Category: Trending

Trending blogs by Livetree keep you up to date with the latest news stories and current events. Coupled with our Sustainability Features, Trending offers the best advice and tips. Our writers bring you the best, and only the best. As long as you read us, living sustainably will become second nature. Not only this, but you can interact with others. You can solidify your resolve to pursue a sustainable lifestyle. Your favourite creators and your friends are right there with you. 

Find us on our Livetree editorial page. Tell your friends but also don’t forget to engage, comment and interact. Let’s save the world!

If Social-Media Apps Were Parties…

Posted on by Livetree editor

 

Inspired by The New Yorker’s article of the same name, I give you a guide on how to deal with the parties we are obligated to attend… Twitter, Facebook, TikTok, Instagram and Livetree edition. 

So, you’ve just woken up on a Saturday morning after a long week’s work. You’re in the midst of your third lockdown during a global pandemic, and you’re tired of everything. You have already taken every walking route from your gaff, and you’ve already met each of your friends for a coffee break on a cold bench. You’re way of socialising-without-actually-socialising? The internet. 

You grab your phone and you start your morning stroll. No, not stroll, SCROLL (oh, how times have changed). Before you know it, you’ve been scrolling for a half hour… 

Much like parties we are obligated to attend, social media is the 21st century’s version of that annoying friend who doesn’t take ‘no’ for an answer. It demands our presence, and we’ve already used up all our excuses. 

So, we’re going to the party that never ends… what’s the dress code? Who’s there? What’s the ‘vibe’? 

Facebook

Your uncle takes to the dance-floor for the third time, but this time he does his hip in. It’s almost as embarrassing as the time he took to the internet to lambast Black Lives Matter protests. ‘In my day…’, I think that’s how it started? So, this party is you and a bunch of boomers no doubt arguing about the prevalence of cancel culture and what the plus stands for in ‘LGBTQ+’. You leave by 11pm and you’re in bed by 11:30pm… sorry Facebook, you’re not worth sticking around for. 

Dress code: Anything that annoys your conservative auntie. A short skirt? Check. Low-cut top? Check. A sense of self-worth and confidence? Check. 

Twitter

This is made up of your pseudo-intellectual friends from uni, only everyone’s uncomfortable because they all know they’ve over-shared on the internet. In contrast to the Facebook party, these individuals aren’t your family, in fact, they barely know you. Subsequently, you’re not all partying merrily together. You’re all sectioned off into various rooms of the house, entirely based off of which candidate you voted for in the last general election. All except for that one dude who ‘respects’ Jordan Peterson. You somehow spot him in every room, ‘playing devil’s advocate’ with anyone wearing a communist hat.  

Dress code: A Daunt Books tote bag that you can’t find at the end of the night, because guess what? There are over ten of them in a pile by the front door. 

Instagram

An Instagram party is like a gallery exhibition which lures you in with free house wine. Anyone can walk in, but not everyone belongs. Underneath the smiles, toasts and feigned appreciation for bad abstract art, all attendees share the same knowledge. There is an after-party that not everyone will be invited to. Unlike the Twitter and Facebook soirees, at the Instagram party no one actually knows each other – but they act like they do. Just like you do with your Instagram app, you’ve got a 1 hour time limit on this bulls**t. 

Dress code: Casual elegance paired with a ridiculously small bag. 

TikTok

The TikTok shindig is our annoying 10-year-old cousin’s birthday party. It’s 10am, and the bouncy castle has already been deflated by a group of kids who wear TikTok hoodies like armour. The parents don’t tell them off because they know these kids have the type of confidence that could make a grown man cry. On the internet since they were 2, these kids don’t cry anymore, they just blow all your cousin’s birthday candles out for clout, and worst of all, no one bats an eyelid. Least of all, your cousin, who actually filmed the whole thing.

Dress code: NEUTRALS. You’re more mature than these juveniles and they can’t hurt you… 

Livetree

Shameless self-plug, we know. But if you don’t back yourself, who will?

The Livetree party is the best party. In fact, it’s closer to a festival. You float from stage to stage, having new realisations and meeting new friends. Unlike the rest of the parties you’ve attended, the Livetree party lasts all day and all night – and, you don’t feel the hangover the next day. There is no hedonism involved, because the fun is sustainable and it can last forever if you want it to. There is no planet B, but with Livetree, we only need planet earth. 

Dress code: Your choice, baby. 

 

Can Renewable Energy Save the World?

Posted on by Livetree editor

Experts often offer Renewable Energy as the solution to our climate crisis, however, perhaps it is not the only answer. Keep reading to find out more. 

The hope is that clean energy will replace fossil fuels, and there is no doubt this would be a huge achievement. BP’s Statistical Review of World Energy 2020 shows fossil fuels are still supplying 84% of the world’s energy. Not only this, but fewer than 20 firms make up a third of all carbon emissions. You can read more about how to offset a carbon footprint here. 

Renewable Energy is energy which replenishes itself. For example, solar and wind energy derive from nature and so, will never run out. Let’s talk about the pros and cons. 

Advantages

  • It’s better for the environment than fossil fuels
  • We have infinite resources
  • Provides sustainable job opportunities
  • Low maintenance costs

Disadvantages

  • Supply is intermittent 
  • More upfront costs than fossil fuels
  • Geographical inconsistencies 
  • Renewable does not mean sustainable 

This last point is an important caveat. In 2010 IEA’s review found that hydropower provided 77% of green power. Since, this has fallen to 45%. Indeed, not all clean energy is equally sustainable. Forms of hydropower like large dams damage river ecology and displace people from their homes. This is not environmentally or socially sustainable. 

Relying on renewables to tackle the climate crisis also poses another significant issue. It does not address the source: excessive consumption. Clean energy may well be the future, but for the sake of that future, we cannot maintain this cycle of materialism, consumerism and waste. The UK alone amasses 9.5 million tonnes of food waste a year and fashion trends change with the wind.

If our mindsets do not change, neither will climate change. 

 

Top 9 Motivational Sustainability Quotes

Posted on by Livetree editor

  1. The greatest threat to our planet is the belief that someone else will save it – Robert Swan, Author

  1. We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children – Native American proverb

  1. We are living on this planet as if we have another one to go to – Terry Swearingen, Nurse

  1. There is no such thing as ‘away’, when we throw something away it must go somewhere – Annie Leonard, Thinker

  1. We cannot solve problems with the same thinking we used when we created them – Albert Einstein

  1. What we are doing to the forests of the world is but a mirror reflection of what we are doing to ourselves and to one another – Mahatma Gandhi

  1. Look after the land and the land will look after you, destroy the land and it will destroy you – Aboriginal Proverb

  1. He that plants trees loves others beside himself – Thomas Fuller

  1. How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world – Anne Frank

Which is your favourite? Let us know on Instagram: livetree_sustainability

Biden rejoins the Paris Agreement

Posted on by Livetree editor

Joe Biden was sworn in as the 46th president of the United States on the 20th of January 2021. Does this mark the beginning of a new era for sustainability?

Regardless of political opinion, I think we can all agree change needed to come. On the 6th of January, the former president Donald Trump incited a “Save America” rally, with the intent of overthrowing the Capitol. It could be argued that Trump even wielded his executive powers to a point of madness, as he even attempted to pardon himself from his crimes.

Joe Biden may not be as progressive as some on the left think we need, nor Republican enough for the Grand Old Party’s fandom, but he has just under 50 years’ experience in political office, and he has already produced some decisive action in less than one week since setting up camp at the White House.

As we know, the concept of sustainability is made up of three pillars; the social, the economic and the environmental. Equal importance should be placed on each pillar to ensure true sustainability. The question is, have Biden’s achievements since taking office hit the mark?

So, what has Biden achieved in less than a week of his presidency?

  • Rejoined the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement
  • Re-engaged with the World Health Organisation (WHO)
  • Revoked the construction of the controversial Keystone XL Pipeline
  • Launched an ‘100 Day Mask Challenge’ to help tackle Coronavirus
  • Pioneered a Government Initiative to advance racial equality
  • Reversed Trump’s unconstitutional Muslim Ban
  • Repealed the discriminatory ban on transgender people serving in the military

What else should we expect for next ‘100 days’ in office?

The Democrats have demonstrated a resolve that could not be more different to the previous administration. Joe Biden’s executive orders set a tone, one driven by ethics and conscientiousness. His commitments for his first ‘100 days’ include:

  • Securing congressional approval for his $1.9 trillion stimulus plan to rescue the economy
  • Administering 100 million vaccines by his 100th day in office
  • Saving Obamacare

Sustainability?

Many of Biden’s policies are clearly driven by a vision of sustainability. His re-alignment with global efforts, the Paris Climate Pact and WHO, present a will to tackle environmental issues trans-nationally, and his intent to revive economic sustainability is clear when you look at his plans to invest in the American economy.

There are also more than a few hints to Biden’s affinity for social sustainability, equality and allyship, at least when it comes to racial and LGBTQ+ injustices. However, there remains a gaping whole in Biden’s social justice mission. What about women?

It didn’t take long for the global populous to take to Twitter, all asking this same question, and all reaching the same conclusion. #BidenErasedWomen was a trending hashtag this week, and while some of the commentary on this hashtag is riddled with trans-phobia, there is a something to be said for the abandonment of women in Biden’s executive orders and commitments.

For now, it would be wise to see Joe Biden’s presidential triumph as a small victory.

The fact I can engage in a discourse which critically assesses the intricacies, the pros, and the cons of government policy without simply despairing, is a leap forward.

A leap forward exemplified perfectly by the humour in this tweet…

 

8 Documentaries you need to see in 2021

Posted on by Livetree editor

It’s 2021, if you haven’t yet educated yourself on the climate crisis, veganism or sustainability, the time is now…

Life on our Planet

Life on our Planet is one of David Attenborough’s greatest works. See him reflect on his life, the history of humanity’s life on earth, and grieve the loss of places and species that have been driven to extinction. In his 93rd year on the planet, he seeks to leave a legacy by offering a vision for the future.

You can watch this documentary on Netflix, linked here.

The Minimalists: Less is Now

Longtime friends Joshua Fields Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus, known together as ‘The Minimalists’, inform audiences about the power in letting go of material goods and prioritising personal journeys. Audiences that are familiar with their content will know their rags to riches story, and some have criticised the documentary for being an echo of their previous work. I think if you are a new fan of the duo, this documentary will be educational and worth a watch.

This documentary has gained new exposure by featuring on Netflix, you can watch it here.

Cowspiracy: The Sustainability Secret

Cowspiracy is almost a rite of passage for sustainability buffs everywhere. For many, watching this documentary was a turning point. Some have even adopted a vegan lifestyle after their viewing experience, and most viewers, if not all, have had their world view transformed. It could be hard to watch; it informs viewers on the realities of factory farming, how it decimates the planet’s natural resources, and why the crisis has been ignored.

Again, Cowspiracy is also available on Netflix, here.

Chasing Ice

A huge moment in director Jeff Orlowski’s career, Chasing Ice is an enlightening documentary which chronicles the rate of rapid meltdown the planet’s glacier landscape has suffered over the years. By deploying time-lapse cameras with years of footage, viewers are given striking picture evidence of our foreboding climate crisis. Orlowski’s film has been screened in 172 countries, as well as at the White House and the United Nations.

Though not a Netflix Original, this 2012 documentary is now available on Netflix, here.

Chasing Coral

This Netflix Original documentary, the latest in a series of documentaries by Jeff Orlowski, follows the degeneration of biodiversity on our ocean sea bed; diving deep to undercover the reasons behind our dying coral reefs, and the detriment to all the species that used to inhabit them. Experts estimate that over 80% of our oceans remain undiscovered, so to learn more about the effect our climate crisis has on the planet’s oceans is a compelling angle to explore, and one that Orlowski does well.

A Netflix Original film released in 2017, Chasing Coral is available to watch globally on Netflix now.

The True Cost

This utterly heartbreaking documentary is one that should be watched by everyone. The True Cost investigates and reflects on ‘the true cost’ of fast fashion, and who really pays the price. Garment and factory workers in the economic south suffer tremendously under unacceptable and oftentimes dangerous working conditions, as well as receiving little to no wage, all in aide of fast fashion companies’ pursuit of profit. This film illuminates the importance of social sustainability in a world that predominately shines a light solely on environmental-focused stories. If a standard of equality amongst people is not met globally, we as a society cannot be sustainable.

Not available on Netflix, but it is available to stream on their website.

How to Let Go of the World and Love All the Things Climate Can’t Change

This feature-length documentary by Josh Fox premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2016. Fox goes to 12 countries to investigate climate change and its consequences, his quest is rooted in showing the world the realities of climate change and environmental destruction, while also showing people taking action. Compelling and driven, this film does not try to offer false hope of an 11th hour save, it argues that without action, our climate crisis will be more than a problem that knocks on our door, it will blow it open.

Again, this film is not available on Netflix, in fact, it’s free to watch on YouTube here.

Kiss the Ground

In this eco-educational documentary, activists, scientists, farmers and politicians turn to regenerative agriculture to save the planet’s topsoil. The film’s purpose to inform and educate its viewers is clear, it features celebrity speakers and narrators, including Woody Harrelson and Ian Somerhalder, and it articulates the complex science behind regenerative agriculture with ease. By focusing on a specific subject matter, viewers are privy to a world of expertise and become well-versed enough to educate their peers long after the credits roll. This makes Kiss the Ground one of the many documentaries in this list of recommendations to achieve the feat of leaving a lasting impact.

Like many on this list, Kiss the Ground made it onto Netflix, link here.

Even if you watch only one of these documentaries, we at Livetree would love to hear about your opinions! Feel free to reach out to us on Instagram, Twitter or in the comment section down below.

Let’s get a conversation going about saving this planet!

 

Products you need to help save the world in 2021

Posted on by Livetree: Where Creators Earn from Their Craft

It seems almost ironic to suggest that products can help save the world, but maybe if you choose the right ones…

Let’s start with a disclaimer. There is no need to buy these items if you already have perfectly suitable ones at home, but if you’ve ran out and looking for something more sustainable? Why not?

Products for the bedroom…

No, this is not what you first thought it could mean… I’m talking clothing, footwear, make up and bedding.

  • Lora Gene makes great slow fashion, their clothing and accessories make for a perfect capsule wardrobe
  • Tekla is a bedding company who use organic materials, their website even provides information about how and where they source their fabrics from, right down to the label
  • Kattamarum is a fun plastic-free clothing brand who sell graphic tees primarily for kids and babies, but if you find yourself wanting a slice of the action, don’t worry, they have mens and womenswear
  • Ecosia is the search engine you need on your laptop, with every search, they plant a tree and have planted over 118,000,000 so far

Products for your bathroom

  • Bam and Boo deliver climate-neutral oral and hair care to your door, their toothbrushes are my personal favourite, with heads coming in all different colours
  • Bite Toothpaste Bits make brushing your teeth plastic-free, with digestible toothpaste bites; when your toothpaste tube runs out, don’t forget to replace it with these little miracle-workers
  • Estrid is a razor company who are 100% vegan and cruelty free, and with every purchase, a portion of profits is donated to women’s charities like The Fawcett Society

Products for your kitchen

  • Package Free Shop make airtight and plastic-free containers for kitchens globally, get involved
  • Drop Bear Beer and Brewgooder Beer are companies who sell a certain alcohol beverage, have you guessed it? The good news is that Drop Bear Beer is vegan and gluten-free and Brewgooder donates all their profits to clean water projects
  • Divine Chocolates belong in your sweet cupboard at home, they sell a range of organic and vegan chocolates; good for the environment, and delicious
  • Ted’s Veg belongs in your fridge, these vegetables have been grown chemical-free and owner, Ted, is determined to eradicate both packaging and food wastage

Products for your living space

  • Etsy has so many independent sellers who craft handmade furniture and living room essentials, have a search on there to find your unique piece
  • The Future Kept is the place to go for candles, plant pots and throws alike, all ethically sourced and sustainably made

If you love our recommendations, please let us know on our Instagram, @livetree_sustainability. We love to see you enjoying a more sustainable lifestyle!

2021: Sustainable Resolutions

Posted on by Livetree editor

Here are some great, easy and sustainable New Year’s resolutions you could try out for 2021.

  • Eat Less Meat

Take part in #MeatFreeMondays or even #Veganuary this year if you’re an avid meat-eater, all of us can do our bit to cut down on our meat consumption, especially red meats like beef.

  • Be an Ally

Social sustainability is often neglected in talks about saving the world, but as the Three Pillars of Sustainability recognises, being socially conscious is just as important as being environmentally conscious. Stand up for equality, and be an informed, and enabling ally to the disadvantaged and the oppressed.

  • Practise Consciousness

Environmentally conscious actions are so important in 2021, if anything more than ever. We are one step closer to realising a climate crisis. Don’t forget the Three R’s – Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. Not only this, but in light of a new lockdown, announced on the 4th of January, being conscious of one other, and knowing each other’s boundaries is vital.

  • Appreciate

In unprecedented times like these, appreciating what seems like the small things – personal safety, family and work – can help us all get by. It’s important to also learn to appreciate yourself, as much as you do others.

  • Manifest

Speak to the universe around you kindly, and you’ll be greeted with kindness. This is the greatest lesson of them all.

Let’s step into 2021, united and with purpose. Goodbye 2020…