Nature Is Speaking.... (Conservation Awareness Videos)

[Princess Lala]

I saw these really cool videos online and wanted to share! They are voiced by celebreties and are meant to share awareness that we need to treat our planet better and use our natural resources wisely. I think our planet is amazing and this have important and strong messages! Im a big nature-lover gal and these are sort of the messages I have been trying to spread to people I know. I love a lot of the qoutes in these videos! The coral reef one is my favorite, I absolutely love all the beautiful nature shots. All the videos are only about 2 minutes long but they are really cool!

http://natureisspeaking.org/

What kind of cool things are ya'll doing at home to make help a difference to the planet? Recycling, growing your own gardens or planting trees, keeping lights off, solar or wind energy, restricting water, etc? Share some cool ideas here!! In my home Earth Day is every day! :-)

*If this thread needs to be moved to WYP or deleted for any reason, please do so! I just wish to help spread the message nature is amazing and we should take care of our resources.

[Whippycorn]

We watched a cool film last night called Inhabit, about permaculture and how we can use it to produce our food in an ecologically sustainable way. I found it nice and positive, which I think is important in such videos, because it says 'Yeah, this is the problem, but this is the way to fix it, which happens to be fun and awesome!'. 

http://inhabitfilm.com/

[Princess Lala]

Oh thanks!!! Id love to watch that!! Im always looking for cool ways for my family to conserve and be smart about resources!! We even recycle and recently made our own garden! Instead of pesticides this year I convinced my husband to grow our own white sage and mint as a natural bug repellant and whats cool is it works so its good for plants and animals too!

[ringwraith10]

In my home Earth Day is every day! :-)

Hehe, I say this all the time.

Man, I do pretty much everything I can... I go through so little garbage I really only need to take the trash out less than once a month. My mom is afraid to have me over or to visit my house because I'm the "waste-a-roo" police (there was some commercial when I was a kid that had a song saying, "Don't be a waste-a-roo" in regards to using water).

At work, people throw recyclables in the trash can all the time, even though there is a recycling bin RIGHT NEXT TO IT. So I end up digging through trash at the end of the day every day to sort the recyclables back out. Yeah, I take this to a possibly unhealthy OCD level.

Edit: Wow, those videos were amazing! I kinda assumed they would be the same old thing, but I really like the attitude. Especially Julia Roberts as Mother Nature. And I was like, "Kevin Spacey as The Rainforest?! But he always plays a bad guy!" But then he had that sarcastic tone, and that was really funny.

[kaoskat]

Awesome videos! Thanks for sharing!

[melodys_angel]

Careful.  Some people might take offense to this conversation.


Just a bit of a warning--because this is fresh on my mind from a recent conversation--im about to get slightly off topic--


I was just talking to my dad maybe an hour ago and he flipped his lid.  Charging 5 cents (plus tax) a bag is hiway robbery, and even if some of it is donated (in our area, they are doing one of the trails), you can bet the corporations are banking in on it.  They don't mention how much is donated--and if you think its the entire amount youre just kidding yourself.

In then end, those bags aren't biodegradable--so not only are you charging people, and putting money in your pocket--the situation isn't getting better.

dads generation tend to agree that if you want to cull the problem, go after Asia, there the problem REALLY is happening.  But if you try, youd get thrown in jail because they see $$ and have no laws or a care about the earth.

My opinion? Bags should be free. If I want to donate to help the trail out, ill do that.  If theres such a big huff about the environment, make them biodegradable.  I try to remember to bring my cloth bags but I don't have them on me all the time so its a huge inconvenience when you are painted as a 'bad person' by the corporations that are trying to charge for something they shouldn't be allowed to.

My opinion on other things--Well, we do recycle and I like gardening.  Im highly sensitive to many foods so im usually stuck having to get organics.  son honestly, we are doing our part--small as it is.

[ringwraith10]

I was just talking to my dad maybe an hour ago and he flipped his lid.  Charging 5 cents (plus tax) a bag is hiway robbery, and even if some of it is donated (in our area, they are doing one of the trails), you can bet the corporations are banking in on it.  They don't mention how much is donated--and if you think its the entire amount youre just kidding yourself.

In then end, those bags aren't biodegradable--so not only are you charging people, and putting money in your pocket--the situation isn't getting better.

dads generation tend to agree that if you want to cull the problem, go after Asia, there the problem REALLY is happening.  But if you try, youd get thrown in jail because they see $$ and have no laws or a care about the earth.

My opinion? Bags should be free. If I want to donate to help the trail out, ill do that.  If theres such a big huff about the environment, make them biodegradable.  I try to remember to bring my cloth bags but I don't have them on me all the time so its a huge inconvenience when you are painted as a 'bad person' by the corporations that are trying to charge for something they shouldn't be allowed to.

My opinion on other things--Well, we do recycle and I like gardening.  Im highly sensitive to many foods so im usually stuck having to get organics.  son honestly, we are doing our part--small as it is.

Okay, so is this grocery bags in stores? (Stores don't charge for bags here in most of the US -- the majority of people here go through plastic bags like they're going out of fashion.) I get the impression that a lot of things that are free in the US cost money in Canada. And I'm always really wary of anyone who says they will donate portions of proceeds to charity, but don't say what portion. I know there are lots of companies that just pocket the entire amount (and maybe throw $50 at a charity each year).

It can be really hard to be environmentally conscious (or health conscious, or anything!) because it takes a lot of research. My roommate once asked me why it takes me several hours to go the grocery store while she can go in and out in about 15 minutes. The answer is that I just go through and read the entire label on everything I buy (not just for diet/environment -- I also have lots of allergies), even if I've read the label before (some items change their ingredients from time to time), so it takes me a really long time to shop. So basically, no one should feel bad about something like occasionally forgetting to bring cloth bags -- at least there are things you are doing that help! And some people just don't have the time to allocate to shopping for 2 hours.

[Thunderwing]

I did the biggest thing I could. I didn't make a baby. Human overpopulation is the root cause of all the problems our world is facing. Climate change is nothing compared to habitat loss.

Aside from this, we grow and raise as much of our own food as possible, and nothing is wasted. We raise rabbits and chickens to eat, grow as many veggies as possible each year, can and freeze and preserve. We gather rain water and keep a pond on the property, so we are almost completely 'off the grid' for water use. Conserve resources, plant lots of trees and bushes, live at harmony with wildlife as much as possible, even when they are annoying. If/when we own cats, they are NOT allowed to roam (another huge threat to native wildlife right there).

And anyone who thinks that wind turbines are environmentally friendly, needs an education. They are NOT enviro friendly. They are energy sucking, polluting, wildlife killing, human injuring abominations that are being passed off as 'enviro yay' by the powers that lead you because you WANT to be told that. This isn't an argument, it is simple fact. The information is out there, go learn. The only ones who love turbines are the ones who get rich from it, or who are ignorant of the facts. The rest of us hate them. Especially people forced to live near them who see their lives ruined by the noise pollution, the light pollution, and the illnesses they cause.

[Whippycorn]

...In then end, those bags aren't biodegradable--so not only are you charging people, and putting money in your pocket--the situation isn't getting better.

So here in Scotland the 5p plastic bag charge was introduced by the government with the aim of discouraging people from using so many plastic bags. It seems to have worked as bag use is down 80% here: http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/apr/17/scotland-plastic-bag-usage-falls-after-5p-charge-introduced

The negative impact of 'single use' carrier bags can also be reduced simply by using them more than once. Some supermarkets here give you reward points for reusing bags. I think some reports have suggested that this is better than using the mass produced cloth bags.

We used to just load the shopping into cardboard boxes we kept in the car boot. I have a couple of hessian bags because I don't drive.

And anyone who thinks that wind turbines are environmentally friendly, needs an education.

We have had this discussion before, and despite much evidence to the contrary (from a trained ecologist) you insist that your opinion is fact. It is not.

Though I commend your choice not to have children and your concern for natural habitats.


A short note on climate change. It is the single biggest threat to human life and welfare, natural habitats and natural biodiversity that we have ever faced. For example, the WWF call it "One of the biggest threats to humanity & nature". My partner is a climate change researcher and campaigner, so if anyone would like any more information or discussion about it, please feel free to PM me.


As to the OP...I think it's good that more celebrities are joining environmental outreach campaigns, because they can grab the attention of many more people than can say, an academic ecologist. Sad from an ecologist's point of view but great that they can use their fame to such advantage. 

[Princess Lala]

Im surprised so many of you care about the planet!
*group hugs for everyone!*

Oh my, charging for bags!? Thats crazy! :S I switched over to those cloth ones! I have an Ariel one, a MLP one, a Beauty and the Beast one, a chibi whale one, all sorts kinds of cool ones and its a neat fashion statment!

Its interesting to hear all of your opinions and cool ideas you all are doing to help out!! :-3 I really hope this thread is more positive than neg and I really dont wish to offend anyone and I hope this chat is alright!!

Heehee ringwrath I can see you going through the trash at work! xD But I know you by your avatar so I imagine an arbok going through and sorting out recycle-able stuff! You do sound a lot like me though! I love to remind others at work about the recycle bins right next to the trash and I always read food lables as well! I like to look for rainforest alliance foods and containers that are recycled!

Also with wind energy I am going to look into that as I use Reliant green energy which in my area is wind power! My local walmart is a 'green' walmart and uses only solar and wind energy! If solar power keeps getting popular I hope my area can get 100% solar power soon! The sun is AWESOME!

Also I hear over-farming can definetly harm the soil! Planting too many plants in one area and keeping in unsustainable can lead to erosion and stripping the dirt of all its nutrients! I had no idea! Thats crazy since when I originally lived I was surrounded by soybean and corn feilds! I hope they have it all under control because I really love the counteyside where I am from! The soil is so cold and moist you can grow pretty much anything in it and I hope it stays like that for all the good people and critters! ^ͺ^

I persnally am just a little conserned with over-population. There are a crazy amount ofright now of us but I was actually reading that the percent of births has gone down over the past 10 years which for the population is great! Im not having kiddos as im seeking adoption but its not entirely for that reason but I hope it helps!!

Also collecting ranwater is a great idea!!! I made a rain garden at my moms house up in Indiana! Im actually pretty good with saving water and wowow I have trained myself to use less than a half-gallon of water each daily shower! I turn on the water to just get myself sudsy and turn the water off when i shave and wash my hair. I use a cup full of water and manage to rinse myself off with it! ^ͺ^ Yay saving water!

Im also happy some famous people are stepping in to help spread the planet love! Gotta save those cute critters and beautiful ecosystems!

[cuddlebuggy]

A few years ago I noticed how much water was coming from the condensers on the A/C units on the school portable buildings and my kids elementary school. I also noticed that while there were groups that planted trees and gardens, no one was making sure those trees got enough water to be established properly. (It can take up to two years for the oaks they planted.) After one died, I decided to get a few 5 gallon buckets and put them under the dripping A/C units and they filled every day during the hot months. Talked it over with my Girl Scout troop and bought more buckets, then we had 8. We were saving up to 200 gallons per week.
Now I have a few helpers sometimes but I still run the bucket project and it's being taught by one of the second grade teachers so I get to explain what I'm doing to the kids!
Such a simple thing that has a big impact.

[Whippycorn]

Im surprised so many of you care about the planet!
*group hugs for everyone!*

You're right! We might not agree on everything, but we all do care about the environment!

Cuddlebuggy, that's a really great idea! Raingardens are cool, and the idea of slowing down and conserving groundwater is one of the central principles of permaculture.

[Princess Lala]

Cuddlebuddy you are a hero! Good for you for noticing that and teaching that to kids, that is a nifty idea to save and use the water! My cat used to drink water like that from my AC unit! xD Girl Scouts is awesome!!! I learned a lot of cool nature stuff from camping with my GS troop as a kid! Maan those were some seriously good days!!! :]

[BlackCurtains]

I do everything I can. It's frustrating because it always seems like I'm the only one.

[Thunderwing]

...In then end, those bags aren't biodegradable--so not only are you charging people, and putting money in your pocket--the situation isn't getting better.

So here in Scotland the 5p plastic bag charge was introduced by the government with the aim of discouraging people from using so many plastic bags. It seems to have worked as bag use is down 80% here: http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/apr/17/scotland-plastic-bag-usage-falls-after-5p-charge-introduced

The negative impact of 'single use' carrier bags can also be reduced simply by using them more than once. Some supermarkets here give you reward points for reusing bags. I think some reports have suggested that this is better than using the mass produced cloth bags.

We used to just load the shopping into cardboard boxes we kept in the car boot. I have a couple of hessian bags because I don't drive.

And anyone who thinks that wind turbines are environmentally friendly, needs an education.

We have had this discussion before, and despite much evidence to the contrary (from a trained ecologist) you insist that your opinion is fact. It is not.

A short note on climate change. It is the single biggest threat to human life and welfare, natural habitats and natural biodiversity that we have ever faced. For example, the WWF call it "One of the biggest threats to humanity & nature". My partner is a climate change researcher and campaigner, so if anyone would like any more information or discussion about it, please feel free to PM me.

Uhm... actually, I AM a trained ecologist. Both university (full honors, four year) and then followed up with post-grad college. So I do know what I am talking about. I used to be all eco-crazy, and then started to do some real, hard research, and started to see both sides of the coin. Climate change is primarily driven by our sun. It isn't something new. And with researchers who have been pushing climate change now coming forward and admitting they 'massaged' the data so that it would fit what they wanted to say... it seems that more and more the truth is coming out. They did the same thing with polar bear numbers - the data was manipulated because the public wanted there to be a crisis, and there isn't one. Polar bears are doing just fine (in total, I think two of the smaller population groups have declined, but the rest have increased).

And wind turbines *do* make people sick. The World Health Organization has agreed upon this. New research is supporting it. Hundreds of families in this area have been forced to abandon their homes after being driven mad by the incessant low frequency noise. I live in a wind turbine region, do you? They stuck these things in residential areas, not out in the middle of nowhere. (In Ontario, we are also in different countries, how they do it there is probably different than how they do it here. Bear that in mind.)

Wind turbines are a pretty new idea, and I will admit they were a good idea, but in practice it isn't working. It takes more energy to build a wind turbine than it will generate in it's lifetime. They are not recyclable. They are decimating eagle populations after being placed in sensitive areas. (With zero research or knowledge on what they do to less prominent species, like turtles.)  If turbines cause spontaneous abortions in livestock, what are they doing to the rest of the ecosystems? People living near these things have reported that ALL rodents vanished from their property.

If they could prove turbines safe, then problem ended. But they CAN'T. Nobody has set up a lab experiment to even try and show that mice kept exposed to LFN behave normally.

Anybody who wants links to information about the truth behind climate change, or what turbines are like, can PM me. I don't have them all saved down on this computer. I don't profess to be an expert, but I can point you in the right direction and you can view the RAW data, see how it has been tampered with, and make up your own mind.