The Walk

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

Fiona 12 November 2007

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.

CW 13 November 2007

Good point about renters, Fi!

Penny 13 November 2007

It does look warm!

Sheena 13 November 2007

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?

CW 14 November 2007

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 🙂