Going green

Care for the environment is a thing that becomes really necessary now a day, because we can actually see every day the effects of the pollution and our lack of concern for our planet.

Reading some blogs and internet information I realize that there are a few simple things that we can do to improve the conditions of the earth and that won’t take a lot of time or money –sometimes we can even save money doing these little things-

One of the things that help is stopping the standby waste. This means unplug the electric devices when we’re not using them. This will reduce the amounts of carbon dioxide that go out to the air each year and we will save money in our electricity bills.

Another little and meaningful change is to stop using traditional bulbs and choosing the energy-ones. They last longer than the traditional bulbs and don’t waste energy. Also turning off the lights when we leave a room is a habit that we had to learn and apply.

The 40% of the water used in our home goes down the toilet, to prevent this situation we can put a plastic bottle inside the tank and fill it with small stones, rice or beans and the space that is used by the bottle will reduce the amount of water needed to fill the tank, and we will save water with every flush, and money in our water bills too.

While I was writing this article I realize that being green is not that hard and does not involve major changes in our daily routine, but it is really important when  we look up for solutions and improvements for our planet.

Blackfish, the documentary

Blackfish is the name of a documentary directed by Gabriela Cowperthwaite, released at the Sundance Film Festival in 2013.

The documentary focuses on a killer whale in, Tilikum, that killed 3 people, including his trainer, Dawn Brancheau, on Sea World in the U.S, and shows the consequences and questions that come up of the captivity of animals.

 In February of 2010, when Dawn Brancheau dies after the attack of Tilikum, the hipotesis to explain the accident was that the trainer tied her hair in a pony tail and the whale has a reaction because of that, but Cowperthwaite, by doing interviews and researches with people related to the case and former trainers from Sea World, concluding that the ways to capture Tilikum and the conditions of captivity contributed to his aggression.

Gabriela Cowperthwaite also questioned the entire Sea World speech about captivity, that ensures that marine animals live longer in captivity than in the sea.

In the documentary one of the thing that shocked me the most was the testimonies of the former trainers from Sea World, because they explain how they bonded with the animals. Also they tell that in the shows, when they do the tricks with the whales, they have to explain that whales lived in good conditions, and after they retired and with the death of Dawn they can question that speech.

The existence of documentary as “Blackfish” helps create awareness of the limits that we should have, as a species, for our entertainment.