Tom van Oosterhout - Our Green Health

To Walk or to Cycle, Which is Better? Either Way, they’re Both Sustainable

30/08/202130/08/2021 by Tom van Oosterhout

To walk or to cycle, which is better? There has never been any doubt in my mind that cycling and walking are the 2 most sustainable modes of travel.

However, the more we discuss sustainability issues in our articles, the more the question pops up in my head which of the 2 is the most sustainable. To walk or to cycle, which is better?

From the example of the city of Copenhagen and our own experiences, I tried to construct an answer to this question. As it happens, both walking and cycling are the most sustainable modes of travel and transport.

Healthy Feet are Important because they Carry the Full Weight of Our Body

29/08/202123/08/2021 by Tom van Oosterhout

Healthy feet are important, as well as healthy footwear. As a matter of fact, one can not do without the other.

The best healthy feet are those feet that do without shoes. However, most of us wear shoes. Because we want to, or we have to. Being used to walking with shoes on, there are certain risks to walking barefoot.

Whether we walk barefoot or with shoes, maintenance of our feet is essential. The prevention of falls is one of the reasons to maintain healthy feet.

Sustainable Footwear Protects the Environment and Our Health

20/08/2021 by Tom van Oosterhout

The best sustainable footwear is no footwear. Don’t think this is not possible. There is a huge movement out there of people who walk barefoot all day. Barefoot is not without risks, but in general, it’s better for your feet.

However, many of us wear shoes all day. By custom, or because we have to.

Buying shoes is always a challenge. What to look out for? What’s best for my feet? Do the shoes also support the rest of my body? What to wear in which season?

What is Eco-Friendly Household Cleaning and why We All Need to Switch

19/08/202116/08/2021 by Tom van Oosterhout

What is eco-friendly household cleaning and why is it not a very popular subject? Greenpeace and other environmental advocates do not waste any words on eco-friendly household cleaning.

This is partly because they believe that environmental problems can only be solved by pressurizing governments to take on big multinational corporations.

Although this is a comprehensible tactic, it denies the power consumers can exercise. And actually have to exercise.

How to Manage Medication without Getting Sick?

11/08/2021 by Tom van Oosterhout

How to manage medication without getting sick? This is a rather strange question. For me, the question explains 3 things.

First, it’s best to learn to manage medication when we are not sick. Second, it’s good to understand that medication, when not properly administered, can get us very sick. This is why we should only use official medication which is prescribed by a medical professional.

Third, it is important for us to understand that we also have a responsibility of our own. Once we accept a specific medical therapy, we need to discipline ourselves to follow suit. The lack of medication therapy compliance often hampers the healing process.

Why is Alternative Medicine Good and Bad? (You’re in for Some Surprises)

06/08/202106/08/2021 by Tom van Oosterhout

Why is alternative medicine good and bad? To prevent becoming schizophrenic from answering this question, I will only discuss the topic on some broad, but very surprising lines.

First I will introduce some of my personal experiences with medicines. Next, I will debate alternative and traditional medicine and quackery.

These introductions and debates are followed by my explanation of why we as medicine customers exaggerate the value of our health.

Low-Carbon Transportation is Not Enough, More is Urgently Required

04/08/2021 by Tom van Oosterhout

Low-carbon transportation is not enough to curb climate change. There is no longer any debate about the fact that combustion engines are unsustainable. Climate change is every day in the news.

Countries flood. Forests burn. Oceans are full of plastic. Biodiversity declines at an unprecedented rate. The air we breathe, the water we drink, and the food we eat are full of toxins.

97% of the carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, a major contributor to climate change, comes from the direct burning of fossil fuels. Black carbon, a component of the particulate matter discharged in exhaust fumes, causes respiratory and carcinogenic diseases and is also a major contributor to climate change.

Sustainability at Home is Made Utterly Impossible

28/07/202126/07/2021 by Tom van Oosterhout

Sustainability at home is not just a major challenge. It is utterly impossible. Governments do not offer any serious support and the industry doesn’t care. This means that serious sustainability at home is our own responsibility and a daytime job when you take it very seriously, as we do.

To illustrate my point, I start from the 5 sustainability principles: refuse, reduce, reuse, recycle and rot. These 5 principles give us at least some guidance when deciding on what is sustainability at home and what is not. When we apply these principles consistently, they are supposed to support a more sustainable lifestyle.