Blog prompt 5

What do you think? Is Christmas sustainable? How would it all work in a changed world? Or should all the 'do-gooders' leave our festivals alone!!!!

Historically Christmas is an event that is observed by millions of people across the world as a time of sharing a common lifestyle. The origin of Christmas has its roots in Roman culture and religion. The question of whether it is a sustainable common lifestyle or not is nothing more important than the satisfaction people normally get over the festive period. The hive of activities includes, religious festivals, gifts-giving, and feasting only to mention a few. Christmas cards, parcel packaging, fireworks, excessive usage of energy resources, and cutting down trees all add up to the cause of Christmas. It is the craziest of all moments that worries little about the problems of sustainable consumption and ecological degradation. Its joyous significance is seen by many as a tradition not to be interrupted or interfered with. Because the origin of Christmas is now distorted or rather it has been modified, people now seem to ignore its links with Christianity and paganism. Link: http://www.thercg.org/books/ttooc.html

In the modern era, Christmas seems not to ever have been observed in a way that is sustainable by the vast majority of people. Prior to 25 December hundreds of millions of people go into a Christmas -mode and money-saving syndrome. As Christmas draws nigh the shopping-spree begins. Even banks close down and everyone would wish if they had a break from work. On the other hand this is a time for businesses to merchandize Christmas-related products which may account for up to 60% of annual sales. In the nurseries and forests Christmas trees are cut down randomly without being conscious of how it impacts on environmental sustainability standards of which, for instance, UK’s BCTGA (British Christmas Tree Growers Association) enforces. Link: http://www.christmastree.org.uk/documents/careoftrees.htm.

BCTGA ensures that the ecosystem is not compromised in the process of growing and cutting down Christmas trees. Christmas may be looked from a different perspective by those who care about the environment. There are people who try to make Christmas sustainable by buying real as opposed to artificial Christmas trees which then can be recycle into compost Again such people are cautious of low energy usage and at all times try not to eat junky food, of course, not just at Christmas. As a way of maintaining a sustainable lifestyle, packaging material and Christmas cards are disposed of in recycle centers. Some individuals, groups and organizations consider Christmas as time of transforming other people’s lives by giving them money and in kind donations.

While the blessed few enjoy their day to day life and celebrate the climax of joy at Christmas, there are millions others who are under the chains of HIV/AIDS pandemic, and in dire need of food especially in the third world Christmas and other cultural festivals like the Halloween have been in existence for many centuries. People seem to have an unbreakable traditional attachment to these events which tend to give maximum satisfaction and a unit of purpose.

For those who may want to transform people’s attitudes towards festivals, it should be known from the onset that the exercise may be a very big and expensive task spread over a long period. Would people ever understand why maintaining a sustainable way of living is important? It is a complex phenomenon when considering that for some Christmas is the only time of happiness that tends to overshadow selfishness, hatred and problems.

Blog prompt 4

To what extent do the best selling UK newspapers cover stories related to serious issues? To what extent would you think that it is their role to do so? In your opinion do the tabloid media and the ‘low budget entertainment’(reality shows, soaps have too much power and influence in this country?

Before attempting to give an informed opinion about the lack of wide coverage of serious issues by the media, it is necessary to outline some of the objectives of newspapers, tv’s and radios. Does any of their objectives have anything to do with the promotion of environmental activities and if so to what extent? Besides the desire for money, the media have a moral responsibility to inform the people about factual things happening in their world and in the world around them. For information people depend mainly on newspapers, tvs, radio, and internet.

There are institutions like The Audit Bureau of Circulation (ABC) responsible for the verification of circulation figures for newspapers, magazines and directories, and The Advertising Association (AA) which represents advertising and promotional marketing industries one of which is the media industry? Available from this link: http://www.theidm.com/about/professional-links/.

Surely there must also be authorities like the Standard Association responsible for ensuring that the media practices impartiality and objectivity in carrying out their businesses. These associations could be Radio and TV even the BBC who are the market share holders. Can the media be persuaded (though they have the freedom of choice and expression) to value people’s sustainable future while enjoying their materialistic benefits? The same way TV licenses are imposed on viewers is the same way the issue of informing the public about serious-information-awareness should be viewed.
If such authorities existed then they were probably dormant or not having the mandate to influence the media- stake -holders not to just talk about DIYs, Sitcom soaps, Drama and Reality programs. Even in a democratic state, it should be the government’s aim to influence the media to promote issues about sustainable development rather than leave them to individuals and Activists. The issue here is whatever happens in and around the world can be best understood or taken seriously, if it comes through the media. Yet the media, in an effort to attract subscribers, looks for news that may easily manipulate people’s minds into believing in trivial matters. In the UK there are dozens and dozens of daily, weekly and Sunday newspapers including thousands of periodical publications.

The types of newspapers available to the public are the tabloid (smaller easy and quick to read), and the broadsheet (much bigger in size and time-consuming). Historically the tabloid is known for primarily focusing on less serious but pleasurable content for example; celebrities, sports, crime and many more. On the other hand the broadsheets, like The Telegraph, The Guardian and The Independent, are known for providing in-depth news coverage. Generally the broadsheet newspapers provide factual and often meaningful news. Link: http://www.travelsignposts.com/England/england-daily-newspapers.php. Nevertheless what matters is not the size of the newspaper but the contents

From the ABC (2009) data, Link: http://www.abc.org.uk/ it is noted that the six top selling newspapers attract about 9 million readers a day of which a third subscribe to the Sun. Is it because the Sun tabloid always produces sensational headlines and eye-catching pictures of girls? What would be the impact if, on a daily basis, the front page of the six top newspapers showed a sensational blog about sustainable development issues. On the other hand the TVs and the radios would also show and talk about sustainable life-styles respectively. Alternatively the tvs could show pictures of the degrading world. Of course, it is not to say that the media is doing nothing because now and again, issues of environmental nature are raised. Furthermore, the newspapers could also use the ‘Mail Online’ to influence the millions of internet users or by showing pop ups of melting glaciers or stranded bears on the internet in form of appeals.

In conclusion the UK already has in place a strong media base to deliver important information by means of daily and weekly newspapers, and periodical publications. On the other hand the numerous TV and Radio channels could intensify their involvement in sustainable development matters. The more people hear and read or watch and understand environmental programs, the more they would switch from hedonistic life-styles to more positive and sustainable life-styles.

Blogprompt 3

To what extent do you think it is your duty as a citizen to be ‘informed’? Are you informed? How do you get to be informed about serious issues? To what extent do you think that you should leave the complicated decisions up to others?







To be fore-warned is to be fore-armed





The United Nations seriously upholds the issue of policy on equality and fairness. I suppose their aim is to promote an “ethos of equality and fairness” within and among societies by continuously identifying and eradicating barriers which may prevent people from achieving their potential. For people to actively participate they need to be informed through reputable sources. Undoubtedly people are the most important of all resources. So an empowered-people contribute more and willingly to sustainable development programs. The onus is upon governments and policy makers to ensure that people, irrespective of their backgrounds, are made aware of events that would impact on their socio-economic and political environments.

In order to make the planet earth a better place now and in the future, there is need to involve people from top to grass root level. To achieve these ambitions, governments must put in place effective communication systems which would supply people with information. By reflecting upon the Brundtland Commission Report of 1987 on ‘Our Common Future; Link: http://www.ace.mmu.ac.uk/eae/Sustainability/Older/Brundtland_Report.html it may be noted that there were some resistance. Some critics did not agree with the recommendations. May be there was an element of ‘We do not care attitude’ by some leaders who, of course, will be dead before the planet will suffer full consequences of environmental degradation. Does anyone agree with Winston Churchill’s conception that “The further backward you look the further forward you can see?” How many of the world leaders seriously think people need information systems for sustainable development?

The majority of people, because they are ill-informed, are not aware of what the planet was before and what it is likely to be in future. In essence the enhanced transparency of information is either inefficient or lacking in societies. The International Journal of Public Opinion Research is an organization that explores the means by which news media may help promote public awareness.
Link: http://ijpor.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/21/2/187. Radio and TV networks, books, newspapers and magazines are all mass media communication tools. Network-empowered citizens can use personal electronic communication like e-mails, blogs, face books and mobile phones to receive or share information. It is a pathetic situation that in Africa, Oceania/Australia, and Middle East, statistics reveal that less than 4% of their respective population has access to the Internet. Link: http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats.htm.

To what extent do activists’ demonstrations contribute to informing the public? Mass media or public speeches can be useful means of disseminating vital information. Consider Pope Benedict’s recent surprise attack on climate-change prophets of doom http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-501316/The-Pope-condemns-climate-change.... With a billion Roman Catholic followers, the impact of his message may have influenced peoples’ perceptions about climate change. Al Gore, by means of his films, lectures and books, has informed the world about pending dangers on climate change.

For that reason the world should not just wait upon scientists, economists and politicians to contribute information deemed essential. Nonetheless, scientific predictions about today and tomorrow would rather be proven by scientific methods. In this way information collected from various sources may be analyzed, evaluated and authenticated prior to distribution by those trained or qualified to do so.

An Inconvenient Truth

Al Gore won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007 (BBC 2007) largely as a result of his film, ‘An Inconvenient Truth’
To what extent do you think this was deserved? Having watched the film in class did you feel that your opinion (or perhaps the opinion of others) to the issue of climate change could be positively influenced? What did you think of this film? Was it effective?

Every year since 1901 the Nobel Prize has been awarded for achievement in physics, chemistry, physiology and medicine, literature and peace. Al Gore won half of this prize on merit for his contributions to climate change and global warming. The other half of the prize went to IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change). His contributions fall under the category of peace because the theme of his film was focusing on sustainable planetary peace. In his presentations, Al Gore’s aim has been to disseminate information to the international community about climate change through lectures, books and films.

When I watched the film at first I was a bit sceptical about the title, and doubted what this politician could convincingly say other than pursuing personal political ideologies. As I began to follow the film pensively, I gained understanding. Of interest, was his statement about what puts us into trouble is what we do know about. Furthermore, he mentioned that scientific consensus believes human activities are responsible for global warming. Related links to support this are; (http://www.350.org/) which marked the 24 Oct, 2009 protests on climate change. The forth coming conference in Barcelona is a build up to the Copenhagen summit in December, this year (http://unfccc.int/). Even more challenging was the Blog Action Day2009/climate change held on 15 October where bloggers from 156 countries wrote on this single topic in a single day to raise awareness and trigger global discussion (http://www.blogactionday.org/).

The Nobel Prize Committee commended Al Gore’s fundamental effort in building up and disseminating greater knowledge about man-made climate change (BBC Oct, 2007). Al Gore and his counterpart, the IPCC, have laid foundation for the measures that are needed to counteract such change. The film revealed some evidence on global warming very likely as a result of human activities. Some of these are; temperatures rising, glaciers melting in the Antarctic and Greenland causing 20 ft rise of sea level. Also the issue of carbon emissions.
(See picture top left corner showing emissions) are characterizing the world today. In another perspective, India’s argument with USA is that developed countries should be blamed more for the carbon emissions and global warming. (http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/environment/2009-07-19-climate-india.N.htm) India and China are said to be among major polluters and yet crucial players in fighting global warming.

The Copenhagen conference to be held in December, 2009 is aimed at replacing the Kyoto Protocol (1997). Subsequent to foundations lain down by Al gore, there is now evidence of world participation in climate change programs. Look at the animation top left which illustrates different extreme weather patterns the world today is experiencing due to climate change.

Any reasonable person would not want to sit and watch our planet being consumed. I definitely support the move by all governments to working together to alleviate the dangers of climate change. Working tirelessly are some prominent individuals like Bjorn Lomborg, the Danish environmental writer, who agrees with Al gore. Lomborg ,who also has outlined the ten global challenges including climate change. More information is on this link (http://www.copenhagenconsensus.com/CCC%20Home%20Page.asp) The Millennium Development Goals is focusing on environmental sustainability as an ongoing activity. (http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/environ.shtml) Some Climatologists working in various organizations like IPCC and the world, UNEP agree with Al gore who is also chairperson for Alliance for Climate Change (http://www.climateprotect.org/).

However, there are skeptical scientists who criticize Al gore for making scare tactics to frighten people. Top global proponents predict only 1 to 2.3 degrees rise over the next 50 years. Again they argue that frightening projections of Florida and San Francisco, due to sea levels rise of 20 feet, are exaggerated. Other predictions are that even under aggressive projections; Greenland and Iceland ice sheets would not melt for over 500 to 1000 years (V.R. Rinterknecht, et.al. Science- March, 2006).

But the message is clear to me and to others who care about our planet. I do not think Al Gore’s campaign was a mere political gimmick but a moral issue. Our common future is at risk. Let us all have a say, and support those individuals, organizations and governments working on climate change and global warming.

Blogprompt1

What action could you (in theory) undertake that would improve the sustainability of your lifestyle? What might be preventing you from doing these?


Life is a journey full of surprises, happiness, and sadness. The subject of sustainable living has always been a difficult one for me to deal with. To maintain a desired lifestyle, I need to be cautious of how .such a way of life would impact on others who are sharing the same natural resources on this planet earth now and in future.

In order to maintain a sustainable consumption, I need to eat well and have a balanced diet that includes the recommended 5 a day. The food and drinks I take should be rich in nutrients. The world today is offering genetically modified junk food and fizzy drinks for the fast lives. Healthy food and drinks are available on the supermarket shelves; however, the prices are often out of reach. This may result in me having ill health due to malnutrition or obesity. Ill health hampers sustainable economic and social development due to work absences, hospital bills and poor family relationships.

I need to go to the gym and do other fitness exercises on my own e.g. walking to college because my body needs regular physical exercise. Unfortunately I do not have enough time due to work, college and family commitments. Given the tight day to day running costs and schedules, some of the activities become more of a pleasure than a necessity. Sometimes I just do not have the interest and initiative.

The free health for all in the UK is appreciated so I regularly consult the doctor to monitor my health. Medication is at my disposal in chemists. The treatment process is often too long so I usually end up cancelling appointments. Nevertheless, recommended medication is not always affordable. I tend to buy over the counter cheaper medicines which may have a high risk of side effects. As a result I fail to maintain a sustainable health status.

I use energy to keep my house warm using the central heating system and to run all the electrical gadgets. In one of their adverts, Sky’s claim is that if all active skyboxes were switched to ‘standby’, enough energy could be saved to light all the homes in Birmingham for a whole year. Sustainable consumption of energy requires us to use energy economically. My disposable income is not enough to meet high energy bills. The more energy I use the more harm I cause to the planet.

My desire is to own a good home and a big vehicle that give me prestige and fame. I can travel to places of interest as and when I want. Morden modes of transport and green resorts contribute positively to the environment, social and economic growth of the
society. Generally expensive cars produce more grams/kilometre of carbon emissions. Financial constraints and recession also make it impossible for me to buy a good vehicle and a dream home.

I would like to live happily with my spouse, friends and the society as a whole. Together we can enjoy the available resources on our planet. My wish is to contribute to the promotion of peace and human dignity in my community. Unfortunately it is difficult to achieve these goals because the society is identified in the context of ethnicity, cultural and socio-economic backgrounds. Relations within a community are thereby constrained by differences in opinion, perception, imbalance in standard of living and violation of human rights.Given what I have experienced in life, it appears to maintain a sustainable lifestyle is difficult. The onus is on governments and organisations to work on improving their ability to meet present and future needs of the people. I believe that goals of economic and social development must continue to be defined in terms of sustainability.