Cruisin' to the Grocery Store

Transport Canada has finally authorized Toronto-based ZENN Motor Company to produce a 100% electric vehicle for the Canadian market. The ZENN (zero emissions, no noise) electric car has received the National Safety Mark, indicating the vehicle meets Canada Motor Vehicle Safety Standards. It is currently sold in the USA, Mexico and Europe.

Roughly the same size as the Mini-Cooper, the car is designed for city core or neighbourhood-type driving. Transport Canada says it will be up to the individual provinces and territories to legislate where the vehicle can be driven; currently, British Columbia is the only province to do so.

Full CBC News Story >>

Tides a Turning in the Bay of Fundy

Marine Current Turbines, known for its tidal power project in the UK's Bristol Channel, has signed an agreement with Halifax-based Maritime Tidal Energy Co. to harness the huge tidal currents of the Bay of Fundy utilizing turbines.

The companies will submit a joint proposal to the Nova Scotia Department of Energy to deploy MCT's SeaGen technology; the Department plans to have tidal turbines operating in the Bay by 2009.

Nova Scotia Business Journal >>

Galapagone?

"The Galapagos are under siege from the sheer numbers of humans wishing to overfish or to love the islands to death through eco-tourism," writes Captain Paul Watson, Founder and President of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society and Co-Founder of Greenpeace, in a graphic letter titled Galapagos in Deep Trouble.

The archipelago of volcanic islands distributed around the equator, 965 kilometres west of Ecuador, are being threatened by cars, overfishing, tourism, resource exploitation, even dogs and cats. I was lucky enough to visit as an 'eco-tourist' in 2005, and the profound experience left a deep impression. Now Ecuador is considering limiting tourism, and rightly so; I just hope they plan to punish the poachers and smugglers as well.

Read Watson's letter here>>

Suzuki Gives Bee an 'A'

David Suzuki gives a thumbs up to the new Seinfeld film Bee Movie in today's Toronto Star. In real life, honey bee populations are declining quickly, forced out of their homes and hives. The animated film chronicles the problems brought about by the absence of bees, and touches on the importance of pollinators to the world's food supply.

Read Suzuki's review here>>

Majority of Canadians Willing to Pay for Greener Homes

Considering a eco-friendly home improvement? A new survey by Royal LePage indicates this should yield a solid return on investment come selling time as almost three quarters of Canadians say they will look for a green-improved property in their next home purchase, and 63 per cent will be willing to pay more for it.

According to the recent Royal LePage Eco Home Survey, of the majority of Canadians who are willing to pay more for an eco home, 62 per cent are willing to pay between $5,000 and $20,000 for green features, while eight per cent of respondents are willing to spend $20,000 or more.

The poll was conducted on-line with a national representative sample of 1,266 Canadians aged 18 year and older. Read the full report here >>

great for camping too!

Tetra Pak wine containers are being touted as the trendy and eco-friendly alternative to bottles. They are 50 per cent lighter than glass, unbreakable, and can be resealed to extend shelf life. The wine is more economical to transport and - debatably – the packaging uses less energy to recycle than bottles.

According to the makers of French Rabbit, the new packaging has kept the equivalent of 377 thousand cars off the road per year, and saved 6 million pounds of solid waste and 6 million pounds of greenhouse emission.

A drastic evolution in wine, or a clever pitch to the young and trendy? Find out at eye weekly, where Bev Spritzer reports on drinking wine through a straw.