Hello do-gooders! 🌎
Here’s your weekly dose of thoughts, rabbit holes and gems I’ve discovered or re-visited over the last week. Enjoy this mix of treats, tools, approaches and ideas – all for a better world.
1. What I’m exploring: Public database of grants for a plant-based/vegan future – I love this resource. Not only is it a great run-down of (mainly UK and US) grant opportunities for vegan and plant-based activism, but it’s also just a wonderful example of open sourcing organisational knowledge. Kudos to Open Wing Alliance for preparing and managing this.
2. What I’m watching: Limbo (2020) by Ben Sharrock – I’ve been recommending this film for a while. It paints both a hilarious and deeply saddening picture of the UK asylum system. Peter Bradshaw says: “Limbo” is about refugees and asylum seekers in Britain, and it’s a bracingly internationalist and non-parochial piece of work: film-making with a bold view on the world but also as gentle and intimate as a much-loved sitcom… This is superlative film-making from Sharrock.” You might struggle to find where to stream this film – check here for the easiest way to watch it.
3. What’s making me smile: What’s worse: Private Jets or your Pet? – As a passionate advocate for reducing the climate impact of pets, I’m bemused and intrigued that this debate has arisen. It’s easy to understand why the general public are upset with the comparison – at least on an individual level, it seems supremely unjust to compare the personal carbon emissions of a pet owner with the high-carbon lifestyle of the world’s super rich. But, this CEO does have a point: whilst private jets account for 0.04% of global carbon emissions, what are we going to do about the world’s 1.5 billion dogs and cats, whose food takes up 20%+ of our arable land and who release 2.5x the carbon emissions of the United Kingdom? Thoughts welcome!
4. What I’ve bought: the Eco Egg – I’ve just purchased my next batch of pellets for my Eco Egg. I love this little gadget that totally replaces liquid laundry detergent. Just pop in the pellets (they last 50+ washes) and nestle your egg in with your clothes or sheets. Plastic-free, easy to travel with (hand luggage eligible!), it’s a great little swap that keeps your clothes fresh at little cost! (🇨🇠Based in Switzerland? Check out these great dissolvable laundry sheets as an alternative!)
5. What I’m listening to: The Young’uns – I am in love with this 3-voiced group of folk singers who tackle a range of contemporary social issues through their song-writing. Spotify says: “Three time winners of the prestigious BBC Folk Awards, the Young’uns are one of the hottest properties on the UK Folk and Acoustic scene… these 3 huge hearted, brass lunged lads from the North of England sing folk songs for our times with hear and humour.” My outright favourites are ‘Cable Street‘ – a rousing story of the social struggle against fascism played out in Cable Street in 1936 – and ‘Be the Man‘ – a tear-jerking (for me) song of individual courage, perfect to get in the mood for Pride Month!
That’s it for this week. Please let me know your thoughts and feedback – and send anything you think should be included in upcoming weeks my way.
