We really do have to save the bees. And I’m over the big corp bullying.
It came to my attention yesterday that the chemical corporation, Bayer (Bayer is the German version of Monsanto, more about this corp below), is suing Europe! The European Commission to be exact.
And this is because…
Back in 2013 scientific studies concluded that the pesticides with Neonicotinoids in them definitely killed bees. So the E.U. banned three pesticides. Now, Bayer wants to overturn that decision so they can start selling this stuff again.
I do find it rather ironic that this is coming now when Bayer is about to acquire Monsanto, the other big chemical giant. If this happens, then Bayer will have world dominance over seed production.
Stick with me here…
Bayer produces seeds which have Neonicotinoids over them. That means, once they are planted this chemical spreads throughout the plant and kills any insect that happens to come along to have a wee snack …. including bees which are there for the pollen.
The plants are also unable to re-generate meaning that the farmer must get new seeds each planting time (my understanding is that is under the GMO part of seed raising) – I am actually going somewhere here.
So Bayer takes over Monsanto.
Bayer produces seeds that kill bees.
Bayer produces GMO plants that can’t regenerate.
My little brain equates that to…
Bayer wants total world domination of the food supply.
Do you agree? Would love to see your views in the comments below.
Either way, it would be excellent if you would take a minute to sign the petition just click:
Do you believe that every human being has a right to have water … for free?
Back in 2013, Peter Brabeck the Chairman of the Board of Nestlé upset the world when he began pushing for the privatization and control of water across the world. He created such a furore that he back-tracked his initial statement and gave his reasons.
Before I go into what those reasons were, let me say that Nestlé wanted to take control to the extent that in 2000 at the World Water Forum they successfully lobbied to
stop water being declared the universal right of every person.
Since then they have been pushing for control.
Already water is being pumped out by the millions of gallons, put into plastic bottles which are then sold to a gullible public to the point that it has become almost a status symbol of the wealthy.
Will it end up that just the wealthy will be able to afford clean water?
Peter Brabeck’s argument is that if the water is owned, then it is the responsibility of the owner to make sure that it is clean. He believes that as water remains “free” it is
“wasted, polluted and unsustainably managed … it is abused and polluted making it undrinkable in its natural state. And, if we’re not careful, the water will become so polluted that the citizens will not be able to use it in any way at all.”
You have to admit that he has a point – take the town of Flint in the USA as a classic example of water being polluted so badly it can’t be used.
Geez, even N.Z. is well on the way to having a drinking water problem as over 70% of all waterways are so badly polluted they are deemed to be toxic. Also, according to NZ ecologist Russell Death,
“We have the highest level of many of these waterborne gastrointestinal diseases in the OECD.”
that’s just insane for a country that tells the world we are clean and green.
However, I certainly am NOT in favour of privatizing water… not one little bit. In fact, I’d like to see companies who bottle water for the supermarket shelves to either stop doing it or replace the plastic with recyclable glass!!!!
Because there’s the other problem with “private water”…
Plastic is the bane of the modern world and it is time we face up to the fact that we just have to STOP using it.
All of this has been prompted by a petition to:
Tell Nestlé that humans have a right to water.
Stop locking up our resources!
France has done it again, this time the supermarkets have been told to stop food waste.
It is now illegal for French supermarkets to throw out good food in a bid to stop the huge food waste that goes on.
It’s not the first time France has come up with environmental and social laws.
Last year the French government came out with a law that all new buildings in commercial zones must either be partially covered in plants or solar panels. How amazing is that?
The beauty of green roofs is that they have an isolating effect, help to reduce the amount of energy needed to heat the building in winter and cool it off in the summer. Not only the good stuff like that but it also gives birds a place to nest!
Now the French Government have made a new law. Supermarkets are no longer allowed to throw away good food. The supermarkets must now donate their unsold food to charities.
See, grassroots campaigns can win, because that’s how this all started. French shoppers, anti-poverty campaigners and those opposed to food waste all came together to get this bill passed in their parliament.
Why doesn’t that happen here? Are we too apathetic? Do we just not care? Or is it a case of the majority of us are simply trying to get through each day making enough to pay the bills, buy food and trying to better our lives?
Of course, for France, the campaigners want to take this idea even further, past the supermarkets and into the restaurants, bakeries and even school and company canteens.
Poor little NZ – we’re way behind the 8 ball, gosh we can’t even ban the plastic bag and just get deeper into the mire and muck and further away from the clean and green.
Will anything change for us? I certainly hope so, and quickly!
Well done Sweden! It looks like this country is going to step up and make a difference when it comes to how it deals with the old and worn out.
I read the other day that Sweden is going to set up incentives in the way of reduces taxes to those who go into business and re-purpose or fix anything that is broken. This could be ANYTHING – from washing machines to torn jeans, Bikes to shoes. If you set up a business that fixes and recycles an item and then sell it, you will get a tax cut.
Not only is this going to help the matter of “what to do with…” it will also create jobs. I’m thinking what an awesome idea this is and one that N.Z. should adopt. (wait while I fall off chair laughing). Seriously, this would really help to stimulate the economy here in N.Z. (am now coughing I’m laughing so hard)
Can you really see any Government in N.Z. – even in Australia or USA doing something like this? Geez, we can’t even clean up our used tyre industry.
(tyre = tire for my USA friends)
Tyres are allowed to be dumped all over the place, even set on fire polluting the air with toxic fumes. Did you know there is over 7 litres (2 gallons), of petroleum and oil in one tyre alone not to mention the numerous chemicals including chlorine, styrene, butadiene and more than 20 different heavy metals.
Now let me quickly say, that burning tyres is illegal in N.Z. not that it stops some.
There are literally thousands of ways to recycle tyres from creating chairs to using them in the building industry. They can be used for courts or shoes and in some countries some are actually burned for their fuel value.
But, getting back to Sweden and how we could be doing the exact same thing. However, it’s really not likely to happen – why should we fix broken things when we can easily buy cheaper stuff from China to appease our consumerist habits.
Yes I know, you just love those supermarket plastic bags ‘cause then you can use them to line your rubbish bins can’t you.
Of course, you also have a black bin liner in the big bin too and you go ahead and put in the smaller, rubbish-filled supermarket plastic bags into the larger black bin liner so they can all go to the landfill.
I’m not picking at you, hell no, I’ve been known to line the household rubbish bin with the plastic bag, and when looking after a dog – yup, picking up the doggy-do with one as well.
But I do try to limit the amount of plastic I do use – or recycle as much as I can. Even been known to re-purpose and give the plastic a new meaning in life.
I do use canvas bags at the supermarket … I find them easier to carry anyway, and the ones I have are a decent size. Inside one of them, I have plastic bags e.g. bread bags or nut bags that I have previously used. I soon learned that the bar code needs to be removed, so there’s a sticker over them. Otherwise, you get charged for a loaf of bread instead of a head of broccoli or a couple of onions. Hopefully, the last sentence tells you that I use these bags for veggies/fruit (buying loose where-ever possible). As for the nuts – well, I’m not that organised to be able to put the right nuts into the right bags, therefore, the bags have a few product numbers crossed out and the new one put on.
Having a stainless steel water bottle instead of a plastic one means I can put it through the dishwasher on occasions to get it sterilized …. I’m waiting for the day the supermarkets provide water stations where you put in 50c and you can fill your bottle with filtered water. Will I be waiting a while for that to happen???? Going to the States too often shows me what can be done.
Don’t use any facial product that has microbeads and use a bar of soap instead of bottled free-flow.
Would like to say that I make my own products as in cleaners, toothpaste, shampoos etc, but sadly, no. However, I seldom buy frozen foods, go more with cans and when I do freeze it’s in plastic storage boxes that I’ve got at the op shop, thoroughly washed and giving it another life. Use glass where I can and cover food in the fridge with those little doilies that you can also get at the op-shop for next to nothing.
My mother did without plastic. I remember she had a basket and a string bag to go shopping with. Everything came in paper bags even the meat was wrapped in paper. She bottled (or canned for my American readers), all the excess fruit and veggies. We had everything from pickled onions to preserved eggs, spaghetti to salted meats, not to mention the bottles of peaches, apples, feijoas, plums etc and the cakes and biscuits. We were lucky to have a walkthrough pantry – yup I said: “walk through”. That pantry was “heaven”!
It’s quite sad that we are all in such a hurry. ‘Convenience’ has taken over, meaning that we’d rather grab a new plastic bag for the head of broccoli than wash out a used bread (e.g.) bag and put it back into our canvas shopping bag.
Let’s be real, the politicians are not going to ban the plastic bag because it would upset too many people (probably including their own families). I will give kudos to those companies that charge for the plastic bags, but perhaps they could go one step further and offer a small discount if you bring your own recycled ones.
And, yes, I know there are countries who have actually banned the plastic bag… I just wish more would follow suit it would make a huge difference to our planet.
Do you do something different that helps the environment?
Your comments will be appreciated.
Thanks for dropping by. My name is Fee O’Shea. I’m a mother and grandma, an author, and a Comedy Improver.
This blog is for my thoughts, my rants, raves, reviews and things that have grabbed my attention. From politics to social media to beauty, health and the environment. Fee’s World Over Coffee is written to bring you a smile or get you thinking. Enjoy.
Categories
DROP ME A LINE
A Trusted Site
Just so you know:
Links on this website may give me a small commission,
but there’s no extra cost to you!
