This is not my... Day
This Section; Background; The point
25/05/2006 - Not again...
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Oh to be able to get a good Internet connection.
Ah well – I guess it isn’t exactly the most important thing to worry about. The most important thing is… |
which shoes to wear at my 10 year school reunion this weekend!
10 years. Very depressing. Anyhow - clearly it should be the luminous turquoise heels but will they fit in my bag?
Drama’s indeed.
That aside I suppose climate change might also be a bit of a concern.
This week, the new Foreign Secretary, Margaret Beckett, cited climate change and AIDS as the biggest challenges we face.
There was also the fantastic start to the BBC's Climate Chaos season last night where Richard Attenborough explained how the world is heating up (nice images of the planet being wrapped up in a cosy looking blanket alongside guys that hack ice from deep crevasses in glaciers).
If you missed it - do not fear.
Next week - Thursday not Wednesday - is the second instalment that will detail what the results of climate change may be (there were some disturbing preview images of Bond Street tube under 10 ft of water) and what we can do to try to stop it.
I am meant to be making my friend dinner that night but luckily she is a good friend who I can happily force in front of the TV for an hour.
Last time she came round she ended up cooking so at least it wont be that bad… I’ll get the takeaway.
Anyhow – the UK plan for Climate Change 2006 is being reviewed by the Environmental Audit Committee.
Ages ago I promised to try to summarise the report for you.
Sorry sorry. False promise.
There was so much going on and I didn’t really focus on just how long it is! I am still only on page 117.
If you have already read it though and do have some ideas for additional things that the UK should be doing today is the last day to submit your thoughts to the Committee.
So – erm – well - better get on the case.
Right better go. Lots to do and shoe dilemmas to mull over.
See you later.
Susie x
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Last night Lara and I were lured in my the Golden Arches.
It wasn't for the food, though, but for... |
the Mc Toilet facilities.
There was just nowhere else to go late on a rainy Tuesday night.
Often, though, there are alternatives - and we are all about finding something better.
Which is why we have set up the - dun dun nun nun nun nun nahhhh*:
If you have a crisis, guility pleasure or question then we can help.
Just let us know what it is and we will see if we can find something just as good - or better - with which to tempt you!
We got a couple of mates to give us theres to start it off.
To own up straight away my guilty pleasure is the pre-packaged sandwich. I love them love them love them.
Though I am still no angel I have switched to Fresh! falafel (hmmm) rather than Tesco's chicken wraps and haven't looked back.
Foo go have come out with biodegradeable packaging so that is a helping hand there. Hopefully other companies will follow suit.
Obviously though making something at home and getting out the tupperware is going to be the best - and cheapest - in the long run.
It is also the best way of making sure that we keep track of our food air miles too.
Anyhow - if you have something you would like to find an alternative for or think we might be able to help you in your struggle through the ethical minefield then just drop us a line.
We would love to hear from you.
Have a lovely day xx
*absolutely definitely how you write a fanfare noise...
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This morning has been painful.
Not only is it very depressing to be inside when the sun is shining but…. |
After getting lost on the way into town (got on the wrong train…d’oh) I can’t get an internet connection.
If you are reading this though it means that I now have.
Woo hoo.
Having said that I have now run out of time to write anything particularly intriguing.
As luck would have it - one of the many reasons for the title This is not my... is so that we can pinch things that are not ours. So today I shall point you towards some interesting articles that are floating in the ether concerning nuclear power.
If you haven't guessed it before I am not a huge fan. (Perpetually scarred after accidentally watching 'Where the Wind Blows' as a child - it seemed like such a nice cartoon... right up to the part where the old people died horribly as a result of radiation sickness...)
Really though I have no credentials to comment on it (it's bad bad baaaaad) so thought I would - rather subtly - pull out some information from the broad sheets... which will in no way be biased.*
The business argument against was highlighted by the Observer on Sunday. It mentioned that private energy companies would require 'stringent' conditions from Govt. if they were to invest in nuclear - the fear is that ultimately if costs run over the tax payer will have to pay...
"Whitehall sources indicate serious disquiet in the Treasury over the possibility that costs will escalate and that nuclear generation will remain vulnerable to the volatile electricity prices that led to the collapse of British Energy in 2002, leaving taxpayers exposed."
The Independent today has some horrible imagery of the problems of nuclear waste and the effects of a leak / attack on a power station.
For a little less bias the Telegraph ran a general comment (though to surreptitiously pull out one aspect of the article - it did highlight the benefits of CHP...)
And the Times a nice sardonic note that when the Conservatives were in power Mr Blair had cheered the Labour MP's by mentioning that:
“What is unbelievably depressing about the Conservative government is that they see in the evidence about greenhouse gases not an opportunity to promote environmental concern, but a chance to make the case for nuclear power”
Oh the irony.
But though I am not nuclear's biggest fan I can't argue against the fact that it could be a way of helping us cope with global warming which - the BBC reported only today - we have underestimated.
So what to do?
I have a solution.
Let's t urn off the computer, lights, heating and air con and get outside to make the most of that sunshine!
x
*This is a lie.
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Ok so disaster might be a tiny exaggeration but... |
You will* be distraught to find that I have no make up.
Not a stance against putting chemicals on my skin by any stretch of the imagination (I need all the help I can get) but because I left it at my mates.
After a slightly heavy weekend (house party/general destruction of liver) I woke up to find the effects had appeared rather disastrously on my puffed up head.
Basically I looked like Yoda.
Being horrifically vain there was no other option but to nip to the shop and get some cover up so that I could paint my face.
The problem is that I have been nursing my Maybellene concealer for the last 9 months. Maybellene is owned by Nestle, who I am personally boycotting, so I can't buy any more.
Argh - what then to get?
Children were going to get frightened so I had to just pick out something random but what I should have done is check out www.ethiscore.org
It is brilliant - so if you haven't heard of it - have a wee look.
It is the company rating system set up by the Ethical Consumer magazine.
Sadly there is no one scoring system that helpfully tells us which companies are responsible and which are not. There are a number of ratings, schemes and symbols we have to work our way through. Ethiscore, though, can certainly help.
It provides a comparative rating of companies selling different types of products. It can be set up individually so that things that you find more important than others rate a company higher / lower on your personal ethiscore. (I.e. one person might want animal welfare to be more of a factor than another).
Though deciding what companies are 'ethical' and which are not is highly complex and the lists are not exhaustive this is a great tool to help us get a good idea.
At £15 for a whole year it isn't a bad bargain either.
Well I don't think so.
Despite the fact that I got so excited by it and showed so many people that I had to get it again. Which is fair enough really.
Anyhow - better get on and do all of the things I was meant to do yesterday but didn't (as they couldn't be done while sitting on the couch watching Strictly Dance Fever).
See you later x
*Ok so 'distraught' is doubtful but you might be vaguely concerned...?
19/05/2006 - A step too far...?
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Lazy as I may be there is a point beyond which I wont go.
Somewhere beyond that point is... |
No. Really?
But you can just put them in a bowl on the microwave...
Anyway - just something that came up when perusing this weeks Headlines.
All sorts of crazy things going on in the world yet again!
Another exciting day coming up for me. Getting a toilet delivered - woo hoo - will the fun never end.
Sadly this means that I am not able to ramble on here but will instead wish you a fun packed weekend.
Oh yeah and by the way the Campaign Against Climate change are having a tea party tmrw in Grosvenor Square.
So if you fancy a spot of tea and - hopefully - cake then maybe we will see you there.
Susie x
This section will be a daily, well - Monday to Friday daily, editorial. (Have to keep some time aside to keep up the ritual wine drinking / dancing as if being chased by bees.)
I promise to make it my mission to investigate something each day on exciting forays to find new stuff, fun stuff, ethical stuff and anything involving break dancing men with extremely toned physiques.
Let me know if you think of something I should go and visit or if you have any great ideas or information. (Any dodgy suggestions will be politely declined... or not so politely, depending entirely on what they are!)
For today, though, please just have a look below to find out how this whole thing came about. I hope that you are having a lovely morning.
See you tomorrow,
Susie x
Background to This is not my...
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What is this site all about?
Well, as all good ventures do, it started in the pub with the ominous words "I know, why don't we...?" |
What was different, though, was that it still seemed like a good plan in the morning (and somewhat less injurious than trying out extreme ironing, the other suggestion...)
Anyway - once again we had been supping beers and putting the world to rights when someone mentioned the unmentionable, despite our disaffection with the state of the world, none of us was actually doing anything positive to change it.
Whether this was complacency or apathy, who knows - but we were definitely leaving it to others to make decisions and take action for us on issues about which we felt strongly.
We live in a free society, but often things seem to happen as a fait accompli. The war in Iraq, ID cards, the fact that we will eventually succumb to watching some of Big Brother no matter how hard we try...
And we just go along with it. But that is ok, right? I mean, we aren't exactly encouraging the abuse of others - are we?
Ok - so maybe my new top might have been made under less-than-perfect conditions and I suppose that means I am supporting those conditions, but - I have to buy something to wear, so what other choice do I have?
And that was the problem. What - and where - are the choices?
So we decided to investigate. Surely in this free society we have other options; we just need to know how to find them.
So we went online. There are some great directories already for ethical and/or environmentally friendly products, but for us these didn't go far enough. We were on a bit of a roll and decided that these products deserved more active promotion.
We wanted to make as many people as possible aware of the practical things they can do to live life in a better way.
So on this site we will provide information about easy, positive and ethical consumer choices. These are choices that won’t necessarily cost you more, either.
In our directories you will find environmentally friendly and ethical companies and products across the following categories:
Clothes
Energy
Food and Drink
Health and Beauty
Home and Garden
Office
Recycling
Restaurants
You will also find debates, downloads, fun stuff and plenty more to lure you back to the site on a regular basis.
We’d love you to get involved with some curious antics to keep important issues in the public eye – and provide us with much entertainment and amusement at the same time.
So - take a look. Explore… investigate… probe away.
We hope you like it; we hope you use it.
