Blue Wolf Reviews

Tag: plastic

  • Bag Lady

    Bag Lady

    Passion can drive small or even large miracles, as Lisa Foster discovered when she had one of those life changing moment at a supermarket in Melbourne, almost twenty years ago. She stood in line at a supermarket, jetlagged, not really happy to be in Australia and was asked a simple question by the checkout operator, Would you like a bag?

    That simple question was to change her life irrevocably, setting the pathway into a career as an entrepreneur who became known throughout America as the Bag Lady. Lisa Foster has written the Bag Lady in the hope that it will encourage anyone who has a deep and real passion to make change happen, to simply go for it.

    As an English teacher with a Ph,D she had no idea about business at all, but had a driving passion to introduce reusable bags into the American market. She was told many time she would not succeed as ‘American’s don’t do that’. But Americans, as it turned out, were beginning to understand the destructive force of plastic on the environment and in a few short years, were definitely doing reusable bags. She had come into the marketplace at the right time.

    Hard work, many mistakes, and a fatal attraction to what is known as Mission Drift and Hubris almost saw her lose everything she had worked so hard for, but once again, she faced up to the hard work of rescuing what she had created, spoke her truth, contacted her clients and slowly, little by little, worked her way out of the financial black hole she had inadvertently created.

    The Bag Lady is her journey into creating a company that delivered a top quality product into a market that was ripe for change, the real work that has to happen to succeed and the requirement to always honour your commitments.

    She stresses the massive importance of creating a business plan, seeking expert help and guidance when required and never, shirking the hard stuff. She also learned the hard way the difference between being a Boss or a Leader, a vital, but essential component to good business structure.

    Eventually, realising it was time to move on she wondered what next until a friend said why not use what you have gained to be a Business Coach. Once she understood what a Business Coach did, she understood that if there had been such a person for her to talk with over the past years, she may not have made so many mistakes.

    The Bag Lady is a real, honest, entertaining, enjoyable and very personal look at what it takes to set up in business and succeed, often against serious difficulties and makes you believe, as well as understand, that if you have a passion, the drive and are happy to work hard, you can succeed; that you too can help change the world, maybe not one bag at a time, but in a way that will have an impact, large or small, on the world’ so trouble environment.

  • The Carbon-Neutral Adventures of the Indefatigable EnviroTeens

    The Carbon-Neutral Adventures of the Indefatigable EnviroTeens

    The Carbon Neutral Adventures of the Indefatigable EnviroTeens by First Dog on the Moon is a Very Important Book (VIB) and one YOU should go out and buy immediately, especially if you are a teen or tween as the contents are more than super important for you to read and understand.

    Why? Because it is all about Climate Change, environmental abuse and how the world is in such an environmental mess something needs to be done and it seems grown-ups don’t seem to be able to do anything about this terrible situation.

    Therefore, a group of friends Binky aka the Monotreme, Worried Norman, once bitten by a radioactive croissant and now Pastry Person and Letitia, an occasionally bossy science wombat and genius inventor, are about to get pretty angry and take on the Single-use Plastic Brendan, who it seems had formed a dastardly plan to destroy all the worlds turtles, by luring them to the plastic island made out of plastic garbage and then turn them into bling and things.

    Oh yes, there is also a chicken , Nurse Barnevelder – chicken of all trades who uses her specialities to help the EnviroTeens  as they battle climate change and single use plastics.

    Now seriously, this is indeed a VIB as it focuses on two very real issues that of Climate Change and the devastation caused to sea creatures in the oceans of the world, as well as to the human population, by single use plastics of any sort. Young people world-wide are taking up the challenge to address this issue of Global Warming, seriously concerned for their future and that of the Planet.

    You, unlike your forebears, are aware of what the Climate Scientists are saying and have been saying for almost more than fifty years, staging protests, talking about the reality of the world in which you live and will inherit and demanding that the governments of the world take notice and begin to address Climate Change now!

    First Dog on the Moon, the first, and only, and immensely popular, one and only marsupial Walkley award winning cartoonist, which is a pretty big deal, had become so overwhelmed with the fight against environmental destruction, and the apparent lack of support from the politicians, has created a graphic novel to help spread the word with a portion of the publishers’ profits donated to School Strike 4 Climate Australia.

    So, move over Craig Reucassel, because the EnviroTeens are here to help you spread the word about plastic, the environment and how to help “Save the world”.

    What can you do? Go out. Buy the book. It’s a graphic novel so it great for everyone. Actually, give one to all of your friends for Christmas as well. Talk to your parents, become active in your school.  And as the EnviroTeens, three teenagers and one chicken, set out to save the whole world, find out how you can help in your home and at your school.

    Fun, funky, hilarious and some seriously good cartoon work combine to help start or increase the word about the world in which we all live now and what the future holds, should the issue of Climate Change not be addressed in the very near future.

  • Plastic Free

    Plastic Free

    Plastic Free July, like so many things was created in a moment of time and without any real thought as to the long term consequences of the simple little line said to a group of friends, ‘I’m going plastic free next month,’ which just happened to be July, back in 2011. With those simple words Rebecca Prince-Ruiz began what has become a world wide moment of people changing their lifestyle and helping to educated the world to the very tragic and real dangers of Plastic.

    During 2019, this cause was further helped buy the ABC series War On Waste in which Craig Reucassel created a very visual and confrontational look at just what plastic waste looks like, when only very small portions were gathered together then placed on public display.

    Over the years the Plastic Free July movement has expanded to become a global initiative that is gathering traction as more and more people are beginning to question how much plastic they use, some seen and much unseen and making a conscious decision to move to alternatives.

    Plastic Free tells the story of how the absolute enormity of a visit to a recycling plant in in Western Australia, the sheer volume of waste passing along the conveyor belts, the men in what seemed to be almost a continuous dance, shifting, extracting, unblocking the huge behemoth of machinery needed to process hundreds of tons urban waste, coupled with the almost deafening noise, was Prince-Ruiz ‘penny-dropping ’moment; the catalyst for going Plastic Free.

    Doted throughout the book are wonderful anecdotal stories of changes undertaken by communities, families and workplaces to reduce their waste footprint and make a difference to the world around them. Hot topics such as plastic straws, single use plastic bags and plastic disposable water bottles are addressed amongst other issues, as these are tangibles and very easy to understand.

    The subliminal aspect of microplastic, to name only one of the unseen killers which is now present in our waterways is not seen and is in many aspects, one the most dangerous of all, is discussed with solutions offered that take time to have a positive result, but need to be undertaken now.

    It has not taken just a few years to reach this crisis point, as is explained, as plastic has been around for more than 100 years, but was not a popular product until post World War II, when much changed; life was becoming faster, even then, with easy solutions being sought. Many will remember the introduction of the wonders of ‘plastic wrap’, which ultimately led to the issues now facing society on a global scale.

    If one little line in a conversation can set off a such a train of events, perhaps it is time to ask of yourself and others, what can you change to begin to make a difference. Already through Plastic Free July, much change has been undertaken, many fresh and new initiatives have been established and many, many more people are making informed choices when they shop, buy their morning coffee and pack their groceries into plastic free containers.

    Plastic Free and Plastic Free July reminds everyone that making a small difference can have a very positive impact on the environment, on your health and contribute to reducing the tons and tons of waste created by the destructive aspects of our throwaway society.

    Plastic Free is an inspiration, a reminder to us all to be conscious when purchasing, a guide as how to best begin in a way that will encourage plastic free as a lifestyle and also a challenge to make a difference to reducing your ‘waste-footprint’ on the environment.

     

  • Quitting Plastic Easy and practical ways to cut down the plastic in your life

    Quitting Plastic Easy and practical ways to cut down the plastic in your life

    Since the age of about seventeen, Clara has begun the process of cutting plastics out of her life. Her reason was for her own health and that of the environment. The Great Pacific Garbage patch, the size of Queensland, and the fact that plastic doesn’t break down but clogs up our waterways moved her to act. Clara has written the book with her mother who is a Walkley Award winning journalist.

    There are short letters from people who have come to the same conclusion as the Author, and they give their reasons why. One person lived near the coast in New Zealand and was dismayed by the waste that was washed up on the beaches. Another person was holidaying in Thailand and was horrified to see people throwing all their rubbish into the ocean.

    The first chapter begins with the ten things that you can do today. Using a metal water container, using reusable coffee cups, saying no to plastic straws and balloons and picking up a piece of plastic every day are just a few of the easy ways you can make a difference. “Plastics aren’t all bad or good, they are an integral part of life on the planet today.” However, the facts that are presented to the reader make for chilling thoughts. “In Australia, five billion plastic bags were handed out every year before new bans came into force.” Because many plastics are the single use kind, it would be logical to address our use of them first.

    There are many suggestions about how we get started to reduce our plastic consumption. Taking your own bag and buying ingredients loose is one way. Using paper wrapped butter kept in a china butter dish is another thing we could do. Stores selling bulk food which you can pack into a paper bag, are becoming more popular. Local farmer’s markets are also a good source of fresh food without the packaging, although the prices are generally higher.

    There are terrific tips given for using laundry products, and shampoos, as well as surface cleaners, toilet cleaners and disinfectants. The disposable wipes we use for many things clog up drains and cause “Fat Bergs.” Biodegradable written on plastic just means it breaks down, we need to find Compostable marked on a bag.

    This book is easy to read and interesting without being pedantic or superior. It is broken into chapters about cleaning and wardrobes and simple ways to begin quitting plastics. It is also informative about the harm that plastics are doing to our planet.

    Really every household should be aware of the results of research that Clara has done and make an effort to reduce our plastic consumption.