Syncrude Found Guilty!

After eight weeks of trial, Syncrude Canada has been found guilty in the deaths of 1600+ ducks over two years ago in a northern Alberta tailing pond. The AB government has yet to admit any wrong-doing on their part, nor have they released any solid plans to limit the usage of tailing ponds.

Innovative Thinking?

I've been trying to leave the reporting about the Gulf Oil Spill to the real reporters -- hence the lack of postings as of late -- and I'm going to continue to do so.

Instead, let's take a second to think about what we're each doing to change some of the other environmental disasters we've created. Have you thought about painting a mountain? Eduardo Gold of Peru has.

Happy Earth Day!

Today marks the 40th Earth Day since its inception on April 22nd, 1970 – A day to inspire awareness and appreciation for the Earth and our environment. Think about the things you did yesterday: how you got to work, what you ate for lunch, even the way you washed your dishes, and look for ways to these small events greener tomorrow (and for the rest of the year)!


Recycling is the easiest way to be friendly to the environment – it’s something everyone can do! In fact, Alberta has an 80% recycling return rate! But do you know what happens to your bottles and cans once they leave the blue bin?

 Tetrabrik juice boxes are treated to remove paper fibres which are used in specialty papers, corrugated cardboard, and napkins!

 Plastic pop bottles will never breakdown in a landfill, but if properly recycled, they CAN keep you warm and cosy. They are cleaned and grinded down to create household carpet and polar fleece!

 Recycled clear glass containers can keep you safe! This type of glass is crushed and melted to create tiny beads used in road reflector paint.

 Coloured glass is not without its perks – it is used to make fibreglass insulation for building houses.

 Aluminum cans are used to make… aluminum cans… I know, not that exciting. But the neat part is the recycling process – from the time you toss the can to the time you’re drinking from its repurposed parts can be less than six weeks!

And then there were two...

A 2nd garbage patch has been discovered in the North Atlantic.

Most people know about the Great Pacific Garbage Patch (seriously, who comes up with these names?), discovered in 1997, but now the Atlantic can share in the infamy. If this doesn't get people to reassess the amount of plastics they use -- or at the very least, what happens when they're done with it -- I don't know what will.

Spring is Springing!

I'd love to say that Spring has sprung here in Alberta, but it's simply not the case. While that's dampened many spirits, there's something Mother Nature just can't stop -- the spring wedding. With May and June being two of the most popular wedding months, early spring is a great time to start thinking about greening your big day.

Based in Winnipeg, Botanical Paperworks offers a wide range of plantable wedding invites, favours, and thank-you cards for sale on their website and at hip stores across Canada. Each item is designed from handmade paper embedded with wildflower seeds -- each tiny card sprouts enough flowers to fill the decently-sized pot I generally plant them in. It might sounds like a small place to start but, with millions of wedding invites going out each year, finding ethically sourced paper products can mean big changes in the long run.

While you're at it, take a look at other sources of paper products used through out your wedding and reception... Consider using real linens and cutlery instead of paper napkins and plastic utensils and a nice, reusable wicker basket over a store-bought cardboard cardbox.

Green Growing

While much of the environmental focus in the news as of late has been on arctic ice growth, I've chosen against jumping on that bandwagon. (Let's be honest, if the "it's all a sham"-side hasn't listened to anyone yet, they're not going to start with me.) Instead, I've been paying a lot of attention to the Guerilla Gardening movement.

Some people see the movement as political -- reclaiming public spaces as an exercise in land ownership and reform. I think as a fabulous way to show Mother Nature you care. What better way to show appreciation for the earth than to plant flowers or food and watch it grow for the birds, animals, and people around you? I often look at the sad state of city-run parks and derelict street corners (oh, the joy of living and working downtown) and dream about beautify-ing them to enjoy with my neighbours. My landlord might notice me landscaping the front lawn of my apartment building, but I might just arm myself with Mookychick's advice and find my own little corner of the world this summer.

Earth Hour 2010

In Edmonton, power consumption dropped by 3% during Earth Hour last night. That number sounds great, but in 2009 we saw a decrease of 5% during the same hour. Ah well, at least we did better than Calgary's 0.5%...

Shopping Green

Today I just want to send a shout out to -- and let the world know about -- my favourite eco store in Edmonton.

Carbon Environmental Boutique opened its doors on 104th Street and 101st Avenue (home of the absolutely fantastic City Market) at the end of last year and has been my go-to shopping spot downtown since my sister brought me there in January. If you can think of an eco-friendly product, the folks at Carbon most likely have it... and if they don't, they probably know where to get it. Some of the items are a little pricier than their chemically-charged counterparts, but the extra investment is worth being free of the harmful side effects. I'm a HUGE fan of the Nature Clean line they carry -- their Multi-Surface Cleaner & Degreaser is the first cleaner I've ever used that didn't trigger my asthma! And I not-so-secretly covet the SunJars kept on the counter in the middle of the store.

So, if you just like me, trying to start out on this 'green' thing, but don't know where to start, Carbon is a fantastic place. I'm hoping I can attend a few of their in-store classes this spring... Hopefully I'll see you there!

The Uniform Project

One of the biggest strains on the environment (and the wallets of young women) is the ever-changing ideals of what is considered "fashionable". Rotating wardrobes and constant trips to shopping malls lead to great amounts of wearable wastes heading to the dump.

If you think you need the latest cuts and hottest colours to fit in, check out the Uniform Project, one woman's year of wearing the same outfit in what she calls, "an exercise in sustainable fashion." Wearing only one dress (while 7 identical dresses) with an variety of vintage, thrift store, etsy-sourced, and donated accessories, Sheena Matheiken is aiming to create 365 unique looks while raising funds for the Akanksha Foundation.

Give this a thought before you hand over your credit card at your favourite new clothing store -- perhaps your old clothes just need a breath of new life.

Regardless of your political leanings, this is a really neat clip of Jack Layton giving Rick Mercer a tour of his green home in downtown Toronto. I'm surprised more companies don't let you know just how quickly solar water heaters pay for themselves.

Greening Your Work

Planet Green has some tips for Going Green at Work. They might not be for everybody, but some are really easy! Before you click over to that, here are some numbers to consider:

• 1: the number of times that most of the 25 billion+ cartons manufactured in the U.S. are used.

• 55 percent: the amount of water saved by producing recycled paper vs. new paper. Recycled paper also takes 60-70 percent less energy to produce than paper from virgin pulp.

• 120: the number of tons of steel saved if every UK office worker used one less staple a day.

• 8 billion: the number of gallons of gas saved if every commuter car in the U.S. carried just one more person.

Carbon Off-setting

Carbon off-setting is a financial way of measuring metric tons of carbon dioxide to reduce its negative impact on the environment. Monies used to “off-set” go to projects aimed at reducing greenhouse gases, commonly those projects dealing with renewable energies such as wind farms as well as efficiency projects like the destruction of industrial pollutants.

Vancouver 2010 (VANOC) has set their carbon off-set goal at a whopping 300,000 metric tons! They have already handled the 110,000 tons produced by construction and transportation prior to the games – the big issue now is all of the pollution generated by people attending the Games from around the world. It has been estimated that between 150,000 - 190,000 tons of CO2 will be emitted by domestic and international flights and local hotel stays, and VANOC is asking travellers and the public to pitch in. Through Offsetters.ca, visitors can donate $25 to the off-setting cause – enough to counter one metric ton of waste – and receive a limited edition pin. Tourists can also calculate their own Olympics-related carbon footprint and off-set it on the site.

Greening the Games

By now, we're all aware of the problems plaguing this year's Olympic Games in Vancouver. Sure, they might not have been planning ahead when deciding to host the Winter Games in a city that doesn't exactly have winter, but they were definitely thinking when it came to environmental sustainability. Each Olympic venue was designed to minimize local environmental impact while using sustainable resources to minimize waste. Here is just a sample of what they have done to make these what many are calling, “the greenest games on record”:

Cypress Mountain -- home of Freestyle Skiing and Snowboarding -- The downhill runs at this site were designed within the previously existing Cypress Mountain Ski Area to avoid forest clear-cutting. In areas where site-clearing could not be avoided, the trees were chipped and used on-site for revegetation and composting purposes.

Richmond Olympic Oval -- home of Long-track Speed Skating -- While this venue was built especially for the Games, its massive 2-hectare roof was created by a unique source: trees killed by pine-beetle infestation. It is widely believed to be the largest surface ever covered in this type of damaged wood.

Vancouver Athletes’ Village – when redeveloping the waterfront areas around the athletes’ village in Vancouver, the streets were designed to accommodate pedestrians and cyclists first and foremost, while the underground parkade serves co-op/carshare vehicles and offers hookups for electric cars. After the Games, 250 suites will be converted into affordable housing units.

Getting Around

How you get to and from work can have a big impact on the environment. While walking and biking to work is the greenest option, it’s not the most appealing method in grips of a -20 temperature snap (I like to call these two-toque days). Using public transportation is a great option for those who live farther away and don’t need to bring their vehicle to work. Some workplaces offer employee discounts or subsities on public transit, so this could be worth checking in to. However, even at the regular price, a bus pass is often much cheaper than insurance, fuel, and auto maintenance.

If you need your vehicle on-site while at work, why not carpool with others? Carpool.ca is a great database of would-be drivers and passengers throughout Edmonton and area. Just think, you can meet new people, save on gas, and help the environment all during your morning commute! If you’re the lucky driver, you can check out Transport Canada’s tips to “green up” your travels here.

AB Gov't Disappoints on Enviro Action

Not surprisingly, environmental initiatives weren't high on the Alberta Government's list of priorities in to 2010-11 Budget. As someone who is trying to teach kids the importance of protecting the environment, it's awfully hard to do when the government is cutting funding to clean air and climate management programs in order to save their botched health care experiments.

In 2009-10:

"Budgeted program expense for Environment is $347.7 million in 2009-10.

The 2009-10 budget includes:

$172 million for initiatives to address climate change, including $95 million for the Climate Change and Emissions Management Fund which will support projects or technology to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the province and $52 million for projects under the Canada ecoTrust for Clean Air and Climate Change.
$102 million for ongoing environmental management programs.
$16 million in operating support for the Water for Life strategy, which represents the majority of a cross-ministry total of more than $22 million budgeted in 2009-10.
The 2009-12 Capital Plan includes $100 million in 2009-10, budgeted in the Ministry of Transportation, in capital support for regional drinking water and wastewater projects supporting the Water for Life strategy."


The 2010-11 Budget reads:

"Budgeted program expense for Environment is $307.9 million in 2010-11, a $17.5-million or 5.4-per-cent reduction from the 2009-10 forecast. The ministry’s budget reflects lower revenue and expense for the Climate Change and Emissions Management Fund, and savings from contract deferrals and reduced discretionary spending.
The 2010-11 budget includes:

$141 million for initiatives to address climate change, including $78 million for the Climate Change and Emissions Management Fund and $46 million for projects under the Canada ecoTrust for Clean Air and Climate Change.

$96 million for ongoing environmental management programs.

$19 million in operating support for the Water for Life strategy, which represents the majority of a cross-ministry total of $25 million budgeted in 2010-11.
In addition, there is $63 million in capital support in 2010-11, budgeted in the Ministry of Transportation, for regional drinking water and wastewater projects supporting Water for Life."

Going Green

So, it seems the idea of "going green" isn't just for hippies and tree huggers anymore. More and more people are coming around to the idea that those 3 Rs aren't just for kids and idealists and are actually changing their lives in a variety of ways to be kinder to Mother Earth. I'm sure there are even people who don't realize their lessened environmental impact, yet find themselves reducing, reusing, and recycling their way through their financial hardtimes (those 5 cent plastic bottles add up over time!).

I've always thought the environment was a pretty neat place and recycled scrap papers and pop cans, but had no idea how much more I could do with a little creativity and time. I recently started a job researching environmental choices and have had my eyes opened by the degree of negative impact some everyday projects can have on the animals, plants, and other people around us. I hope that as I learn more, I can share my ideas and findings with you or, at the very least, have a list of reasons why it's so important to continue down this green road I'm on.