gggggglllluuuu....what??

coming from a nation that feels wheat in its blood, I have rarely encountered anyone who is allergic to gluten. In my head, it even felt funny or perhaps,fussy thanks to my ignorance. well, yesterday, was the day- a friend is gluten intolerant. To add to that, she is vegan. Now, I love my meat and there have been attempts to dissuade this love affair and I have religiously stuck by it. But I have always tried to be respectful of other people's eating habits, along with religion and political views. Though what annoyed me the most was people didn't respect my decision to be a meat-eater and instances wouldn't sit on the same table as me and the like. Anyways, a major reason that perhaps allows be to remain acceptable of one's dietary habits is my own trysts with food---

when I was in sixth grade, I read a lesson on the joys and tribulations of tapeworms being present in pigs and cows and so on. Now at the age, if your told about 'worms in ur bum', you would bloody freak out and never touch the damn things again...or atleast thats what I did. I stopped eating pork, meat, any form of red meat till a couple of years ago when I ventured onto the shores of Scotland. Once I got to Scotland, I realised I would have a hard time sticking to such a diet, so I caved or rather I adapted to eating it when the situation called for it. To some a rubbish excuse to eat some energy intensive 'product' but honestly, if anyone should be accused of being energy intensive, its man- hasn't the earth been given to him for him to use and abuse?? So, if you really want to push it, stop eating, stop buying your clothes that come from China, your lovely iphone from god-knows-where-it-was-assembled and bla bla...starve urself to death and you have proved ur point. think you can handle that??...i figure not, so bugger off!!!

I'm not sure y I gave the little sermon but anyways, I began this little journey by looking up what 'gluten' is, 'celiac' and vegan. All that jazz!!! So that meant avoiding wheat which is gluten intensive, and avoiding milk products. And then a lil dig at google to give me a recipe would suit the requirements-it took some time to get my head around it but thank god for the internet huh!!! So I found this lovely recipe on this blog called Karina's Kitchen-

Delicious gluten free bread recipe-

http://glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com/2009/02/delicious-gluten-free-bread.html

So, now the recipe asks for all these different flours and stuff I have never heard of like Xantham gum- a small voice reminds how amateur a baker I am. O dear God- it can't be that difficult, right?!! well, it did feel like too much but then it turns out Helsinki is gluten-free paradise!! Now Helsinki is also 'flour-heaven', so i headed to the supermarket praying that it would have some gluten-free flour mixes to make my life easier- and low and behold, I managed to come across way too much choice but I went in for Sunnuntai. Mind you, I had gone prepared with Finnish translations and the sort.Now, the main ingredient of the flour is wheat starch and I had sirens in my head- but the package insisted that it was gluten-free. So I thought there must be a simple explanation for this staring-at-you-in-the-face paradox but upon looking it up, the starch thingie is stripped of its gluten and I am hoping intolerant is not the same for allergic. ;)

Anyways, my brain woke up at 7.40am and dragged my body to the kitchen to get going on this little experiment. I substituted the dry mix in the recipe with the flour and added salt and followed the recipe as is. I quiet enjoy working with fresh yeast apart from it working with my budgetary requirements- I let the bread rise for about 40 min. I also sprinkled the top with crushed almonds and it looks allll pretty. This is how it looks before I put it in the oven-

This is a close up!

Took it out of the oven and covered it aluminium foil and its back in for another 30 min.

Its cooling now. But this is how it looks...

Now to gift wrap it...

another view of my handiwork... ;)

Apparently, the bread met with favourable reviews. I am mighty pleased.
Life is good!!
;)

the conditioner hunt

Since December 2008, I have been following the curly-hair method of maintaining my hair where the emphasis is on conditioning rather than using chemicals to cleanse. The cleansing process relies on the friction that occurs in the circular massaging of the scalp with fingers and conditioner and depending on your hair type, shampoo is used. The reason shampoo is eliminated is simply because it contains chemicals that are way too harsh and drying for hair strands, particularly SLS which is found in detergents. It is also critical to not use silicon-based conditoners as then to remove silion from you hair, you would generally require SLS-based shampoos to remove them.Anyways, there has been massive improvement in the appearance of my hair and unlike before, I am no longer ashamed of it.

Now, in my routine, I try not to go overboard with owning and buying these toiletries and as a rule, I only buy when required. My 'natural' or 'bio' conditioner requires replacement. I totally foresaw this and thought being in a Scandinavian country wouldn't pose any problems. But since my move to Helsinki, I have been seeking and searching organic hair products. You can find organic food with ease as the Finns are very proud of their local produce and stress on 'fresh' ingredients. But I could not find FINNISH organic toiletries and this did not go down well with me. What this would mean then is reverting back to commercial conditioners and bearing with their false promises of make my hair look shiny and glossy. BOOHOO!!!!

But today, I feel I stumbled onto a pot of gold- I just discovered a shop called Naturellement online. I am mighty pleased with myself. Of course, I would have probably saved myself the trouble if I had asked a couple of local Finns. But the joy...no wait...I mean the JOY that exists in discovering that wee store presents possibilities to me. All it means now is to first visit the store and then confirm it was everything I was looking for. Now my sniffing around also yielded me a result on two wee gurls who are opening up an 'edible cosmetic' company called Fresh Cream company but they don't have a website as well. But that means, there is hope!!! ;)

And before you ask me, yes, we do have Body Shop around, and no, they are not as organic or natural as you may think. They contain commercial cleansing and shine agents but I would bet they use fairtrade ingredients. Some trade-off.

when all it takes is adjusting

Possible impacts of rising temperature due to climate change (Projected impact of climate change. (2008). In UNEP/GRID-Arendal Maps and Graphics Library. Retrieved 10:06, November 5, 2009 fromhttp://maps.grida.no/go/graphic/projected-impact-of-climate-change.)

Climate change is definitely on everyone’s minds-the key phrase being ‘down with CO₂‘, in a bid to prevent the perceived possible extinction of mankind. It began with the industrial revolution, which eventually created the present economy which is dependant on the wonders of fuel. There is no denying that the by-products of the combustion of fuel release CO_{2 ­}­­and other greenhouse gases into our ecosystem, which is warming the earth, also known as the greenhouse effect. This is resulting in climatic changes: some changes more detrimental than others. For example, the cold north (Europe) is now experiencing warm climate which may make it possible to harvest crops which otherwise is grown in regions near the tropics and equator. However, it also means it could possibly attract crop-destroying and disease-spreading insects. Tropics could possibly turn into completely dry and arid areas. Though these are speculative, it may be nearer to the truth as current global levels of CO₂ have maxed out the ‘speculative’ worse-case scenario of carbon emissions, as it should be 280 ppm of CO₂ equivalent, but it is at 380ppm. If it reaches 560 ppm, it could cause atmospheric temperature changes of upto 4.5°C, at which the earth is metaphorically burning.

To avert foreseen disaster, the world recognizes the importance of having to bring down the levels of CO₂. It is evident in the creation of the Kyoto protocol and very soon, the Copenhagen Summit. So the current frenzy is Climate change mitigation, which is basically controlling or limiting carbon emission. The world is responding by stressing on renewable technologies and practices in industries, business and in households. There are limits to how much carbon a nation can emit safely and thereby reach a target of a reduced and acceptable presence of CO₂ in the atmosphere. But the effects of climate change isn’t going to take place tomorrow, rather the carbon in the atmosphere provides feedback slowly, sometimes taking from 1 year upto 1000. So, we have time i.e. time to prepare ourselves, to create change and mostly, time to adapt.

Though it is only gaining prominence, Climate Change Adaptation is as critical as mitigation as it is a response to the possible impact of the existing and present carbon levels in the atmosphere which would date back to the industrial revolution. It is an acceptance of what is to come and ready ourselves to the change is not a new concept but is critical enough as species on this planet have either evolved to adapt or perished over their inability to do so.

Adaptation as a process can take place at three levels: personal, connections and space. To begin with personal adaptation is a phenomenon that occurs every day and every year. The reference is in context with climate change: we modify bodily cover as per weather conditions and phenomena, specific to location. For example, during Helsinki’s winter, one would don coats and snow boots, with special emphasis of layering of clothes to provide the body with adequate insulation on exposure to cold winds and fuzzy snow precipitation. In places like Cambodia, areas prone to flooding, the houses are simply built on stilts. Though a house is a personal effect, construction is achieved through communal efforts in these social groups.

This follows though into the second type which is through connective adaptations. The means is available though the formation of groups and communities or even, in the form of corporations. Here, communities create self-sufficient networks, stipulations of how life can be conducted in a fashion so as to be able to live in times without fossil fuels. An example of this is the creation of transition towns which is one type of model for developing sustainable living patterns and relies of resilience and self-sufficiency of the backing community.

That leaves us with spatial contemplation in an effort to find one’s feet to deal with the possible effects of climate change. For example, should sea-levels rise, how do residents and citizens of a city cope? How does the city itself cope? One option would involve moving to higher planes but a possible problem with this is the densification of population in one area and the possibility of all ground being covered by water. The second option could mean raising existing land levels but it might prove to be a short-term solution. The next possible solution is to raise the existing buildings on stilts or foundations and technology.building dykes or retaining walls around the land mass.

Simple solutions and achievable if one ignores the monetary cost involved. Just like mitigation, there is a price to climate adaptation. But if its not that, what options are we left with? But with certainty that lies in the uncertainty of climate change, we need to start getting our heads around avoiding its possible impacts.

References

1.http://www.ipcc.ch/

2.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate_change

3.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Ice_Age

4.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate_sensitivity

5.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abrupt_climate_change

the cost of being green or organic or such

lately, someone announced that according to a recent survey ,people or perhaps Finns are willing to pay more for products that are ecologically sound. I wonder what kind of demograph has agreed to it.

Is it the well-off who can afford it or the urban poor?

I realized that the cheese I bought at the Hakaniemi Markethall costs twice as much as the supermarket brand. hurts my pocket. I am not earning but a dependant but if i had to fend for myself, would I be able to afford these luxuries.

Why is goin green expensive??(its a rhetorical question!!)

maybe I'll turn freegan...atleast it won't hurt to see some food go to waste...as my parents like many others wagged their finger and used Somalia or Ethiopia as a benchmark to be grateful what we had- might not be politically correct, but thats the truth. Blame it on LiveAid!

look what grew in my garden

well to be fair, I am only baby-sitting the garden.
;)
but i am thrilled as hell!!!

Megapolis 2024

Megapolis is an event conducted by the environmental activism organisation Dodo, in Helsinki. It tok place on 26 September 2009 at the Old Student House, city centre, Helsinki. The series of the talks were pretty eclectic in selection: ranging from researchers,to politicians, to activists. Every year there is a theme and this year the theme was 'Food' and its role in creating sustainable communities. Lately, we are all pretty quilty of wasting food and consuming more than we must (one could read obesity here), but we are equally guilty of not knowing where it comes from and how it is made.

The first speaker was a researcher from Bangladesh, Dr.Rahaman. He was armed with statistics and data on the food conditions of Bangladesh, with is focus on Dhaka- a megacity. Bangladesh burdened with natural disasters cannot produce enough rice, staple food, for its own population and does not eat what it grows-tomatoes and mangoes. Though agriculture is the main driver of the economy and it occurs only in rural settings, the migration of people from the villages to the cities (Dhaka) reduces the economic strength of farming. Dr.Rahaman explained that several initiatives are being taken up by the government to alleviate the shortage of food, for egs: growing alternative crops such as potatoes, which has similar calorie content to rice.

There was also an interesting exhibition taking place along side called Post-Oil Cities. It documented the rise and the fall of the use of oil in the world. There was also a sort-of trade fair of eco-activism in some way or the other- organic food, netcycler(like freecycle) etc.etc. There were many others as well but I didn't stick around to see whats on offer as it was all in Finnish.

I would have loved to attend the remaining talks but unfortunately, they were all in Finnish and there is only so much I can guess on what is being said. I quickly loose interest if I can't understand what I am reading or what is being said(the curse of being a monoglot).It would have been useful to have translation in multiple languages going on screens to perhaps make the event more inclusive. Well, apart from that, I am looking for a way to be involved.

India and climate change

India stands at an awkward position when it comes to climate change- it doesn't seem to have one!!! Now, climate change as we all know is the in-thing to talk about but it has been going on for ages----remember ice age??? well, whats so different about this one??? well, for one we know it is happening and two, there are no prizes for guessing who is going to get extinct this time!!! hence, the urgency and drama about it. So what do we do about it?? we have been talking and talking and yawn...some wake-up calls exist----(peak oil crisis, gosh, american armed forces might be out of work soon)....and then we have organisations staging demonstrations and bla bla(plane stupid, greenpeace)...and everyone is waiting to sign some kind of agreement before anything can be done about it...and well, some of us just hide our head in the ground...

Now, India seems to be this special case. It is the world's biggest democracy and has the world's largest population. Now, the problem with the world's largest population is that not everyone stands on an equal economic footing, which may be a good thing at this time of 'climate change' crisis. Why one may ask? well, they are poor, do not have electricity, do not have a proper roof over their heads, barely eat any food and so it works in the world's favour and India's carbon footprint that they don't consume much. So whatever carbon footprint we do have is thanks to our rich, industrial and developed parts of the country. India's carbon emissions are about 1.6 billion tons per year (2005 data), but are set to rise to 6.5 billion tons by 2030 (treehugger). Well, why would this happen??? not just because the rich get richer and they get technologically equipped but because the so-called poor with their spirit and entrepreneurship will rise up to glory and attain the desired lifestyle: gaadi, bungla, mobile etc.etc. What happens then??? what??? what, I say??

Well, the whole world seems to be discussing this problem for India but mostly, I think they are discussing it for themselves---what will we do if India becomes as strong/rich/industrial as us??? We won't have any resources left for ourselves and we can't go around plundering anymore!!! Well, India is right- how dare anyone tell us what to do??? We are a great nation and will not succumb to any kind of bullying. But the truth is one really doesn't have to arm-twist India into doing anything, just show them the money!!! India is an economy driven by money- from the politician to the common man, their underlying ambition is to get rich. Having couple of the world's richest men and companies doesn't help our cause. So we want to be rich at whatever the costs even if we becomes this big mass of pollution and rubbish. And with this attitude, I don't think it suprised anyone when India's waters have been used as dumping grounds for First World waste: we probably got paid for taking in the waste.

From this it is evident that India suffers as a nation as we seem to have no pride in ourselves and in what we do. Yes, we shouldn't be told what to do but can't India decide for herself what she should be doing- protecting her people and doing everything in their best interests. We need to relook at our constitution and remember the dreams Nehru, Gandhi and many others had for our nation. We have the intellectual capacity and force to accomplish them but why aren't we doing anythin about it on a nationwide scale?. It is only too obvious, that climate change is going to hit India very hard- it is predicted it will turn into a desert (New Scientist, 28 February 2009). India needs to act fast and make sure her people will live long enough to tell tales of this nation rather than become victims to famine, droughts and other catastrophes due to negligence and misplaced pride. How can this be done? well, to start with
-India reduces its reliance on traditional fuels reserves as it is definitely running out along with causing pollution.
-We pressure for education-awareness is a huge step. This will also empower individuals.
-No initiative is possible without government backing and involvement. People can only recycle if there is provision for recycling.
- In world politics, India takes the lead, instead of behaving like a spoilt child. We may be a developing nation and much of the problems today may be cause by developed nations, but India as a government and nation has a responsibility to each and every human being, to deliver clean and unpolluted basics such as air,water, electricity..corny but true.

so what are we waiting for???


links:
http://www.greenpeace.org/india/home-2/
http://www.cseindia.org/