Hey, Vegans & Vegies… Mexican!

Like the look of this?

I think it’s vegan, if not certainly vegetarian.

::Whole Wheat Tortillas::

::Tomato, Corn & Zucchini Salsa::

::Black Bean & Pepper Filling

::Cashew Cheese Sauce::

::Guacamole::

Full recipes and instructions on: http://shineonbeutiful.com/

I’d like it!

 

Mean Green Halloween

I hope you all have a Mean Green Halloween

Click the image for green Halloween tips

 

Click the image for more green Halloween tips

 

Check this out for Halloween’s Environmental Footprint

 

Click the image for more Mean Green Halloween ideas

 

Have a Happy Hallowgreen!

Click on the image to make your Hallowgreen

 

 

My Backyard

Nothing startling, I was testing my new camera and this was my first result with a video clip.

It shows the pumpkin that is growing from my compost and finally my little pile of rubbish (Lixo) having a lick.

Monday Moaning

How ‘vegan’ are you?

Come on, really…

Just look at this chart, how can you escape animal products completely in today’s world?

You can try, but I don’t believe you can. Oh, and that’s just cattle… what about the pigs and chickens?

Japan shuts down last reactor

All 50 reactors now closed for maintenance after 2011 tsunami but government faces major public opposition to reactivation

Operators have begun to shut down the third nuclear reactor (centre in foreground) at the Tomari plant in Japan. Photograph: AP

Japan is shutting down its last working nuclear reactor as part of the safety drive imposed after the March 2011 tsunami triggered a meltdown at the Fukushima plant.

The closure of the third reactor at the Tomari plant in Hokkaido prefecture, northern Japan, means all of the country’s 50 nuclear reactors have been taken offline, leaving the country with no nuclear-derived electricity for the first time since 1970.

Hokkaido Electric said it started lowering output from the reactor at 5pm (8am GMT). The unit should be shut down completely by the early hours of Sunday.

Hundreds of people marched through Tokyo waving banners to celebrate what they hope will be the end of nuclear power in Japan.

Source: The Guardian Read more

Opinion:

Has Japan learned its lesson?

Kansai Electric Power’s Ohi nuclear plant

“The trade minister, Yukio Edano, and three other ministers have been trying to win public backing to restart two reactors taken offline at Kansai Electric Power’s Ohi nuclear plant to help ease expected power shortages of nearly 20% in the summer.” – The Guardian

Obviously not!

In another article the statement was made, “It’s okay, we know what we are doing now!”

Sorry, you don’t!

You have no more idea of what you are doing now than when nuclear energy was first proposed.

When it comes to nuclear energy, you are playing with fire! As my mother always said, “Little boys should not play with fire!” She was right.

The whole nuclear issue is so clouded by unkowns, that moves to make the WORLD nuclear free ought to be the highest priority.

Reading the news (NOT MSM, they’re full of shit and omissions) the Fukushima disaster is much worse than we have been lead to believe.

We all remember Chernobyl, Fukushima has 85 times the amount of fuel rods. Fukushima is not safe; the tank holding spent fuel rods is so badly compromised that even a minor earthquake could topple it. They can’t fix it. To remove all the fuel rods in Fukushima (something that has NEVER been done on this scale) cannot be completed before 2014.

What happens if there is a small tremor before then? Remember that Japan is one of the most earthquake-prone countries in the world. The chances are extremely high.

The radioctivity from a total collapse of the cooling pool (remember this is 30 metres (90ft) in the air) is enough to annihilate Hawaii, Alaska, the western seaboards of Canada and the USA and badly contaminate the rest of the two countries, before spreading across the Atlantic Ocean to Europe.

Radiation levels in the US are already being held responsible for for an identifiable increase in deaths since the disaster.

American women pay high price for Fukushima cover-up: 35% more dead babies

Babies are dying at a 35% increased rate in eight northwest U.S. cities since the Fukushima meltdowns, evidence supporting radiation expert…

This is fact not fiction. Read the source: The Examiner

MSM, TEPCO and the governments are not telling you the full story!

Nature Ramble

How wildlife is thriving in the Korean peninsula’s demilitarised zone

The forces that lock humans out of the DMZ have allowed other species to thrive. Could a remnant of violent conflict become the symbol of a greener, more peaceful future?

Manchurian cranes with their distinctive black and white feathers fly low over fields in Chulwon valley, just south of the Korean Demilitarized Zone. Photograph: AP

DMZ

A thin green ribbon threads its way across the Korean Peninsula. Viewed from space, via composite satellite images, the winding swath clearly demarcates the political boundary between the Republic of Korea (ROK) and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK). Its visual impact is especially strong in the west, where it separates the gray, concrete sprawl of Seoul from the brown, deforested wastes south of Kaesong. In the east, it merges with the greener landscapes of the Taebaek Mountain Range and all but disappears.

Amur leopard cat, Prionailurus bengalensis euptilurus - Image: Scientific American

From the ground, the narrow verdant band manifests as an impenetrable barrier of overgrown vegetation enclosed by layers of fences topped by menacing concertina wire and dotted with observation posts manned by heavily armed soldiers. That a place so steeped in violence still teems with life seems unimaginable. And yet, the Demilitarized Zone, or DMZ, is home to thousands of species that are extinct or endangered elsewhere on the peninsula. It is the last haven for many of these plants and animals and the centre of attention for those intent on preserving Korea’s rich ecological heritage.

Once known as the “land of embroidered rivers and mountains”, the Korean Peninsula has experienced almost continual conflict for over 100 years, resulting in a severely degraded natural environment. International competition for control over the peninsula’s resources left Korea in a precarious position at the start of the twentieth century. The Japanese occupation between 1905 and 1945 brought with it radically increased exploitation of mineral and other resources, resulting in massive deforestation, pollution and general environmental decline.

Since at least the 1940s, deforestation for fuel wood and clearing for agricultural land has caused significant erosion of the area’s mountains and hills and contributed to the siltation of its rivers, streams and lakes. The 1950 to 1953 war ranged across the entire peninsula, subjecting it to widespread devastation that destroyed cities, roads, forests and even mountains. And, in the 1960s and 1970s, unchecked industrialisation further undermined the peninsula’s ecological health, causing air, water, and soil pollution.

The relative health of the DMZ now stands in stark contrast to the failing ecosystems in both North and South Korea.

White Napped Crane - Image: Julie Larsen Maher © WCS

Created in 1953 during tense armistice negotiations, Korea’s DMZ is at once one of the most dangerous places on earth and one of the safest. For humans, its thousands of landmines and the millions of soldiers arrayed along its edges pose an imminent threat. But the same forces that prevent humans from moving within the nearly 400 square miles of the DMZ encourage other species to thrive. Manchurian or red-crowned cranes and white-naped cranes are among the DMZ’s most famous and visible denizens. Nearly 100 species of fish, perhaps 45 types of amphibians and reptiles and over 1,000 different insect species are also supposed to exist in the protected zone.

Scientists estimate that over 1,600 types of vascular plants and more than 300 species of mushrooms, fungi and lichen are thriving in the DMZ. Mammals such as the rare Amur goral, Asiatic black bear, musk deer and spotted seal inhabit the DMZ’s land and marine ecosystems. There are even reports of tigers, believed extinct on the peninsula since before Japanese occupation, roaming the DMZ’s mountains.

Much of the biodiversity in the DMZ is speculative, extrapolated from spotty scientific studies conducted in the Civilian Control Zone (CCZ) that forms an additional protective barrier along the DMZ’s southern edge. Approximate though these studies are, the DMZ’s ecological promise is great enough to spur many people to action.

Source: The Guardian Read more

South Korea Seeks to Protect Endangered Species in Demilitarized Zone

Monday Moaning

Six years ago

The Latvian government banned the selling of unhealthy foods and beverages (especially sodas, including Pepsi and Coca Cola) in schools and kindergartens in order to promote healthier snacks for pupils. Anything that is not natural and contains artificial ingredients, food additives, preservatives, flavours, colouring, sweeteners, caffeine and a high salt/food ratio are considered to be an unhealthy food or beverage.

That was in 2006.

.

Today…

Fast-food ban near schools proposed to fight child obesity

THE GOVERNMENT is considering introducing a ban on fast-food outlets near schools, following the publication of a report on obesity in nine-year-olds.

Minister for Children Frances Fitzgerald said yesterday she was in discussions with the Department of the Environment to see if planning regulations could be introduced to control the proximity of fast-food businesses to schools.

“When you walk out of a school, if the first thing you see is a fast-food shop, clearly that’s not in the child’s best interests.”

Source: IrishTimes Read more

Opinion:

Is the tail not trying to wag the dog here?

Are we not barking up the wrong tree?

To me the answer is logical. Ban the production of problem foods!

…or, the alternative: Tax them beyond the reach of those most affected.

There are many answers to the problems, the prohibition of ingredients known to be prejudicial to health, HFCSs, artificial flavours and colourings for example.

Aspartame this, aspartame that

The main problem cited in the countries like France, Canada and Russia where the bans are in place is obesity; but it goes way beyond just obesity. The problems stem to behavioural patterns, cognitive development, social interactions, bodily growth and functions, neurological disorders and more.

The problem affects our very being; and yet that is not important, as long as the corporations can make a profit, the health and welfare of the people is of no concern.

Since the 1960s we have abdicated our responsibilities as parents. Each generation is abdicating more and more.

An now we get responses like this when kids are asked about junk food restrictions: “I think that’s mean because junk food is pretty good”.

The kids have no idea anymore, less idea than their parents had no idea about. Parental control is gone, the kids have been brainwashed by more and more corporate advertising, so much that they don’t know what the facts are any more than their parents did.

One of two things has to happen; firstly parents have to get their shit together, second, if that doesn’t happen, then the state has to become a nanny.

Change the World Wednesday – 8th Feb

A sure sign of frustration

I am up, got coffee and at the keyboard, what more can you expect?

Yes, I’m ready and raring to go, but then I find I can’t…

I am frustrated.

You all know that I look forward to CTWW on a Wednesday and never fail to participate. I have participated in each and every one since the inception.

But today’s, I can’t, I can’t go, I can’t rare, all I can do is sit here numbly with my coffee and stare at the screen.

This week’s Change the World Wednesday is a great one and none-the-less commendable, if you exercise a lot or use a lot of electricity or have a lot of electrical appliances.

This week unplug your exercise routine by using no power. No treadmills, ellipticals, gyms, TV, music, or anything powered to assist in exercise. Make your workout Eco-friendly … and, as always, let us know all about it.

Or …

If you’re not really into exercise, please consider it. In the meantime, take a look at your daily routine and choose one activity which uses power and accomplish it without power. Some examples might be preparing a meal without the use of the stove, washing dishes by hand instead of using a dishwasher, visiting friends and family instead of watching TV, etc. And oh yes, we want to know all about it (you’ll get points for creativity).

…but I don’t.

I don’t exercise. I should, but using a treadmill with a walking stick is a tricky exercise I would imagine, since I have never attempted the feat.

I don’t use a lot of electricity, I don’t have many electrical appliances and my stove is gas.

My only contribution this week is that the weather has been so hot here in Rio de Janeiro is that I have turned off the electric shower head. This is our 8^th day running with a minimum temperature of 37ºC (94º+F for our American cousins who haven’t realised they are the only ones in the world who haven’t converted), it hasn’t broached 40 yet, but that is coming. The water from my roof tank is hotter than the electricity makes it. If I want cold water, I have to use the garden hose because that gets water straight from the street.

*Puts on thinking cap*

Creativity, she wants creativity… Okay, here goes.

Any time's the right time...

I am a carnivore; yes, I know that for many of you that will be a failing. But, apart from that I am a man who enjoys his beer. Beer o’clock is an essential time of the day.

Instead of going home to watch TV and have a snack after work (I arrive home about 7:30pm). I’ll go to the botequim  (neighbourhood bar), have my snack there while watching their TV. Well, Raimundo will have the TV on for other freguês (regulars) so I’ll watch too. That way my TV is turned off and I am visiting friends too. It’s a bit like having your cake and eating it as well.

Government Warning: Married men, do not attempt this trick in your own home. It can lead to fatal injuries or, minimally, certain aspects of conjugal life to be severely rationed.

…and now a word from our sponsor.

Cow poo!

Yes, on Make you Fink on Friday I am discussing that essential ingredient cow poo and how it affects our lives. Be sure not to miss it!

Change the World Wednesday – 19th Oct

Well, the week has flown by, I didn’t even get to post a Monday Moaning this week. Sorry about that, I do like to start the week off with a moan.

Last weeks CTWW post, almost had me convinced. I had previously been dead set against CFLs in the past, but I do try so hard to be a little greenish in my life, and I decided to cast my reservations to the wind and begin a slow replacement of the incandescent light bulbs, one as a trial, then others as they burn out.

But then I had a comment from a reader that jerked me back to reality and the myriad of reasons why CFLs should be avoided at all costs, you can read about that on Rather Frightening.

Here’s a quick demonstration that shows you that there is something definitely not right with CFLs.

Look at the two reflected spectra on the CD surface. The right is an incandescent light source, the left, a CFL.

Notice how the CFL has three ‘hot spots’ at the extremes of the spectrum. Ultra-violet and infra red. I am not an expert, but here’s the story from q-re-s.com, read it, it explains why the light from CFLs will never equal the light from incandescents.

Looks like we don’t yet have all the answers, and have shown that by flying off half cocked with CFLs. You know what? I can see the writing on the wall. It won’t be too far in the future when CFLs are banned (Germany has already legislated against CFLs in certain applications) and we have to replace with solution of the moment, be it LEDs or OLEDS or Super Dooper Non-carbon emmitting candles. Guess who gets to benefit? If you guessed you, then you are dead wrong… once again the corporations will reap their ill-gotten gains at your expense and gullibility.

Well, that got a bit long-winded…

This week’s Change the World Wednesday:

This week, find one way to lower the environmental impact of your pet.

OR …
If you don’t have a pet, suggest ways that we can protect wild animals.

Will have to wait. It’s 3:30am, and I am going back to bed…

Up again, got coffee.

Meow Meow when she was a kitteh...

At the moment I don’t have a pet. My last two, Meow Meow and da Meow were poisoned here in the praça (park) where I live.

How do you make a pet eco-friendly?

Well, I guess the major problem with pets is poop. Both used my compost heap. I used to put a small square of sand (collected from the street) next to the compost and when it got too soiled, I just turned it into the compost and got more sand. A few years ago when I had Pexote and Pivete, our two dogs, their poop was scooped off the lawn and straight into the compost.

Okay, that deals with what comes out, but what about what goes in?

I don’t buy (or didn’t) dry pet food, nor the canned stuff. I stopped that when I read about how they manufacture it and how the corporations control what advice your vet gives about such products. The vets say it’s good for your pet because the corporations dictate (by way of donations and funding) what the universities teach them to say.

The story I read of one vet who rebelled against pet food after having one of the dogs under his care become an epileptic, losing it’s fur, etc. He changed the dog to a diet of raw bones, yup, just raw bones and within two weeks the epileptic fits had stopped and the dog’s coat had begun to shine. He was working on the basis that that’s what dogs ate before humans started messing with their dietary needs. Since then all the animals he sees, he recommends a change back to raw bones and meat. The owners report that their pets become different animals, more active, healthier growth, lose their bad breath and fat ones lose weight and look like dogs instead of barrels on legs.

If your pet food comes like this, go and talk to your butcher about bones

I just put “processed pet food is bad” into Google hoping I could find the story, but it produced such a plethora of results, there wasn’t a hope of finding that particular one. You do it and have a browse. The first page of results has NOTHING good to say about processed pet food.

Another aspect of pets, fleas and such. When I had the cats, I couldn’t afford fancy flea powders at R$10 (about $7) a throw, I used a little sodium bicarb, rubbed that in and the fleas decided my cats weren’t such a good host.

I never used detergents or soaps or shampoos with my animals, just the garden hose and a good rub both for cats and dogs.

That’s about it, I guess. Not much, but I am interested to see what others have to say.

Good challenge.

 

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Sunday Surprise

One of the pleasures in life is that first morning coffee.

But why is it a pleasure? Or at least why does it appear to be a pleasure?

The answer is a revelation.

Quite disturbing, actually.

Caffeine as we all know by now is a drug. It is a highly addictive drug. In fact it’s a chemical, it has a formula and a structure.

What do we know about this wonder stuff that an estimated 90% of people use daily in one form or another?

The Misconception: Coffee stimulates you.

The Truth: You become addicted to caffeine quickly, and soon you are drinking coffee to cure withdrawal more than for stimulation.

Yes, you are an addict. Me too, I am a terrible coffee dependent. But I have learned some things that are making me re-evaluate my coffee drinking habits. If you follow this post and it’s links, maybe you will too.

The much-needed morning boost.   The mid-afternoon pick-me-up.   The late night energizer.

We’ve become a society that relies on this naturally and artificially produced drug in our beverages and foods to keep us going through the day. Most of us can’t get along without it; I love my late night coffee.

Here, I am going to send you off to read a fairly lengthy and somewhat technical story The Coffee Illusion on Running ‘Cause I can’t Fly. It explains a lot just how caffeine functions in our bodies and why it is addictive.

I know from my own experience that caffeine deprivation is painful. I went a period a couple of years ago when my coffee/caffeine intake was drastically reduced for an extended period. The result… migraines. The remedy… coffee.

I live in Brazil, the land of wonderful coffee, I like it strong, very strong.

So what you have just read I can vouch is true.

I am going to cut out my nighttime coffee, as that seems to have the most serious draw back.

The future will see me reduce my coffee slowly but surely.

A step further

Caffeine is used by many companies in their products to keep the consumer (you) addicted. They are a crafty bunch and never miss a beat at “keeping” their customers needing their products.

Check out these. Do you use these apart from just drinking that wonderful coffee? There are many ways the corporations ambush us; mostly unawares.

The only hope that you have is to become aware.