Land Rover’s commitment to a sustainable future

As we make our way to the end of 2010 and plough our way into the new year we are all faced with daily headlines in the press reminding us of the recession, government cuts, global warming, sustainable living, our ecological footprint, thinking about how we shop, what we buy, organic or free range? Tested on animals? Farmed or fresh? Sustainably fished or hunted to extinction? Thinking about your next move, even if it is just to buy some milk from the corner shop, we are all faced with a number of choices daily which will affect not only our future but the future of our children and future generations. What does the future hold? And can we really influence the bigger picture? And does it really matter? A review article in NewScientist October 09 edition based on the book by Robert and Brenda Vale, two architects who specialise in sustainable living at University of Wellington, New Zealand compared the ecological pawprint of everyday family pets with SUV’s otherwise known as 4x4’s or ‘Sports Utility Vehicles’. The findings were astonishing!
They concluded that a Landcruiser’s eco-footprint is less than half that of a medium sized dog! John Barrett at the Stockholm Environment Institute in York, UK said “Owning a dog really is quite an extravagance, mainly because of the carbon footprint of meat”.

So what is it to be eco-friendly? And how do we achieve it when even our furry friends are no longer seen as being part of a sustainable future?
Well in my opinion we all hold a piece of the future in our hands, every single one of us, so every decision we make on a daily basis will in turn in one way or another affect another human/non human being sometime in the future. Therefore we can all make a difference, even if it’s in a miniscule contribution, a hundred thousand miniscule contributions soon add up! Therefore if you already own a pet, then changing its diet can help. Replacing meat with a more sustainable, less energy intensive replacement can almost halve the eco-pawprint of a dog or reducing the amount of birds a cat kills per year can drastically reduce their huge claw-print. And as for SUV drivers well you’ll be very happy to know that Land Rover have made a promise to a more sustainable future by actively supporting Conservation programs such as the Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation (BOS) which runs the world’s largest primate rescue project. As part of their sponsorship they have donated a Defender to the Nyaru Menteng Orangutan Reintroduction Project in Central Kalimantan. The vehicle is currently being used in the most remote areas of Borneo for the transportation and return of Orangutan's to safe forests.
So its not all doom and gloom, there is always a greener alternative if we really want to make a greener choice, which made me think twice this week when I decided that the house was far too quiet and I wanted a pet…..
So I’ve decided on 3 bantam hens! At least they compensate for their eco-featherprint by providing eggs although I’m not sure I’m ready to go all the way and be completely eco-friendly by eating them, they’re never going to provide as much entertainment and pleasure on the dinner plate as seeing them pottering around the garden chattering away to each other.

Have a great week.
Nic

Thai Tales

Thai Tales

When our two week holiday in Thailand in April this year came to an end I was definitely wishing for some monumental catastrophe to prevent our flight taking off, never in a million years would I ever have believed my ears when the lovely lady behind the counter in Bangkok airport told us that the volcanic ash cloud arising from the eruption in Iceland meant we were “stranded” in Thailand until further notice!! I had to physically restrain myself from jumping up and down for joy for there were many, not so happy faces around us! In fact the majority of the airport was filled with angry, impatient, yelling tourists, so we did what any logical forward thinking travellers would do…. we legged it. Rushing out of the airport as fast as we could, we caught a taxi into town and checked into the cheapest room we could find, before anyone could say UK airspace was open again. Dumping our bags on the tatty bed we headed out into the evocative chaos of Bangkok and tucked into a huge freshly cooked plate of pad thai….. ahhh the joys!
And Bangkok was where we stayed as day after day news headlines flashed across our screens showing the extent of the ash cloud, it soon became quite apparent that we were not going to get back to the UK or work anytime soon and there was simply nothing, anyone could do about it! How extraordinary! So yet again we conjured up a plan to make the best of this unplanned extra time in this most amazing place and caught the overnight train to Chiang Mai, “Place of the elephants”, in the north on what was fast becoming one hell of an unplanned adventure. The north was everything it promised to be and more, beautiful sunsets over lush green paddy fields, waterfalls and of course incredible food. However the one thing we craved was the border; if we could just manage a few days in Myanmar that would be the icing on the cake, or rather the chilli on the pad thai. Myanmar, once upon a time known to the world as Burma, was only a short bus trip away, and we desperately wanted to skip across and visit that most beguiling of countries so plagued by political torments but so wonderfully rich in culture and natural wonders.
However the country’s isolation and repressive junta has, by some miracle of irony contributed to the preservation of much of its environment and ecosystems as well as some of the worlds most endangered species such as tigers, leopards, rhinoceros, forest elephants, gibbons, as well as an abundance of bird species. The thought of exploring this forgotten landscape was almost too much to bare, but before we could rustle up the necessary paperwork Eyjafjallajökull started to get over its hissy-fit and the ash cloud began to dissipate. Bangkok, Mumbai and a forty hour journey back to Cornwall was calling so sadly we never did make it across the border into Myanmar. My appetite to visit that enticing land has only grown and so it was with a mixture of great relief and joy when I read that the Government of Myanmar have announced that 2.500 miles of the Hukaung Valley will be declared a wildlife reserve to protect tigers and inevitably all the other wildlife that inhabit the forests with them, now I just need to find a way and the time to get there…