#also much of the rainforest is being cut down for cattle too??

[encouragink]

veganism discourse on this site drives me fucking nuts, people are so incredibly willing to uncritically believe anything that justifies consuming animal products. I saw someone in the notes in one of these posts go "ugh I cant believe vegans say that in the dairy industry male calves get slaughtered. That's not true for small family farms!" Like okay?? Does the dairy industry mainly consist of small family farms then??

#theres so many stupid takes on here augh ough #saw someone else go #ugh can you believe vegans are asking us to switch to a plant based diet #when so much of the rain forest is cut down for agriculture? we should be eating less plants!! #like. come on. what do you think animals eat?? #also much of the rainforest is being cut down for cattle too?? #rant #personal

[auricace]

Be more like a cow

Cows really have got life sorted. Their main concerns seem to be what they will eat next and finding a comfortable place to lie down. For their size they are usually a peaceful and contented animal. On a sunny day I find nothing more lovely than visiting the cows in the field. Joining with them hearing the insects buzzing, birds singing, the grass gently blowing. Watching the cows lying down, eyes closed contentedly chewing the cud is a great pleasure for me.

           Cattle are ruminants, meaning they have four stomachs and are ideally suited for eating that difficult to digest vegetation; grass. After partial digestion in their first stomach the rumen, they re-chew their food before it moves on. I have counted and sometimes they chew up to 69 times before swallowing! And who doesn’t want to enjoy every meal twice!?

           It is this digestion process and the methane it produces that has recently given cattle a bad name. Methane is a greenhouse gas and a contributor to climate change. Remains of cattle’s ancestor the aurochs, a mighty 2m tall horned animal, have been dated as early as 10,500bc in Britain. It is only during the last 150 years or so that climate change has really accelerated. So what has changed? Well for one the increase in numbers of cattle and other ruminant species, such as sheep, has coincided with the human population increase and our increased appetite for meat. So far more farting, burping cattle on the planet, but are we also inadvertently increasing emissions per cow as well? Research has shown that what cattle eat has a big impact on their emissions.

           During the time of the aurochs it is believed Britain would have been wood pasture, a mixture of mature trees, scrub and mixed grass, flower and herb species. They would have eaten a varied diet. This had changed a lot by the time the aurochs had become extinct in Britain in about 1000bc. People had domesticated cattle and other livestock, started growing crops and lived more settled lives. We had begun changing cattle’s natural diet.

           Today some cattle are kept indoors on a mostly grain based diet. This is too rich for them and doesn’t suit their digestive system, causing them to have permanent indigestion. As we all know eating a lot of rich food increases our methane output! The grain fed to cattle, especially in American style feed lot systems is often grown unsustainably, involving large monocrops relying on chemical fertiliser and sprays. Rainforest is cut down and other species rich habitats destroyed to make way for this. Carbon is lost from the soil during cultivation compared to pasture, which reverses this process locking carbon dioxide from the air as carbon in the soil. So feeding grain to cattle is a double whammy in terms of climate change.

           Fast-grown grain fed beef is far lower in vital vitamins and nutrients such as vitamin A and selenium than 100% pasture fed beef. Pasture fed is also high in omega 3 reducing our dependence on dwindling fish stocks. Research has shown raw, pasture fed milk can reduce asthma and allergies in children compared to drinking commercial pasteurised milk. So beef and milk can be good for us if it is well sourced.  

           So if we know what is good for us, cattle and the planet why do we continue down such a destructive path? The responsibility does not just stop with farmers and governments but with every one of us as consumers and the choices we make at each meal.

           Some people choose to address this problem by eating no meat or animal products. But if you still eat without thinking where your food has come from, how it was grown, if it is in season and the impact it has had on the area it was grown; then it is less about the planet and more about self-image and following a trend. Sometimes it seems easier to point the blame at livestock than see the impact our own fossil fuel burning and materialistic lifestyles are having.

           It is sad that many people don’t know what can be grown in the area they live or what is in season. We eat without thinking. Britain is such a wonderfully productive country that many of us could live entirely on local and British produce, so long as we are willing to eat with the seasons and do without a few tropical luxuries. Britain isn’t known as the green and pleasant land for nothing. As well as the grain crops, orchards and vegetables that grow well in some areas, others are better suited or sometimes only suited to growing pasture or woodland. Preferably both, as I described earlier. The best way to manage this grass is with livestock. Projects like Knepp Wildland have shown cattle and other livestock can be effectively used to manage a conservation project with very little interference from humans. In fact better than many entirely human managed projects as Knepp indicates with huge increases in many threatened wildlife species.

           Vegetable growers will tell you that in order to grow consistently good vegetables year after year the garden cannot survive on its own waste alone for compost. They need to bring in some from outside, much of it animal manure. In order to move away from artificial fertilisers and sprays, livestock and crop rotations to add fertility need to be used. There are many examples of how livestock are being used to reverse desertification in some areas of the world too.

Using natural products such as leather and wool is also a good way of reducing plastic consumption. Whether you choose to eat meat or not livestock can play an important part in our food production and our future.

           So I urge you all now to be more like a cow. Chew over your food a bit more. Don’t rush it, take time in sourcing it and pleasure and pride in eating food that is good for us, the planet and our future.

#nature #cows

[hortascountrysidenotes]

Maiden Flights

Thankfully after the last lot of high wind abated, the young swallows fledged - I think it was Tues or Wednesday and to our delight there was a full quota of 5.  We have never had more than that but frequently less - they are so funny sitting on the beam in a line waiting to make the big leap but they soon master the art of the little hatch windows.  I am always amazed how they can fly out of bright sunshine into the relative dark of the garage, and then accurately negotiate the beams and roof trusses to sit alongside the parents.  Mr Swallow gets terribly worried when we move near or in the garage and there is much shrieking and agitation sometimes leading to us actually being dive bombed by him to move away.  They are wonderful parents and their brave attacks of the sparrowhawk and kestrel should they venture over the garden with their alarm call going full tilt are always worth watching.  I get very anxious when I hear their alarm call however and rush out to see what portent of doom is about!

Other small chaps are venturing out into the world, the most noisy of whom are the baby starlings who come in droves to the bird table, and whose parents luxuriate in a good bath after breakfast!  They make a terrible racket - I did rather prefer having 40 house sparrows on the table (our biggest count) rather than 20 young starlings - a difficult one to call as starlings were under great pressure.  We do have an awful feeling however that the starling recovery at Beck Farm is causing the reduction of the house sparrow population.  The Turtle doves are still calling so we are hopeful nesting is in progress and as we are hearing them at a largish distance apart we assume we might have two pairs in the locality.  No cuckoo however although they have been heard along the Nar valley.

The dry continues and is ravaging the countryside now.  There is no grass to speak of for grazing and so far the cattle have not come out to graze the common.  A cut of hay has been done, but the quantity is pathetic - the grass is only flowering in the dampest of areas.  Not being an expert on hay I assume they couldnt wait for rain to perhaps save the day as the nutrition levels would probably be lost, but I should think the number of bales will be less than half.  A worry although if rain comes, the grazing should be saved and perhaps go on until late autumn instead.  As a result of no rain, the common has not been golden with buttercups for the first time I can remember, but the orchids are starting to flower and the little garden meadows look brilliant with rattle, knapweed, scabious, ox eye daisy, sorrel and clover.

I keep the garden alive just - the watering is concentrated on the veg patch - finished picking asparagus now, but salad is good.  The early beetroot are nearly ready and the second batch well established.  Carrots are very slow  despite watering, they just do need rain.  Potatoes I think will be pretty poor but there will be a few.  Courgettes are growing but very slowly - one good night of rain would make a huge difference to them.  Artichokes coming on, but again very small. The flower borders in some parts are struggling - especially at the top of the garden where there is more competition from trees and hedges.  I have watered the main two borders targeting certain plants and annuals.  Altogether not too bad in appearance and they will be fine but it is noticeable how early things are doing their thing as if desperate to then shut down and give up the unequal struggle.  

Pulled up the very last of the wallflowers this morning - couldnt believe they could still have looked so lush in bone dry baked clay soil!  In turn planted out the very last Cosmos, Snapdragons and an Erysimum cutting that suddenly decided to work about a month ago having sat all winter in the greenhouse refusing to strike!  Also planted out my Salvia Phyllis Fancy cutting which like the Erysimum had been dilatory, so the borders are well and truly full now.

The main event of the week will be Mavis - we are off to see Mr Roscoe Bellspaddle this afternoon and I suspect tomorrow and Wednesday unless we get immediate success!  She is in a different frame of mind to the winter - seems very calm and relaxed - it could be the heat of course but I am hoping that her chilled demeanour is a good omen.  I shall report as soon as there is news.

A lot to pray for - a successful move to the next phase of the covid crisis, an improvement in the situation in the US, rain, Mavis and above all a saviour for the Amazon rainforest and its peoples - it is so critical now as to feel unbearable. 

HORTA

[allthebrazilianpolitics]

#MemoryMonday - a glimpse into Brazilian history: Chico Mendes (1944 - 1988)

Hello, fellow Tumblr’s! This month’s Memory Monday (the section in this blog in which we talk about Brazilian historical figures) will be about Chico Mendes. No, that is not Pablo Escobar!!! Have some goddamn respect to Mendes’s name!!!

Really, he deserves much respect. The Amazon Rainforest has seen a sharp increase in wildfires in 2019, which has drawn warranted international attention. So it wouldn’t be less than appropriate bringing up a brave person who has literally given their life to protect it on our history section.

Chico Mendes was born in December 1944 to a family of rubber-trappers, in the city of Xapuri, in state of Acre (we Brazilians joke a lot about Acre not existing but don’t mind us). The eldest of 17 brothers, with only six who survived past childhood, he started working at age 9 to help his father, who suffered from clubbed feet, extract latex from rubber trees and cure the substance for sale in the production of rubber. He worked full-time, many times waking before dawn and walking 10 miles, and his siblings also worked, due to the extreme poverty in which the family lived. The rubber industry was in decline by then, which rendered many rubber-trappers expelled from their lands, or having their lands stolen or sold then burned by cattle ranchers for pasture. Chico’s family, like many others, were in severe debt, and their conditions were getting worsened by the day. Things didn’t get easier when his mother died in childbirth when he was 17 and had to tend for his siblings too.

Healthcare services were non-existent where he lived, and people there commonly got lung diseases. Hostile or deadly plants and animals lurked around, and rubber barons more often than not imposed inhuman conditions and physical punishments for workers in plantations, many times with lenience and even help of the police forces. In many plantations, schools were forbidden altogether. Because of this, Mendes only learned to read in his late teens, when he sought help understanding his bills. His neighbour, former political prisoner Euclides Fernando Távora, taught Chico how to read, write, and do math, and also introduced him to political readings. With that, Mendes grew increasingly critical of the conditions in which him and his folks lived.

Chico Mendes started writing countless letters to the Brazilian government denouncing the conditions imposed to rubber-trappers, and also became a literacy teacher to help educate people around him. In 1975, he and fellow workers founded the Rural Workers’ Union (STR). In 1977, he helped found the Xapuri Rubber Tappers Union, was elected councilman, and started getting his first death threats. In 1979, when he organized, as councilman, a forum of discussions with local union, religious, and popular leaders in the city, he was accused of subversion, arrested, tortured, but later released (it was at the time of the Military Dictatorship). Under the leadership of activist Wilson Pinheiro, the unions engaged in peaceful protests against the logging that plagued their rainforest and livelihood, and asking the government for installation of reserves for use of the forest without damaging it. To halt deforestation, they went in large groups to an area with imminent destruction, occupied it, took down the shacks of the cutting crews, covered the trees with their own bodies, stopped the chainsaws, and forced the crews out of the area. This technique, called empate, or blockade, was quite effective, but it got retaliation. In Chico’s own words: "We organized 45 empates. About 400 of us were arrested and about 40 tortured, and a few were killed, but we succeeded in keeping more than three million hectares of the forest from being destroyed. Thirty of our blockades failed and 15 worked, but it was worth it." Wilson Pinheiro, who came up with the technique, was murdered in one of those ordeals in 1980. Despite Mendes’s orientation to remain pacific, some workers killed a rancher in retaliation. In response, the police tortured 100 trappers.

In 1980, he helped found the Workers’ Party. In 1981, Mendes was elected president of the Xapuri Rubber Tappers Union, and in 1983, of the Rural Workers’ Union. In 1985, he organized the First National Meeting of Rubber-Trappers, during which the National Council of Rubber-Trappers was created. In the meeting, the seed was planted for the creation of an Union of the People of the Forest, uniting rubber-trappers, indigenous people, riverside populations, small fishers, and coconut breakers for the installment of extractivist reserves and agrarian reform. Chico Mendes and indigenous people from the Amazon made an alliance and successfully pressured the local government to create forest reserves for sustainable exploration. In 1987, he was visited by UN members, to whom he denounced that projects with international financing were leading to deforestation and the expulsion of rubber-trappers. A couple months later, he went to the USA to make those denouncements to their Senate and to a meeting of the Interamerican Development Bank, who was financing one of the projects. The funding for such projects was thus halted. While Mendes was accused by farmers of hindering progress, he got international acclaim and received multiple awards.

Chico spent the year of 1988 roaming all of Brazil, under threats by members of the just-created Democratic Union of Ruralists, giving lectures, seminars, participating in congresses, in which he denounced the intimidation rubber-trappers were suffering. He also participated in the installation of many reserves. The expropriation of Darly Alves da Silva aggravated the threats Mendes was receiving, and he was loudly vocal about it to the press and government forces and authorities. Chico Mendes was at last shot and killed at the backdoor of his house, orphaning three children and leaving a widow, besides an ex-wife. Justice stalled a lot, but at last Darly Alves da Silva and his son Darcy Alves Ferreira were convicted of his murder.

His death sparked immediate international outcry, bringing global attention to the strife of rubber-trappers and to Brazilian environmental issues. Right in 1989, Brazilian human rights NGO Torture Never Again named a prize after him, and ex-Beatle Paul McCartney released the song How Many People in tribute to him. Composer Clare Fischer wrote the music piece Xapuri for him as well, and Mexican rock band released the song Cuando Los Ángeles Lloran in his tribute. Brazilian thrash metal band Sepultura wrote the song Ambush (from Roots, 1996) in his memory too, and Brazilian guitarist Pepeu Gomes wrote the instrumental piece Amazônia for him. There’s an HBO film from 1994 called The Burning Season, that depicts him. Chico Mendes even got a Google Doodle in his birthday in 2015, and scientists named a bird species after him. In 2007, the Ministry of Environment, headed back then by his friend Marina Silva, created the Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation (ICMBio), with main responsibility being of monitoring and creating conservation areas. He was considered one of the greatest Brazilians of all time by a public opinion poll in 2015, and was even sanctified in the Anglican Episcopal Church of Brazil. His widow and one of his daughters, after his death, founded the Chico Mendes Institute to develop social and environmental projects in the state of Acre. Right after his death, the Chico Mendes Extractivist Reserve was created. Reserves akin to his proposals now cover over 32,000 km².

Times may seem kind of hopeless. The Amazon Rainforest is of upmost importance not only for Brazil, but for the whole planet, with indispensable role in fighting climate change. In times like these, maybe it could be nice to remember our heroes and their legacies. 

And finishing off with a quote by Chico Mendes himself:

“At first I thought I was fighting to save rubber trees, then I thought I was fighting to save the Amazon rainforest. Now I realize I am fighting for humanity.”

Cheers for y’all.

Sources: x, x, x, x, x, x, x

#brazil #amazon rainforest #politics #environmental justice #history #farming #indigenous rights #environmentalism #chico mendes #brazilian politics #brazilian history #memory monday #mod nise da silveira #this will probably have typos and other dumb mistakes #but i need to post this today so i will not have proof-read this as much as i usually do #sorry about that

[koleavacationrentals-blog]

Kolea Vacation Rentals

We had to tiptoe around upstairs because the family below us had a new little baby and I have 3 very rambunctious boys, so I found myself constantly yelling at them to be quiet. With a few simple ingredients and a little imaginatio, you can make a blue mocktail for summer easily. In the case of this island paradise, isolation won't make you feel cut off from the rest of the world, however. If you take some time to examine almost any decision you’ve made in this way, you’ll likely piece together the belief systems that inform the decisions you make. Take time to discover where you will be staying and what your family will be interested in doing during your Hawaii vacation. Nihi Kai Villas and Waikomo Stream Villas (Kauai): If you are looking for a flexible place to stay for your family on Kauai's sunny south shore, these Hawaii hotels offer excellent value for your money. As I got to the third page of the Google results I finally found a website that would offer me some real information on Hawaii. Many on line activity planning services offer free travel guides or books for each island and the Hawaii Visitors & Convention Bureau can be a great source of information. To book Kolea vacation rentals follow the link or see below.

Because the winter months are so cold and dreary during these months back on the mainland, visitors flock to Hawaii for a much needed respite. All downloads are in JPEG format so can be resized easily in pretty much any software program you have. Our suite was significantly larger and better-equipped than we needed, but even as digital nomads that work on the road, we didn’t spend too much time working in the room. Nurse practitioners are very skilled and hedged towards their work. But, certain groups are given exceptions such as the state itself, counties, private schools, Department of Education, financial institutions, board of an association of apartment owners and the manager of a condominium. In Hawaii Ti Leaves were and are still also used for many practical purposes, like wrapping food, making hula skirts and weaving leis. Every party is not complete without food, beverage and of course decoration of Kolea vacation rentals.

Thousands of warriors perished, including the Oahu chief, Kapiiohookai. Located only a short drive from the Waikiki city center, this hotel offers modern amenities including microwaves and mini-refrigerators. This place is known for various beautiful landscapes, volcanoes, marvellous beaches, impeccable golf courses etc. One can blindly take the decision of holidaying in Hawaii, as this place offers a most distinguished holiday experience. Take your pick of many beautiful world-class golf courses throughout the islands. On the Hilo side, take in the beauty of orchid-filled rainforests and majestic waterfalls. It was used to drive cattle through the rough lava fields from the ranches to the shore to be loaded onto ships. The USS Arizona is the most famous of the sunken ships in the harbor and there is a beautiful memorial erected over the wreck. Speaking of the bar, there were only two bartenders, so it took about 15 minutes to get each drink.

Hawaii is famous for its beaches, but there are many other things to do and see. Hawaii is also known as one of the most romantic place in the whole world. The scientific term for this fish is Rhinecanthus rectangulus as it is one one of many triggerfish that are indigenous to the South Pacific Ocean. Loaded with natural attractions, watch as molten lava oozes over rock and into the steaming ocean below. Well, depending on the season--high or low--some of the more popular activities can book out quickly, leaving you high and dry looking for alternatives. Instead of spending all your money for gifts, you can hit the International Market Place in Waikiki to get all your gifts in one place. Every Hawaiian Island is home to at least one famous beach, but Oahu's Waikiki is the most popular beach by far. It is an open-air bazaar which has been a Waikiki attraction for several decades. They grow millions of macadamia trees on the island we were told. To read more about Kolea vacation rentals follow the link.

There is no shortage of things to do once you check out the Ko Olina area of Oahu, or somewhere else in Hawaii as an example. But certain events usually stick out to visitors, as there are those special occasions that supply up once-in-a-lifetime opportunities that could be found in few other places apart from the Hawaiian Islands. Whether you are searching for an event which involves sports, looking for a celebration that features some of the best Hawaiian cuisine, otherwise you are seeking an event which involves true Hawaiian culture, you will have no trouble finding something to complete around the Island of Oahu. A few specific events in particular are especially anticipated, by natives and frequent individuals to this tropical isle. And these are events that you could find interest you, which means knowing when and where they take place to be able to schedule accordingly your getaway in Oahu. Three events particularly are ones you will desire to look for in 2010 with Kolea vacation rentals.

Being a bit too adventurous - The holiday season is a good time and energy to try something new and Hawaii has numerous sport adventures to finding involved in. Unless you have experience with the activity, we recommend that you get a lesson from the qualified instructor before you jump onto that surfboard or ride down that mountain. Your friends or family may try to teach you, fresh fruits qualified instructors will coach you on vital steps to keep you safe. So if you are trying to try something new be sure to possess a beginners session beforehand.

Avoid sunburn - Hawaii holidays guarantee sunshine but you are also a danger zone for sunburn. The sun rays are extremely strong you have to sunscreen rich in SPF protection to prevent getting burnt. For a more even application creams usually are better than sprays. Also, be sure to apply sunscreen for a feet and lip balm on the lips. Other things that can be done to guard yourself include wearing a hat if possible avoid outdoor activities between 11 and 2pm, when the rays of the sun are near their strongest.

Gardens: The gardens filled up with sweet scent of flowers provide for numerous photo opportunities. Spend a day within the gardens and you will be capable to gain an insight into Hawaii's spectacular selection of tropical flora. On the Big Island, visit Liliuokalani Gardens, the biggest formal Japanese garden which resembles the garden from Japan filled with bonsai, carp ponds, pagodas, plus a moon-gate bridge. In Honolulu, Oahu, visit the shady oasis of Foster Botanical Garden which showcases about 26 native Hawaiian trees including an East African, whose white flowers bloom only at night. On Maui, visit Kula Botanical Garden, to try a stroll through a lot more than 700 native and exotic plants, including orchids, proteas, and bromeliads.

Take a surfing lesson. The beaches at Kona and Waikiki are incredible spots to master the best way to surf. The reason? Mild, long point breaks that offer smaller waves to cascade gently straight into shore. You'll find lots of surfing locals to assist you here; learning how to surf is big business around the big island.

To read more about Kolea vacation rentals go to https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Hotel_Review-g60608-d578201-Reviews-Kolea_at_Waikoloa_Beach_Resort-Waikoloa_Kohala_Coast_Island_of_Hawaii_Hawaii.html.

#Kolea Vacation Rentals

[tamboradventure]

How to Become a Sustainable Traveler in 2020

Posted: 2/17/2020 | February 17th, 2020

After years on the sidelines, sustainable travel has made its way to the forefront of the travel industry. Environmentally friendly travel is now one of the fastest-growing movements in the industry, and I, for one, welcome this trend. It’s an incredibly important topic that I’ve been writing about for years.

After all, why destroy what you love? No one wants to see paradise paved over. We all cringe when we return to an overdeveloped, polluted destination. None of us want to contribute to that.

Being an eco-friendly traveler is simply being a respectful traveler.

As we strive to become more environmentally conscious, the questions for travelers become:

Just how do we “green” our travels?

What can we do to lower our carbon footprint as we travel the world?

How can we better interact with the communities we visit?

What changes can we make that are actually helpful?

Flight shaming people is not the answer, but do we all just stay home and quit traveling?

Fortunately, there’s actually a lot we can do as travelers to reduce our ecological footprint while contributing to the sustainability of the communities we visit.

Here are 13 concrete ways to reduce your environmental impact as a traveler:  

1. Stay Close to Home

Though the exotic is always appealing, travel doesn’t have to be about going somewhere far away. Travel is the art of exploration and discovery — and that can just as well be nearby. Find somewhere close to home you haven’t been, get in your car (or better yet, take the bus), and go visit. You never know what you’ll come across!

“X” is always the most interesting place on the map.  

2. Make Greener Transportation Choices

If you can, try to travel by train or bus. Not only does this reduce your carbon footprint but companies like FlixBus, Megabus, and Greyhound always have some cheap tickets, so you can save money too.

And when traveling by car, consider offering rides to other travelers to lower your collective emissions and cut costs. Many people will be happy to chip in for gas if it saves them time, which means you can save money and lower your carbon footprint at the same time. Win-win! That will cut your per-person transportation emissions in half (if not more). Use platforms like BlaBlaCar, Couchsurfing, and Craigslist to find rideshares near you.

Avoid flying or driving long distances by yourself whenever you can.  

3. Travel Slow

When we travel abroad, we have a tendency to rush around from place to place, trying to soak in as many sights as possible. I get that. After all, not everyone can be permanent nomads, and when you have limited time and aren’t sure if you’re coming back again, I can see why people “travel fast.”

However, not only does this raise your transportation costs since you’re moving a lot, you end up increasing your carbon footprint. All those trains, buses, and planes add up. The fewer you take, the better.

Additionally, being a good traveler not only means reducing your carbon footprint but also doing good by the communities you visit. Day-tripping brings in very little money to communities but impacts their infrastructure heavily (it’s why the city of Hallstatt in Austria is restricting day tours). So try to stay at a destination for a least a night.

Traveling to fewer destinations is good not only for your wallet and the climate, it’s good for local communities as well.

(Plus, slowing your travels will let you get to know places in a deeper way, since you’ll get to spend more time there. In travel, less can be more.)  

4. Pack Smart

While the specifics of will depend on where you’re going, there are a few things you’ll want to bring with you to help you travel more sustainably:

Reusable water bottle – Nalgene makes durable bottles that are BPA-free and made in the USA.

Water filter – Many destinations don’t have potable water, which means you’re going to be using tons of single-use plastic. Instead, bring a Lifestraw or SteriPen. These devices will purify your water so you can drink from practically anywhere, ensuring you can avoid single-use plastic bottles.

Tote bag/stuff sack – If you’re traveling long-term, bring a tote back or an extra stuff sack. You can use them for buying groceries and avoid plastic bags. At other times, they can be used to keep your bag organized.

Diva cup – This is a reusable menstrual cup. While I can’t speak from personal experience, it’s something our resident solo female travel expert packs when she travels, since menstrual products are not always available (and can also be quite wasteful).

Utensils – Travel cutlery (a fork, knife, and spoon, or just a spork or a set of chopsticks) can come in handy if you’re on a budget and plan on cooking your own meals. But they’re also useful for street food and eating out, as you can avoid plastic cutlery.

Additionally, bring a small Tupperware container for leftovers. I always find myself with extra food when I cook in hostels. This helps avoid waste and provides food for the next day. It’s an amazing travel hack surprisingly few people make use of.  

5. Fly with Fewer Connections

While I don’t believe in flight shaming, it’s impossible to deny that flying does have a hefty carbon impact. In addition to limiting your flying, try to use longer flights with fewer connections. Twenty-five percent of airplane emissions occur during takeoff and landing, which means if you fly shorter flights with more connections, your emissions will be drastically higher.

Flying direct is simply the better option environmentally, so opt for that whenever possible.  

6. Avoid Overvisited Destinations

If you can, avoid cities grappling with overtourism. You’ll find fewer crowds and lower prices, and you also won’t be putting as much strain on local communities struggling to keep up. (And, from a sheer personal-enjoyment point of view, who wants to deal with crowds or long lines? No one.)

If you do visit overtouristed places, such as Venice, Amsterdam, or Barcelona, pick a hotel or hostel instead of using sites like Airbnb. Apartment rentals drive up rents for locals and force them out of the city center. Unless you’re going to share accommodation with a local by renting a room from them (or using Couchsurfing), stick to hotels and hostels. Airbnb and similar sites really are detrimental to cities that don’t have a lot of housing.  

7. Take Public Transportation

After walking, public transportation is the next best way to explore new destinations. On arrival, head to the local tourism office to learn about the options (as well as any visitor discounts available for public transit).

If you do need a taxi, use ridesharing apps instead. Uber and Lyft have a “pool” option in many cities, which lets you split your ride with other travelers. While it may take a little longer to get to your destination, it will save you money and ensure that your ride is as eco-friendly as possible.

When it comes to longer distances, budget buses are your best way of getting around, since they usually pack in a lot of passengers. Megabus and FlixBus are two of the most popular options.

  8. Eat Local

Food that is imported has a much higher carbon footprint than locally grown food (and it’s usually not as fresh either). To keep your carbon footprint down, eat like a local. Stick to foods that are grown locally, and avoid packaged and imported foods much as possible. This will ensure that you’re eating seasonal produce, which not only is going to be the freshest but will also support the local economy. (Also, stick to organic food if you can.)

Sure, the odd Western comfort meal is not the end of the world, but the more you eat locally, the more you reduce your environmental footprint and the more you help the local economy as well. After all, you didn’t come to Thailand to eat a burger you could get at home, right?  

9. Cut Back on Meat and Dairy

I’m not saying you need to go vegan. I love meat and never plan to give up bacon. But if you’re concerned with the impact of your food, reducing your meat and dairy intake is extremely helpful. Over 25% of global greenhouse gas emissions come from food — and the majority of those emissions are from animal products. So by cutting back on your meat and dairy consumption, you’ll drastically reduce your carbon footprint. (Avoid Brazilian beef if you can, as lot comes from cleared rainforest land. Cattle ranching is the #1 cause of rainforest deforestation in the world. Same for soy too.)

Plus, it’s never been easier to travel as a vegan or vegetarian, as there are tons of amazing restaurants out there — as well as apps to help you find them (you can download the HappyCow app to find the best vegan and vegetarian options near you).

Even if you take meat and dairy out of one meal a week, you’ll be moving the needle in favor of a lower carbon footprint and a more ethical diet.  

10. Avoid Animal Attractions

Part of traveling green is helping the other creatures that inhabit his earth. That means you should avoid any and all attractions that use captive wild animals for entertainment. The most common offenders are riding elephants, swimming with dolphins, visiting captive whales, and petting (drugged) tigers. These activities require animal abuse and imprisonment and should be avoided.

Animals are best viewed in their natural habitats. If you want to see them, go on a safari, jungle hike, or whale-watching tour and see the animals where they belong, in the wild.

If you want to be an ethical and responsible traveler, stick to taking photographs and avoid direct interactions with animals.

For more information on animal tourism and how to avoid it, check out these helpful organizations:

World Animal Protection

Wildlife Watch

  11. Reduce Your Plastic Use

I hate plastic. It creates a ton of waste. From plastic bottles to toothpaste tubes to shopping bags, plastic sucks. I admit I’m not perfect, and I still use too much, but I’m always trying to reduce my consumption (both at home and abroad).

Avoiding plastic as much as possible is a great way to reduce your environmental impact. You can buy a reusable water bottle, use toothpaste tabs, carry your own cutlery, and travel with a canvas bag for starters.

Additionally, skip the plastic straws and cutlery and avoid getting take-out unless it comes in biodegradable containers. Straws can take 200 years to biodegrade, and plastic bags take 20. Don’t let a few minutes of convenience endanger the planet. Skip the plastic.  

12. Cut Back on Cruises

Cruises are one of the worst offenders when it comes to carbon footprints and overtourism. Taking a cruise has the same average per-person carbon footprint as flying from London to Tokyo — round-trip. That’s almost 20,000 kilometers (12,500 miles)!

Thanks to cruises, carbon emissions in popular port cities can be so high that thousands of people actually die prematurely every year.

And to top it all off, day-trippers from cruises visits are overwhelming local economies, driving up prices, forcing out locals, and creating destinations that are over-reliant on tourism.

Don’t get me wrong: cruises are a fun way to travel. But if you’re looking to lower your environmental footprint, you’ll want to avoid cruises as much as possible.  

13. Take a Nature-Related Trip

Travel is one of the best personal development tools there is. It opens you up to a whole new world and widens your perspective of so many things — people, culture, history, food, and so much more.

If you want to better understand and appreciate the natural world, try taking a trip with the sole purpose of connecting with nature. Head to the Australian Outback, go diving and swim around coral reefs, visit national parks, camp in the Moroccan desert, stay a few weeks in a town with little or no electricity, canoe down the Amazon River, or spend a few nights under the stars in a field close to home.

Do something that gets you in touch with the world in a way that sitting at home with all the electricity and free-flowing running water doesn’t. I promise that when you come home, you’ll have a new perspective on why we’re all so focused on being environmentally friendly these days.

It doesn’t take much to see that we are living unsustainably and something’s got to give. Going on a nature adventure can get you to think differently when it comes to the environment and how important it is for us to treat it well.

***

Traveling in a more green and eco-friendly way is something we should all aspire to. As travelers, it’s our responsibility to make sure that, while we explore the globe, we do so in a way that doesn’t harm the planet or the local communities that we visit.

With a few simple changes, you can all become better and more sustainable travelers. You just need to take that first step. Action begets action, and the more actions you take, the easier the other ones will be.

Book Your Trip: Logistical Tips and Tricks

Book Your Flight Find a cheap flight by using Skyscanner or Momondo. They are my two favorite search engines, because they search websites and airlines around the globe so you always know no stone is being left unturned.

Book Your Accommodation You can book your hostel with Hostelworld as they have the largest inventory. If you want to stay somewhere other than a hostel, use Booking.com, as they consistently return the cheapest rates for guesthouses and hotels. I use them all the time.

Don’t Forget Travel Insurance Travel insurance will protect you against illness, injury, theft, and cancellations. It’s comprehensive protection in case anything goes wrong. I never go on a trip without it, as I’ve had to use it many times in the past. I’ve been using World Nomads for ten years. My favorite companies that offer the best service and value are:

World Nomads (for everyone below 70)

Insure My Trip (for those 70 and over)

Looking for the best companies to save money with? Check out my resource page for the best companies to use when you travel! I list all those I use — and they’ll save you time and money too!

The post How to Become a Sustainable Traveler in 2020 appeared first on Nomadic Matt's Travel Site.

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#IFTTT #Nomadic Matt's Travel Site

[nemesis-nexus]

Darkest Greetings and Salutations My Family, how is everyone? I am doing fabulously, I have a new lease on life and I feel great, it gets a little dizzying but nothing I can’t handle! The only thing that I am NOT looking forward to is the severe cold snap that they say we’re going to experience this week, the coldest it’s been in over a century they're saying, oh joy! And now I shall do my impression of a popsicle encased in an iceberg! Hopefully it won’t be as bad as they say but for right now:

Full Beaver Moon 2019

HAIL THE ANCIENT FAMILY! The Full Moon is upon us and it is a treasure whose worth is beyond calculation. As I sit in contemplation of the things that have happened over the years, I feel a weight being lifted off my shoulders! The shining Moon has been the one thing that has the ability to neutralize any stress I might be dealing with and enables me to meditate on any situation for any length of time. When I sit outside in front of my Altar I can feel the energy flowing all around, especially when the wind starts blowing! The strength of each gust always increases the deeper I go, this is how I know that the energy is moving and the feeling while it’s happening is indescribable! Of course this occurs if one does a ritual inside their home and the feeling is similar but it’s not quite the same as being out in it!

As I looked out my front door I saw the Full Moon in the sky, lighting up the darkness so effortlessly and never asking for anything from anyone to provide this light that so many have relied on to make their way to wherever they were going at night without having to worry about walking off a cliff or into a fight with a beast they had no intention of disturbing! The moon itself is a wonder that many take for granted especially now because people are so busy developing their cities and literally flooding them with artificial light that they all but forget about the Moon and the Stars above them and why?

Because they can’t see them and because they can’t they take for granted that both will always be there since they have always been there. What these people fail to realize is that many of the technological advances that we have now come from studying the Moon and Stars! For example we know that the waves in the ocean respond to the pull of the Moon energy, when you know how waves will react at almost any given time and how high they will get you then can build walls along the shoreline to protect the city. You can also determine when a good time to set sail to a remote location will be as the sea is a harsh mistress and she takes no prisoners!

Tonight’s Full Moon was named the Beaver Moon by the Algonquin Tribe of North America, it was so named because this is the time of year when they would begin to lay traps to catch as many beavers as possible so as to fashion their furs into clothing warm enough to survive the very harsh Northern Winter! As someone who lives in the same general area I can say there are times when I wish I had a few beaver furs to withstand the cold!

During this Full Beaver Moon it is clear that we need to reevaluate many things about ourselves as a species; petty selfishness and instant gratification has lead us to the crossroads we are currently at and to the governments we have, the question is do we fight it or do we work with it and decide among OURSELVES if we like what the current and future ruling bodies have to say? Only one of these roads will determine whether we are taken seriously on any level, especially a political and more importantly an environmental one!

The other thing that has lead us to where we are is that we have forgotten ourselves on a Spiritual level and the proof of that is in our willingness to allow the Earth to be drilled into, fractured and blown open for its oil, gas, uranium and copper deposits, even if it means leveling yet another mountainside or National Park! We wonder why mudslides are occuring, it is due to strip-mining for mineral deposits! If there are no rocks or trees in place to keep the soil from moving, all that is needed is just enough rain to create mud that when it is on an angles WILL begin to start sliding downward! Who cares if ANOTHER THREE THOUSAND acres of rainforest is cleared to make room for grazing lands for cattle? Why should we care, after all the only thing that trees and vegetation do is provide us with OXYGEN! So what if we tear up the woods and natural habitats of Wildlife, how dare they want their homes to remain UNINVADED? Then we bitch and moan about how Coyotes, Bobcats, Wolves and OTHER predators are showing up in the streets and eating the Humans pets! They are doing this because they don’t see a difference between a dog and a badger! MEAT IS MEAT and if we want them to continue to hunt in the woods then we need to LEAVE THE WOODS ALONE!

Humans have forgotten what it means to coexist with the very ecosystem which enables it to live, instead choosing to believe that they are superior, then they don't know what to do when an Earthquake, Tornado or Tsunami strikes! They need to remember they are part of the system, not above or below it, we exist in MIDDLE SPACE and it is absolutely imperative that we work with it for the sake of the survival of the whole!

The reason we have the kind of intelligence we do is not a freak accident, but intentional! We were given the intellect to oversee the goings on of our respective parts of the Earth and to live in conjuction with it! To enjoy life and to protect that which is the most import to ALL of our survival - the thing that Ninhursag, Enki and Ningizheda created and what the Ancient Family as one functioning unit oversees - the HEART (EARTH) of our very existence!

As I gaze upon the Moon I can’t help but wonder if all humans will ever wake up to what they are doing, but one thing I do know for certain is that there are many who have woken up and can see what is happening, not just on a physical level but “between the cracks” if you will, they keep to themselves what they see because they know what’s to come and they also know most humans would deny it even if they were told! There is a reason why the Moon Pool and Trail look so hypnotic on the water… It is the silent voice of the Cosmos calling out to us, whispering those memories we all possess of a life beyond what we are currently living!

Father I implore you to help those whose allegiance to the almighty dollar has led them to not only jeopardize the LIFE giving element of Water, but to sue for the right to endanger it while brutalizing any and all humans trying to protect it! Remind them that not only is it a RIGHT, but that it is a NATURAL ELEMENT, of which EVERYONE deserves access to a clean, NONINDUSTRIAL tainted supply! Remind them that they are not more important just because they have more human currency, nor will they curry favor in your eyes for denying others that which you provided us ALL with simply because they feel entitled to do so!

If we keep on the course we are currently on, cutting down the trees, burning through the rainforest and other wooded areas, stripping the mountiainsides, blasting the ground and gutting the mineral deposits, poisoning the air and water, drilling the shale and messing with fault lines, we are going to cause a global disaster unlike we have ever seen before and we will bring it all down on ourselves!

Great Father who keeps track of everything, I implore you to not lose hope in us just yet because there ARE those who are still fighting and who are not willing to back down! We know that you did not give up on the human race the last time but everyone has their breaking point and if you do decide enough is enough, we are ALL in very real trouble and there will be no escaping the consequences of our actions or the wrath of the Ancient Family! I will not back up or back down to any human regardless of their aggression, until the very last breath leaves my body I will continue to strive, to move forward and to help others do the same!

Even though things seem bleak, even though the future is uncertain, we will continue to move ahead as we know that we can get through whatever rough time or arduous situation because we have our Blessed Father on our side and he has no problem telling us to get our shit together and be ready because we never know just what may be around the corner or on the horizon!

While you won’t fight our battles for us, we know that we are able to combat any situation ourselves because we were created in the image of the most glorious Beings in all the Multiverse! We also know that if we are ever in need of guidance that you will be there to help us along! You may not always use human words, sometimes instead choosing nature’s vocabulary, however if we pay close enough attention we know just what it is you are saying!

Endearing and Fierce Father, I know that we will get through these hard times, I know because as stubborn as people are they are also scared of the unknown and I think once those fears are ABLE to be cast aside that people will calm down. It sickens me that those who are rioting in the streets are most likely only doing so because it’s staged! That they would allow themselves to be bought off like that is a human embarrassment!

On this Full Beaver Moon I wish everyone glad ridings and the comfort of Friends and Family to keep you warm through the rest of the Autumn and straight through the Season of Death! I wish you the peace that comes with taking care of your own and doing what you can to help those that need it! I wish you the presence of mind to always stand up for what is right and to always stand against injustice no matter what form it takes or who the aggressor is! Most of all I wish you Spiritual Guidance and Healing to help you with whatever issues you may be facing, do not ever be afraid to ask Father or any member of the Ancient Family for help when the burden becomes too much for one person to carry! No man is an island and the Family will always stand by us so long as we do our part and do not expect anything especially for them to do all the work!

“If you understand or if you don't,

If you believe or if you doubt

There's a Universal Justice

And the Eyes of Truth

Are ALWAYS watching you.

-Enigma"

---

"When The First Frost Falls And Covers The Ground,

When The Air Hangs Cold And No Creatures Are Found,

When The Earth Is Hardened And The Bears Take Slumber,

When The Birds Fly South Flocking In Number,

When The Snows Are Calling, The Heat On The Run,

When The Leaves Have Fallen And The Autumn Is Done,

We Come Together By Respect And Gratitude Led,

To Say Thanks For Father's Generosity And Put The Earth To Bed!

We Batten Down The Hatches And Get Ready For Winter,

The Resources Become Scarce, The Conditions Are Bitter,

But We Have No Anxiety And No Fear,

For Father Has Taught Us How To Prepare!

With The Skills We Knew And The Skills We Were Taught,

We Gather Our Rations From Father's Great Lot!

Through The Death Season We Will Pull Through,

Until Spring Comes Again And The Rebirth Is Due!

We Take Care Of Ourselves And Of Each Other,

To Ensure The Survival Of Our Sister And Brother!

Never Doubting The Support Of Our Family,

Knowing Always We Are One Even Though We Are Many!"

ZI ANA KANPA! ZI KIA KANPA!

MAY THE DEAD RISE AND SMELL THE INCENSE!

Etiamsi MULTA Et Nos UNUM Sumus Nos Sto Validus Ut Nos Sto Una!

Semper Veritas, Semper Fideles, In NINHURSAG'S Nomen Nos Fides! AVE NINHURSAG!

(We Are ONE Even Though We Are MANY And We Stand STRONGEST When We Stand TOGETHER!

Always TRUTHFUL, Always FAITHFUL, In NINHURSAG'S Name We Trust! HAIL NINHURSAG!)

AVÉ IGIGGI!

AVÉ ANUNNA!

AVÉ DRACONIS!

HAIL THE GREAT SERPENT!

HAIL THE ANCIENT FAMILY!

HPS Meg "Nemesis Nexus" Prentiss

[jilliangkenny-blog]

The Amazon and Before the Flood

Blog Post 8

For my presentation, I focused on the Amazon rainforest and its history of deforestation. Chapter 10 of our textbook is based on the ecosystem approach to protecting biodiversity, so I chose a topic that allowed us to analyze the subject on a large-scale basis.

History of the Amazon

The Amazon has been continuously inhabited by humans for over 10,000 years. For a large portion of that time, it was occupied by stone-age people living in small tribes. This did not have a large impact on the environment because there was not a very large population, and they only used the resources they needed. This changed in 1541 when Gonzalo Pizarro led a Spanish expedition there. Some of the members on the expedition entered the rainforest to replenish their resources, and they discovered this forest rich in biodiversity. Some Europeans inhabited the rainforest, but it remained largely unaffected until 1842, when sap from the rubber trees fell into demand.

The sap became largely desired across the world when Charles Goodyear developed vulcanization, a process that makes natural rubber into a durable rubber that can be used for a variety of technological developments. This caused an extremely high demand for rubber trees, and thousands of seringueiros, or rubber tappers, flooded into the area. This time period caused much of the deforestation of the Amazon, and it also created an environmental justice issue for these thousands of people trapped in a slave-like system. Brazil kept its rubber monopoly for as long as possible, but Henry Wickham from Great Britain smuggled rubber tree seeds from Brazil to England. The price of rubber then plummeted, causing the end of the rubber boom. It was briefly revived during World War II, when the location of the British rubber trees was occupied by the Japanese, but it fell once again. Since Brazil was so afraid of other countries coming in and occupying the Amazon, they went into the depths of the Amazon, occupying the interior. Often times they broke up the rainforest with roads and other infrastructure, which damaged much of the biodiversity of the area. By sectioning off areas of the forest, it broke up the ecosystem and created habitat fragmentation. This decreases biodiversity tremendously.

Deforestation

Now that we understand the background of why the Amazon has been degrading over the past century, we can focus on the details of the deforestation. Since 1978, over 289,000 square miles of the Amazon have been destroyed across many South American countries, but primarily in Brazil. Before the European explorers settled in South America, the only form of deforestation was when subsistence farmers cut down small amounts of trees for their families. Once rubber fell into demand under large-scale production, though, deforestation spread at an alarming rate. The Amazon was disappearing extremely fast, and people began to recognize that something needed to change. In 2004, Brazil and its citizens began to make an effort to save the rainforest. It became a hot-topic issue, and Brazil’s policies began to reverse the effects of deforestation. Much of the biodiversity was saved, and since then annual forest loss has decreased by roughly 80 percent. This was a result of increased protection legislation, satellite monitoring, pressure from environmentalists, private and public sector initiatives, new protected areas, and macroeconomic trends.

While this sounds like a positive change, and it truly was, it did not stick around forever. With the changing of leaders in Brazil, some have reversed many of the policies that preserved the biodiversity of the Amazon. In recent years, much of the restoration work done between 2004 and the present day has started to become obsolete. It is worth raising the question, then: how can we implement environmental restoration policies in a more concrete way? One suggestion is implementing them into national or state constitutions. This would make it so that future leaders are unable to override policies protecting important biodiversity hotspots, such as the rainforest. The only problem with this approach is getting the government to make an amendment to a constitution. Agreement among government has to be extremely high in order to pass an amendment, and unfortunately not enough people are generally on board for environmental policy. Generally, some see it as either too expensive, or they receive donations from large companies contributing to environmental degradation.

Amazon and the Textbook

There are many points within the textbook that can be applied to the situation of the Amazon. First, it discusses how causes of tropical deforestation are “varied and complex.” Because this is true, it can be hard to identify the problem and solve it in a concrete way. Some causes listed are population growth and poverty, because both of these push people who have no other option into the rainforest for shelter. Government projects can also speed up this deforestation process through logging and ranching, and reducing the costs of timber harvesting, cattle grazing, and creating large plantations. The causes of deforestation can also vary depending on the tropical area. Some forests, like the Amazon, are burned and cleared for the purpose of cattle grazing and soybean plantations. Other tropical areas, like in Southeast Asia, are being replaced by palm oil plantations. In Africa, tropical areas are cleared mainly because of individuals who are struggling to survive, so they clear small areas of land for their families to eat. By these examples, it is clear that there are so many different problems causing deforestation of tropical forests that it can be hard to pinpoint one activity to prevent.

Additionally, the textbook discusses ways in which we can manage and sustain forests. A lot of this involves more sustainable practices, such as stopping clear-cutting and only using selective cutting methods. It is also helpful to think of environmental benefits, such as the rainforest, as having economic value. This relates to the tragedy of the commons: since we view all natural resources as a public resource that everyone can take freely, it depletes the resource. If we do not continue to perpetuate this idea, though, it could help us to realize the value of the rainforest in an economic way as well as an inherent way. This accounts for the idea of externalities in economics: if we assign economic value to the resources of the rainforest, they are less likely to be degraded. Lastly, we can also get rid of government subsidies and tax breaks that perpetuate the destruction of the ecosystem and then provide economic rewards that promote the health of the ecosystem. We can also follow the example of the Green Belt Movement and create a tree planting program for the rainforest.

Recently, I watched Before the Flood, a documentary starring Leonardo DiCaprio. In this documentary, DiCaprio speaks with many professionals about what is causing climate change, the effects climate change will have on the future of our planet, and ways to stop climate change from spiraling out of control. An important topic DiCaprio covers is the idea of a carbon tax. A carbon tax is a tax applied to anything that perpetuates the addition of carbon into the atmosphere. This would definitely include deforestation, especially of the Amazon. Because clear cutting destroys so many trees, this increases carbon put into the atmosphere. This is due to the fact that trees take in carbon dioxide and release oxygen, balancing out human respiration. When trees are cut down in mass numbers, though, so much of that carbon remains in the atmosphere since there are less trees to take it in.

In Before the Flood, DiCaprio talks to Gregory Mankiw, a leading professor in economics who worked under several presidential administrations. He proposed that we should be implementing carbon taxes, but this does not necessarily mean paying more in taxes. This tax could reduce an alternate tax, such as income tax or property tax. This would just be a tax transfer rather than a tax increase, making it more appealing for those who will not support any tax increases. This is a crucial idea because it makes carbon taxes more palatable, especially for U.S. Republicans. Past the U.S., though, this could help save rainforests like the Amazon because it would be more expensive to deplete its resources with a carbon tax.

Word Count: 1373

Question: In the case of the Amazon, much of the land was preserved and saved, but now deforestation is a problem yet again. How can we create longer-lasting policies?

#ENST 1000

[thenewscover]

Can Planting Billions Of Trees Halt Climate Change? | News Cover

Would planting more trees help?

News Cover: The world is burning. In California alone, some 3 million acres have burned since 2017. Since the beginning of 2019, there have been more than 121,000 fires in Brazil, and more than half of those have been in the Amazon rainforest. 

These fires cost the planet trees, which help fight climate change. The 2018 wildfire season in California is estimated to have released about 68 million tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. That's roughly fifteen percent of all emissions in California. 

In short, one of the world's best defenses against climate change is being destroyed at an alarming rate. A recent study from the Swiss Federal Institute for Technology, ETH Zurich, says reforestation of forested lands at a global scale could help capture atmospheric carbon and mitigate climate change. 

According to the study, 0.9 billion hectares of land worldwide are available to be reforested and one hectare is the equivalent of 2.47 acres. In short, 0.9 billion hectares is an area the size of the United States. It's enough space to plant more than one trillion trees, and the resulting carbon capture, according to the study, would be more than 200 gigatons. 

Read More: The destruction of the Amazon, explained | News Cover

That's about 32 percent of human carbon emissions since the beginning of the industrial revolution. In fact, after the study was first published, articles appeared with headlines like 'Tree planting has mindblowing potential to tackle climate change'. Simply put, trees capture carbon dioxide. 

You've probably heard of the greenhouse effect. It's what happens when heat radiating from earth gets trapped in the atmosphere. "This isn't something that we're going to be seeing in the distant future. Climate change is happening. Humans are responsible for climate change and CO2 emissions that are causing climate change to happen, along with emissions of methane from agriculture and oil and gas activities. 

Does planting trees increased rainfall?

To some extent, emissions of nitrous oxide gases that come from agricultural practices primarily. Certain gases exacerbate the problem, such as methane, nitrous oxide, chlorofluorocarbons and of course, carbon dioxide. Moomaw maintains that while planting trees is one part of the solution, that alone won't stop climate change. "We should simultaneously reduce our emissions as much as possible, as rapidly as possible. 

That means that the energy sector and the industrial sector into agriculture and everything you can imagine." NASA has several initiatives to track climate change or carbon sequestration, the process of absorbing and storing carbon over a long period of time. For example, the Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation mission is a laser based on the International Space Station, one that measures canopy height and forest structure around the world. And there's also ICEsat, which measures the elevation of ice surfaces.

Why do we plant trees?

And there's Landsat, which monitors where deforestation or regrowth is happening. While the evidence for climate change seems clear, there's no consensus for how to deal with it. Some have argued for carbon taxes, which would tax fossil fuels as a means of reducing emissions. Others have suggested a complete overhaul in agricultural and livestock practices. But planting trees is something almost everyone can agree is beneficial to the planet. 

But would it really help fight climate change? That part is far more controversial. While the ETH Zurich study says there are 0.9 billion hectares of land available for planting, there is little chance all of it will ever be used for that purpose. Much of the available land is on private property, so private landowners would have to be convinced to do the planting and a great deal of that land is used for farming and grazing or beef cattle and dairy cows. 

Reforestation also requires careful planning. For example, too many trees in northern forests and warming could be exacerbated. That's because too many trees block winter snows in winter snows reflect sunlight. At the same time, trees absorb the heat without redirecting it. And that can create a local warming effect. "Let's make sure we plant them in the right way. Let's make some decisions about which species we're going to plant. Let's not plant. Let's let's focus on on native species rather than bringing in other species." The Amazon rainforest is enormous. 

Read More: Has anyone met a time-traveler from the future? | News Cover

It covers more than 2 million square miles, including a large chunk of northwestern Brazil and extends to Peru, Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, Guyana, French Guiana and Suriname. Since January, more than 121,000 fires have ravaged Brazil, with more than half of those burning in the country's Amazon rainforest. Many of them were set as a result of slash and burn agriculture. Farmers burned the land to create space for crops and grazing. 

And it could get worse, especially under current President Jair Bolsonaro's aggressive land use policies. The country lost 53.8 million hectares of tree cover from 2001 to 2018. That's a 10 percent decrease since 2000. And deforestation is harmful in another way. When a tree is cut down, it releases captured CO2 back into the atmosphere. 

How does planting trees conserve water?

NASA estimates between 15 and 20 percent of carbon emissions each year come from deforestation. Much of the deforested lands in Brazil was planted over with soybeans or used for cattle grazing. About 80 percent of Amazon's deforestation is due to cattle ranching. In fact, Brazil is now among the world's biggest soy and beef exporters. Meanwhile, President Bolsonaro, who was a climate change skeptic, is not inclined to stop deforestation anytime soon. 

Since he took office, his administration has cut Brazil's Environmental Protection Agency budget by 24 percent. He's fired the director of the National Institute for Space Research, the agency that tracks rainforest activity, and he's eliminated a number of fines for environmental damage. Still, earlier this year, Bolton R-OH told the U.N. the Brazilian rainforest remains pristine and virtually untouched. But really, Brazil lost more than five thousand two hundred square miles of rainforest in 2018. 

Read More: What Would Happen If There Was No Friction For 1 Minute? | News Cover

That's an area roughly the size of Connecticut. Aside from saving the planet, there are sound fiscal reasons for planting trees around the world. In 2015, Citigroup estimated the cost of not taking action to fight climate change would be 44 trillion dollars by 2016. Citigroup went on to say that incremental costs of action are limited, offer reasonable returns on investment and should not have too detrimental an effect on global growth. 

Adding renewable energy and improving efficiency. The study found, may actually boost the global economy. There's also another issue to consider and that single use paper products, paper napkins, tissues, diapers, toilet paper. I mean, we're flushing we're flushing forests down the toilet. Literally reinforce sustainability has even brought a number of new business opportunities as well and range from one that manages sustainable timber plantation to a company that works with smaller farmers to one that sells beverages made from rainforest products. 

How do trees store carbon?

BioCarbon engineering was started by a former NASA employee, Lauren Fletcher. The company uses drone technology to reforest on a large scale by firing seeds into the ground to people. Planting trees can plants up to three thousand a day. But a team operating 10 drones can plant up to 400,000. The company estimated revenues for 2020 of nearly 100 million dollars. Another called Guayaquil Sustainable Rainforest Products, has created a market in the US around drink, made from here yerba mate a species from the Holly family. The drink is popular in Paraguay, Chile, Uruguay and southern Brazil and has been adapted to American tastes. 

More than 600 social media stars recently raised over 16 million dollars to plant trees all over the world. The effort was spearheaded by YouTube star Jimmy Donaldson, who's also known as Mr. Beast. Donaldson post videos of stunts performed by himself and his friends. Donaldson was challenged by a fan to plant 20 million trees. It was part of the hashtag Team Trees Project. 

The program raised over five million dollars in two days and all donations went directly to the Arbor Day Foundation, a non-profit organization that plants trees. Even Elon Musk committed to donating a million trees to the project. The planting is slated to begin in January and should be finished in three years. In July, Ethiopia planted more than 350 3 million trees in just 12 hours. The idea was to meet with the country calls its hashtag Green Legacy goal, a program instituted by prime minister be met. 

Ethiopia's efforts surpassed India's 2017 initiative, which planted 66 million trees in a single day. There's also the bond challenge, which intends to plant 864 million acres of trees by 2030. And the Nature Conservancy has its own plant, a billion trees effort under way. The program was launched in 2008 and it was originally intended to bring back Brazil's Atlantic Forest. 

Do older trees absorb more co2?

It's since expanded to the U.S., Mexico and China. And so what's needed is a comprehensive monitoring program where we can look at the changes in land cover. We can estimate the associated changes in carbon that's being removed from the atmosphere and then scale this globally or over long periods of time. Let's make sure that that carbon removal is permanent. Reforestation efforts are also a major part of the Paris climate agreement, which President Trump just formally moved to end U.S. participation. 

The withdrawal will be complete at the end of 2020 in the Paris Climate Agreement. A handful of key countries, including Brazil, Indonesia, Peru and the United States committed to intensifying efforts to protect forests because while it doesn't take long to destroy forests, replacing them can take decades. 

The most important thing is to slow down or stop deforestation and conserve our existing forests. The second is then to identify the areas that have been recently deforested and go about restoring those ecosystems. And then the third is to very carefully consider the forestation options that are in the context of how those might affect land tenure, biodiversity and food security.

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[its-lifestyle]

Many years ago in the mid-1990s, when I first started working in Berlin, Germany, we went for dinner as a group and one of my English colleagues tried to order a vegetarian dish at a nearby restaurant.

It was quite funny as the translated request from a grinning German colleague was first met with shock and disbelief; the waitress thought a bunch of foreigners were making a silly joke.

Finally, a little flustered, she said she can offer a bratwurst with some extra sauerkraut. My colleague insisted on ordering only the sauerkraut – but when it came, it had bits of chopped ham in it.

This old situation should now be contrasted with modern Berlin today, which is now considered one of the most vegan-friendly cities in Europe.

Practically every restaurant I went to recently had vegetarian or vegan options, and many of them were excellent. The Germans have a well-deserved reputation for being socially and environmentally savvy and the latest proposal is to raise the tax on meat, particularly beef, from 7% to 19% – this proposal is being taken very seriously by parliament.

So, a country that had every citizen eating an average of 80 kilos of meat a year 30 years ago is now looking to reduce meat consumption down to 30-35 kilos by 2040 (it is currently under 60 kilos a year).

Note that this is the country which had banned tofu up to 1990. There are now even vegan Christmas markets in Germany, a fact which would have made our waitress in 1995 swoon in shock.

Amazon fires

Directly, whether you like it or not, the huge fires engulfing the largest pristine rainforests left in the world in the Amazon are caused by human demand for meat. Land is needed to raise the livestock to satisfy global demand for meat (particularly beef) and this simply means destroying millions of hectares of the Amazon jungle to clear them for grazing land.

It also provides more land needed for planting crops used to feed cattle and other animals. In case there are any doubters, it is impossible for a tropical rainforest to catch fire by itself so the 72,843 fires there this year were deliberately started by humans looking to clear land.

In terms of destruction, the estimated area destroyed is around 259,000 square kilometres and rising. This is TWICE the size of Peninsular Malaysia which covers 131,587 square kilometres.

The future of food could include the possibility of consuming food created out of insects. Photo: Filepic

The irony of it all

The irony is the devastating tactics such as those applied in the Amazon currently is almost certain to destroy the meat industry itself eventually. The short-term gain in meat production will not be met by long-term increase in meat consumption. Let me explain.

Our planet is already at an inflection point. Either humans can continue to destroy our environment and certainly make our planet uninhabitable within the next few decades or centuries, or humans can decide to reverse course and change the practices and habits which are devastating to our world.

Climate change is not a vague peculiarity which can be ignored, despite what vested-interests media keep telling us. We are living through a period of very high sensitivity to climate-altering factors and it would be insane to ignore it. For more, please read my previous article Facing up to climate change .

The future of food

The actions of Germany and other Scandinavian countries are the start of a movement that recognises that our current food habits are unsustainable long-term, generally unhealthy, and simply need to change.

Despite modern medical advances which can sustain human longevity to record levels in most parts of the world, it is much less often mentioned by medical journals or the press that there is little point in living such long lives if one is always sick and in need of medication and healthcare.

It does not make sense to live in pain as long as possible just to pay vast amounts of money to pharmaceutical companies and medical practitioners.

So it is a matter of time before we all start to seek planet-healthy food which is also healthy for our bodies as well. Diet is the single biggest factor which all of us can control which affects our impact on the environment; our diets have much more influence on the environment than cutting down on using the car, or flying, or switching lights off early.

Eating one burger is roughly the same as driving a normal 1.5-litre petrol car for 750 km in terms of greenhouse gases (GHG). Note cattle produces methane, which is roughly 23 times more potent as a GHG than the carbon dioxide emitted by cars, and producing one kilo of meat can cost up to 1,000 kilos of GHG.

So our food will change, not only because most modern societies will want it, but because sooner or later, the economies of scale will tip towards producing such healthier foods.

In short, it will be cheaper to produce healthy non-meat based food than to raise a cow for beef. The resources needed to produce plant-based food will be less, the environmental footprint will be minimal and importantly, the production costs will be cheaper than for raising meat.

For consumers, one unstated benefit of plant-based foods is that, unlike meat, they do not contaminate kitchen surfaces with dangerous bacteria and they also keep longer in the fridge which helps to significantly reduce waste.

Plant-based burgers like the Impossible Burger have proven very successful. Photo: AFP Relaxnews

In terms of taste, there are already several extremely good plant-based burgers which most people cannot differentiate from real meat burgers. I have tried quite a few and I actually prefer the taste of some of these plant-based burgers. There is also plant-based “chicken meat” which tastes exactly the same as chicken, according to my daughter who sampled it recently in the US.

Beyond this, if human palates adapt just a little, then it is highly feasible that we will be dining on new foods and flavours created from algae, insects, plankton, fungi, etc, which may be introduced into grain or bean-based staples such as wheat, rice, soy and other beans.

Humans have been conditioned for decades to like sugary, salty, artificially-flavoured and synthetically-textured food. The same techniques can be applied to make non-meat foods palatable and desirable for humans. If it makes commercial sense, then I am certain the food industry can and will re-educate our palates as necessary.

Tracking food of the futureIt is feasible we may track our food consumption much better in the future as we become more aware of its environmental and nutritional impact. At present, some fast food restaurants show the calories in their offerings, but this is mostly a publicity gimmick.

If such establishments genuinely cared for their customers’ health, they would print skull-and-crossbones labels with “DO NOT EAT” against many of their dishes.

In the future, we may have apps on our phones which can determine the carbon footprint of our food, and list its nutritional properties as well. What I always wanted is an app to determine what nutrients are lacking in dishes and keep tracking such deficiencies until they are consumed.

An opinion

All the above is not at all unlikely, although it is mostly my opinion today. Humans have displayed an unconscionable lack of interest in proper nutrition in the past, resulting in outrageous increases in unnecessary conditions such as obesity, diabetes and other diet-related diseases.

However, humans have also displayed a remarkable resilience in the face of severe crisis and disasters and it is only a matter of time before we all recognise the disaster facing us. If a burning rainforest twice the size of Peninsular Malaysia is not a global disaster, then I do not know how people should define the word “disaster”.

Therefore, the probability is that the future may herald a wave of changes to our diets, which as mentioned, is the single largest factor every human can control in terms of environmental damage.

The only thing I cannot do is put a date when this change in sentiment towards our food will happen. It may occur within 10 years, or maybe 50, perhaps even later. I only hope it is not too late by then.

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[wayneooverton]

10 day hikes in New Zealand that are better than Roys Peak

I have a confession to make: When I first moved to New Zealand, I wanted to go to Wanaka specifically for Roy’s Peak.

I had seen the photos on social media of the turquoise blue lake cradling the tiny mounds of islands, surrounded by towering 1000 meter peaks in every direction. It was a scene I had never seen before and I couldn’t wait to climb this mountain and see such a strange place, take in those epic views of Wanaka myself.

How could it be real?

5 of the best day hikes in New Zealand you can’t miss

How long would you wait in line for this photo?

Of course what my naive self didn’t realize was that social media doesn’t show you the line of people walking up the track and the hordes of humans crowding the summit and to be quite frank, the exceedingly boring walk to the top. Sure, I was awestruck but I was also dismayed. I stupidly thought I’d have this quiet corner of the world to myself but I was surrounded by people who surely though the same.

I walked down the monotonous track for the first time, cursing myself for not realizing how busy it’d be and for not doing more research on lesser-known hikes.

Mt. Roy is probably the most popular hikes in New Zealand thanks to Instagram, with hundreds of thousands of people walking up it annually, and lines up to 40 minutes to take “that photo.” You aren’t going to have that walk to yourself, rain or shine, middle of the night or during the day. It’s crowded.

The social media queue pic.twitter.com/hRj6kBXypS

— Lukas Stefanko (@LukasStefanko) November 25, 2018

I get it, it’s hard when you’re traveling, especially when you’re hoping to do lots of hiking in New Zealand. You have so much planning to do already that you don’t really have time to look into all of the best secret spots, because duh, they’re secret for a reason!

But fear not! There are hundreds and hundreds of secret tracks in New Zealand that take a little bit more research but are certainly worth it.

If you’ve dreamed of quiet trails in the New Zealand wilderness, this list is for you. I can’t guarantee you’ll have them all to yourself but you certainly won’t have to line up to take a photo.

These are my top 10 epic hikes that are way better than Roy’s Peak. Enjoy!

9 ways hiking in New Zealand will change your life

*Be sure to check out the Mountain Safety Council’s handy website for helping plan a safe adventure in the New Zealand backcountry, especially how to plan your trip.

1. Cooks Cove Walkway: East Cape (5.8km return, 2.5 hours easy)

For the history buffs and the coastal lovers, this one is for you! Located in the Tolaga Bay area on the east coast of the North Island, Cooks Cove Walkway takes you nowhere Captain James Cook stopped in 1769 as part of his circumnavigation of New Zealand.

For a relatively easy walk with minimal hill walking, you’ll be rewarded with stunning views of coastal bluffs and gives first views of Cooks Cove itself. Information panels alone the way tell the story of Cook and the crew of the Endeavor’s visit to the Cooks Cove (Opoutama), the history of the local iwi Te Aitanga-a-Hauiti, and the excavation of an archaeological site first occupied by Māori.

For those warm summer days, you’ll even spot a safe cove to swim in. If you’re planning on doing this track, be aware the track is closed from August 1st – late October.

2. Paneikire Hut: East Cape (5 hours one way, 8.8 km, intermediate)

Another east coast gem, the track to Paneikire Hut is one that can’t be missed. Found on the multi-day track around Lake Waikaremoana (Te Urewera), one of New Zealand’s Great Walks, this hike can easily be done in a day. It’s a strenuous climb up to Paneikire Bluffs but once at the bluffs, the track mellows out and follows an undulating ridgeline before reaching Puketapu Trig and onto Panekire Hut.

In pre-European times, life was determined by the practical demands of an annual cycle of food gathering. Te Urewera nurtured an industrious and resilient people with links to the land. No part of the forest was left unexplored. Hine-pukohu-rangi came from the sky enticing Te Maunga, the mountain, to earth with her. Their child was a mortal being, Tuhoepotiki; his children are the Tuhoe people. Tuhoe are thus children of the supernatural, born of the remote mountain and the drifting mist.

The symbol you see on signs, shelters, and other facilities along the lake track is an interpretation of Hine-pukohu-rangi.

3. The Pinnacles Walk: Coromandel (2.5 – 3 hr one way, 6km, intermediate)

To be fair, this walk is classified as “popular” but compared to the cattle-like lines going up to Roy’s Peak, this hike is still relatively quiet. Found on the lush and dense Coromandel Peninsula, this hike can be done in a day or as an overnight walk. The track follows a historic packhorse route used by the kauri bushman in the 1920s.

The Pinnacles Track starts by climbing a series of steps that were cut into the rocks to make the journey for the bushmen easier as they were logging kauri trees. As you reach the top of the climb, you’ll see the skidded road which were used to pull logs along the skids by teams of bullocks or steam haulers.

As you reach the top of the climb, you’ll be rewarded with 360 views of the this beautiful North Island peninsula including views of a branch of the Tairua River and the rugged volcanic landforms of Tauranikau and the Pinnacles. A short walk down a signposted sidetrack leads you to Dancing Camp Campsite where you might find remains of the Dancing Camp Dma, built in 1921.

If you do plan to stay at the hut, please note bookings are required.

Image via Flickr

Image via Monty Vanderbilt

4. Mount Hikurangi: East Cape (5 – 7 hours one way, 10km, advanced)

Visit the sacred mountain of Ngāti Porou, Mount Hikurangi, the highest non-volcanic mountain in the North Island.

Located in the Raukumara Conservation Area in on the East Coast of the North Island, this advanced tramping track is suitable for this ready for a long day. The track is 7 hours one way but the views of the Raukumara Range make it well worth it. The track is marked until the last 400 meters which require a scramble up loose scree.

Steeped in Maori history, Mount Hikurangi was the first part of the North Island to emerge when Māui pulled it as a giant fish from the ocean. According to these beliefs, his waka, Nukutaimemeha, became stranded on the mountain and lies petrified near the mountain’s summit.

Image via Phillip Capper

5. Lake Peel: Nelson/Tasman (2.5 hours one way, 5km, advanced)

Nestled deep in the Kahurangi National Park lies Lake Peel, a picturesque lake cradled in a verdant basin. For this hike, climb steadily up to Lake Peel ridge before sidling around this stunning alpine lake.

Highlights include views of the Arthur Range and the Cobb Reservoir plus good birdlife and alpine flowers in summer. This track can be completed in a loop for those looking for an intro into multi-day hiking.

Also, one of New Zealand’s rarest birds, the takahē, was just released back into Kahurangi National Park.

Image via Flickr

6. Mt. Stokes Track: Marlborough (4-5 hours return, 7km, advanced)

Far too many people skip out on the fascinating Marlborough Sounds in an effort to get further south in the Alps but those who stick around won’t be disappointed.

The Queen Charlotte track is a must do for many trampers and cyclists but for those looking for a quick day trip with sweeping views of the sounds, be sure to stop at Mt. Stokes. This mountain is named after Captain John Stokes, who charted the entire New Zealand coastline between 1848 and 1851 in the survey ship Acheron, visiting the Sounds in 1849.

This 4-5 hour return hike is recommended for fit trampers who don’t mind steep terrain. Standing at 1,200m, Mt Stokes is the highest point in the Marlborough Sounds.

Image via Daniel Rauber

7. Mount Tuhua Track: West Coast (7 hours return, 7.2km, advanced)

Lake Kaniere is a West Coast gem that can’t be missed.

Hikes up the surrounding mountains give stunning views of the lake, surrounding peaks, and the Tasman Sea. Skip the popular hike to Mount Brown Hut and instead, try for the Mount Tuhua Track.

This track requires an advanced level of hiking and while the track is marked with orange triangles for the entirety of the hike, you should not underestimate the steep terrain.

The track starts off at a gentle gradient through rainforest for about the first kilometer, before starting to climb increasingly steeply. The bush is thick, but there are two viewpoints along the way which look back across Lake Kaniere

Image via Sara Larcome

8. Mount Fox: West Coast (8 hours return, 7.4km return, expert)

When I first traveled through Glacier Country, I was actually mildly disappointed. The very easy walks advertised around Fox and Franz glacier were paved to a viewpoint far away from the glaciers and swarming with people.

The West Coast can be difficult to tackle. The do-able walks are flat and through a valley and the walks with the amazing viewpoints often require a high level of technical skill and mountaineering or glacier experience. For those of you stuck in the middle like me, Mount Fox is a great alternative. It’s certainly a challenging hike but requires no technical equipment of knowledge when attempted in the summer.

Located just 3km south of the Fox Glacier township, this challenging climb is suited for fit, advanced trampers with good navigation skills. Start early in the morning to be on the mountaintop before cloud rolls in obscuring the view. This is a regular event, particularly in the summer months. The rough route climbs steeping up through the bush until 1021 meters where you begin to follow blue and orange markers through the grassland to 1345 meters.

9. Green Lake Track: Fiordland (6.8km or 11 km to hut, 3 – 6 hours one way, advanced)

For those seeking an excellent long day walk, you can’t go wrong with Green Lake in Fiordland.

Skip the crowded Milford bay and taken this quieter track to Green Lake instead. This hike requires a steep hill filled with dense bush before descending to the shores of Green Lake.

For those wanting to continue on, follow the track to Green Lake Hut.

Images via Crystal Brindle

10. Eldrig Peak: Fiordland (4 – 5 hours one way, 4km return, advanced)

Another Fiordland treasure, the hike to Eldrig Peak is difficult but well worth the views for trampers who are up for the challenge.

Start from Borland Road and continue through beech forest then into the tops where you can enjoy unbelievably rugged views of Fiordland.

The Borland Road is unsealed, narrow and steep in places, and subject to slips, washouts, snow, ice, high winds, and fallen trees. It is usually fine for walking, mountain biking, 4WD vehicles and some other vehicles (depending on conditions).

This road is not suitable for campervans. The road may be closed at any time so check with the Fiordland DOC office before attempting this hike.

The post 10 day hikes in New Zealand that are better than Roys Peak appeared first on Young Adventuress.

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[fashiontrendin-blog]

The Best Carry-On Luggage For Every Type Of Traveller

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The Best Carry-On Luggage For Every Type Of Traveller

Having a case fail to materialise on the carousel is one of the most nightmarish things that can happen to a traveller. However, pack everything you need into your carry-on luggage and it ceases to be a concern.

It sounds like an easy enough fix but in order to avoid recreating that scene from Meet the Parents as you try and fail to wrestle your battered old suitcase into an overhead bin, it’s a good idea to make sure your carry-on is properly suited to the job.

It’s a sentiment echoed by Jorrit Jorritsma, co-founder of Millican, a manufacturer of bags designed for adventure.

“The more you travel, the more you realise what you really need to take to make your journey as easy as possible,” says Jorrit Jorritsma, co-founder of adventure bag specialists Millian. “Invariably you need less and less.

“A bag designed with this in mind does make a real difference to your journey.”

Plus, let’s face it, having a heated argument with an air hostess about the dimensions of your bag probably isn’t the best way to start a romantic weekend away, a business trip, or any other type of excursion. Instead, invest in some proper carry-on luggage that completes your airport look and has the added benefit of letting you glide through arrivals with a smug look on your face.

A Spotter’s Guide To Carry-On Luggage

Selecting the right receptacle to accompany you on your travels can be harder to negotiate than North Korean customs, so to help you make a fully informed decision, we’ve rounded up the four main types of carry-on luggage to cover every possible set of roaming requirements.

The Backpack

Whether you’re a bearded nomad, an eight-year-old schoolkid or something in between the two, a backpack is nothing short of essential.

It’s arguably the ultimate carry-on companion, due to its ease of use and often surprising capacity. Plus, if you want to keep your hands free for drinking that obligatory 6am pint in the terminal, there is no bag better suited to the job.

The Laptop Bag

Flights may not be very exciting but they do create a handy window in which to get some last minute work done. With that in mind, you’ll need some protection for your computer.

Laptop bags are the digital age’s answer to the briefcase. They’re practical, they can be stylish and if you’re travelling for work, you really can’t afford to be without one.

The Small Suitcase

If you’ve ever witnessed the way some airport baggage handlers actually handle your luggage, you’d be forgiven for never wanting to check a bag in ever again.

Thankfully, you don’t have to. If you’re clever about it, you can pack the essentials in a small case and wheel it right onto the plane with you, thus ensuring the safety of any priceless glass ornaments you might happen to have brought along with you.

The Duffle Bag

Surely the weekender’s best friend, the trusty duffle bag provides all the room you need to pack clothes, shoes, accessories and more for a few days (or a week if you’re travelling light) away.

It’s accommodating capacity makes Mary Poppins’s handbag look like a coin purse and if you pack like a pro (more tips on that later), you’ll not need to take anything else.

The Best Brands For Carry-On Luggage

Every trip is different, which is something that should be reflected in your choice of luggage. After all, you wouldn’t take a Louis Vuitton suitcase for a trek through the Amazon rainforest, just as you’d probably avoid rocking up at an overseas business meeting with a 70-litre backpack. Different sacks for different settings. Simple.

With that very much in mind, here is our roundup of the best carry-on luggage to fit the job, wherever you happen to be going.

For The Business Trip

Antler

British brand Antler has been honing its bag-making skills for longer than most. Established in 1914 to make leather wardrobe trunks for ocean voyages, it didn’t take long for Antler to branch out into all areas of baggage and make a name for itself in the process.

Granted, most of Antler’s designs aren’t exactly eye-catching. That’s the point. If what you value is reliability and simplicity you can’t go far wrong. Plus, a work trip probably isn’t the best place to be showcasing your love for avante garde fashion anyway.

Buy Now: £95.00

Samsonite

You can’t think luggage and not think Samsonite. The American brand is probably the most recognisable name in the game and was further immortalised when Harry and Lloyd embarked on their slap-dash road trip to Aspen in Dumb and Dumber. “Mary…SAMSONITE! I knew it started with an ‘S’!”

Nineties film references aside, Samsonite is a reliable frequent flyer and with the brand’s unassuming styling, it’s always going to be a foolproof bet when it comes to packing for business.

Buy Now: £89.00

Marks & Spencer

The future of the high street is still perilously unclear but for the time being at least, Marks & Spencer is still one of its shining lights. The brand is deeply ingrained into the British way of life and is renowned for its affordable classics.

The carry-on luggage on offer here may not be the most glamourous, but the excellent weekend bags look more expensive than they really are.

Buy Now: £109.00

Barbour

It’s not a huge leap to assume that if Newcastle-born outerwear brand Barbour ceased to exist, the British countryside would simply collapse in on itself and shrink into nothingness. The iconic label’s waxed-cotton goods began making their way out of rural England and into the world’s cities some time ago, meaning you’re just as likely to see one being rocked by a London investment banker as a Northumbrian cattle farmer.

This universal appeal is no doubt down to Barbour’s unique blend of smart looks and unbridled durability – a winning combo if ever there was one.

Buy Now: £75.00

Mujjo

Hailing from the Netherlands, Mujjo has made it its mission to redesign the way we transport our technology. Crafting luxurious cases for laptops, tablets and smartphones, it aims to turn your devices from electronics into bona fide fashion accessories.

A laptop is a must when it comes to a work trip; that tattered old computer sleeve is not. Go for one of these full-grain leather cases instead and never get ridiculed in a meeting again… well, not for your luggage situation anyway.

Buy Now: €69.90

For The Weekend Break

Herschel

It’s almost impossible to walk down the street without encountering a Herschel bag hanging proudly off someone’s shoulders. Which, considering the brand has only existed since 2009, is quite an achievement.

Known for its casual, classically-styled products and for pretty much single-handedly repopularising the backpack, Herschel is a great choice when it comes to choosing the perfect day-to-day luggage.

Buy Now: £95.00

Eastpak

If Herschel is the Kendrick Lamar of the backpack world then Eastpak is the Run DMC. The Bostonian luggage brand has been creating simple, stylish bags since the early fifties and doing a sterling job of it too.

After starting life focusing solely on outdoor pursuits, Eastpak has grown into a fully-fledged lifestyle brand, producing kit to cater for everyone from the extreme sports junkies to the stylish guy jetting off for a weekend away (aka you).

Buy Now: £60.00

J.Crew

J.Crew has been a staple brand in American wardrobes and beyond since it first started pumping out simple, well-designed clothes during the early eighties. Today it’s a global retail force to be reckoned with and its trademark casual styling make it the perfect place to pick up a relaxed but stylish weekend bag.

The preppy, East Coast aesthetic that made J.Crew famous is about as timeless as looks get. So if you want a casual duffle bag you can keep pulling out for years to come, this is a good place to start.

Buy Now: £260.00

Asos

Asos is always a fantastic spot to bag yourself a bargain, and if the bargain your looking to bag yourself happens to be, well, a bag, then you’re in luck.

As well as a whole host of brand-name backpacks and holdalls, the online retail giant also offers its own takes on some classic carry-on luggage, at prices that will leave you with plenty of change to add to the spending money jar.

Buy Now: £35.00

Sandqvist

For a slightly smarter option, Sandqvist may have what you’re looking for. Founded in 2004 by brothers Daniel and Anton Sandqvist, and their mate Sebastien, the Swedish lifestyle brand draws its inspiration from the sprawling Nordic landscape, combined with urban living. As a result, its bags are stylish and practical in equal measures, and unmistakably Scandinavian.

Buy Now: £199.00

For The Adventurer

Patagonia

There’s a reason why this Californian outdoors brand has a reputation as the best in the game. Put simply, it’s because it is. Plus, not only is Patagonia’s gear a cut above the competition, it’s also sustainably made, using recycled materials wherever possible.

Saving the planet and travelling all over it at the same time is all in a day’s work when you’ve got one of these bad boys strapped to your back.

Buy Now: £80.06

The North Face

Professional mountaineers have trusted The North Face to get their belongings safely up the world’s most treacherous peaks for 50 years. That’s because the brand’s bags are some of the most robust around and have earned a reputation among climbers, hikers and runners for being the best in terms of both industry-leading tech and faultless reliability. When it comes to picking a bag to take you around the world, those are two things that will help you out no end.

Buy Now: £120.00

Millican

Hailing from the heart of the UK’s Lake District, Millican makes luggage designed by adventurers, for adventurers. The brand’s timeless styles all have practicality and sustainability at their core – it’s just a bonus that they look great too.

Using recycled materials, Millican creates unique and functional bags that are designed to stand up to the rigour of travel…even if that does just happen to be a three-hour flight to Ibiza or a train home to visit your parents.

Buy Now: £140.00

Fjallraven

If you grew up in Scandanavia, the Fjallraven arctic fox logo will no doubt already be embedded into your memory. The Swedish brand has been making rucksacks for well over half a century and has gotten pretty nifty at it in the process.

One of the main draws for travellers and adventurers is the patented G1000 fabric, which is extremely durable and can be waxed at home to increase water repellency. Very handy for those occasions where the weather abroad isn’t exactly living up to expectations.

Buy Now: £90.00

Osprey

Started with nothing but a single sewing machine and an idea to make innovative backpacks for adventurers to the highest possible standards, Osprey somehow went on to become on of the biggest names in bags on the face of the planet.

The Californian brand now makes some of the most technical, high-performance packs around, and using a whole factory full of sewing machines, no less. Impressive stuff, we’re sure you’ll agree.

Buy Now: £149.99

For The High-Flyer

Louis Vuitton

Now one of the most recognised luxury fashion houses in existence, Louis Vuitton started life making high-end leather trunks and luggage for the Parisian fashion elite.

Granted, at such high prices an LV bag or case isn’t the kind of thing you want to get battered and scratched in an overhead compartment, but to be honest, if you can afford one, you’re probably taking a private jet anyway.

Buy Now: £1,270.00

Valextra

Combining the Italian for ‘suitcase’ (‘valigia’) and the English word ‘extra’, these Milanese bags certainly live up to the name when it comes to the price points. However, if you’re willing to cough up, you’ll be rewarded with a meticulous approach to design and the finest leather money can buy.

As if that wasn’t enough, each piece of luggage comes with its own dust bag. A bag within a bag – it doesn’t get much more (Val)extra than that.

Buy Now: £4,550.00

Globe Trotter

After famously proving the strength of its cases by having an elephant stand on one of them, Globe Trotter became the luggage brand of choice for the likes of Sir Winston Churchill, Sir Edmund Hillary, the actual Queen and many, many more.

Hey, if it’s good enough for them then it’s good enough for us.

Buy Now: £1,250.00

Mulberry

The brand that built its foundations on manufacturing women’s handbags made from pure, organic catnip also has a sideline in men’s luggage. Mulberry’s holdalls are some of the nicest around, featuring unrivalled build quality and stunning full-grain leather.

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STIWDIO MAELOR 2016

It has been very cold in Corris and I have long forgotten what the tips of my fingers and toes feel like.  I have spent much of my time over the past two weeks improving my fire making skills and it turns out turpentine drenched paint rags make for wonderful firelights.  

I found myself in Corris this November as an artist in residence at Stiwdio Maelor, a modest is-what-it-is residency run by, artist and printmaker, Veronica Calarco.  Corris itself is a small village in North Wales, postcard picaresque and seemingly ninety-five percent made from slate, a local resource.  For coffee, wifi, and homemade seafood chowder, Adam & Andy’s cafe is thirty steps from Maelor’s front door and the Slaters Arms is a dozen steps in the other direction for beers.  And splendidly, that’s about it.  

At Maelor I was joined by writer Earl Livings from Melbourne Australia and visual artist Patrick Manning from Albuquerque New Mexico.  Ma friend Yuki Aruga and I shared the attic space together.  Yuki and I have known each other since we met as students at Camberwell Art College, and more recently we began sharing a studio together back in London.  In the second year of college, when we were also living together, we would spend our time eating ketchup and watching Back to the Future on repeat, and working alongside each other once again, we have found nothing much has changed.

Corris is surrounded by the hills and mountains of Snowdonia.  Yuki and I, plus new friend Rowboat, spent the first Sunday a short drive away, walking part way up Cadair Idris.  As the weather was grey, we didn’t reach the top and stopped at Llyn Cau, where we watched the wind drag hundreds of tiny waves from one side to the other.  While we stood imagining how deep the water might be, the clouds continued to follow us up the mountain and collect, hanging above the lake like steam above a big pot of stew.  Standing there in the wind, we regretted that on the way up, when we had become too hot, we had decided to leave all of our extra layers tied to a fence post, to collect on the way back down.  The weather was dull that day but the colours of autumn were dramatic and loud.

After a long while of working in a studio by myself, it has been refreshing to have another body of work developing alongside my own, as well as nice to have someone to say stuff out loud to.  This year, I have watched Yuki paint taxidermy birds and snakes amidst flowers and foliage, suspended midair they delicately comment on the passing of time, nostalgia… death and other topics related to experiencing existential crises.  My own work is rooted more so in the formalities of painting, although the content is undeniably based on landscape, I am more interested in how I can take it apart.  

While sharing the attic space, Yuki and I also wanted to do something vaguely collaborative, so we chose to keep a joint sketchbook diary, a sort of drawing conversation.  One drawing per day, responding somehow to what the other drew previously.  I found it constructive to have some form of combined and consistent thread running through our time on the residency.  The drawings mostly reflected on our day to day observations, the clouds that followed us on our trek up Cadair Idris, the crystal clear reflection of the trees at Llyn Cynwch, the glowing and slightly charred window of the stove, and the views we enjoyed through the van window driving between Corris and Dolgellau.  

   On our last evening, we did a show and tell, where we shared the picture conversation with Veronica, Earl and Patrick, and last minute special guest and previous Maelor resident, Jess Raby.  In all sharing our thoughts on the diary, it seemed the loose visual exchange seemed to compliment the string of short conversations we all seemed to have had at Maelor.  The words we exchanged when we were coming and going, while taking our muddy shoes off in the hallway or at breakfast waiting for the kettle to boil.  Along with a few lengthier and roaming conversations at the Slaters Arms.   

It was in these moments that we would hear from Patrick about his evening excursions.  Almost every dark wintery evening, Patrick went out walking to take long exposure photographs in the woods.  Bit by bit, we would hear from him about where he had headed, how cold it had been, how he had danced to keep warm!, how peaceful it was in the dark and the trouble he had been having with the windy conditions making some of the exposures blurry.  All the time, constructing in my imagination my own nighttime photography.  

At the show and tell we had the pleasure of seeing some of the images for real.  The dark is delicately infiltrated by the streetlights and the traffic in the distance.  If it were not for the long exposure there would have been very little light visible at all.  Given the time, though, in the photographs, the light gently interrupts and takes on new qualities.  In my favourite, the light appears through the trees like a molten gold lake.

Throughout our stay, we had all taken numerous walks through this landscape.  Often in quiet contemplation, though the tall creaky trees, over the broken slate, damp peat, and springy moss footing.  Yuki definitely thrives on the outdoors and would often go out wandering twice in one day.  I, on the other hand, require dragging out of the house, then, once we’re off, I can’t think of anything better.  I have always been this way given the option between going for walks and exploring or staying inside and making stuff.  I need reminding sometimes that the two go hand in hand.  Cue Yuki avec cattle prod.

    A lot of my recent sketches are full of vertical scribbly marks and look as though they were drawn using a seismograph, recording an earthquake of magnitude massive.  Connections like this alone have an effect on the way that I choose to hold and move my pencil, pen or brush, and in turn, also direct me in terms of what it is that I’m looking to paint from.  Lately, I have been on the lookout for mess.  In Corris, Yuki and I could walk out the front door and be surrounded by the woods in minutes, and the woods were messy.  Lots of the leaves had already fallen, so the trees were naked and spindly, and the branches and forest floor below, littered with the debris.  Across the valley, the terrain was mossy green, brown, ochre and burnt mauve, unevenly knitted together.  Reminding me again, of how much I like Andreas Eriksson’s rugged hand-woven yarn canvas’.  Another kind of mark entirely, I have had an urge to try this myself and I would like to work with these knotty and folded hills.

My work usually hops between sketchbook and canvas but lately, I have been relying more on sketchbooks.  Partly because I have done a lot of travelling and logistically they are easier to take out with me but also because, somewhat inexplicably, it is what I most feel like drawing in at the moment.  Possibly, it is the scribbly nature of my drawings which dictates this preference, scribbling is fast and on some level feels throwaway.

The underlying awareness, for a piece potentially being got rid of, destroyed or simply becoming unimportant on its completion has underpinned a few developments in my work over the past couple of years.  I painted a huge piece of canvas for Iavor Lubomirov, knowing that, ultimately, it would be cut up to become part of a series of collaborative painting-sculptures.  Then, on an earlier residency in Peru, I knew that, given the humidity of the Amazon Rainforest, a few of the paintings I did on sheets of acrylic would never dry in time to bring home.  I found a freedom in making this kind of work.  With the piece for Iavor, knowing that the final outcome was out of my control, I felt at ease taking more risks.  And with the short-lived paintings I made in Peru, the act became about putting down marks purely to encourage me to look harder, a kind of focus I am striving for constantly in all of my work, paradoxically even with the work I intend to keep.  

This might seem to infer that my work is indeed primarily about its subject matter.  Yet, as much as I am interested in looking, looking is also the means by which I arrive at any given composition and collection of marks.  Allowing observation to fully guide visual description, while remaining poetically detached from reality.  Plainly put, the harder I look, the more interesting my drawings and paintings are.

I joke that I make better, more interesting marks when I’m not looking at the page at all.  Yet, so often I find it to be true and for that reason I have been paying attention to it, looking for other ways to achieve a similar effect.  Drawing very quickly, unconsciously scrawling or drawing on top of textured surfaces, interrupting any hope of a straight line.  With these intentions in mind, the rules change again when considering working on canvas and on a larger scale.  At Maelor, I instead worked with the practicalities involved with using the smaller drawings to work from, attempting to reiterate as well as enlarge them onto canvas; finding that, re-articulating in paint, marks made with a biro, has its own set of complications.  

On our last weekend, John and Julie Box (me mum and dad) drove over from York with Rufus (dog) to walk with us one afternoon.  We had been recommended the Precipice Walk near Dolgellau.  Rufus went wild the whole time, which terrified me, as for most of the way round, on one side there is a drop, very steep and a long way down.  And Rufus did not seem concerned.  The nutter.  As we set off late afternoon, the sun was low in the sky, spilling a silver light across Cardigan Bay and all the way up the Afon Mawddach.  Fairly breathtaking.

Pulling into King’s Cross Station, I’m missing the views already.  Hwyl fawr!

Other Residencies

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