Green Products at a Competitive Price Still a Growth Industry

According to Mobium Group’s Research Director Nick Bez, over the last six months, consumers have become more concerned with job security and falling asset price and less about environmental concerns.

However, he added that his company’s research reveals consumers are willing to spend on ‘green’ products and services if they can see benefits for themselves as well as for the wider community. “Products that provide a direct cost-saving such as solar hot water or energy efficient appliances or other personal benefits such as domestic rain water tanks to keep the garden thriving, remain best placed for growth,” said Nick Bez.

In the light of this, Mobium recommend 2009 as a time of enormous opportunity for companies that can offer a product or service with genuine environmental credentials, at a competitive price.

www.mobium.com.au

Wesak Spiritual Festival

High in the Tibet-Himalayan foothills a spiritual ceremony is being prepared. This is the spiritual festival of Wesak.  It is said that at the moment of the Taurus full moon in May, the Buddha returns to bless the world.  This blessing transmits renewed spiritual life to all on earth.

Some may never know it happened, others of us may feel an upwelling of spiritual insight, goodwill and empowerment, and those who are there will be taking part in an age-old ceremonial gathering. They will find their way into the Himalayan valley and gather there.

The legend tell us that amongst the everyday men and women will also be found great Beings who are the Custodians on Earth of the spiritual Plan for our planet. At the moment of the full moon all present will feel a potent vibration which, it is said, stimulates the souls of all present, fusing and blending the group into one united whole. Read more

Church for Singles:Wine,Cheese and Intimate Conversation

The Kensington Uniting Church in South Australia has found an innovative way to attract new members by combining wine, cheese and a band to lubricate intimate conversations about God, faith and religion.The church for singles has been running since January 2009 and founder, Julie-Anne Bingham, has been overwhelmed with the response.

She said she saw a need for a special service for single people. “Often our traditional church services are very family oriented,” Jule-Anne said. “When we’re celebrating Monther’s Day, for example, it can be painful for people who come from fractured families. They may be struggling with feelings of lonliness and brokenness.”

Ms Bingham says that all single adults are welcome, not just churchgoers. “There are lots of lonely isolated people out there, so people are welcome to just rock up.”
Adelaidenow.com.au 18.4.09

Why Do We Pay Interest On Borrowed Money?

Is there a way we can pay for our basic needs - a home, fridge, TV and car - without having to pay back the principle and interest on our purchase?

Interest is the price we pay for the money we borrow. Those who lend us the money see themselves as giving up the advantage of having that cash – the liquidity advantage of money - so they charge a percentage on the principal loaned to us to compensate themselves for losing the benefit of having the cash to use.

So interest creates money for the lender without their actually producing anything for it. According to some thinkers, charging interest, or usury, violates natural law.

Read more

Freegan Lifestyle can Halve Your Food Bill

Neighbourhood Foragers Get Their Greens for Free

Foraging for food in your local neighbourhood could be a great supplement to your own home-grown vegetables or bartering. Fregans save dollars on their weekly food bill by collecting fresh fruit and vegetables growing near their homes instead of allowing them to go to waste.

Adelaide freegan Harley says he’s enjoyed the fruits of his neighbours’ yards for eight years. Harley, who by day is a 30-year-old personal trainer and vegan, rides around town on his bicycle picking seasonal fruit and vegetables.

Harley’s philosophy is “we need less than we think.” He believes that, “Ninety percent of people work in jobs they hate to buy crap they don’t need.” The freegan philosophy is the old saying, “waste not, want not”.

“I’m an environmentalist…and to eat food from overseas when there’s food in Australia rotting on the ground doesn’t make sense,” Harley says. He says the freegan trend is widespread in America and Europe but it’s only just starting to catch on in Australia.
The Advertiser 18.4.09

Love Kept Her Alive

Remember the London train bombings of July 2005? Gill Hicks is an Australian woman caught in the middle of those terrifying events. As she lay close to death in the wreckage of a London Underground train carriage, she experienced the unconditional love from strangers who risked their lives to pull her free.

That love continued with the police, nurses and doctors in the London Hospital where she spent
3½ months recovering and learning to walk on prosthetic legs. Gill says, “It was love that kept me alive. Love is the main contributor to rebuilding and creating my new life.”

She is now an ambassador for Peace Direct, an organisation that focuses on building peace in areas of conflict across the world. She recently walked 400 km on her prosthetic legs, from Leeds to London for the cause.
The Advertiser 17.4.09

Save Children From Poverty

If we all gave a proportion of our income to those worse off we’d be helping to save 27,000 children a day from poverty-related causes, says philosopher and ethicist Peter Singer.

Melbourne-born Singer suggests that by giving away only 5 per cent of our gross annual incomes, we would each be helping to make a massive dent in world poverty. Adelaide-based organization Fair Share International is a model for sharing as it gives 5 per cent of time to volunteering and taking democratic political action at least 10 times a year.

Singer says the rich should do more like U.S. businessman Israel Shenker, who matches everything he spends on discretionary items such as holidays, with a charitable donation.

Suggested action? Take your last year’s tax return and work out your recommended contribution percentage. Then choose who you’d like to help save from poverty with your donation.
Advertiser 31.1.09

Help the Environment:Eat Less Red Meat and Dairy

Australians should eat less red meat and dairy according to the National Health and Medical research Council. The Public Health Association of Australia has called for a more holistic approach to health guidelines by focusing on more than just nutrients in foods.The association’s chief, Michael Moore, said we need to think about the environmental impact of the foods we choose to eat. For instance, by reducing our consumption of red meat (from cattle) and dairy products (from cows), we would lower carbon emissions.

According to a 2006 United Nations report, cattle-rearing generates more global warming greenhouse gases, as measured in CO2 equivalent, than transportation due to their methane emissions.
“Livestock are one of the most significant contributors to today’s most serious environmental problems,” senior UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) official Henning Steinfeld said.
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=20772&Cr=global&Cr1=environment

Bridesmaid’s Eco Wedding Trip

Barbara Haddrill travelled almost 20,000 km by land and sea from Wales to Australia to be a bridesmaid. The difference between Barbara’s trip and any other bridesmaid eager to attend her best friend’s wedding is that Barbara didn’t board a plane.

Instead she followed her green principles opting for a journey by bus, rail, boat and bike.She started her journey from her home on a farm at Machynlleth, mid-Wales, where she recycles, grows her own food, and lives in a caravan powered by a hydro-turbine in a nearby river.

Haddrill took a bus from London to Moscow, then a six-day trip on the Trans-Siberian railway to Beijing. From there to Singapore where she boarded a cargo ship for a two-week journey to Melbourne.

The entire journey took her through 18 countries and ended with a three-week bike ride from Paris to Wales. Haddrill estimates the trip involved a total of 1.8 tonnes of carbon emissions compared to 11.2 tonnes if she had gone by plane. Her book Babs2Brisbane has just been released.
The Advertiser 29.3.09

Gwyneth Paltrow Links Toxins to Cancer in Children

Actress Gwyneth Paltrow warned that products such as shampoo could be linked to cancer. She said she was “seized with fear” after reading research about environmental toxins that are present in everyday items

According to Paltrow’s website, goop.com, children are unable to easily break down toxins they ingest both in food, hair and skin products. She suggested these toxins may account for the increasing number of children getting cancer and autism.

Paltrow is raising her children Apple and Moses, on a macrobiotic diet which excludes refined food like white flour and cheese, preferring grains, vegetables and beans.
The Advertiser 6.4.09

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