Tag: Sustainability

Support Climate change with Domestic consumption

Practical measures for a positive environmental change available to all regardless of your personal limitations

Domestic consumption

A whole of life approach to purchasing needs be encouraged and pursued to make the difference required for positive environmental change.

We need to limit our escape expenditure on overseas purchases to keep as much as we can within the Country adding strength to our Economies –  Local, State & Federal.

Extending our endeavours to include all purchases allows us to concentrate on a range that is attainable from our resources.

Having a trade off acknowledges that we will still have some lifestyle choices that are not best for the environment. The trade-off permits us to  pursue other endeavours where the savings made can offset the effect. In this way we can all develop our own environmental program that results in positive change.

My viewpoint on Purchasing with Purpose I will think before I purchase with a preference for Local, State then Federal in lieu of International suppliers. I am committed to learning and knowing the supplier of my purchases to enable an informed decision to be made

Why Local, State & Federal Economies

Not all purchases required are attainable within your local economy and our primary aim is to limit our purchases from overseas. on-line, imported even overseas travel should be reviewed to see if it can be minimised, replaced or traded.

Purchasing spent overseas is lost forever – Purchasing spent within our Country assist our economies 2 or 3 fold. Our suppliers are very conscious of the importance of spending within their “local” economy as it funds the community’s ability to purchase from them. For more information on the benefits of Local, State & Federal purchasing see our Blog  Localised Spending is your HIDDEN Pot of Gold.

I believe in being a locavore wherever possible as it encourages you to seek your product close to home. Having all purchases on the table allows you to balance off some of the  endeavours in your program.

Balancing your environmental endeavours

My sister enjoys her travel averaging an overseas trip once a year. Her commitment to assisting with environmental change is trading the carbon footprint and international spending of the travel against her commitment not to drive but walk everywhere when at home. In addition, the money she is saving on not running a vehicle at home provides additional finance to purchase more quality products from local suppliers at Farmers Markets.
Having a whole of Life approach to supporting environmental change is still achieved bringing with it better health, better food and satisfaction in the lifestyle you have chosen

Resources for Environmental Change

Initially I believe we get too caught up in the belief that a commitment to environmental change will be a financial burden – requiring a commitment of your financial resources. There are many other considerations and I would like to discuss the 3 considered by me.

  1. Financial is the first considered and sometimes an excuse for non involvement. On its own I can understand that it may be a limiting resource however you can add to your financial resource from other endeavours undertaken;
    A commitment to grow produce at home can add to your finances from savings in your weekly purchases. Your home garden can also utilise the skills of others within the family or you may organise to limit your range and trade/barter with neighbours and family for other produce. This leads to my second resource Time
  2. Time – depending on your life stage may also be limiting – working full time and raising a family can be a huge drain on your time. A commitment to Environmental change can be similar to many other aspects in your life where you draw on your family and friends. Your own family program should include all family members with all having roles to play depending on their skills. Close Family members and friends can also be involved simply by making it the subject of discussion personal or electronic.
  3. Skills – not just your own but within your family, friends – even social media friends. Considering your own time limitations you may find the resource to grow produce, research your suppliers, provide advice and opportunities within this mix. Technology is so easy that this resource should be a priority consideration. We have a site Sourced Club that enables a business search by name, tags or location. the links to suppliers includes access to all their social Media sites entered for improved transparency

In the back of my mind

I do not want my Country to continue to mine and export fossil fuel as it is harmful to the environment. They continue to export it to provide a strong economy balancing out our growing imports by Business and more recently Individuals.
We can assist – building a strong economy by reducing our total purchases from international sources beit a household purchase or international holiday to name 2 of many.

Have good connections share them here

If you have some tried and true processes that will assist preparing, reviewing or expanding a program to work towards improving our domestic consumption or other activity supporting a move to environmental change – Share it with us

Purchase with Purpose to reduce carbon footprint

3 considerations when looking at my Salmon purchase

To purchase with purpose can have a beneficial effect not only on the environment but local business and its community. Take today’s simple task of purchasing some salmon steaks for lunch on a beautiful summer day.

Option 1 – I could pop into Woolworths, Coles or Aldi and look to buy some relatively cheaper priced Atlantic Salmon from Norway or prepackaged Tassal / Huon Atlantic Salmon from Tasmania. From Norway is obviously quite costly from a transport situation into Australia plus apart from local transport and retail costs the product costs are leaving our shores for Norway. The Tasmanian bred Atlantic Salmon would I assume be forwarded to a centralised holding facility and then road transported to the local store. The total purchase costings would be shared between local transport & retail and cost of goods remaining in Australia ie Tasmania

Option 2 – Our local fish market at Stocklands Shellharbour which also operates as a co-op purchasing local produce as well as bringing additional stock from Australia and Imported. They also stock the Tassal / Huon Atlantic Salmon. The transports costs would be similar to the first option although the transport may have slight variation depending on travel route. The total purchase costings would be shared between local transport & retail and cost of goods remaining in Australia ie Tasmania

Option 3 – Purchasing local Australian Salmon from the local Fish markets. Purchasing local is always better as there is a minimal amount of transport costs and the entire product cost stays in the local area from fisherman to fish markets (Paddock/Ocean to plate). Australian salmon is not similar to Atlantic Salmon as the species is more closely aligned to the Perch family

It is very easy to underestimate the economic benefits of purchasing locally produced. The cost of the product going back to local communities can see the money be circulated 4 – 5 times when consider that the monies spent by Fisherman in local business which is then passed by them through profit and wages to other locals who then purchase again etc

Unfortunately in this exercise the local Fish markets did not have any locally caught salmon so my decision to purchase the Tasmainian based Atlantic salmon from the Fish market at Stocklands Shellharbour is my best decision as I know that by supporting their business now they have a commitment to buying local and supporting the local communities and the sustainability of the Industry

Our salads and dressing is made from locally sauced product so all in all I am extremely happy with this outcome. 

With todays technologies it is an interesting observation that the research required to make these decisions took less than 25% of the time it took to write this post

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The journey to sustainability

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1 Why we must look at Sustainability

By Peter O'Connor

Why must we look at Sustainability?

A. For our Families  

I am a Baby Boomer and whilst I see many jokes out there about spending our kids inheritance the truth of the matter is – we have. I am not talking financial assets as we have provided well enough for our families in the skills we pass on for them to duplicate or exceed our own personal achievement. I have come to grips with the reality we have overspent the one crucial asset necessary to maintain our existence – Planet Earth.

This wonderful planet, when I was born, could meet the demand of human existence and replenish it’s resources for future years. I am no scientist however there is enough consensus out there that this is no longer the case. Our level of usage of the planet’s resources cannot be replenished and we are eroding it’s ability to provide for future generations.

We can take the first step and reduce the usage rate to show that our lifestyle can be altered to one that will sustain our planet for future generations.

During my research on who is doing what I have reached a number on conclusions that I intend to follow up:

  1. There are a number of what I would call self-opinionated  groups who believe there views on such matters as animal welfare, methane, chemicals etc that believe by following their beliefs will alter the course. The reluctance to accept and quite often ridicule other’s viewpoint is damaging to any move to sustainability. Everybody who makes a move towards sustainability should be praised and supported
  2. There are no absolutes in the quest for Sustainability. If you believe some decisions you are making are harmful to our sustainability – review, investigate options, make a decision to reduce to a minimum (immediate or over-time). If enough people did this the result would be significant
  3. A lot of information available is slanted for particular agendas. Unbiased  information is not readily available
  4. The move to a more Sustainable lifestyle needs to be a whole of life review from what we want to what we need. What we dispose of or reuse at home to our purchase with purpose decisions and greater society views on our fellow man. To have many living in poverty is a restriction on our move to sustainability
Much of my spare time going forward will be concentrated on putting out considerations and information for review to assist myself to remain active with it and assist others who wish to follow a similar journey. I invite any to join my blog, provide your journey information and we may be able to assist others to follow 
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The journey to sustainability

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