Good news, but still lots left to do

Several chains of Supermarkets in Sweden (like Hemköp, Netto, City Gross) has decided to not sell endangered fish. Finally!

I just wish that they all would also take responsibility and stop selling non ecological bananas. Considering what the pesticide from non ecological banana farms does to the environment and the people living and working on and by these farms, I think that it should be a given for people to not buy or sell bananas that are not organic and fair trade marked.

The horror of plastic and packaging

Watched a horrible thing on BBC World News the other day. It was about all the huge amounts of rubbish that end up in our oceans, and later on a beach somewhere.

And it doesn't just end up there. It ends up in the stomach of albatross chicks, as albatrosses confuses plastic, like cigarette lighters e.g. with squid and feeds their chicks with it. Which of course end up killing the chicks.

It's sad what we are doing to this earth and to other species.

I've also been thinking about plastic and rubbish in my own home. I of course do not throw it in the oceans, but it still freaks me out when I look at the amounts of trash that my family produces every day.

And the fact that I have to deal with the recycling every week, as it only takes a week for us to collect loads of plastic packaging, paper, bottles e.g. is scary.

They even package the organic bananas in my store. And even if the product is organic and I recycle the packaging, it sure does add to the carbon footprint.

Need to, at least, talk to my local supermarket and ask them why the need to package organic fruits and vegetable. It makes no sense.

My enormous carbon footprint

My carbon footprint has grown huge since Noam arrived: The amount of laundry that I do every week is just ridiculous!

Makes me furious

The Swedish newspaper DN is writing about big European fishing boats emptying the West African waters. Another example on how the West is swollowing the Earth's resources, while poorer countries are more or less forced to obey.

Makes me furious.

Need a soda streamer

I have to by a soda streamer!

I've been planning on doing it for so long, and still I haven't gotten round to do it. Buying bottled fizzy water is such a stupid thing, if you're trying to be considerate to the environment. And I do buy a lot of bottled fizzy water.

So, those of you that visit me from time to time, if I haven't bought a soda streamer the next time you come for a visit, give me a kick in the ass, pull my hair, scream at me, or end our friendship. Because this can't go on! How difficult can it be to buy a bloody soda streamer?

Did buy one for a friend last week. So it shouldn't be that difficult getting one for myself.

"Blood diamond"

Watched "Blood Diamond" yesterday. Has wanted to watch it for a long time, so I'm glad I finally got round to do it. DiCaprio is just great. That guy is an amazing actor. And Djimon Hounsou is also great, as usual.

Brilliant film set in Sierra Leone during the 90's. Very scary, as you know that many of the things, about the situation in Sierra Leone at that time, is based on reality. Recognized certain things from what I've read and heard. Horrible. Just glad that it's over.

What is not over though, is how the West affect and often manipulate situations in the rest of the world. Thinking about the cutting down of rain forest for the production of palm oil in Malaysia and Indonesia. Or the nasty fur markets in China. That's just two of many horrible examples.

A clear picture?

Yesterday I saw on the news that the UK is building new nuclear power plants.

How nuclear power can be considered environmentally friendly I do not understand.

On the news they also said that this could make more countries wanting to follow the same path as the UK. They were right. This morning one of the Swedish political parties is saying that that's exactly what they want to do.

I'm agreeing with Greenpeace instead. Yeaterday a spokesman for Greenpeace said that building new nuclear power plants is not the way to go to lower a countries carbon footprint. Changing the way of thinking is the key. Building new nuclear power plants just "saves" a state from having to rethink.

The spokesman used Sweden and Finland in an example. Sweden's goal is to keep on shutting down all nuclear power plants. This plan has forced Sweden to think differently and make other plans for environmentally friendly solutions. Because of that Sweden has reduced its carbon footprint with 9 percent.

Finland, on the other hand, has plans on building more nuclear power plants and has increased its carbon footprint with 15 percent.

Doesn't that give a quite clear picture?

I'm hooked on "Blocket"

To be honest I have never really been in to second hand clothing.
First of all I find it a bit difficult to find something I want in most second hand shops.
Either it does not look very good. Or it looks good, but it's not my size.
And second, I find it a bit strange searching around amongst all those clothes that used to belong to other people.

I love getting old clothes from friends though. Not that it happens very often, but still.
As an example, about a year ago or so, I got this gorgeous red coat from a friend. I love it!
So I don't have a problem wearing other peoples old clothing, I guess I just don't have the patience for second hand stores.

Being pregnant though, you do start to think about lots of things, and this clothing stuff is one of those things for me.
It feels like such a waste, in both an economically and environmentally way, to by new clothes at the moment.
I mean spending lots of money on things that I will only be able to wear for a few months feels stupid. Not to mention how stupid it is from an environmental perspective.

So I went on to "Blocket", the most known website in Sweden for all kinds of second hand stuff. And I searched for maternity clothing. I met the same problem as I do in second hand stores, finding something that both seemed nice looking and that seemed to be my size. But finally I did fid two pairs of dungarees. I emailed the people who had put up the ads. And this evening one of them called and gave me instructions to her home.

I went there, paid only 75 SEK and got myself a nice pair of trousers. I am so happy! It really made me feel good. I felt like I did both the environment and my wallet a favor. And most of all I did my sad looking wardrobe a favor, as I barely have anything that fits these days.

The conclusion is that I am now hooked on Blocket. I have now been searching for baby-clothing, push chairs and toys. It's amazing how cheaply you can buy those sort of things. And honestly, why spend huge amounts of money on stuff when the kid is going to grow out of it so quick I won't even be able to blink.

Now I'm looking forward to crisscrossing Stockholm, visiting more strangers, and paying them for their used stuff.