005: Talking Sustainability with Sal Lavallo whom have visited every single country

08/15/18 • 36 min

Our guest today has travelled to every single country in the world. 15 of those he has lived in for more than two months and more than 50 of those he has visited twice or more and this all before the age of 27. He also studied economic development and identity.

Crazy birds, without any further ado, I would like to welcome, Sal Lavallo.

Episode Highlights

[01:46] The journey to every country happened very organically and it was really a love for the world than a love for travel.

[03:38] I have been to every continent over twenty or more times except for like Australia Oceania where I have only been five separate times.

[04:01] My last four countries were on four different continents.

[04:31] I think that in terms of technology, I think it is a double-edged sword. It is great because people have a lot more access to information, they are able to learn more and are connected with others.

[06:12] I have a very unique experience that I own a farm in Tanzania, I go there every year. It’s a very rural village, often is without electricity and that is kind of giving me an intimate understanding of that other side of this specific problem.

[07:50] What cool is now with communication a lot of the times what happens or at least in my village in Africa, in Tanzania, is that when the electricity does go out we get an SMS, like a text message from the electricity company saying when it will come back.

[09:37] So a lot of the times you are offered water that isn’t drinkable and so being very aware of that and sometimes it can feel a little bit like distancing to say oh no I can’t have your water, but you have to stay alive you know.

[10:10] It is also a little bit of a fallacy getting used to the food and the water because they are still getting cholera. It is not that they are used to like these communicable diseases, it is that they do not have an option.

[10:48] Where have you had your best tap water?

[12:20] Any Island it is so difficult to have an efficient and sustainable waste management regime.

[13:12] Some of these islands in the Pacific have the highest like per capita population density in the world.

[16:37] Rwanda recently like outlawed plastic bags. Rwanda is the cleanest countries in Africa, it is one of the most incredible development stories of the past 20-25 year stories, considering where they were at in 1994.

[18:55] There is always more that can be done.

[19:30] One thing I think is really misunderstood is the evolution of germ theory and how dirty the world was and in some ways still is.

[20:17] There is always, always more to learn, always more ways to push yourself, but it has to be done within a balance of what can you do, what makes you happy, what doesn’t get in the way of your life.

[20:40] Do what you can, reduce your waste a little bit or turn off the faucet or like only use the like smaller flush.

[23:23] People then learn to adapt.

[24:10] I think I am like passively aware and coz I have lived a lot in places that do not have a lot of water. I have lived in places like deserts in New Mexico where we had to be very aware of our water usage.

[26:27] I guess there is a decision like to be aware but not feel too quality. I think that is a very important balance that I think a lot of people are afraid of that if they even start on a journey that they need to be more sustainable that they are going to feel bad about not being more sustainable.

Final Five

1.What is one social media platform that you follow?

2.What is your hope for mama earth going forward?

I think that soon that food would be the next gold in a way, I mean it already is such a huge part of the economy but I want there to be more interesting agribusiness and that being the cool thing to get into. Like business people wanting to own like agricultural companies and like farms and cool innovations in agriculture.

3.What advise can you give our crazy birds this week to help out mama earth?

Turn the faucet off.

Don’t buy too much stuff in like plastic.

Say no to the single-use plastic bag and utensils.

4.What is one sustainability fact that you like to use in a room with people not yet on a sustainability journey?

I don’t think that people know or realize how many people around the world are smallholder farmers and it is something like a quart...

Crazy birds, without any further ado, I would like to welcome, Sal Lavallo.

Episode Highlights

[01:46] The journey to every country happened very organically and it was really a love for the world than a love for travel.

[03:38] I have been to every continent over twenty or more times except for like Australia Oceania where I have only been five separate times.

[04:01] My last four countries were on four different continents.

[10:48] Where have you had your best tap water?

[12:20] Any Island it is so difficult to have an efficient and sustainable waste management regime.

[13:12] Some of these islands in the Pacific have the highest like per capita population density in the world.

[18:55] There is always more that can be done.

[19:30] One thing I think is really misunderstood is the evolution of germ theory and how dirty the world was and in some ways still is.

[20:40] Do what you can, reduce your waste a little bit or turn off the faucet or like only use the like smaller flush.

[23:23] People then learn to adapt.

Final Five

1.What is one social media platform that you follow?

2.What is your hope for mama earth going forward?

3.What advise can you give our crazy birds this week to help out mama earth?

Turn the faucet off.

Don’t buy too much stuff in like plastic.

Say no to the single-use plastic bag and utensils.

4.What is one sustainability fact that you like to use in a room with people not yet on a sustainability journey?

I don’t think that people know or realize how many people around the world are smallholder farmers and it is something like a quart...

Previous Episode

004: Top Tip Thursday Reducing Waste In The Kitchen with Mariska Nell

A lot of the waste created in our homes is generated in the kitchen. It is not only food scraps that make their way to the bin, but also package materials.

In this episode, I will be sharing a few ways how you can reduce the amount of waste you create in the kitchen as well as a few easy steps you can do to minimize on the packaging you bring home with you. We will also look at a few swaps we can make when it comes to washing the dishes that will be great for the environment and also save us some money.

Episode Highlights

[00:45] The majority of waste we have in the kitchens comes from the way that we shop.

[00:59] Plastic grocery bags, you can switch them out for reusable bags.

[01:23] The average family accumulates around 60 plastic bags in only four grocery trips. 30 billion plastic bags are used annually in the USA alone.

[01:50] Single-use plastic water bottles you can switch to filtered tap water.

[02:26] These single-use bottles take more than twice as much water to produce than it holds and less than 10% of these bottles are recycled.

[02:50] Studies have shown that 93% of bottled water contains double the amount of microplastics than regular tap water.

[03:37] Cling wrap or plastic food bags you can switch to a reusable beeswax wrap.

[04:26] These wraps can last months depending on the usage and you would be able to rewax them yourself.

[04:43] In the last few months, I have been able to switch out the dishwashing sponges with a loofah.

[05:06] Not only is the loofah better for the environment but it is also more economical as the price for the large loofah, that would last me months is almost the same if not cheaper than a pack of 4 sponges.

[05:23] Composting

[05:50] For me living in an apartment composting was one of the harder things to do as I had no balcony

[06:32] The Smart Cara is lovely waste disposal unit that makes it easy for me to add all the food scraps too.

[06:52] Since I started composting and have my recycling bins set up, I have been able to reduce the amount of waste that our house creates with a lot.

[07:29] but I would also recommend to evaluate your kitchen and see what items you are currently using on a regular basis that would be easy to switch. You might be using a lot of paper towels and would be able to switch them for washable cloths or tea towels.

Key Take Away

“The average family accumulates around 60 plastic bags in only four grocery trips. 30 billion plastic bags are used annually in the USA alone”

When you hear a statistic like this it really hits me hard as when we go about our daily lives, we do not realize how many single-use items we are offered in a day. This is something that I have seen while taking part in the Waste Me Not challenge. It is very easy to take free items like the plastic bag but we seldom think about where would it go after you have used it? It is simple things like this that makes us reevaluate our habits and helps us to make changes for a more sustainable life.

Next Episode

006: Top Tip Thursday Sustainable Travelling with Mariska Nell

In the previous episode we talked to, Sal Lavallo one of the youngest people to have visited every single country in the world.

In this episode, I will be sharing with you some of my tips to travel more sustainable and how being a little prepared can save a lot of waste. The average person on a flight creates around 1kg of waste, with a full plane and a lot of travelling that certainly adds up.

Episode Highlights

[01:17] Reusable water bottle.

[01:34] Most airports have water fountains, you might just have to ask around to find the closest one to you.

[02:18] Reusable Bag

[02:19] I would also have a reusable bag in my handbag or backpack.

[02:45] Reusable coffee cup

[03:00] This will allow me to enjoy a good cappuccino without using a single-use plastic during the journey.

[03:29] Cutlery

[03:41] The cutlery set has helped me a lot of times to be able to refuse any single-use cutlery during the journey.

[03:49] Beeswax wrap or a reusable container.

[03:58] I would use this for takeout food and leftovers while travelling. I use them to store the food that I would consume during the journey as well.

[04:24] Reusable Straws

[04:31] I do enjoy a good Pina Colada when on holiday but do not enjoy the single-use plastic straw that it so often comes with it.

[04:49] Headset

[04:52] As I often travel, I have invested in a good headset. This allows me to use my headset every single time I travel and avoid to have to open a headset in a single-use plastic bag.

0: My final tip for today is to do what you can and feel comfortable with to start with. Living a more sustainable life is a journey and not a race.

Key Take Away

“As I often travel, I have invested in a good headset. This allows me to use my headset every single time I travel and avoid to have to open a headset in a single-use plastic bag”

A good headset has not only helped me to reduce the amount of single-use plastic that I use during a flight but it is also a lot more comfortable to use. I purchased a small adaptor that allows me to plug in my headset. It is only recently that I invested in a headset that has noise cancellation as well. I can not even begin to tell you how much I enjoy using it. I normally catch a lot of red eyes and require to sleep on the flight with times. I have been able to switch it on, while listening to some music and sleep through people snoring, babies crying and food services. You will soon find that there are more and more items that you can switch out for reusable items that do not require packaging every single time you use it.