what’s on my desk today?

One of the things most notably absent from this journey, has been the amount of well wishes. It seems that some people are having a hard time grasping the fact that it is MY adventure, not theirs… so get over it. I’m a grown woman & I know what I am doing, and I am also amazed at some of the reactions to my trip.
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It’s equipment time! Time to organize everything we need to take with us for this long journey.

Sleeping under canvas for 3 months can require planning at the best of times, but couple that with running our mobile office presented us with a whole batch of new issues to address.

Paul & I headed off & bought our respective camping gear, tent, sleeping bag, mattress, etc.

Paul did most of his shopping online, whereas I was lucky enough to have a great camping store just around the corner so off I went on a shopping spree. I knew that luggage weight was going to be an problem so everything bought was micro this & that. Not a problem, or so I thought.

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Don’t you just love the amount of interactivity on the web lately! We’re sharing all over the place. Sharing music, photos, lives, videos, everything we can find to share. To accommodate all this sharing are an increasing amount of social networks to do the job.

Sharing our trip is important to us. Not only because we like to claim bragging rights about something fabulous we are doing, but also because we want to use it as a learning tool for future ventures and hopefully contribute it to a book eventually.

So, obviously first off the rank was a mapping tool so we could plan our travel route. We first started using Yahoo Travel, and it has some fabulous features. You can search other users accommodation recommendations, places of interest they have found and you can share your trip experiences. While it’s itinerary system was good, it did lack a little continuity and user friendliness, but otherwise it was very helpful. You can either keep your planning private, or share it with the social network. Paul & I are planning our trip, with him in the UK & myself in Western Australia, so having a site where we could both contribute at the same time was awesome.

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Nine years ago I traveled the world a couple of times and loved sharing my adventures via email and chat rooms when within the vicinity of a Internet cafe. It cost an arm & a leg, but you got to become mates with other travelers doing the same thing over [usually] a nice cuppa.

Well, it’s come that time again when my feet are very very itchy and that travel bug is just waiting to get out and about again! However, I’m running a business now. Can I afford to shut shop & go gallivanting around the globe again? Or can I take it with me?

Which begs the question…. Exactly how mobile is my web design business??

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I don’t know about other greenies and conservationists, but the whole concept of Earth Hour this year pissed me off like no other year has.  It was everywhere I looked!  The hypocrisy of it was nauseating to say the least!

So, now that you have all done your “good deed for the day”, what now?  How many of you have actually been influenced to cut down on your energy requirements?  Did this sanctimonious hour revolutionize the way you think?

For many it seemed it was a good excuse for a social gathering.  How many of you caught a bus or train?  How many of you didn’t hold candles?  How many of you didn’t litter parks & waterways while you enjoy the splendor of watching landmarks turn of their lights for 1 whole hour?

So lets see what was accomplished by this over commercialized event:

1.  More trees were used to print stationery promoting it

2.  More power was used promoting it

3.  More waste was produced in the promoting of it

4.  More parks & waterways were littered by the masses that turned up for events.  It seems that no one cared too much where they tossed their precious candles.

5.  More fossil fuel was used by garbage collectors cleaning up after the events.

6.  More non-renewable energy was used to power everything back up again

7.  More fossil fuel & carbon emissions dispensed into the atmosphere by all the cars that turned up for events.

8.  More carbon emissions from millions of people holding candles

and the list goes on & on….

So I now ask the important questions….

1.  Are you going to turn all your appliances off at the wall?

2.  Are you going to only buy products that have a good energy rating?

3.  Are you going to avoid using technology?

4.  Are you going to restrict any of your social habits that require energy?

5.  Are you going to switch to using green power which is readily available in most western countries?

6.  Are you going to look at alternate means of powering equipment?

7.  Are you going to reduce your need for utilities & services that also use energy? (i.e. phone, gas, cable tv, emergency services, trades & services)

Well are you?

If even a small population of this earths occupants can answer yes to any of the above… then we wouldn’t need Earth Hour would we????

Arguments I hear stating “at least it creates awareness” aggravate me.  We’re not stupid people.  We know we have a problem. Most may have been slow on the uptake, but I think we are all in pretty much agreeable that there is a global environmental problem concerning our lifestyle habits.  Twenty years ago I would have accepted this as a rational for events such as Earth Hour, however after spending so many years pushing this incentive I have come to the realization that it is all lip service.  A token event to celebrate what has now become a trend more than a way of life.

Take a moment, look around.  Tell me if I am wrong.

I make the effort, I use 100% green power for home & business. I took the effort to shop around for more energy efficient technology.  I use that technology to conserve use of transport & reducing emissions & the demand on fossil fuels.  I do the 3 R’s.

Do you?

Maybe it’s time for everyone to practice what they preach.

Death to Earth Hour!
Birth to Earth 365 days of the year!