Brittany on the environment

Living in the modern world it is easy to become disconnected from the environment.  How often do you ask yourself, what farm did my vegetables come from?  Who grew them?  Where does the world’s gas/petrol come from and at what cost?

I ask myself regularly, what are the long term consequences of using petroleum based chemicals in pesticides and fertilizers?  What happens to all the detergent, bleach, soap, and waste dumped down the drains?  What byproducts were produced while making my computer?  What does it mean to have Dow and Monstanto Chemical Companies (the same producers of the defoliant ‘Agent Orange’ used during Vietnam causing over 900,000 deaths, disabilities, and birth defects) controlling our food system? 

The world resources are in crisis!  Although everyone contributes to the problem, Americans are to blame because we use far more than our share.  The United States makes up 5% of the world’s population but uses 30% of the world’s resources and creates 30% of the world’s waste.  We are a nation of consumption and pollution in excessive amounts.  We are inevitably only doing harm to ourselves because all these pollutants build-up in our bodies.  The highest levels of many toxins are found in human breast milk.  This means that babies get the highest level of toxins from their mothers.  Even though it is ok to keep breastfeeding, it is a violation on humanity that women and children are suffering the most from our environmental irresponsibility (www.storyofstuff.com).

I actively try to break the vicious cycle of consumption and pollution because it is my duty.  I have had many irreplaceable moments in Africa where I feel connected to nature.  Below are a few examples.

I find every blade of grass or drop of rain fascinating.  I pick up handfuls of soil because I like to feel the texture.  I rub stones together to see what sound they make.  Sometimes I sit in the garden at our house and watch the insects. 

While paddling on my surf board at Muizenberg Beach I saw something weird floating above the water.  I reached out my hand and came in contact with the stingers of a blue bottle jellyfish.  My whole arm went numb and then immobile.  My mother always said I was a very curious child.  Apparently, nothing has changed.

The moon has become a new presence in my life.  I left for Africa on the new moon which is symbolic of new beginnings.  During the 2 day hike around Cape Point, I spent my evening starring at the unforgettable moon and stars.  The sky was speckled with so many white stars it looked as if a painter had flicked a paintbrush across the sky.  North America has too much light pollution to see the stars in the same way you would see them on Africa’s continent.  It’s sad that my friends and family back home don’t get to see the same night sky.

I saw a dead dolphin carcass that had washed ashore after what appeared to be a shark attack.  The smell of this rotten creature or the infestation of maggots over its decaying body was not enough to keep me from getting up close.  Oh no, I even had to take it one step further and touch it, first a nudge with my foot and then with my hand.

I went tubing down Storms River in Tsitsikamma National Park.  The word tsitsikamma is a Khoisan phrase meaning place of abundant water.  This is very fitting because the Storms River water is so fresh and unpolluted you can drink it.  Storms River is also special because it is chocolate brown colored from getting stained by the forest tree roots.  The tree roots in that area contain the same substances used to make tea and red wine in South Africa giving the water a mildly sweet taste.  I spent all day slurping down hand full’s like I was in a scene from Charlie and The Chocolate Factory.

I stood on a rock jetty as waves crashed around me at Cape Agulhas, the southernmost tip of Africa. I stayed on that jetty until the day became night.   I watched the sun wink at me as it set behind the blue skyline.  Just as the sun went down the white rim of the moon leaked through the start of the night.  Then, I took off all my clothes, jumped into the sea at the spot where the Indian and Atlantic oceans meet and did the mermaid float.  My mother always said I was a free spirit, indeed, she was right again. 

I have been grateful for the abundance of lavender plants in my yard in Cape Town.  It was the first flower I pressed in my journal.  Every day when I leave the house and return home I pick a needle from the plant.   Sometimes I rub it on my wrists to smell throughout the day.  Other times I put lavender in my closet with my clean laundry.  The smell of lavender allows me to leave and enter the house in a calm state.  It helps me refocus my thoughts and energies on what is important. 

There are so many small steps you can take to protect our world today. 

• 1.     Make your own eco-friendly cleaning products cheaply.  Vinegar diluted in half with water is great for cleaning windows, floors and bathrooms, disinfecting, and eliminating hard water deposits.  You can also make your own furniture polish for wood with one cup of oil and half a cup of lemon juice.
• 2.     Wash clothes in cold water as much as possible and hang them to dry.
• 3.     Compost food items (fruit, veggies, egg shells, yard waste) to cut down on landfill pollution.
• 4.     Buy local, organic, in season food to reduce transportation emissions.
• 5.     Buy used books, furniture, appliances, clothes, etc.
• 6.     Eat less meat to reduce hormones and other environmental waste.
• 7.     Kill weeds naturally without pesticides. Putting down a black cloth or mulch are organic options for gardening.
• 8.     Consider alternative energy options such as solar power. Even when used on a small scale it helps decrease electricity use.
• 9.     Celebrate holidays in less commercialized ways by making handmade gifts or baking.
• 10.  Buy fair trade products because it improves labor conditions while empowering communities through ethical and sustainable trade.