the way of the future ?

As I write this, work is underway in my neighbourhood to prepare a house for demolition. A house that is in great condition, with mature trees and, before it sold, pretty landscaping. Unfortunately, a developer bought the house and deemed it way to small for today's family and, of course, (note: extreme sarcasm!) it has to be torn down. It will be replaced by a very large house that will stick out like a sort thumb and will not be in keeping with the neighbourhood, which is largely comprised of wartime homes.

It's likely that many of the useable parts (building materials, light fixtures, doors, windows...) of this house will be tossed in the trash, simply because sorting costs time and money.

And, sadly, this appears to be the trend. A throw-away society, on a much larger scale.

competition watchdog tests green marketing claims

Canada's Competition Bureau has issued new guidelines that will push companies touting their products as being eco-friendly to back up their claims, and prohibit the use of vague claims suggesting the product may help improve the environment.

"Businesses should not make environmental claims unless they can back them up. In the end, this will benefit legitimate businesses and consumers by bringing greater accuracy in advertising to the marketplace," competition commissioner Sheridan Scott said in a release.

The bureau said companies will be given one year to reassess and change their product packaging to conform with the standards. Failure to meet the government requirements on labelling products could result in criminal or civil charges, as well as product seizure.

Last November, TerraChoice Environmental Marketing conducted a survey of 1,018 products and found that all but one made exaggerated environmental claims. Read the full report - Six Sins of Greenwashing.

Source: CBC

changing a way of life

Reading the Wednesday edition of the Mississauga News brought forth a really smart letter to the editor submitted by a reader after a recent article on the Mississauga transit system:

I moved to Mississauga with my family in the 1960s and have seen firsthand the transformation of small farming towns into one large, sprawling metropolis.

For my parents, the move to Mississauga was the culmination of the (North) American dream – a new house in the suburbs with the white picket fence, the 2.5 kids, two cars and happy motoring for everyone.

Some 40 or so years later, suburbia is taking on a vastly different tone. With petroleum hovering at almost $130 a barrel, gasoline at $1.25 a litre and the price of just about everything except wages skyrocketing, one can’t help but question the viability of our lifestyle.

The suburbs and their interconnecting freeways are the brainchild of the automobile industry, and its very existence is based not only on the proliferation of the car, but also on cheap and abundant quantities of petroleum.

Despite the fact that we suburbanites spend hours a day in an automobile, it never dawns on most people how much we have become slaves to our vehicles and how utterly dependent we are on them to support our standard of living. It is also beyond the comprehension of most that our living arrangements are also entirely unsustainable.

We survive solely through the profligate use of oil, and the very foundation of modern society is built on the premise of a forever cheap and plentiful supply of the stuff. Now that oil production has reached a peak (or close to it) and demand is starting to overtake supply, the cracks are starting to appear in the foundation of our society and the system is beginning to show serious strain.

Unlike most of Europe, our cities in North America are built around the car. Our public transportation is less than adequate, and there are many areas of our city that can be described as outright “pedestrian unfriendly” with nary a sidewalk or bike path to be seen, but certainly no shortage of parking lots, roads and big box stores. It’s this short-sightedness of city planners that must be addressed; our city reflects our addiction to our cars. This is not only detrimental to the environment, it’s a downright unhealthy way to live. Obesity, diabetes and heart disease aren’t on the rise because people exercise too much.

While an enormous increase in our public transportation infrastructure is a step in the right direction, it’s not the only thing that needs to be done to avert a looming catastrophe. What we need is a massive change in lifestyle and our way of thinking. We simply cannot continue at this rate of consumption.

The news headlines are there for all to see: Rising petroleum prices. Skyrocketing food prices. Massive food shortages worldwide. The demise of the automobile and the airline industries. These are all results of a slowly-dwindling fuel supply, and the situation is bound to get worse — much worse.

What can be done? We need to work closer to home, grow our food closer to home and find a better living arrangement than tearing up vast tracts of valuable farmland and replacing them with pavement, houses and strip malls. The question is, do we as a society have what it takes to bring about serious changes?

- Nick Lagrasta

'Nuff said.

put that thumb away

PickupPal is a global ride matching service that can help you get where you need to go - or find someone to share your gas costs with.

Their Eco-Ridesharing Program allows events (like Virgin's Music Festivals), groups and organizations, to move their people smarter, cleaner and better, via a free specialized website that connects rides with riders as well as a unique "Eco-Counter" to track KMs and the group's total emissions reduction.

This is a real and innovative way for organizations to provide the power of PickupPal to their community - helping us reduce our footprint and feel less guilty attending the events we love.

calgary virgin music festival keeps it green

Besides awesome bands, 35,000 music lovers who kicked off summer at Fort Calgary this past weekend heard the eco message with on-site recycling and composting, biodegradable cups and containers and human-powered mobile phone charging stations.

Virgin also partnered with PickupPal for ride sharing, and TD Canada Trust ran solar powered computers - because no one can be away from facebook for that long.

shift happens

Liberal leader Stephane Dion's "green shift" carbon tax plan could cut taxes by $15.5 billion, including $11 billion in personal income tax cuts. His proposal is being released today.

The proposed green tax will hit electricity and home heating fuel but exempt gasoline, and would be phased in over four years. The Liberals have acknowledged that oil companies may pass the cost of the tax on to consumers.

A carbon tax plan is seen as risky by many analysts, as Dion is betting on the Canadian public's desire to reduce greenhouse gases to outweigh a potential rise in costs.

Source: CTV News

gnome suzuki fights lawn and garden no-nos

Enter your garden in David Suzuki's Nature Challenge and be a part of a growing Canadian movement to eliminate pesticides from our lawns and gardens.

Sign up now and you'll get tips all summer long on how to grow your garden drug-free, plus a chance for Gnome Suzuki to visit your green space.

future al gores

Tired of being shamed into buying boxes of almonds or gift wrap to support your child's school? Why not tell them about the Water Island Fundraising Team - a Canadian company that distributes water conservation kits exclusively through school fundraising programs.

EcoKids is a free, environmental education program that offers curriculum-linked materials and activities for Canadian elementary schools to engage in environmental action. Their award-winning site offers topical information through fun and interactive, games and activities. Children are encouraged to form their own opinions, make decisions, get involved and understand the impact their own actions have on the environment.

Earth Rangers inspires kids to reach their full potential and become active, responsible citizens through school presentations that capture their imagination. Children are given the opportunity to come face to face with their Animal Ambassadors and to learn about the environmental impact that human actions are having on all wildlife, and their resource kits provide teachers with the support needed to take on environmental projects with their students.

While your kids are learning, watch Leonardo DiCaprio's Water Planet.

apparently they think we're quite daft

Even the Aussies are mocking our Fur Council's smear campaign. Kristen Le Mesurier from the Sydney Morning Herald writes In some parts of the world you can't move for carbon neutral holidays, low carbon showers and packaging that's natural, sustainable, or biodegradable. I used to get excited about this. I took it as evidence that everyone's woken up to the fact that things had to change.

Wrong. Companies had woken up to a huge marketing opportunity. Richard Watson, innovation blogger at Fast Company points out the Fur Council in Canada that's producing an ethical eco-fabric slogan: "Protecting nature while pampering yourself."

Well my face is red. Check out one of their 'public service ads' that would have us all believe fur comes from a small number of creatures, and only after a traditional Cree family has sat down in their teepee and eaten every last morsel of the thing.

The best line from their website is this wowzer: Conservation authorities support the sustainable use of wildlife (and other renewable resources) because if we don’t use part of what nature provides, we will use other (man-made) materials that may damage the environment.

We've spoken often about greenwashing here at footprint. This is perhaps the saddest example of what we mean. Don't believe the hype people.

Read what Treehugger has to say and visit PETA's groovy Fur is Dead site.

development changes everything

My family and I have spent a lot of time at Big Bay Point on Lake Simcoe in Ontario. The development of the Innisfil and Barrie areas has been a common and often sad conversation. The building boom has literally exploded with new development over the past years.

With each passing trip, familiar farmer's fields are being replaced by new homes and shopping complexes...all inching closer towards Kempenfelt Bay and Lake Simcoe. All of sudden, the burbs are right around the corner and an area that once was pure cottage country...well...isn't.

Developers have simply been leap-frogging over the Escarpment and Greenbelt areas and focusing in on land in Simcoe County.

Concerns over this type of unchecked growth is one of the reasons why there was a citizen movement to create an Act which protects Lake Simcoe and her precious resources.

“Simcoe County is the Wild West of Ontario urban sprawl and the new Lake Simcoe Protection Act must bring it under control if Lake Simcoe is to survive,” said Dr. Rick Smith, Executive Director, Environmental Defence. “The province has correctly identified land use changes, meaning urban sprawl, as a primary cause of water quality decline. Now the government needs to do something about it.”

Read more here

inuit finally involved in park planning

Who's the best choice to manage an ecosystem? The people that are part of it! as Parks Canada recently figured out.

Officials recently wrapped up consultations with residents from nearby Pangnirtung and Qikiqtarjuaq on the creation of a new management plan for Auyuittuq National Park.

One of the biggest changes already in place is the amount of Inuit and community involvement in these discussions, according to Nancy Anilniliak, field unit supervisor for Nunavut National Parks for Parks Canada.

"We have to remember having a park doesn't impede any harvesting rights of the Inuit. The Inuit are a part of the ecosystem, they cannot separate from the land and the wildlife, and that's a part of the process we all have to understand. This is going to be very important for working together and managing the park for long term."

A management plan will provide long-term direction for maintaining the park's ecology and cultural resources, according to Anilniliak, who grew up in Pangnirtung.

Developed within the framework of the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement and Inuit Impact Benefit Agreement, it will span a 15-year period and include regular reviews.

The plan will be the first specially-tailored to the 19,000 square-kilometre site since Nunavut's creation. While the park was established in 1976, it had inherited an interim document based on Parks Canada's more southern models.

Source: Northern News Service

heat, humidity spawn severe storms in ON, NB and SK

The humidity does nothing for my hair, let alone the damage done by storms it caused over the past weekend.

People in southwestern Ontario are cleaning up debris and repairing damage after severe storms fuelled by intense heat and humidity. There were reports of tornadoes or funnel clouds Sunday in at least three places.

Intense weather also hit New Brunswick and Saskatchewan yesterday, with Environment Canada issuing severe weather alerts and warning that tornadoes were possible.

In BC, however, the cool, wet weather Nanaimo has been experiencing over the last few days is breaking records. David Wray, a meteorologist with Environment Canada, said the daytime high last Thursday reached only 11 C, significantly lower than the previous record of 13.3 C set in 1993.

So the question is, is this normal? Climate scientists say yes and no - depending on who they're working for.

Sources: CBC andCanada.com.

neve campbell back home to film eco-thriller

"Burn Up," a Canada/U.K. co-production airing next Tuesday and Wednesday on Global, is a story of big oil clashing with "big green."

Sounds like a touchy subject for a production that was shot in Calgary, but Neve Campbell - who plays an environmentalist working within an oil company - says nobody there tried to run her over with an SUV.

"No, Calgary was very welcoming," says Campbell, who appears opposite former 'West Wing' star Bradley Whitford and British actor Rupert Penry-Jones in the conspiracy eco-thriller.

Campbell was drawn to the timeliness of the subject matter. Her character thinks she's been hired to nudge the company toward a greener future but she's really there just for the P.R. value.

The character is a "green wash," explains Campbell, a term for companies who set up an environmental department just for show.

"The inner workings of the company are very strong and it's going to be very difficult for her to change things," she says. That holds true for American TV network thinking.

While "Burn Up" will air here on Global and in the U.K. on BBC, it has yet to land an American network deal. The subject matter likely cuts a little to close to the bone during a U.S. presidential election year when gas prices are soaring and American car companies - especially those that sponsor TV shows - are hurting.

The 33-year-old native of Guelph, ON, who starred for six seasons on "Party of Five," is always proud to return and work in Canada.

She was a little disappointed, however, about Calgary's environmental efforts. She noted how her Halifax apartment had separate chutes for recyclables, yet the Calgary neighbourhood she lived in while shooting "Burn Up" was still not with the program.

Source: Canadian Press

écolo my electric bus

Eight new electric microbuses were officially unveiled this week in Québec City after launching into service a couple of weeks ago.

The new "écolobus" service, which covers Old Quebec, Parliament Hill and Old Port/Place Royale, will be free for a two-year period, after which the City of Québec will evaluate the necessity to expand the program and the number of vehicles.

Developed as part of Transport Canada's Urban Transportation Showcase Program - which funds projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions from urban transportation - the buses are part of the Harper administration's "Turning the Corner" action plan.

Launched during Environment Week, it's a $33-billion, 7-year plan. All that money comes from the Gas Tax Fund, providing continuous, predictable funding to municipalities across the country.

A total of $2 billion a year is invested in infrastructure modernization and public transit improvement. The success of the program means that the Gas Tax Fund will in all likelihood be extended beyond 2014 and become a permanent measure.

Source: auto123

jamie kennedy walks the green carpet

In Canada, one of the most famous names in food is renowned chef Jamie Kennedy. He’s not just a chef, but a food activist and a strong “eating local” supporter.

In addition to running his three delicious restaurants, he’s stepped up as honorary chair of An Evening of Local Cuisine - part of the Green Carpet series in Toronto.

Five local, well known chefs will participate in an Iron Chef-style competition with the “secret ingredient” being local food. What are they battling for? The title of Sustainable Chef, of course.

Unlike the real Iron Chef, this time you get the taste the food. Pick up your tickets for $42 CAD and attend the event on October 23.

Source: ecorazzi

The Green Carpet Series is the brainchild of a small group of green-minded, 30-something individuals who felt there was a need to raise the profile of environmental issues and introduce people to the many green choices that exist now.

And so the Green Carpet Series was born: a series of fun, engaging events, designed to connect Thoughtful, Hip, Urban, Green-minded professionals (THUGs!) to green practices by making environmental issues relevant, positive and integrated with their lifestyle.

Website: greencarpetseries.com

world environment day ... is today!

This year's theme - “Kick the CO2 Habit" - is meant to inspire and encourage actions to eliminate the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide, a main contributor to global warming.

Conceived in 1972, World Environment Day is the United Nations' principal day to mark global green issues and aims to give a human face to environmental problems and solutions.

It is being hosted by Wellington in New Zealand (one of the first countries to pledge to achieve carbon neutrality) and marked by events around the globe.

Canada's Environment Minister, John Baird, launched this year's Canadian Environment Week (June 1-7) by challenging Canadians to do more to protect and preserve Canada's environment.

"As Canada's Environment Minister, I share Canadians' passion for protecting our environment," he said. "Canadians want to see their Government take a leadership role but they also want to do their part to protect the environment.

That is what Canadian Environment Week is all about. It is an opportunity to focus on the impact Canadians can make towards a cleaner environment, healthier communities and a better quality of life for all."

Read more from Environment Canada, even download a snazzy poster