A couple of New Year’s Eve’s ago I made a resolution to myself and it has lead me down a road that has been painful, liberating, horrific and rewarding, and I haven’t looked back… I promised myself I would be vocal about the things going on around me that really upset and concerned me.  The next year I decided to choose one thing I care about whether it be a human rights issue, animal rights issue or environmental issue it didn’t (and still doesn’t) matter what it was, research the issue, educate myself as to why it was happening, who it was that behind it and who else was benefiting from it, what could be done to change the practice and make it ethical, AND then most importantly stop giving putting my consumer dollars into their pockets because I wanted to remove myself from the problem.  I am still trying this.  It’s harder than it seems with big umbrella corporations linking so many products together and mainstream media again leading back to only a few people connected to the corporate world, assisting with hiding or at least providing bias opinion regarding the facts, at times.

In the last few years I have revisited a few issues that I have cared about since my childhood. This is where the first three issues I am focusing on.

• I grew up in South East Asia and have always felt a strong connection to my childhood years in Indonesia.  With memories, of Sumatran Tigers and Orang-utans still vivid today.  I already knew the palm oil industry was a major player in the loss of habitat for both these endangered creatures.  What I didn’t realise was how many products contain palm oil and all the other issues facing these two amazing animals.
• Last year my father told me that when I was really quite young at the end of the day, he would announce it was bath time and I would be very inquisitive as to if there would be a whale in my bath tub.  When I asked him if it was excitement or concern at that prospect he says I wasn’t excited, possibly a little concerned but more just interested.  My interested in the whales quickly grew from whales to dolphins, turtles, coral reefs, sharks and so on and so on, throughout my life.
• As a child my father took me snorkeling at a small Malaysian island called Tioman, I feel in love with the ocean there and turtles were my favourite.

So this will be my attempt to share the idea.  This blog is a place, where I can put my research, thoughts and discoveries on a journey to match my dollars, my voice and my ethics.