Saving The World From My Kitchen: March 2012

Hello, people of the earth,
Sorry I've been away for so long. I... had a pretty bad case of the hiccups.
Anyway, so how's the climate change fighting going? I'm really glad at some of the positive responses we've had so far!

I'm not in the kitchen today, as you can see from my title. I'm actually in the study on a *gasps" desktop computer. Yes, I know. Apparently, desktop PCs use almost seven times more power than a laptop. Shoot me. (don't take me literally on that one). BUT, anyway, in relation to my display name and general blog, I've got you a tip on how you can actually save the world from your kitchen.

But first, it's high time I introduced myself further.

As a teenager, I have a dream.

Not for a new iPad or computer (despite the awful wireless range of my poor laptop) or a new bike (saying that, one of those electric bikes WOULD be pretty cool), or even a list of exemplar dreams to write about that aren't RIDICULOUS overused cliches.

My dream is to save the world.

Not in a superman fashion, a doctor who fashion, or even ... SHUT UP WITH THESE LONG BORING CLICHE LISTS, OKAY?

I think I'll just cut to the chase and say I want to prevent climate change.

In fact, scratch that.

Because saving the world isn't just about global warming. It's about making the world a better place in every way we can. Sure, the "be nice to everyone" angle for making the world a better place isn't exactly my forte, but it shouldn't be overlooked.

I am a member of the "Problem Generation", also known in eco-warrior terms (i.e, I made this up myself) as the "Victim Generation". This includes citizens of the who, despite many inventive obscenities used to describe us, are commonly known as "teenagers".

The reasons that we are known as a "Problem Generation" are as follows:

- We're mostly lazy, whinging, internet-obsessed little arses.

- In eco points of view, corresponding with the above point, our internet obsession is contributing to climate change (many hours of writing pointless blogs uses a lot of juice) and the laziness factor means we are too lazy to do anything about this and instead sit writing more pointless blogs whinging about it.

- Either way, from our point of view, we're more worried that in fifty years time we'll be struggling with morbid obesity than we worry about what state the world around us is going to be in.

The reasons why we *cough... only me* classify our generation as a "Victim Generation" are as follows:

- We're all unfairly stereotyped as being lazy, whinging, internet-obsessed little arses.

- We're going to be the ones to feel the effects of climate change when (not even if) it really starts to become a problem, even though despite my above point, we are not the sole contributors to global warming.

- Hence, we're going to have to be the ones to do something about it.

And if you're not a teenager and you're reading this, YOU DON'T ESCAPE from having to sort this world out with us. We're roping you in, too.

Okay, back to my original blog topic. Do you like lemons?

Hmm... I know it sounds like a completely random question (the "I'm just that random and quirky" persona seems to be in vogue with the teenage social scene at the moment, and for the record, my disapproval for the whole in-vogue persona thing is outstripped only by my disapproval for CLIMATE CHANGE).
But for me, the answer to this whole crisis is lemons. "What aspect of lemons?" I hear you cry. Well, it's the eco-warrior's favourite response, "trees".

Trees are what I call the lazy escape from global warming. One of the key causes of global warming is deforestation, because, as I'm sure you know, trees take carbon dioxide out of the air and replace it with oxygen. What you might not know is that when a tree gets cut down by, let's say, McDonalds, to make space for their cows, (why, hello, 99p beefburger. I will not question why you are so absurdly cheap, I will just eat you), not only have they taken away one of the only ways to reverse greenhouse gas emissions, they have also ADDED even more to global warming by burning the trees to make room, thus releasing all the CO2 that the good old trees had stored.

So, back to the lemons. Just over a month ago, I was using some lemons in the kitchen (making a lemon posset. It was delicious), and came across the seeds, which I was about to throw away. But, as I hate waste, I decided to plant them and see what happens. Although it required watering every day, within about two weeks all the seeds had sprouted above the surface of the soil, and after two months the seedlings are around three inches tall! Not bad, considering those seeds were about to go for a holiday in the trash can. Now those saplings are literally like my children. Too much love for seeds.

Trees are a great friend to us. If you REALLY can't be bothered to turn a couple of lights out *flashes you a look of immense disapproval*, then the lazy people among us should plant a couple of trees. If you do it from a seed, you're being productive (if you just buy a sapling, you're not really being productive as that sapling will probably be planted by someone else eventually anyway). And you know, they're pretty effective. They'll take a while to take in a lot of CO2, and one tree alone isn't going to make you carbon neutral, but it's a start. And with the state the world's looking like it'll end up in, every start, even by the most lazy among us, really counts.

Of course, the best way to combat global warming is cancelling the cause- stop emitting as much CO2. You all know how to do it- turn off your lights! This brings me nicely on to my last topic of this blog, Earth Hour. If this is your first time on my blog, check out my last blog post for more info on this inspirational project- DON'T miss out on it! I'm fully conscious that today's blog is the length of an essay (ironic, considering as I came on the computer to write an essay for homework) so you're really going to have to check out my last blog to find out about Earth Hour. I can't emphasise how great a project it is, so I'm relying on you to help me help you, and take a few more minutes to read my last blog, and take one hour on March 31st to help, with millions of others worldwide, to turn off your lights for one hour and fight global warming for everything it's worth.

Here's a link to the Earth Hour site: http://earthhour.wwf.org.uk/

"It's not about an hour of darkness, it's about a brighter future."
Oh, and if you don't mind, sharing the link to this blog to your friends would really help me out :)
http://savingtheworldfrommykitchen.blogspot.com/

Arrivederci!
- SavingTheWorldFromMyKitchen

Saving The World From My Kitchen

Tuesday, 27 March 2012

Earth Hour on the horizon...

Saturday, 17 March 2012

Saving The World From My... Study?