Blog badge for greener planet!

There's a new decoration on green carpet if you haven't yet noticed. A Badge. The one on the right side that says "My blog fights climate change!" And it actually does! Isn't that really 'cool'?
The whole idea is from 350.org and to be more precise- from here.
On their website they explain:
"350 is the most important number in the world—it's what scientists say is the safe upper limit for carbon dioxide in the atmosphere." so they made a promisse that for every blogger adding the Badge to the blog, they would donate the 350 ponds of carbon in bloggers name. Well, they reched their goal of 350 bloggers in under a month, so they decided to keep the 350 Challenge open indefinitely.
"Now over 3,900 bloggers are participating. To join in, post the badge to your site, let us know, and we'll offset 350 pounds of carbon in your name. That's like flicking off 100 lightbulbs for a day. Or going two full weeks without your car!" They invite you to the website.
Because when I added the Badge on green carpet, I received a thank you note, saying that:
"By displaying our badge, your blog will help us offset 122,500 lbs of CO2 -- that's like turning off 38,000 light bulbs for a day!  With your support, we're putting more clean energy on the national energy grid, and together, we can help fight global warming, one blog at a time."
So yeah- they're very cool!!!
P.S.- and I don't care that their donation will go to American renewable resources instead of where I live. We still live on the same planet, and we should take care of it together. Climate Change is not local, it's everyone's business!
If you want to add the badge- go here!

Tar sands from Canada might not enter the EU

News time on green carpet has shown a possibility that the EU might ban the import of the tar sands from Canada. The Ecologist says that "Oil from the tar sands industry is set to be classified as having greater GHG [green house gas] emissions than conventional oil in a review of the European Union’s Fuel Quality Directive". That means that those oil importers and fuel providers that are legally bound to reduce GHG emissions will have to refuse using tar sand oil.

I personally think it's incredibly important to ban tar sand oil! Of course, it's significant to save our atmoshpere from GHG emissions as the process of extracting oil deposits from tar sands is "estimated to be three times more carbon-intensive than conventional oil sources" as states The Ecologist.
But in my personal opinion extracting oil from tar sands should have been banned in whole world in general- it is unnaceptable in my mind to remove such vast territories of topsoil, leaving open mines- it strips the planet! It also steals the natural habitat from living creatures. I mean- it's not that this territory has been a desert before, not at all. There used to be forests which is multi-level ecosystem with huge variety of living beings in all those levels starting from root system, moss, grass to bushes and trees.
And as if that was not enough, the process pollutes local waterways with toxic cemicals, it uses water resources irresponsibly and on emits the GHG. And on top of it- after the extraction of bitumen, the stripped earth is left to be such- a dead zone, where nothing can grow and no creature can live in anymore. No wonder they call it the dirtiest oil of all.

I would think that we should ban the oil from tar sands for these reasons, not just the higher GHG emissions. And I would want to see it in the whole world, not just the EU..
But at the moment- every second closer to this European ban is a victory for another square of the living land. And if I look at it from this perspective, I am ok with GHG being the reason to ban tar sands oil. As long as there is a ban, at least here in Europe. Maybe other parts of this world will see what it does to our planet and follow. Fingers crossed on green carpet.

p.s.- picture copyright Jiri Rezac from Tarhished Earth exhibition

The War on Plastic

There's a war on plastic bags on green carpet!
There has always been this fight for "plastic bag free world", but yesterday I read this blog post from last year that in Canada there was imposed 0,05 $ fee for a plastic bag in shops as a green step. Well, the author and comment was suggesting that it's not gonna make the difference and it would never be enough to prevent people from buying these plastic bags! I totally agree..

First- the fee is to small and if applied only to grocery stores, it leaves out a huge consumerism part as clothes, shoes, toys, electronics and other stuff people buy very often.

Rising the fee for each plastic bag when you buy vegetables, new jacket, cell phone or a toy will not save the planet from plastic bag disaster. Because there will be many who will pay that fee and these plastic bags still go to landfills.

One suggestion there was to not have the bags at all, that would for sure make people remember to take their own bag to the store if they once should carry all the groceries in their hands instead of a bag. But I think it's a little too drastic for shops to agree..

My suggestion would be that, of course, people should pay in all stores and shops for any carrier bag they get. But there should be a law that this bag in every shop must be one of four:

• locally recyclable
• recycled paper bag
• canvas bag
• biodegradeable plastic bag

I believe that should do much more for not filling those landfills with plastic bags than just charging a tiny fee.

Even though we all use our own carrier bags, sometimes the plastic is not possible to avoid. Here on green carpet we go a little further with the plastic bags that still get in our home- we reuse them in various ways. One is for general waste that's not recycled where we are. Another is for packing stuff when travelling and moving home (which is slowly happening now).
But the most wonderful and characteristic for green carpet is to create new things from the plastic bags- bags, fruit trays, vase covers and other things.. The photo update will follow quite soon!

On green carpet there was a joke- if I give a second life to a plastic bag (home-done recycling 100%) which is already made of 50% recycled plastic, would that mean that the item I've created is made from 150% recycled material? :)

European Youth Meeting 2011

It's been busy on green carpet- application time!
I am applying to take part in European Youth Meeting!
European Youth Meeting for Sustainable Development is an "international youth event gathering young people from Council of Europe countries on the issues of Youth and Sustainable Development and representatives from other nations around the world".

Through plenary sessions, thematic working groups, skills workshops and joint document in the end, about 100 young people will work together in Tallin, Estonia from 19th to 24th July to achieve the following aims:

To advance and encourage the participation of young people and youth organisations in international decision making-process on sustainable development.

To develop a multidisciplinary approach to sustainable development.

Through international cooperation exchange experiences, best practices and perspectives on sustainable development.

Through the use of web and video capabilities encourage the use of technological advancements to ensure sustainable development

To develop at the end of the meeting a policy document called “European Youth for Sustainable Development” supplemented by an action plan. The document will be incorporated to a powerful policy statement to the authors of the Rio+20 Earth Summit Declaration and the Action Plan that gives direction to the dialogue by focusing on a product that requires the support of every young person on the planet.

If I get accepted to take part in this Meeting, I have made three promisses:

• I will contribute more to Homo Ecos as this will be the organisation I represent
• I will inform about Meeting and its outcomes Green Embassy network in London so the information and knowledge is passed
• I will start a project in autumn- informative tour through schools where young and active people will talk to school children and other young people about environmental issues, sustainable development and show them the opportunities to influence important decisions about it

So cross your fingers here on green carpet that I go to Tallinn this summer!

Scrub it for the spring!

Good morning world!
This morning on green carpet smells reeeeaallly nice :)
Why? Because I just made my wonderful body scrub with light and awaking aroma for spring day and already tried it in the shower :)

I know many women talk about making all or most of the body cosmetics at home, but great part of them never do, because it's a fuss to do it every time. Well- this one is very simple and you can make a lot of it at once :)

So what goes in:

• grinded pure sea salt (I have Tidman's soothing sea salt with too big crystals)
• grinded fairtrade organic coffee (used from yesterdays decaf latte cup)
• some chopped organic fresh mint or dried peppermint 
• organic olive oil (same I use for cooking, salad, facials etc)
• mix of essential oils I like. Mine is called Aphrodite and contains ylang ylang, white grapefruit, patchouli, sweet orange. 

Proportions: how ever you like, I don't like mine too liquid though.
I placed in a nice screw top container and it will now last for the whole spring I believe, as I don't have to use a handful to cover all the areas neccessary, just a pinch actually.

Gives you a nice massage in the shower, smooth skin and a moment of aroma therapy that wakes you up in the morning :)

Emissions Trading Scheme, Low-carbon investments and new import taxes..

Earlier today there was a discussion on green carpet that took place in the UK Parliament on the European Emission Trading Scheme (ETS), carbon price floor and low-carbon investments. Very interesting one indeed!Especially as it's tomorrow when it will be decided whether UK will stick with the ETS or set its own benchmarks for carbon prices.

All Party Parliamentary Climate Change Group and Climate Strategies organized event with the Chair, Lord Whitty, former Labour Sustainable Energy Minister and speakers Dr Karsten NEuhoff, director of Climate Policy Initiative Berlin, who presented the analysis from the joint CLimate Strategies and CPI project "Carbon Pricing for Low Carbon Investment"'; Jeremy Nicholson, Director of the Energy Intensive Users Group, who spoke about the perspective from UK Industry; Peter Ainsworth, Conservative Party DEFRA spokesman (2005-2009), who was telling about the UK Political Context and Professor Michael Grubb, Chair of Climate Strategies, who spoke on the International Context.

Dr Karsten Neuhoff was speaking on few aspects of EU ETS, like, if and how does it capture the attention of the businesses, does it provide enough clarity to decision making for businesses and does it have impact in these decisions? Well, first- yes, it does capture the attention, especially in companies that have higher expectations of the future stringency of premit allocation. If they know they'll have to pay full carbon price later, they are more likely to invest in low caron innovations now, which is a ood thing. However, EU ETS is not very clear and some aspects like free allowances, changes that are due to take place and timing is badly understood. Most of the companies assume that they need maybe just some changes to comply with standards, which is not entirely true. The actual costs of the carbon allowances are also unclear as they vary between companies, sectors and even countries. Another risk is that most enterprises are looking only for short pay-back, like investments in energy that are returned in less than 4 years. Such assumption might be wrong and I think also diminish the importance of EU ETS. At the moment there's also a risk of very low carbon prices and lots of misunderstanding of free allowances and trading them. You won't be able to get or trade them in 20 years for the same price as today, and that should also be made clear. As the reason of this whole discussion today on green carpet was because UK is deciding weather to go with the EU Climate Change policy or to set their own minimum price for carbon from 2013?
Dr Neuhoff is also asking an important question here- is the Climate Change policy actually united in the EU? Obviously, small countries might find it quite challenging to work on these problems, so they would be better off to work toether within the EU. But what about the big countries like UK or Germany? Well, according to his paper presented here on green carpet- we all, big or small, should stick together. It is a very important issue- setting of the carbon price floor (it is a mark of the lowest cost of burning fossil fuels to generate power), as it protects investors from risks of very low carbon prices. With this risk removed, investors should be more prone to invest in low-carbon innovations, businesses and programs. The problem here is that with removing itself from the ETS, UK risks of actually exposing itself to higher energy prices than as if it stayed in the ETS, Dr Neuhoff argues.
Another risk of separating UK from the ETS is scaring away the utilities investing in the UK and other EU countries, like RWe, E.ON and EDF, he says, as they will be more likely to stick with the ETS carbon prices. And in return for the ETS it is important that UK stays and supports it, if we want it to be strong and highly valued within the EU. Dr Neuhoff suggests that most benefitial strategy for the UK would be to stay with the ETS, and instead of putting effor on national policy instrument UK should negotiate and press on moving beyond 20% emission reductions targets for 2020 within all of the EU. That would give much more solid framework and consistency to both countries and investors. UK has been one of the most supportive of ETS, let's hope it will be not turning away but pressing more with its interest on the carbo price floor to create more stringent ETS.

Jeremy Nicholson took the debate a little further to talk about how industries feel about the UK's plan of carbon price floor and low-carbon investmets. One huge worrying issue here is a carbon leakage- the industrial groups might just move their production elsewhere, where they do not have to pay for emissions. What if instead of 'decarbonisation' we get 'relocation'?  The target of any of the two schemes is to work out carbon prices reasonaly to save both the planet and the economy- to keep industries where they are. What matters for the industry is relative price of energy, and it's not attractive to investment if the energy price is higher than to its competitors. And this can be really problematic for the intensive energy users, like steel production and other industries. There must be a balance for them to adapt to the renewable energy and prices, and Nicholson warns the UK not to drive these industrial groups and investors away to the places (in this case- rest of the EU), where carbon floor price is a bit lower.

Peter Ainsworth was shortly discussing political context and focused more on international political perspective- questioning whether there is possible global economy of decarbonising? The EU memberstates should work together to provide a strong leadership for global decarbonising processes. Unilateral implementation should not diminish but drive and invest the effort in the ETS. But first it has to be made really clear and proven that green technologies is a safe place to invest. The financeability of the 'green deal' (scheme that's offered to households to get money for securing greener energy etc) must be proven. Basically all green innovations, incentives and schemes must be crosschecked for safe investments for also ETS to work. And it is important, the ETS should be robust, effective, and Ainswort dares to say- exportable as a global product. But first of all - every market needs a certainty. Unfortunately at the moment politicians and parties do little or nothing on Climate Change for various reasons comparing to what they could and should do having their opportunities.
Professor Michael Grubb agreed that nothing in science shows that the situation is less dangerous, but politics show that people are still not taking it serious enough. It is an economically and politically complex issue and it's challenging the old model in which countries would come together and discuss who is responsible and who should do what. It's not working anymore that way between countries, and another problem is that societies don't take up this model either. He then returned to the failures of both guns blazing and soft approaches of Copenhagen, but admitted that Cancun was a great achievement. Not big enough, as it had huge gaps on what's possible and what's yet not. Professor Grubb like Nicholson is worried that carbon price floor might not bring the low-carbon investments in the UK, but drive high carbon investment away- same leakage problem that is massively underestimated, and it is a transnational problem. So I believe UK should try to solve it together with the rest of the EU. Another problem is investment leakage- companies tend to think that there will be free allowances also in 20-30 years, which is not going to happen, so the low-carbon investment and innovations are needed now. But industries can't do it alone, they must get the support and government policies should pay the attention to that.

Professor Grubb also added another very interesting idea, which is very supported on green carpet- import taxes on those who don't pay carbon taxes. I think it's amazing! If the EU sets the carbon price floor and works on more stringent ETS, then it would fit in perfectly to impose higher import taxes to the countries or transnational companies tha do not pay for their high emissions. I'm really backing this. I think this was the most impressive thought from todays discussion. It would also benefit another very green strategy: choosing local production and services. And it also will improve all national and regional economics.

But returning to the question that the UK might separate from the ETS- I agree with Dr Neuhoff that UK should rather put more political weight on higher benchmarks in the ETS than setting its own.

Another gain from this meeting- quick networking and contacts in Climate Strategies, which is "an international organisation that convenes networks of leading academic experts around specific slimate change policy challenges. rom this it offers rigorous, independent research to governments and the full range of stakeholders, in Europe and beyond."

Now- back to my decaf fair trade coffee with organic milk and some relaxation with my baby and kitten :)

 

City garden and pasture in dump

This very morning I was reading news on green carpet. In Latvia there is a dump called "Getliņi", which belongs to Ltd "EKO Getliņi". To save money on reaping the grass on huge territory, they will again (started last year) place sheeps there! The grazing sheeps are the best way how to keep the grass covered land clear and tidy with no technical effort.
A new plan of Riga City Council this year is to also grow vegetables- tomatoes and cucumbers there. They are still unsure what the demand in shops will be for these, as people might be put off by label "grown in Getliņi", however, some might even choose them over others. Just to support the practical use of the territory.
I am still unsure whether I can say thad Riga City Council and enterpretneurs finally do something really green for its city. I mean, seriously, sheeps instead of heavy reaping machinery on fuel? Seems what can be greener than that? Well, I'm just a little worried about how good is the grass they're gonna graze on because of the dump next to it.. The same about veggies. I'll have to check on it and see if there are any expert opinions on how clean it is for sheeps and for us to eat. Meanwhile- yeah, it seems pretty cool idea, I'm a supporter for now :)

Ecofont!!!

There should be green printing on green carpet!
On a very positive note on green carpet there was found an information on ecofont. Ecofont is a software that basically makes tinty holes in fonts for printing, saving ink, therefore saving Planet. I really love the concept of saving on cartridges in the office, as they are not that easy to recycle and always have to buy new ones (we don' t have the refillables and as we once discussed on green carpet- even refillable are design to print with lower quality after refill- what an evil concept of single use cartridge producers).
What I didn' t know that ink and toner are such horrible polluters, I'm glad to know it now. Apparently they are not only heavy polluters, but also very CO2 intense in production, according to Ecofont. Anyhow, I'd like to keep all the nasty substances out of environment as I can!
Tomorrow I'll test if I can get a demo version and then- calculate the savings. In business it' s all about money to get permission to buy a new software, for example. And I' ll have to know how much money exactly the office will save. Besides- IEcofont is about three Ps- People, Planet, Profit. Nice one. This should work then! Once that is done- straight to my boss (he's very supportive of my green moods).
Meanwhile (coz buying new soft will take a lot of time there), I'm up to convincing everybod to use Century Gothic- this is supposed to be the greenest font for printing from conventional selection on our computers.

media disorientation

Just as I finished the last sentence of the previous thought, some new discussions happened here on green carpet. I love talks on green carpet!
This one however- frustrating. On Japan and radioactivity threats again..
First- there was some very brief informaiton presented that it's gonna be faaaaar from Chernobyl (which makes me happy). In terms of radioactivity, nuclear contamination and other issues, of course. The thing is (supposedly), that Chernobyl had everything going very very high up in the air. This is not going to happen in Japan. Supposedly it can't even seriously harm Tokyo, let alon the rest of the world. This makes me feel better.

What doesn't make me feel better is the different informaiton in media. British (BBC) say that even though it's a disaster there, the earthquaqes, tsunamis, explosions, fires- all happening. And yes, radiation levels are rising, but not to affect the whole world you know. However, Russian media (which in this case is also the source for Latvia media) makes it much more terrible, threatening. Which to believe? I have no idea, honestly.
I know, Russians tend to make things in other countries worse than they are. But maybe there is also some informaiton filtration in British media. So it's either- one of them are lying and it's not so bad there. Or- one of them is hiding information and it's much worse than we know there.
I guess all I can do now is continue to follow, compare and see what it is post factum.
Meanwhile- I feel better for the last news of it being not so bad. Of course, less terible news doesn't meen it's not devastating what happens in Japan. It still is. But I kind of feel safer with less horrible news, let' s hope they are true.

following Fukushima, diet and fear

And just as I was writing yesterday's article, the Fukushima experienced further destruction. Today the positive forecasts of the catastrophe being only local have disappeared in thin air as the contamination levels have reached 6 of 7. They call it "slow Chernobyl" as the fire is still on.

Yesterday evening as news continued there was a discussion on green carpet of how it will affect us. Seems that radiation levels in air won't reach us here in London. But it will still affect us later on. Especially what we eat..
Once the contamination is released in sea water and reaches the ocean, no more saltwater fish will be edible or other seafood either. The ones we can buy now (especially frozen) are quite safe, because it's an old catch. But later on- shouldn't.
We believe and hope that we are right, that it won't affect the fish in Baltic sea, as it's very inland, and that is a tiny bright star for not only my diet, but also for ecosystem of Baltic sea, which is already difficult enough. (Its salt level is very low compared to other seas, therefore it's  lacking the ability to cleanse itself as good as other seas).
Another "quick" effect on us personally- no picking mushrooms this year. I was already picturing the summer - me and my huge bump taking long and slow walks in the forest in the countryside and picking mushrooms, eating loads of them and preserving for winter. However unfortunately, fungus are one of the most perceptive organisms to the radiation. We'll have to resist this year unfortunately, even as far as Latvia.

As to my yesterdays question, BBC published some answers: "The authorities have pumped sea water into three reactors. This water is likely to have been contaminated by its passage through the reactor, but it is currently unclear whether any of it has been released into the environment" and that contamination "it lingers in the environment and can continue to present a problem for many years".

A lot is going to change now as the region around the reactors was very industiral, so the production of many things has been stopped and the situation will be different now for a very long time.
Experts still don't know what's going to happen today, tomorrow, and how to deal with this catastrophe and what the effects are going to be in next month, 6 months or a year. And due to contamination in the environment, there was some hint on green carpet that it will take years and years till the region will be habitable again.

As for today- I actually am scared. But my baby makes me feel positive and believe that the future holds the light as well.

Fukushima.. too quiet?

I was one of those kids they called a "Chernobyl kid"- I was born in February 1986 and in Latvia nobody told anyone about what happenned there or the radiation that came towards and on us. So my mum was letting me to sleep outside in the sun thinking it will be good for me.. and only later on they got the shocking news.. I really don't want my baby to be born a "Fukushima kid"..
What Japan has experienced in these last few days is tragic. Experts and IAEA say the consequences are going to be only local and nothing like Chernobyl will occur. They say it from the present circumstances though, from how it looks now. Totally calm I can be only when it is all long gone and no further explosions, leakages, earthquakes and tsunamis are taking place.
But what I am really, really shocked about is- I can't really find widely spread information on
1) further environmental effects
2) what are they doing with the sea water that goes in for plant cooling?

1- I hear that further tectonic shifts are going to take place affecting America as well, but what about the ocean, air, land pollution? Of course, saving people and cooling and watching nuclear plants now is the first and foremost important. But I believe there should be some more information on environmental issues as well.
2- The process is not very well explained in the media for people, and I wonder if they have proper water treatment and decontamination system that would? I really fear the contamination going back to the sea or land from the water that is pumped out of the pland after the cooling. Lack of information makes people more worried than they should be maybe.

Another true unexpected surprise was that one of my favourite websites theecologist.co.uk has published only one, very short article on Fukushima. And it's not even on Japan but on the discussion whether Britain should halt the plans for nuclear plant. I find it very disappointing that such a big thing as this has earned no attention.

I guess these questions will need some follow up later on.
Let's pray for Japan and Planet!

green pregnancy

As you may have realized from previous posts, we're expecting a baby on green carpet! :)
Already before the pregnancy I read the book called "Raising Green Baby" with huge amount of suggestions how to make the pregnancy green, how to make your house green etc. But right now my concern is how to make my bump the first greenest room for the baby :)
I've been preparing for that for quite a while- quitting my bad habits, having new ones and eating well.
Eating well is actually the most important part here as baby receives everything I eat and drink. I'm not worried about coffee as I don't drink it  or tea as I drink only hand picked and organic (or sometimes bought organic). But with the food.. I'm still not always sure about what I eat..
My every morning starts with a huge cup of hot water with lemon juice and large teaspoon of Manuka honey. I buy only organic lemons for that, and Manuka honey is good as well. A handful of hand picked cranberries from Latvian woods are organic as well. And so is the sip of home pressed black currant juice from our own black currants in the garden. So first intake- very green indeed.
Then I have a multi fruit and vegetable juice. My Philips juicer is still new, fast and effective (as suggested by Juice master), so it takes just a moment of all my carrots, beetroots, oranges, apples, grapefruits, ginger, lemon and whatever else combination I use every morning to be turned into a vitamin booster. At that speed I believe that I don't waste too much energy either. The other concern is- I'm not sure about the 'greeneness' of the veggies and fruits. It would cost a fortune to buy everything on farmers market comparing to supermarket carrots and fruits bought on regular market. Where unfortunately no one can tell, what has been used on them. I wash them and peel them carefully to get the most bad stuff off. But I'm not sure if that's enough. So I aim now (as I should have done already long ago) to slowly turn to every veg and fruit organic version now. I hope I manage.
Breakfast- I bake the bread myself from all organic flour and seeds or bring it from Latvia from one particular bread maker, which I know for quality and traditional bread. Very occasionally buy bread here (no preservatives, colours or stuff in it). So no worries about bread  :)  Cereals- also organic. Yogurt- Yeo Walley or Rachel's Organic. Milk- organic full fat. Porrige cereals- not labeled organic, but always brought the quality ones from Latvia. Jams- only homemade from my own family garden, made with love :)  Butter- organic. Cheese- not, but don't  eat that often. Quark- from Latvia, homemade at the countryside mostly. Veggies- tomatoes etc- again a thing to turn to organic from farmers markets.
Lunch and dinner- all home made only (with very rare exceptions of eating out). But the same problem with veggies again, should switch to organic I believe.  Fish I buy at Billingsgate with a hope that it's an environmentally friendly catch. But the biggest fear is meat. It's a background thing..

I come from the country side, from the hunter's family. I have used to eat meat that is always fresh, healthy and highiest quality that can be possible on this planet- wild animals- venisons, deers, wild boars, wild ducks and many others. And even if it's a lamb, pork, rabbit, duck or poultry- it's usually home grown at grannies or bought from local farmers. So my perception is- this meat is superhigh quality and nothing bad is in it. Too bad for me. Whenever I go home, I always come back to London with a full suitcase of wild meat- fresh, already prepared, in sausages etc etc. I can't remember myself buying meat here, only very rarely. But I live two families together, so my friend buys the meat. And not always the highies quality, but Tesco value. NOT GOOD! My problem is- when it is unwrapped or on the plate, my unconscious perception still is that it is the same good meat as the wild one. So wrong.
I really don't want to eat meat that has been fed with growth hormones, antibiotics, not even mentioning the inhumane conditions it's sometimes grown. So my last promisse to myself was- I'm only eating meat that's brought from home or bought here organic. I want to be safe, but most of all I want to protect my baby. He or she deserves the best, and if I eat meat, I'll make sure I eat good one. Yesterday I made a first CONSCIOUS step of not eating meat that was on my plate from unknown sources. I even managed to do it in a very subtle way that my friend who had cooked it didn't feel offended. :)
So my first step -organic meat - has been met already. Now the big next step- fruits and veg.

Winter evening warm gifts :)

As I said- it has been pretty busy here on green carpet!
Winter evenings (oh yes, it is still winter) is the very best time for some crafts. For example- knitting.
One of my best friends has a birthday this week, so lately I have spent my evenings with 5 double pointed knitting needles, patterns and natural yarns. Nothing compares to hand made gift in my opinion. It is the greenest one you can give to anyone :)

And finally - here is the creation! She will need them next year to visit me in the very cold Latvian winter :) 

The greenest gift of all and flying :)

It hasn't been all that quiet on green carpet as it may seem. Quite contrary-it's been pretty busy!
I really don't like flying. No, I'm not scared of being in the air, it's just- very not-green way to travel. But unfortunately it is the only way to visit my family that I can squeeze in a weekend, so I took a flight. Another reason I don't like it- it's not very healthy, I dehidrate too much. So I was thinking of a way how to cut both of these negative effects..
First and easiest to handle is the health point- more organic facial creams before and after flights, hand creams, warm and cosy flight socks. And most important- plenty of water, now that we are "two in one"- even more water. I don't sit at the window anymore, only the aisle- taking a walk now and then (in 2,5h flight I use the wc at least 2-3 times), so nobody has to get up to let me out :) Little kindness to other people is one of the greenest things in our lives.
Most difficult is to deal with the environmental effect of my flight. But there is one interview that comes very handy to me.. Conversation with Derrick Jensen. There is a part where he tells how he started volunteering- he converted the petrol price he paid to drive his car to working hours he then volunteered to environmental organizations. I don't  drive at the moment. But I fly about every two months. So my volunteering to Homo Ecos is not just doing something nice for the environment. It's kind of an indulgence for me as well :) And isn't the time the most precious and greenest gift you can give? So I try to give mine to several "saving the planet" things and actions. One of them being Homo Ecos project.

But this time actullly I was having another greenest gift in my mind.. Which also was the reason of me and my husband flying back to Latvia to visit our families.. We had a gift to give them.. a gift which they will receive early september- a grandchild :) And truly- baby is the very greenest gift that we have received and that we can give.. It's growing in me- the most environmentaly friendly "home" of all. And it's emerged from pure love, light and our bodies. And that is the most amazing gift of all :)