Last week I stumbled across a cute little cafe called Misschu, down an alley near Bondi Beach. As I sat down and ordered a coffee, I noticed on the table a holding cup full of disposable chopsticks. It’s not something that would have struck me before, but since starting work at Greenpeace I’ve become aware of how disposable chopsticks seriously eats into our forest resources.

Then I took a look around at the tables of other patrons. Their food was being served in throwaway cardboard boxes. My coffee arrived served in a takeaway cup, even though I was eating in. And this bothered me. What a waste! I was used to seeing that prevalence of disposable packaging in Asia but I had always given Australia credit for being fairly environmentally conscious. (Note, this was a Vietnamese eatery and thus took aesthetic cues from that habit.)

I chewed my bottom lip. Do I say something? I wanted to but I was certain the waitress would roll her eyes at me and think to herself, “here we go, another one of those annoying greenies.”

Well, I figured I could bring it up nicely, and that nothing ever changed in this world without someone speaking up. And maybe they have a legitimate reason for the throwaway packaging. That’s the other great thing about speaking up – sometimes you’re wrong, and you learn something new.

I inquired with the waitress and she looked at me embarrassed and apologetic. “Quite a few people have mentioned that, but that’s just how this place has been setup. As a [take-away] canteen.”

While it may appear that my words had little effect, who knows. It has joined the words of other ‘speaker-uper-ers’ past and future that will perhaps accumulate to the point in which Misschu’s owner decides to offer a non-disposable option for diners eating in.

Vegetarianism too is something that dawned on me slowly (technically I’m more of a “social meat-eater”, in the same way that some people are “social drinkers” or “social smokers”.) It was like losing contact with a friend, but realizing that maybe it’s for the best. There was a major contributing factor to this new found eating habit. I became friends with a vegetarian couple, even living with them for one month while I was homeless. The guy of the couple was quite hectoring about vegetarianism. He’d rattle off statistics and facts about the environmental benefits of vegetarianism, or more often, lecture me on the health dangers of eating meat.

Sometimes he’d say things like, “One day we’re going to think of meat the same way we think of cigarettes. There’s going to be sold in the 18+ section with warning labels all over them.”

At the time I though little of it, and would humor him by nodding with eyes glazed over. Little did I know his words were squirreling their way into my mind. His nagging motherly ways finally got to me.

Other small factors: many of my workmates and other friends are vegetarian and in eating with them I was introduced to a lot of yummy vegetarian dishes. And now that I’m cooking for myself more, meat dishes is more expensive.

In activism, it’s not uncommon to face the question, “but don’t you think this is all a waste of time? People won’t listen. Or they’ll listen, but they won’t actually change.” I like to remind people:

1. You don’t know what impact your words or actions might have. Just as I, at the time, seemed pretty unresponsive to my vegetarian friend’s lecturing, with much persistence he eventually wore me down.

2. You are one drop, of a large tidal wave. My friend alone probably wouldn’t have converted me into vegetarianism, but together the multitudes of influences did.

‘Stop campaigning’ is all about asking people to stop or reduce how much they do something. ‘Start campaigning’, as you can guess, is all about asking people to start doing something. I’ll use a few examples to illustrate:

Australia has one of the highest rates of skin cancer incidence in the world, and accordingly also an ongoing skin cancer awareness campaign for over thirty years now. Back when I was a kid in the 80s SunSmart Australia had a super-catchy decade long campaign with the line “Slip! Slop! Slap!”. Even now I can remember what those three words meant – slip on a shirt, slop on some sunscreen, slap on a hat. It’s a great example of ‘start campaigning’. Thanks to this successful campaign Aussies around the country started wearing sunscreen, hats and other protective gear.

According to the SunSmart site, “as the public became more aware of the Slip! Slop! Slap! message, SunSmart began to focus on telling people how they can reduce their skin cancer risk and how to identify changes to their own skin that may be a sign of skin cancers.”

And one of their most recent television ads is a good example of ‘stop campaigning’, with the message being ‘stop tanning because it’s unsafe’.

The environmental movement is a big fan of ‘stop campaigning’. The entire simple living movement is all about reducing one’s possessions, ecological footprint, energy usage etc. While it’s a message that works well with people who feel overwhelmed by modern day materialism and conspicuous consumption, there’s also the danger you’ll come off as a kill-joy.

Recently Emily and I launched ‘The Winter B-icicle Challenge‘, in which we encourage citizens around the world to bike to work or school every day throughout winter. We’ve employed ‘start campaigning’ and I guess the ‘stop campaigning’ equivalent would be World Carfree Day which asks drivers on September 22 to leave their vehicles at home.

While both the ‘Winter B-icicle Challenge’ and ‘World Carfree Day’ have similar goals: stop climate change by reducing the number of CO2 emitting cars on the road, the methods in which we achieve that goal is different. Our ‘start campaign’, I believe, is more fun, and much easier to create content or engagement with the challengers. But at the same time, it’s very specific (we exclude those who might walk or catch public transport) and the environmental messaging isn’t as clear as ‘World Carfree Day’.

In the end, as was the case with the SunSmart campaigns, you need both. You need people to reduce harmful activities (and know why they need to reduce) but they also need to be informed and encouraged to take up positive alternatives.

Quit smoking ads and skin cancer ads almost always make use of ‘negative messaging’. Sad ads featuring puppies in the RSPCA or starving children in Africa are others examples. It appeals to people’s inborn fears – fear that they’ll die, fear of pain, fear of losing one loved ones, fear of poverty, fear that their life in undeservedly more comfortable than that of others. The hope here is that people become so sad, so guilt-ridden or so afraid that they’ll get up and do something.

It’s a powerful tool because it has the power to move people deeply, but it can be dangerous if overused. People can become ‘turned off’ and thus discouraged.

Environmentalists used negative messaging at the 2009 Copenhagen Climate Summit. Their platform was “it’s now or never” and “this is our last change”. The sense of urgency was meant to instigate change. Of course, nothing miraculous happened at COP15. So with all their chips spent what were environmentalists to say at this year’s climate change talks in Durban? “Um, you know how we said Copenhagen was our last chance? Actually, THIS is our last chance. For reals this time.”

These days most campaigns try and use positive messaging. Positive messaging tries to inspire people to strive for a better and more beautiful world. One of the best examples must be the recent and incredibly successful GetUp! campaign ad. If you haven’t seen it yet, you really should.

It’s simple, beautifully made and leaves you feeling all gooey inside about how awesome love is. No wonder it’s garnered over four million views in less than two months. The campaign for marriage equality usually relies on ‘negative messaging’ – the tone is normally one of indignant anger, or sadness, about the injustice of a homophobic law that bans same-sex marriage. So I think this ad is unusual in that is uses ‘positive messaging’.

In truth, both positive and negative messaging have their place. (Note, when I use the word ‘negative’ that doesn’t mean bad, it’s just a technical term.) And sometimes great campaigns make use of both. Take the Occupy Wall Street poster:

The rioters at the bottom is ‘negative’ – they represent anger against an injustice system. But the ballerina is ‘positive’ – she inspires us to prevail and create something wonderful.

The dude in the second photo, Miles, looks like the baddest mofo on the planet. But in reality is the gentlest most chilled guy I’ve ever met.

A lot of people are surprised when I tell them that the very large majority of staff in all the East Asia offices are locals, not foreigners. Yes, there are Chinese environmentalists, and they’re a very committed, talented and passionate bunch.

Conversations about the woes – the many woes – of the world often end with a throwing up of the hands, a sigh, and a “it’s just all too difficult”, or perhaps a “nothing’s going to change.”

To that I’ve always had a one-word counter argument. Feminism.

We’re by no means living in a post-sexist world, but one cannot deny that if you look back at history, amazing, great strides have been made in regards to women’s rights. In another era, as a woman, I couldn’t own property, I couldn’t vote, I might not have even been able to choose who I wanted to marry.

Women’s rights happened slowly. It was not one singular cause, movement or leader that did it – it was many small battles fought and won over many, many years. It was a multitude of things, seen and unseen. And it required faith that the fight was worth fighting, and that in the end justice would prevail. Even if that justice was unseen – even unseen in one’s own lifetime.

And that is what is required of anyone working for or making difficult choices in the name of a better world. An ability to be satisfied with small wins, and a large degree of faith that the bigger war is heading the right direction.

As Emily and I brainstorm about what to do with Lane Change, I wanted to sit down and really analyze what an individual can do, to bring about positive change. Here’s what I have. Please send in anything you feel I might have left off:

1. In work

Every single person has an opportunity to change the world through the paid work they do. Of course some people will have more opportunities than others. For example, politicians have the power to bring in laws that will radically change the way society operates. The CEOs of major multinationals can transform industries, industry practices, and wipe out or preserve acres of forests, oceans, rivers and mountains with one flick of their hand.

The work and ideas of economists, engineers, scientists, researchers, lawyers, teachers, artists, designers and journalists too have a disproportionately large influence on society. And that influence is a responsibility to civil society and the green earth.

But really, all business owners have the power to change – through the support of certain industry initiatives, or by trying to include (or even better, make central) certain practices and ideas.

And as an employee you can pick who you choose to work for – does the work your company do, and the way in which they do it, align with your values? Remember, working for someone is a form of support!

No matter what your industry, you have a chance to be creative. Creativity is just about new ideas, or new ways of doing things. Don’t accept the status quo. Make an impact by doing something better, and differently.

2. Support, join or start an NGO

There are a million non-profit organizations, charities, lobby and activist groups, unions, co-ops and movements who want you involved. What do they want?

• Your time. Volunteer or participate in actions!
• Your money. Donate!
• Your influence. Can your company align/partner/sponsor?
• Your public support. Spread the word!

3. Vote

Despite the gargantuan power that the corporate sector has in our society, the democratic political system is still one of the best (and few) ways that citizens can have their say. Politics is only weak when we choose not to participate in it – one of those chicken-and-the-egg dilemmas. Luckily it also means the more we exercise our political voice, the stronger our political power becomes.

So:

• Write or e-mail your local representative.
• Join a party, and volunteer your time.
• Vote. On behalf of society, for a better future, and for the earth.

4. Make individual changes

Much like your vote in the political system, your purchases act like a “vote” in the corporate sector. By taking into account certain dimensions – not just aesthetics, or good design – but also green design, energy efficiency, consideration of working conditions etc. – you are sending to the corporate world a message of support in regards to certain design, editorial and production choices.

Likewise, choosing to bike instead of ride a car, or consuming less, or altering other aspects of your life, not only contributes to a system of supply and demand, you’re also sending a message to those around you about what kind of life we should be living.

That said, I’m hesitant to emphasize this point because too much emphasis is placed on this already. Individual choices, though important, are not enough alone. They are only effective when working in conjunction with the other points. In fact, I often find them more useful as a form of “daily inspiration”.

5. Express yourself

Don’t be afraid to speak up and tell people what you believe in (that said, gentle persuasion usually beats obstinate hectoring.) You never know what effect it will have. Write, make art, make music, make films and videos. Tweet it, Facebook it. Share the work of other people who you feel have said it better than you could have.

Image (cc) Glenn Waters

We go in search of Sydney’s secret tastes of China.

Sydney is set to explode with firecrackering frivolity when, on 20 January, the Chinese New Year celebrations get under way. For two weeks the city will be alive with lion dances, night markets, acrobatic performances, dragon boat races, a twilight parade and more. Chinese New Year aside, in the city that boasts Australia’s largest Chinese population, one can find an array of Chinese experiences all year round.

Our morning of discovery begins at the Chinatown branch of International Wing Chun Academy. Wing Chun-style kung fu became world renowned after one of its students, Bruce Lee, made it big in the US. Instructor Jeffrey Macris first gives me a short history lesson.

“Wing Chun was developed over 300 years ago by a Buddhist nun called Ng Mui, in the Southern Shaolin temple. She named it after one of her best students, a girl called Yim Wing Chun who legend has it escaped an unwanted marriage betrothal by defeating her suitor in a martial arts fight.” He explains that Wing Chun emphasises economy of movement over brute force; when strategy is key the best fighter isn’t necessarily the strongest, or even the quickest, of the bunch.

At 10am, a bell rings and the class gives a respectful bow to three photos hanging on the wall depicting a long lineage of teachers. Jeffrey leads us with a graceful warm up of tai chi-like moves, before teaching several punches and kicks. I’m paired up with cute little 12-year-old Julia Lu who tells me she took up the art because, “It was something different. I really like it now!” Julia is half my height so I’m unconcerned; until, that is, she starts landing punches that take my breath away.

Kung fu is rewarded with lunch at Golden Century Seafood Restaurant. Nestled in the heart of Chinatown, the restaurant features a wall of tanks in which swim over a hundred prawns, lobsters, crabs, abalone, fish and other underwater delights all hinting at the dining experience on offer ’til as late as 4am.

I order signature dishes like the fleshy pippies in their fan-shells, doused with homemade XO sauce. The barbecue pork is a lovely, dark pink colour, finished with a sticky glaze. I also try a steamed scallop sitting royally in the centre of a gorgeous, purple shell. Then lick my fingers through the salt and pepper deep-fried mud crab.

A spot of culture is in order, so it’s off to the White Rabbit Gallery near Central Station. The gallery’s four floors house the private collection of contemporary Chinese art enthusiast Judith Neilson. It’s so large the gallery only shows a fraction at any one time, and has been rehung twice a year since opening in 2009. There’s an impressive mixture of paintings, sculptures and digital media works, by everyone from the young to more established artists such as the famed Ai Wei Wei, whose oily black puddles of porcelain grace the second floor.

Next stop is Bourke Street’s intimate Zensation Tea House. Their tea appreciation menu begins with a hibiscus blossom tea that’s served slightly chilled — perfect to cleanse the palette. The Silver Needle, a feminine and elegant pale tea, follows. Raymond Leung, the teahouse owner, opens up a tea leaf for me, revealing a bud and two springy leaves with faint, silver fur. Much like wine, Chinese tea can run up to thousands of dollars, depending on their label and season.

For the Milky Oolong, Leung invites me to a tea ceremony. I quietly watch him wash the cups and pour the tea with much flourish. He implores me to “flip” my male “yang” cup, pouring the tea into the rounder, female, “yin” cup. As I sip, a milky taste with hints of coconut fills my mouth.

Evening sets and Mah Jong Room beckons. The décor is modern with borrowed elements from the past: Chinese antique-style furniture, private dining rooms with kitsch 60s-style wallpaper and furnishings, black- and-white photos of Beijing’s iconic hutong (alleyways) and a dash of old-school Shanghai glamour for good measure.

While the food and cocktail menu is similarly sophisticated, the restaurant’s draw card is the chance to play mah jong, a Chinese favourite. A regular, Mike Smith, says: “It’s a great afternoon learning how to play. I lived in Asia for years and would hear the clacking of the tiles on my way home from work each night. I can’t believe it took me so long to learn!”

TAKE ME THERE

• GOLDEN CENTURY SEAFOOD RESTAURANT 393–399 Sussex St, Sydney, tel: +61 (2) 9212 3901
• INTERNATIONAL WING CHUN ACADEMY 1st Floor, 355 Sussex St, Sydney, tel: +61 (2) 9264 2712
• MAH JONG ROOM 312 Crown St, Surry Hills, tel: +61 (2) 9361 3985
• WHITE RABBIT GALLERY 30 Balfour St, Chippendale, tel: +61 (2) 8399 2867
• ZENSATION TEA HOUSE 656 Bourke St, Redfern, tel: +61 (2) 9319 2788

Jetstar Magazine, January 2012.

Image (cc) eddy_

Image (cc) Arno Arno

From my Lane Change partner and fellow greenie Emily D’Ath:

Could you go a month or even a year only wearing 10 pieces of clothing?

Well I’m going to try for just under a month. I am heading to Australia today for a holiday until the beginning of February and have packed 10 items of clothing to last me for the whole trip (not including underwear, swimmers and running gear. I am taking 3 pairs of shoes, one of which is a pair of runners). I am only taking carry on and my bag weighs 6.4kg. For some of you this may seem totally doable but for others it could be regarded as bit of a challenge especially considering I have my best friends wedding and my engagement party to attend during my holiday.

Why am I doing this?

I buy too much and I want to change my consumer habits. In order to change these habits I need to change my behaviours and attitude to things I consume and clothing makes up a big part. As with the Winter B-icicle Challenge I want to walk the talk of sustainable living.

There was one statistic I heard at a recent Greennovate event relating to consumer behaviour that shocked me – Over a 5 year period we will throw out approximately 85% of all purchases. The Ethical Fashion Forum based in the UK says:

UK consumers send 30kg of clothing and textiles per capita to landfill each year and that 1.2 million tonnes of clothing went to landfill in 2005 in the UK alone.

This level of consumption is alarming and so unsustainable it’s just not funny.

Recently the designers over at We Are Ultra have inspired me to rethink how I wear my clothes and how many items I actually need in my wardrobe. Ultra produce beautiful clothes made from approximately 75% recycled and organic materials. It is becoming more and more clear to me that you don’t have to have a full wardrobe to dress well and look good. Basically I need to buy less but at the same time buy clothes that are good quality items that will last. I need to get smarter with my purchases.

So below are my 10 items I will be wearing for January. I have chosen them based mainly on their comfort and suitability for the climate. All the items can be worn with each other to make different outfits.

You never know I might just find 10 items is too much.

At times Hong Kong doesn’t seem so different from China’s southern most province, Guangdong. They are both Cantonese, with Hong Kong the cashed up, cleaner, more fashionable cousin. But every now and then you see something that reminds you you are definitely not in the Mainland. Things like an Occupy protest. Things like this:

This is a monument to the hundreds (thousands? we’re still not sure) who died at Tian’an’men Square, on that fateful day, June 4, 1989.

When Hong Kong was handed back to the mainland in 1997, the Chinese government promised she would be governed with a ‘one country, two systems‘ mentality – or at least for the next fifty years. But as China’s economic might has grown, so too has the financial ties between Hong Kong and the rest of the country. Rather than by force, it is a glimmering river of cash that is bringing a long-lost relative back into the fold.

What will be the fate of Hong Kong’s clean human rights record and freedom of press? I predict we will see one of two things:

1. The monument to the victims of the Tian’an’men Square massacre currently erected in Hong Kong University (HKU) will be quietly removed.

2. In addition to the one at HKU, a monument to the victims of the Tian’an’men Square massacre will be erected in Peking University and other universities around the country.

For those of you who have trouble understanding the Chinese government’s incredible sensitivity regarding Tian’an’men, think of it like this. The government is like a heavy handed patriarch, who, in seeing his children come of age – ready to leave their nest and take control of their own destiny – freaked out and decided the reasonable reaction was to kill/imprison their children.

The patriarch is now extremely bitter about these children he considered wayward. Not to mention very sensitive about the issue – the slightest mention will set him off. He is also extremely paranoid and obsessed with control over the remaining children. He is determined to infantalise them by only letting them know as much as he feels they need to so that they remain in the house and under thumb.

Remains to be seen if Hong Kong will have any influence on the future of the mainland.

Yesterday my Greenpeace colleagues in Hong Kong told me of a local Occupy movement, out at the HSBC headquarters. “But there are more Filipino maids ‘occupying’ the park then there are protesters,” they joked.

Every Sunday thousands of Hong Kong’s live-in Filipino and Indonesian domestic helpers gather together and socialise in public areas on their one day off. In fact, I just learned the HSBC headquarters is, along with places like Victoria Park, one of the maid hangouts. Which means that on Sundays the protesters are occupying the space of one of the city’s most disadvantaged groups. Although perhaps sharing is a better word seeing as the maids would outnumber the thirty or forty protesters by 100 to 1.

My photo above taken today, along with a 2006 photo from flickr of maids chilling on their day off. Image (cc) Ljubisa Bojic

Despite the small numbers, I was pretty excited to head to my first Occupy site. Especially in Hong Kong, the most unlikeliest cities. In my last blog post I talked about how Milton Friedman called this “the world’s greatest experiment in laissez-faire capitalism”. Hong Kong is one of the world’s most important shipping ports and financial hubs, so you can safely say has done nothing but benefited from corporate power (and misuse of power).

The sleek HSBC headquarters is nestled comfortably among giant luxury brand stores like LV and Dolce & Gabanna. Two lion statues gaze impassively at the bustling bankers in their sharp suits and now, pretty remarkably, a small but colourful Occupation. The camp has been around since October 15.

It was pretty quiet on a Friday morning, although there would supposedly be more activities later that evening. Hong Kong local Lee is pictured above manning the reception desk. While Anthony from Australia pictured below is just breezing in and out. “I’m in town for a conference and I hit up a couchsurfer who said if I wanted to crash with him here I could!” One of the more original places to couchsurf.

I was pretty amazed by this little island of defiance. Meanwhile on the rest of the island the only hint of revolution looks like this:

UPDATED: Occupy Hong Kong once held a candlelight vigil for equal rights of foreign domestic helpers, with migrant workers turning up in support.

Entirely covered trams and busses, billboards, neon signs, stickers on restaurant windows and bus-stops. Half of the city’s flat surfaces has been sold out to someone. I noticed one blank billboard that, naturally, had an ad to “advertise here”.

Milton Friedman once described Hong Kong as the world’s greatest experiment in laissez-faire capitalism. It is a hyper-developed city: standard of living is high, and it scores well in terms of human rights and quality of life indexes. At times it also feels like one giant shopping mall, or like I’ve been assaulted by a Vogue magazine.

Escape to the islands or head to the hills if you need a break from all the visual pollution.