Blog Action Day 2009: Climate Change

There are lots of things that concern me and that I worry about on a daily basis. But some things that should worry me on an equal basis, just feels too distant for me to grasp.

I know I worry more about getting to school on time and getting my schoolwork done than I worry about climate change. Heck I even worry more about "what's for dinner?"

And I figured that would be a good place to start. Because personally there are few things about my life or my lifestyle that directly causes climate change. I travel by public transport to work and I walk to school, I recycle both at work, and at home, I don't leave the heating on when the windows are open, I turn off the lights when I'm not there, and I do most of my writing on digital paper. Also, I use very little hairspray! Or other aerosol products for that matter.

But dinner, I guess dinner is exactly where my neutral effect on the climate goes topsy turvy. I mean we all try, I think. Most people really make an effort at doing things that are good (or at least not so bad) for the environment. I would tell you all off again, but I decided that you should rather read my old post "Captain Planet - 30 Things You Can Do To Save The Planet" and get some inspiration. But I know that personally it is my love for a nice meaty dinner that destroys everything. When I thought of this, even Wikipedia turned against me. Look!

Livestock and land use
Worldwide, livestock production occupies 70% of all land used for agriculture, or 30% of the ice-free land surface of the Earth. Scientists attribute more than 18% of anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions to livestock and livestock-related activities such as deforestation and increasingly fuel-intensive farming practices. Specific attributions to the livestock sector include:

• 9% of global carbon dioxide emissions
• 35-40% of global methane emissions (chiefly due to enteric fermentation and manure)
• 64% of global nitrous oxide emissions, chiefly due to fertilizer use.

That is one major "OW!" to me. It means I have to eat more fish and replace the steak with more salad, I mean anything industrially farmed is basically a bad thing, but ecological farming is so unsustainable - it's a joke. Really, I almost find it offensive. It just wont be enough food for everyone if we'd all eat ecological produce.

So local produce is the best shade of grey. Try to focus on food that has travelled an absolute minimum and that also farts accordingly. Bacon does mean the world to me, but not so much I am willing to give the world away for it. If you are already doing all you can to prevent (slow down is good enough) climate change, I am sure you wont feel guilty when looking at this guy:

Ga-BLAH!

We made this huuge salad today with apples and tomatoes and cucumber and salad and lish - with crisp chicken and some rice with sour cream. Yum! I also bought some ridiculously cheap imported mango juice that's really rich and delightful.

It's so cold outside and everyone hates it. It's so unfair because the last few days it's been bright and sunny which makes you want to go out and then the wind bites you in the nose and it hurts. Ow!

The weirdest thing about moving out is not having dogs anymore. I was prepared for missing them a lot, but not THIS much. You know. I miss them loads! :( It just seems strange and empty, so maybe I'll get an electronic robot-pig, you know the cheap ones and just stuff a battery in it and throw some cheese at it to see if it helps fill the void. It is the weirdest thing how much a dog means to a family. I couldn't quite imagine mine without one! (Or two).

In other neeews, any good ideas for what to dress up for on Halloween? I was thinking Old Gregg at first, then maybe someone else out of the Mighty Boosh, Tink wanted to be Mr. Susan, which is a great idea, really. The mirror wooorld!

This is the view from our bedroom window, with creepy clouds.

Autumn in Oslo, the leaves are so beautiful.

Doesn't look natural at all, really

And this is another romantic autumn picture I took.

I seen you

Now, I don't mean to suck all the fun out of your prunes, honey. But we're losing it and you need to face the facts. The thing is here that you can't keep on ignoring whats going on around you. It's been going on for way too long, you've been starting to feel it, it's creeping in from the sides like a macaroon in a jelly. Just admit it. I know - it's difficult to explain, but obviously you do know what I'm talking about here, so let's just get to the point.

It's getting cold you berk! You need to put scarves on, and gloves! I seen you, don't you think I haven't - hoisting up your skimpy, transparent little outfits like a bagel in a glove. Scamping about like a cucumber on stalks with wings, actually not like that, different, but the same. Use your brains or you'll be sucking that thermometer like mama's nipple. Stay out of the cold unless you're gonna shape up, yeah?

This has gone too far!

Weirdos and Children

A strange man with a walrus mustache (it really made him look like a walrus!) was peeking into the shop today, while talking to himself. This side of town surely has its rich selection of originals, I must say. There's the one-legged guy playing fetch with his invisible dog, the hairy one who sits in the park and drinks beer, the one with the glasses taking the bus back and forth all day, drinking chocolate milk - and there's the creepy lady with the shopping bags that really does look like a living dead, but who surprisingly talks and behaves frighteningly sane and actually quite nice. That is, when she is not wandering around slooowly, staring right ahead. So far on the other side to where I have moved now, I have noticed nothing weirder than the old drunks sitting on the railroad-bridge far up the main street.

But I suppose I'll find them soon enough, and I mean, the stereotype football-supporters are definitely there, and I think they are quite weird. I do. Speaking of weird there is also a primary school near us and all these first graders are walking alone to school - which is fine, but it hit me how small they are. I mean, this might seem like an outrage to you, but - children are tiny! They really are! I don't know at what point I was supposed to realize - because as a child I always thought grown-ups were so enormous - and obviously I am one of them now. But it just hasn't quite set previously.

I remember as a child whenever I was with my dads side of the family who are all part American or American - or Norwegian and they would often speak English to each other. I guess sometimes you can just express yourself a lot better in English, but I was always frightened when they were talking over my head like that, I never told anyone but I was convinced they were plotting to eat me. I was actually really scared.

That's a way growing up, huh? Later I have discovered that they usually just say uninteresting things when talking above the childrens heads anyway, well - at least not half as interesting as it would be if they were planning to eat someone.

The clouds from the car.

Efterklang at Chateau Neuf, it was lovely.

Shared two buckets of beer with Ulrik.

Random grafitti about the bird flu.

Hai hai

I need to show you something, okay? It's a drawing that Tink's made a long time ago and it's genius. Really. You have to check it out in her blog http://fishinmyshoe.blogspot.com/2009/10/just-for-tora.html

It's extreme sweetness.

In other news, not much to show, not a lot of furniture either. Done schoolwork mostly, gone shopping in mysterious and dingy grocery-shops all around the neighbourhood of school and I've been walking to school every day. I'm still looking for the turkish delights of such scrumptious proportions as those in Narnia. Actually I did find the website of the (uncredited) producers of the Turkish Delight which Edmund eats in the film (The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe). However it appears that attempting to get those to Norway from either New Zealand or the states seem pretty hopeless. But I did find some massive Turkish Delights filled with walnuts and covered with coconut that you can barely eat one of - and they were awesome. Really different from everything else we stuff in our face.

Houses down the road, such beautiful and bright colours, there are purple and baby blue and orange ones too!

That is the stalks of a turnip, or a nepe actually sticking out of an empty tea-cup. I couldn't find a good word for it in English. But it is a root-vegetable related to the turnip, it might be called rutabaga, who knows?

That is a tree near our summerhouse.

These are the woods surrounding the summerhouse. Early in the morning.

Breakfast in bed!

Actually we're currently eating every single meal in bed. It sounds more fun than it is, but we try to make the best of it.

We're getting help all around and everyone's been so wonderful. The bathroom is coming together and we almost have everything we need in the kitchen, well - except for a dining table, and a casserole we could make Fårikål in. Yum. It's cheap you know, cabbages are like 2,- pr. kilo. Today is laundry day, we're gonna clean our new bedsheets and the dirty clothes we have. Really would like to get a few shelves in, everything we own is in boxes!

The sun shines through our window in the morning and also bathes the kitchen in warmth, which is nice. It is important to remember to appreciate those rays as when winter comes we wont see it that much. We're trying to get more familiar with the neighbourhood, we have several shops and a post office just around the corner. The busstop is really near too, and if we're late we can take it to school instead of walking. It only takes like five minutes on the bus, and we'll be downtown in about seven! I'm so pleased, I really like this place, it still feels like I'm on holiday though, but I'll probably get used to it eventually!