LONG LIVE THE COCONUT! No, I am not trying to impose a new religion with the coconut as a supreme deity, I am just extremely impressed of the numerous ways this huge nut can be used in people’s lives not only as food, but also as an eco-friendly alternative of non-degradable materials. Turns out that after you drink the milk and eat the yummy flesh of the coconut, instead of throwing the shell out, you can use it to create various things like bowls, cups and even dish scrubbers out of its husk. You just have to think creatively and work with what you already have. That is one of the main things I learned and took with me from today’s session which was about ecology and climate change. We visited The Green Straw – an environmental organisation that works with reusable and compostable products and raises awareness about the danger that is threatening our world today – climate change.

We watched a documentary on this topic and learned that the main cause of climate change is the carbon footprint that every individual leaves in the Earth’s atmosphere by releasing carbon dioxide and methane in various ways each day – by driving, riding on the bus, producing waste and even breathing. This individual percentage of daily pollution is a very small part of the global warming though – the main problem is the usage of fossil fuels – the energy source of all big factories. And although alternatives of fossil fuel energy such as solar power are fact, the companies who run those factories do not even acknowledge them, refusing to admit that climate change is real and is already affecting the ecosystem. Even important figures of the governments do not speak up about this problem, having shares in the companies and gaining serious income of their factories. The reason is the usual of course – money and power. They don’t want to give up their current position and wealth so they let the whole planet suffer and ruin its future for the sake of their present. If you think of it, it seems hopeless restoring nature’s balance in today’s circumstances – the Earth has been abused so much already that even if we stopped using plastic and fossil fuels from this moment, after a year the difference in global warming would be only one degree and the ice on the North Pole would still be melting…

BUT there is always light at the end of the tunnel and even though we as individuals do not have as much power and influence as the big companies and politicians, we can still act and strive for a positive change with small, but essential for the improvement of the environment steps. We can start by using cloth bags and wax wrappers instead of plastic ones, reusable water bottles and products made of organic materials instead of non-degradable ones. Such are bamboo, wood, steel, recycled paper, coconut shells and even banana peels – The Green Straw uses these materials to make compostable trash bags and gloves, toothbrushes, loofahs, pens, bowls, reusable bottles, containers, straws and many more products that are practical, sustainable and better for the environment! They even recycle thrown wrappers and make them into beautiful table pads! This really inspired me to think before throwing something away and see if I can give it a second life by creating something practical and beautiful.

That is what I learned from today’s session – even though the situation of our planet may seem hopeless and scary, we shouldn’t give up and go with the flow – we should start moving against it by making small but significant steps to help the environment, creating a positive personal example, inspiring others in our communities and eventually – changing the whole world!…and its temperature!