Bring Your Own Plastic Container

Bring Your Own Plastic Container
The greenest takeout packaging

"I usually bring my lunch to work in recycled yogurt containers. It bothers me to see my co-workers, who eat out, discarding so much trash: plastic clamshells from Caesar salads, Styrofoam pho containers, and cardboard sandwich boxes. Many are conscientious about recycling, but not all containers can be recycled. In any case, as we all know by now, reuse is always better.

Ecoconscious Chowhounds are bringing their own containers to restaurants to hold their takeout food or leftovers. So recently I found myself wondering: Do health and safety codes allow this? And is there a specific type of container restaurants prefer that you bring? I decided to investigate."

Read the rest here.

Also, remember to bring along a reusable bag too, to put it all in.

Praise the Lord and Green the Roof

Sister Claire Joy with her compost bucket. Among the convent’s environmental principles, she said, is “to make sure nothing goes to waste.”

"In setting out to construct an environmentally advanced building to replace the trio of connected brownstones that they now call home, the Episcopal sisters of the Community of the Holy Spirit were taking a giant step in their decade-long journey to weave ecological concerns into their daily ministry. While they have long tried to reduce their carbon footprint at 113th Street, the new convent, for which construction will begin in March, will help them be green from the ground up.

Of the 14 firms that the sisters had invited to submit proposals, BKSK ultimately wooed them with a plan that features rooftop gardens, water heated by solar power, rainwater collection, natural light and ventilation and the use of environmentally sensitive materials throughout.

BKSK is no stranger to this field; the firm has also designed a new green building at the Queens Botanical Garden and is drawing up plans for what will potentially be a new “eco-synagogue,” the Sephardic Synagogue, in Gravesend, Brooklyn."

"The site of the new building, on Convent Avenue at 150th Street, is currently an empty lot. But if all goes as planned, then by the spring of 2010, the eight nuns of the Community of the Holy Spirit, most of whom are in their 50s and 60s, will be living in a home that reflects the environmental ethos that has become a central tenet of their lives."

"Architectural renderings of the new structure show a modern, four-story light-gray brick building. One of the two rooftop gardens, where vegetables and other plants will be grown, sits directly above the nuns’ bedrooms, or cells, helping to cool them in summer. Many of the internal surfaces will be made of recycled concrete and glass, and the two-story chapel, which is set off in the back of the building, will have clear glass skylights to allow abundant sunshine to filter in.

The sisters have had plenty of practice applying their ecological principles at St. Hilda’s. They compost food scraps, recycle bottles and cans, use energy-efficient light bulbs and eat organic produce, most of it from an upstate farm. Sister Faith Margaret, Sister Claire Joy and Sister Leslie speak at conferences and gatherings about “how to green your life.”"


Going Organic and Wasting Little

"A week after the meeting with the architects, Sister Claire Joy, who is responsible for the convent’s food, could be found pushing a shopping cart over to the Broadway Presbyterian Church two blocks away. There, during the harvest season, she picks up the convent’s weekly produce from Roxbury Farm, an organic farm in Kinderhook, N.Y. Earlier that day, after morning prayers, she had bought organic eggs and milk at the farmers’ market on Broadway near 114th Street."

Read the article here.

New York's Nuns are Green and Holy

Click here for more information and some pictures of the future building.

The Future of Food

"There is a revolution happening in the farm fields and on the dinner tables of America -- a revolution that is transforming the very nature of the food we eat.

THE FUTURE OF FOOD offers an in-depth investigation into the disturbing truth behind the unlabeled, patented, genetically engineered foods that have quietly filled U.S. grocery store shelves for the past decade.

From the prairies of Saskatchewan, Canada to the fields of Oaxaca, Mexico, this film gives a voice to farmers whose lives and livelihoods have been negatively impacted by this new technology. The health implications, government policies and push towards globalization are all part of the reason why many people are alarmed by the introduction of genetically altered crops into our food supply.

Shot on location in the U.S., Canada and Mexico, THE FUTURE OF FOOD examines the complex web of market and political forces that are changing what we eat as huge multinational corporations seek to control the world's food system. The film also explores alternatives to large-scale industrial agriculture, placing organic and sustainable agriculture as real solutions to the farm crisis today."
The Future of Food

I borrowed this video from my local library, it's quite surprising and scary. Please check it out.

The Suzuki Diaries

David Suzuki and his youngest daughter Sarika head out on a road trip across Europe to see sustainability in action and meet the people who are working toward restoring the balance between human needs and planetary limits.

The Suzuki Diaries
(The Nature of Things)
Date: Sunday, November 16
Time: 8:00 pm
Station: CBC-TV

Watch a video preview with David and his daughter Sarika.

Read Sarika's trip diary.

Here's an excerpt from Day 7 in Spain.

"Three dead turtles on the beach. Probable cause of death? Plastic*.
Either by drowning from fishers' nets, or by ingestion.
You should have seen the plastic on the beach. The park ranger concurred.
Sigh. What are we gonna do?? Besides the deaths and the vulgarity of garbage on an otherwise unspoiled beach, it was a beautiful evening."

*Turtles eat jellyfish so plastic bags are very similar, they can't tell
the difference and die.

"Sometimes though they see what they think is a lovely juicy jellyfish and they swallow it down only to find that it was actually a plastic bag! Because of the hooks in their throats they can't get rid of the plastic and they die."

The Nordic Folkecenter

Go Green - Shut Down Pickering

"Pickering is Canada’s oldest and most dangerous nuclear station. Just 30 km from downtown Toronto, the Pickering nuclear station is closer than any other nuclear reactor to a major population centre in the world. For this reason, no new reactor would be allowed to be built at Pickering today.

In early 2009, Ontario’s McGuinty government will decide whether to spend billions to rebuild the ageing Pickering B nuclear station or permanently close it in 2014.

Greenpeace is calling on the federal and provincial government to shut Pickering B down and develop green, safe energy."

Shut Down Pickering


Why is Greenpeace concerned by safety of the Pickering Nuclear Station?

Take Action
Tell George Smitherman to stop building dangerous nuclear power


Tell Dalton McGuinty to stop building dangerous nuclear power

Tighten Ontario Tritium Standards
"Radioactive tritium is being released into the environment at the highest rates in the world by Canada's nuclear reactors."

Need a reason?

Watch "The Chernobyl Accident" part of "Days That Shook The World" A BBC reconstruction of the chain of events that lead to the worlds worst ever nuclear accident.







Ontario’s Green Energy Future Is Being Decided in Public Hearings

Radiation specialist Professor John Gofman's assessment is that the Chernobyl accident will cause 475,000 fatal cancers world-wide, and an equal number of non-fatal cancers.
"Almost 400,000 people have been forced to leave their homes as a result of the nuclear power plant explosion. According to the Belarus Ministry of Health, the incidence of thyroid cancer, which has already shown marked increase, may rise still further and could peak between the years 2005 - 2010. An area the size of England, Wales and Northern Ireland combined - over 160,000 square kilometres - is estimated to have been contaminated by the disaster. Chiefly affected are Northern Ukraine, Western Russia and the Republic of Belarus."

Chernobyl Reaches Boston Watch this video.
"Chernobyl made it very clear that we are one interconnected global village. Cows are higher up on the food chain, and concentrate the toxins. For example there was a 900% increase in perinatal mortality in the six weeks to three months after Chernobyl in the Boston area. What they found was that the cows were consuming the radioactive iodine that came from Chernobyl that landed in the water and on the grass. The mothers consuming the cow milk filled with radioactive iodine. This radioactive iodine was poisoning their babies. Now we are facing the chem-trail and depleted uranium atmosphere contamination which the cows are also concentrating, especially range fed cows."

The Ontario Government is apparently having a hard time getting nuclear companies to agree to take responsibility for cost overruns and delays on its proposed new nuclear projects. That’s not surprising given that the nuclear industry has not been able to bring a project in on-time or on-budget in Ontario in 25 years. But it is bad news for Ontario taxpayers and ratepayers, who are already on the hook for an $18 billion nuclear debt. If the Ontario Government is serious about not repeating the mistakes of the past, it must pass a Nuclear Cost Responsibility Act that makes it illegal for nuclear power companies to pass their capital cost overruns onto electricity consumers or taxpayers.

Dr. David Suzuki and Margaret Atwood are among the more than 700 people who have signed our petition calling for a Nuclear Cost Responsibility Act. We need hundreds of more signatures to show Energy and Infrastructure Minister George Smitherman that Ontarians will not accept another sweetheart deal for nuclear projects of dubious value. Please sign the petition, get your friends and family to sign and learn about a better approach to meeting Ontario ’s energy needs at www.OntariosGreenFuture.ca.

Sign the petition now – www.OntariosGreenFuture.ca – to keep your money out of the nuclear industry’s pocket.

Please pass this message on to your friends.

a message from The Ontario Clean Air Alliance.

Support the Campaign for a Responsible Energy Plan for Ontario

Steven Page on Gill Deacon Show

Steven Page on Gill Deacon Show Pt1



Steven Page on Gill Deacon Show Pt2


Steven Page of The Barenaked Ladies on the Gill Deacon show talking about greening on tour and at home.

Yes, Justin Trudeau drives a hybrid car!

Liberal candidate Justin Trudeau gets into his hybrid car after a campaign stop at a community center in his riding of Papineau in Montreal Thursday, Sept. 11, 2008. THE CANADIAN PRESSRemiorz

Trudeau mulls political future

"Trudeau, who says he drives a hybrid car and uses environmentally friendly cleaning materials at home, said people are hungry to make a difference in the world and the environment is a cause that unites everyone."

Justin Trudeau is his own man in campaign but feels father's presence

"Justin, who actually grew up in 24 Sussex Drive while his father ran the country, wants to reclaim the working-class riding of Papineau from the Bloc Quebecois, who trounced Liberal cabinet minister Pierre Pettigrew in 2006."

"Any time I feel I'm making a difference in the world for the better, that brings me close to what my father stood for."

Justin Trudeau joins campaign launch to expand Nahanni National Park Reserve

"Justin Trudeau joins Becky Mason, Dehcho First Nations Grand Chief Herb Norwegian and two world-renowned scientists at the National Library and Archives, tonight at 7 p.m. for a national conservation organization's campaign launch to save a boreal wilderness jewel threatened by proposed mining. The Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society's (CPAWS) public campaign is aimed at convincing the federal government to expand Nahanni National Park Reserve in the Northwest Territories -- already designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site -- to protect the entire watershed."

Election Day

Sorry, this song has been in my head throughout the whole campaign this year...I'm having a bit of an Arcadia flashback. (Especially when my voting efforts this time around seem a bit futile.) I used to be a huge Duran Duran fan in the old days, this was one their outside projects (only Simon, Nick and John were involved).

So, in honour of Election Day Canada! I just couldn't resist.

Justin Trudeau wins place in Canadian parliament

Trudeau is now the Member of Parliament for the riding of Papineau.

Trudeau backers in buoyant mood
The Montreal Gazette
""Canada once again chose to tell Stephen Harper 'we just don't trust you with a majority,' " he said, his voice quivering with emotion."

Justin Trudeau inherits father's aura and adversaries


Justin Trudeau's website

Video of Justin Trudeau giving a speech as a keynote speaker.

Brought to you by Speakers' Spotlight, Canada's leading speakers bureau.



"The things we choose to do in the next ten years and the things we choose not to do in the next ten years will define in bedrock what the planet will look like in a hundred years." -Justin Trudeau

Reel Mowers Cut Down Pollution

It's quieter and my husband can cut the grass at 7 am if he wants to without disturbing the neighbours. (Your neighbours will thank-you.)

It doesn't use any gas and it's cheaper.

There are lots of really good reasons to get a Reel Mower, just watch the video to find out more.

Click here to watch Quick YouTube video "Reel Mowers Cut Down Pollution".

It's poverty that causes poverty.

'Have the guts to help,' poor tell the province.

"Karen Mundy is urging Queen's Park to display one thing above all in its bid to cut poverty – courage."

"You have to have the guts to help poor people," the Toronto woman said to applause from many of the 150 on hand at a meeting in a stifling hot school auditorium in St. James Town, one of the city's most impoverished neighbourhoods. "We aren't popular to stick up for."

The buzz about bee stings and the poor

"If you are sitting in a field and get stung on the hand by a bee, you are highly motivated to search out ointment to ease the pain, he writes. But if you are stung by six other bees at the same time on other parts of your body, the ointment to ease the pain on your hand will go virtually unnoticed if the stings on the rest of your body continue to throb untreated.

It's why a middle-class person who loses a job will waste no time looking for a new one, Karelis explains. But it's why someone living in poverty with a multitude of "bee stings" including no child care, no means of transportation, inadequate housing and trouble putting food on the table, would likely pass up part-time work at a grocery store for minimum wage. The job wouldn't make their life that much easier and could make things worse.

It's not irrational behaviour or moral weakness that causes poverty, as social conservatives contend, Karelis argues. It's poverty that causes poverty."

Homeless women in peril

"We know anecdotally that the experiences of homeless women are very different from homeless men and we wanted to take a closer look at that," said Street Health researcher Kate Mason. "We were shocked by what we found."

"These women are extremely poor, with 42 per cent reporting that they lived on $2,400 or less per year."

Covenant House

In addition to food, shelter, clothing and crisis care, Covenant House provided a variety of services to over 65,000 homeless young people last year, including health care, education, drug abuse treatment and prevention programs, and many other critical outreach programs.

Show your support here.