Thursday 22 May 2014

Who Should I Vote For..? // European Election 2014

Today is Election Day in the UK (22nd May). And as usual, I have a vague yet unclear idea of who to vote for! I know that things are not going as I necessarily want them to go, but I am not quite sure who would do a better job... Today, I found the answer to my previously somewhat uneducated voting!

I found a VERY useful website! https://www.tickbox.org.uk

You simply do a very quick survey of where you stand on the big issues. They will then give you your top 3 party matches and some further choices. They give very good summaries of each party’s top 4 policies, candidates and links to party websites and news and information about them. I also found out from this site that there is a Christian’s People Alliance running (shows how little I know about politics!).

Anyway, I hope this is helpful! Remember to vote today if you are in the UK or Netherlands (see below for further dates)! :)

Blessings!

Ronell x

“Elections belong to the people. It's their decision. If they decide to turn their back on the fire and burn their behinds, then they will just have to sit on their blisters.” {Abraham Lincoln}



Saturday 10 May 2014

Keep Saving the Bees!

Unfortunately, this is a very serious issue that is being casually overlooked or grossly misunderstood by the vast majority of people!

Here is a good article that helps to explain why we need to save the bees: http://www.theguardian.com/environment/blog/2008/nov/21/wildlife-endangeredspecies and an older post from this blog: http://365days2changetheworld.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/save-bees.html

To buy gorgeous beauty products that support saving the bees, go to NYR Organics' Bee Lovely range, mentioned here in the 10 best pollen-inspired beauty products.

Sign a petition to help save the bees- read about who is involved and why in this email that I received from SumofUs.org:

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Ronell,

Bees are dying off around the world in record numbers -- but big retailers are still selling the poison that is killing them.

Last season, 37 million bees (!) died on a Canadian farm. Scientists now know why – study after study shows that deadly pesticides called "neonics", manufactured by Bayer, are killing them. 

Giant retail stores around the world like Home Depot, Bunnings, and Lowe's are still selling the deadly pesticides, but pressure is mounting. If one of the stores commits to stop carrying the pesticides, it could start a snowball effect that sees other stores drop the bee-killing chemicals too.

In just two weeks, SumOfUs' activist beekeepers will travel to deliver our petition on the corporations' home turf. Can you add your name now, so the retailers see the tide of public opinion and commit to stop selling bee-killing pesticides?

Tell giant retail stores to stop selling bee-killing pesticides.

Earlier this year, SumOfUs supporters called on these retail giants to stop selling neonics, with thousands flooding their phone lines and speaking out in store. Now, we've learnt that North American based Home Depot could be on the cusp of doing the right thing and taking the bee-killing chemicals off its shelves. We need to send a message to tip Home Depot over the edge, and pressure other stores to act as well.

The dangerous chemical Bayer makes is a neonicotinoid, or neonic. Neonics are soaked into seeds, spreading through the plant and killing insects stopping by for a snack -- and sold in garden stores around the world, too. These pesticides can easily be replaced by other chemicals which don’t have such a devastating effect on the food chain. But companies like Bayer and Syngenta make a fortune from selling neonics -- so they’ll do everything they can to protect their profits. 

History shows that consumer pressure on retailers works. Europe's partial ban on neonics was caused by a huge movement that pushed some of the biggest retailers in the EU to voluntarily remove neonics from their shelves. But there is not a moment to lose. Please take action now to keep the pressure on the big retail giants so we can protect our bees and our planet's future

Call on retail giants to get rid of the bee-killing neonics.

SumOfUs has been right at the front of the global campaign to save our bees. We came together to fight Bayer at a huge independent garden store show in Chicago, where the German chemical maker was out in force. We're taking legal action in Europe to defend the EU's ban against Bayer, and just last week spoke out at Bayer's annual shareholder meeting in Germany. But to win this fight, we need to push the retailers to drop these bee-killing pesticides now.

Thank you for being one of us,

Taren, Paul, Angus and the team at SumOfUs.org


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More information:


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Blessings!

Ronell x