Powerful, Animal Loving Women

The Sustainable Food Trust has proposed that, in addition to the three Rs (Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic), children should be taught the three Ps of sustainability: Principles, Projects, and Practices. The Principles of the natural world are what should be learnt from in order to reestablish a harmony with Nature: they are the relearning of coexistence and oneness, of seasons and respect, of diversity and adaptation. From this education, a better relationship with other humans develops, also. Projects refer to skill-based enquiries, a holistic journey through practical learning which steps outside the four walls of the classroom – this is where forest school comes in, where school GYO projects are a brilliant way for young minds to appreciate the realities of what is written in a book. And Practices are an extension of that activity centred learning: children learn through experience. A parent’s care of water wastage and food provenance and preparation speaks volumes to a child absorbing so many things sensorily. Thankfully, such a plan for sustainable development education is finally being introduced into schools with the help of The Harmony Project.

Then, there’s what we leave behind. We might very well be at the point where there’s a recycled plastic Barbie (“Barbie Loves the Ocean”) and the somewhat green washing positivity of sugarcane in LEGO bricks, but en masse toys have been found to use “40 tonnes of plastic for every $1 million [c. £731k] in revenue”, with a single play kitchen consisting of some 13lbs of plastic. That’s roughly the equivalent of 400 empty single-use plastic water bottles. Fortunately for parents everywhere (yes, that is still the world we live in), Mattel has pledged to switch to “100% recycled, recyclable, or bio-based plastic materials” across its whole toy range by 2030.

The passion for Halloween has strongly established itself in the UK now, after being more of an American celebration for some time. However, aside from the sugar-overload potential of the night (and it’s doubtful many if any people will be handing out dried dates…), the other concern is the sheer quantity of plastic and other waste which cannot be recycled. It might be fun to be Dracula for a night, but what happens to those plastic teeth once the sun comes up on the nocturnal frolics? Of course, not every child wants to be a scary monster; some young minds prefer the fairytale idea of the princess and the prince, diamonds and every sparkling thing. But actual diamonds are not a tulle-dress fantasy at all: the mines destroy both ecosystems and lives. Fortunately, Aether Diamonds are now a kinder, greener reality.

The world’s first “positive-impact diamonds”, Aether Diamonds are quite literally made from the aether, from air; polluted air. Co-founder and CMO, Robert Hagemann is an animal rights advocate and vegan spokesperson and the brand has been vegan-certified, its method of using sustainably-sourced energy and carbon come only from air pollution to create the gems bettering the environment, rather than damaging it. Other lab-grown diamonds burn through fossil fuels for their carbon source.

With all these wonderful “mad scientist” innovations greenly focussed, perhaps “environmental activist” will be the (sustainable) fancy dress for Halloween 2021.

“Zero waste” is happily a well-known term now. But while recycling and reusing are beneficial, while The Body Shop has implemented a refill system and pledged to be 100% vegan by 2023 (currently being 60% so) – the situation is not so greenly admirable throughout the industry or on the domestic front. The UN has estimated that around $4.1 trillion [c. £3 trillion] is still needed in global investments in Nature in order to meet targets on “biodiversity, climate change, and land use”. What good a body wash bought and poured into a reused container when faced with that figure? Currently, approximately $133 billion [c. £97 billion] is annually invested in environmental endeavours such as “forest and peatland restoration, regenerative agriculture, and pollution control”, but it clearly is insufficient.

Although The Financial Times reported a 4.5% decrease in primary energy consumption (largely due to travel bans during the pandemic), a 6% drop in carbon emissions (the largest since WWII), and a 4.2% drop in coal consumption, growth was seen in the renewable energy sector. A small slice of hope for Gen Z and those after them, young people growing older in a world already dying. Science Daily recently published a study on threespine stickleback fish and the genetic changes that had occurred in the species due to seasonal shifts, rapid changes which could help researchers predict the future of certain species of animal based on “natural selection in action” – but is what we are seeing in the global environmental context not a horrifying natural selection documentary on loop-play?

What is certain is that more must be done before “climate grief” becomes an identifiable mental health issue. That starts now, both at home and stepping out hand-in-united-hand with the young.

Diamonds of Air, Silk like a Spider’s

Such concerns obviously are neither limited to All Hallow’s Eve, nor to Dio de los Muertos, and the mountain of rubbish humans spew out on a daily basis is nearly newsworthy at the same diurnal rate. So it is that Vegconomist recently reported on “vegan spider silk”, a possible alternative to single-use plastic, brainchild of University of Cambridge alumni, Will Xampla. Compostable, plastic-free dishwasher detergent sachets and capsules (in the first instance), it is hoped the plant-based polymer biomaterial will – erm – spell single-use plastic’s end (witch’s cackle of a pun intended).

Before you think, “well, how can exploiting spiders be vegan?”, wait: this is a mimicking material. The (to reiterate) plant-based material is biodegradable, marine-degradable, and rivals the strength of conventional plastic. Xampla’s invention (named, none too adventurously, “Xampla”) featured in the journal, Nature Communications.