marketers compete for coolest eco-sculpture

On Tuesday, teams representing Home Depot Canada and Toronto Hydro competed against one another in a goofy event with the serious aim of enhancing awareness of the need to save electricity this summer.

Sponsored by the Clean Air Foundation, and designed to spotlight Ontario's first Energy Conservation Week, the "Keep Cool" event took place at Toronto's bustling Yonge-Dundas Square. At stake were bragging rights for creating the "coolest eco-sculpture" using non-energy-efficient air conditioners.

The winner? The judging panel, which included Ontario Minister of Energy Gerry Phillips, declared it a tie. The event was developed and executed by Optimum PR.

Source: Media in Canada

LCBO to discontinue use of plastic bags

Another one bites the dust.

LCBO has recently announced that plastic bags will no longer be offered at their stores and that existing supplies will be used until stocks are depleted. It's expected to save some 80 million bags annually. Paper bags and boxes will be used, along with BYOB - Bring Your Own Bag!

LCBO's plans have sparked some opposition from the plastics industry. "We have some concerns about that because all along we've said bans send out the wrong signal. You've got to have people changing their own way of doing things," said Serge Lavoie, president and chief executive of the Canadian Plastics Industry Association.

The way I see it, while many people are making efforts to be more eco-minded, there's nothing wrong with a little helpful push in the right direction. Especially with something as seemingly simple as the issue of plastic bags.

Joanne St. Godard, executive director of the Recycling Council of Ontario says "It's about eliminating a package altogether by supporting reuse."

And that is essentially what it comes down to.

Full story here

where oh where are the Eco-Cabs?

We've had some inquiries from Torontonians asking where they can find a free ride in the Eco-Cab vehicles.

Apparently the two seat cabs - which are driven by bicyclers - are sponsored by companies such as Lipton and running in downtown Toronto.

The Go Mobile Media site lists the route - but has anyone seen them in the last couple of weeks?

Please post your comments and help others find them!

Sincerely,
the footprint staff

recycle that printer

Already an environmental leader, HP has set some major goals for more environmentally friendly imaging and printing products.

Likely most significant is to improve the energy efficiency of its products by a minimum of 40% by 2011.

By 2010 all printers will use 3 times the amount of recycled materials of 2007 products, and most of that material will come from older HP printing products.

They also plan to recycle more than 250 million inkjet and LaserJet cartidges this year as part of a bigger goal to recover 2 billion pounds of recycled equipment by 2010.

Source: geek.com

choose a colour canada

We're all about unique resources for stepping lighter that are truly Canadian, eliminating the struggle to track down locally available green products and resources.

So if you're looking to do green home renovation, check out Tint of Green, where you can learn, prep, shop, and share your way to a greener home.

In October 2007, Rod Hart of URBANbuilt, a media company focused on sustainability issues within the North American building industry, quietly launched the site, one of the first Canada-wide directories for greener home renovating products and services.

A mere five months old, the site is already drawing considerable attention from consumers, businesses, and even a few venture capitalists.

>>full article at canada.com

terracycle's goal: eliminate waste

Even if you haven't picked up a bottle of woom poop yet, no doubt you've heard of terracycle.

It all started in 2001 when two Princeton University students set out to change the way people do business. Inspired by a box of worms, these students had a dream: a company could be financially successful while being ecologically and socially responsible.

Co-founders Tom Szaky and Jon Beyer were determined to turn the worm box concept into a real-life, commercially viable process. That summer, they developed prototype equipment and proved their concept was feasible by reprocessing solid waste from dining halls at Princeton University.

The company's flagship product, TerraCycle Plant Food™, is an all-natural, all-organic, 'goof-proof' liquid plant food made from waste (worm poop) and packaged in waste (reused soda bottles)!

Visit their site or read about some cool new products they have in the works - like paper made from elephant poop - from ecopreneurist.com

A friend pointed me to Etsy, an amazingly cool site for picking up all things handmade (thanks Jessica!) and reestablishing that connection between producer and consumer.

Etsy was conceived by Rob Kalin - a painter, carpenter, and photographer - who found there was no viable marketplace to exhibit and sell his creations online.

Ever industrious, he, along with Chris Maguire and Haim Schoppik, designed the site, wrote the code, assembled the servers, spliced the cables, and launched Etsy on June 18th, 2005 after only three sleepless months.

Their intention is to offer viable alternatives to mass-produced objects in the world marketplace, and to encourage consumers to be aware of the social and environmental implications of their purchases.

Brooklyn-based Etsy now has 870,000 registered users, 160,000 of whom are individual artists selling more than 1.5 million of their handmade creations.

(Tip: one of the coolest things about the site is being able to search shops by location; there are hundreds across Canada alone)

yummy chemical free lawns

Municipalities across Canada have either banned the use of pesticides and other chemicals for cosmetic use or -- like the City of Calgary -- are seriously considering such bans.

Lawn chemicals, including fertilizers, are the main targets of this legislation, which aims to protect the health of people, particularly children, and pets and to address serious water quality concerns about runoff laden with fertilizers and herbicide residue.

Lush lawns are possible without chemical fertilizers and herbicides, however -- try these superior practices to keep your lawn soft and attractive:

- Aerate heavily used lawns each spring. Lesser-used lawns could be aerated every couple of years. Use an aerator that punches holes and leaves visible plugs. Spikey shoe accessories don't work.

- Once a year, rake over about a centimetre of well-rotted manure or compost. Adding compost gives the soil a shot of much needed organics. The texture of the soil is also improved from rock-hard clay to softer feel underfoot, something chemical fertilizers can't do.

- Keep lawns mowed high (five centimetres) to preserve moisture. The last mowing in fall should be shorter.

- Leave clippings on lawns. This reduces the need for additional nitrogen by 25 per cent. Lawn clippings do not lead to thatch buildup.

- Dig large weeds using a "dandelion" digger. New gadgets, such as weed torches or diggers assisted by water, are helpful for people with reduced mobility.

From the Calgary Herald

bamboo badminton

Models and athletes model the Canadian Olympic replica wear, which will be worn by Canada's Olympic athletes in the athletes village at the Beijing game.

The design team at Hudson's Bay Company say they've stepped up the style quotient for the Summer Games in Beijing with their first-ever collection comprising earth-friendly materials like bamboo, organic cotton and cacona, which is derived from coconut. The collection was designed with input from Canadian athletes.

bees to worms to bikes

Toronto’s annual celebration of all things green takes to the streets of Yonge and Dundas on Friday and Saturday, May 23 and 24, 2008.

Check out hundreds of green products and services to help you live green at home, work and on the road. Everything from bees, worms and bikes, to green fashions, renewable energy, local foods and more.

May 23 is Kids' Day with lots of green fun for everyone including kids, teachers and parents!

May 24 is car-free day: stroll through the exhibits at Yonge-Dundas Square and on Yonge Street, all the way from Dundas to Queen, and catch Chantal Kreviazuk and David Usher on the main stage.

more details here or download the festival program

Loblaws to offer garden centre recycling

The fact that most flower pots and flats aren't recyclable (or is it that they are and municipalities won't?) was posing a bit of a conundrum for me. With the advent of spring comes gardening and in my case, some new plants were needed...plants which come in pots that must be put in the trash, if no other use is found for them. Yuck.

I was at a garden centre the other day and, much to my delight, I discovered that Loblaws claims to be the first major retailer in Canada to offer customers the option of returning pots and flats for recycling.

The flats and pots are currently made from 50% post-consumer recycled plastic.

Rinsed pots can be returned for recycling to all their Garden Centres between May and July.

President's Choice Lawn & Garden

canada rated second-worst for consumption

Canada has been rated poorly for green-friendly consumption in a survey done in 14 countries for the National Geographic Society.

The group wanted to find out how many people in each country were repairing products as opposed to replacing them outright, using cold water to wash laundry, using public transportation and making other choices that are easier on Mother Nature.

We were given low marks mainly because of our use of transportation and large home sizes: the survey notes 29 per cent of Canadians live in homes that have nine rooms or more. And Canadians are most likely of the countries polled to have heating in their homes (well, come on...)

One-half of the Canadians surveyed report they drive alone daily and 87 per cent say they have one or more vehicles in their households.

The United States was ranked the worst in the survey, while India and Brazil were tied for best.

The study notes that people in developing countries don't have the myriad of material goods and consumer choices those in developed countries have. But those living in rich nations have more environmentally-friendly options and aren't choosing to use them.

Sources: Winnipeg Sun, CityNews, National Geographic Greendex

but at what cost?

Last week, an estimated 500 migrating mallard ducks died after pitching in one of the toxic tailings ponds belonging to Syncrude Canada Ltd. in northern Alberta. That is a fraction of the birds that die each year and only the tip of iceberg on the deadly side-effects of the oil industry.

“Clearly, there's a heightened awareness in general around the oil sands and the way developments are carried out and the impact they have on the environment,” said Total S.A's (Canada) president Michael Borrell.

“When the expectations of society change, companies have to change and adapt accordingly,” said Pius Rolheiser, an Imperial spokesman said. “Companies that don't change and adapt will be in trouble.”

That should be a great mantra to go by, given the urgency over climate change and GHG's. The public is demanding that companies start behaving in a socially conscious and environmentally responsible manner otherwise...fear our wrath! Right? Well, there is that tiny little issue of money...the billions and billions of dollars to be made from the oil sands.

Development of the Alberta's boreal forest is paving the way for mines and toxic tailings ponds. That said, rapid growth is contributing to a whole host of other problems: high housing costs, severely lagging infrastructure and inflation.

Alberta is plentiful in oil and as a result there are plenty of industry-related jobs to go around...much of the young in Newfoundland and the East Coast have cleared out to go where the money is.

Global demand for oil is at an all-time high due to increased need (or is that want?). Developing nations China and India are both driving forces, but North America sure isn't helping with insatiable needs for consumer goods and growth all over the place.

Environmental Defence terms the oil sands project in Alberta the most destructive project on earth. That is a strong statement, but not one without merit...

Globe and Mail article here

Dead ducks

the art of writing just got greener

I was at the Green Living show in Toronto last weekend (which was absolutely fantastic, by the way!) and noticed a giant banner promoting Pilot writing instruments. Curiosity got me and it turns out that BeGreen by Pilot offers the world's first selection of green writing instruments. They are made from at least 70% post consumer waste and cost about the same, if not less, than their counterparts.

Writing just got a whole lot better...

would you like less trash with that?

To me, stepping lighter means not having to drop out of society, move to a cabin in and grow my hair out. Therefore, I think the possibility of never getting take out food or beverages again is, well, not a possibility.

But what am I to do with the plastic and Styrofoam garbage that's leftover, not to mention the guilt?

Biodegradable and compostable containers. Cutlery and straws that aren't individually wrapped. Condiment dispensers instead of packets. All of these things are available, so why aren't restaurants clamoring to implement them?

Cost, I'm guessing. Maybe availability. So in the spirit of convincing my friend and restaurant owner to go green, I'm committed to finding a solution to this issue. Stay tuned.

In the meantime, the folks over at ecoagents are busy encouraging everyone to adopt the phrase "Eco to Go," the Waste Reduction Store is making cups from corn, and Ecovoyageurs is getting kids to do garbage audits of their homes. Good work people.

the new Gen X: rich, but frugal

The London Telegraph reports that a new generation of the rich has emerged, but with a difference: the new breed is self-made, socially aware, concerned about the planet and gives a lot of money to charity. They are the "YAWNs" - young and wealthy but normal.

Yawns sound dull, but they are the new movers and shakers. They are men and women in their 20s, 30s and 40s who want nothing less than to change the world and save the planet. Unlike the yuppies before them, yawns live below their means in a conscious effort to tread lightly on the earth.

Yawns are a subset of a growing global movement of the eco-socially aware as the state of the economy and the state of the planet have inspired people to consider what they buy and how they spend in ways not seen since the 1970s.

According to David Grusky, a sociologist at Stanford University, the movement makes perfect sense, since society tends to follow cycles. Not to mention, he adds, that the evidence of major climate change and a concern with terrorism gives rise to more interest in spiritual objectives.

That helps explain why Earth Day has become so big again, why products are all going "green" and why freecycle.org, an Internet community bulletin board where members offer items for free, has grown in five years from a dozen members to a network of more than 3,000 cities in 80 countries.

Or maybe, we're just getting sick of consuming?