A round-up of this week’s environmental, green and ecofriendly news and updates.
Sometimes, eco-tourism suffers from a little “greenwashing” – hotels claiming to be ecofriendly when they’ve made one small change (usually one that saves them money) but not reducing their overall carbon footprint.
That’s why I love to see options that are green all over. If you want to watch the Northern Lights from a heated pool, go skiing, revel in luxury and enjoy the most incredible scenery, add Deplar Farm to your bucket list.
It used to be a sheep farm on the delightfully named Troll Peninsula in northern Iceland. (If you live in Europe or East Coast USA, it’s a relatively short trip). Surrounded by majestic mountainous fjords, the buildings were renovated with stone from the local river, and a green roof ensures that they sit placidly in the landscape. Luxurious accommodation offers huge windows so you don’t miss a thing, and there are no definable boundaries between the lodge and its surroundings, so you feel part of nature. The sustainable food is top-notch (they are aiming for complete source-to-fork). And you can watch the Lights or the Midnight Sun from the geothermally-heated outdoor pool. I love it!
Flying is really bad for the environment.
So, should you stop flying, in order to save the planet?
The answer is – maybe. (Or maybe not).
My husband does the grocery shopping (I’m very happy about that – I tend to wield a supermarket trolley as a weapon). Over the last 10 years or so, more and more men are doing the shopping – and many say they enjoy shopping and cooking, particularly millennial men.
It’s good news that household chores are being shared more between the genders (women still do the majority of shopping, but the gap is closing).
But men shop differently. According to several new US studies, they don’t plan meals for the week ahead, they tend to buy for that day’s meal only. They often impulse buy, choose highly-visible items on the shelf, and stick to brands they already know. They want to shop quickly, without distractions. They’re less concerned with price than women and will pay more for items that appeal to them.
And now US food marketers are changing their products. New “dude food” packaging relies on testosterone-fueled buzz words like “powerful” and “strong” with darker colours. Yogurt for example, is no longer just “plain yogurt”. It’s now “powerful yogurt” with adverts showing fit men with big abs.
I think it’s crazy. We have enough gender stereo-typing as it is, without reinforcing it in food too. Our world is consumerism gone mad – and men tend on average to buy more meat-heavy food which is lousy for the planet too.
I love studies that tell us more about human nature – how and why we react to things the way we do.
And this study has strong implications for the future of our children, the next generation.
Global Green News:
The European Union has banned energy-sucking vacuum cleaners, allowing only energy-efficient, less noisy ones. That’s a good idea – but many people reacted badly. They thought that a vacuum cleaner could only do a good job if it used lots of energy. (Newer, more efficient machines actually work better, but it doesn’t seem like it when they’re quiet). Many people said they hated these new “eco” regulations which “restricted” their choices, and in the UK, people deliberately bought noisy machines while they were sill in the shops! But the ban is expected to halt 6 million metric tons of carbon dioxide from being emitted, which is about the same annual emissions as 8 standard power plants. That’s great for pollution and the planet – and I’m all for quieter vacuums!
There are still a few tribes living in the remote Amazon who have never been contacted. Sadly, one small tribe ran into some gold miners. The miners later bragged in a bar about killing the tribesmen, supposedly in “self defense”.
There is so little of our world that’s still untouched. It gets smaller every day.
Sweden always scores top for quality of life – and many believe it’s because Swedes live close to Nature, taking every opportunity to get out and enjoy the fresh air. Now, Sweden is trying an interesting experiment. Highly stressed people will spend 3 days in tiny cabins, made mostly of glass. The “72 hour cabins” have no communications and are situated on an idyllic island. (More here).
US Green News:
For the last several decades, dietary recommendations in the US have associated fat with cardiovascular disease. So a heart-healthy diet is typically low in fat. But a new study published in The Lancet may cause you to re-evaluate this. What’s interesting about the study is that it covered people in 18 countries (many studies are restricted to one country, which may make it irrelevant to others). The study followed a massive 135,335 adults for seven years.
It found that eating lots of fruits, veggies and legumes is best (no surprise there) (and it’s best for the planet too). But people eating a diet rich in fats did NOT suffer higher rates of heart problems. There are load of different findings, but essentially, just eat a varied diet of whole foods, and don’t worry about fats IF you’re eating healthy food.
We love tiny houses – but they tend to be aimed at singles, couples or, at most, couples with one small child.
But now, Rocky Mountain Tiny Houses are changing that – their tiny house fits a family of 5!
What do you think? Let me know in the comments below.
Please spread the Green word and share this info.
And if you’re on Twitter, get a daily green tip by following me – @EcoExpert1 . See you there!
