newecowarrior

[newecowarrior]

We need to listen!!!

Excerpt from this story from the Washington Post:

The amount of heat Earth traps has roughly doubled since 2005, contributing to more rapidly warming oceans, air and land, according to new research from NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

“The magnitude of the increase is unprecedented,” said Norman Loeb, a NASA scientist and lead author of the study, which was published this week in the journal Geophysical Research Letters. “The Earth is warming faster than expected.”

Using satellite data, researchers measured what is known as Earth’s energy imbalance — the difference between how much energy the planet absorbs from the sun, and how much it’s able to shed, or radiate back out into space.

When there is a positive imbalance — Earth absorbing more heat than it is losing — it is a first step toward global warming, said Stuart Evans, a climate scientist at the University at Buffalo. “It’s a sign the Earth is gaining energy.”

The Earth takes in about 240 watts per square meter of energy from the sun. At the beginning of the study period, in 2005, it was radiating back out about 239.5 of those watts — creating a positive imbalance of about half a watt. By the end, in 2019, that gap had nearly doubled to about 1 full watt per square meter.

Oceans absorb most of that heat, about 90 percent. When researchers compared satellite data to temperature readings from a system of ocean sensors, they found a similar pattern. The agreement between the data sets surpassed expectations, Loeb said, calling it the “nail in the coffin” for the imbalance results.

“The fact that they used two different observational approaches and came up with the same trends is pretty remarkable,” said Elizabeth Maroon, a climatologist at the University of Wisconsin at Madison unaffiliated with the study. “It lends a lot of confidence to the findings.”

[newecowarrior]

Watch "Why Billionaires Won't Save Us" on YouTube

[newecowarrior]

The Real Cost of Cruises | Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj | Netflix

I`ve always thought cruise ships were a dream, and i always wanted to go on one. If i would be given the opportunity. But after watching this, the pollution that cruise ships contribute to climate change makes, its violation of labor laws, and its negligence in the safety of its passengers makes the dream a nightmare. 

[newecowarrior]

Reality Bites: Climate Change is Real

Greta Thunberg has been named by Time Magazine as person of the year. Although many thought that the young activist deserved to be “person of the year”, others like U.S. President Donald Trump has is own opinion about the choice.   

Such opinion was talked about in the american talk show The View, where the shows host Joy Behar, Abby Huntsman, Sunny Hostin, and Meghan McCain expressed their views on the Presidents opinion. However in the course of the discussion Meghan mentioned something that caught my ear. In which she expressed that she feels that climate change is religion on the left. 

As someone who believes that climate change is a fact and not a fad. i personally find such vies quite appalling. I started learning about climate change in high school through watching An Inconvenient Truth by former U.S. Vice President Al Gore. The film was released in 2006 warning us that in a matter of years if the issue on climate change is not addressed, it will only progress. 

Fast forward to 2020 the planet is hotter than ever, typhoons are getting worse and the snow caps are still melting. But still a large number of the population still thinks that climate change is a hoax. People are still ignoring the facts that science has already proven. if such complacency continues and continue to ignore the reality that is being presented to us. Then we might as well brace ourselves when our planet finally turns its back on us. Because at the end of the day biggest threat to our planet is when we don`t recognize destruction, even if its right in front of our faces.       

[newecowarrior]

The Struggle is Real: The fight against SINGLE USE PLASTICS

The other day I went out buy some groceries. I brought my eco bag with me, which I used as a shoulder bag to carry some of my things. But upon entering the grocery store, the lady guard stopped e on the entrance, and told me that I cant`t bring my bag inside the store. When I asked her why it wasn't allowed inside? she replied I couldn't bring my bag inside for security purposes. She further instructed me to leave my bad in the baggage counter since the store already provided plastics bag. I then told her that its okay I don`t want to use the stores plastic bags.    

So I took out my wallet, and the pouch where I usually put my eco bad and started folding the bag, and placed it along with my wallet in the empty pouch. I asked her if I could already come in. she gave me a heavy nod as I made my way inside the store.

At first I pretended not to see when her eyes rolled, when I folded my bag and the annoyed look she gave me when I asked her if it was already okay to come in. Honestly her actions frustrated me. Not because she filed to realize that I was making a conscious decision to refuse plastic.

Refusing  plastic bags is a struggle especially when most of the stores provide it. however when we start taking our eco bags with us every time we go out shopping. It shows that plastic bags are already not necessary, and we can live without it. But we live in a society where we become dependent on single use plastics, because people always choose convenience. 

I live in a small city in the province and even though our city already passed an Ordinance banning the use of plastic bags in local stores and other establishments. Sadly the Ordinance fell into deaf ears. Most of the establishments still use plastics; and unfortunately people who carry their own eco bags, who are doing their part in saving the planet, are looked upon with annoyance for not using the store`s plastic bag.

I thought that people not believing in climate change was already scary. But it turned out people discouraging your efforts in saving the planet is scarier.   

[newecowarrior]

make every day earth day

[newecowarrior]

Happy Earth Day!! Tick off your progress of your zero-waste journey! How many do you do already and how many will you be able to do by the end of the year?

Going zero waste is something that everyone adapts to differently according to what they have available, so do what you can, be aware and spread the word!

I wanted to add a link to every product, and I also need to add some other things but if you want to help me out that’d be great!

[newecowarrior]

Making the Switch!!!

More often than not, we are not aware that our personal items is already contributing to pollution. Take our toothbrush that we use everyday, our toothbrushes are made up of plastics materials with an indefinite time to decompose. 

I just recently realized that i was contributing greatly to pollution by simply disposing my toothbrush, once the bristles are no longer intact. That the very first toothbrush I used as a child is still in a landfill somewhere. 

Knowing that horrified me. I change my toothbrush twice a year utmost. Considering the number of years I existed on this earth, that is already a lot. Some of those toothbrushes may have already ended up in the oceans. 

So I decided to make a switch, to replace my plastic toothbrush with a bamboo brush. But making the switch, was not easy. First of all I live in the province the stores here only sell plastic toothbrushes. Only a small stall that sells natural products has a bamboo toothbrush. But I find it a little expensive for me. I want to live with a sustainable lifestyle, but I also have to remind my self that I`m on a budget. That`s why I opted to buy a bamboo toothbrush online. I could buy 3 bamboo toothbrushes despite the delivery fee for the price of 1 bamboo toothbrush in the stall. However when my order arrived, it was packaged in a plastic pouch provided by the courier. Although the seller was responsible  enough in using an old cardboard box to protect the items instead of a bubble warp. But the plastic pouch is another used plastic that may be dumped in the oceans if not disposed of properly. 

Second, what would I do with my plastic toothbrush? I can`t just throw it in the trash like i used to. I need to be responsible in re purposing or reusing it one way or another, in order for me to lessen my contribution to pollution.

This is the challenging part in making “the switch” .Through buying and replacing my toothbrush, I was able to unconsciously produce plastic. Currently the plastic pouch is in a box, where I put all the used plastics for recycling. My old toothbrush is now being used t clean my shoes.     

However, these are only temporary solutions. My old toothbrush, and the plastic pouch may still end up in a land fill, or in the ocean. That`s why we need a more permanent solution. Environmental responsibility does not always fall on the consumers. Local businesses also have to be responsible in reducing the problem of plastics. Selling eco friendly alternatives such as bamboo toothbrushes and not using plastic bags, would be a good start.   

[newecowarrior]

Challenges towards Zero Waste

Single use plastics is one of the biggest environmental threat,s that is rapidly killing our planet. Since plastics do not easily decompose, the plastics that we throw out could outlive a persons life. Most of the plastics that we throw out such as plastic bags, disposable cups, and straws do not only end up in landfills but also in our oceans.

The garbage thrown in the ocean gets eaten by oblivious sea creature causing their untimely deaths. According to recent statistics the Philippines is the 3rd largest polluter of single use plastic in the world nest to Indonesia and China. 

So how can we reduce our country`s contribution to plastic pollution? As consumers we can start by bringing our own reusable bags every time we shop, by simply dinning in instead of eating out, and refusing to use plastic straws and opting to use metal ones instead.

But these things are easier said than done. For majority of the customers it is more convenient to use the plastic bag provided by the store rather than bringing their own reusable bags; consumers also prefer to order takeout to eat while working, rather than going out to dine in; and it is less bulky to use ad dispose available straws than carry metal straws in your bag everywhere you go.

These are just some of the little challenges that each consumer must overcome to live with less waste. Transitioning into a more sustainable lifestyle is not east however, as consumers mu must always look at long term and more sustainable benefits rather than temporary convenience. Each environmentally conscious decision we make is a step closer in preserving our home. Earth is the only home we have and if we keep on polluting it, we might not have a home in the near future. Saying no to single use plastics is a start.          

[newecowarrior]

Japan’s Town With No Waste

[newecowarrior]

Using an Eco Bag

Being an environmentalist or simply being more eco friendly is not easy. Growing up, I always knew that pollution was a real problem. That is why when there is a chance i would always join clean up drives, and tree planting activities at school or at work. 

Personally i thought that was enough. I did my job the world has 1 more tree, or a coastline was cleaned, and I helped. I thought I was doing my part in preserving the environment. It only came to my attention recently that what I did was only a spec of dust against the giant wave of pollution that we humans have created. 

I myself is leaving a huge carbon footprint footprint through my day to day activities. I was unaware that my constant purchase of plastic sachets, and my dependence on using plastic bags provided by grocery stores was already contributing to the pressing problems on pollution and global warming.

It was around 2014 when I started using an eco bag, not because I was aware  of the environmental problems that plastics can bring. But rather it helped my in carrying some of my things that would not fit in my bag; sometimes it was useful in grocery shopping but the use of plastic was still inevitable especially when I would forget to bring my eco bag. 

I did it unconsciously and threw plastic bags away, especially the small ones like any old piece of trash. i was unaware of the fact that a single plastic bag takes 20 years to decompose.

Nowadays I try to bring my eco bag everywhere I go. its quite a challenge especially on time that i forget to bring it and my purchases are more than my two hands could carry. Sometimes it becomes frustrating that I have bring another bag that takes up space inside my bag, and most some stores are are still not switching to paper bags and most consumers still don`t bother to bring their own eco bags. However despite the current situation, i always remind myself that we still have a long way to go in order to  counter pollution and if I use a plastic bag it would take 20 years or more before it would decompose.