Chemical house

We have just repainted our bathroom and the usual headache inducing smell is prominent in the upstairs part of the house. It reminded me that I really should have looked into 'green' paint before starting the work, so although too late this time round I decided to have a quick look. I probably shouldn't have done that!
During my search I began to realise how many chemicals and scary things there might be lurking in our house - and I can't do much about it.

Besides from all the paint which I guess we all know is not particularly healthy, there are things like carpets. Apparently synthetic carpets can release formaldehyde for years! We have several synthetic carpets in the house, not through personal choice, but they were here when we moved in and they are far too expensive to replace.Apparently formaldehyde is also present in many cheap furniture and MDF - we might just have some of that around the house as well.

On top of that it is also likely that we have something treated with brominated flame retardants as it has been widely used for all sorts of stuff, including fabrics, computers and plastics. Apparently some of these flame retardants have been proven to be hormone disrupters, including the thyroid hormone - an interesting fact for somebody like me who has taken medication on a daily basis for the last few years because of a thyroid condition...

So while I am running around cleaning with vinegar and bicarbonate of soda to avoid chemicals, all sorts of unhealthy things might be oozing out of my house and its contents. Great!

I am not even safe in the garden, for all that I know the fences could have been treated with non-boron based wood preservatives, and they apparently contain nerve poisons. OK, probably only in quantities to get rid of pests, not humans - but still, not exactly eco friendly.

All this brought me back to a dilemma that I have wondered about for some time - what should I do with the stuff from my less green past. It would be rather counterproductive to just get rid of all the things I suspect of containing chemicals, not only because we don't have the money to replace it, but also because it is wrong to waste stuff that is theoretically speaking still good. On the other hand I don't really like the idea of inhaling chemicals non stop.

I am stuck and unable to decide on the best way to proceed. Short term things are easy: if you have a non-organic cucumber in your fridge it is still better to eat it than to throw it out, because otherwise all the energy used in production would be completely wasted - just make sure to buy organic in the future (if organic is your kind of thing of course).

But what about longer term things like light fittings. Trying to be green you want to have energy saving lights, but what do you do with the old ones? It is not right to just throw away a still functioning light fitting, especially not if you consider how much energy was used to produce it and transport it etc; but on the other hand there isn't much you can do with it - giving away an energy intensive light fitting isn't really a great present.

Or what if you realised that the dining table you purchased 2 years ago and planned to keep for at least another 20 actually was treated with some scary chemical. Should you just accept to inhale a few more fumes, or should you get rid of it. Even if you did decide to get rid of it how would you do it? Give it to charity so that somebody else can get poisoned instead? Burn it and release the scary stuff into the air? Clog up a landfill site with something that is in fact in a perfectly usable condition?

Once again I am not sure. Wonder if my brain is clouded from inhaling all this stuff (or maybe I just haven't inhaled enough...) Anyway I would be very happy to receive suggestions. Maybe there is a website somewhere called '10 ways to neutralise chemicals using only lemon juice' or even better 'the definitive answers to all dilemmas'. That would be good!

To be green and happy

I have an online subscription to 'The Ecologist' - a fantastic source of information on all things environmental. The only problem is that I usually end up being depressed every time I log in. There are so many articles on all the things that are going wrong: global warming, disappearing wildlife, scary farming methods, lack of natural resources, mountains of waste etc, etc.
It always make me wonder if our efforts are in vain, are we actually too late.

After my last visit to the magazine I decided I needed something a bit more uplifting, so I decided to have a look for happy green information - there has to be hope somewhere. It is incredible the amount of informative, uplifting, strange or totally bizarre information you can find, once you start looking.

I found quite a bit of information on the Scottish wave power initiative. I can't really say an awful lot about it, it is not my area of expertise, but it made me happy to know that I live in a country that does take some positive initiatives.
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/natural_resources/article7069742.ece

I also came across an article on Tetra paks (you know, juice cartons etc). They are often named as bad for the environment, because they are a mixed product and therefore difficult to recycle, but according to this Ecologist article, they are in fact much better than tins and cans, because the materials can be split easily and are much easier to recycle. That is good to know.

Then I came across the hydrogen car. A car that is not only powered by a hydrogen fuel cell with hugely reduced carbon emissions, but will also only be available on lease rather than buying it to ensure the company has every incentive to make durable well designed cars. Good thinking!
http://www.theecologist.org/News/news_analysis/401026/the_opensource_hydrogen_car_set_to_change_the_industry.html

Obviously you would still be better off cycling, because studies show that regular cycling will increase your life expectancy by a few years, even if you are already doing other forms of exercise. That made me feel very smug as I have indeed been on my bike a few times this week...
http://www.cyclehelmets.org/1185.html

Apparently it is international downshifting week 24th-30th April. Downshifting is about re evaluating the way you live, slowing down and enjoying life more. Definitely a worthy initiative. Most of the suggestions were quite straight forward like starting a compost heap, cook a seasonal organic meal, switch off the TV and read a book instead - only one suggestion made me jump: cut up a credit card! Help, do I need to give up on my credit card as well to be a proper green...
http://downshiftingweek.wordpress.com/

Well if I can't have a credit card I guess I can't try out some of the countless eco gadgets out there. Isn't there something completely ironic about the wealth of websites dedicated to selling eco products, such as solar powered fairy lights, when in fact it would be much greener if we just stopped consuming so much altogether.

But then there was something very interesting: A study from a Toronto university suggests that green consumers are more likely to steal and cheat. Apparently the theory is that people who take green action feel they have done good already, so they deserve something in return. Hmm, that is quite disturbing, hopefully they will do some more research with a different conclusion.
http://greeninc.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/03/17/are-green-consumers-less-trustworthy/

So how did I feel after my little search, well other than being slightly concerned that I am turning into a thief and a cheat, it did cheer me up. It is good to know that you can be green without drowning yourself in depressing predictions - long live happy news.

Green visit???

We are now back in Scotland after a great time in Denmark, but the holiday did make me think about the issues that occur when you go visiting - how do you keep up your green ways outside your normal daily life?

Obviously the situation very much depends on the people you are visiting. If you are visiting people with no green tendencies whatsoever you might want to consider how many hints you can drop without damaging the relationship, I can honestly say that I have been in situations where I thought it better to hold my tongue, rather than to go on a green crusade. Thankfully a lot of people actually are concerned about the Planet and are happy to discuss such issues, but even then a bit of normal politeness can be needed - you rarely get results from insulting people, especially in their own home.
Luckily we were staying at my parent's house and as they have already put up with a lot from my side over the years a bit a green badgering didn't really offend them...

So we arrived and although we were on holiday I was determined to not completely slip into old habits (especially since I had the carbon footprint of the flight to make up for). Did we manage?

To some extent yes - we didn't make much use of the car, but we did some cycling and a lot of walking. In fact one of days I don't think I was the most popular person in the world: we had agreed to go for a walk to the local park, a walk of about 20 min with 2 kids in tow. It was looking rather grey and there was a distinct possibility of rain, so the suggestion was made to bring the car in case heavy rain started. I objected furiously, saying that a bit of rain wouldn't harm anybody, and we all agreed to walk. Unfortunately the wetness started already before we had made it to the park, although more of a drizzle than real rain, but on the way back the heavens opened and by the time we reached the house everybody were totally soaked! Nobody said anything, but I am sure that more than one person thought 'I wish we had brought the car'.

The one slightly longer journey we made was done by train - an enjoyable trip, Danish trains are generally very nice; and then we seemed to spend quite a lot of time introducing our daughter to the technique of cycling without stabilisers!Surely that counts for something on the green scale.

But there are other elements of visiting that are slightly more out of your control, e.g. the food you eat. It is rather impolite to demand in season veggie meals and locally sourced meat, when people are in fact trying to cook you some nice food, because they are happy to see you. Just like I didn't complain when my mum made a strawberry and blueberry dessert in the hope that the kids would eat something not made from cocoa beans - that was a very worthy cause, which certainly didn't deserve a lecture on seasonal food (not to mention that it was delicious and the kids did eat it...)If people make an effort for you, I think that should always be appreciated.
I should probably add here as well that my parents are in fact quite conscious when it comes to food and they have been eating primarily organic food for years, so it was far from a complete return to ungreen ways.

So what do you do if there is something you really want mentioned when visiting people? My suggestion: bring a kid - they can get away with all sorts of things.
My daughter proved once again that she has caught on to some of the lifestyle changes when one day at the dinner table she turned to my mum and said "why are the lights on over there when there is nobody sitting there?" Kids can be great for getting a point across, and the lights got swithced off!

So all in all how green was this holiday? Well, flights aside, I don't think we did too badly, it is possible to retain some green habits when you are away. However some concessions will often have to be made, because you are less in control of the details. I think the key question is the attitude of the people you are visiting, so if you don't want to compromise, then I guess you need to pick your friends and family(!) with care.

Denmark

I am currently in Denmark. Yes I have increased my carbon footprint for a trip to see the family, but I think I have already said enough about that decision, so this blog has a different theme. This is my first trip back since we started our project and it is interesting to see this Scandinavian country through green glasses.

Denmark generally has a good reputation when it comes to environmental matters, and there are some very obvious differences, e.g. during the 1 hour drive from the airport we saw at least 100 windmills, I have seen loads of people of all ages on bikes and you can buy locally grown veg from little local stalls by the road side; but being here I am realising that even environmental matters are culturally loaded.
I don't think Danish people in general are more clued up on the environment than Scottish people, but there are differences in the lifestyles that make Danish people greener. So can we learn anything from this in Scotland??? Afterall there are similarities between the 2 countries that make them comparable eg. population numbers are in the region of 5 mil in both countries and they both have a rather wet and windy climate.

A few observations:
There are lots of people cycling in Denmark, from schoolkids to business men in suits to elderly ladies going shopping. I have always argued that the reason Danish people cycle more is because the infrastructure for cycling is in place, there are lots of cycling paths, plenty of bike parking and cyclists even have certain priorities over cars in traffic, but this visit has made me realise another major difference: cycling is considered a form of transport, not a sport or anything else.
Danes don't wear special clothes for cycling, they don't wear special shoes, many don't have fancy bikes - they just use them because they are convenient. We don't do anything special if we go to the shops in the car, nor if we are walking - we just get on with it, that is exactly what Danes do with bikes as well. I remember as a student we would get dressed up for a night out, and even if wearing high heels or a skirt, we would still get to the party on our bikes - because it was cheap, fast and convenient transport. You would never see that in Scotland!
Cycling in Scotland is to some extent considered elitist and lots of people think that you can only really go on a bike if you are fully and expensively kitted out including non-flattering lycra. I have no idea how to change this attitude, but I am sure it is one of the keys to a successful cycling culture.

How about the windmills? How come Denmark can have windmills all over without hordes of protesters everywhere? You could argue that it is because windmills are quite important to the economy (Denmark is one of the largest producers of windmills in the world), but if people really objected that would probably never have happened. I think it might all go back to a political decision following a powerful grassroots campaign in the 80's to keep Denmark free of nuclear power. Already then the Danes started thinking about alternative ways to get power, so there has been a long period of getting used to it. The funny thing is that all the problems that protesters bring up in Britain don't seem to appear here. There are no dead birds all over the place or other wildlife problems, the noise (which is primarily a low humming) doesn't seem to bother the neighbours and I think most Danes would get rather upset if anybody claimed their countryside is spoiled. Could this ever be the case in Scotland?
Scotland is in fact even better placed for windmills than Denmark, because the actual size of Scotland is much bigger than Denmark, so much more room for them - yet windmills always seem very controversial. I think we should send some of the protesters on a trip to Denmark (by train and ferry of course...), so they can see for themselves that it is perfectly possible for humans and windmills to live in harmony side by side.

Then there is the issue of bottle recycling. The Danes have been recycling bottles for decades. Just like the brits used to return milk bottles to the milk man, there has been a system in place for returning beer and soft drink bottles to the breweries for a very long time. When you buy beers in shops you always pay a deposit for the bottles and when empty you return the bottles to a special bottle bank and your deposit is returned. The bottles are then taken to the drink producers, washed & cleaned and used again. It works well and a Dane would never dream of throwing a bottle in the bin (or in the street or a river for that matter). I realise that we don't have the infrastructure for such a system in Scotland and it would be too costly and complicated to set one up, but I think the money aspect is worth considering. Wouldn't we be more likely to put stuff in the recycling bin if it meant a rebate in council tax for example?

We have a lot to do if we are to reach a sustainable way of living and I think it is important that we look in all directions for inspiration. So my personal mission when we return to the land of the Scots shall be to bring a bit of Danish inspiration: I shall get on my bike wearing my usual jeans and sweater (no lycra for me thank you very much!) and go somewhere to campaign for some windmills (and I will probably end up in the category of village idiot, but hey I can always blame it on my Danish heritage).