Electric Satori

The Aromatherapy Co.

2011-08-02T23:47:00.001+12:00

I recently discovered another homegrown natural beauty brand while looking for something to ease my itchy razor-burned and cut-up ankle - The Aromatherapy Co.

Their products are 100% pure and natural. No sodium laurel sulphates, artificial fragrances, dyes or minerals oils. Plus, they are good to our warm fuzzy friends and the environment because they don't test on animals and their packaging is 85% recyclable.

For my legs, I decided on the Wild Mint & Bergamot Therapeutic Body & Bath Oil which contains rosehip, sweet almond and carrot seed oils and essential oils of wild mint and bergamot. Bergamot nourishes and soothes, as well as accelerates healing of damaged skin. Wild Mint relieves skin irritation and is a natural antiseptic. Just perfect for my ankle.

I've been rubbing it on just before going to bed and it smells like I've been wandering around a wonderful herb garden before sleeping.

100 Places To Remember Before It Is Too Late

2011-08-02T23:18:00.002+12:00

Time is running out in the race against climate change for some places on earth. If you want to see some places in all their glory, you better make it quick. Some places are obvious, like the arctics or coral reefs, but no continent and no country are immune.

Here are the Top 100 places to add to your travel bucket list:

1. Kauai, Hawaii, USA
2. Mount Kilimanjaro, Tanzania
3. The Okavango Delta, Botswana
4. Rotterdam, The Netherlands
5. Nuwara Eliya District, Sri Lanka
6. The Tundra, Norway
7. Gujarat, India
8. Naukluft Park, Namibia
9. The Nile Delta, Egypt
10. Tokyo, Japan
11. The North Pole, The Arctic Ocean
12. The Mississippi River Delta, USA
13. Masai Mara, Kenya
14. Olympia, Greece
15. Principato di Lucedio, Upper Po Valley, Italy
16. Tian Shan, Kazakhstan
17. Zackenberg, Greenland
18. Recife, Brazil
19. Zahara de la Sierra, Andalusia, Spain
20. The Battery, New York City, USA
21. North Slope, Alaska, USA
22. Altai Mountains, Russia
23. Kakadu Wetlands, Australia
24. Venice, Italy
25. Franz Josef Glacier, South Island, New Zealand
26. Lake Chad, Chad
27. Siberia, Russia
28. Paris, France
29. Tuvalu, The Pacific Ocean
30. Kalahari Desert, Namibia
31. Great Barrier Reef, Australia
32. Mout al-Makmal, Lebanon
33. The Sulu-Sulawesi Sea, Malaysia
34. Valdes Peninsula, Argentina
35. Perth, Australia
36. Onton Java Atoll, Solomon Islands
37. Timbuktu, Mali
38. Monteverde Cloud Forest, Costa Rica
39. Mount Chomo Lhari, Bhutan
40. Mergui Archipelago, Myanmar
41. Borneo, Indonesia
42. Komodo Island, Indonesia
43. Bejing, Peoples Republic of China
44. Rio de la Plata, Uruguay
45. Bay of Plenty, New Zealand
46. The Archipelago Sea, Finland
47. Caracas, Venezuela
48. Western Hudson Bay, Canada
49. Mahajamba Bay, Madagascar
50. Yamal Peninsula, Siberia, Russia
51. County Meath, Republic of Ireland
52. The Ganges Delta, Bangladesh
53. Sagarmatha National Park, Himalaya, Nepal
54. Chicago, Illinois, USA
55. Cape Floral Region, Western Cape, South Africa
56. Lilongwe District, Malawi
57. The Maldives, The Indian Ocean
58. Bangkok, Thailand
59. Dalarna, Svealand, Sweden
60. Trinidad, Cuba
61. The Aegean Sea, Greece
62. Pauline Cove, Herschel Island, Canada
63. The Amazon Rainforest, Brazil
64. Honduras
65. The Wadden Sea, Denmark
66. Ross Ice Shelf, Antarctica
67. The Thames, London, Britain
68. The Bering Sea, Russia and the United States
69. Kushiro Marsh, Japan
70. Congo Basin, Democratic Republic of Congo
71. Gondar, Ethiopian Highlands, Ethiopia
72. Nunavut, Canada
73. Bayan Olgii, Mongolia
74. Saint Louis, Senegal
75. Lake Baikal, Siberia, Russia
76. Charlevoix Region, Quebec, Canada
77. Chacaltaya, Bolivia
78. Big Sur, California, USA
79. Great Kordofan Region, Sudan
80. Ilulissat Icefjord, Greenland
81. Vavau, Tonga
82. The Empty Quarter (Rub al Khali), Saudi Arabia
83. The Panama Canal, Panama
84. Niger Delta, Nigeria
85. Lake Balaton, Hungary
86. Greater Blue Mountains, New South Wales, Australia
87. Amman, Jordan
88. Cahors, Lot Valley, France
89. Halligen Islands, Germany
90. Quelccaya Ice-Cap, Peru
91. Columbia River, USA
92. The Caribbean Sea
93. Kitzbuhel, The Alps, Austria
94. Indus River, Skardu, Pakistan
95. The Yangtze River, Peoples Republic of China
96. The Mekong Delta, Vietnam
97. Veracruz, Mexico
98. The Antarctic Peninsula, Antarctica
99. Cherrapunji, India
100. Copenhagen, Denmark

Some of the destinations may surprise you.

Like why is Rotterdam, The Netherlands on the list?
Well, more than half the city lies below sea level, which makes it extremely susceptible to storms, floods and rises in sea levels. The Dutch are masters at managing water through dykes and dams, but even they may not be able to stop disaster.

What about The Nile?
It's extremely sensitive to climage change and a loss of this crucial resource would be devastating to Egypt. If sea levels rise much further, coastal erosion will occur and flood valuable agricultural land and ground water with salty sea water, damaging both crops and engangering fresh water supplies that the growing population of Egypt relies on.

The addition of Tokyo really surprises me. What on earth is happening to Tokyo?The answer is the "heat islands" phenomenon, which is a local greenhouse effect caused by car exhausts and factory emissions. This has caused local temperatures to increase five times faster than global warming. Tokyo is experiencing long intensely tropical summer nights, warmer winter temperatures and changes to the onset of seasons, most noticable in the early blooming of its iconic cherry blossoms. Instead of turning the city into a tropical getaway destination, the phenomenon will lead to heat-related illnesses and major changes in the way the city functions.

So what's up with Olympia?
This ancient Greek city, which is the birthplace of the Olympic Games is also home to important heritage sites such as the Temple of Zeus, ancient baths and stadiums. But Greece is being ravaged by wildfires, a result of extremely warm and dry summers. So far the temple is still standing, but how much longer will it remain so?

And what do we have to watch out for at The Battery in New York?
Flooding. It happens about 100 years there, but climage change will make it more common, with water levels reaching 11-14 feet. Bye bye Battery Park!

What puts Paris on the list?
Heat! Unfortunately, the terrible heatwave that killed over 14,000 people in France will not be a one-off. Summer temperatures will continue to rise, putting the health of the French at risk.

So what about Beijing?
From this prediction, this China mega-city sounds like it's going to become hell on Earth. Massive sandstorms dumping tons of sand and dirt, combined with coal and traffic pollution will make the air almost unbreathable. Increasing temperatures and decreasing rainfall could result in the city streets becoming like a desert.

Concerning to us Kiwis is the inclusion of the Bay of Plenty
... which is set to suffer coast erosion and inundation that will put houses and infrastructure at risk. There is also danger of drought and fire, which could turn the area in to the Bay of Not-so-Plenty?

Chicago - what does it have in store?
Dramatic increases in heatwaves, flooding, drought, heavy rainfall. Not only would the heat put a strain on the health of citizens, but flooding would have a great impact on the rest of the country as Chicago is a major transport hub.

So what about the Motherland? What will happen to the Thames?
The embankments of the river are only so strong. A bad mix of high tides, cyclones and rising sea levels could break these fragile barriers and cause a devastating deluge in London.

The worst thing about this shocking list is not that we will no longer be able to visit them as tourists, but the concern about how it will effect the people who live in these places. This list really reinforces the message that climate change effects us all no matter how we live and where we live. We will all soon have to face the consequences.

The Truth About Plastic

2011-08-02T20:20:00.002+12:00

Click to check out this fantastic infographic on plastic bags. Our bad little habits all add up over time. It really reminds me that I must be more a more mindful conscious consumer.

America's First Global Warming Debate: 1799

2011-07-26T23:14:00.002+12:00

Was climate change an issue even back in the 18th century? According to a recent Smithsonian article, yes it was.

Apparently, Thomas Jefferson had been concerned about it since the signing of the Declaration of Independence, when he began dutifully recording temperature readings every day for 50 years and came to the conclusion that "a change in our climate... is taking place very sensibly".

Professor Samuel Williams observations in 1794, sound very much like our own modern ones when he says, "Change.. instead of being so slow and gradual, as to be a matter of doubt, is so rapid and constant, that it is the subject of common observation and experience."

It wasn't even a new observation. As far back as Theophrastus and Pliny the Elder, men were making the connection between deforestation and rising temperatures.

So how did such an issue get buried? The answer - Noah Webster, the grand poo-bah of the time, who denounced and ridiculed such findings, and so shut everyone up about it... until now.

Beer Archaeology - Fancy A Pint From The Tomb?

2011-07-26T22:17:00.002+12:00

It's amazing what can be gleaned from ancient potsherd stains. Click here to read a fascinating Smithsonian article - The Beer Archaeologist.

The article is about biomolecular archaeologist Patrick McGovern's work analyzing age-old organic residue from archaeological digs to reveal lost beer recipes, which he recreates with Dogfish Head Brewery. One such beer is Ta Henket, based on an material found in the tomb of Pharaoh Scorpion I, who ruled in 3150 B.C. Another is Midas Touch, based on discoveries made in the 700 B.C. tomb of King Midas.

One professor remarks that "beer is more important than armies when it comes to understanding people" and McGovern believes that it is our ability to distill alcohol that separates mankind from the rest of the animal kingdom, who can only get drunk through natural fermentation. It is our love for beer, he says, that lead us to put our hunter-gatherer ways behind us and settle down. This "beer before bread" hypothesis runs contrary to earlier theories about crop domestication in suggesting that the first crops were cultivated for alcohol, rather than food.

Roman poet Horace is quoted as saying "No lyric poems live long or please many people which are written by drinkers of water" and you only have to take a brief look at history to see that alcohol has indeed had an affect on art and culture, and thus civilization. Beer was so beloved by the Egyptians that pharaohs were buried with litres of the stuff and recipes were inscribed on tomb walls to ensure the good times could go on for eternity in the Underworld.

The article also mentions the work being done to find out the true origin of wine, which may actually have been a 400 B.C. Etruscan creation, rather than a French one.

I've never had much of a taste for beer, but the Dogfish Brewey beers are some I would definitely like to try, particularly Theobroma, which is based on an ancient Honduran chocolate beer from 1200BC. Cocoa, honey and annato flavoured beers sounds tempting indeed.

I also wouldn't mind trying the Chateau Jiahu, a spiced ale based on pottery residue found in a Neolithic Chinese village which includes rice flakes, wildflower honey, hawthorn fruit, and Chrysanthemum flowers in the recipe.

Someone could turn me into a beer drinker after all, they just need to find me a brew with the right artistry and history. Who knew beer could be so intellectual?

The Marvellous History of Marshmallow

2011-07-26T19:57:00.002+12:00

You might be imagining a wonderous plant flowering puffy, pink marshmallows, which can be plucked and eaten whilst rolling around in a field of edible green grass as a river of chocolate lazily drifts by and the chorus of a dozen Oompa-Loompa hums in the background. While that would be totally awesome, only Willa Wonka has the secrets to such fanciful botany. Real marshmallows come from a plant that looks like this:

What we have come to know as marshmallows are not what our ancestors would call such a delicacy. The candy industry has adulterated and bastardized this lovable fluffy sweet.

Originally, marshmallows were made with sap extracted from the marsh mallow plant. However, this process was just far too time-consuming for the big candy companies. In order to make its creation less labor-intensive, French manufacturers decided to use egg whites or gelatin, mixed with corn starch. And so disappeared the healing powers of the marshmallow.

Marshmallow was used to make candy as far back as the ancient Egyptians, who mixed it with nuts, honey and grains and baked it into cakes. I'm sure the pharaohs are just rolling over in their tombs at our desecration of their noble delicacy, for back in their time, marshmallow was only allowed to be eaten by gods and nobility.

The Romans and Greeks also held the mallow plant in high esteem. They used it to soothe sore throats and ease mucus production. The Greek physician Hippocrates is known to have prescribed it medicinally. It was also enjoyed as drink mixed with honey.

Medieval Europeans had a penchant for the soft stuff too and used it for toothaches, coughs, sore throats, chapped skin, indigestion, and diarrhea. If was even used in love potions and to protect against the sting of scorpions.

It is the French who molded it into the form to which it most closely resembles today when they began to cook and whip it by hand.

Of course, even in the 19th century it was still not just a yummy treat. Doctors would mix the juice from the root with egg whites and sugar to make a cough lolly for children. Modern processes have limited the availability of such a simple cure and most people are no longer aware of its properties as a cough suppressant, immune system booster and wound healer.

While modern marshmallows are inarguably yummy, their ingredients are a little off-putting when you think about it. One of the main ingredients is gelatin, which sounds as bad as it smells (like poo, in case you didn't know!). It is derived from the collagen inside animal skin and bones. I don't know about you, but I would much rather eat the root of a flower.

In herbal medicine today, the marshmallow is used externally to treat laryngitis, dry facial skin and tonsilitis; and internally for coughs, bronchitis, and kidney or digestive problems. You can buy it in powdered form at many health food stores. Weleda has a Mallow Body Lotion and Dr Hauschka has a Jojoba and Marsh Mallow Conditioner.

When I get my hands on some marsh mallow powder, I'm definitely gonna try and whip up some good ol' fashioned homemade marshmallow.

Soda Becomes Stylish

2011-07-26T18:58:00.001+12:00

Sodastream makers were pretty popular back when I was a kid and it seems like they are coming back into vogue.

They've released a stylish new Crystal Drinks Makers which uses glass carafes. Unlike our old 90s Sodastreamer, the machine would also look pretty awesome on the kitchen bench. They even have a funky silver and red design.

Had I spare couple hundred dollars or so, I'd totally get one. I like the idea of concocting my own fresh bubbly beverages. Flavour ideas would be infinite. Plus, I could wean myself off the other sugar-laden fizzy drinks.

Sodastream itself now have a natural range of flavours made from natural fruit syrups, so you can easily bubble up your own drink without the artificial colours, preservatives, flavours and sweeteners which make most of the store brands so unhealthy.

I'd like to mix myself up a delicious pomegranate or green tea soda for some fizzy antioxidant goodness.

And the best thing, SodaStream is environmentally friendly. They call themselves an "Active Green" company, meaning that using their product on a daily basis will reduce your CO2 footprint because you no longer have to buy plastic bottled drinks. Good for your health and good for the planet!

Onions - The New Superfood?

2011-07-21T21:30:00.000+12:00

Finally, there may be a use for all those onion skin peelings we scrape into the bin. A new study has revealed that there is a use for them after all - they're nutritious! If prepared properly, onion skins can be an excellent source of antioxidants, fibre, calcium, magnesium, iron, zinc, manganese, quercetin and other flavonoids. The discarded pulp also contains sulphurous compounds and fructans.

This is extremely good news as it would be a sustainable and environmentally-friendly way to produce nutrients. Half a million tonnes of onion waste a year are chucked out in the European Union alone, but that could soon change if this "waste" is actually useful.

But don't break out the onion goggles just yet, there are no new recipes for epicurean onion skin delights. Onion skins are being touted more of a food additive.

Algae Bloom Turns Sea Green in China

2011-07-20T22:20:00.010+12:00

In Qingdao, China the summer must go on...

despite the water being bright green. No, it's not toxic sludge, it's algae. The beach just off the coast of the eastern Shandong province has been invaded by a kind plankton named enteromorpha prolifera, and it's prolific alright. This one stretch, which is only part of a larger 300 mile section in the Yellow Sea, is easily over 70 metres wide and 100 metres long.

But it didn't stop the locals from hitting the water. They were more than happy to take a dive in the Spirulina-smoothie like water. I can totally see the novelty. I mean, it looks pretty darn awesome. I would say it was a "once in a lifetime" opportunity, but reports say this is the third instance of a giant algae bloom on the Chinese coast in five years. Fortunately, the algae is not dangerous to humans.

Unfortunately, such a bloom is not good for the ecosystem because the plankton takes up large quantities of oxygen at the expense of other sea life, which suffocate. Not good news for conservation and not good for the fishing industry that many local fisherman depend upon. However, fish farmers are working on raising a fish that feeds on this particular type of plankton which may help to solve the problem. Meanwhile, the local kids can have fun pretending they are swamp monsters and the mums can convince themselves they are getting a free kelp spa treatment.

Pacific Perfumes

2011-07-20T22:19:00.003+12:00

I recently discovered wonderful Kiwi artisan perfume and soap maker, Pacific Perfumes and I'm totally in love with my little pot of Tui Loves Kowhai cream perfume. Here's what the website says about this fragrance:

It's all about love and intensity - the relationship between this feisty bird called Tui, and the fleetingly flowering Kowhai tree. Vibrantly deep yellow flowers bursting forth to meet the feathered friend, the fragrant gathering before the blooms fade - a singing celebration of harvest. Our tribute to this is a Jasmine/Honeysuckle rich and alluring heart note and a woody hint of a Vetiver finish.

The story of Pacific Perfumes is remarkably serendipitous. While on holiday in Santorini, owner Kate JasonSmith discovered a beautiful cream perfume sold in tiny ceramic pots. Long after the perfume was used up, Kate held onto the pot as a memento of that wonderful time. Ten years later, Kate met Francesca who mentioned that she had run a successful business in Greece selling cream perfumes in ceramic pots. As luck would have it, Kate's treasured perfume was made by Francesca! Kate encouraged Francesca to create another perfume with a uniquely Aotearoa fragrance and Pacific Perfumes was born.

The company is very committed to being ethically and environmentally friendly. All their packaging is made from entirely renewable and recyclable sources. It's Artisan range is made from 100% natural ingredients and is 100% botanical. Fragrances are made from the purest botanicals of flowers, woods, and resins, which are all ethically sourced. This responsible approach goes right down to all farmers, suppliers and distillers used who Pacific Perfumes make sure all follow sustainable, Fair Trade and Green business practices. And off course, they do not test on animals and use no animal products. They even donate $1 to the NZ Forest and Bird Society for every sale in the Artisan range.

All perfumes come in wooden pots crafted from beech which is sourced from certified sustainable New Zealand forests, where a new tree is planted for every one that is logged. You get a choice of one of three colours: vibrant earth, volcanic red, or white sand. The perfumes are influenced by the fragrances of Aotearoa, Fiji, Hawaii, Tahiti and Samoa. While I only bought one this time, I've got my eyes on Plumeria/Frangipani, Rainforest, Forest of Ferns, Hula Lei, Love the Mango, Tiare, and Simply Paradise. A really great gift for a friend, but even better as a treat for yourself as a nice alternative to oils and sprays.

Captain Planet Returns!

2011-07-20T20:51:00.001+12:00

Captain Planet, he's our hero, gonna take pollution down to zero...

90's kids rejoice! The blue man and his five friends Kwame, Wheeler, Linka, Gi and Ma-Ti are coming to a cinema near you. The Cartoon Network has just announced it is in the works to make a live-action version of the famous Captain Planet and the Planeteers.

Back in the good old early nineties, (what I like to think of as the golden age of cartoons) Captain Planet pulled in some pretty big voice talents - Whoopi Goldberg, Jeff Goldblum, Meg Ryan, Sting. No doubt, this new film produced by Don Murphy and Susan Montford, the talent behind Transformers 1 and 2, will attract more big names. I wonder who will play Captain Planet?

If you don't remember the show, let me refresh you. It's about five teenagers who are given magic rings, each with the power to control a different element of nature, with the exception of Ma-Ti's ring which controls the lovely fifth element, heart. With these superpowers, the kids fight the worldwide environmental disasters born of both human ignorance and the doings of the Eco-Villains (who have creative names such as Hoggish Greedly, Looten Plunder, Sly Sludge, Duke Nukem, Verminous Skumm, Dr Blight, Zarm and Mame Slaughter). When they can't defeat this evil on their own, they combine their powers to call Captain Planet, who saves the day!

In our current climate of global weirding, it probably couldn't be a more apt time to re-launch such an iconic series, but will it be a hit or a cheezy flop? But if anyone could turn this nostalgic premise into a blockbuster, it's probably Murphy and Montford.

"Go planet!"