footprint

make your voice heard

noreply@blogger.com (kristina) — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 13:29:00 +0000

Tomorrow is the International Day of Climate Action, marking six weeks before governments convene in Copenhagen, Denmark, for the UN Climate Change Conference to create a new climate treaty.

Tomorrow is the day to come together to urge world leaders to take bold and immediate steps to address climate change and reduce carbon emissions, by agreeing to an ambitious, fair, and binding global climate deal.

Over 4,000 events are being organized in more than 170 countries, so join an event near you and make your voice heard!

what ARE they searching for?

noreply@blogger.com (kristina) — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 16:05:00 +0000

One of most popular search phrases people who visit our site use is "all recycled stuff."

Which got us to thinking, when someone types that into a search engine, what exactly are they hoping to find? Well, we tried it, and here's what we found:

Where does all the recycled stuff go? from WikiAnswers

Space Baby Beebo sculpture – recycled stuff from Earth Stream

Jewellery made from recycled stuff from How Can I Recycle This?

holiday crafts: Halloween (recycled stuff) from Fun In The Making

Awesome Things to Make with Recycled Stuff from Amazon.com

Recycled "stuff" this year from Flickr

And, of course, our very own footprint: all natural green eco recycled stuff. Aha...we used it right there in the title ;)

Note: the image at top was the first to come up when we searched "all recycled stuff" in Bing. Now that is strange.

going green? give up your dog, not your car

noreply@blogger.com (kristina) — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 14:21:00 +0000

In their book "Time to Eat the Dog: The Real Guide to Sustainable Living," New Zealanders Robert and Brenda Vale claim keeping a medium-sized dog has the same ecological impact as driving 10,000 km a year in a 4.6 liter Land Cruiser.

The Vales estimated the ecological footprint of cats and dogs based on the amount of land needed to grow common brands of pet food.

Constructing and driving the Land Cruiser for a year requires 0.41 hectares of land, while growing and manufacturing a dog's food takes about 0.84 ha -- or 1.1 ha in the case of a large dog such as a German shepherd.

On top of that, meat-eating swells the eco-footprint of canines, and felines are not that much better, according to the Vales.

The average cat's eco-footprint - 0.15 ha - weighs in slightly less than a Volkswagen Golf, but is still 10 times a hamster's 0.014 ha -- which is itself half the eco cost of running a plasma television.

Brenda Vale says the title of the book is meant to shock, but the couple - who do not have a cat or dog - believe the reintroduction of non-carnivorous pets into urban areas would help slow down global warming.

"The title of the book is a little bit of a shock tactic, I think, but though we are not advocating eating anyone's pet cat or dog there is certainly some truth in the fact that if we have edible pets like chickens for their eggs and meat, and rabbits and pigs, we will be compensating for the impact of other things on our environment."

Over 200 comments have been posted on stuff.co.nz - worth reading, if just for entertainment value. (Our favourite: "I wouldn't eat dog. Dogs have got personality. Personality goes a long way.")

trashless tuesday

noreply@blogger.com (kristina) — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 20:16:00 +0000

Great list from ecosalon of The Top 20 Things We Throw Away (That We Shouldn’t). Here's a hint - a lot of them start with the word "disposable"...

Razor Blades
Buy a razor sharpener to make dull blades like new again. (Whoever invented the idea of throwaway shaving razors has a special place in a melting ice cap.)

Plastic Hand Soap Dispensers
Invest in a reusable hand soap dispenser. In addition to giving your bathroom a decorative touch, it’s less expensive to refill them with bulk quantities of liquid hand soap.

Read them all at ecosalon, then find out more about Trashless Tuesday.

nellie's sets laundry straight

noreply@blogger.com (kristina) — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 16:20:00 +0000

Fans of Nellie's will jump with joy (well, about as much as one can muster about laundry) over their new metal tin packaging, replacing a combination of paper and plastic.

According to Nellie's, 'iron and steel are the world's most recycled materials and among the easiest materials to reprocess.' They look pretty cool on the shelf too.

On the burning question of liquid vs. powder, here is their response:

Liquid detergents are made up from at least 50% water. At Nellie's we don't think selling you water and moving water around the planet is a very good idea. The fact is, more cleaning power can be packed into a smaller space using powder.

Not exactly well put - but they have a point.

i search, therefore i'm green

noreply@blogger.com (kristina) — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 19:21:00 +0000

"A single Google query consumes as much energy as an 11-watt light bulb does in one hour."

This according to the home page for Znout, an free Google-based search site. Znout says their search engine turns your "web searches into green web searches," by measuring the energy consumption of their servers, plus emissions from the network infrastructure, plus the energy consumption of your own computer.

Then they purchase renewable energy certificates (similar to carbon credits) to balance out the environmental footprint caused by searching. Apparently, this in itself makes your searches "eco-friendly."

Forestle - another "green search engine" based with Yahoo - donates all profits to the "Adopt an Acre" program of The Nature Conservancy, which uses this money for the sustainable protection of rainforests.

Sounds simple. But, like the debate over carbon offsetting (why are we not trying to reduce emissions instead?), it's not.

Both sites bear the logo "Green Certified Site" - a product of C02 stats, which charges between $10-100 a month in exchange for a logo that says your site is "carbon neutral and energy-efficient."

But hey, what's Google doing about the environment anyway? Search away! Ecocho | Blackle | EcoSeek

way better than sunday school

noreply@blogger.com (kristina) — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 17:21:00 +0000

TerraChoice Environmental Marketing, brainchild behind the Sins of Greenwashing reports, has launched an online game to encourage consumers to make smarter, greener purchasing choices - and avoid the Seven Sins of Greenwashing.

“Name that Sin” is a custom-built Flash application that challenges players with a variety of multiple choice questions, such as identifying a legitimate eco-label from a fake one.

Other questions ask players to select the correct “Greenwashing Sin” that a product claim is committing. The game is designed to play more than once, with new questions added each time.

So go on! Play it now at sinsofgreenwashing.org or on Facebook.

4 ounces of fun in the sun

noreply@blogger.com (kristina) — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 19:37:00 +0000

Congrats go out to C. Matthews of Ottawa, ON, who won the random drawing today for sunscreen from Kiss My Face.

Thanks go out to all of those who entered with their fabulous summer green tips!

a rose by any other name

noreply@blogger.com (kristina) — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 13:43:00 +0000

Everyone needs some time off in the summer, and the team here at footprint is no exception. After some much needed sunshine (avec sunscreen of course!) we're back and eager to bring you more light steps.

Speaking of vacations, one of us had a nasty dining surprise when she found out that her beloved pan-seared Chilean sea bass is actually the Antarctic toothfish - over-fished, and endangered.

Mainly caught in the Ross Sea, Antarctica, industrial fishing for this key predatory fish started in 1996 with New Zealand and now includes a dozen nations.

Though the industry maintains that the fishing pressure has not yet caused irreparable harm to the ecosystem, reports indicate that the fishing already has already had a dramatic impact.

The Ross Sea ecosystem, the last healthy open-ocean ecosystem left on earth, is in immanent danger.

So what's a girl to do?

Stop eating Chilean sea bass for one (try this seafood selector from the Environmental Defense Fund), and start supporting organizations like The Last Ocean Project, who is giving the Ross Sea a voice.

boreal forests 1: kleenex 0

noreply@blogger.com (kristina) — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 16:19:00 +0000

Yesterday, the Kimberly-Clark Corporation - maker of Kleenex, Scott and Cottonelle tissues - announced it will change production standards to increase forest conservation due to pressure from a five year Greenpeace campaign called Kleercut.

At a news conference in Washington DC, Greenpeace and Kimberly-Clark announced this historic agreement that will ensure greater protection and sustainable management of Canada's Boreal Forest. The agreement also will stand as a model for forest-products companies worldwide.

Kimberly-Clark is the largest global tissue producer, manufacturing more than 4 million tons of tissues annually. They had formerly used virgin fibers to produce the single-use tissue materials.

By the end of 2011, Kimberly-Clark will stop using any forest products derived from the Canadian boreal unless that wood is Forest Stewardship Council certified, and the company will ensure that 40% of its North American tissue fiber is either recycled or Forest Stewardship Council-certified, an increase of more than 70% over 2007 levels.

From Richard Brooks, Greenpeace Canada’s forest campaign coordinator:

Today’s announcement shows that perseverance and dedication can achieve great environmental victories even after many years of campaigning.

I expect to a large ripple effect from this policy and its implementation for years to come. We have moved a mountain and that is going to have impacts around the world.

they're young, they're urban, and they're farmers

noreply@blogger.com (kristina) — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 16:56:00 +0000

Too busy to tend to veggies in your backyard garden? Young Urban Farmers is your answer to fresh eggplant from your own backyard, according to an article in Toronto Life's DIY Gourmet section.

Three recent Queen's business grads started the company, recognizing the need for a service that could give busy urbanites produce from their own backyards. For $155, YUF plants a vegetable garden (beans, cabbage, pumpkins, tomatoes, even strawberries), then builds a shelter to keep out raccoons. For $495, they’ll weed, water and harvest the bounty.

A smart idea, with the explosion of the local food movement, not to mention the various urban agriculture initiatives popping up in cities across North America, such as these outlaw chickens.

P.S. Live in Toronto and looking for work? YUF is hiring young farmers to help out. Send your resume and a short paragraph about your favourite food to jobs@youngurbanfarmers.com

no, not a pink slip

noreply@blogger.com (kristina) — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 20:20:00 +0000

We're talking downsizing of the dwelling kind. Whether for economic or situational reasons, moving to a smaller space will almost always mean a smaller environmental footprint. Not to mention less cleaning, less rent/mortgage, cheaper utilities, and less stuff to keep track of, store, clean and insure.

Though having a large home is still a bizarre ego thing for many, the rest of us ask, do we really need all this space? Do we really want to buy things just to fill it? How much time could we save on cleaning if we had less to clean?

Less responsibility, less work, more money and more flexibility? Together, we're talking less stress! Space restrictions offer opportunities to be creative, and hey, if there's no room for guests that might be okay with you too.

If you're thinking of downsizing, or thinking you might think about it, here are some good resources to get you going:

1) Trading Down in Home Size from About.com

2) Time to Downsize that Home from Practical Eco

3) Top 10 Tips for Downsizing from Style at Home

4) Downsizing Your Home from My Green Home Project

congrats...and a new contest

noreply@blogger.com (kristina) — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 10:57:00 +0000

Congratulations to K. Trapp of Milwaukee, WI, winner of a copy of Sleeping Naked is Green. Enjoy!

Summer is here and to celebrate, we're giving away eco-friendly oat protein sunscreen from Kiss My Face. To enter, just post your tip below for keeping summer green.

Maybe you've switched to a natural charcoal for your BBQ, or pack a stylish bamboo towel for the beach. We'll draw one tip at random and award the prize at noon EST on August 31st, 2009.

who will be sleeping naked?

noreply@blogger.com (kristina) — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 14:33:00 +0000

Our book giveaway is now closed. Thank you to all who entered!

Stay tuned for the announcement of the winner - and our next contest!

give dad what he really wants

noreply@blogger.com (kristina) — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 20:17:00 +0000

The gift of beer! Treat him to a fabulous Father's Day with a day trip to a craft brewery, preferably organic ;)

From our friends over at greenliving, here's a short list:

NOVA SCOTIA

Propeller is a Halifax-based micro-brewery offering four craft ales and two seasonal ales. They don’t use artificial preservatives to prolong the beer's shelf life or additives, the beer is unpasteurized, meaning it’s always served fresh (and terrifically tasty).

ALBERTA
At the Wild Rose micro-brewery in Calgary all beers are unpasteurized and preservative-free. The brewery also gives all “spent grains” (empty husks left over after the mashing process and malted grains are added to the brew) to a local farmer for livestock feed. The four beers on offer include a raspberry ale, brown ale, an India Pale Ale and the ever-mysterious flavour Velvet Fog.

ONTARIO
The Steam Whistle Brewery in Toronto uses only four, GMO-free ingredients in their brews: pure spring water, malted barley, hops and yeast. Its painted logo eliminates label paper, glues and dyes and the ‘spent grain’ from the brewhouse is shipped to farmers to be used for animal feed. The distinctive Steam Whistle green glass bottles are made a little sturdier for easy reuse; the same bottle can be washed, inspected and refilled up to 35 times! And it gets greener: The brewery uses clean, renewable energy, sourcing electricity from wind and low-impact hydro generators.

Mill Street produces Ontario’s first certified organic lager, and occupies a beautiful historic location in Toronto’s hip Distillery District. Winning the Canadian Brewery of the Year award for 2007 and 2008, this commercial brewery uses pesticide- and herbicide-free ingredients and employs a natural, preservative-free brewing process.

BC
Established in 1957 in Prince George, BC, next to a fresh water spring, Pacific Western Brewing is Western Canada’s largest independent Canadian-owned brewery and offers an organic lager and ale. Brewed with 100 percent organic malt, 100 percent organic Hallertau hops and pure spring water from Caribou Spring, all ingredients are certified organic and assured to be delicious.

Nelson Brewing Company is a craft brewery located in Nelson, BC, offering seven organic beers all with gloriously rich names like Black Heart, Faceplant Winter Ale, Liplock Summer Wheat Ale, Old Brewery Pale Ale, Paddywhack Indian Pale Ale and Wild Honey Authentic Ale. The organic dark-style ale is made in the image of the perfect pint: lightly hopped and brewed with imported organic dark roasted malted barley.

Located on a 10-acre farm in Sorrento, BC, Crannog Ales is Canada’s only certified organic farmhouse microbrewery. Crannog brews unfiltered, unpasteurized ales using only organic ingredients, some harvested straight from their fully sustainable farm. Their brewery provides food for the livestock, and the farm provides hops for the brewery. As Crannog only ships within BC, it’s just one more reason to be out West.

good-looking advice

noreply@blogger.com (kristina) — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 18:30:00 +0000

During these uncertain times, we will probably all have to work harder than ever. Many of us too hard! I know for me, when my days are longer than I want them to be, I take deep breaths, try to remember what really matters and draw on some age-old wisdom— the kind of stuff my grandmother used to tell me. Here are a few tips for wellness in 2009.

~George Butterfield

fake it sunshine

noreply@blogger.com (kristina) — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 17:13:00 +0000

Yeah, we know. The sun's rays are evil, and sunless tanners have a host of ingredients one cannot pronounce, let alone rub into their most absorbent organ (nevermind that smell).

But still, you want to at least look like you don't sit under florescent lighting and type the days away, so here are some ideas for a getting that golden glow:

1. Create a bronzing cream from cocoa! from eHow.

2. Mix up a batch of your own dihydroxyacetone from sugar beets.

3. Or buy it in a sunless tanning lotion from Green People.

4. Try tanning with tea bags, courtesy of much-loved Daily Candy.

And speaking of tea, Penny Pinching Grandma has plenty of uses for it, from protecting your teeth to dyeing gray hair!

your handmade moment could win cash

noreply@blogger.com (kristina) — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 19:29:00 +0000

While not necessarily 'green,' handmade goods are better than those made by cheap labourers and shipped hundreds of miles to Walstore. In this spirit, Etsy, THE place for all things handmade, has announced a contest for creative/artsy types.

Basically, Etsy needs promo videos, and they've got a clever way to get 'em. They are accepting submissions for short videos promoting Etsy and the handmade movement.

The guidelines are simple: your theme must be "A Handmade Moment" and must legibly display the text "Etsy.com". The winning submissions will receive a total of $10,000! (and Etsy will use the video).

There are runner-up cash prizes as well. Check it out at Etsy.com.

one million acts of green, one act a time.

noreply@blogger.com (kristina) — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 15:14:00 +0000

One Million Acts of Green is going International. Before it does, they're asking Canadians to give one last push for the environment.

Tomorrow - June 9th - join the movement and see how many Acts of Green we can do in one day. Every act counts! If you're already involved, you can keep adding your favourite acts or try some of the new summer acts.

Brainchild of the CBC, in partnership with Cisco, it's a pretty cool campaign that has spurned over 1.6 millions 'acts of green' and 'saved' 95,433,020 kg of greenhouse gases.

So pledge to install a programmable thermostat or clean your refrigerator coils once per year, and prove that one small act can make a big difference. Now, if we can just get those office buildings to shut off the freakin' lights...

ontario's call to action

noreply@blogger.com (kristina) — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 19:33:00 +0000

On Wednesday, Woodstock Mayor Michael Harding challenged municipal leaders across Ontario to compete in the Count Me In! Community Challenge Day at a news conference in Toronto.

Harding’s challenge has already been accepted by 19 municipalities who have each committed to reduce their overall energy consumption between 8am and 8pm on August 14, 2009, the 6th anniversary of the North American blackout.

Ontarians can pledge their commitment and to create a personalized conservation plan (and win prizes, including energy-efficient appliances and electronics). Visit countmeinontario.ca.

fill your shopping cart with trees

noreply@blogger.com (kristina) — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 16:01:00 +0000

Green Any Site promises to make your online shopping a little better for the environment. How does it work? Web retailers (think Amazon) pay other sites a percentage of each purchase for referrals. When you use GAS, all of that money goes to supporting green causes.

You bookmark their special link, then click it before you add something to your shopping cart. It won't cost you anything, and they’ll automatically donate a portion of your purchase to the Green cause their users chose that month. Easy peasy lemon squeesy.

Each month, they donate 100% of their income. The creator is a web developer from Israel named Tal Ater, who says this is his little contribution to the planet. Good on you, we say.

down the drain

noreply@blogger.com (kristina) — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 14:45:00 +0000

Canadians use the second largest amount of household water in the world.

Visit goblue.org and use the One Minute Calculator to measure your personal use for year. We guarantee the shower and toilet sections will surprise you!

tim hortons...recycles?

noreply@blogger.com (kristina) — Fri, 29 May 2009 15:42:00 +0000

It's true. We think. After months of finger pointing in Ontario(you'd think they were the only coffee shop on the planet handing out cups destined for landfill) Tim Hortons - purveyors of chicory-laced coffee and Canadian pride - is advertising that they're accepting coffee cups and lids at certain locations for recycling.

Well, they say so here on their site:

Q: Is the Tim Hortons cup recyclable?

A: Yes. Tim Hortons paper cup is recyclable where facilities exist. We currently have recycling & composting programs in a number of participating stores across Canada that capture our paper cup and other paper fibre materials. This number grows each day we work with cities and local waste management facilities to expand similar programs to our stores whenever possible.

Something seems amiss here though. Two months ago recycling facilities were claiming they couldn't do anything with the wax-lined cups. Now, apparently, it's all easy peasy. We're keeping our eye on this one...

win a copy of this book!

noreply@blogger.com (kristina) — Fri, 29 May 2009 15:34:00 +0000

We waxed poetic yesterday about Vanessa Farquharson and her new book, Sleeping Naked is Green.

Now we're giving away a copy to one lucky reader!

To enter, simply leave a comment below. Use a real email address so we contact you if you win. Anyone is eligible, and entries will be accepted until June 30, 2009 at 12:00 EST. Good luck!

sleeping naked is green

noreply@blogger.com (kristina) — Thu, 28 May 2009 19:39:00 +0000

Our fave green girl this week is National Post journalist Vanessa Farquharson, author of the new book Sleeping Naked is Green: How an Eco-Cynic Unplugged Her Fridge, Sold Her Car, and Found Love in 366 Days.

For one year, Farquharson took the challenge of making one green change to her lifestyle every single day to figure out what's doable -- and what's too hardcore.

The idea was that everything she did, she kept doing (so if she switched brands, it was a permanent switch; if she turned down her thermostat, she kept it down).

All the while, she reflects on what it truly means to be green, written with self-deprecating and humorous insight.

She's funny, she's smart, and she has some great ideas (love those butter balls). Check out her latest blog post, where she explores some asinine attempts at green branding.