Conscious Consumerism

I haven't blogged in ages, or even written anything more creative than a workshop report in ... forever. This is weird because I love writing, but haven't felt like I had anything profound to say. But, meh, it is a blog, who needs to be profound... I did go to a SANCOR seminar recently that has stuck in my mind and keeps poking the inside of my skull.  

Leslie Petrik of UWC has been working in a multidisciplinary group to study the environmental pollutants associated with the Green Point sewage outflow. OK, so a quick Google (see here, here, here for examples) shows mixed reports about whether the sewage that gets pumped out to see if treated or not, but testing the water around the outflow has come up with loads of chemicals, many above recommended concentrations. Here is the stunner... we (South Africa) doesn't actually have recommended concentrations, so Leslie uses international guidelines. This means, that when the city says that the water quality is within recommended limits, it doesn't actually mean anything - who's limits?

I think the reason it has been on my mind is because I was feeling guilty about my artificial chemical footprint in any case. I have zero interest in researching the impact of all the random ingredients in products I use because that's what people like Leslie are for... but I do have guilt, and uneducated guilt to boot. So, I have been phasing out some of my mainstream products for stuff from Faithful to Nature and Lush (although not cheap options - I want to trust that I can trust them to do my thinking for me). And I think a lot of people are also looking for natural alternatives - particularly those who are using their grey water effectively. (Upsides to the drought???) Although I do like bleach - and that can't be good so I have been trying to resist and clean with Triple Orange instead. 

Terrible quality, I know. Always feel awkward doing this
during a presentation... 

We are a long way from living biodegradable lives, for instance, there is very little I can do about the prescription drugs I now take, but I still think every small change we do make, makes a difference. I am so tired of people blaming everyone else. In a workshop recently, I tried to make the impassioned speech that every small action taken by the 7 billion people on earth adds up to 7 billion actions. To be honest, it fell a little flat on the workshop's participants. Still, I stand by this, it might not change everything, but every single one of us has the power to make small changes that can add up to big differences, because rivers shouldn't end up like this one in Guatemala and nothing will change if we don't start right now. 

I just needed to add a pretty picture to make up for the bad
quality phone photos of Leslie's slides. 

See: https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2018-04-10-rivers-worldwide-threatened-by-pharma-waste-studies?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=First%20Thing%2011%20April%202018%20Kulula%2060&utm_content=First%20Thing%2011%20April%202018%20Kulula%2060+CID_f8291ce1701eebc7edbe5d469fef84ea&utm_source=TouchBasePro&utm_term=Pharmaceutical%20waste%20threatens%20rivers%20worldwide#.Ws27ci6uwdV