Why You Should Plan an African Safari…Now

Why You Should Plan an African Safari…Now

Jamie Oliver #FoodRevolutionDay Song

An Astronaut's View of Earth

Yummy Smoothie for the Soul

This is a completely vegan and gluten free recipe. The ingredients included are also great for digestion.

What you'll need:

• A little over a cup of fresh pineapple
• 1/2 of a banana
• 1/2 a cup of water
• 1/2 a cup of coconut water
• 1/4-1/3 cup of fresh parsley
• 2-3 tablespoons of avocado
• 1-2 tablespoons of fresh ginger
• Lime juice from a slice of fresh lemon

Throw all into a blender until blended and blend for up to a minute or until smooth and constant. You can drink right away or throw into the freezer for a half hour to an hour then get your drink on.

Enjoy!

Climate Change Denial Disorder

Fantastic Fungi: The Spirit of Good

Individual Sustainability Paper

Holly Talkington

ESR 171

Professor Kevin Lien

Winter 2015

Individual Sustainability

            What is your impact on this planet? How can you reduce your impact? Everything we do impacts ourselves and the world around us; whether it’s driving, what we buy, what throw away, and so forth. By becoming more sustainable as an individual it will help lower the ecological footprint. This is crucial if we are to have a healthy planet.

            What’s the issue you may ask? According to data from footprintnetwork.org in order for earth to supply us with our resources and absorb our waste we need one and a half earths. Wait, one and a half earths to continue living the way we do?! We only have one planet! Where are we going to obtain another half of a planet? On top of that, if we continue at the rate we are going by 2030 that will increase to two earths!

            What is contributing to the need for so many earths? It is the use of fossil fuels to power our cars, to make our goods, and so forth. Deforestation is another contributor to build our homes, have fires, make household goods, and more. Our growing landfills of all our waste are another contributor. These are just a couple examples of what is causing us to need extra earths than we have.

            These actions can lead to a loss of natural resources and the collapse of ecosystems, the economy, and even societies. All of our dumping and use of fossil fuels is polluting our water, air and soil. This creates an unhealthy environment for us and all the other species that inhabit the planet. With an unhealthy environment we create health issues and are losing biodiversity.

            This is where you come in. By living a more sustainable life we can start reducing our footprint and avoid these catastrophic events from happening. By adjusting simple life choices that you do will produce a difference in our ecological footprint. Use energy efficient bulbs and turn off the lights when you’re not in the room. Unplug vampire electronics such as your TV, chargers, stereo and other similar items. Buying local to support your local economy and to reduce the miles your product has to travel. Eating organic and little to no meat. Using reusable products such as shopping bags, to-go containers, coffee mugs, straws, and water bottles will divert waste from landfills. Try to reduce your amount of driving, carpool, public transit, and/or bike to reduce emissions going into the air. These are just a few simple and painless changes; there are numerous other ways we can start reducing our ecological footprint.

            Adjusting our lifestyle is necessary for all of us to start creating a difference in our impact on the planet. It also influences others around us to do the same as well. We all need to take the initiative and do our part. I fancy living on a healthy planet rich in biodiversity and I know I am not the only one. Remember, every little bit counts.

Bibliography

Web Site: Schueler, John. Are Energy Vampires Sucking You Dry?.

<http://energy.gov/articles/are-energy-vampires-sucking-you-dry>. Accessed 2015 February 5.

Web Site: Global Footprint Network. World Footprint, Do We Fit on the Planet?.

<http://footprintnetwork.org/en/index.php/GFN/page/world_footprint/> Accessed 2015 February 10.

Web Site: Boston University. Ten Sustainable Actions.

<http://www.bu.edu/sustainability/what-you-can-do/ten-sustainable-actions/> Accessed 2015 March 2.

A Letter to Humanity

Dear humans,

When will we stop?!?!?! When we have done so much damage to our ecosystem that nothing can survive? We build and build and consume and consume! Humans have become an invasive species, pushing other species out of their homes, killing competitors, polluting the air, water and soil, using up all the natural resources, the list goes on. This causes me sooo much deep deep sadness and pain. I can’t help but bawl my eyes out and ask why? Why do we keep doing what we do when we know the damage it creates? Why do we cause such harm to the world around us and ourselves? I try so very hard to lessen my impact on the environment but I still in one way or another cause damage, and it is so frustrating and depressing. Human activity has increased the extinction rate 100-1,000 times greater than past rates! We are creating the next mass extinction and I feel as if very few care and/or are trying to make a change. We destroy habitat, introduce invasive species, pollute our environment, overpopulate and overexploit. At the rate of consumption and living we are at now we need 1.5 earths to supply us with the amount of resources we use and to be able to absorb all of our waste! We don’t have another half earth everybody! What about that is not clear? If we don’t stop we will use up our resources and trash the planet.
Today after my Environmental Studies class I felt overwhelmed with the amount of devastation humans have caused to this planet. It breaks my heart more than anything in the world. It hit me even more when I tried to go and find a place to be alone and cry but could not find that solitude. All I wanted was to be alone in nature away from anything disturbed or created by humans. Instead of finding that all I found was agriculture, cars, buildings, roads, people, construction where the sound of grinding metal sounded like the screams of pain from the destruction and harm we have bestowed upon the world and its inhabitants, the trail to the forest was even closed, there was no where to go. Not having a place to go undisturbed by humans made me think of all the animals that we have done this too. I felt their pain of having nowhere to go. We have taken their homes, their food, and their lives and have given them fragments of what they once had for them to make do with. These fragments are few and far between and if they are not even enough for me to have a moment of peace in, what makes us think it’s enough for 100s, even 1,000s of species to survive in?
What do we do? How do we make this stop? I don’t want to give up but I feel that I am at a loss of what to do or where to start.
I do know there are lots of things being done to help make a positive impact but it still is not enough. We need to do more, and soon before it’s too late. I ask everyone please, please, please to keep in mind that we are not separate from nature. We are just as much apart of it as anything else in this world. What we do to the world around us affects everything, including us. Please can we all do our part to treat this planet better, to be conscious of our choices and what we support, to try and create change for a more livable future for our selves and everything else on this planet? We are all in this together and every single bit of our ecosystem depends on every other single bit.

Love always,
A lugubrious human

DIY All Natural Vapor Rub for Colds

It’s that time of season again! Runny nose, congestion, cough, you name it, it’s after you or worse it got you!

Cutting out plastic purchases has led me to get crafty. I came down with a yucky cold and needed to do something about it! Trying to avoid plastic I did not want to buy any over the counter medicines that came in a plastic bottle, so I made my own all natural vapor rub!

It has worked wonders for my friends and I. I would love to share the recipe and directions with you so you can try it out for yourself.

What you’ll need:

• 1/2 cup olive oil, avocado oil, hemp seed oil, or almond oil (I used hemp seed oil)
• 1 cup of coconut oil
• 3/4 cup grated beeswax
• 40 drops eucalyptus essential oil
• 34 drops mint essential oil (I used half peppermint essential oil and half spearmint essential oil)
• 19 drops lavender essential oil
• 17 drops rosemary essential oil
• 12 drops camphor essential oil
• Glass jars or metal tins

Directions:

1. Melt beeswax over a double boiler
2. Add the oils
3. Stir in the essential oils
4. Pour into glass jars or metal tins
5. Let set
6. Rub on chest and bottoms of feet every 2+ hours
7. Feel better!

This does make close to 10 ounces! You can either put it into a large container, split between multiple containers and give some out, or you can cut the recipe in half. When not using store in a cool dark place.

Please feel free to contact me with any question, ideas, or comments. Thank you for all of your love and support!

Be sure to check out my yoga page and Instagram as well:
https://www.facebook.com/HollyTalkingtonYoga

http://instagram.com/hollytalksaton

Global Divestment Day — 13–14 February 2015

Lets unite together to make a change for a more livable future!

Lets Make Some Shampoo

I hope everyone had a lovely holiday season! Mine was lovely and I am glad to be back home in Portland again.

Today I tried to record the makings of my shampoo but their was technical difficulties so I was unable to get the video. Next time I make shampoo I  will double and triple check to make sure everything is working properly.

This shampoo recipe is good for stimulating the hair follicles for healthy and thick growth. It aroma is great for stress reduction and helping sooth colds (which is perfect for this season).

What you will need:

• 1/2 cup of castile soap (I get Dr. Bronners in bulk from New Seasons)
• 1/4 cup of canned coconut milk
• 1/4 cup of honey (I get this in bulk from New Seasons as well)
• 2 tbsp of coconut oil (I get this in bulk from Alberta Co-op Grocery)
• 1 tbsp of Vitamin E oil
• 20 drops of Peppermint Oil
• 30 drops of Eucalyptus Oil
• 9.5 oz container

The directions are simple:

1. Warm up the honey and coconut oil to make it easier to mix with the rest of the ingredients.
2. Add everything to the 9.5 oz container.
3. Shake it up until well mixed.
4. Take a shower and see how you like it!
5. Let me know how this recipe works for you.

The contents may separate and this is totally normal. When you hop in the shower let the warm water run over it while you re-mix the contents before using.

 Peppermint Oil Benefit:

s:

                                                                         Headaches

Sunburns

Inflammation

Antispasmodic

Energizing

Eucalyptus Oil Benefits:

Wounds

Respiratory Issues

Stress

Lice

Fever Reduction

Antiseptic

I do not claim that these will cure any of the above listed things but they may help benefit the above issues.

My next blog will be on making toothpaste. Hopefully there will be a video to go with the writing as well. Thank you again so much for your support. If you like this follow me on google+, blogger and/or my social media sites:

Instagram: HollyTalksaton

Facebook: Holly Talkington Yoga

Blogger: My Sustainable Life Upgrade

Feel free to comment bellow or send me an email to ohhollybug@gmail.com

Keep Up the Good Work!

Sources:

https://www.drbronner.com/

http://www.newseasonsmarket.com/

http://www.albertagrocery.coop/

http://www.livestrong.com/article/132829-benefits-peppermint-aromatherapy/

https://www.organicfacts.net/health-benefits/essential-oils/health-benefits-of-eucalyptus-essential-oil.html

http://detoxforlife.biz/19-health-benefits-of-peppermint/

http://dxline.info/herbs/eucalyptus-oil-leaf-and-plant-benefits