Planet Savers blog

This morning the clouds looked ominous, they even splashed a little rain on us and I was worried that Bobbie’s new shed doors would warp if they got wet. So, before breakfast I hasten to add, I was in my working clothes, brush and tin of Osmo Coutry Color in hand. By the time the doors were covered, the sun came out and, with the wonderful drying wind, they should be well protected from the next downpour.

Incidentally, Osmo’s main office is in Aylesbury but they don’t have a retail outlet there. You can get it from Town and Country in Chesham on the Amersham Road, just opposite the Red Lion.

Why do I use Osmo? Because it is made from natural oils and waxes and the company have an aim to be environmentally friendly.

I had an update from The Woodland Trust recently telling me about a new Ronseal product thus:

“Following the success of the high performance Eco range in 2008, Ronseal will also launch two new products to the premium woodcare range that boasts low petrochemical content thanks to natural oil and water based formulations; click for information about the full range.”

I’m sad about the “petrochemical content” but at least it is low. Anyone with a bit of an eco-mind knows that all the paints and finishes that we have thrown at us on the TV adverts are not particularly eco-friendly. Just pop into Focus and you will have to ferret around for the eco-products. Homebase now do a range of eco-paints by Farrow and Ball, I used one and found it pretty similar to othe eco-paints I have used, no smell or side effects and it went on a treat.

Osmo are specialists and they are not aiming at the mass market, as such you pay the premium. In my opinion, it’s worth it. But why do we have to ‘seek out’ something that is eco-friendly. Judging by the choice these days, it can’t be hard to produce? Why is it not the norm?

Our wildlife is struggling to survive out there. We have disappearing bees, the once ubiquitous sparrow is becoming a rarity, birds and hedgehogs are often poisoned thanks to our insistance on pesticides – such as slug pellets which, in my opinion, should be outlawed – and yet you can still buy cheap eco-unfriendly products to coat all over our fences, our decking, and other garden items.

We need to get the message across that, if we don’t have things in our garden that go buzz and cheap, we won’t have any food either. These critters are amazing at working with us to help us live sustainably – so let’s work with them and use environmentally friendly products.

Well here’s a turn around.

Alberta’s decision to squeeze oil out of the sands is turning against them. Even the US are saying they won’t buy it and Alberta are having to re-think their decision in view of the bad press.

Labelled the dirtiest oil on the planet, oil from these tar sands takes three times as much energy to extract. Until recent times it would have been considered unviable. But the pendulum is swinging away from them yet again as the destruction of habitat for millions of migrating birds is making the price of this oil just a little too high for people to stomach.

A second runway is in the planning stages for Stansted airport. The Woodland Trust have sent this campaign call. Here is the response I sent:

Dear Planners

I wish to add my voice to the many that are opposing the expansion of Stanstead airport.

Firstly, for reasons of heritage:

We have too little of our ancient woodland left and this will destroy five sites. Ancient woodland is irreplaceable and unmovable. The increase in pollution in this area will affect another English heritage, namely, Hatfield Forest.

Secondly, we are at the dawn of a new era where climate change should be at the top of everyone’s agenda: Aircraft are one of the world biggest causes of pollution; Oil has been recognised as a dwindling resourse, the cost of production will continue to rise.

Already, there is an acknowledged drop in the use of motor vehicles caused by increases in petrol costs. Air travel companies are going bust. The cost of flights will soon take pleasure trips out of reach of most people.

Technological improvements mean that teleconferencing is replacing unnecessary business travel.

With this in mind, it is hard to see why a further runway should be considered necessary. Who is going to benefit from this additional service?

If any business were to consider expanding into an area that has patently seen its day it would receive little support. To allocate funds towards expansion of airports is a ludicrous and irresponsible waste of money and resources.

I trust common sense will prevail.

The Woodland Trust are urging us to lobby for a stronger Climate Change Bill. Together with the Wildlife Trusts and the RSPB, they have produced a joint briefing entitled “Adaption and the Climate Change Bill” which raises some key points.

Not many entries lately, that’s coz I’ve become involved in a local project. Since it’s relevant, I’ll chat about it here. There is a movement sweeping the world raising awareness about the dangers pof plastic, particularly to marine life. This web site talks about the problems for turtles in particular. Many people are now questioning the need to shops to offer plastic bags. so many of them just blow away and cause soooo much damage.

So a couple of local residents and I are joining forces and want to make our own town plastic bag free. We have set up a website and will be approaching all the shops and shoppers asking their support for the cause.

We are not the first group to tackle this in their own town by any means, but it will still be a very new arena for us. It’s already changed me. My growing awareness of plastic means that I can’t walk past an errant plastic bag in the street any more. I have to pick it up and put it in a bin. That’s another turtle saved…