» 2007 » February

” … This raises the possibility that it might be better for the world if you biked to the supermarket to pick up tomatoes grown far away, than drive to the nearest farmer’s market to get tomatoes grown on the other side of the hill. … ”

Source: www.salon.com/…

LS »» This article delves into the complexity of trying to figure out what is the most sustainable and environmentally friendly alternative when it comes to the feeding of our population. The complexity and study that is required to seek out the optimal situation for every type of food is frighteningly staggering, but maybe we should just use common sense for the bigger picture, not sweat the minutiae. Instead of spending our time and money solving the conundrum in the quote above we should make it so that the car used to go to the farmer’s market and the truck used to deliver to the supermarket are both zero-emissions vehicles.

Want to make sure the environment is on the ballot during the next federal election? Then vote for it!

Send a message to politicians of all stripes that you want real action, now, on these important issues. By voting for the environment, we can ensure concrete steps are taken after the election and beyond. Use the form below to send a message to the leaders of the parties in the House of Commons. We’ll make sure your voice is heard in Ottawa.

Source: www.davidsuzuki.org/…

LS »» I suggest the creation of a Ministry of Sustainable Development so that all aspects of sustainability — the environment, business, energy, housing, agriculture, etc. — can be a major focus of the federal government.

I use nonpolluting products wherever I can — but this brand-name commercial stuff really makes plates and glasses sparkle!

On Christmas Eve, I ran out of good-for-the-planet, all-natural, nontoxic, not-tested-on-animals dishwasher detergent. I was getting ready to cook up a storm, and all the stores around here were closed (and would be closed for 36 more hours) except for the local minimart. Since it of course didn’t sell any kind of hippie-friendly products, I just randomly grabbed a name-brand bottle and headed home.

Over the following days, I noticed something — namely, that my dishes were getting clean. Really clean. Sparkling, like-new clean. The kind of clean that makes people send those effusive letters to soap companies. I had never really wondered why my silverware always had a dull look, or why each load of dishes always had items that needed further hand-washing — until they didn’t anymore. Giddy with power, I stopped hand-washing and presoaking, and still there were no problems. However, I did notice that the chlorine smell from the dishwasher was quite intense, and I needed to vacate the kitchen when I started a load.

Source: www.salon.com/…

LS »» Somehow the makers of the ecologically friendly cleaning products need to find a way to make products that are on par with those who make cleaning products without regard for the environment. Then again, with a bit of a push from us consumers, maybe we can encourage the makers of the non-ecologically friendly cleaning products (seeing as they are the ones with the cash-flow to do the necessary R&D), to create cleaning products that are non-toxic and also make your dishes shine and sparkle. The question is, how do we go about making the push?

GLOBAL WARMING. There are common-sense ways to deal with many of the environmental problems we have created. Let’s get with it.

Sixteen years ago, after an international conference in Toronto concluded that global warming posed a threat to humanity exceeded only by thermonuclear war, eight parliamentary standing committees met jointly in an urgent climate change forum.

“We are the first generation in the history of the human race that looking down on coming decades can clearly see that if we do not change we shall not survive, at least as we survive today,” warned John Fraser, Speaker of the House of Commons.

By 2000, Canada’s greenhouse emissions would be pushed back to where they were in 1990, the Conservative government’s then-environment minister announced in 1991.

In 2007, emissions are at record levels and rising.

Source: www.canada.com/vancouversun/…

LS »» The opening paragraphs of this article are a reminder that politicians have before said they were going to get serious about global warming but then never did anything. The author, Stephen Hume, goes on to give a bunch of creative but realistic ideas that we as society can implement such as making parking spaces in urban areas the size of a compact car so that those who drive those behemoth vehicles have to pay for two or three spots if they want to park in an urban center.

China now produces tons of cheap clothes, electronics and raw materials — and dizzying amounts of pollution beginning to taint the globe.

The cloud of dirt was hard to make out from the ground, but from six miles up, the scientists could see the gigantic mass of ozone, dust and soot with the naked eye. In a specially outfitted aircraft taking off from Munich airport, they surveyed the brownish haze stretching from Germany all the way to the Mediterranean Sea.

These kinds of clouds float above Europe for most of the year, and they’ve traveled far to get there. By analyzing the makeup of particles in this cloud, European scientists were able to identify its origin. “There was a whole bunch from China in there,” says Andreas Stohl, 38, of the Norwegian Institute for Air Research.

Some 7,500 miles to the west, Steven Cliff is slowly winding his way up Mount Tamalpais near San Francisco in his RV. The 36-year-old researcher has installed a complex instrument to measure the air that crosses the Pacific from Asia and reaches the West Coast.

Source: www.salon.com/…

LS »» After reading this article you might want to think twice about buying that basically useless consumer item that you really don’t need but think it kinda cute or something. And on a more serious note, China is considered a ‘developing’ nation and therefore doesn’t have to adhere to the Kyoto standards even though they signed the agreement, but for how much longer should they be allowed to continue to be considered a developing nation? It is time to reconsider that excuse before the Made in China label takes on a whole new meaning.

According to ClimateCrisis.net (the website associated with the An Inconvenient Truth movie) there are 10 simple things you can do that will save a lot of carbon dioxide.

1. Change a light
   Replacing one regular light bulb with a compact flourescent light bulb will save 150 pounds of carbon dioxide a year.
2. Drive less
   Walk, bik, carpool or take mass transit more often. You’ll save one pound of carbon dioxide for every mile you don’t drive!
3. Recycle more
   You can save 2,400 pounds of carbon dioxide per year by recycling just half of your household waste.
4. Check your tires
   Keeping your tires inflated properly can improve gas mileage by more than 3%. Every gallon of gasoline saved keeps 20 pounds of carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere!
5. Use less hot water
   It takes a lot of energy to heat water. Use less hot water byinstalling a low flow showerhead (350 pounds of CO2 saved per year) and washing your clothes in cold or warm water (500 pounds saved per year).
6. Avoid products with a lot of packaging
   You can save 1,200 pounds of carbon dioxide if you cut down your garbage by 10%.
7. Adjust your thermostat
   Moving your thermostat just 2 degrees in winter and up 2 degrees in summer. You could save about 2,000 pounds of carbon dioxide a year with this simple adjustment.
8. Plant a tree
   A single tree will absorb one ton of carbon dioxide over its lifetime.
9. Turn off electronic devices
   Simply turning off your television, DVD player, stereo and computer when you’re not using them will save you thousands of pounds of carbon dioxide a year

Source: www.climatecrisis.net/pdf/10things.pdf

LS »» It is amazing how fast the numbers add up. The amount of pounds of carbon dioxide that waft into the atmosphere from some of our basic actions is staggering. But the good news is that it doesn’t take that much effort to make a significant difference in the amount of CO2 released by our individual actions.

If you are wondering what Number 10 is, it is to watch An Inconvenient Truth, but if you do the above 9 things you can save some electricity and not watch the movie.

Is environmentalism the new religion?

In his new book Apollo’s Arrow, ambitiously subtitled The Science of Prediction and the Future of Everything, Vancouver-based author and mathematician David Orrell set out to explain why the mathematical models scientists use to predict the weather, the climate and the economy are not getting any better, just more refined in their uncertainty.

What he discovered, in trying to sketch the first principles of prophecy, was the religious nature of modern e nviron-mentalism.

This is not to say that fearing for the future of the planet is irrational in the way supernatural belief arguably is, just that — in its myths of the Fall and the Apocalypse, its saints and heretics, its iconography and tithing, its reliance on prophecy, even its schisms — the green movement now exhibits the same psychology of compliance as religion.

Source: www.canada.com/nationalpost/…

LS »» Please keep your religion out of our environmentalism. How can they possibly compare us earnest green living types with those who believe that books like the bible are full of truths written at the behest of a god? Then again didn’t Carl Jung already explain archetypes and the collective consciousness. Maybe this book by Dr Orrell is a useful critique that we should absorb. The environmental issue may be of vital importance but we can’t be dogmatic about it, we need to have an open and “prospective mind”.

A solution is needed of the utmost urgency to Save the Earth.

On Friday 09.02.07 The Virgin Earth Challenge was launched creating an opportunity for someone to make history by preserving history for many generations to come.

The Virgin Earth Challenge is a prize of $25m for whoever can demonstrate to the judges’ satisfaction a commercially viable design which results in the removal of anthropogenic, atmospheric greenhouse gases so as to contribute materially to the stability of Earth’s climate.

Source: www.virginearth.com

LS »» Apparently there is a professor in Calgary who has a provisional patent on carbon atmospheric capture technology but it costs $300 a tonne so to capture the 1 billion tonnes a year that Branson’s competition stipulates it would cost … well you do the math. Given the cost of developing this kind of technology and the cost of operating it to do the work it seems that $25m is rather paltry, Branson or George Bush or someone should sweeten the pot.

According to the Recycling Council of BC:

Did you know that Valentine’s Day is the second largest card-giving holiday in North America? With over 1 billion cards bought, the desire to show our love comes at a cost to the environment. This Valentine’s Day, show your affection for the planet and your loved ones by following these green tips:

• Send on e-card. They save paper, and there are many free sites to choose from.
• Be artisitic, make your own card! Use colourful paper, ribbons or cutouts from magazines.
• Avoid over-packaged sweets, invest in a fondu set or bake cookies for your valentine.
• Contrary to popular belief, daisies, not roses are the most popular Valentine’s Day flower. This year, buy your valentine a pot of daisies, and plant them in the spring. The flowers, and your love will blossom all year.
• Pamper your valentine with a gift certificates to spa, movie or their favorite restaurant.

Source: www.rcbc.bc.ca/…

LS »» Cards and e-cards are all pretty lame. Instead get a digital camera and learn Photoshop and create a truly unique card for yor loved one(s).

Welcome to Live-Sustainably.org.

We are just about ready to roll around here with this new blog. Content forthcoming.

Our goal, in case you were wondering, is to provide a resource for people to learn what they as individuals can do to live more sustainably. We can’t change the world in one fell swoop, but we can with a whole bunch of little steps.