5 unsustainable things I do as an imperfect environmentalist 

Thank you for pointing out how owning a car is a necessity in many areas. I'm so tired of hearing "just use public transport!" from spoiled, insulated people who clearly have lived in well-structured cities for their entire lives. I used to live in Montreal (Canada) and even though there was a metro and bus system, it was more often than not incredibly late (30m+!), or on strike, or broken down. So not feasible to use as daily transport.

I actively strive to counteract or nullify the impact of my contribution to global waste by consciously clearing environmental litter. It conveys the idea that you are negating your own waste footprint by counteracting the bad waste habits of others. I live along a very active coastline and frequent various beaches around the peninsula where I live. I am a bit of a beach comber as I love driftwood and drift rope that wash up on the rocky shoreline areas. I make a conscious effort to clear plastic that wash up or that end up on the beaches. I often clear big black bags of plastic products or other junk from my local beach every time I go. I try to do a proper cleanup of at least one of my local beaches each weekend. Clearing plastics or litter from the roadside as I walk down to the beach and picking up litter wherever I go builds credits in my private waste offset bank as well. When you offset enough environmental waste, although the waste you produce may not always end up in a recycle center, it goes a long way to balancing out what you contribute to the landfills and it makes the world a cleaner space for animals, marine life and everyone else, even those that do not care about the environment. I started doing this when I found a huge loggerhead turtle suffocated on a plastic bag that it had tried to eat at a beach along my coast line... That was some 15 years ago now but I would like to think that my efforts since then has had a positive impact on the coastal life in the South Peninsula, as over time I have noticed more and more people doing the same as I do. On another note - I never really knew how to discard old cooking oil so another recycling chore I have taken to for instance - In stead of discarding my old cooking oil, I use caustic flakes to make cold process soap. I think the most important thing to take into account is being aware of your impact on the environment in every aspect of your existence. I built a really small wooden house when I was young and it has a tiny carbon footprint. I use very little electricity and less than 500L of council water a month. I catch rainwater, grow my own vegetables as much as I can and as much as the baboons that frequent my village will allow me to keep, and I travel with my car only when I have to. You seem to live very conscientiously and that is a great motivating factor for others. Actions speak louder than words, and nothing is better for raising awareness in others than individuals that does something different from that of the herd to make the world a better place for all. Thanks for your inspirational channel. Regards, George. Simon's Town

Stitch, is also a rescue. I went Vegan and that helps the environment. V-dog and Halo are good Vegan-friendly dog food brands. Stitch was heavy so I decided that he can be more trimmed and give him fruits and veggies as snacks along with the dried foods, he also helps his sister Pepper Potts (feline, also a rescue) with bits and pieces she leaves behind, so he’s going strong 🤗 Owning other animal family members are not good on the environment but after these guys, maybe we won’t care for more animals, since that creates a need for animal based feeding. Doing best as I can until I can generate my own electricity for my vehicle and home via wind and solar panels.

Greetings from Edmonton!! Had to say hi as soon as you said you were living in Canada. So glad that the algorithm led me to your channel, and look forward to following your journey. 😀

I'm going to go on a little ramble about canine nutrition. I am an RVT and have done a lot of research about animal nutrition and I think your choice of diet is great. Dogs are omnivores/social carnivores, but they are designed to eat meat being descended from wolves. My own dog is raw fed, eating mostly raw meat but supplemented with vegetables and fruits as needed to balance his diet. The fresher the food the better it is for our pets just like us. Kibble is a fine way to feed as well as it is balanced to meet nutrient requirements, but it is more like eating fast food every day as opposed to eating a better diet. The difference in their skin/coat and the stool quality is the most outwardly noticeable, but the dental health is probably the most important difference. The carbs in kibble turn to sugars which feed the bacteria in their mouths and form plaque that builds up and becomes a problem. A dog fed fresher foods or raw foods has less sugars to feed the bacteria and so their teeth are cleaner for longer without intervention. Due to cost and even personal preference it isn't realistic for everyone to feed fresh or raw entirely, but even just topping the kibble off with either fresh or raw foods does make a difference in their overall health.