Rent - don't buy unless you NEED it!

Recently, I been yearning to watch movies from the past... and I decide to rent instead of buying them. Why?

The main reason I choose to rent is I don't really want to 'keep' (leave it lying around) the DVD after I purchase it. In fact by renting, it is relatively much cheaper.... for the price of a DVD, you can watch so much more titles. And by renting, you actually don't contribute to the demand of the item as much as buying a new item... therefore the production of that item is reduce... hence lowering the toll on the resources and energy required in its production! In the long term, if people practice renting over purchasing... we might even affect over all production trends.

So what other things can we rent?

As a general rule of thumb... anything that you might under utilize. Stuff like bicycles, cameras, books, CDs and a lot more... wait a moment... where are you going to rent such stuff? Surely you can't rent it from a shop... but you can 'rent' (share or borrow) from friends and relatives! This way we can reduce the total amount or goods that are BATA (Buy and throw away/aside). haha.

Well... this post is not to encourage a total stop to purchasing ... there are some things we cannot rent, personal or stuff that concern hygiene, things that you want to collect (please don't over do it) or stuff that you see its utilization higher then its cost... means things you would fully or constantly utilize.

The bottom line is... please be considerate and save our planet! Before you purchase any item... think if you can adopt the option of renting it or consider whether you will utilize it or simply dump it after you have used it.

There is nothing strong then the human effort.

Desiccants - stop wasting it

D0 you know what is lime desiccant? Or just a desiccant?

Go wikipedia it... and you will realize that we are under utilizing these small packets of desiccant that come with your foodstuff (I personally feel, Japanese food products enjoy giving you obsessive amount of it haha). And please, many products are guilty of these... foodstuff like seaweed (4 ~ 10 slices of seaweed and a packet of desiccant is need? a bit over doing it right) ... electrical appliances like radio systems can come with large amounts of these. Once you take your goods out of their packaging what do you do with it? You throw them away in fear of it poisonous qualities.

Why are we seriously under utilizing desiccant? Because they are reusable once they are dehydrated. So instead of throwing them away... why not reuse them... they aren't easily broken down as well...

How do we reused desiccants?
1) Use to absorb the moisture in shoe cabinets ... instead of using commercial desiccants like hungry elephant... haha
2) Put them in your car... in your boot... so it will not be damp in the night... and the heat in the day can 'auto' dehydrate the desiccants ... its a close system... you need not trouble yourself to sun the desiccants yourself... haha
3) use it to protect objects from mould, moisture or humidity... clothes? certificates?

Well... things to keep in mind before you starting using desiccants...
1) These methods are recommended by me... not really scientifically proven yet... but then again indigenous knowledge is not scientifically proven but is efficient and sustainable.
2) Look out for WARNING labels... some restrict you from smelling... please do not used this highly toxic desiccants... there are many others that are not so toxic.
3) Use a container/ cloth bag with holes to store your desiccants so they don't get messy all over the place.
4) Sun the desiccants to dehydrate them... try not to oven heat them... you waste energy doing that.

So yar, another simple way to reuse something that may help you save environment and save some cash along the way. It gets the job done as well.

Light Pollution?

I know that natural sunlight (not the one people try to imitate in tanning salons) provides us with vast sustainable energy. You know that too right. Yar you do. But the problem is do you know about light pollution?

You can learn about it from The Pinky Show
http://www.pinkyshow.org/archives/episodes/070118/

The idea that I get from the video is...
1) electric lights are good and helpful to humankind... but lets conserve it.
2) Humans (aka us) need to be reminded of our position and that we are part of the global ecosystem,
3) We do not have the right to disrupt other living forms natural way of life and
4) We at the top of this global food chain and biggest 'creative destroyers' have the greatest power to save planet earth.
5) Lastly, which all of us tend to forget... Nature is the most beautiful object... not our commodities that we madly chase after... such as cars, watches, fashion
and a whole lot more.

Well... ask yourself... is point 5 true? If it is... reconsider points 1 - 4... I believe we can all help to protect/ conserve mother nature and share the space with our distant friends... the specimens of the global ecosystem.