I was very glad to have my hat during the walk yesterday – I’d had a few qualms about wearing it, as it is felt (rescued from the op shop for $5), and I thought it would be too hot. It was hot, but with my sunnies, lots of sunscreen, and lots of bottled water, I made it.
I have no idea how many people turned up, but in any case it was good to see so many people there, from all walks of life. True to form, I forgot to bring the camera, but Tom M Wilson has some nice shots. This great picture (from Tom) shows the colour and the crowd. I walked next to a Tibetan Buddhist nun, and the two giant puppets in the picture, for most of the march.
It was calm and pleasant (even if we were all hot) and there was a pleasant energy to the whole event.
I found it amusing and a little sad that the Liberals (conservatives) decided not to send any representation to the walk.
Personally, I still have a lot to do to reduce my impact on the environment. I tried the Australian Conservation Foundation’s Eco-Calculator – I’m amazed at how much you can do to reduce your impact on the environment, just by changing your diet!
Amusing aside: after the walk I went to stock up on some of my favourite handcream and deodorant. The lady in the shop took one look at me and said: “You need a nice cool glass of water, dear. Your aura is all.. whoosh!” She gestured with her hand sweeping over the top of her head. I didn’t suggest that she could probably feel the heat radiating off me, and agreed that yes, I was very hot from having just come from The Walk.
5 Comments
Good on you for walking. I went last year, but this year decided to go for our usual weekend bike ride instead. Pedal power!
The ACF calculator is great, but I would love to see more tips on how renters can make changes as well – eg I cannot install a rain tank or change the water system, but I can switch to green power.
Good point about renters, Fi!
It does look warm!
Good work! If we have one in Brisbane I will definitely join it. Thanks for the link to your body products shop, too, I didn’t know of it and it looks very good. I have been on the lookout for an effective natural deodorant – I have tried several but they all left me smelling too offensive for work, in the Brisbane summer humidity.
I second the point about renters, and thought that they maybe should take into account efforts that some people make (like me) to buy second-hand furniture/goods and organic cotton clothing where available. Surely the eco-footprint for these things will be less?
And finally (sorry, Con, long post, but this is a subject very dear to my heart) I was sorry to see that despite going vegetarian, having a worm-farm, composting, not watering garden much, growing own herbs, etc, my water consumption is still up, due to still consuming quite a bit of dairy. I may have to rethink that, I was trying to keep up calcium/protein in my diet but I may have to embrace beans. How has cutting out dairy been for you and how have you balanced all your nutrients, if you don’t mind my asking?
Sheena I have been using products from Tinderbox for years. I like them very much. As for cutting out dairy, this hasn’t been at all hard for me as I come from a culture that doesn’t have a strong dairy reliance – I don’t miss it at all! Pre-change my major intake of milk was in my tea. I have cut down on tea significantly – mostly drink herbal and only have the odd cup of black tea when there is no herbal stuff on offer. I am also glad I have never been a chocolate addict. Mind you I have had vego pizza (with cheese) on a couple of occasions. As for balancing nutrients, I think this is the subject for another post 🙂