Kurt Archer

In other news, Delhi announced recently that they’ve banned plastic bags altogether to fight our dependency on this polluting convenience. After the Oct 2nd nation wide ban on smoking, India is taking even more bold steps on the fight against climate change.

Plastic bags have become such an item of dependence that shop keepers simply don’t know what else to use for their goods and liquids. Rightly so, it will be an uphill battle, but the government is more sure than ever that this is the right step, and it will take time to adapt, however after the initial two month period, shopkeepers caught providing the bags could be fined upwards of 1 lakh rupees (roughly $2,000 USD) or upto 5 years of jail term.

With such a move we will begin to see a demand for cloth and glass making a comeback in India, as these two are the most viable alternatives to plastic bags. No doubt this would also spin off some R&D on bio-degradable plastics and weaning off of petroleum based plastic for the more carbon neutral alternative of bio plastics (soy, vegetable oil, corn stalk).

I wonder what the world would be like today if Ford was able to organize the plastics industry to build exclusively from soy and bioproducts rather than petroleum oil. Needless to say, world war 1 kick started the oil dependency in plastics movement.

A famous quote comes to mind that is so fitting, attributed to an ancient chinese proverb.

“When the winds of change are blowing, some people are building shelters, and others are building windmills.”

Today I attended a symposium on environmental sustainability, social justice, and spiritual fulfillment organized by volunteers from the Pachamama Alliance. Called the Awaken the dreamer, change the dream symposium, members and individuals from various walks of life in and around Calgary joined in at the new thought United Church.  It was really nice to network with other vegetarians, some vegans, as well as educators on sustainability or spiritual guidance. The symposium asks the question, where are we? and follows by addressing more questions like how did we get here, what is possible for our future, and finally, where do we go from here? It was an arrangement of expressing ones feelings and connection with the world, and fostering a sensation of community and oneness. I was pleased to see an array of videos from various different sources being used in the production. I feel this group, initiated in Calgary by the Humanity Unites Brilliance, was able to help bring up a conciousness to an otherwise apathetic populace. 40 people doesnt represent Calgary, but it does show there is alternative movements breaking into shape all over the city.

Keep an eye out for their next event in your city.

I recently came across this article snippet from the ecologist magazine in UK. The first thought that came to mind was pure terror. This is an example of how solutions can also have unforseen impacts on our biodiversity and global impact. Sure to some these are cotton eating pests that leave holes in our sweaters, but to other organisms they perform a task that is integral to sustaining life and providing a service to us that we cannot imagine. Put this into context, if somehow these GM insects were to infect bees for example, those small little yellow bugs we are all terrified of, then on th e surface it would be a good thing, but what we sacrifice is a world filled without beautifully polenated flowers. Yes, the service bee’s provide to flowers cannot be so easily copied by technology, and why should it? If extinction of a species, even a pest is a solution to climate change, then I am fearful of what repercussions we will have by blindly ‘experimenting’ with what we call ’solutions’. Which begs the question as to whether not there should be international protocols on such R&D.

GM insects

If the thought of GM pollen spreading on the breeze worries you, then watch out – the latest GM products have wings! In 2009, Oxford based Oxitec intends to become the first company to sell genetically modified insects for large scale release. Oxitec has developed a GM pink bollworm (moth larvae) that it claims will mate with natural bollworms (a cotton pest) and render them sterile. However, Oxitec’s plans don’t stop there. This also looks to be the year when it will proceed with a large scale trial release of genetically modified mosquitos also intended to spread sterility in wild populations.

I just watched this Documentary on CBC called Forever Plastic that raised some excellent points about the life we have entered into, it also had some interesting historical facts that are more interesting than others.

Plastics were created in the early 20th century based on various chemical compounds, mostly petroleum based. In fact, Henry Ford rolled out a series of cars based on Soy plastics, he even invented a car fully manufactured from products grown in farms. So why did this trend end and oil based plastics take over? According to the documentary World War 2 is to blame, because they needed quick, cheap plastics for their soldiers, and from then on, the industry was set, and petroleum based plastics became our addiction.

Another interesting revelation made by this documentary is just how much consumers believe that this symbol of a triangle with a 1 (or up to 7) means that it is a recyclable plastic. This is a myth in practical terms. Yes a myth. Just because a product has this symbol does not guarantee that it will be recycled. Many plastics which have the potential to be recycled are not because there is no industry or technology good enough to recycle that product. One such example is clear plastics (not including plastic bottles) such as plastic egg cartons, plastic wrap, a lot of plastic casing/wrapping for the everyday products we buy.

Here is a short video about the struggle against plastic, just keep in mind, that this plastic ends up in landfills, and is not recycled into anything.

The documentary goes far to inform the consumers that the battle against plastics and oil addiction is far from over.  More technology needs to be invested in and onnovation needs to increase and smarter designs standards for materials use in our products needs to be pushed.  At least it is getting some coverage now.

Well as most of you have figured out by now, I am back home in Canada after completing one crazy journey throughout South Asia. Don’t worry there will be lots more photo albums and stories to be shared, so be sure to watch this space.

In addition to the stories shared through my experience, I will be adding a few features to this blog, like more articles and resources on sustainaibility, cutting edge discussions and thoughts for us as we move into an exciting, albeit challenging, year ahead.

Also, keep checking back because Matthias and I have been hard at work at launching the new DAMU website coming soon! It is going to be an exciting 2009!