On the week starting Monday 16th May - Friday 20th May, AUSA at the University of Auckland celebrated EcoFest Week with various stalls, events and lectures held around campus. I went to have a look at the Ecofest week to see what they have to offer and I ended up learning quite a few things! So here is what I learnt from Ecofest:
- Vegan food isn't all that bad! Free vegan lunches were available throughout the week and it was delicious
- It is possible to make your smoothie in a more sustainable way through a bicycle-powered smoothie maker. So yes. you can burn calories before you even drink your smoothie!
- Ways to save money at the flat! I learnt there are so many simple ways to maximise energy efficiency and water minimisation such as through wrapping your hot water tank in blanket or installing rain water tanks at your house
- It is possible to go rubbish free for one whole year at your house! A couple in Christchurch has successfully done this - I will further discussed this in my next blog.
- I even signed up for a petition and emailing list on an issue that I never knew about - Shark finning in New Zealand. This will be the main issue in this post:
Did you know..that humans kill 100 MILLION sharks per year? and for what?
- shark fins for a tasteless bowl of soup
- shark teeth for jewelry
- shark jaws for tourist souvenirs
- shark skin for leather wallets/belts
- shark cartilage capsules and powders for phony medicinal cures
- shark liver oil for cosmetics/skin care products
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| With the movie Jaws and other Hollywood blockbusters,sharks are one of the world's most misrepresented creatures. With 90% of the world's large shark populations already wiped out - they're in trouble of being lost from our oceans forever. |
So why is finning still allowed in NZ?
NZ has 112 species of shark recorded in our waters but according to World Conservation Union (IUCN) - only one threatened shark species - The Great White Shark is protected. On average 24,000 tonnes of shark are caught each year in NZ according to Ministry of Fisheries - the equivalent of 300,000 people.
What can you do?
- Join 7000 other New Zealanders and make the shark fin pledge here: https://secure.forestandbird.org.nz/pledge/sharkspledge.asp
- Never eat and vocally oppose to shark fin soups selling in restaurants - a local example is the Grand Harbour Chinese Restaurant in Auckland's Viaduct! Demand that they stop.
- Educate others the importance of sharks to the ecosystem
- Watch the award-winning documentary Sharkwater and encourage others
- Develop new perspective of sharks!
Reality: More people are killed each year by falling vending machines than by sharks
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More info : http://www.seashepherd.org/sharks/
hey Yas, you didnt discuss how a flat can go rubbish free for a whole year in the next (most recent) blog. How can flats do this???
ReplyDeleteOh yes I forgot! There is this Christchurch couple "Waveney Warth & Matthew Luxon" who went rubbish free for one year in 2008.
ReplyDeleteHere is the link to their own website!
http://www.rubbishfree.co.nz/
Cheers! I'll check it out :) v.interesting. Cool that you have to make a blog for an assessment. I had to make wiki pages for a paper I did last semester.
ReplyDelete