Filed under: Consumer Resources | Tags: bottled water, plastic recycling, ban bottled water
Bottled water is one of my pet peeves, so I’m very happy to see Waterloo Region school banning their sale on school property. I’m sure this decision will be met with opposition, but phooey on the dissenters. There are so many reasons bottled water is bad.
Much of bottled water comes from from the municipal tap water supply. It is the exact same stuff that comes out of the tap at home, bottled, labelled, and wrapped in plastic.
Beyond the excess energy required to manufacture, label and transport the water, who in their right mind would pay anything – let alone a dollar per bottle – for the stuff you get for free?
It turns out lots of people do. University students are famous for keeping bottled water in their apartments for tossing into their backpacks and sucking back after returning home from the bar. For many, it’s convenience that wins them over. Others don’t trust tap water (and don’t know their bottled is from the same source), or are just too lazy to buy, wash and re-fill their own plastic water bottles. A friend of mine used to pack a bottle of water in her lunch – drink it, and throw it out, every day.
A case of bottled tap water costs about $5.00 for 24 bottles, or about 21 cents per bottle. That’s under $3.00 per week; it seems like a steal. But because it’s free from the tap – and because the environmental effects of plastic are heinous – plastic’s environmental impacts are expensive.
Over the course of a year, a single person drinking three bottles per day would put nearly 1100 bottles into the landfill. But wait, what if you recycle?
Recycling is one tool we use to justify wasteful practices. It does help reduce garbage, I suppose, but the energy needed to recycle plastic is high. And most plastics are not recycled into new plastic containers for food, because of potential contaminants. They are made into plastic benches for parks, stepping stones, lunch boxes and eco-friendly jewelry. But at some point, everybody will have more than enough benches and there will be nothing to do with all the plastic bottles.
Plastic does. not. biodegrade.
Does Size Matter?
A popular brand of tap-water bottlers has been running ads in newspapers and magazines lately, promoting a new “eco” bottle that uses less plastic than their previous bottles. This enrages me – multi-national companies with huge advertising budgets finding ways to make themselves look “green” to seduce customers into buying their product. And the savings that comes from using fewer raw materials go right into their pockets, not yours.
If companies like Nestle really cared about the environment, they would stop bottling water.
People who are worried about the quality of tap water should:
a) Read the fine print to ensure they aren’t just buying bottled tap water;
b) Invest in a filtration system;
c) Purchase bulk spring water in reusable plastic jugs;
d) Get involved in making our municipal water supply healthier.
The rest of us should re-evaluate how we look at consumer goods – and ban plastic water bottles from our homes, too.
Filed under: Transportation / Vehicles | Tags: diesel, gas prices, green cars, hybrid
Today I spent six hours in the car. I had business to attend to in a city three hours away. It was the kind of trip I’m glad I don’t make often, and the kind that makes me cringe with guilt every time I step on the accelerator or put gas in the tank. I’m sure there are numerous people out there who’d like to give me a green hand-print across the wrist, but life is life and sometimes these trips are required. At least I drive a Civic.
To keep myself awake for the drive, I tuned into the local news. I perked up with the mention of gas prices ($50 to fill up the Civic this morning!), which have gone up about $0.10/L over the past week. These are the same gas prices expected to top $1.50/L by mid-summer and apparently, by 2012, $2.50/L (Stats from today’s Globe and Mail).
Fine. So obviously we have a little bit of an economic crisis looming with a full doubling of prices at the pumps. But the announcer shocked me with what she said next – that car manufacturers are working hard at producing cleaner Diesel engines for the “short-term” when gas prices are high.
Short-term? It must be the first time that phrase has been used with respect to the environment. Does this reflect a lingering notion that global warming is a problem for which we’ll soon find a solution?
Our planet doesn’t work that way when faced with irreversible damage.
We need long-term solutions, and (whether by force from the government or by their own will), car manufacturers seem to get this. I saw numerous hybrids on the road today, in fact.
Who here thinks gas prices will go back down after they go up? And who can afford to buy a new car every time market forces change? Buying a new car to save a few dollars until prices come down is ludicrous.
Oil is non-renewable. Period. Get over it. And next time you buy a car, look into permanent earth-friendly alternatives instead of a temporary fix.
Filed under: Consumer Resources, Food Issues | Tags: Earth Day, green, green products, sustainability
Happy Earth Day!
And in the spirit of an “Earth Month”, I’ve been leaving my computer off more and more…at least that’s my excuse for the sparse blog posts lately. But it is true. With nice weather finally here I’ve found much more to do than play around on the Internet.
Getting out and about has also showed me all the new “Green” products there are. Previously dark store windows have sprung natural spring cleaning products (classics like Ecover and newbies like Method brand from Shopper’s Drug Mart); reusable containers and green pet care products. Outside, I see car sharing; people walking, biking and blading; a stand with fresh fruit and veggies from the same continent I’m standing on. It’s refreshing, in so many different ways.
Behind the clarity of sunshine, however, I see a battle brewing between eco-friendly and green.
That’s the best way I can put it. There finally seems to be a consensus among businesses, the government and the public that we need to be more environmentally accountable. It’s how to do it that is the problem. Should we focus on cars or packaging?
Corporate and industry support is great, but it seems some are putting on a green front to gain business.
For example, pretend you’re in dire need of a special ingredient for an outdoor garden party tonight. You can buy either locally-produced but wrapped in Styrofoam, or imported but packaged in biodegradable wrapping.
This past year I took a course in Food and Nutrition Policy. It really opened my eyes and got me thinking about the future – urban agriculture, sustainability…these were all new terms to me.
But one of the most memorable items came from a professor who introduced the term local trap: the assumption that local means better.
So now I try to remember that there are costs and benefits to every technology; every product and every purchasing decision. For now, I find it incredibly difficult to decipher which choice is best – but at least now there are choices.
Filed under: Consumer Resources, Food Issues, Transportation / Vehicles | Tags: algae, biofuel, omega-3, superfood, vegan, vegetarian
Researchers in Texas have picked up where the U.S. government left off more than 10 years ago: they’re trying to grow algae for fuel.
Algae is a quick-growing plant that gets all the energy it needs from the sun, making it a renewable source. Growing algae on vertical gardens reduces the risk of contamination from other species, and decreases evaporation of the water used in ponds, algae’s natural habitat.
There are more than 65,000 algae species, with an estimated thousands more yet to be identified. Some species contain more than 50% oil, or lipid, which could be turned into biofuel.
When the U.S. government abandoned research on microalgae it was thought algae could never compete with oil as a fuel source. But with the price per barrel of oil rising by a factor of five since 1996, algae is being given a second look.
Some high-lipid species of microalgae are also used to produce vegan fish-free omega-3 fatty acids, especially docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), which is essential for healthy growth and development in children. In adults, omega-3s benefit brain function and cardiovascular health.
For vegetarians who do not eat fish, algae is the only known direct source for DHA. Otherwise, their bodies must manufacture it from other omega-3s, which is an inefficient process.
Not too long ago bamboo was being touted as the new renewable eco-friendly fabric for everything from clothing to rugs and floorboards.
Well, algae is the new bamboo – renewable, plant-based, ecologically grown and harvested. With its multitude of benefits for fuel and food, it’s safe to say we’ll be seeing a lot more of it, very soon.
How did you spend your Earth Hour 2008?
Buried deep in a pile of work, I spent this Saturday night holed up in my den. But I did turn out the lights, and turned off the computer, too. It’s quieter than I remembered without the hum of my desktop.
After eating a dinner by candlelight (which is less bright than I thought it would be), I peaked my head out to assess whether others on my street were participating. Although more than 32,000 Torontonians signed up, apparently not many of those were in my neighbourhood.
Reflections
Some things I pondered during my hour in the dark.
- Before electricity, people must have been a lot more rested. There’s nothing to do with no power!
- Being in the dark is a lot more fun if you have some friends to talk to.
- Everything relies on power these days, even things that don’t strictly have to. My portable phone, for example, uses a non-electric phone line but needs power from electricity.
- Electricity is used by appliances I never even considered. To reduce power consumption, I would have to un-plug my computer printer (it does not turn off!), keep my fish tanks in the dark, un-plug the digital clocks in my kitchen, and wake up with the sun instead of my alarm clock.
- I was lucky enough to not be part of the summer black-out a few years ago. Now I understand, and it’s winter. It gets dark earlier. Most of my entertainment (computer, Wii, TV) relies on power. And I rely on it for food. What would happen if the power went out for longer, or for good? Time to make a contingency plan.
Take-Home Messages from Earth Hour 2008
- I will remember to turn off appliances and lights when not in use
- I will make an effort to go technology-free once a day; this will hopefully help reduce stress and give me some time to myself
- I will invest in some good books with large print, suitable for reading by candlelight!
Filed under: Consumer Resources, Media and Literature | Tags: environmental magazine, green consumers, Green Guide, National Geographic
National Geographic has broadened its scope with a new magazine called Green Guide.
I picked up its inaugural Spring 2008 issue. Here’s a look inside:
- Consumer features: how everyday people (you) can decrease carbon emissions by measurable amounts and save the planet by saving money. What happens to returned plastic bags? And an educational food safety quiz.
- Buying Guides: the raison d’etre for the Green Guide is consumer education, and the everyday products covered in the first issue are a great start: light bulbs, plastic containers, cosmetics and cleaning products.
- Bonuses: a pull-out card to take grocery shopping and cute, retro tips for the neglected “R” (reuse).
In its nearly 100 pages, the Green Guide includes only a few advertisements, which makes its articles infinitely more readable than other similar mags. But it comes at a cost – nearly $7.00 (Canadian) per single issue.
The Green Guide attempts to take eco-friendly mainstream with glossy photos (printed on recycled paper) and easy-to-understand information. But environmental newbies might remain a little confused – readers should already be acquainted with CFLs (compact fluorsecent lightbults) and be regular purchasers of organic produce before reading. But even savvy consumers might have a hard time decoding the orange juice article (page 22), which attempts to rate orange juices in various forms based on their enviro-friendliness.
Obviously a magazine called “Green Guide” is written from the point-of-views of people who are already concerned about the environment, and it shows in the authors’ language and writing style. Not every issue is as cut and dry as Green Guide makes it seem. I would like to see more science references (especially about controversial topics like phthalates) and some additional background on why we use them in the first place.
But I may be an atypical reader. I think that anyone picking up Green Guide will find useful information, whether they have yet to make any “green” changes or whether they’ve been buying organic food since 1982. The articles are well-written, thorough (if not a little bit overwhelming), and rise above their competitors with tangible advice that you can follow.
Their website is a vault of information, too.
For those looking for more in-depth coverage of environmental consumerism, Green Guide has it.
Filed under: Events | Tags: climate change, Earth Hour, global warming, save energy, take action
On March 29, 2008, turn out the lights and unplug. For 60 minutes – can you do it?
When I first heard about Earth Hour I was befuddled. What is the point? Light in the form of candles (or lighters, or now cell phones) is a sign of solidarity. Taking that light away – will it be as powerful?
Apparently it is. Earth Hour started in Sydney, Australia to “inspire people to take action on climate change”. Symbolism aside, that one hour in 2007 saw (or rather, left in the darkness) 2.2 million people and 2100 businesses, saving the energetic equivalent of taking 48,000 cars off the road for a year.
Major cities around the world – Melbourne, Toronto and Copenhagen, for example – are participating in the 2008 world Earth Hour. But of course smaller cities can (and should) be involved too.
So, how do you get involved?
- Turn off your lights (and ideally, computers and other energy-using appliances) at 8 p.m. local time on March 29, 2008.
- tell your friends. If your real-life friends tune out, try networking or posting a link through Myspace or Facebook.
- If your community is not yet participating, have it added to Earth Hour’s list.
- To kill time until March 29, check out the Earth Hour supporter map – a 3D look at where in the world people are participating. Ironically, they are represented by lighted dots.
Filed under: Events, Job Postings | Tags: Canada, eco-friendly careers, environmental caledar, environmental conferences, green events, green jobs
Now it is possible to look up eco-friendly events in your area, sorted by location and date. Planetfriendly.org has released their Green and Environmental Conferences Calendar. Topics range from pollution to green homes to cars and pedestrians. If you have an event to promote, you can also submit it to be posted.
While the site is Canadian-based, more and more international events are being added. Planetfriendly’s Green Jobs in Canada board is busily trafficked with new worldwide job opportunities posted every day.
If you have never browsed through the site, set aside some time to go through its fabulous resources.
Filed under: Transportation / Vehicles | Tags: Canada, cars, transportation, winter
It’s been cold in Canada for the last couple of weeks. And Canadian wisdom dictates several practices when it comes to driving in Canadian winters:
- Snow tires are a requisite for those who ski regularly, or for city folk worried their streets won’t be plowed;
- During a storm, windshield wiper blades should be lifted off the glass to prevent sticking, and
- Cars must be warmed up before embarking on a trip.
But apparently idling the engine is not only unnecessary but wasteful and polluting as well. The City of Toronto has an idling by-law, whereby vehicles are not permitted to idle for more than three minutes per hour. According to the city’s website, a gasoline engine burns about 3.5 litres of fuel per hour of idling, or about 3% of Ontario’s total fuel. And 10 seconds of idling uses more gas than restarting the engine.
Apparently driving the car at a slow speed for about five minutes warms it up faster, without detrimental effects.
If the idea of smog and greenhouse gases don’t turn you off idling, how about the idea that idling 10 minutes uses 20 cents of gas. Not a huge amount, but not insignificant for those who usually leave their cars on while they run into the store or put on their coats.
Filed under: Food Issues | Tags: agriculture, energy, environment, food, food waste, local
Does throwing out food negatively impact the environment?
Awareness Raising
One report on overconsumption, food waste and the environment comes from the United Kingdom and is posted on meatprocess.com. It details the 2008 part of a lecture series given by “industry veteran and farmer” Lord Christopher Haskins.
In simple terms, Haskins says we waste too much energy and food, and that we eat too much. He seems to be one of the first to link the seemingly distinct issues of climate change and food supply, saying that if we rescued wasted food we could solve the “Malthusian problem” of population growth outstripping food production capabilities.
How much Food is Wasted?
- Haskins’ guess is that about 50% of food goes to waste.
- According to the article, in the UK about 30% of food bought in shops is wasted in homes.
- A February 9th Toronto Star article cites U.S. research that 14% of food is wasted.
Haskins apparently blames wastage in stores on overstocking and either on customers that are too picky about buying perfect-looking produce, or stores think that they will be and don’t put the bruised stuff out. And what about “two for one” deals?
I thought the era of “Supersize Me” foods was over.
The Bottom Line
Not only are we growing, transporting, and processing food using huge energy inputs, a large percentage of that food is going to waste.
