Category Archives: Green news

Facts and Stats, Green Living, Green news, Green travel, Sustainability

Eco Driving: Why Green Cars Still Aren’t Commonplace

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For the environmentally conscious – few things can feel as guilty as owning a petrol powered vehicle. Yet, for most of us, this is just the reality we live in. Petrol based cars are still the most common vehicle, even though hybrids and purely electric cars are actively available.

Why is this the case? If electric vehicles represent a greener way to drive – and are supposedly cheaper to run, too – why are we so slow in mass-adopting this new technology?

Here mechanic, and passionate green bean, Giles Kirkland shares his know how on the green car industry and why it hasn’t yet gone that extra mile:

Continue reading Eco Driving: Why Green Cars Still Aren’t Commonplace →

General ramblings, Green ideas, Green Living, Green news, Sustainability, Vegan

36 Twitter Accounts That’ll Help you Live Greener

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I’ll begin this post by putting my hands up and admitting I am an intermittent and inconsistent Twitter user. I have weeks when I’m completely on it and post regularly, and there are other times when I forget it even exists. Personally I see this approach to social media as healthy; it should simply be something you dip in and out of in between living life, not something you are glued to every second of the day. BUT as a blogger, I am aware that I’m missing a trick. 

Twitter is an awesome way to stay on the ball with the people and topics which interest you, and can be an incredible resource to accessing advice, information and inspiration for living a little more sustainably. And its not just newsfeeds and hashtags you can follow to help your green journey. There are also heaps of weekly debates, Q&As and discussion hours – such as #makedoandmendhour and #veganhour – where you can share (or steal) great ideas and easy green hacks from other like minded tweeters. 

With this in mind, I thought I would share 20 of my favourite Twitter accounts, for anyone interested in sustainability, veganism or green and ethical living. 

Continue reading 36 Twitter Accounts That’ll Help you Live Greener →

Green fashion, Green news, Sustainability, Vegan, What to buy, Where to shop

A Lazy Guide to Buying Vegan Friendly Shoes

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Being completely oblivious to the latest trends and fashions has its benefits. I spend very little money on clothes, happily avoid horrifying changing room mirrors (or at least my reflection in them) and I rarely have to upgrade my clothes and shoes unless they are literally falling apart. Win win!

I usually take the zero waste approach to clothing and either do swapsies with my friends or buy in charity and second hand stores, but every now and then I have to venture out and kit myself out with some new garments. This has been true over the last couple of months as I’ve had to transition from flip flop tie dye wearing traveller hippy, to semi professional city dweller as I settle into my new life in Sydney. 

Shoes in particular have been on my mind of late and – as anyone who has ever tried to navigate the world of ethical clothing will know – there is usually the choice between stereotypical ugly clunky vegan footwear or highly bespoke, beautiful but deadly expensive clogs. 

So what is the deal with footwear and vegans anyway? Whats ethical and whats not? and more importantly, where on Earth can you get some decent vegan footwear at a reasonable cost?!! Fear not my lovelies, I may have a couple of answers…

Continue reading A Lazy Guide to Buying Vegan Friendly Shoes →

Green Home, Green Living, Green news, renewable energy

The Worlds Most Energy Efficient Countries [infographic]

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You may have noticed that German and parts of Scandinavia have been leading the way in renewal energy in most recent years; investing more time, money and commitment into technological innovation and country wide installation than many other places in the world.

But when you compare all levels of efficiency – including transport, construction, industry and carbon footprint – which countries really deserve the gold star for effort when it comes to championing clean energy? Well, this shiny infographic halfprice.com.au may just have your answer (Hint: Germany is still top dog…) 

Continue reading The Worlds Most Energy Efficient Countries [infographic] →

Green food, Green news, Reviews, War on waste, What to buy, Where to shop, zero waste

Newtown’s Naked Foods Organic Bulk Store

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It’s well documented that I love a good rant about the pointless amount of packaging that is sent home with us with almost everything we buy. From the familiar plastic bags full of salad, apples or seeds to the ridiculous cellophane wrapped broccoli or bananas; packaging represents a huge majority of what we collect in our shopping trolleys. But in most modern supermarkets, or indeed local health or farm shops, packaging is an unavoidable side effect of being a consumer and it has catastrophic implications for our planet.

This is why I am such a huge fan of wholefood stores which allow you to bring your own reusable container and scoop up exactly how much you want straight from the source. Not only do they save on packaging, they also help to reduce food waste as you can take away exactly how much you need; rather than buying 2 kilo bag of linseed which will sit in the back of your cupboard for 6 months before you have to throw it away because you didn’t seal the plastic bag  and they now smell weird…! If I need 4 cashews for a recipe, I can just pop in and scoop ’em up. No worries! Continue reading Newtown’s Naked Foods Organic Bulk Store →

Green health, Green Living, Green news, Sustainability, zero waste

Tackling Food Waste: Can the Aussies Catch up with France?

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Greetings from Sydney! I have been living as a fully fledged Aussie for over a month now and I’m completely in love with my new summery, outdoorsy life. The weather is sweet, the city is full of gorgeous wildlife, and the vegan options are to die for! But one thing I’ve noticed since I’ve been back in Western Civilization is the insane amount of consumerism in the city, especially when it comes to excess grocery shopping.

We are all vaguely aware that food wastage is a big problem (as much as 50% of all food produced – or two billion tonnes – each year), and that much of that is wasted in the supermarket before it even reaches our homes. Here in Australia alone, as much as 44 million tonnes of food is wasted annually! Meanwhile, elsewhere in the world over one billion people experience fatal hunger and malnutrition. Something clearly needs to change, and fast!

Continue reading Tackling Food Waste: Can the Aussies Catch up with France? →

Green food, Green health, Green news, Vegan

16 Fascinating Facts about Vegan & Vegetarian Living [Infographic]

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A huge number of people are opting to go for vegan products these days. You can not only eat the same number of calories and still gain less weight, but it also helps you prevent some types of cancer and live longer.

While it’s a known fact that vegetarians have a lower risk of heart disease, diabetes, obesity and cancer when compared to their meat-eating counterparts, a significant amount of CO2 emissions can be reduced if more people opt to cut out meat from their diet.

Herbalift recently came out with this great infographic that compiles the amazing facts and stats about vegan and vegetarian living. Let’s have a look: Continue reading 16 Fascinating Facts about Vegan & Vegetarian Living [Infographic] →

Facts and Stats, General ramblings, Green food, Green Living, Green news, Green travel, Sustainability, travel, Vegan

10 Things Travelling Teaches You About Green Living

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oh how times flies! It’s been over a month since my last post, and in that time I have passed through 6 countries, climbed 4 mountains, and eaten more varieties of tofu and tempe than one vegan can dream of in a lifetime.

But what have I learnt on my travels so far? And more importantly, how has it helped me on my path to sustainable living?

To give you the quickest snapshot of my round the world trip so far, and ease myself back into writing (my typing skills are rusty after months lying on the beach…) here are the 10 top things travelling teaches you about green living: Continue reading 10 Things Travelling Teaches You About Green Living →