According to Stats Canada, there are approximately 3.5 million dogs in Canada and that equates to alot of doggie poop. The biggest carbon footprint from our best friend is their daily business. The plastic bags used in the cleanup afterwards will be around alot longer then the dogs themselves.

San Francisco, with 120,000 dogs (more than children), collects 6,500 tonnes of doggie waste. A waste management company Norcal, collects the dog poop and converts it into energy using an aerobic digester that converts it to methane gas. The remains from the "digestion process" is used as compost for agriculture and the methane gas can be burned to produce electricity.

What can we do if we don't have an aerobic digester? For starters, we can stop using plastic bags; they will sit in the landfill for the next million years. If you use newspaper or paper bags, they will decompose and you can supplement the paper with the Skooperbox which is completely biodegradable.

There's also the Doggie Dooley compost system. It's a miniature septic tank that is easy to install and you just need to add water and digester powder. They are available at most larger pet stores.

If you want to build your own composting system, City Farmer has step-by-step photos and video instructions. You just have to teach Fido to use the composter directly.

Source: Article in Green Living Online titled "Greening the Doggie Do"

Pickup-Pal represents "an eco-friendly transportation revolution that connects drivers, passengers and packages with the places they need to go."

How it works.

Passengers tell the system where they want to go and Drivers tell the system where they are going. The system matches the Passengers with Drivers who are going the same way. For instance, Passengers can specify that they are going to Water Street Kelowna BC from Rutland Road every Tuesday night; based on Drivers who are also going the same way, matches are found and displayed to the Passengers.

Drivers are informed of potential pickups and they can make an offer to the passenger on how much they want to charge for a ride and the Passenger's feedback rating from other drivers. The Passenger reviews the offers and based on price and Driver rating, chooses the Driver with whom they want to ride.

When an offer is accepted, the Driver and Passenger both get a "ticket to ride" with all the necessary information.

At the end of the ride, the Passenger pays the Driver the amount agreed upon. Both the Passenger and the Driver are requested to provide feedback on their PickupPal experience and their profiles are updated accordingly.

Pickup-Pal has an Eco-Ridesharing program (ERP) that allows communities to move people smarter, cleaner and better. They have partnerships with John Mayer, Subaru Triathlon Series, Oberlin College, Home Depot etc.

EscapePollution.com is proud to partner with Pickup-Pal to reduce carbon emissions through ridesharing while providing people with a method to combat traffic congestion and high gas prices ($1.45/litre!) within the City of Kelowna. Please feel free to join the revolution. The more people there is on the system, the better the chances of escaping pollution.

Mode offers green inspired systems and materials

The Mission Group, the company that brought us developments such as the Verve and Sheerwater, are working on their eco-friendly project Mode - A smart address. The Mission Group has strived to be unique in their projects and Mode is by all means just that.

The Mode project is inspired green with the following features:

• the building is located in the Landmark neighbourhood so there isn't a need for cars, you can just leave it at home.
• plumbing fixtures, appliances and drought resistant landscaping are all desgined to conserve water
• carpets and paints have been chosen for their low emmisions of VOCs (volatile organic compounds)
• water heaters are powered by solar energy systems
• the homes are fitted with low "e" windows that are superefficient
• the home is heated and cooled using geothermal packaged terminal heat pumps

The project recently won an Mayor's Environmental Achievement Award for Most Sustainable Development.

Since the development is in the heart of the Landmark Centre, it only makes sense that it's equiped with hi-tech features such as iPod docking stations and the Telus Smart Box.

The Development is located at 1620 Dickson Ave and features "loft-style citi-homes with seperate street entry, and a variety of contempory living spaces from studios to two bedroom homes". Prices range from $185,900 to $415,900. 

At the time of this posting, there's only 10 homes left.

WaterGeeks helps make water safe and helps you conserve

Brent Mielke, the CEO of WaterGeeks started out as an executive producer for the documentary FLOW: For the Love of Water, which deals with the state of today's water supply.

Among some of the things outlined in the film:

• lead pipes in homes - stagnant water dissolves the lead which then enters the water
• water shortage around the world
• safe drinking water - about a billion people don't have access to safe drinking water
• water from rivers cannot be consumed in their raw form

With the problems outlined in the film, Mielke decided to come up with solutions in the form of his company: WaterGeeks.

The company offers a line of filter water bottles that makes the water safe by either removing lead and chlorine, or making water from rivers drinkable. The bottles can be used in various regions that have their own distinctive problems because the filteration happens at the consumer level. The bottles are reusable which reduces the carbon footprint and don't contain the compound bisphenol A (BPA) which doesn't pollute the environment and is non-toxic.

To conserve water, the company offers flex-regulating technologies which reduces water consumption by 50%.

The company will have a grand opening in June.

Source: Article by Kathy Michaels titled "Conservation theme adopted"

Eight benefits for eating local foods

Consuming foods that are grown in your local areas is not only good for you, it helps your environment and it tastes better.

The following reasons (from an article by Molly Watson) outline the benefits of eating locally:

• freshness - it doesn't take a week for the veggies to arrive from out of town
• seasonal - waiting a few months to bite into something that has just come in season can be rewarding
• less environmental impact - there's a big carbon footprint from transporting foods
• preserve green space and farmland - buying local foods allows for more farmland
• promote food safety - when you know your food comes from home, you know how safe it is
• support the local economy - the money stays in the community instead of leaving the area
• promotes variety - we can raise the need for additional produce from local farmers
• creates a community - you interact with the local farmers and others that purchase local foods