Nur Ahmad Furlong

Tag: Blog Action Day

  • Our relationship with water needs a Refresh

    It’s that time of year again when bloggers get together in force to spread the word about Blog Action Day and the topic of the moment. This year’s focus is on Water, such an essential element of survival that many of us take completely for granted. In less developed parts of the world, and, in fact possibly just around the corner from where we are staying people struggle on a daily basis to have access to this precious element of Life. It is mainly because those of us who enjoy easy access to this resource do no respect it and end up abusing it, that others have to suffer and struggle without it.

    As a Muslim, it is part of my belief system to take water issues really seriously, as we as Muslims have been advised by the Prophet Muhammad(pbuh) that “even if we have a flowing river of water, we should still not waste it”. I am taught by the Scripture which I follow(The Quran) to believe that Our Creator has created every living thing by making use of Water as a major component of it’s creation. It’s very simple, water is essential for life, though we as a Human race are abusing this very essential element in just about every single manner possible. There is enough water flowing around our planet at any given time to provide for each and every living being, but we have chosen to make it a right only some of us can enjoy.

    Things we’re doing to make our water situation worse:

    • Waste in general
    • Using unenecessary amounts of water for enternatinment or commercial use
    • Hoarding up water resources and depriving others
    • Polluting our rivers, lakes and even the oceans
    • Polluting the atmosphere out of which the Rains fall
    • Unnecessarily using valuable resources on bottled water in many cases where it’s not necessary

    In the modern home the amount of water each person uses on a daily basis for various activities could at times equal what others may use in an entire month. If only we could see the thousands of litres we’ve consumed, polluted, wasted unnecessarily we may be more conscientious. I speak for myself first as being very guilt of all of these things.

    Here’s a list of things we can all do to be part of the solution right now.

    • Shower Instead of bathing
    • Shorten shower duration to what is necessary
    • Wash your face with cold water, don’t wait for water to warm up
    • Rinse dishes, fruit etc in a bowl of water instead of leaving the tap running
    • Don’t throw chemicals or other pollutants down the drains
    • Water your garden early morning or late evening to avoid vapouration
    • Reuse water used to rinse fruit & veg for house plants
    • Don’t drink bottled water unless absolutely necessary
    • Fix leaking taps asap
    • Only run dishwashers and clothing washers when they’re full

    I found a great list of 100 tips to conserve water – Use Water Wisely

    One more tip to inspire you towards appreciating water in a more meaningful way it, go out into nature where fresh water is still flowing naturally, like a river, waterfall or mountain stream. When you see clean water in nature and you appreciate it’s beauty & benefit it helps increase respect for this divine blessing.


    That’s me on a 2 Day Hike in the Cedarberg Mountains in the Western Cape South Africa. It helped me gain a much better appreciation for clean flowing water and the blessings it holds.

  • Embrace Technology, Save the Earth – Join Blog Action Day

    Once again blog action day has arrived and always sneaks up on us so quickly. I’m not gonna post an essay or discuss anything in depth but will briefly share my simple strategy for lowering my carbon footprint.

    1. Go Digital – Save Trees

    Going Digital means cutting out many of the paper based systems we use as business people and many times unnecessarily so. I use almost no paper and I don’t use a printer at all. Take you data assets online and back them up using various mechanisms. It will not only save trees but can drastically improve you efficiency.

    2. Work Remotely – Save our Atmosphere

    There really is no good reason for knowledge workers to be commuting in their thousands on a daily basis. The web has made it extremely easy to setup online collaboration spaces which help keep remote teams in touch with each other. This can also improve your quality of life and reduce stress, save valuable travel time and reduce carbon emmisions.

    3. Less is more – Save our Resources

    Or should I say, less is less. We tend to go over the top when we get involved in things and go on spending sprees for our hobbies, work and families. Embrace a more simple life and you’ll be consuming less valuable earthly resources as well as needing less money which leads to needing to work less. Humans can survive very comfortably with very little.

    4. Re-use – Save money

    I buy everything I own or need on a cash basis, keeps me in a almost permanently debt free state. When I do need to make a purchase, most times I opt for a good quality used item whether it be a car, computer, desk you name it. Why should we be increasing the need for production of more and more when the items in circulation are good enough.

    I don’t go around hugging trees regularly nor am I obsessive about every last purchase or action, but a few simple life principles naturally reduces the impact I make as an individual. What are you doing to make a difference? I could do with a few extra bits of advice.