You are not alone! Watch, celebrate and share the word. Together we can make a difference.
Monday, June 25, 2007
Hope and Humility in this busy world
I think that many of us get overwhelmed sometimes about the state our planet is in and I wanted to post this video as a reminder to celebrate today while planning for the future.
Thursday, June 14, 2007
We want cool cars in this HOT world
I have been contemplating a different vehicle for quite awhile. Right now, I have a very dependable 1998 Volkswagen Jetta GT. I LOVE this car; its safe, heavy, dependable and gets about 600km per 55 liter tank of gas. My only beef is that this car runs on GAS and at some foreseeable point in the future this commodity will either:
a) be so expensive that I cannot afford to drive or
b) the emissions of my car will no longer be allowed (if the government gets its act together!)
So I have been working on a longer term plan but have not yet decided on any particular direction to move yet. Options I'm considering are:
1) buy another VW but a TDI and converting it to SVO (straight veggie oil)
2) buy a Toyota import truck from Japan (they make diesel, light duty vehicles) and covert it to SVO
3) Save up and buy a brand new hybrid vehicle (come on VW, make a hybrid!!!!)
This is such a tough decision to know how to move in the most informed and best-for-the-planet direction. I find myself plagued with many questions:
- Do the environmental costs of procuring materials for producing a new, hybrid vehicle outweigh the benefits that this technology contributes to the reduction of green house gases?
- Will the costs of shipping over a diesel truck from Japan be balanced by running it on a renewable and "waste" material (i.e. SVO)?
- Can I find a VW TDI that fits in my budget and is safe to convert to SVO?
- Do I want to deal with also building my own infrastructure for collecting and processing the veggie oil? (As a friend of mine pointed out, "You don't appreciate how much 55 liters is until you have to collect, filter and pump it yourself!)
- Offset the carbon dioxide emissions of my Jetta using Cool Drive Pass (click to travel to their website). This cost me approximately $50/year based on driving on 15,000km/year. Very reasonable I think!
- Burn Fat not Oil by riding my bike as much as possible
- Walk if the destination is 30mins or less
- Keep searching for answers and start a savings account for whatever direction I decide is best for my values and driving needs.
CoolDrivePass is the outcome of Professor Hadi Dowlatabadi’s (a climate scientist at the Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability at the University of British Columbia) ideas for finding cost effective greenhouse gas solutions for his family car. After sharing his ideas with interested colleagues at UBC, they formed the Cool Drive team and created CoolDrivePass.
As listed on the David Suzuki Foundation page on Carbon Neutrality, here are more resources for your perusal!
Carbon offset calculators (and vendors) - Vehicles**
CarbonZero (includes trains & buses)
As listed on the David Suzuki Foundation page on Carbon Neutrality, here are more resources for your perusal!
Carbon offset calculators (and vendors) - Vehicles**
CarbonZero (includes trains & buses)
Climat Mundi (includes motorcycles)
Carbon offset vendors - Gold Standard**
My Climate
Sustainable Travel International
Atmosfair
Carbon offset vendors - General**
My Climate
Sustainable Travel International
Uniglobe's Green Flight Program
Vancouver Renewable Energy Cooperative
Evaluations and Recommendations of Voluntary Offset Companies - Tufts University
A Comparison of Carbon Offset Vendors
Renewable energy certificate (REC) vendors **
REC Marketers and Related Entities in USA
Pollution Probe - Consumer Guide to Green Power in Canada
Wind Powered Computer Network Hosting
Bonneville Environmental Foundation
Environmental Defence - Green Power Options in Canada
Tips for reducing your energy use
The 20/20 Planner: A Practical Guide to Reduce Energy Use by 20% at home and on the road
US DOE Comparison of Vehicle Mileage & Tips for Reducing Vehicle Emissions
An Inconvenient Truth - Take Action
Greenpeace Canada - Energy Saving Tips
Sierra Club - Energy Saving Tips
Cool CompaniesMonday, June 4, 2007
Some Eco-Clothing Favorites
So, after the post about Walmart, I thought it only fair to share some of my eco-clothing favorites...some old and some new.
Twice Shy (Vancouver-based)
Proving that “sustainability can be sexy”, they have organic cotton t-shirts with designs silk-screened by featured artists each month.
Oooohhh...me likey!
Splaff Shoes (San Diego based)
“Make good use of bad rubbish” with these sandals created from recycled tires and hemp.
Sans Soucie (Vancouver based)
Making non-functional textiles into functional clothing such as the recycled nylon hosiery line filled with funky dresses and tops that are completely wearable.
Love, Deming Clothing Company (Vancouver)
Uses eco-friendly fabrics such as bamboo, soy, hemp, yak wool and silk to make formal business wear and even funky leggings.
Oqoqo (Vancouver)
This organic label sold at lululemon uses boolux (bamboo), soy, hemp and other organic materials to make jeans, tees and chic sweaters.
Terra Plana Shoes
Using chrome free leathers and recycled materials such as old car seats and recycled soles, these shoes are amazingly chic, with styles from high-heeled boots to skate shoes.
Twice Shy (Vancouver-based)
Proving that “sustainability can be sexy”, they have organic cotton t-shirts with designs silk-screened by featured artists each month.
Oooohhh...me likey!
Splaff Shoes (San Diego based)“Make good use of bad rubbish” with these sandals created from recycled tires and hemp.
Sans Soucie (Vancouver based)Making non-functional textiles into functional clothing such as the recycled nylon hosiery line filled with funky dresses and tops that are completely wearable.
Love, Deming Clothing Company (Vancouver)
Uses eco-friendly fabrics such as bamboo, soy, hemp, yak wool and silk to make formal business wear and even funky leggings.
Oqoqo (Vancouver)
This organic label sold at lululemon uses boolux (bamboo), soy, hemp and other organic materials to make jeans, tees and chic sweaters.
Terra Plana Shoes
Using chrome free leathers and recycled materials such as old car seats and recycled soles, these shoes are amazingly chic, with styles from high-heeled boots to skate shoes.
Consumerism = Voting but even at Walmart?!?
An interesting and arising consciousness on the shopping horizon is our ability to use consumerism as a vote. It is not a new idea as many people have been toting this line for a long time, through several generations starting in the late 60's and early 70's. The interesting part is that it has begun to permeate down into the layers of general consumerism; meaning the consumer who values the mileage of their buck more than anything and will buy anything, regardless of where and how it is made because it's cheap.
I was recently surfing through the web, looking for "local" (read: North American and hopefully British Columbian) sources of organic clothing. I came across an article from WISH magazine with a very comprehensive list of "eco-clothing" available across Canada. To view their complete list, click here. The one tidbit I found of great interest is that, according to WISH magazine, WalMart is quickly becoming one of the largest buyers of organic cotton and that their GEORGE line is beginning to make organic cotton wear for newborns.
Hmmmmm.....mixed feelings about Walmart aside, perhaps it's encouraging to see such a large company involved in the fashion industry jump on the organic band wagon. If this statement is true and Walmart is beginning to offer organic clothing, it's an interesting irony that surely will give many of the hyper-aware consumers something to think about!
Do we celebrate that the largest and most notorious "big box" store has begun to offer organic clothing in their stores, no doubt at a very reasonable price or do we avoid and chastise for their continued "encouragement" of being a consumer by offering continual price roll-backs and all that implies (i.e. capitalism), fueling the mentality of "Who cares, it's cheap!".
A delicate balance to say the least. I will let you be the judge of this one.
Although I personally prefer to support smaller enterprises as much as I can, I must say I am encouraged to read more information on Walmart's website about their actions towards sustainability. They definitely have the consumer podium with approximately 100 million customers a week and if they can put organically sourced clothing into the hands of those consumers who have the "Who cares, it's cheap" mentality, wouldn't that cause an interesting event?
You would no longer have to be a hyper-aware consumer to support the organic movement....you would be doing it almost without even knowing or even having to be connected to the consciousness of being values-based consumer.
Very interesting......
As always, I'm not here to preach. You decide to whom and how far your buck goes. If you are curious to read more on Walmart's sustainability actions or their organics, here are some links for you:
Visit Walmart's page on their sustainable journey
Visit Walmart's page on organic food products they are offering for sale.
I was recently surfing through the web, looking for "local" (read: North American and hopefully British Columbian) sources of organic clothing. I came across an article from WISH magazine with a very comprehensive list of "eco-clothing" available across Canada. To view their complete list, click here. The one tidbit I found of great interest is that, according to WISH magazine, WalMart is quickly becoming one of the largest buyers of organic cotton and that their GEORGE line is beginning to make organic cotton wear for newborns.
Hmmmmm.....mixed feelings about Walmart aside, perhaps it's encouraging to see such a large company involved in the fashion industry jump on the organic band wagon. If this statement is true and Walmart is beginning to offer organic clothing, it's an interesting irony that surely will give many of the hyper-aware consumers something to think about!
Do we celebrate that the largest and most notorious "big box" store has begun to offer organic clothing in their stores, no doubt at a very reasonable price or do we avoid and chastise for their continued "encouragement" of being a consumer by offering continual price roll-backs and all that implies (i.e. capitalism), fueling the mentality of "Who cares, it's cheap!".
A delicate balance to say the least. I will let you be the judge of this one.
Although I personally prefer to support smaller enterprises as much as I can, I must say I am encouraged to read more information on Walmart's website about their actions towards sustainability. They definitely have the consumer podium with approximately 100 million customers a week and if they can put organically sourced clothing into the hands of those consumers who have the "Who cares, it's cheap" mentality, wouldn't that cause an interesting event?
You would no longer have to be a hyper-aware consumer to support the organic movement....you would be doing it almost without even knowing or even having to be connected to the consciousness of being values-based consumer.
Very interesting......
As always, I'm not here to preach. You decide to whom and how far your buck goes. If you are curious to read more on Walmart's sustainability actions or their organics, here are some links for you:
Visit Walmart's page on their sustainable journey
Visit Walmart's page on organic food products they are offering for sale.
Grow your own lawn furniture
I have been consumed in research for building a house with my partner. We are deep into research on "greener" home ideas and I stumbled across this little one today.This would be such a great product if you had a fire pit or were in need of permanent, "green" chairs (design and color!) for workshops or regular gatherings. Think about how you feel if you were going for a walk and in your local park came across one of these! The sheer novelty of it would be something of interest to everyone.
It seems like the only major investment of this product is the dirt required to fill the cardboard framing ~ 240 liters of dirt. Perhaps a great place to put your yard and grass trimmings, leaves or any other clean fill.
Click here for the original post.
My only concern, as a girl, would be wearing white pants and those pesky grass stains. What a cool idea though!
Here is another great post on how to grow your own couch!
Click here for the original post on how to grow your own couch!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
