Adventures Down Under

Today Friday, January 6th we traveled by ferry to Manly and visited the Manly Environment Centre which is a community program with the purpose of advocating for many different unique urban environmental resources.

The community program is a resource center for the community offering periodicals, water research, green business information, media resources, educational information for children, heritage articles such as pictures. They also work to provide information about conservation, energy, recycling, sustainability, and land care in general. The center creates awareness for the issues and raises appreciation toward the fact that our world is vulnerable. The chain of threats in the ecosystem is a linked chain and our consumption as a civilization is both the cause and creation of the affects for climate change. The centre really emphasizes knowing what is going on in our planet because it is our home and the only one we have. The volunteers made me realize further that there really is no "waste" our consumption never leaves the planet and usually ends up in our oceans. Western culture strives towards a convenient lifestyle such as air conditioning and the use of cars. But the affects we impose upon nature and the world as a whole by the use of unnecessary conveniences is just a clear indicator that as a culture and a world we need to get back in tune with nature and to become one with the world again; every decision we make has an alternative. An alternative that is much more beneficial for our environment. I found it very interesting to listen to the speakers talk about the business side of climate change such as our waste... They mentioned the Extended Producer Responsibility which is when the manufacturer takes responsibility for the waste in which its products produce at the end of its cycle of use... This would create a need for business to take their work into a sustainable direction by cutting down waste and in turn prices; as well as a healthier environment. Visiting the Manly Environment Centre made me hopeful about a cause that seems depressing and solution-less. We can all help turn around climate change and become more sustainable, i know i intend to!