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Posts Tagged ‘climate change’
Friday, May 13th, 2011 by Admin
 Source: Re-Nest via Just a Girl Here are this week’s favourite links from around the world:
Have a great waste free weekend. Remember every little habitual change helps.
Tags: climate change, EPA, Friday favourites, Good, Green IT, new zealand, Re-nest, recycling, reuse, tyres, waste
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Monday, April 11th, 2011 by Admin
A new petition has come through to SIFT from one of our new projects (and through my connections with the Lincoln Envirotown Trust) to make our voice heard to the government that we want to rebuild Christchurch sustainably. This is a great idea and I only hope that lots of people sign it (like all those who signed the pledge and more!) and that the town leaders, government, city planners and designers all listen.
This is a fantastic opportunity to rebuild Christchurch for a future whereby the buildings and citizens of the city have a positive environmental impact at all levels of sustainability (and are ready for the impacts of climate change).
After finding that there is currently no leadership on this issue Lou Warren (from over the hill in Diamond Harbour) started the petition on change.org.
You can sign the petition here and we encourage as many Cantabrians and New Zealanders alike to sign it and let our voice be heard (now’s our chance): “We, the people of Canterbury, the people of New Zealand and our friends internationally, want you to deliver a well-planned, environmentally sustainable re-build of Christchurch.”
Thanks to Lou for setting this up and we look forward to seeing how many people sign, who listens and the plans for our lovely city.
Tags: christchurch, climate change, Earthquake, future, sustainable city, waste
Posted in Business & Sustainability, Pratical Action, Sustainability in Action | No Comments »
Wednesday, March 23rd, 2011 by Admin
Although there will be no council led Earth Hour event in Christchurch this year there is still a lot happening close by, with many doing there own thing with others or at home. For those lucky enough to now have power switching off the lights for an hour might not be the most fun thing to do but it would be worth getting out and about and joining others.
If you can’t do anything for Earth Hour at least start to think about how we can start to make plans to mitigate and adapt to global warming here in Canterbury. Christchurch has an excellent opportunity to create a new highly sustainable and low impact city and ready for 100 years of warming (and sea level rise). Once we have had enough time to recover we should think about this. Go beyond one hour a year and think of the Earth and our place in it for the next 100 years.
What is the best that we could do?
Earth Hour NZ Facebook
Some Lincoln Envirotown Earth Hour events:
A listing of all of the Selwyn Earth Hour events.
Tags: Barn Dance, climate change, earth hour, global warming, Lincoln Envirotown, Selwyn Earth
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
Friday, February 11th, 2011 by Admin
 Kate Valley Landfill (SIFT photo) Here are some interesting tid bits we have found in the past week:
Have a great waste free weekend.
Tags: Beehive, Carbon Nation, climate change, Energy, Friday favourites, Good, Hot Topic, plastic, renewable, waste, WWF
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Friday, September 3rd, 2010 by Admin
Spring has definitely sprung. Some of us are suffering from hayfever, the daffodils are definitely up and it is feeling warmer (although changeable with a cold wintry blast coming through today). Friday favourites will be taking a break for a few weeks so enjoy these links and our past Friday Favourties until October.
- Bill McKibben talks to David Letterman here (via Good USA)
- Love this video from Toronto Chuck and Vince wanting your electronic waste (also via Good USA).
- MfE has announced another project that they are funding from the Waste Minimisation Fund – this one is all about turning sewage waste into a usable product. More Here.
- Love this innovative idea for regulating the temperature inside buildings especially offices and saving energy – green curtains from Kyocera.
- We have all known this for a while and eat we still occasionally eat one – Artist Sally Davies has photographed a McDonalds hamburger for 137 days and found it doesn’t age (via Good USA)
- Need more inspiration to take small steps to create a big impact – check out these great Glee videos – the Glee cast doing there thing and promoting important environmental and social messages. We love the battery recycling one and the library video.
- The Monterey Bay Acquarium in the U.S has developed a climate change video with the voice over from the great John Cleese.
- Localised waste management is one solution to the problem and Dunedin City Council is starting is recycling in public places this weekend at the Otago Farmers Market. There will be three stations each with an organics bin, recycling bin and non-recyclables bin (via Scoop).
- Satellite eye View – great photos of our home here (via the Guardian).
Have a great waste free weekend.
Photo Source via Derek’s Blog here.
Tags: 350, Bill McKibben, climate change, David Letterman, Dunedin City Council, earth, ewaste, Glee, green curtains, McDonalds, mfe, recycling, satellite, Waste Minimisation fund
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Tuesday, August 17th, 2010 by Admin
The recent book of choice which I have just finished is Blessed Unrest by Paul Hawken. Borrowed from the library it is so good I decided to buy a hard copy to keep and luckily found a second hand one on Trade Me. I will be able to read it again and highlight passages that were significant, moving, interesting and enlightening – because there were many.
Blessed Unrest is a book about the growing movement and connectedness of a vast range of thousands of different but like minded people who run organisations with the sole purpose of saving humanity, regeneration and restoration, social justice and environmental justice. After spending days reading about pollution, waste, climate change (and worrying about how we all need to start making changes today), social injustices and environmental devastation and disrespect it is refreshing to read a book that captures all the good things that are happening in the world.
Paul Hawken likens the movement to the body’s immune system. A quiet but strong immune response to the diseases (we have created) on the Earth. He starts off by delving into history to see where the movement came from; from Ghandi to Rosa Parks to Ralph Waldo Emerson and Rachel Carson where the movement started it now spans the entire globe with organisations like World Wildlife Fund for Nature, Greenpeace, 350.org, Friends of the Earth and even SIFT. The world is made up of a vast network of social and sustainability focussed organisations – focus areas include the arts, education, poverty, children, families, women’s rights, animals, gardening, sustainability, climate change, waste, employment and more. The hope is that the work these organisations carry out (trust, foundations, NGOs, non profits, some corporations, volunteer groups) will prevail over the destructive forces from a small number of large organisations. This book highlights the good in humans and the need for social and environmental change that must come if we are to survive.
It is definitely a book to read and helps to remind you of all of the good work that is being done on the Earth to enable it to be healthy for future generations. There are some excellent passages and it is well researched with a long bibliography and includes a taxonomy on all of the different areas of focus and the number of organisations working in that area. You need to get a full understanding of the vastness, the connectedness of all of these organisations and their good impacts in order to feel positive – don’t just stick to the general media to keep you informed!
You can read more about Blessed Earth here and browse all of the listings of organisations from around the world here at WiserEarth (set up by Paul Hawken). As their website tag line says “Together we act as one” and it is great that SIFT is apart of this network.
There is so much more that could be said but reading it will do it justice more.
Tags: Blessed Unrest, change, climate change, destruction, disease, environmental justice, humanity, immune response, Paul Hawken, social justice, Sustainbility, waste, WiserEarth
Posted in News on Sustainability, Pratical Action, Sustainability Resources, Sustainability in Action | No Comments »
Friday, August 6th, 2010 by Admin
 Beautful and practical reuse of a Mason jar from Re-Nest Happy August! Apparently there are only 145 days till Christmas – it’s way too early to be thinking about Christmas (and the waste produced from it) but not too early to be thinking about warmer temperatures of spring and summer.
Here are our favourites links that we have found:
Enjoy a waste free weekend.
Tags: Bernard Pras, China, Christmas, climate change, farmers markets, Mason jar, rubbish, the Guardian, waste, wind turbines
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Wednesday, May 26th, 2010 by Admin
 Darren Patterson This week’s Green Collar Job Q&A is with Darren Patterson. SIFT caught up with Darren at last month’s WasteMinz Workshops and thought he would be great Green Collar Job Q&A candidate as he spends his days helping others to reduce their impact on the environment and has a wealth of experience in waste and environmental sustainability. Based in Christchurch Darren is a consultant specialising in helping businesses to operate sustainably. Darren aims to work with each client to seek pragmatic solutions that will work for both their business and the environment. You can see more of what he does at www.pattersonenvironmental.co.nz or his blog here. To make contact email him on
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
or even speak to him one on one by phoning 021 440832. You can also follow him on twitter here, or Facebook here, or LinkedIn here.
1. What do you do to live more sustainably (with a low impact) in your life?
I walk or ride to work, compost at home, recycle, and reuse what I can. We have a solar hot water system and energy and water efficient appliances and monitor our energy use with a Centometer.
2. How do you live more sustainably at work?
Providing the right advice to businesses helps them reduce their impact on the environment and their liabilities. It can also reduce their operating costs.
3. What do you think is the biggest environmental issue we need to deal with in Christchurch/New Zealand?
The biggest global environmental issue would be climate change but more locally the poor management of waste and hazardous substances impacts directly on the water we drink and the air we breath.
4. What makes you smile?
My children.
5. What is your biggest pet peeve?
Apathy
6. What is your favourite colour and why?
The colour blue of the sky at sunrise and sunset. Reminds me of my travels.
7. Do you have a favourite place in the world? Describe why?
To live: Christchurch – sorry to the rest of the world buts its just right for me.
To visit: Pagan in Burma (Myanmar) amazing town with over 3000 Buddhist stupors/temples. However, it’s controlled by an oppressive regime that persecutes its people.
8. What’s your connection to Sift?
I’ve worked with Sift during my time at Environment Canterbury.
9. Do you remember your favourite teacher and why they were your favourite?
Miss Camsey: she was the deputy head of my junior school and had a very progressive approach to teaching 10 year olds.
10. What do you want to leave behind?
Two successful sons that live in a world that’s better than the one that I entered.
11. What do you think the future will bring?
Opportunities that we don’t yet know.
12. Who is someone you really admire and why?
John Campbell; I love his enthusiasm and his willingness to ask the questions that get him to the nub of the issue.
13. What is happening outside your window right now?
Leaves are falling off the tree and a bird is hunting through them for food.
14. What is your favourite breakfast?
Pancakes
15. What is the best piece of advice you can give us?
Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm. – Emerson
Tags: business, christchurch, climate change, community, environmental sustainability, Green Collar Job, landfill, Patterson Environmental, SIFT, waste
Posted in Green Collar Jobs Q&A | No Comments »
Thursday, November 26th, 2009 by Admin
 International Buy Nothing Day If reducing your consumption is still a habit that you’re trying to break try not buying anything for just one day to see what happens. The easiest way to reduce the level of our waste going to landfill is to stop purchasing, stop consuming. Full Stop. It’s that easy. (It is also a really good way to tackle climate change). But humans are driven by desires and needs (or wants) and purchasing/consuming can sometimes be fulfilling – at least we think it is fulfilling. But, there are many other ways to live a good life that doesn’t involve consuming and the side effects create a healthier planet and healthier people.
So, this week’s Practical Action is to take part in Adbusters’ International Buy Nothing Day. This campaign has been going for a few years now and calls on millions of the world’s population to buy nothing for 24 hours. They are also asking for everyone to unplug as well. Turn off all appliances, lights, cell phones, the internet, computers and anything else that depletes the world’s resources.
Adbusters: “We want you to not only stop buying for 24 hours, but to shut off your lights, televisions and other nonessential appliances. We want you to park your car, turn off your phones and log off of your computer for the day.
We’re calling for a Ramadan-like fast. From sunrise to sunset we’ll abstain en masse, not only from holiday shopping, but from all the temptations of our five-planet lifestyles.”
You never know what the day might bring – closer connection to family and friends, old clothes and “stuff” that you forget you had that you could reuse, finishing that project you have been meaning to get to, a day in the garden, reading your favourite book again, increased awareness of how your actions impact the environment and everything that lives in it, peace and quiet from the world for just one day. You will also have reduced your impact on the environment. After one day of not spending it becomes easier and you might start to find that life is nicer this way!
Our motto is to be a conscious consumer when you do consume (question if you really need it, can you use something else, can you buy second hand, fair trade, recycled etc). By not consuming for one day you can move towards this way of life. Start by recognising how you consume and then start to change this. There are lots of different actions happening across the world which you can check out here. Let us know what you get up to for the day.
Tags: Adbusters, climate change, consumption, diverting waste from landfill, environment, humans, International Buy Nothing Day, landfill, purchasing, resources, waste
Posted in Events, News on Sustainability, Waste Management | No Comments »
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