As Sustainable As Possible - BSG Blog

When was the first Earth Day? The very first Earth Day was held in the U.S. in April 1970. Millions of Americans, including students from thousands of colleges and universities, participated in rallies, marches and educational programs across the country.  Earth Day was the brainchild of Senator Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin, an environmentalist who hoped to unite the grassroots environmental movement and increase awareness of ecological issues. “The objective was to get a nationwide demonstration of concern for the environment so large that it would shake the political establishment out of its lethargy,” Senator Nelson said, “and, finally, force this issue permanently onto...

Have you ever thought about the evolution of the toothbrush? The earliest form of "toothbrushes" were actually “chewing sticks”- for example, miswak or neem. In ancient Babylon, people chewed on twigs to shred the edge into fibres, creating a "brush" that they would use to clean their teeth. Some plants even contained cleansing or antiseptic properties. Miswak or neem chewing sticks are still common in some parts of the world.  The Chinese were probably the first to invent the earliest form of 'toothbrush' in the form we currently recognise. These were made with boar bristles stuck onto or tied with twine onto the handles of...

Before you hit "check out" on any of the year-end sales online or pick up something on impulse because you're tight on time... Always remember that meaningful, well thought out gifts make the biggest impact. The Christmas gifts I remember were handmade or thoughtfully picked out - a handsewn doll from my mother and a book from my father (who endearingly went to Books Actually at their original Ann Siang Hill location and asked them for help to pick a book for 16-year-old me! - He left the shop with a copy of "Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats"... aww!) When it...

I used to attend weekly talks about Buddhism at a temple a few years ago and recently they’ve restarted their sessions (now on video conferencing - yay!) After last night’s session, one of my classmates asked a question about how to deal with pests since the Buddhist approach is to avoid needless killing (“ahimsa” - non harming). I thought about my own response to pests. I realised that my preference over time has been to shift the “pest” or shoo it away rather than whip out a spray.Here’s my citronella and lemongrass incense stick for repelling mosquitos — I’m giving...