It's complicated! The Elephant left the room, but the Orangutan is still there...

Environmental issues are complicated and it would be much easier if someone could just say "palm oil is bad" or "boycott xxxx store" but it doesn't really work like that. There are nuances. And I think it is important to be honest about that, even if it does complicated the simple "DON'T DO X MESSAGE" because people need to be able to trust us... or else they will stop listening. 

Try google "palm oil" and "environment" and you will find some of the controversy on this subject. There is this Smithsonian article about how giving up palm oil might be bad for the environment. There is also an IUCN article about how boycotting palm oil will lead to an increase in the use of other more land-hungry oils... Of course you will also find articles entitled "What is Palm Oil and Why it's Killing the Environment"  and "Why is palm oil bad and what happened to the Iceland advert" (which is much more likely to get clicked on than "Saying ‘no’ to palm oil would likely displace, not halt biodiversity loss – IUCN report" - a note to scientists on getting clicks!!!!)

Source: https://phys.org/news/2014-11-great-apes-threat-palm-oil.html 

I like Orangutans (well, I like the idea of them existing, I haven't met one), so I definitely don't want their homes destroyed, ditto other things that live where we are now growing ridiculous amounts of oil (well, palm fruit for oil).  Cutting down forests or replacing peat lands, also not awesome. Large scale monocultures (one type of crop) are pretty much never going to be awesome. We are probably not going to make as much fuss about turning over huge swathes of continents to wheat production, because the grasslands had their large herbivores hunted out ages ago and small things are cute and all, but they just don't get the same kind of press orangutans are going to get... (am I sounding cynical?) The issue is large scale monoculture more than any particular product, although some products are certainly worse than others. 

For me, I almost think it is just easier to not eat palm oil so that my food doesn't have to be flavoured with any kind of guilt or orangutan tears... and if you feel like that there are some lists for palm oil free products in South Africa here and here. 

Of course, then I need to also make sure there isn't some other oil, that is potentially worse - so maybe I just shouldn't be eating chocolates, biscuits or chips (or a huge amount of other stuff) and I will be healthier for it too. BUT, that is probably not going to happen. So what is the solution here? (In my humble and not at all expert opinion) Well, firstly, as far as possible we should be making our own stuff... but life is busy so... 

Engage with the industry and ask them what their policy is about sourcing sustainable palm oil (it is possible, and hey palm fruit is native to Africa so would have less environmental impact and could have important positive economic impact to poorer regions). Our evil consumer-driven society means that if consumers say they will only buy things from sustainable sources, I am pretty sure that companies will make sure that they source things from sustainable sources? I am hopelessly optimistic about this but I believe in nagging! And I know that there are issues with the eco-labels and whether or not things that are labeled environmentally friendly really are, but I think we should encourage companies to keep striving for improved transparency and excellence and we should be supporting organisations who can legitimately provide neutral labels of sustainability.... Peer pressure is powerful - they taught us that at school! I like the Marine Stewardship Council, although I know they have also been criticized recently, but I think they are genuinely trying to encourage the fishing industry to be better - let's have similar rigorous and transparent standards for other industries. And we definitely shouldn't say that a company switching to environmental sources now is too little too late... we should be asking why on earth all the other companies aren't doing the same!!!! 

I love Cadbury's Wholenut... and I tweeted and asked them about their palm oil policy and they didn't reply :( so I stopped buying their brand for a while, and obviously I must eat a lot of chocolate because next time I tweeted they did reply and with good news - so I went out and celebrated with some Wholenut! Next stop Bakers because... well... Salticrax. 

First I highjacked someone else's tweet about Cadbury's Christmas range having too much packaging and asked "we would also like to know about your palm oil policy". That's when I had the first reply from Cadbury UK but I really wanted a reply from Cadbury SA, so I asked them too. They also had a positive response... I replied with "Great, next stop, recyclable packaging" because, well... you know... nagging... 

However, the most important thing we should be doing is consuming less, LESS OF EVERYTHING. Less stuff. We should all be buying less stuff, we really don't need it. And in an ideal world the stuff we would be buying would have been produced locally, recently... that would be nice (because once upon a time, in my life time, we really did survive when avos and strawberries weren't available all year round). It isn't an ideal world and they don't grow cocoa in the western Cape so I can't really judge, but really, on this Black Friday... think Less is Really More... Please... for the sake of the orangutan (you know, they make umbrellas and display regional greetings - they really are very cute and deserve to have a home).

P.S. Wondering about the elephant?? I think there is only one simple environmental message - have fewer children - but it is one we are not allowed to say aloud... or maybe the Elephant has indeed left the room and we can (although I still don't feel like I can, because I don't have children which is a conscious decision, BY THE WAY, based on the awareness of ridiculously high population levels but people won't believe that anyway because I am also single.)

Ostriches

I haven't written for a while, but I am going to stop apologizing for that because it has become the norm. Someone asked me this week whether I was still blogging and my reply was that I am finding the world very uninspiring at the moment. And I am. It is more than that even, I don't want to think about all the things that are going terribly wrong. I want to stick my head in the sand and think about the little white eyes fluttering outside my office window or about what I am doing this weekend or what the next (happy) book I will read will be (suggestions welcome - but rainbows and happiness, OK?)

I definitely don't want to think about the Guptas, Nkandla, Thuli no longer being Public Protector, SAA, SABC, poor Pravin, the Nuclear deal, Bexit, Trump or #Feesmustfall (which is particularly difficult because I really want to give UCT a big hug). It is very difficult to avoid thinking about these topics though but I know little about the intricacies involved, so I won't even try to talk about them (because I only really know what the media tells me). 

I do know a bit more about the environmental issues I would rather not have to (but can't avoid) think about. For instance, I know that I want to bang the door down of the Namibian environmental ministry and ask "WTF" (possibly even in the full words, even though I am not a fan of the last one). What are you thinking NAMIBIA? WHAT? First, there is the company wanting to catch LIVE AND FREE marine animals to put in to an aquarium! Ridiculous. How dare you even consider it. And while the CITES conversations are happening in Johannesburg? How can you think it is a good idea to catch ENDANGERED African Penguins and dolphins from what is probably a small, (~100 individuals) closed population resident in Namibia. It is crazy! But how can you think it is a good idea when there has relatively recently been such public outcry about marine mammals in captivity (even those born in captivity)? (I haven't even watched Black Fish because I know it will make me too angry/upset). 

And now, they are considering (? or allowing?) marine phosphate mining! Huh? You can check out the Safeguard Our Seabed website for details on how terrible an idea this is, but let me just say that it is open strip mining but in a marine environment it will impact the whole marine ecosystem and the scale of it is INSANE. All for something that is actually available on land and shouldn't be used in such huge quantities because it contributes to eutrophication (Google definition: excessive richness of nutrients in a lake or other body of water, frequently due to run-off from the land, which causes a dense growth of plant life.) which is a whole other set of problems. 

I am not meaning to pick on Namibia, South Africa is also doing silly things! And one of the reasons (although one of many) I am worried about phosphate mining in Namibia is that it sets the precedent for the same to occur in South Africa. 

And now this blog is already too long and I haven't gotten to the other thing that is making me mad (mad enough to rant about to my poor, wonderful mom when I was meant to be just wishing her a very happy birthday - The rant came about because we were chatting about the crazy weather, particularly in Bloemfontein).  Climate Change! I feel like South Africa is acting as though the drought was a surprise to them when meanwhile, the El Nino event (that are associated with droughts) was forecast and climate change modelling has shown increased likelihood of drought and extreme weather events in South Africa. And yet, what measures are South Africa taking to deal with this? I know that the people in power have their hands full with all the things I listed in the second paragraph, but climate change is an issue we NEED TO BE PROACTIVE and NOT REACTIVE to. And yet, we haven't ratified the Paris Agreement. Let's be clear, Climate Change isn't a luxurious problem, it will impact the poor and marginalised communities the most. 

So, unfortunately, we can't be ostriches. We need a rational and active citizenry who hold the government to account for both its economic , social and environmental (which will impact social and economic conditions) decisions.... without throwing faeces or petrol bombs.

Update on 28th October: We also need this

Beyond Facebook

I mentioned my general resolution to make the most of life last year but it is also important to have measurable/ achievable goals. (I think there is an acronym - SMART goals? Specific Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Timely). One of my 2016 goals is to create more public awareness around the issue of plastic microbeads. To this end, I have been trying to get local papers to publish my articles. 

Thanks J for letting me use your hand!

J I know you were bummed about the plastic in your present
but it has been super helpful having pictures - silver linings.

I am not sure if I really expected them to agree, and to be honest, while six (out of 36) have at least responded, I have only seen one article (but YAY the South Coast Herald). I have high hopes about the other papers (eternal optimist) - particularly Kempton Express because they emailed back to ask me my designation. 

I have also contacted 50|50, Cosmopolitan (they are personal care products after all) and Go, Getaway and Caxton Magazines (Green = responded, Red = silence). Facebook is remarkably useful for this. I am hoping there will be a guest blog on the Two Oceans Aquarium website soon too. Anyway, I am mentioning all this because I think this is important but I don't have any experience in this kind of thing (I have learnt that it is important to mention my name and organisation in the text in case they don't say who wrote the article - oops). I would love it if anyone has some suggestions. 

I am REALLY excited about the picture that N did for us - I think it is beautiful and you know what they say about a picture saying a thousand words...

 (I tend to opt for the thousand words because my artistic skills extend to colouring in - not always in the lines - but this time I will keep it short). 

PS In my work capacity I have been very careful to not mention brands but that picture is a SORBET product - they say they only have three that include plastic and they are phasing it out - but in the mean time, don't buy it. J has also alerted me to the fact that there are little colourful beads in some household cleaning agents e.g. MR MUSCLE. They don't mention plastic as an ingredient ("encapsulated beads" of what, I ask?) but keep a look out for sneaky plastic.

PPS SO bad at keeping it short. Promise I am done now!  

Do they know it's Christmas Time at all?

Yes. I know that BandAid made lots of money that all went to good causes (well I presume that part) which is great  and that PARTS of Africa are still impoverished and desperate but Africa is huge. But, I, for one, am very aware it is Christmas time (and thrilled that it is not snowing!) (I have mixed feelings about the lyrics but not the intentions of that song)

I think anyone that knows me knows that I love Christmas! I genuinely think that people seem happier at this time of year - or maybe I am just happier and project that on my surroundings. I love the cheesy decorations and the cheesy music. I love finding gifts that I hope my family will like and I LOVE that I get to see them all soon. I also love Love Actually and The Holiday and the fact that December means I get to watch them (my own rule - but an important one). I also love that it is Summer. 

It is definitely a time of year that should inspire people to do "the right thing" and I am sure it is (statistically, even) a time of year that has an increase in charitable giving, volunteering and general "do-good-ing". I mean, even I went to help paint a children's hospital this month (actually maybe the end of last month - time also goes so quickly at this time of year). So I think it is an excellent time of year for the COP21 to be happening. I hope that it will inspire the World leaders to look beyond economies and elections and make decisions that will benefit everyone. 

Meanwhile, it isn't just about them, this is something we should all be thinking about ALL the time. And we should face the fact that it isn't easy. I love my car, I do, I love driving, I love the freedom of being able to pop off somewhere. While I was at UCT I took the free Jammie Shuttle and could feel a little smug occasionally but now I drive to work everyday. I also drive to the Common to go for a walk. These are the sorts of things that we should think about changing (although there are always excuses: no public transport routes on my way to work, and I am really walking an awesome dog who lives near the Common). 

These photos were taken in KZN in November - they were
super festive animals. I added the festive fence in -
but just want you to know - they weren't behind fences.

We should think about whether we need to eat something that was flown in from the other side of the world and weigh up the benefits between sustainable from Portugal, ethical from Kenya or locally made products. I don't have the answers, but I do think we need to be asking the questions. I know that my non-conservationist friends probably find me a little tiresome, and my conservationist friends find me a little slack, but we should be setting personal challenges for ourselves and pushing ourselves further. In 2013 I gave up pork and have stuck to that despite the fact that bacon is delicious. Years before that I cut down my meat eating drastically and continue to decrease it. I promise you, it isn't that hard (even though steak is yummy). Think about what you can do (you don't have to tell anyone or shout it from the roof tops to encourage others to do likewise). These are just examples - what are you doing?

If you want a more informed weigh-in on the COP then read the various expert reports (e.g. this one by Conservation International) or the news (e.g. BBC) or official website media reports (here). I am not an expert. I am just an optimist. I am expecting big things out of this meeting. 

P.S. Yes, I know I posted 4 pictures that say Merry Christmas... but I REALLY REALLY wish you a Merry Christmas

  

Consumerist Conservation

DINOSAURS!!!! 

I know that is an oxymoron, but however much we want to stand on a pedestal of conservation awesomeness, we all buy things!!! And it is hard to consistently make responsible decisions (especially on a limited budget). It is particularly hard because you don't always know if what you are doing is responsible or not. 

My recent pet hate is the use of plastic microbeads. The reason I feel so annoyed about this is because I actually have used facial scrubs and it didn't even cross my mind that washing my face would result in hundreds of little pieces of PLASTIC getting washed out into the sewage and possibly the ocean. WHO would think to put plastic in a face wash (or toothpaste). And so because I have looked into this in a very small way, I have also found out that sneaky plastic has snuck into other personal care products. 

What I really want is for there just to be an easy way to know when I am rushing to buy toothpaste because I ran out unexpectedly (pah! I don't run out of things unexpectedly, well... maybe food) that I am not inadvertently killing off hundred off fish and seabirds by buying that toothpaste instead of another. In fact, I would rather just shop somewhere that shares my feelings about these issues. 

My friends have heard my wax lyrical about Woolworths for reasons that have nothing to do with their environmental policies but I like the fact that they support the WWF SASSI campaign (of course, so does Pick n Pay) and they have a sustainability policy (read about it here). I honestly can't really afford to do my general grocery shopping at Woolworths but when shopping I want someone else to do my sustainability thinking for me. Of course, Pick n Pay also has a sustainability policy (which you can read about here and it includes a rad interactive green house). As I said in my last blog, there is pressure on big business to include social responsibility but that doesn't mean that all companies do.  Still, isn't that what we need? An easy way for people to do the right thing?? I mean, some people are willing to go the extra mile to do the right thing, but what we really want is for it to be easy and obvious for everyone.

Snuck into Kirstenbosch... No, I don't get in for free, 
but I do have friends that do! 

So, back to my pet hate, maybe we can make a list like this PRODUCT list for South Africa? Want to help me? (I have been in touch with beat the microbead - I think it is a cool app and important cause).


PS You SEE! Just after posting this I see something that says that a pair of jeans takes 10 589 liters to make... but you have to wear clothes, right? 

Beer anyone?

As you can guess, my default drink is wine but I do like certain beers and I especially like the recent surge in craft brewing and all the variety that that brings. I also like all (seriously, ANY) "how to make xxxx alcohol" tours. I am fortunate to live in Cape Town where hundreds of wineries are easily accessible but I have also been to some breweries in England and a Whisky distillery in Scotland and I find the process really interesting. I promise it isn't just about the drink you invariably get at the end of the tour (especially when that drink is brandy or whisky - I have not acquired those tastes). 

This weekend we went on the SAB Brewery tour in Newlands. (I have been to the SAB tour in JHB and really enjoyed it but always thought it was a little silly that I live so close to the Newlands Brewery and have never done their tour - so, that's one tick on the CT bucket list!) The tour completely changed my perceptions on SAB and so I think I should tell you why. 

Right up front I am going to say, I am not a huge SAB beer fan. In my younger days I drank Black Label because I was trying to seem hardcore (this is difficult for me because I have chubby cheeks, a high-pitched voice and tiny fingers and even with ever increasing wrinkles I mostly just look young and on good days - I hate this - cute). Then I realised that there are much nicer things to drink and no one actually thinks you are hardcore for drinking beer anyway. And then I discovered (or my Brother-in-Law did) Goblins Bitter which was my introduction to the wonderful world of beer variety and, following that, craft beer in all its beautiful subtle varieties. 

Having said that, this tour, made me realise, that we should be drinking more SAB beer, and by the quart - because quart bottles are fully recyclable. In our world of increasing waste and overflowing landfills it is awesome to find a product that you can fully recycle. (They even give you a bottle deposit back - when did that stop with other types of bottles?) 

They also try reuse or sell on all of their by-products which is fabulous. Newlands Brewery uses clean coal burning technology, (yes, I know coal is evil, but they are keeping it clean as possible) and the excess ash goes to the cement industry. They use normal beer ingredients, of course, and try to source those ingredients locally. (Although due to regulations, they need Italian maize for Peroni - so stick with the local stuff). Once the hops and grains have been used they are sent to cattle farmers to supplement feed. Even the excess CO2 is used to make cooldrinks fizzy. 

The best thing is instead of the standard 5L water for every 1L of beer, they have adjusted their process to be 1.5L of water for every 1L of beer. (On the back of the bathroom doors at the Two Oceans Aquarium they have infographs of the amount of water that is used to make things, and the alcohol stats have always made me feel guilty because, let's face it, I am not going to stop drinking wine). The water is spring water - and actually the reason that the brewery (which was established, under a different name, shortly after Van Riebeek came to our shores) is where it is. (And you can go collect spring water from Newlands free of charge). 

Finally, after the tour and beer tasting, I was able to bring myself to ask a question about the filtering process. You see, on one brewery tour in the UK I found out that they use isinglas to filter their beers. Isinglas (I remember the name because it sounds like Isengard from Lord of the Rings) is a fish product - to be exact - the dried swim bladders of fish and given that I don't eat fish (any, ever) this horrified me. I had unwittingly been eating fish in my beer. Luckily, Newlands Brewery uses a totally fish-free filtering system (that didn't sound like a place in Lord of the Rings  so I forgot what it was called)! 

I failed to take photos of anything
other than the free drinks...
This was huge, a combination of
milk stout and
ginger and apple brutal fruit. YUM

While I was listening to the lovely and well-informed tour guide I was thinking about all the times that I have had people tell me that all the big fishing companies (insert the first name that comes to mind) are to blame for over-fishing, and how I have tried to explain that generally, the big fishing companies are the ones that stick to the rules (and work with management and science and fund research - mine included) because they have names they have to protect. They are the companies that are monitored and audited and they are the companies that can't afford a scandal. (Having said that, I am not saying what any fishing industry does is perfect, but usually I am having these conversations while trying to promote MSC, which puts the power into the consumers' hands - through peer-pressure which we all know is effective - ask the cigarette companies - but is mostly initiated by big fishing companies).  

I know that Newlands Brewery has to portray an image of responsible environmental practice (particularly given that it is in the middle of a middle-class suburban area), and I am aware that these practices help keep costs down for them so they make economic sense, but I am not judging motives, I am just glad it is happening. And I am sure someone will find ways to criticise any industry, but I think we should shout out loud about positive practices so that more and more industries start to feel the peer-pressure to do the same. 

PS Did you know, Brutal Fruit is actually BEER! They just add fruit juice - real fruit juice made from fruit they squeeze themselves - to the beer. Ditto Redds - totally beer - they add apple to the maize. 

Greek anyone? Or maybe some Latin?

Yes, I am recycling images - because recycling is
a good thing to do, right?

I am putting together an activity book which I am hoping to get printed so I can brainwash children to not litter, eat sustainable fish and love the ocean... Maybe brainwash isn't the appropriate word, but it is more fun to use. Actually, I don't currently have a way to get this printed (because that costs money - anyone know someone who would want to donate?) so in the meantime it is going to be up on the website when I am happy with it (and figure out how to make it visible - yes some of it is up there but you can't find it, in theory this is my master plan but, also, I am not sure how to add another tab to the menu). 

I am finding this immensely fun. Who knew I could actually consider this real work! Of course it isn't really in my job description but today is Friday and my boss did say it is a useful thing to do. It is mostly crosswords, match up thingys, word searches etc. 

Anyway, one of the pages I was thinking of making was to explain scientific names in a fun way (no really, I CAN make it fun). In my children's book (anyone know how to get that published) I gave a simple definition: "In biology we write the scientific names of animals in Latin (or Greek) and in italics. Species names are made up of a family name which is written first and in capitals, and a specific name which comes second (e.g. Littorina africana)" but that is because I name the characters with derivatives of their scientific names. (You already knew I was a nerd). 

To be honest, I find scientific names quite fun... hold on, this isn't a symptom of my nerdiness. For instance, I love the the scientific name for the African Penguin, Spheniscus demersus, means "wedge-shaped diver" because it is shaped like a wedge and dives!!! How beautiful is that? And that seahorses are "hippocampus" because "hippo" means horse and the common octopus is Octopus (eight feet) vulgaris (common), also cephalopod = head/feet. 

So today I have found out that the Large-scale mullet is Liza macro (big) -lepis (scale), the Northern bottlenose whale is Hyperodon ampullatus and ampulla means bottle. Cetacean (the word for dolphins and whales) means large sea animal - and I think the blue whale would agree. The Pelagic (Greek - of the sea) Cormorant is Phalacrocorax pelagicus so what does that make the Bank Coromorant, Phalacrocorax neglectus? Are you loving this as much as me? OK maybe I am a complete nerd and I did actually do Latin in standard 6 and 7 and loved it, so maybe that stuck with me. 

Photo credit: Science Friday

BUT, if you do love this as much as me, do any of you know cool definitions for scientific names? It is a surprisingly difficult thing to Google. (Not even Wiki has all the answers and I can't actually think of that many scientific names off the top of my head and no, I didn't know all of the ones mentioned either but Wiki does have this cool page). And, if you are just thinking I am a lost-cause nerd then even you will have to appreciate that there is a fungus from Malaysia called Spongiforma squarepantsii and they are thinking of naming an octopus Opisthoteuthis adorabilis because it is so cute. 

Still not convinced? Try this word search which has a bunch of marine-related words but also the names of my family's pets. 

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