ecoholics anonymous

When you're addicted to the planet as much as Adria Vasil is, you write a book about it. A weekly columnist for Toronto's NOW Magazine, Vasil has covered environmental issues for nearly five years. Her cheeky book is chock full of tips, plus green products and services that are - best of all - Canadian.
ecoholic.ca

Friends of the Earth Sues Government

Just days before Environment Minister John Baird leaves for the UN Climate Change Conference in Bali, Canada is facing a legal challenge for missing a key deadline under global warming legislation. The government was served on Wednesday with a second Application for Judicial Review for violating the Kyoto Protocol Implementation Act, the Canadian law that requires reductions in greenhouse gas emissions according to the Kyoto Protocol commitment.

The application was filed on behalf of Friends of the Earth Canada by Paliare Roland Barristers and Ecojustice (you might remember them as Sierra Legal) and alleges that the federal Minister of the Environment and federal cabinet ministers are ignoring the rule of law by failing to comply with yet another requirement of the KPIA.

The federal government was legally required to publish draft regulations by October 20, 2007 that would enable Canada to meet the requirements of the Kyoto Protocol. By failing to do so, it is thus out of compliance with the KPIA.

"Missing this deadline demonstrates that Canada continues to be missing in action on global warming," says Ecojustice lawyer Hugh Wilkins. "We cannot sit idly by while the government drags its feet and flouts our laws. The government must be held accountable to the will of the Canadian people and the will of Parliament."

Read more at ecojustice.ca, or - for a much different opinion - read Eco-Cultists to sue Canadian government

where do hamburgers come from?

I was browsing for Christmas gifts and I ironically came across a wonderous little book called Stuff: The Secret Lives of Everyday Things by John C. Ryan and Alan Thein Durning.

The very simple message ties in well with our recent Buy Nothing Day: most of the everyday 'stuff' in our lives has a very environmentally un-friendly past. The book takes a look at what an average North American uses in a single day and tracks the inputs required for their coffee, T-shirt, computer, hamburger, etc. Treehugger.com reports that

"The findings are startling: did you know that it takes 700 gallons of water just so you can have your Quarter-Pounder?"

I certainly did not. My irony comes in where I was actually shopping for presents, which really are just more 'stuff'. Would this book make a good purchase (in place of other stuff) and where would it rank in terms of a scary, earth-destroying past?

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2004/08/stuff_the_secre.php

C'mon now...there are better ways to save paper

Sometimes I feel like I deserve a parade for my blue box...I eye the towering mound of paper with satisfaction and think "gee, what a planet-lover I am!" But really, wouldn't it be better if I just had less paper to deal with in the first place?

I think so. So, here are 24 ways to try:

1. use cloth napkins
2. clean up with cloths instead of paper towel
3. use electronic fax
4. don't print emails or documents
5. "print" to PDF
6. ok, if you must print, decrease page margins, font size and double side it
7. reusable grocery bags, baby
8. reuse file folders and envelopes
9. make your own greeting cards
10. ...or send e-cards and invites
11. reuse gift wrap (tie with string instead of tape)
12. read the news online
13. jot down a website instead of taking a brochure
14. keep life sane with erasable memo boards
15. post 'no flyers please' on your mailbox
16. ..and take your name off direct mail lists
17. receive and pay bills online
18. get your caffeine fix in a ceramic cup or travel mug
19. buy used books
20. no, no, no! disposable plates or utensils (unless they're biodegradable)
21. buy bulk from loose bins
22. simply refuse to buy items that are over-packaged
23. cancel subscriptions to magazines you don't read
24. use less toilet paper...really

Do you have more ideas on reducing paper use? Comment away!

Participate by Not Participating

If you haven't heard of Buy Nothing Day yet, here's your chance to join the movement. Founded by Vancouver artist Ted Dave and subsequently promoted by Canada's Adbusters magazine, this international phenomenon is simply an informal day of protest against consumerism.

Tomorrow - November 23rd - marks the 15th annual Buy Nothing Day. The first was organized in Vancouver in September of 1992 "as a day for society to examine the issue of over-consumption." In 1997, it was moved to the Friday after American Thanksgiving, which is one of the top 10 busiest shopping days in the United States (affectionately known as "Black Friday" ).

Despite controversies, Adbusters managed to advertise Buy Nothing Day on CNN, but many other major television networks declined to air their ads. Soon after, campaigns started appearing in United States, the United Kingdom, Israel, Germany, New Zealand, Japan, the Netherlands, and Norway.

While critics charge that Buy Nothing Day simply causes people to buy the next day, Adbusters' stance is that it "isn't just about changing your habits for one day" but "about starting a lasting lifestyle commitment to consuming less and producing less waste."

So, tomorrow, participate by NOT participating. Happy non-buying!

Adbusters >>

Spend less time with Chuck E. Cheese

There's heated competition in my neighborhood when it comes to birthday parties. Each outspends the last, and all the kids - not just the birthday boy or girl - leave with a armful of plastic toys they don't need. So when I came across ECHOage yesterday, I thought seriously about spamming my address book with it.

Created by two mothers frustrated by the waste that traditional birthday parties generate, ECHOage celebrates giving in a different way. Guests are invited to the party online, and - instead of buying a gift - they are asked to make a payment of $20. Half of the pooled money buys One Gift for the birthday child; the other half supports One Cause, such as Evergreen or Second Harvest. What's more, the parent of the birthday child gets an official tax receipt. Now that's worth buying a few soy wax candles for!

Where Children Celebrate Giving>>