the
January Issue 1 2015
Building
Future
SUSTAINABLE
www.ziwira.com
Grow them Well
SAvE
tHE rHinoS -
Making sustainability
At the brink of extinction
appealing for kids
Building GREEN
C
r ovE
r Sto
Y
Why design is key to sustainable construction
Abu Dhabi
SUStAinABiLitY WEEK
Also Include: Construction | Business | Lifestyle | Beauty
ABU DHABI 2015
SUSTAINABILITY WEEK
| Tourism
CONteNts The Ziwira Magazine 05
News & Events
08
From Bare to Bombshell
06
10
Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week
18
Spread the Word
14
Save the Rhinos
20
Green Technology
24
Life Style
22
26 28
January Issue 2015
How to Build Green?
Grow them Well
Eco Tourism Health
www.ziwira.com
eDItOR’s PAGe
3
BUILDING THE FUTURE
Publisher Ziwira CEO and Founder Adam Merza adam@ziwira.com Editorial Saba Khan saba.khan@ziwira.com Nasreen Rasool nasreen.rasool@ziwira.com Stephanie Gay stephanie.gay@ziwira.com Fizzah Khan fizzah.khan@ziwira.com Marketing Nadir Khan nadir.khan@ziwira.com +971 56 7481747 Design Asif Habib asif.habib@ziwira.com Head Office Techno Hub Building,
EDITORIAL Breathing new life into a sustainable future… And go! The countdown has finally culminated in the launch of this beautiful new publication. The word Ziwira stems from the Babylonian word meaning “Castle”, a majestic safe haven that can weather storms and other external threats, surviving for years on end. In essence, a castle is self-sustainable. It is in this light that we have brought you Ziwira. This going-green magazine is a comprehensive guide to living sustainably. We inform you about global news and events on the subject, sustainable business, ecotravel tips, wildlife, green celebs and anything else that falls under the umbrella of sustainability. The launch of our first issue comes in perfect timing, with Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week being the international highlight of this month. We give you all the shocking figures on rhino poaching, as our leathery friends recently suffered yet another loss to the family. In this issue you can also find out about how to inspire environmental awareness from a young age and how buildings can be designed with the environment in mind. There is no better time than now to be part of such an exciting endeavor. And with Ziwira, we hope to breathe new life into the concept of nurturing our earth for a greener future. We hope you enjoy reading it as much as we enjoyed putting it together.
Office No. 161-162, PO Box No. 341171, Dubai Silicon Oasis, UAE. USA Office Ziwira Inc. 445 Park Avenue 9th Floor New York City New York 10022 United States of America Canada Office Ziwira Inc. Toronto, Canada
© Copyright 2015 Ziwira. All rights reserved. No part of this publication can be reproduced in
parts, stored in retrieval system or transmitted in
any form or by any means without the prior written
permission of the publisher.
www.ziwira.com
January Issue 2015
BUILDING GREEN
Dubai Chamber has been pioneering eco-friendly practices for 15 years. Between 1998 and 2008 we reduced water and enrgy consumption by 77% and 47% respectivley saving us USD 1.93 million. In 2009 Dubai Chamber’s head office became the 1st LEED certified exsiting green building in the Arab world. Since then we have renovated our offices to the highest global eco standards and acheived ISO 14001 certification too.
800 CHAMBER
WWW.DUBAICHAMBER.COM
News & Events
5
Earth Hour Official Video Launched 21st January marks the beginning of the countdown to WWF’s Earth Hour. The official campaign video is set for release this month and is packed with over 2 minutes of glorious earth footage and emotive scenes. Celebrities such as Emma Thompson and Marc Ruffalo also star in the video, which was made by Universal Studios and EMI publishing. “This is the ninth time the Earth Hour movement will roll across the world. Millions of people will come together to use their power to change the climate and we want
New e-marketplace for green products San Diego based company Eco Sustainable Initiatives launched a campaign for Eco Depot, an online marketplace for “green” products on January 28, 2015. The website will source local eco-friendly products and services, making it easy for consumers to find them in one place. Co-Founder and Chief Operations Officer, Michael Nasim said, all products listed will have to pass through a Green Grades Standard test before making on to the database. He said that Eco Depot would provide a much www.ziwira.com
to work with them to deliver real solutions for a sustainable future for our planet,” said Sudhanshu Sarronwala, Executive Director, Marketing and Communications WWF International in a statement to the media.
Earth Hour is said to be the largest grassroot environmental movement. On the 28th of March, cities around the world will turn off the lights from 8:30pm to 9:30pm, local time.
needed platform for those who were interested in sustainability to network and find environmentally friendly products and services that helped them achieve their willingness to live a greener life.
acting Executive Director for conservation of the Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF).
Funds raised from the campaign, which was launched on Kickstarter, will be used to complete the desktop and mobile applications that will help customers to navigate through the site. The app will also provide each consumer with his/her own carbon footprint.
UN appoints new senior climate advisor UN Secretary Ban-Ki-Moon has appointed Janoz Pasztor as his new senior advisor on climate change. Pasztor was formerly the
In his new role, Pasztor will play a major part in the preparation for the COP21 conference in Paris later this year, where the world will await the UN’s global climate treaty. He will also be instrumental in bringing climate change goals to reality on ground level and ensuring that global temperatures are prevented from reaching dangerous highs. WWF International will miss having Pasztor on the conservation team, but at the same time fully support him and recognize the importance of his job in climate change. At a time when climate change is priority, Pasztor has a challenging task ahead. He will officially resume his new post as the United Nations’ Assistant Secretary General of Climate Change on February 1, 2015. January Issue 2015
CONstRUCtION
HoW to BUiLD GrEEn?
S
ustainable design aims to create objects and services that adhere to the principles of social, economic, and ecological sustainability. In principle, sustainable designs run on renewable sources and have little or no impact on the environment. Above the tangible environmental advantages this philosophy entails, sustainable design which seeks to inspire change. By creating meaningful innovations that can challenge or replace available services and products, the movement, believes society will shift their buying behavior to accommodate greener goods. Sustainable design is a multifaceted concept that has roots in architecture, landscape and gardens, furniture, agriculture, automobiles, and even graphic design.
“
Sustainable design gives an authentic value to the consumer” -Katarina Graffman – ethnographer
January Issue 2015
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Some basic principles of Sustainable designs include: Low-impact materials: using non-toxic, sustainably produced or recycled material which require little energy to process Design for reuse and recycling: providing products with recycling in mind Energy efficiency: employing processes which require less energy to produce, and to run Emotionally durable design: crucial to the concept, is creating meaningful products and services to curb the established throw away culture Renewability: materials should not be depleted. A major notion throughout sustainability is the use of renewable, inexhaustible and (preferably) locally available goods for design production
eDItOR’s PAGe
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Brookfield Multiplex is a leading global contractor We Build Engineering Maintain and Operate property and infrastructure assets. Combining the latest sustainable design and construction techniques, we are commited to creating structures that endure the test of time.
www.brookfieldmulitplex.com
PO Box 212975 Dubai, UAE
PO Box 113503 Dubai, UAE
PO Box 237684 Doha, Qatar
T: +971 4 315 8500
T: +971 4 315 8500
T: +971 4 315 8500
F: +971 4 315 8600
F: +971 4 315 8600
F: +971 4 315 8600
E: bmme@brookfieldmultiplex.com
E: bmme@brookfieldmultiplex.com
E: bmme@brookfieldmultiplex.com
January Issue 2015
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eDItOR’s PAGe
From BArE to BomBSHELL
All you need to know about organic cosmetics
Why Go Organic?
The general perception of organic products are that they’re too “expensive”, “unnecessary” or both. We are trained to be wary of emerging products, to consider them as new marketing schemes to get us to invest in yet another beauty product. In addition to this, brand loyalty makes us unwilling to sample new products – why change from what we already know and like? What we conveniently ignore are the risks these chemically treated products have on our health, and the impact they have on the environment.
Gentle on Your Skin Organic products are free from harsh chemicals. These products are nutrient-rich naturally protect your skin from premature aging, and from harmful pollutants in the air.
Absolutely Ecofriendly Forgo conventional beauty products that often contain harsh substances like petroleum, aluminium and lead, which are only available through extensive mining. Hectares of land is destroyed and stripped of vital wildlife every year. Moreover, research clearly links these dangerous compounds to breast cancer and Alzheimer’s disease.
Consider Animal Testing
Our skin can absorb over 60% of what we put on it — that goes for moisturizers, foundations, even lipstick.
January Issue 2015
Jabbed and locked in cages, animals must endure extensive experimentation before products are deemed fit for human consumption. Cut out this unnecessary cruelty by purchasing cosmetics which are made from natural/organic sources, and have less chances of irritating the creature it is tested on.
BeAUtY
9
WHAT TO CARRY?
MAKE-UP BAG ESSENTIALS We have compiled a list of some great, environmentally friendly cosmetics that will have both you and the environment looking its best. Going green, after all, is always in style.
NEVY ECO Fluid Foundation
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1
NEVY ECO’s latest line-up includes this camo-cover, eco-friendly liquid foundation. It’s a grand moisturizer that works wonders on dry, sensitive skin, and employs natural earthy elements to add some coverage.
3 BUTTER LONDON Nail Lacquer A must have for any woman who feels bare without her varnish. With an exceptional range of unique colours and glossy rich pigments, Butter’s award-winning nail varnish is a must have for any environmentallyconscious fashionista.
SUKI COLOR Perfect Pout
Pucker up, ladies! This vegan-friendly, megamoisturizer lipstick is made with certifiedorganic ingredients, and is infused with the best fair-trade Shea butter, aloe vera and argan oil to ensure your lips are never chapped.
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LIVING NATURE Eye Pencil One of the most established eco-friendly brands around, Living Nature has a refined, elegant style that is backed by a greater cause. Whether you want the classic Audrey Hepburn look or Eva Longoria’s elegant cateye flair, Living Nature’s vegetable wax eye-pencil will get the job done as well as any high street eyeliner.
ECO Mineral Blush Are you someone who often goes gaga for blush? This elegant light, pastel pink powder is ideal for day or nightwear, is great for those with sensitive skin and has just the right amount of subtle, playful shimmer to make your look! January Issue 2015
ABU DHABI SUSTAINABILITY WEEK 2015
January Issue 2015
www.zivwira.com
COVER STORY
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In light of Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week, we consider the many dimensions of this multifaceted topic, and hope to enlighten readers on the many features that compose this exciting topic, and how best to contribute to its development. The Sustainability Triad Many of us are blessed with a host of resources at our disposal. Clean water, housing and access to food and medicine are some of the luxuries we aspire to have in our daily lives. But for how much longer can we demand such necessities? How much longer will nature withstand our insatiable demand for resources? Our growing preoccupation with the future and how our current lifestyles are shaping the environment has given way to the concept of sustainability. The key principle of sustainability is sustainable development, which endeavors to unite three domains – ecology, economics and social change – to ensure the endurance of particular processes and systems. In light of our continued environmental degradation, Global Warming and climate change, sustainability’s paramount goal is to catalyze social change, and harness technological and ideological developments to curb our aggressive impact on the environment. Below are some ways in which this concept has been developed. 1. Economic Sustainability - aims to unite principles that are economically practical, environmentally friendly and socially responsible. In order to achieve this goal, all areas of the community need to be involved to identify and suggest appropriate solutions for overarching environmental problems entwined with economic ones. Within a business context, this includes using the assorted assets of a company optimally in order to continue generating profitability, without posing a risk to the environment.
there remains a host of economic schemes to ensure that neither profitability or sustainability are jeopardized. 2. Environmental Sustainability - tinvolves decision making rooted to the interests of preserving and protecting the natural world. Principally, it is concerned with reducing the negative impact businesses have on their environment. This goes beyond decreasing waste produced, or energy expended, and focuses on developing methods and processes now, which will ensure that businesses will be wholly sustainable in the future. For example, the shift in demand for Natural Gases, a cleaner fossil fuel, is only a temporary solution to reducing Greenhouse Gases, however, the process is paving the way for newer technologies and resources to be tested, while moving away from more harmful sources of energy, like coal or oil in the meantime. 3. Social Sustainability - is the least defined and understood of the sustainability divisions. It is often agreed that a socially sustainable system must achieve fairness in distribution and opportunity, adequate provisions of social services including health and education, gender equality and labor rights, as well as political accountability and participation. By developing systems and structures that not only meet the demands of current members, but will support the lifestyles of future generations, one can hope that education and increasing awareness of social/green responsibility will trickle into environmental sustainability, and help prevent further ecological degradation in later generations. To achieve sustainability, all three dimensions must progress together.
This concept can manifest in a variety of modes and services. From ensuring that agriculture and food systems are supported by environmentally-conscious methods and are sustainable through local food producers, to fisheries, which maintain a healthy marine eco-system by removing pressure from overfishing wild sources by harvesting sustainable, man-managed populations, www.ziwira.com
January Issue 2015
ABU DHABI 2015
SUSTAINABILITY WEEK
17-24 JANUARY 2015
“Western civilization is a loaded gun, pointed at the head of this planet.” -Terence McKenna
ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
THE FUTRUE DEPENDS ON THE STEPS WE TAKE TODAY
How you can help? 1. Turn off the light when you leave the room. Use natural light during the day.
HH General Sheik Mohammed bin Zayed Al NAhyan
The Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces
2. Use reusable containers for snacks, water and other drinks. Decrease your reliance on non-recyclable goods . 3. Grow your own food. 4. Support local farmers by buying their locally grown organic produce. 5. Take shorter showers – and turn off the water while brushing your teeth.
“We cannot hope to create a sustainable culture with any but sustainable souls.” - Derrick Jensen
TWO DAY F E S T I VA L HOSTED BY
January Issue 2015
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COveR stORY
nvironmentalists around the world watch with bated breath as Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week (ADSW) draws near. One of the largest gatherings on sustainability in the Middle East, ADSW endeavors to unite pioneering environmentalist, investors, policy makers and trend setters to address the challenges of renewable energy and sustainability, and stimulate meaningful international dialogue on prevailing global issues. The current rate of fossil fuel expenditure, waste production and overall depletion of natural resources has garnered mounting concern over the last two decade. These issues, coupled with the prediction that the global population will grow to nine billion by 2050, has spurred the Abu Dhabi government into action. To combat, and propose immediate as well as long term solutions to sustainability in light of our mushrooming population, ADSW attempts to accelerate solutions and stimulate renewed interest on this internationally critical topic.
GROWTH
32,093 24,500
84
26,000
26,000
30,000
18,850 170 137
136
155
111 11,000
84 COUNTRIES ATTENDEES
Every year, ADSW opening ceremony is attended by over 3,400 delegates including world leaders, policy makers, thought leaders, decision makers, experts, business leaders, scientists and academics. Discourse at the summit shall include, but is not limited to climate change, reducing energy expenditure and finding suitable renewable energy replacements, poverty eradication, triple bottom line economics (people, planet, profit), water scarcity, green technology and how best to remove barriers faced by sustainable development. Although, a relatively young forum, it is one of the Middle East’s most celebrated, and shall host over 5,000 participants from 150 countries, 30,000 attendees from energy and environment industries, 140 delegations from official departments, 800 exhibition companies from 40 countries and 650 media persons from across the world. Over 30 esteemed speakers, will offer their www.ziwira.com
invaluable advice and wisdom during the weeklong event. In addition to this, the forum will welcome a multitude of conferences and exhibitions that include The International Water Summit, Abu Dhabi Renewable Energy Conference, The Zayed Future Energy Prize Award Ceremony, The International Renewable Energy Agency meeting, Solar Impulse, Abu Dhabi Solar Challenges, Techtalk and Eco Waste. For families and other keen individuals, from January 23-24, a two day festival that boasts a myriad of activities, workshops and performances has also been arranged, and is open to all!
January Issue 2015
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SAvE tHE rHino
A
HOLDING ONtO tHe LAst sHReD OF HOPe – RHINOs At tHe BRINK OF eXtINCtION ngalifu, one of six remaining Northern White Rhinos has died in captivity.
News of his death, which places the remaining Northern White Rhino population at 5, has garnered a whirlwind of global interest. Environmentalists and scientists around the world mull over the species’ impending extinction, and consider whether there is any way to salvage what remains of the population. A Gentle Giant Like an immense, armoured cow, white rhinos spend much of their day grazing. Mowing through kilos of grass with their distinctive, broad square lips (a key feature that marks white rhinos from black), much of their daily lives revolves around eating. Head down as they shuffle across the savannah, these lumbering creatures have little need to go anywhere in a hurry. That being said, when the going gets tough, these animals can reach speeds up to 50 kmph. Nonetheless, there are very few occasions where such speed is called for. Their formidable size and prodigious horns have been a successful disincentive against predators for millions of years, and has allowed them to graze uninterrupted since time immemorial. Armed with a keen sense of smell and impeccable hearing, they are forewarned of any approaching danger – danger that is easily deterred by a mock charge, or an impressive exhibition of their horns. Weighting in at an average 2.3 tonnes, however, there are few predators who can force a Rhinoceros into such displays. If you can discount humans, that is. After all, no size, or plethora of natural gifts and abilities could ever protect a rhino against a gun.
January Issue 2015
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CONseRvAtION
A
t the beginning of the 20th century leading rhino conservationist program, Save the Rhinos estimated that there were 500,000 rhinos across Africa and Asia. By the 1970s this figure decreased to 70,000. In 2014, it was estimated that there were only 29,000 rhinos alive globally, with several subspecies having gone extinct in the last 10 years.
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Despite this bleak picture, and the continuing threat of poaching for their valuable horns, global rhino population figures have been increasing in recent years.
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“The overwhelming rhino conservation success story is that of the southern white rhino. With numbers as low as 50 left in the wild in the early 1900s, this subspecies of rhino has now increased to over 20,000 and has become the most populous of all the rhino species.�
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CONseRvAtION
A
ngalifu was one of two remaining male northern white rhinos in captivity.
All remaining rhinos, hosted in various zoos around the world, including San Diego, Czech Republic and Kenya’s Ol Pejeta Conservancy, are under constant surveillance and are receiving unparalleled veterinary care. Despite efforts to implement new breeding plans morale is low, and many scientists question whether conservation efforts can save this species. The average age of this group is forty years old, which most veterinarians suspect is past their natural breeding age. In addition to this, Sudan, who currently lives in a semi-wild state at the Ol Pejeta Conservancy, is the last male of his species left in the world, which leaves the entire future of the species in his hooves. Although Sudan remains heavily guarded (boasting his own team of bodyguards) in a last bid to protect him from poachers, one can only wonder what hope there is for the species should he live out the remainder of his life. Should these protective efforts succeed will scientists be able to breed him with one of the remaining four females in the world? And should natural selection fail, will they resort to expensive artificial methods to produce offspring? Though northern white rhinos have successfully been bred in captivity in the past, it is a notoriously difficult process that requires time, time we do not have as these animals amble towards the end of their natural life spans. Angalifu’s death has issued a necessary shock to society; a bleak wake-up call to environmentalists around the world that our efforts are failing. While this news has helped generate a wealth of buzz around the subject of conservation, we cannot wait for the population of species to drop to single digits before we take up arms. While it may be too late for the northern white rhino, there remains over 41,000 endangered species in the world which require our immediate attention.
Population figures are according to numbers published 31 December by the IUCN for African rhino species and results of a 2012 / 2013 census for Asian rhino populations.
BLACK
WHITE
Rhino Population
Rhino Population
FIGURES
FIGURES
Southern white
20,405
Northern white
06
Ceratotherium simum simum Ceratotherium simum cottoni
Eastern
Diceros bicornis michaeli
FIGURES
Greater one-horned 3,333
South Western
1,957
Sumatran
<100
South central
2,299
Javan
35-45
Total
5,055
Diceros bicornis bicornis Diceros bicornis bicornis
January Issue 2015
799
ASIAN
Rhino Population
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Protect our natural heritage. with the help of your business, we can do ours
Make a change as corporate member with ews-wwF and help us in our mission to conserve and protect our natural environment. Together we can make a diďŹ&#x20AC;erence. www.ewswwf.ae
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SPrEAD tHE WorD
In a rapidly changing, unpredictable world; in an economy where knowledge work is all-important, where every company has to build its license to operate on foundations of trust, and where technology and international communications makes everything visible, leadership and relationships are the only consistent building blocks of success www.tomorrowscompany.com
BUIsNess
Communication is a defining feature of contemporary society. It shapes the public opinion and is now considered an essential business tool, which allows people to voice their opinion on a global scale. Perhaps its most noble goal, communication can play a big role in achieving sustainable development. ‘Green’ advertisements have established themselves as the latest marketing goldmine. As society shifts its values to incorporate environmental causes in their purchases, international businesses have responded, directing their marketing campaigns to feature their green efforts, or ecologically-friendly goods. For the most part, it is a sound partnership – businesses attract consumers, partners and public accolades by peacocking their green feathers, cashing in the increasing number of potential green consumers by helping the environment. Communicating their labors benefits all, in theory. Nonetheless, the taint of marketing is hard to remove, even from the most just causes. Many companies, despite their green thumbs, have kept their efforts under wraps out of fear of being labeled “Greenwashers --, a company or organization that spends more time and money claiming to be “green” through advertising and marketing than implementing the business practices it purports to have. Environmental companies who shy away from their endeavors are “greenmuting”, minimizing the extent of their communication to remove public backlash or the possibility of competitive company copying. In spite of these conflicting views on sustainable communication, garnering widespread support from people, governments and organizations requires a certain level of publicity. Employing various modes of communication (magazines, newspapers, televisions and social media to name a few) can assist in propagating the idea of sustainability. DID YOU KNOW: The average American is exposed to 247 commercial messages and 3,000 advertising messages each day?
Here are some ways communication can be used to announce your sustainability efforts:
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Use tangible communication, communication one can hear, see, and touch. Create website book covers, blast emails and e-newsletters to launch and promote a company’s approach to sustainability. Developing an identity that accurately represents and highlights the company’s efforts in sustainability is a certified way to garner support and increase awareness. Finally, make use of all the (more often than not, free) communication tools at your disposal. Using various social media platform will go a long way to promote the sustainability aims of the business.
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eDItOR’s PAGe
GrEEn tECHnoLoGY
Green tech is everywhere! This month, we examine two pioneering figures and their eco-friendly creations.
The Man Who Prints Houses
“3d printing is about depositing layers, a well known fact. But a second important feature of it is that you use locally quarried material. My specialty is shaping sand. The result of my search is that it all comes down to building in an affordable way. With an aim to, for example, turn poor desert areas green and habitable” ‘De Ingenieur’ with Enrico Dini
January Issue 2015
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Do you want to build an eco-building? Designer Enrico Dini plans to help the environment with his 3-D, eco-friendly printer, which layers simple stone powder to produce robust structures. The procedure eliminates the need for vast resources or technologies, and would function primarily on sand and magnesium-based glue.
teCHNOLOGY
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A celebrated inventor and activist for sustainable housing, Diniâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s rise to fame was gradual, and for the most part, littered with strife and sacrifice. Distressed by Diniâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s dedication to 3-D printing, and the copious funds he was pumping into an uncertain, temperamental and largely untested piece of technology, Diniâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s wife moved to Rome with their son, leaving the designer with his ambition and ever increasing debt. In spite of these private disasters, the printer Dini designed, which is the largest in the world and capable of printing objects 18 feet across, is operational. This D-Shape printer is capable of formatting, from sandstone, full-sized buildings without human intervention, and requires nothing more to operate than sand and an inorganic binder to function. For sustainable design and architecture, this technological development is the dawning of an era, ripe with ecologically sound possibilities that will upset the current dominant architectural design methods and building construction trades.
PoWEr SHoE
A pair of shoes may be the solution to keeping our mobile phones charged in the near future. This amazingly innovative idea, fostered in the Louisiana Tech University by Villa Kaajkari, is geared towards solving the smaller power issues we face day to day. Fitted with a small generator at its sole the shoe stores energy generated by the piezoelectric charge produced from pressure while the shoe-wearer is walking. It is then converted into electrical energy. With this small, but useful amount of energy, Kaajkari theorizes it could be used to solve some of our minor energy uses, such as charging mobile phone batteries, or any other portable device that requires daily maintenance. Although still a new, and relatively small-scale renewable energy tactic, these shoes are great indicators that environmental issues are taking big steps into the limelight, and are tackling even our most nominal energy concerns.
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January Issue 2015
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eDUCAtION
GroW tHEm WELL
Children are our future. As much as we try and instill good ecological habits in the reigning generation, it remains the case that our children will inherit the environmental landscape from us. Should they acquire our wasteful habits and disregard for the natural world, all current efforts to reverse the damage done to the environment will be for naught. Therefore, it should be the aim of all parents, governments and educational facilities to promote this knowledge, and to inform children of their ecological responsibility before the importance of iPods and fast-fashion takes centerfold. With their youthful ideas and impressionable minds, children are essential to the development of environmental processes like sustainability.
Develop Appreciation
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on’t turn our planet into bare facts and figures. We must go beyond the information we promote at school regarding the environment (that this is a tree, and that is an endangered tiger which we must protect). Children should develop an appreciation for the organisms we are asking them to save, not simply be tasked with learning their roles and abilities. Active opportunities to play in, and explore nature, while learning how to preserve the environment are crucial to developing valid, longlasting impressions on sustainability. Seeing and experiencing the world they live in will dictate the importance of preserving the environment better than a graph or a presentation.
interdependence on other societies, through land, through the food we eat, the items and materials we use and even the clothes we wear. Principally, children should grasp our common reliance on a healthy environment. Examining how different cultures and countries live, while emphasizing how food and other necessities are produced and shared across the world will foster a greater understanding of our global interconnectivity, and in turn, show children how any progress – environmental or other – needs to be agreed and conducted on a global scale.
Additionally, reading books and watching awarding-winning documentaries, like Blue Planet or Planet Earth provide not only information, but the visual stimulus needed to awe children, and usher in a feeling of connectedness with the environment. This is particularly useful for settings where it is not always feasible to have first-hand experiences.
Emphasize our Connection
S
ocial sustainability is difficult to define and shape, but is crucial to the development of sustainability as a whole.
Too often we underestimate the importance of reminding children that we are all connected –not only to the environment and other species, but to each other. Education should highlight our January Issue 2015
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eDItOR’s PAGe
Some questions that would help your
children to be “sustainable thinkers”
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Children are born with a sense of wonder and an affinity for nature. Properly cultivated, these values can mature into ecological literacy, and eventually into sustainable patterns of living
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-Zenobia Barlow,
“Confluence of Streams”
• What natural systems create life on our planet? (air, water, energy) • What is food chain and a food web? • What is a habitat? • What is an eco-system? • What are the many functions of trees? • Why is the planet currently loosing trees? • What is the current population growth? • Where do most of the world’s populations live? • What is the average annual income there? • What is global warming and its causes? • What types of pollution are there and its causes? • What are renewable and non-renewable resources? • What is your ecological footprint? • What is organic food? • Why is organic food more expensive? • Where is our food grown? • What are food miles? • Who is growing our food? • Where are your clothes made? • Who is making the products you buy? • Who has access to more sustainable choices? • What are ways you can make a difference? • How can you use less (i.e., reduce)? • What do you really need to live happily? • How can we help others?
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Eco friendly activities for children
• Start a nature journal. • Set up a compost bin. • Start a small produce garden (or container garden). • Take regular nature walks. • Visit a dump and recycling depot. • Visit an organic farm. • Plant or adopt a tree. • Collect non-perishable foods items for local food banks. • Fund-raise for a worAld hunger aid organization. • Raise money for a child’s education or environmental project in a developing country. • Study in detail a localized ecosystem such as an old log. • Collect your garbage for a day (or week). Check out the garbage revolution! • Draw or paint a picture of a sustainable world. • Take out a globe and track down where everything in a room comes from. • Educate others by making posters for your community centre or school bulletin board. • Write a story or poem to share with others or have published. January Issue 2015
eDItOR’s LIFe stYLe PAGe
LIFE STYLE
BABY CArE
AnD SUStAinABiLitY
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Did you know disposable baby diapers take between 200 to 500 years to decompose?
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Some eco friendly brand for babies:
The Honest Company January January Issue Issue 2015 2015
Rockin Green www.zivwira.com
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obody has more purchasable products than babies do. From funky furniture, to uncountable, colourful cartoon clothes, parents can lose themselves while trying to identify the best products for their offspring. However, bamboozled by brand names and marketing campaigns, it is easy to overlook the most eco-friendly products amid the chaos. Most baby goods are unfriendly to environment. Beyond the assortment of chemicals involved in their processing, the majority of these products aren’t built with longevity or sustainability in mind. Disposable diapers, clothes, footwear, skin care products, furniture, toys and detergents, often encounter harmful substances during their manufacturing, which are not only damaging to the environment, but also potentially damaging to the children who use it.
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Designed to fit your home. And your life
Safe &Sound BABY MONITORS
Rashes, reactions and other health related issues can be avoided by swapping to organic, natural products that are good for the baby, and the environment. Some ways you can help... •
Exchange your disposable baby diapers for environmentally friendly ones. Reusable cloth diapers or biodegradable ones, usually made from plant-based plastic, are now widely available. It’s estimated that the average baby uses over 600 disposable diapers before they are toilet trained. If the world swapped to more sustainable, ecofriendly diapers, baby-related waste would already dramatically decrease.
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Natural detergents are also a great way to minimize risk of reaction, and curb our reliance on chemicalridden goods, which are often harmful to the environment.
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When purchasing clothes, or furniture, try keeping the environment in mind. Buy eco-stamped clothes produced with minimal waste to the environment, and natural fabrics that do not require much chemical interference to create.
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On an average, United States uses 29 million disposable diapers per day,Australia uses 2.2 million, Japan 6.7million while UK uses 9 million diapers per day
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eDItOR’s tRAveLPAGe
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ccording to the Air Transport Action Group, the world’s airlines carried a total of over 3 billion passengers in 2014. Imagine the carbon footprint left by that form of transport alone! Fortunately, with more and more people travelling globally each year, the concept of sustainable tourism is developing into a hot topic. The concept of sustainable tourism is simple. As Jaime Liss explains, “It is the concept of visiting a place as a tourist and trying to make only a positive impact on the environment, society and economy.” With aviation accounting for over 55% of transportation CO2 emissions (75% according to some, as aviation emissions made at high altitude amplifies the effect of green house gases) it is clear to all that there needs to be greater emphasis on reducing the harm contemporary travel creates.
Oxford Economics projects significant growth in aviation through 2030, with passenger numbers expected to reach 5.9 billion.
Sustainable tourism must be tackled by governmental and nongovernmental organizations in order to establish practices that will prevent our travel needs from interfering with the environment. Naturally, the tourists themselves play an important role, one that can be facilitated by sustainable-focus tour guides and their accompanying industries. January Issue 2015
www.ziwira.com
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Sustainable tourism seeks to do the following:
www.ziwira.com
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Tourism must help maintain the ecology of the destination, preserve the climate and its biodiversity. Tourists must help preserve the environment of their destination by limiting ecologically harmful activities and adopting eco-friendly means of travelling and living. Even the best eco-warriors tend to be careless while on holiday – littering, wasting and splurging on ‘safe’, but environmentally damaging products are things travelers must try to avoid.
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Limit how much transport you use in the countries you visit. While in Thailand, forsake the Tuc-Tuc and hop on a man-driven cart, and for other places around the world, find other local modes of transport to get you from A to B. Wherever you are, try and experience your new surroundings to the fullest by covering short distances by walking or bicycle.
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Respect the social-cultural diversity of foreign places and communities. Interacting with people and participating in local cultural activities will help develop social sustainability within the area. Plus it is a more fulfilling pastime than milling around familiar sites, like shopping malls. January Issue 2015
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HEALTH
Health
Parkinson’s Disease & Environment
O
ver ten million people across the world are affected by Parkinson’s disease (PD), one million in America alone. The second largest neurodegenerative disorder after Alzheimer’s, recent findings pegs global increases in Parkinson’s disease cases to pesticides use in food. A gradually debilitating illness, Parkinson’s disease occurs when neurons in the brain deteriorate, impairing their ability to produce dopamine, a key chemical messenger that promotes healthy movement and coordination. The disease’s infamous tremors, sudden numbness and shaking occur because of this decrease in dopamine production. January Issue 2015
www.ziwira.com
In terms of its genesis, as Doctor Caroline M. Tanner explains, most scientists agree that “many cases of PD are the result of a combination of nature and nurture — the interaction between a person’s underlying genetic make-up and his or her life activities and environmental exposures”. Although genetic factors help determine how susceptible an individual is to the disease, the increasing number of people suffering from Parkinson’s beg us to consider how much environmental and lifestyle changes have contributed to this swell in PD instances. Recent studies have suggested that the burgeoning Parkinson’s disease cases are related to chemical exposure, namely from pesticides, insecticides, metals, solvents and polychlorinated Biphenyl, which many of us are exposed to in low doses. Benomyl, a potent fungicide, banned by the US Environmental Protection Agency in 2001 for its possible carcinogen capabilities, was also found to inhibit the enzyme aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH), an enzyme tasked with protecting dopamine cells from toxic chemicals. If ALDH is blocked, dopamine cells can be degenerated by harmful ingested substances, leading to the onset of Parkinson’s disease. Since then, scientists have begun testing contemporary pesticides for similar inhibitors of ALDH, and have measured the quantity of pesticides required to disrupt the enzyme. The results were unexpected. According to findings published in the journal Neurology, investigators noted a further 11 pesticides that block ALDH and increase the risk of Parkinson’s disease. In addition to this, they found that these pesticides were increasing the risk of Parkinson’s at drastically lower levels than was first assumed.
concentrations that were way below what was needed for the pesticides to do their job. Additionally, these pesticides are pretty ubiquitous, and can be found on our food supply and are used in parks and golf courses and in pest control inside buildings and homes. So this significantly broadens the number of people at risk.” Naturally, those at greater risk are individuals with genetic vulnerability (particularly those who carry the ALDH2 genetic variant) and agriculturalists who are closely involved with such chemicals. Nonetheless, what this research suggests is that huge portions of the population are now at risk. Our reliance on harmful pesticides is misplaced, and will continue to negatively impact global health. And it is not just Parkinson’s diseases which links pesticide use to cognitive and corporeal degeneration. Research across various medical fields, including cardiology, neurology and oncology, have linked our ubiquitous pesticide use to an increasing number of health-related issues. While we toil over Ebola, Bird Flu and mull over the possibilities of other pandemics we continue to pollute our food with pesticides known to cause degenerative health issues that afflict millions of people globally. By propagating the use of chemicals to preserve crops and promote profits, we are instigating our own downfall, our own decent into a world plagued with largely preventable diseases and disabilities. Immediate efforts need to be made to curb pesticide use, and subsidise organic produce so all members of society are able to afford healthier food alternatives.
e r o M
than just
MED CINE
At binSina, we belive in a different kind of medicine. Medicine that goes hand in hand with personal care and expert advice.And for the last 47 years, we’ve stayed true to this belief. Caring for your well being, not just when you’re sick, but even when you’re feeling great. This is our medicine.
Investigator Dr. Bronstein explains his astonishment at these findings, and how widespread the issue has become: “We were very surprised that so many pesticides inhibited ALDH and at quite low concentrations, January Issue 2015
47 Years of Care and Advice.