Corporate manager turned greenie

Rainbow News- Feb/March 2008

Deep at heart Linda Shaw has always been a passionate environmentalist. It was there during her decades working in corporate management, when she worked for fruit marketing boards, for the Auckland Zoo and when she was running her own training company.

But this year, that which was hidden deep within has been brought to the fore as Linda left behind the corporate world to commit her time and talents into bringing a dedicated green awareness into everyday lives.

Now Linda has swapped suits and briefcases for workshops and networking. Already she has been engaged to speak at Taupo’s EcoShow, at the Holistic Business Network conference and the annual Organic River Festival. It’s part of a new life where Linda has put her financial and personal future on the line in order to help at what she believes is a critical juncture for our planet.

With her work Linda has coalesced a lifetime’s environmental awareness and learning and her unique ability to stay deeply plugged in to the latest unfolding information globally, to put together a deeply moving talk presentation. She both compels and informs with her images and words ... shows graphically just how important it is that each human being now plays their part in assisting the planet out from an overburdened and polluted state and back to restoration.

She calls her work `Mecology’ because – in the end – Linda says it is each of us working in small ways that absolutely changes the big picture by our combined actions. A planet that has grown from a population of three billion just 50 years ago to seven billion today needs our help.

“Mecology is about discovering our deep impact on the environment and that to restore the world we need to have the intention to always do right without fail and without compromise,” says Linda. Yet her message isn’t one of doom or gloom – or heavy responsibility. Rather she says small, easy-to-make changes are the way to go.

And those changes are no longer unimportant. An editorial in the November Ecologist magazine said the stark choices of the future, given the impact of global warming will be: `Who lives, who dies? Who will be allowed to be born and who will not? Who eats, who starves? Who swims, who sinks? Who drinks, who is thirsty? Who sits in the shade, who burns in the sun? Who has heat in the winter and who must be left to freeze to death?’

The subject clearly moves Linda deeply.

“I know that there are a large number of New Zealanders doing amazing things to help the environment. Some people have already joined the dots and realised that what they do has a positive impact on the planet. In the process, people are finding that a new consciousness is emerging, that people are beginning to honour and connect with nature. We are starting to feel better about ourselves. We are starting to believe that we can reverse the pathway to mass destruction we are inexorably charging down.
“So what can we do that will make a difference? Lots actually. What about if 100,000 people used less water in Auckland city by turning the tap off when not using the water and collecting shower, bath or washing machine water to use on the garden? Water treatment stations would use less energy and chemicals to process it and water not here means water somewhere else.

“What about food shopping that means local produce gets first dibs (saves on fuel, refrigeration and slow decrease in nutritional value), that we eat less meat (less use of grains and water to create it, less fuel needed to transport it) and we encourage our supermarkets to seal fridges and freezers and use less lighting in store to save energy.
“And what about thinking twice about what clothing you buy. Big numbers of British consumers are now turning away from buying cheap imported clothes that they know have employed sweat labour in their production. The same thing will happen here.”
Linda has a host of other easy-to-implement planetary savers. These include:

Garden

• Know about the water demands of different plants, so that they can be grouped together
• Set the mower cutting height above 40mm in the drier months your lawn will need less watering to stay green
• Allowing grass to grow longer produces deeper roots to reach soil water
• New Zealand native insect-eating birds including fantail, grey warbler, silvereye, shining cuckoo (plus fruit eating bellbird and tui) will visit city gardens within flying distance of their home in the bush if their favourite native plants are available and will eat insects while they are there. For more information visit www.nzbirds.co.nz and www.bush.org.nz
• Join a community garden
• Grow native plants – these are already adapted to local conditions, are easy to grow and maintain and generally require less fertilizer and water and less effort to rein in pests

Home

• The most significant thing you can do to run your home in an energy efficient way is to retain the winter heating around the hot water tank.( Modern tanks are quite well insulated at the factory, shown by the label ‘Water Mark Grade A’)
• Use flat-bottomed pans, with lids, on an electric cooking stove, to get maximum value from power used. With gas, keep flames set low. Simmer rather than boil, to reduce steam production
• Use heaters away from windows – they are more effective against walls
• Check the air tightness of windows, floors and doors. Repairing and replacing faulty seals save an average of $190 per year
• Use a ceiling fan to distribute heat in winter and cool air in summer
• Use a heat pump in winter and save up to $500 per year
• Install thermal-lined curtains with pelmets and save $60 per year
• Check the second fridge in the garage - most are old, don't work properly and can use up to $300 of electricity per year. Make sure your freezer is not running continuously
• Use the smallest amount of water to simmer food
• Turn off heated towel rails in summer months and when not using them
• Shower with windows open or vent the room to avoid moisture build-up
• Shower with the lights off, its fun
• Wash dishes by hand. Fill up the jug using the cold tap. If you have a tap mixer make sure it is turned round to its cold setting
• If you're considering moving home, think about choosing a location that minimises how much you need to commute
• Set concrete goals at home for reducing your travel
• Carpool to work or school
• Walk, cycle or use public transport instead of the car
• Buy a fuel-efficient, low-polluting car. A smaller car is much more efficient
• Get your car serviced regularly
• Drive smoothly and steadily
• Use your air conditioning unit sparingly

Workplace

• Are lights left on unnecessarily? Check infrequently used areas (storerooms and toilets)
• Are lights put on early in the morning on a winter’s day and left on when the sun is streaming in?
• Are window blinds drawn requiring lights to be switched on?
• Turn off non-essential display lighting e.g. office foyers
• Turn off non-essential floodlighting/signage
• Is heating/air conditioning on with windows and doors open?
• Is office equipment (e.g. computers or photocopiers) left on when not required?
• Reduce the amount of paper you use by sending documents electronically, using double-sided copying and printing or reusing one-sided copies for drafts
• Reduce rubbish from lunch packaging by bringing reusable containers from home
• Recycle paper, plastic and glass in your office and lunchroom
• Set up a worm bin at work or taking food scraps home for composting

Linda would love to hear about ideas others have for assisting the planet.

Would you like to interview Linda? Need more information or a photo? Please contact Kimberley Paterson at Soul PR on 09 4244218 or kimberley@soulpr.com