My Organic Tree and Copenhagen Vigils

If you live in Toronto and are planning to bring a tree into your home for the holidays, the Canadian Tire location at Danforth and Main is selling organic Christmas trees from a tree farm in Eastern Quebec. Jane and I picked up our tree this weekend. You can also pick up unique fair trade decorations at Ten Thousand Villages.

For more on the eco footprint of Christmas Trees, click here.

Copenhagen
It’s very serious. But for a humorous overview of the climate talks in Copenhagen taking place right now, click here.

AVAAZ is helping to orchestrate candlelight vigils around the world on Saturday evening. Bring your kids. Be part of history. Help push our society toward sustainability. There are 300 vigils in Canada so far. Jane and I will be at the vigil at Queen’s Park in Toronto, starting at 7pm. Join me if you can. Click here to find a vigil close to you.

Are you a mom? (Or Dad?) Moms Against Climate Change are posting photos of their kids to drive home the message to Stephen Harper: Don’t play chicken with their future. On Thursday, December 10th, at 4:30pm local time, Prime Minister Stephen Harper will be sent a striking message. The faces of more than 1,600 children will be projected onto the sides of buildings in Ottawa and Vancouver with this simple reminder, “Stephen Harper: Remember who you’re representing in Copenhagen”. Click here to post your photos before Thursday afternoon.

In the News

Star joins global climate crusade
Toronto Star joins 56 newspapers in 45 countries take the unprecedented step of speaking with one voice through a common editorial.

Toronto Star Blog in Copenhagen
Canada ties first place with Croatia on Fossil of the Day award.

Guardian UK Covers Copenhagen

DreamBank – Goodbye Unwanted Gift. Hello Dream Fund!

The holidays are weeks away and everyone’s figuring out how to celebrate without breaking the bank. Debt is never very merry. Neither are ho ho humdrum gifts that are rarely used after the merry-making has subsided. According to DreamBank, 83% of Americans received unwanted gifts during the 2006 holiday season. Where do those unwanted gifts end up? What a waste of money and carbon!

DreamBank
Recently, I stumbled on DreamBank. DreamBank is an online gift registry and community for dreamers. Dream of a weekend spa retreat? A trip to New York City? A cross country train trek? Original art in your home? A camera? Why not set up your dream page and invite your friends and family to contribute during the holidays, on your birthday or whenever.

So long strange sweaters, books you’ll never read and plastic holiday fare. When asked what you want for the holidays or your birthday, send them to your dream page.

Wanna see my dream page!? – I love photography!!

Other Green Holiday Tips
The following are tips from Christmas past:

Green and Debt-Free Holiday Giving

The Annual Green Holiday List!

O Christmas Tree

In the News

Climate Change talks in Copenhagen are in trouble before they’ve begun, and Canada is in hot water.

Copenhagen climate change talks must fail, says top scientist

Proposal to exclude Canada from the Commonwealth

Happy Green Valentine’s Day

The day of love is upon us. To get you in the mood for a green hot Valentine’s Day, check out the following links for sweet insights on dinner, flowers, chocolate and wink wink nudge nudge say no more say no more.

Carbon Slim - Spreading the Green Love
My V-Day installment last year. Like love, it’s timeless

Red Hot Green Loving
For those of you who think that David Suzuki is sexy, it doesn’t get any hotter than this.

Happy V-Day! Love the planet.

In the News

Scientists plan emergency summit on climate change
Scientists to get more vocal. Hopefully everyone listens.

Blue-box leftovers go to China and back
This is a Toronto problem. It’s terrific to throw all our recycling in one bin but as a consequence our recycling is shipped to China for sorting. Good grief!

Will firms bankroll recycling?
On the flip side, Toronto is looking into charging companies for their packaging as an incentive to reduce it.

Christmas Wish - Toxic-Free Toys

Christmas is rearing its consumer-driven head. Like many, I’m cultivating a holiday experience that is calm, fun-filled and debt-free. This may seem impractical for folks whose children are jumping up and down over the latest flumtugtugger or hoohallhopper. There’s an added concern. Did the Whos in Whoville ever have to worry if their toys were toxic?

Welcome to the New Economy – the one that equates sustainability with everlasting growth, where profit is king and everything else , such as human and environmental health, are ‘externalities’. This is the same economy that’s currently crashing and burning around us.

For those buying gifts for kids, a must visit is Healthy Toys – the Consumer Guide to toxic chemicals in toys. Is Barbie a cesspool of toxicity? The Guide provides visitors with a breakdown of each toy under brand name. Another site worth checking out is 12 Tips for Non-Toxic Toys

Happily, more and more humane enterprising folks are creating toys that are safe for kids and the environment. Here are some eco-friendly online stores:

Nature Pod

Eco Toy Town

Zabazoo

More on non-toxic toys from Ideal Bite....



Check out the following for the skinny on PCV – the poison plastic. Beware the rubber ducky.



Rant Against Toxic Toys
Needless to say, I am aghast, disgusted and furious by the fact that companies pump out toxic toys that end up in the hands of kids due to lax government regulation. William McDonough, architect and designer who is behind cradle-to-cradle philosophy in design, has some choice words when it comes to this unbelievable practice. He quite rightly asks: what kind of culture exposes its young to toxins?

Click here for his talk: William McDonough: The wisdom of designing Cradle to Cradle

Highway to Disaster
Skepticism of ‘everlasting growth’ is mounting. Check out Contemplating life without growth, by Toronto Star columnist Carol Goar

Also, if you haven’t already, visit Annie Leonard’s Story of Stuff. Is it really necessary to buy buy buy during Christmas?

ACTION
Help hens where you live
On May 28, 2007, the City of Richmond, BC became the first city in Canada to go cage-free with respect to eggs when the local council passed a unanimous resolution to help hens. Since that time, 14 other cities in BC and Ontario have passed similar resolutions or made other progressive changes. Write to your local council to take positive action on this issue. Click on the link above to send a message to your councillor.

Help Support Ontario’s pesticide ban
For those of you living in Ontario, please click on the link and make the following comment - or edit so it’s in your own words - in the comment box:
1. I strongly support the pesticide regulations and hope they will come into effect by Spring, 2009.
2. The regulations will help Ontario industry become innovators in non-toxic lawn care, creating economic growth and green jobs.
3. I hope the government will also require golf courses to reduce pesticide use.

After writing your comments, please hit the ‘save’ button to submit it.

In the News
Canada ranked near bottom in list of climate change fighters
Embarrasing.

Recycle Your Plastic Shopping Bags & Styrofoam in Toronto
Finally!!

Fostering Sustainable Behaviour in your Pet

Action
The Liberals and NDP have formed a coalition in a bid to replace the minority Conservative government in which they’ve lost confidence. If formed, a Liberal and NDP government will address our struggling economy, as well as provide a plan, supported by scientists and environmentalists, to reduce Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions.

They need your help. Please sign AVAAZ’s petition and write to your Member of Parliament and the Governor General offering your support.

Sustainability and your Pet
You’re doing your bit to reduce your carbon footprint. Is your dog? How about your cat? What are they doing to ensure that future four legged fuzzies have a future?

I know. How can you blame our little furry friends when they depend on us for everything? So let’s help them out.

Litter
Jane and I weaned our cats off clay-based litter and got them onto corn. Rayal Cormier of Bark ‘N’ Scratch, our local pet store, recommended Anderson’s Clump & Flush, a pure corn litter, as an eco-alternative that cats quickly adjust to. The trick to a successful change in product is to add gradually and build. During the first week I added a modest amount of corn litter to the clay. Week two, I added half & half. By the third week, the corn variety made up two thirds of the box. By the fourth, it was exclusively corn without the feline riot act.

What’s the big deal? – Clay based litter contains silica dust, which is carcinogenic. The litter is also often strip-mined, making clay litter a danger to your cat and planet. Clumping clay-litter is particularly dangerous because of the ingredient used to clump the litter: sodium bentonite. This chemical acts like expandable cement when wet. When cats lick their paws, guess what they’re ingesting? – Cement that expands in their little systems.

Here are a few choices that are good for the planet and your cat:

Anderson Clump N’Flush – Yes it clumps, naturally. No chemical is added. In fact it is so safe you can flush it down the toilet without creating havoc to the plumbing. If you live in Toronto I recommend tossing it in the organics bin and not the toilet, which will end up in the lake. The advantage to the corn litter is that you can clean out the box every three weeks or so and not every week. You can also put the old corn in your compost heap.

Feline Pine – My friend Anne recommends pine litter. Her fussy cat Mary took to it with no problem.

Pet Food
Now that we’ve successfully switched our cats to better litter, we are turning our attention to their food. The recent recalls of pet food demonstrate that something is seriously amiss in the pet food industry. Poor inspection standards and inhumane treatment of animals, not to mention environmental fallout from the practices of agribusiness, make the food unfit for…well…animals – particularly the ones you love.

Like anything, there are environmental and healthier choices.

What’s the big deal? – Next to accidents, kidney failure is the number one cause of death for pets. They’re also getting fatter. Why? It’s the filler they put in the food. Like humans, pets are getting a hefty dose of corn and soy in their meals. It’s a cheaper substitute for meat. For more information: What’s really in pet food by the American Protection Institute.

Healthy Alternatives – For a growing number of us, ‘healthy and sustainable’ trump ‘cheap’ when it comes to food choices. This priority should extend to our pets as well. I asked Rayal at Bark ‘N Scratch about organic pet food. His reply was that most of the food he sells is high-end, which means that they contain human-quality meat and vegetables without the corn and soy filler. Some ingredients are organic.

One of the products Rayal suggested is Massachusetts-based Wellness. Other products worth checking out are:

Holistic Blend (Canadian-based)

Pet Promise (US-based)

Nature’s Variety (US-based)

While our cats Beau and Blacky will enjoy whatever food we offer them, Bunny and Bear require more patience, particularly Bunny – little Ms. Feline Prima Madonna.

If you feed your pet earth-friendly food, please post a comment on what you use and your pet’s response to it.

Walkies
Dogs never see a tree they do not like. ‘Nature calls’ is a great euphemism for their daily constitutional, which affords their human caregivers an opportunity to commune with nature, whether in a park, ravine or near a body of water.

If all of us connected with nature daily, we’d be a lot happier and more connected to reality. The solution to the environmental crisis: everyone needs to adopt a dog.

Holiday Spirit
Choosing a Christmas Tree
If you are like my partner Jane, you’ll want to put up your Christmas tree this weekend. What’s the best choice for the environment? The following links will help you make eco-friendly choices when choosing a tree:

60 percent Campaign – O Christmas Tree

Greening Your Christmas Tree from Care2

In the News

Zenn and the art of electric car maintenance

Death bloom of plankton a warning on warming

Hug a Wind Turbine and Green & Credit-Free Holiday Giving

Toronto Hydro
If you live in Toronto, please lend your support to Toronto Hydro’s proposal to test wind capacity off the shore of Lake Ontario. This proposed test is a first step towards a possible offshore wind farm near the east end of the city. The project will also require a full environmental assessment prior to moving forward. If all goes well, it is anticipated that the offshore wind farm could produce 575,000 MWh electricity per year, saving 287,500 tonnes of CO2 annually and providing much needed employment in Ontario.

There is some opposition to the project from folks in south Scarborough. I’ve read their points of concern and much is based on faulty information. Your voice is needed to give Toronto Hydro the public blessing it needs to conduct preliminary research.

Please click here for a sample letter to send to Ontario’s Minister of Natural Resources.

Please click here to sign an online petition lending your support.

For more information on the project:

Toronto Environmental Alliance (Frequently asked questions on the project)

Toronto Hydro Energy Services (Proposal Information)

The Annual Green (and Debt-Free) Guide to Holiday Giving
It’s good to give. The last thing I want is for my loved ones to ring up a ridiculous amount of debt in the process. I certainly don’t want that for myself. But it’s difficult, isn’t it?

We want to demonstrate through spending that we love our friends and family. Hmmm…. What’s wrong with this picture?

The average American household’s credit card debt jumped from $2,966 in 1990 to $9,840 in 2007, according to author and journalist, Gary Weiss. The shopping demands during Christmas haven’t helped. Now that we’ve hit a wall with the credit crisis, our spending habits have got to change.

The root of happiness is not located in your wallet, despite popular belief, but in meaningful relationships. Make the holidays thoughtful and debt-free this year. Here are some ideas when planning your gift-giving.

• Make a pledge to go debt-free this Christmas, and share this pledge with family and friends with whom you exchange gifts. The pledge could include giving without spending a dime or giving under $10. You could also pick from a hat one family member to give to.
• Give yourself a focus such as giving gifts that are used, self-made or locally-made. Used gifts may include a favourite book you want to pass on, a piece of jewelry or article of clothing. Make it personal.
• Rather than a gift, arrange for a holiday get-together such as a potluck dinner party or holiday skate. Small gifts could include fair trade coffee or chocolate, local wine, organic socks or gloves or a fun service such as a manicure at an organic spa.
• Give on behalf of a loved one to a charity that is important to you and them.
• Think of your local economy. Invest in your local restaurants, theatres and other cultural attractions.

For more holiday gift ideas click here.

In the News

So much in the news is depressing these days. Here are some good news stories on the eco-front:

Plumbing the oceans could bring limitless clean energy

Rona vows to buy only eco-certified lumber

OPG testing biomass fuel in coal-fired power plants

City plans five-cent bag fee

Storing Holiday Goodies

It’s the holidays and that means one thing is for certain: there’s going to be a lot of eating. And where there’s holiday eating, there’s baking. And where there’s baking, there’s likely food wrap. I’m thinking plastic wrap and aluminum foil.

I’m all for baking and I’m definitely into eating, but what about that wondrous wrap that makes our lives oh-so much easier? What’s lurking behind the innocuous plastic stretch or versatile aluminum?

Plastic Wrap

Your health – Once upon a time not too long ago, most plastic wrap was made from PVDC or PVC – and of course toxic phthalates to make the plastic pliable. According to Adria Vasil, author of Ecoholic, a third of PVC and 10% of PVDC are made up of potentially hormone-disrupting platicizers. These drift in your food. Glad and Saran now use polyethylene (LDPE) for their wrap and have ditched the phthalates. Low on cling but low on toxicity too. Saran Premium Wrap is also chlorine-free.

The environment – Plastic is plastic. It’s a petroleum product. It isn’t recyclable and doesn’t biodegrade. While strides have been made to improve toxic levels in the stuff, plastic wrap gets an F when it comes to a healthy planet.

Aluminum Foil

Your health – According to Health Canada, leeching isn’t a big concern when it comes to foil. “Generally” you’re safe from Alzheimer’s if you use it. Keep in mind that aluminum leeches the most when it stores acidic foods such as tomatoes – or when it’s stored for a long time.

The environment – Aside from the mining of bauxite ore, the intensive energy used to smelt the stuff and the 95 million tons of greenhouse gases released annually to bring aluminum into our lives, how bad can aluminum foil really be? On the bright side, most cities and municipalities recycle it.

Alternatives

Here are a few alternatives to make your holiday cooking a little greener…
· Use recycled aluminum foil. Aluminum is after all the most recycled metal on the planet. You can be sure to find it at your local eco-friendly grocer. If you Care is a brand that provides you with the recycled variety.
· Purchase glass storage containers.
· Buy bio-bags for short-term storage. They are made from bio-waste and are biodegradable.
· Store your leftovers in an earthenware bowl and place a plate over them.

Green Happenings

December 8th Rally on Climate Change
Make your voice heard! Be part of an international rally to let our leaders know we are serious about tackling man-made global warming. The Rally will mark the midway point during the United Nations Climate Change Conference currently taking place in Bali. I’ll be at the Yonge-Dundas Toronto rally at noon on Saturday. Click here for a rally near you.

Save the Climate: virtual march on Bali
Can’t make it to the Rally on December 8th? Rally virtually. Sign the AVAAZ petition. Make your voice heard!

In the News

As Nations Gather, Stakes Couldn't be Higher
This Globe & Mail article outlines the challenges of reaching a deal to replace the Kyoto Protocol when it expires 2012.

Blog: The view from Bali
The Bali conference on climate change is on. There to blog about it daily are May Jeong, one of the 29 members of the Canadian Youth Delegation to conference, and Toby Heaps, editor of Corporate Knights.

Blog: Union of Concerned Scientists Bali Bulletin
US scientists: forces for good at Bali.

Lawmakers Set Deal on Raising Fuel Efficiency
From the New York Times

The Unsung Solution
From Orion, an article by Bill McKibben on waste heat recovery

Other News

BBC – The Greenroom

Ecoshock Radio

Green Bloggers

Grist Magazine

Monbiot

My Green Element

New York Times – Environment

StopGlobalWarming.org

Tree Hugger

Zerofootprint Blog

O Christmas Tree

What smacks of Christmas more than hoisting up the ole Christmas tree and decorating it with the bobbles and trinkets collected over the years? Some of you may wonder if it would be better to buy a plastic tree and let the real one be. I mean, chopping down a perfectly healthy tree to doll it up for a few weeks then leave it out for the chopper hardly seems a fitting end to something as magnificent as a tree.

It’s a dilemma isn’t it? Here are the environmental pros and cons of plastic and real:

Plastic

Pro

• Lasts up to 10 years.

Cons

• Lasts for hundreds of years in a landfill and, as it’s made from toxic PVC, leaches into groundwater. PVC contains Phthalates, which accumulate in body tissues and can damage liver, lungs, and have been shown in lower mammals to damage reproductive organs.
• Plastic trees are manufactured overseas with lax environmental laws and working conditions and carted to a big box store, wracking up carbon miles and undermining local economies.

Real

Pros

• Harvested from tree farms, often on soil that can’t support other crops. Tree roots help stabilize the soil, preventing flooding.
• Tree farms are constantly being replanted.
• While growing, the trees act as carbons sinks, filter the air and provide habitat for species.
• Trees on the farm are selectively harvested.
• Post Christmas trees end up in municipal composting or as mulch, returning to the earth.
• Christmas trees are grown locally, generate jobs and support the local economy.

Con

• Many tree farm businesses use pesticides which damages soil, poisons groundwater and hurts species that call trees their home.

Alternatives

• Look for organically grown Christmas trees. This is a challenge, but not an insurmountable one. But isn’t the planet worth it?
• Buy a potted tree, decorate it, give plenty of water and, after Christmas, plant it in your yard or a friend’s, or unsuspecting neighbour’s. Keep in your home no more than a week.
• Put your presents under your rubber tree plant.

Tree Decorations

• Please avoid tinsel.
• If you want lights, ensure they are LED.
• If a decoration looks like it was mass-produced in a Chinese factory, it probably was. Avoid cheap. Visit Ten Thousand Villages for fair trade decorations. Have your children make them. Those are often the best.

Green Happenings

Buy Nothing Day
It’s actually this Friday, November 23 in North America and November 24 everywhere else. Give your wallet a rest this Friday.

Green Design in an Urban Setting - Lecture by David Moses
Brought to you by Architecture for Humanity (and my friends Liz and Dave)
November 26
6:30 – 9:30 pm
Gardiner Museum, Toronto

Rally Around the Earth for Climate Justice and a Safer, Healthier Planet!
Rally on December 8. It promises to big the largest rally to date.

In the News

Ban Ki-moon urges climate change breakthrough in Bali after dire report released
“I can tell you with assurance that global, sweeping, concerted action is needed now. There is no time to waste.”

Other News

BBC – The Greenroom

Ecoshock Radio

Green Bloggers

Grist Magazine

Monbiot

My Green Element

New York Times – Environment

StopGlobalWarming.org

Tree Hugger

Zerofootprint Blog

The Annual Green Holiday List!

Can you believe it? The jolly time is just around the corner and now with global warming we can expect a greener Christmas in more ways than one.

Now some of you may be dreading the festive holiday. My goodness why? Is it the inability to move in shopping malls that you fear so much? The road rage and incivility of normally mild-manned people? The stress of investing your hard earned cash on something that will be recalled for toxicity? Or could it be the horrendous bills from your credit cards that you can expect in January?

If you are nodding vigorously yes yes and yes - nod no more. It doesn’t have to be this way. It’s time for…

The Annual Green Holiday List
Take control of the holidays. Give (and receive) meaningful gifts on a low-carbon and low-budget diet. It’ll be the best Christmas ever. Here are some green ideas on giving and spreading the green love…

The Gift of a Great Experience
Forget stuff – give the gift of a good time or help kick start a hobby….

• Tickets to sporting events, theatre, opera, ballet, film, concerts, lectures of favourite speakers, art galleries and museums. It’s a great way to support local culture.
• Lessons for the friend who always wanted to sing, act, dance, play music, skate, etc.
• Gift certificates to a favourite organic restaurant, organic spa or registered massage therapist.
• Babysitting services for the parents desperate for a night out.

Green Product Gifts

• Arrange with those on your list to give recycled gifts – a favourite book, a once-loved toy, clothing, CDs, DVDs, etc.
• If people are going to gorge on chocolate and cheese this holiday season, ensure that at least some of it is organic &/or fair trade!
• If clothes are on your list, put ‘organic’ beside them. Order online – the most convenient way to buy green threads and avoid the mall. The carbon savings don’t end there. If sending your organic gifts to loved ones in another city, order from the outlet closest to them to reduce carbon miles!
• Organic bedding, paper, cards, underwear, lip balm, soap, candles, etc. etc. await you at an eco-friendly shop (or website) near you. I like to throw in favourite green cleaning products for the uninitiated.
• Eco-friendly stores include: Thousand Villages, Grassroots (Toronto), Mountain Equipment Co-op, IKEA, the Body Shop, Cotton Ginny.
• Magazines like Utne, Resurgence, Yes! Magazine make great stocking stuffers – as do subscriptions. Not only do they provide great green coverage, they are printed on paper from managed forests.

Gifts for Kids
Why give your kids big-box-store-bought toys when they are only going to be recalled due to some horrendous toxin? Given that kids sometimes have more fun with the box than the toy itself, how much imaginative appeal do these toys really have…?

• Avoid quantity. Quantity just means a pile up of toys that quickly lose their appeal.
  Give a tickle trunk with a few costumes (such as clothes you don’t wear anymore). It’s a great way to get your kids active and stretch their imaginations.
• Get the kids out playing! Sport is a great way to get them active and socially engaged. You can buy fair trade soccer and footballs at Fair Trade Sports.
• Arrange a toy exchange with your friends or co-workers. Remember to donate some of your used toys to kids in need. Craig’s list and Freecycle are other great recycling sources.
• Greenpeace has a report card on toy companies and toxicity. Thumbs up to Brio, Chicco, Evenflo, Gerber, International Playthings, Lamaze Infant Development, Lego, Sassy and Tiny Love.
• Avoid toys that require batteries (a landfill hazard). Click here for naturally powered toy ideas.
• In your child’s name buy a goat or mosquito nets for families in need or a polar bear. To do so visit Oxfam, Nothing but Nets, or WWF – Adopt a Polar Bear.
• Treat your youngsters to the Nutcracker or other holiday performances.
• For more green gift ideas for the little ones, visit Treehugger’s How to Green your Kids’ Toys.

Buy Nothing
This is not for the faint of heart. It smacks of Scrooge but it’s not all bah humbug….

• Make your gifts. Whether it be organic fair trade truffles, CD compilations or scarves this is a great way to devote quality time for the people you love. Challenge yourself to learn to make something.
• Invite your friends or family over for a brunch or dinner. In lieu of a gift, gather all your friends together for a skate or skiing party, depending on where you live.
• Ask folks to give a gift to your favourite charity in your name.
• Ask for no gift.
• Remember – Buy Nothing Day is November 25.

That’s a Wrap
According to Earth Easy, if everyone wrapped just three gifts in reused paper or fabric gift bags we would save enough paper to cover 45,000 hockey rinks. Let’s do our bit….

• Your granny did it/does it – so can you! Save that paper and those lovely bows and reuse them.
• Cloth gift bags. Expensive but reusable.
• Recycled paper or hemp paper. Very difficult to find. You can pick it up at the Grassroots store in Toronto. Ask your local green store if they carry it.
• Buy large sheets of white recycled paper and have your kids decorate them with a Christmas theme.

Be sure to check out the film – What would Jesus Buy, scheduled for wide-release on November 16th – just in time for the holidays. It’s a hilarious and sober look at our spending habits over the holidays.

For a good chuckle, click here for Big Box Mart.

Green Happenings

Green Design in an Urban Setting - Lecture by David Moses
Brought to you by Architecture for Humanity and my friends Liz and Dave (which means it’s guaranteed to be great!)
November 26
6:30 – 9:30 pm
Gardiner Museum, Toronto

Rally Around the Earth for Climate Justice and a Safer, Healthier Planet!
Rally on December 8

In the News

Grandma’s Hunger Strike Continues…
Donna Dillman stopped eating to raise awareness on uranium mining in Sharbot Lake

CLIMATE CHANGE: The Worst Can Still Be Avoided
Reassurances from scientists and government officials as the 27th session of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) began Monday in Spain. But we must act!

Energy-ecology dilemma is like a ticking time bomb
More warning that we must step up efforts to mitigate the upcoming energy crisis and global warming.

Voter Anger May Free Up Energy Bills
From the New York Times. Nothing like expensive oil to kick start conservation.

Other News

BBC – The Greenroom

Ecoshock Radio

Green Bloggers

Grist Magazine

Monbiot

My Green Element

New York Times – Environment

StopGlobalWarming.org

Tree Hugger

Zerofootprint Blog

I’m Dreaming of a Green Christmas….

Halloween is over. This can mean only one thing….Christmas.

Christmas everywhere…in the malls, store fronts, advertisements. Christmas carols. And those Whos in Whoville with their tromblomboppers and clacktrapslappers and their….

Well you get the picture. Buy I’m no Grinch…despite being green.

TO Think About This Week

Back by popular demand, well by Vanessa in my office, I am devoting this installment to ideas on greening your Christmas.

What’s the Big Deal? – Buying someone a book on flags of the world, a CD on the greatest pipe flute hits or a three-piece toilet scrub kit, destined to fill some remote corner of their closet, is a waste or your money and energy. Let’s face it. Besides, it promotes a whole industry dedicated to producing unwanted products for panicked gift buyers.

All products have a greenhouse gas price tag due to the energy produced to create them. This of course includes wrapping paper. How many trees equal the amount of wrapping paper used? According to a 1996 UK statement by Friends of the Earth, 50,000 trees are required every Christmas to wrap gifts in the UK alone. That’s a ten year old estimate. I wonder what it’s like now?

Green Gift Ideas

Rather than a product why not give an experience? Can’t afford some of the following? Chip in with others.

1. Gift certificates to your favourite restaurant, museum, art gallery, science centre or book store.
2. Tickets to a play, concert, opera or dance. Tickets to the sing-along Messiah.
3. Tickets to a sporting event.
4. Passes to go skating or skiing.
5. Gift certificate for a massage or spa (like Body Blitz in Toronto).
6. Weekend getaway to a bed & breakfast.

How about green products?

1. Fluorescent light bulbs for the stockings.
2. Slippers, scarves, mitts, etc. made from organic cotton.
3. Organic wine, cheese, tea, etc. Fair Trade chocolate and coffee.
4. A friend, Elizabeth McCallum, is selling natural candles. If you don’t know her and want to learn more, contact me for details.
5. Visit your local eco-friendly store. Sometimes practical gifts really are the best.
   Make your own tasty goodies (Vegan fair-trade organic is about as eco-friendly as you are going to get).
6. Put together your own CDs – far more personal.
7. If you knit or sew, this is your time to shine! – home made gifts really are the best. Well, maybe. If someone genuinely raves about your craftsmanship, you know what to do.
8. For other green gift ideas visit Ideal Bite.

Gift Wrap alternatives:

1. Save and reuse wrapping paper and ribbons. Yes, just like Grandma. But just think, painstakingly pulling off the tape slows down the gift receiving process making it all the more enjoyable (for you anyway. For your family, not so much).
2. Buy the gift bags if you’re a Speedy Gonzales – people are more likely to reuse them, anyway.
3. Buy recycled paper. Although, this is very hard to find.
4. Buy hemp paper, usually found in your local eco-store.
5. Use the colourful funny papers for your wrapping.
6. Fabric bags – you can buy them at eco-stores or make your own.
7. Don’t wrap all your presents. Leave some from Santa.

Stop Global Warming
More than 511,000 to date have signed up to stop global warming. Join us!
http://www.stopglobalwarming.org/

In the News
CBC – “Blair calls for 'bold' action after stark climate change warning”
You know it’s serious when economists get in the action

Net Zero Energy Healthy Housing - The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) is preparing to launch a new initiative which will provide housing options that contribute to individual health and comfort, conserve resources, minimize environmental impact, and are less expensive to operate and maintain. These homes will be designed to produce as much energy annually as they consume. You are invited to take this survey.

Other News
Green Bloggers

Ecoshock

Grist Magazine

Tree Hugger

StopGlobalWarming.org

Alternative Energy Blog