A Powerful Bit of Art.

The more I look at this piece of artwork the more moved I become.

Artist Unknown

Today this is reality and how sad is that.  We humans are the most destructive thing on this planet and what is horrifying about that, is that we just can't seem to be able to stop.

Please share this around.

Bees Get Support From the Top Man.

Today I read an article about how, none other than the President of the United States ... Obama, has come out in defense of the honey bee.  Read the article here

Now, don't get me wrong, I think this is amazing, however, just how much "saving" it will actually do is debatable.

Last June (2014) the White House created a task force to find ways to save the bees.  See, even though big corporates run the western world, I will say that Obama at least has enough savvy to realize that if the bees go ... so does life as we know it.  And the extinction of the bees (and other pollinators) is getting all too close. 

So the task force has come out with a 10 year plan.  In a nutshell this is it: 

1. Bump monarch butterfly numbers to 225 million.
2. Reduce winter honey bee colony losses by about half. 
3. Make 7 million acres of land more pollinator-friendly.
4. Research how to minimize bees’ exposure to pesticides.
5. Re-evaluate the effects of neonicotinoid insecticides.

Perhaps they can achieve the increase in monarch butterfly and maybe they can reduce the winter honey bee losses.  They definitely can make 7 million acres of land more pollinator-friendly.  But the last two????  They already know that neonicotinoid insecticides and pesticides are the number one killer of bees - see my bog post here.  

And how many bees will die while they do their research?

Of course we know that the White House is organic and has it's own bees.

Maybe that's one of the reasons the President took this stance.  However, he's not gone far enough and groups are now by-passing the President and asking the First Lady to help as reported by the Washington Examiner.

 

A letter provided by Friends of The Earth asks that Michelle Obama use her influence with the administration and support a ban on these chemicals.

Let's hope she can be a mother for the bees and defend them.  This is a critical situation and a lot more urgency is needed ..... the bees can't wait much longer.

You can help by choosing organic or spray free whenever you can.

Captains of Industry or Destructive Devils?

I made a comment on a post that I read on Mongabay an environmental news site that I read.  The comment and the article I shared on the FaceBook page that I have resurrected - you can "like" the page if you want, see over there on the right - anywho, that's off topic where was I?

So the comment I made came from not only my love of Orangutans (one sits on my bed and travels with me when I go away), but also from a documentary I'd watched last night.

Ollie - my travel companion!

The doco went into the history of corporations and how they began back in America in the 1800's when the captains of industry, you know names like Vanderbilt, Carnegie and Rockefeller, built billion dollar companies that then went on to dominate, set the rules and basically have politicians in their pockets.

These guys started the greed

So reading about this one Orangutan (read more here), who was rescued from a sea of palm oil trees completely under-nourished and with a bullet in his chest, reminded me how those like Walmart, Monsanto, Bankers, Rio Tinot and BHP Billitons, as well as Johnson & Johnson and other pharmtech companies not to mention the palm oil companies like Sarawak Oil Palms, and TSH Resources who sit in their ivory towers continuing to be greedy, selfish, corrupt and totally ..... ARGHHHHHH ..... can't think of a word, perhaps you can help to describe the modern day "captains of industry"?

We can't wait for these "captains" to ruin our world any more .... each one of us has to do our bit to conserve what we have left and to try and heal if we can.

Pope Francis Rocking the Boat .... Again!

Well blow me over with a feather and tell me it's a sledge hammer.  Now the Pope is being criticized for being concerned about climate change.  

It appears that the Pope, bless his plain white robes, met with the UN Secretary-General and in that meeting they discussed the upcoming United Nations Climate change conference which is going to be held in Paris at the end of this year.  (30 November - 11 December 2015)

But wait, there's more.  Not only did the Pope put his tuppence worth into the climate pot, but the Pontifical Academy of Sciences also met with the UN Secretariat and some other really important non government organizations.

 

 

Vatican & UN team up on climate issues

 

 

Now, the fact that all this climate change discussion was going on by the Vatican powers that be, created a bit of a stir in certain quarters.  Like the Heartland Institute, a right-wing American organization known for its global warming skepticism, got their knickers in a right twist.

 

 

And they weren't the only ones telling the Vatican that they have no business talking about climate change.  Another group, funded by a US climate drive in Chicago went off to Rome to rally against the Vatican's climate commitment.  Interestingly enough, one of these people was Christopher Monckton.

Who the hell is Christopher Monckton I hear you ask.

 

 

His fame is that he's the 3rd Viscount Monkton of Brenchley (to give him his correct title) a journalist right against climate change.  Now young Christopher (well he's not young as the photo above shows) caused an unprecedented step by the House of Lords who published a "cease and desist" letter demanding that Lord Christopher Monckton should stop claiming to be a member of the upper house. reference

If he purports to be someone he's not, then I'm not sure how much credence this man should be given and, I'm please to say, the Vatican thinks the same.

Getting back to the Pope.  He's been outspoken about climate change saying:  "I don’t know if it is the only cause but in great part it is man who has slapped nature in the face. We have in a sense taken over nature.”

 

So, as the Guardian reports   "The Heartland Institute, a Chicago-based conservative thinktank that seeks to discredit established science on climate change, said it was sending a team of climate scientists to Rome '...to inform Pope Francis of the truth about climate science....' ”
Just as an aside …. The Heartland Institute, guess who they are funded by???? Energy companies.  Say no more!!!

 

The Vatican is getting ready to have a Papal encyclical where it will declare it's position on the environment and humanity's relationship with nature.  When that comes out watch out for the flak - will be very interesting to see what sort of confrontation there will be between the Pope and the religious right in the USA.

 

All I can say is ….. stick to your greenness, Francis, the world needs people like you!

 

If you want to read more - BBC

 

New Label for Foodies - Pegan

Any ideas what this might be?  To give you a clue, other labels can include Pescetarian - those who only eat fish and no other animal - or Fruitarians who eat only raw fruit and seeds.  (for more labels of which I'm going to have to add Pegan on the next publication check out my book Why Be Vegetarian …. end plug for book).

So a new label has come into being originating from Dr. Mark Hyman and it's the joining of Paleo and Vegan diets.

Whoa!  Didn't think you'd be able to join those two together as I thought that Paleo needed meat, but apparently not.  Go figure!

His article is a very interesting read, and, if you're into nutrition then I'd suggest you read it -
Pegan Article

VEGAN FOOD

If you don't want to, then I'll give you the main points.

• Vegan and Paleo are very similar as both focus on real, whole, fresh food that is sustainably raised.
• Both shun dairy.
• Paleos do not eat legumes or grains - Vegans do.
• Paleos do eat meat - Vegans don't.

However, Dr Hyman suggests that for the grains, stick to small portions of low glycemic grains like black rice or quinoa.
Beans are great, but again, stick to small amounts - about 1 cup a day is ample - (more than I'd eat.)

Although he's not against eating sustainably raised, clean meat, whereas vegans won't touch it, he does concede that meat does put pressure on the planet …. which it does.

PALEO FOOD

He goes on to to say eggs no longer have the impact on cholesterol as once thought, so they're fine.  Again a no no for the Vegans. 

Then adds that fish, even though you should worry about the mercury that is now abounding through all fish, eat fat rich fish such as sardines or wild salmon to get omega 3.  He fails to tell you that for omega 3 you can get eat flax seeds, chia seeds, hemp seed, mustard oil, seaweed, beans (mungo beans the best) and the list goes on.

Just as an aside:  Wild rice should be a staple for all vegetarians and vegans. One cup cooked delivers lots of iron, protein, fiber, magnesium, zinc, and manganese. You’ll also get 156mg Omega 3 while only taking in 195mg of Omega 6.

Sorry, had to get that off my chest.  Back to Dr Hyman.

He says "…Looking at the research it is easy to get confused. Vegan diet studies show they help with weight loss, reverse diabetes and lower cholesterol.  Paleo diets seem to do the same thing…."

From what I can glean from his article, he's saying that a vegan diet is fabulous, but if you don't want to go vegan then a little bit of Paleo added to it works too = Pegan.

THAT'S A VEGGIE BURGER THERE = PEGAN!

All the above has been written from a dietary point of view only .... being vegan encompasses more than just diet and, even if you go vegan for health reasons, you'll soon discover just how much the animals and planet are benefiting from your choice.

Personally I will stick with being vegan.

Earthquake in Nepal.

Many New Zealanders have such a close bond with Nepal regardless of whether they have been there or not.  This is due to one of our great explorers/adventurers Sir Edmund Hillary.  So when the news of the devastating earthquake reached us, we, as a nation poured out our love to the people there.

I also want to commend the N.Z. team of search and rescue people who have bags packed (so to speak) and will be ready to go if they are needed.

According to the Nepal members of the Humane Society, animals, including large carnivores such as lions and tigers, at the Central Zoo in Kathmandu are believed to be safe.  However, because this has been such a disaster within the urban areas, several pets, street dogs and livestock may have been killed, injured or abandoned.

My heart and my thoughts go out to the people and the animals of Nepal.

Many Blessings

fee
website: http://thevegetariancenter.com

The End of The Line

I called round to catch up with a vegetarian friend of mine today and she told me that she had been on the Auckland (that's the largest city in New Zealand) motorway crawling along at about 30 km (that's under 20 miles) as one does during peak hour.  Add to the slowness, it is also Summertime here and temperatures are soaring.
Got the picture so far?

Lo and behold there right beside her was a huge truck stacked high with crates.  Each crate was packed with live chickens. 

"Well", she said, "some were obviously not alive anymore as they were lying with their feet up."
Most of the chickens had their heads bent and were in a posture of submission.
But the really sad part were their eyes.  She told me that their eyes were vacant almost like they were resigned to their fate.

Remind you of anything?

She was very brave to take the photo ..... I know it was incredibly upsetting for her to witness.