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Australia
I ran away from teaching to the country to grow veggies. There are also some chooks and a pair of troublesome goats who were so much trouble they had to go! My simple green life isn't always as simple or as green as I'd like...but I keep trying!
Showing posts with label consumerism. Show all posts
Showing posts with label consumerism. Show all posts

Monday, August 8, 2011

Signs.and.a.rant

I.love.to.go.into.the.city.and.regular
readers.will.remember.I.have.featured.
urban.architecture.in.past.posts.

This.weekend.The.Cook.and.I.went.to.
a.live.show.and.because.of.the.late.hour.
we.stayed.in.the.city.

It.was.a.lovely.break.

HOWEVER....

isn't.there.always.at.least.one.'however'?!!

I.was.thinking.about.signs.
DO.NOT.........
NO.ENTRY....
KEEP.LEFT
and.other.imperatives..

(especially.ones.about.parking...but.I.am.going.to.fight.
the.$51.parking.ticket..another.story.LOL)

.And.the.advertising!
and.claims.to.ownership

'THIS.IS.MY.SHOP'

ARGH!...visual.noise.

But.Melbourne.is.also.one.of.the
world's.foremost.cities.for.graffiti.

Just.check.out.this.one.example....





Now.before.you.say...but.that.is.lovely...
not.like.that.'tagging'.

Well,..I.disagree...
tagging.is.usually.done.by.
disinfranchised.youth.who.
feel.the.need.to.make.their.mark...some.how.

I.personally.don't.consider.it.any.uglier.or
less.relevant.than.the
blaring.neon.signs.promoting.the.mindless
consumerism.of.a.capitalist.system.
gone.crazy!
Look.no.further.than.Times.Square.,
Piccadilly.Circus.,
or.Young.and.Jacksons.

Then.of.course.there.are.the.gentler
decorators.of.urban.landscapes.


Ah,..but.it.is.nice.to.be.back.in.the.bush.
I.am.off.outside.to.take.my.frustrations.
out.on.the.wood.heap!

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Whether, weather,weather...

 Whether the weather be hot,
or whether the weather be cold
We'll weather the weather together,
Whether we like it or not.

But will we?

My low tech high/low thermometer.
Today's range 8.5 - 14 deg C.
I was already thinking about the weather because the rain put paid to my kitchen building plans and this was going to be a little light hearted post about that.

Mist rolling up the valley late this afternoon following a pretty soggy day.





Then I went wandering down the
She posted about a book she has been reading.
She included this quote from Paul Gilding's book, 'The great disruption'.

"It's time to stop just worrying about climate change, says Paul Gilding. Instead we need to brace for impact, because global crisis is no longer avoidable. The Great Disruption started in 2008, with spiking food and oil prices and dramatic ecological change like the melting polar icecap. It is not simply about fossil fuels and carbon footprints. We have come to the end of Economic Growth, Version  1.0, a world economy based on consumption and waste, where we lived beyond the means of our plant's ecosystems and resources." 
- from The Great Disruption: How the climate will transform the global economy by Paul Gilding
And even if it was only about fossil fuels...
The ordinary bloke over at
posted about Peak Oil today
and will be following up tomorrow.
Have a read. 

Of course, all over the news for weeks (months) we have had the pollies in Oz arguing about how to deal with global warming. I am so over their bickering and their Mickey Mouse 'solutions' which all involve fiddling at the edges of the problem...fiddling while Rome  The Earth burns.  If the Carbon 'tax' ever gets of the ground properly, at least it will be something.

But I am with Paul Gilding, we need to take a good look at the real problem....capitalism and the orchestrated consumerism we have all been lured into since WWII. All sorts of environmental (and humanitarian) disasters have been caused by the hunt for profit and our belief that we should have the biggest, newest, bestest, latest..... 

Money or the latest fashion/gadget isn't worth much if there isn't any world.   But it is so hard.  If you are trying to be an ethical consumer, advertising and packaging make it very difficult.

The lovely Rose is carrying out her own detective work over at 
She is tracking down the sources of her daily food.
What is in the product,
where it is produced and packed...
and who owns the brand.
Even a humble carton of orange juice 
with the label 'Berri since 1943' and 'Australian Grown'
contains additives produced in China
and is owned by a multinational. 

It feels as if there isn't a lot the individual can do...
proselytize...but who will listen?
Vote...who for?

Another blogger, Nick,  over at , Make Believe, has made a few
changes to the way he lives now and is
making plans for the future after reading
Gilding's book.

So here I sit, chipping away, doing the little I can to make a difference.
Growing a few veggies,
turning off lights,
installing solar panels,
avoiding processed foods,
cooking from scratch,
eating mainly vegetarian,
keeping chooks,
ignoring advertising,
buying only what I must,
making do,
recycling, re-using, repurposing,
op-shopping,
volunteering,
reading,
educating myself about the issues,
trying to become self sufficient
(in skills and knowledge as well as the usual)
and blogging about it.

Whether the weather be hot,
or whether the weather be cold
We'll weather the weather together,
I hope,
Whether we like it or not.


Remember Winter Wednesday tomorrow.
Write something that is good about Winter
and join in the fun.








Saturday, May 7, 2011

Consuming passions




On our shopping trip on Monday we went from the second hand building materials yard to a cathedral shopping centre

The contrast struck me so strongly, I had to take photos.


 Doesn't this staircase look like something out of a 5 star hotel?  It is just going up from the food court to a couple of more upmarket restaurants and the CARPARK!


What is the purpose of all this flash architecture?  
Oh, that's right ... to remove us from the reality of our everyday lives 
and encourage us to flash the plastic.  
Commodity fetishism gone mad.  
I am so changed now, that it I find it all so boring.


I felt a little bit of satisfaction though browsing what is left of Borders' book stock now that they have gone into receivership.
I hated the way some of these big chains came in and squashed the little bookshops and how they specialised in the ordinary and the mundane.  
I have mixed feelings though 
because the loss of any book shop is sad...
even if it is Borders, and people have lost their jobs.
Our last stop on the way home was at the university library 
so the Cook could pick up some 'real' books. 
Thank goodness for libraries!


Of course, we also squeezed in a trip to Bulleen Art and Garden for a little vegetable worship.

Saturday, March 26, 2011

Saturday Ethics


" To achieve sustainable development and a higher quality of life for all people, states should reduce and eliminate unsustainable patterns of production and consumption..."

Principle 8, The Rio Declaration on Environment and Development, 1992


I found these great links on a wonderful blog entitled The Witches Kitchen.  
Apart from the Greenpeace list, these are all Australian sites.  Please do not disregard them if you are an overseas reader because they provide a lot of information about sustainability and ethical consuming.  

The Ethical Consumer Guide - an Australian site with lots of information about the whys and hows of ethical shopping. With the big two Supermarkets behaving even more badly than usual, this site is a wonderful resource.


Australia's Sustainable Seafood Guide - This is exactly what the name suggests with an online tool to assist you in making more sustainable seafood choices and lots of interesting information and links.

Thanks for all the fish - An ABC Science feature.

Seafood Shopping Guide - A quick reference table of fish species and better choices from ABC Science

Greenpeace International Seafood Red List

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