savoy094

PENCINTA ALAM JANUARY 2016 ECO KIDS COLUMN QUICK AND EASY WATERMELON PINATA By Wong Ee Lynn ( wongeelynn@yahoo.com / gl.mnselangor@yahoo.com ) The New Year has just begun, and that means a whole year’s worth of parties and celebrations lies ahead of us! Piñatas are treat-filled papier-mâché or clay shells believed to originate from Europe, but are often associated with Mexico. They were made immensely popular by the USA, and have now become a common sight around the world, including in Malaysia, where children wait eagerly for their turn to strike at and break piñatas at parties. Piñatas can be expensive to buy, and time-consuming to make. Here is a quick and easy version of a homemade piñata that uses paper bags and other items found around the home, and wastes far less paper than the traditional cardboard and papier-mâché ones. THINGS YOU NEED: 1.       A large, sturdy paper bag. You may need to make a few strategic slits in the bag to make it break more easi...

PENCINTA ALAM JAN 2016 GREEN LIVING COLUMN A BEGINNER'S GUIDE TO A PLANT-BASED DIET By Wong Ee Lynn ( wongeelynn@yahoo.com / gl.mnselangor@yahoo.com ) Former California Governor and movie star Arnold Schwarzenegger recently made waves in the news when he urged people to try to go meat-free once or twice a week for the sake of the environment. Recognising that many people would find it challenging to go fully vegetarian, he wisely pointed out that "People will buy in to stop eating meat one or two days a week - you have to start slowly. It's a very big challenge but it doesn't mean it shouldn't be done." The factory farming industry has a very large carbon footprint. Producing 1kg of meat protein is calculated to take between 3 and 10kg of vegetable protein. Emissions from farming, forestry and fisheries have nearly doubled over the past 50 years and may increase by another 30% by 2050, according to the United Nations. Most of the emissions from meat farming c...