Change the World Wednesday – 30th Apr

Vegan cheese – image: Bunny Kitchen

So, my secret is out. I can eat vegan… Like I said, I do from time to time, it’s just not planned, and it’s more likely to be vegetarian.

I was pleased to hear from die-hard vegans that the vegan cheese link I posted was good, or at least worth trying.

Because you are such nice people, I’ll share another link with you.

I guess old hands will now about this stuff already, but it may be new for some.

Cashew Cream, can be used as a dairy substitute in many dishes and recipes.

The comments have many useful links for the veganish.

Clorinha waiting for new sand in her box

I just had a Kit Kat and coffee break.

The coffee is real enough, but the Kit Kat, Clorinha, needed new sand in her box.

Last week’s CTWW was about bees, and one of the challenges was about making flowers available.

Well, good news for the bees, my main chili pepper bush has produced a new crop and is flowering again. It is dotted with lots of little white flowers.

Lots of Red Hot Chili Peppers

Lots of little white flowers

So, my bees are happy. They’ll be even happier when the passion fruit vines start flowering.

Before we get on to CTWW for this week, São Paulo’s reservoir levels have dropped to 11.3% of capacity; down from last week’s 11.9%.

Click the banner for the full post

This week’s CTWW is about circling.

Circling is something I have never considered, and something I never do.

In my day when I drove, it wasn’t necessary. Apparently this is another sign that I am no spring chicken any more.

Do you circle? To find the answer you’ll have to visit the full post over at Reduce Footprints because I am not reposting that bit of the challenge today.

OR … If you don’t drive, or want more of a challenge, please focus on other ways to reduce petroleum use. Here are some suggestions:

• Buy local products (they don’t travel as far to get to your market).
• Go “Scent Free” or use essential oils (95% of the chemicals in most perfumes and scents are derived from petrochemicals).
• STOP using plastic bags!
• Air dry your clothing (saves energy which means reduced oil consumption).
• Choose natural, Eco-friendly cosmetics (most lipstick and glosses are made with petroleum products).
• Switch to soy-based printing inks (most inks on the shelf contain petroleum products).
• Say “NO” to nylon and polyester (both petroleum based).
• Avoid aspirin which contains … yep … petroleum.
• Avoid hair color and opt for a natural dye like henna … or just go natural!
• Grow and/or buy organic foods (fertilisers and pesticides contain petroleum).

Well, that’s quite a list. Let’s see how I measure up:

I live in an urban area, there are really no products that are local. Oh, and the bad news; the new sacolão that opened in our area has closed already, apparently the wife had to be hospitalised and the other family members found it a drag to continue. Even the owner of the building doesn’t know for certain if the closure is permanent or not.

Scent free, well, I’ve covered that with my orange and vinegar pots and spray, works just fine.

Stop plastic bags is a drag here. Generally I get paper bags from the supermarket, or shopping locally I use my carry bag.

Air drying… All my drying is on the clothes line, I don’t have a clothes drier and consider them totally unnecessary and a waste of resources in the manufacture.

I don’t use lipstick or glosses… I don’t like women who do. I am a member of the ‘ban cosmetics brigade’.

I didn’t know that soya inks existed. I have a friend who works in a place where they recharge printer cartridges, I’ll talk to him about it, maybe they don’t know either.

I don’t wear nylons, for the same reason I don’t use lipstick… I don’t like polyester clothes, I don’t like the feel of the material, and in the summer here it doesn’t absorb sweat.

I don’t have Aspirin, but I do use Paracetamol on the odd occasion I need it; I’ll have to look into whether it has the same petroleum type base.

Hair colour is not a problem for me… No hair! What I have left goes natural. Once again, I consider hair colour in the same light as I consider cosmetics; a total waste and the epitome of vainty.

My fertiliser comes from my compost heap, and I don’t use pesticides in the garden. I do have fly spray in the house for mosquitoes (remember the dengue fever issue from last week’s post.

You can get dengue once and you are very sick for about eight days, if you get it again you can die.

I have already used my ‘get out of jail free’ card.

Okay, so I don’t measure up too badly. But, I am always on the look out to improve what I already do.

 

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