Yep yes, Al Gore’s Inconvenient Truth film was indeed thought provoking, at times doom laden, how can we be so blind to the stark truth that we are ’trashing’ the planet. It’s exasperating, so depressing, and fear inducing. Icebergs floating off the coast of Dunedin is freaky to say the least.
However, and it’s a hugely important however, we CAN DO something about it , it’s our challenge.
We can reverse the effects on the environment. Go and see this film, and take any teenager you can persuade, get your favourite local teacher to show it in schools. Seriously everyone should see it, start local discussions. You don’t have to be a hippy, in fact it might be far better if you are not, the more corporate business minded folk that see it the better, listen to the economic arguments for why it’ll hurt, if we do nothing. New Zealand needs to address its own carbon emissions per capita too. Clean and green, well we won’t be for long, if we don’t do something. This planet is so precious and beautiful.
The question on everyone’s lips was, but how can I help? Well Grove Mill distributed their own leaflet on things each of us can do… a simple but inspiring action in itself, taking on responsibility and doing something to help guide folk in the right direction. Excuse me whilst I go and rifle through my bag for it…..do love the frog emblem, by the way, it’s a southern bell frog, which I didn’t know before Grove Mill’s film on their carbon zero policy, also well worth a watch. Grove Mill are the first winery in the world to become carboNZero certified, which ensures that Grove Mill are minimising their climate change impacts. AWESOME STUFF GUYS. Well done. (excellent wine too!)
I guess we all have to try and apply the idea to our own lives. ( yes I hitched a ride with a good friend, who had a full car, but sadly I can’t always be smug – much more of a consumer than I was once was, slipping and our house is sadly lacking in insulation, a basic first step ). I hope Grove Mill’s example will be followed shortly by all of Marlborough’s wineries, also interplanting so there is not so much of a monoculture! Climate warming means bugs don’t get killed off in the frosts and new strains develop resistant to chemicals, could wipe out the whole of Marlborough vines, so it makes sense to keep a mixture of crops…..anyway, I don’t want to rant – there are lots of good folk out there doing amazing stuff, so back to the
"Grove Mill what you can do list."
"Check out www.carbusters.org and www.climatecrisis.net
You can reduce your carbon emissions (and save money) by doing these very simple things:
- Buy energy efficient appliances
- Replace your ordinary lightbulbs with energy efficient ones
- Drive a smaller car (do you need to drive a 4 wheeldrive?)
- Don’t leave your tv on standby
- Turn off your video, DVD player, computer, cell phone when you are not using them.
- Change your thermostat and use clock thermostats to reduce energy needs for heating and cooling.
- Weatherise your house with double glazing and insulation
- Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
- Buy green products
- You can get rid of your car when you can walk or ride a bicycle
- Don’t fly if you can drive, get a train, ferry or bus. Spend extra time enjoying the scenery.
- Tell your parents not to ruin the world that you live in ( on a personal note my mother gave me all the green stuff I respect from knee high – recycling, love of nature and simple tastes, vegetarian food, so I simply couldn’t !!!)
- If you are a parent, join with your children, to save the world they will live in
- Switch to renewable sources of energy – Meridian Energy
- Democracy isn’t something you have, it’s something you do – vote for leaders who pledge to solve this crisis
- Write to your MP
- Plant trees, lots of native trees
- Speak up in your community
- Call radio shows and write to newspapers
- Buy local produce
- When you pray, move your feet
- Learn as much as you can about the climate crisis
For further information, please contact Grove Mill 03 572 8200 or email info@grovemill.co.nz
Well I don’t know about you, but I’m tired, nearly bewitching hour yet again, so I’ll away to bed, plenty to think on, but if anyone out there actually reads this, and has some suggestions of sites to visit (spam, don’t bother, waste your energy elsewhere please!) or say wind energy or solar panel providers, I’ll put up business listings for free for you if you are in Marlborough, and if you’re cool, but elsewhere in Aotearoa, i’ll promote you on my blog!
Hey Michael Scheffler was there playing his beautiful guitar music, sales of his cd Strings Attached go to Guardians of the Sounds environmental support group…… check out the Guardians site …now I am seriously off to zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
tika x
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The kereru pictured here is one of Will’s too, and having spent quite a while the other morning trying to photograph one in our garden, I can truly appreciate the beauty of both the bird and the success of the photograph. Orginally from Scotland the size of these native pigeons(kereru) always amazes me!
