First-world problems: a 5-yr diary

So my options are:
1. An excel sheet (but that would require me to use one of my devices that run on electricity... ARGH! Also the formatting doesn't strike my fancy)
2. A diary / book (I don't currently have one that has 366 pages. The ones that do have 366 pages are too wee. And I simply won't buy a book! Unless it's made of recycled paper. Then I wouldn't feel so bad.)
3. An email account (possibly the best of the options. However, this too would require the use of a device. )

Perhaps this would be a good time to learn to make my own paper...

no. 87

This is a very special post, because

1. the number 87 is one of my favorites.

2. It's Friendship Day. 

There will be no long-winded philosphising about the nature of friendships and how they evolve and grow (or diminish) and what they can bring to your life, etc. etc.

These little guys have nothing to do with my flesh-and-blood/ disembodied friends. 

Instead, we have an excerpt from a book I'm currently reading, A Short History of Nearly Everything, by Bill Bryson:

"So what keeps the planet stable and cool? Life does. Trillions upon trillions of tiny marine organisms that most of us have never heard of - foraminiferans and coccoliths and calcareous algae -  capture atmospheric carbon, in the form of carbon dioxide, when it falls as rain and use it (in combination with other things) to make their tiny shells. By locking the carbon up in their shells, they keep it from being re-evaporated into the atmosphere where it would build up dangerously as a greenhouse gas. Eventually all the tiny foraminiferans and coccoliths and so on die and fall to the bottom of the sea, where they are compressed into limestone. It is remarkable, when you behold an extraordinary natural feature like the White Cliffs of Dover in England, to reflect that it is made up almost entirely of tiny deceased marine organisms, but even more remarkable when you realize how much carbon they cumulatively sequester."

Thank you, wee creatures.

Happy Friendship Day, Earth. May we be better to you.

Suspense!

This pair of tights had a couple of holes. 

(One is where the scarf is sticking out near the fork). 

What happens next will shock you!

(Stay tuned for details)

(Of course, this is for dramatic effect. How can you even ask?)

being a well rounded individual

Since Klout * informs me that I must choose to be known for either my career or my hobby, I suppose it is time to move on to something else.

OR...

It's time to protest. 

Honestly, what's wrong with being a Renaissance person? Interested in many things, striving to be an expert in some at least?

Isn't the planet rounded? (Actually, she's an ellipsoid)

Well, doesn't she do so many things at once? And excel at them? Is any other planet quite so good at sustaining life? (Maybe... we don't know yet.) 

I think I might start another blog (yes, ANOTHER) for all the bits of me that need a creative outlet but are not linked to eco-friendliness.

I signed up for a Coursera course titled How to Change the World. I haven't done a single week's coursework yet. Urk. There's a section on climate change in the syllabus. 

And I'm reading about the world.

Quite enjoying this!

Oh right. And there's work.

Ramadan Kareem!

*I've recently started using Klout to measure how socially influential I am- a fairly respectable 52 last time I checked 

the week(s) so far

Things I've done:

• gone for a few interviews, quite eco-friendlily (yes, I might have coined that term): I used public transport, walked, and gave a copy of my resume to just one potential boss. Oh and I took a taxi once. Ah well!
• noticed the date trees in flower: I guess we'll have dates this Ramadan too.
• started growing a carrot
• cooked a lot of vegetarian food (and not just because of Lent)
• watched a very interesting video on YouTube about living in a walkable city (my thoughts on that some other time)

• made an egg. Yes, that's right: MADE. Not LAID. More on that later.

The weather has been fantastic, after the hailstorm and the Burj Khalifa disappearing and all that. Windy, cool, pleasant. We're luckier than my people back in Goa who are dying in the heat (their claim).

find a job!

So after a year among regular people (that is not meant as an insult), I know what it is like to prefer convenience over my planet, and principles.

[Just to clarify, in case any of the lovely people I've befriended in this Expo-worthy city take offence: I use 'regular' to mean people who do not claim protecting the earth as one of their passions]

In the spirit of Lent, let me make a full confession: I have chosen to use plastic cups rather than wash glasses. I got family members to drop me to work rather than take public transport. I have stayed up late into the night, watching serials, or reading. I have wasted food. I have not segregated my garbage. I have not stood up for my beliefs, instead letting people take plastic bag upon plastic bag to carry food to a table ten meters away.

On the positive side, I have a chance to redeem myself. Hoorah!

So, I am about to embark on an experiment: to go job-hunting (once again), but this time without a printed CV.

from openclipart.org
http://openclipart.org/detail/155107/job-interview-by-mazeo

Trivial? Perhaps. But if I've emailed my CV to a prospective employer already, and have it on my phone, do I really need to carry a hard copy to the interview?

Methinks not.

And that is today's shade of green,
The first for twenty fourteen.

(*Alexander Pope turns over in his grave*)

be kind to animals

Yesterday was the feast day of St. Francis of Assisi.

Not something people other than Catholics (and Anglicans) would know, or be expected to know.

St. Francis is the patron saint of animals and the environment. I don't know too much about him myself, only what I've learned from the little research I did today.

But his policy of being kind to animals, even to  a wolf,  'the fierce wolf that had ravished' the flocks of the people of some part of Italy 'because through hunger "Brother Wolf" had done this wrong'? 

That's got to make you think. 

Ours is a stewardship of the earth. 

#shadeofgreen- be kind to animals. Let them have their space. And may the tigers you befriend come to your funeral!
 

in memory of Ming, Simba, Rachel, Mumu, Kiko and all other beloved animals

(quotes from http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06221a.htm)

Exercise!

I'm back (I think) from a period of work and rest that lasted all of 7 months.

I'm back and I'm ready to nag. Nay, not nag (should that be 'neigh, not nag'? Any horse lovers here?).

I'm back and ready to advise.

It seems a warmer planet makes us more violent.

So there's a lot of energy that just isn't being used right. Fossil and otherwise.

What should we do? Exercise. Take the stairs. Run around. Walk places. Not sit by the sushi conveyor belt.

Why? Because we get healthier in a less artificial way. Our planet gets healthier. It expends less on making our lives 'easy'

This is my theory, anyway.

And one of my #50shadesofgreen.

seeking a friend for the end of the world. or an energy source...

We survived the end of the world!
I'm still getting over my disappointment.
Ah well.

I figure it's just as well that the world didn't end, since I didn't have candles to get me through the long night. Or a torch that doesn't run on batteries. How would I have survived without light by which to read all the books I bought at the grand sale at Bur Juman in October?

Shade of green: Use your energy to make energy.Like with the Ljusa torch from Ikea. It's hand-powered (no more idle hands, eh Devon Sawa?)
Reminds me of the dynamo that you still see on some cycles in Goa.

Happy New Year, green people!

People Eat Tasty Animals

That's what Peta stands for, according to a post I saw on FB.
What I'm about to suggest is radical, and might not be welcome. (There now, you've been warned)
Shade of green: eat less meat.

Before you begin pelting me with meatballs and choking me with links of sausage, know that I too love meat.
Not enough to eat it everyday (except during Lent when my body goes into protein-craving overdrive), but enough to relish the prospect of a good steak with mashed potatoes and mushroom sauce. Or chorico pao. Or cutlet bread. Slurp.

HOWEVER!
The unfortunate fact is that most meat today comes from industrial farms. Bad for the animals.
Grain-fed creatures produce more methane than those that are grass-fed. Bad for the planet.
And our meat is generally pumped with steroids, antibiotics, etc, etc. Bad for us.
But you already knew all of this. So what now?
I suggest you be flexitarian, i.e. primarily vegetarian, but occasionally eating fish, poultry and meat. As our ancestors once did.

shrooms!

And if this post has you down, check out The Spoon from Outer Space, guaranteed to amuse you and tempt you.

grow

sweet potato growing in a corner of my hall

Shade of green: Grow (some of ) your own food if you can.

Show up and support

Even labours of love need recognition. Few parents ask for thankyous, but that doesn't mean they don't want your thanks. Volunteers help those affected by natural disasters out of the goodness of their hearts, and are gratified when the people they've helped show their appreciation.
Greenpeople is definitely a labour of love. When my blogviews FINALLY crossed 1000, I felt vindicated. It's true that I do this for myself. It makes me happy. And seeing that people in other parts of the world do want to hear what I have to say is a pretty darn awesome feeling too!
This week's shade of green: Show some support. Goumbook is organizing an event today and tomorrow at Dubai Marina Mall: Future Green 2012. I'm definitely heading there to see what Organic Foods and Cafe has to offer, to check out Averda's ReVa (where I come from the Reva is an electric car), to take a dekko at what the EWS-WWF are up to.
My sister and I took advantage of one of the recent long weekends to check out The Change Initiative. She bought chips, lip gloss and a card, just to show her support. There were lots of other things there too, like clothes and toys and food and this LED tablet that reminded me of a neon pink writing slate I had as a kid.
Of course you are welcome to show your support for other positive work, like the awesome people at GOACAN, who help people in Goa fight for their civic and consumer rights.
This weekend is Thanksgiving, right? Count your blessings, sure. And be one too!

I can see a light.

Bright ideas? If it's incandescent, maybe not.

Happy Diwali!
It's the Festival of Lights today, a metaphor for chasing away darkness and evil and welcoming goodness and light. (Though sometimes, as with Earth Hour, you shut off the lights as a symbol of superior knowledge- the knowledge that you are saving the world, plunging yourself into darkness because you CAN.)

So what say we commit to saving the world from evil? How about this Deepawali we commit to energy-efficient lighting? And that's today's shade.

LED lighting  is supposed to be the next big thing in lights (heck, where I come from CFL's are the big thing. But as everyone in the developed world knows, CFL bulbs contain haz chems that LED's apparently don't. Time for  a change?)

Be careful around fireworks!

Image: nemo via pixabay

What's in a package?

There's a joke in our family that every year, before the monsoons hit, Mum puts layer over layer over layer of tarpaulin or whatever to weatherproof our house. And then she puts one more for good measure.

It's kinda funny, but maybe that's just because I get the inside joke.

You know what's not funny? Layer upon layer upon layer of packaging.Yes, I know your cereal can't be put directly into a cardboard box. If they were, the crispy flakes of corn would be soft within days, especially in areas with high humidity.
But do cookies really need a tray? Are they so fragile that they cannot endure being transported in just the outer packaging? I don't think so either.

In the end, all that packaging has to go somewhere. Less packaging= less rubbish to worry about/recycle/dirty the place.
Shade of green? The next time you go shopping, buy products that have as little packaging as possible, or that make use of eco-friendly packaging. I was famished after a long train ride and picked up biscuits for AED 2 (less than a dollar, roughly Rs. 30). I made sure I chose the kind with no tray. #NotThatHardToDo

Weetabix replaced plastic packaging with paper. Today's delightful discovery!

Nothing wrong with a little segregation

I've said a couple of times that the apartment I live in now is a little too small to allow me to segregate easily, or compost the compostable.
Well, I'm happy to announce  that the decision to segregate came not from me but my sister.
We use a really simple method, seen below

Plastics (clean) on the left, everything else on the right

Shade of green, for today and everyday: Segregate (your garbage, not people) Even the malls here are going to have to start sorting through their waste. About time!

Also, I look forward to the 2nd of November. It's Free Public Transport Day! Woo hoo!

Hair

I know there's a musical by that name. Or was it Hairspray?
Never mind.
Have you ever noticed how much gunk we put in our hair? (Mr Shue, Sue says true)
"Now hold on a minute, Greengirl," I hear you say "Do you want us to be like you and give only a baby rat's ass about our appearance?"
I reply "Why no, ladies and gentle dudes. What I would like you to do is let your hair dry naturally, without the aid of a hairdryer."
And that's today's shade (it did not take me 23 days to think that up. I've been busy.) It's probably better for your hair. If you don't damage it, you don't need to repair it. Am I right or am I right?
This isn't a panacea for all hair-ills. I rarely use a hairdryer and I still have frizzy hair. But knowing I got that way without wasting electricity makes me feel like preaching :P

Is it a duck? Is it a phone? No, it's a hairdryer

It's getting cooler in the Northern Hemisphere. Christmas will soon be upon us. Anyone in the mood to be a bit of a Grinch?

And in other news, did you hear about the cream that might prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS?

Image credit: libertygrace0 via flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/35168673@N03/

Out with the old, in with the new

With GITEX Shopper going on it seems the perfect time to talk about what to do with electronic or e-waste. What's GITEX, you ask? Only the biggest tech exhibition in the Gulf. Well, that's what the press releases and Wiki page say. I haven't visited the actual venue, so I can't comment on the size.
Commerce and trade are good things, the backbone of the global economy. But what happens to the waste generated by an increase in commerce? (And trade.)
Ah. The million dollar (or 10000 AED which I did not win) question.
There are companies that offer exchanges: you drop off an old phone or other device and get a voucher in exchange, or a discount on a new gadget. Jacky's and Carrefour here offer such exchanges.
I know that Nokia promises to plant a tree for every phone that is returned to them- but that could be in India only. Yes, people still use Nokia phones. Forgive us for not being able to afford iPhones. (I'm sticking my tongue out at you for judging me.)
What happens to the old gadgets? The old monitors, Blackberries (or is it BlackBerrys?), external Hard Drives (I'm still amazed by the existence of 1TB HDs) etc?
I don't know. But I do know that there are people who are authorised to collect such stuff. Perhaps you could give it to them and not risk heavy metals and chemicals leaching into the earth. 
And that is today's shade.
Gandhi Jayanti today (the birth anniversary of M.K. Gandhi, also known as the Mahatma). He was the one who said "Be the change". Just be it! (Nike can't sue me, can they?)

Cos that have something to do with E-waste: Enviroserve, UAE (corporate); Bee'ah, UAE; Group TenPlus, Goa, India.

Renewing the faith, keeping the energy

I'm in the middle of a job search, which means I'm at home of an  afternoon. I spend the less active days sending out applications, watching tv, writing, and listening to the radio.
I'd mentioned this earlier: Dubai Eye 103.8 and the Dubai Chamber of Commerce have initiated an Ecopreneur award. People nominated businesses through September and four finalists were chosen from the nominees. From this week on, the finalists get to come on the show to make their case. The audience votes for whomever they think should win
the title and a year's worth of advertising on the channel.
On Tuesday, Mr Prabissh Thomas of PTL Solar Systems answered a few questions about his business on Siobhan Live.
Solar. That brings me to a new #shadeofgreen: Renewable energy. My family uses solar panels to heat water in Goa. Some hotels do too (Good on them!)  I don't need a solar panel in the ME.  Metal pipes conduct heat quite well, and keep water warm. Wait- did I say warm? Try having a bath at 3 in the afternoon and HOT won't describe it. Can you incorporate renewable energy into your life in some way?
Water, Wind, Sun- acceptable. I don't fully support raising crops to produce biodiesel, because I think hungry people would be better served by access to food than my car would by virgin whatever-plant-oil

More news regarding renewable energy in the Middle East: from Green Prophet  
And this is an interesting piece about India from Green Techling. Maybe Modi gets some things right? (I'm too far away for there to be any repercussions for that statement/question! HA HA!)

Revelling in the world we live in

I'm not a fast food junkie. I'm more of a junk food fastie (ha ha?)
Having said that, and having tried to inject some humour into this post, I would like to introduce today's shade. But first, a little background so that you see why I mentioned junk/fast food: I chanced upon an advertisement that spoke of our reliance on-nay, our addiction to technology. This ad called for A Day Offline on September 28th. It's an initiative by McDonald's Arabia. I like the message. And yes, I am aware of the irony of the fact that I saw an online ad recommending time offline.
So that is the background. (As the sister of a Comp Sc grad, I should lay this out logically. Train of thought: fast food-> McDonald's-> A Day Offline -> today's shadeofgreen)
Now that I have explained that, flowchart -errr- line and all, I present shade #6: Spend an hour in and with Nature everyday. The Day Offline is a nice idea, but I highly doubt many of us would be able to disconnect entirely for the rest of our lives. One hour a day though- that's manageable. It's proven that time spent in a natural environment is beneficial to your health. Plus you remind yourself what it is that you are trying to save, to safeguard.

a hoopoe I saw near The Dubai Mall/Burj Khalifa, on the lawn at Emaar Square

And by switching off and logging out for an hour, we are saving at least a small amount of energy. Hoorah!
For people in South Goa: Shree Damodar College of Commerce & Economics is launching an e-waste collection drive from  today to September 28th, 2012 from 8 am to 12 noon. It's in collaboration with Group Ten Plus.

Weekend wis wover (for some of us)

Translation of the title: The weekend is over.
It was quite an interesting weekend, what with the winter equinox and World Car Free Day (a misleading name if ever there was one. It makes you think you'll get a car free. Tsk.)
Unfortunately, I was not one of the millions on public transport. And, judging by the traffic and trouble getting parking, neither were the majority of people in the city I currently live in.
Ah well- almost every day besides yesterday is a car-free day for me.
        Do you ever feel like owning a car is a waste? I sometimes think it is. But then I don't actually own one, having not made enough money to achieve that consumerist dream.
Some people have no choice but to use cars. I know-gasp, shock, horror! When we first arrived in Goa, the public transport system was rather bad- it's not much better now. Mum had no choice but to buy a car.
Until mass transit gets better, here's what you can do to make sure you use your car efficiently.

You could carry your cycles with you...

Buy/rent a light-coloured car. (I can't help it if this sounds racist!) It will not heat up as much as a dark car, which means you don't need to crank the AC up as high to cool it down. Definitely important in the Middle East.
Check the pressure of your tyres on a regular basis. Too low and you'll be filling the tank way more frequently than you should.
I've saved the most difficult for last: Drive a small car. The less the mass of the vehicle, the better its fuel efficiency. And anyway, size does not matter. In a world obsessed with grandstanding, we forget that cliche that figures in so many jokes. I'd rather ride in a wee Beemer than a humungous Hummer.

For more information, go here (Wiki) or here (howstuffworks)

Over and out!