don't have to be a minimalist or stop your waste output entirely to help out: going a 100% waste-free is awesome if you're able to, but 10% is better than 0%, and 10% is nothing to sneeze at!

Don't let perfectionism stop you. Do what you can, and don't beat yourself up over what you can't.

for all of you guys getting anxious about the environment and pollution

y’all deserve to hear the good news too, and yes i fact checked these.

7 miles of habitat for bees will be planted in london

the biggest coal plant in north america has been converted to solar panels

roads in edinburgh will close once a month to help pollution

maine has banned styrofoam

new york city and los angeles have both made “green new deals”

The london marathon replaced 200,000 single use water bottles with seaweed water pods

the bees in notre dame survived the fire, and the roof could possibly built in a more eco-friendly way.

the population of flightless kakapos (a cool bird) is rising

the carbon emissions in the uk are the lowest they’ve been since 1998

Another large bee habitat (.5 mil acres) has been created

there is a robot that delivers young coral to help repopulate the great barrier reef

portugal plans to stop using plastic on fruit, vegetables, and bread by 2020

106 new species of bees have been discovered in australia since 2010

a group of Sikhs plan to plant 1,000,000 trees as a gift to the earth

disney has made a mickey-shaped solar farm

Morgan freeman turned a 124 acre ranch in mississippi to a bee habitat

China plans on making a “forest city” to help clean up their air

An increasing amount of countries and states are beginning to ban single use plastics.

A couple replanted a whole forest in brazil (2.7 mil trees) in 20 years, and the animals have come back to live there

The hole in the ozone layer is repairing itself more each year

China plans on spending 360 billion dollars to improve renewable energy and has scrapped plans for coal powered plants that were going to be built.

A national park has been built in the amazon (3.3 mil acres in peru) to preserve the rainforest

Ireland and the uk have declared a climate emergency

The guy who played aquaman (jason momoa) has spent 31,000 dollars to help clean up plastic

South korea is now recycling 95% of food waste

There is a cleanup campaign being planned for mt. everest

Puerto rico wants to use all renewable energy by 2050 and is setting official goals for that

Some schools have special water bottle fill-up stations that encourage you to use refill and reuse plastic bottles rather than throwing them out after one use, these are becoming more common.

9 endangered species are thought to make a comeback this year

20 countries in africa are planning to make a “green wall” of trees and plants that will span the width of africa to stop desertification

recently, a lot of volunteers and organizations are planting a ton of trees.

Awareness about the environment and climate change is growing super fast right now among people and countries, which will only help us

Most pollution is caused by like 100 companies, but a few of those (like pepsi) are trying to cut down on that.

if this stuff keeps happening things will get even better, and the only thing stopping us really are those big companies who don’t want to pay the money to switch to more eco-friendly energy sources. i know the media tends to cause fear and stress about this stuff for a lot of people, but there really is hope.

easy things we can do: 

Recycle 

Plant gardens in your yard for bees if you can

Participate in community volunteer things that plant trees and gardens

Theres this search engine called ecosia that plants a tree for every 45 searches you make, it has almost 2 mil users. 

Pick up trash if you see it when you’re at the beach or in nature

If you have a fair amount of money, consider donating some to trustworthy environmental organizations

Start using a reusable water bottle (like those ones at target) rather than relying on single use plastic ones.

Cut the plastic rings on plastic milk bottles. You know, the little spiky plastic ring near the cap. Birds get those things stuck around their neck and die, so cut them so that they can’t get stuck on a neck.

If you can afford it, get some of those reusable grocery bags and sue those. most grocery stores have them, and it saves a lot of waste.

I just jerked out of my midday dissociation and realized that seed bombing a golf course with mint would be the ultimate crime.

Oh my god this is so evil. 

I love it.