Arctic Circle is a daily cartoon strip by Alex Hallet about three penguins, Oscar, Ed and Gordo, who have emigrated from Antarctica to the Arctic. The comic has an underlying environmental theme and regularly sees the humour in trying to live a more eco-friendly life in a 21st century world.

 

Come join over twenty local, family oriented businesses and live performances by Bumbershoot Children’s Theater this weekend at the Mission Community Center in Kelowna.

The event will feature a wide variety of retailers, artisans, fitness professionals, fashion and jewellery designers, interior decorators, baby product specialists, financial strategists and more, all offering original, useful, eco-friendly and handcrafted items, services and resources specifically designed for growing families and their homes.

The event is free and there will be door prize draws for all the parents attending.  Come and find one-of-a-kind gifts, products and services for your family, catch some amazing children's theatre shows, and support local Mompreneurs in the community.

June 13: 11 AM – 7 PM

June 14: 10 AM – 4 PM

Location: Mission Hall - 4409 Lakeshore Drive

To find out more information about the Okanagan Family Showcase event, contact Nicole McNichol at nicolebc1@hotmail.com and to learn more about the Enterprising Moms Network visit EnterprisingMomsNetwork.com

 

Canadian Environment Week is from May 31st to June 6th 2009. It's the perfect time to celebrate our achievements and initiatives in tackling climate change and reducing air pollution. You can work on simple changes that contribute to a greener future for everyone.

Here are a few tips to green your lifestyle:

• Buy locally grown food. Take some time to visit local Farmers Markets and learn more about the benefits of choosing locally grown foods! 
• Change at least one light bulb to a compact fluorescent. Those qualified to ENERGY STAR® use about a quarter as much electricity as a conventional light bulb to produce the same amount of light. Compact fluorescents cost a bit more than incandescents, but they last up to ten times longer. 
• Take a walk on the wild side. Go for a day hike on a local nature trail and revel in the beauty and serenity you're trying to preserve for future generations.
• Turn off your computer when you're not using it. A home computer, monitor, and printer can use up to 200 watts of electricity. At both work and home, set your monitor to go into "sleep" mode if it is idle for more than 5 minutes, and your computer to do the same after 15.
• Carry a cloth bag or keep one in your car. Avoid traditional plastic bags in favour of reusable totes. Most plastic bags wind up in landfill sites, where they can take up to a thousand years to biodegrade. A cloth tote is durable, easy to carry and much more eco-friendly!
  

The New Year's resolution of Okanagan newlyweds, Darrell and Lindsay Eason, transformed into a year long commitment to sustainable living. Follow their journey as they transform from a green couple to a sustainable couple over the next year. And, get ideas and tips that can inspire you as well. 

January 13, 2009

It has been quite a week of exploring our options and allowing ourselves to express our creativity through food. I actually baked a perfect loaf of bread in the bread maker, thanks to the addition of an egg and bread flour. The difference (I think) is higher gluten content, allowing the bread to rise instead of making a hard little puck that I had come to accept. Thanks to the inspiration of my friend Karalyn, I made two batches of wonderful organic spelt crackers with poppy seeds and organic seasoning. If I had realized how easy it was to make my own crackers, I would have started years ago. All you need is a cup of flour, 2 tbsp of butter, 4 tbsp of water, salt plus any seasonings and seeds you want to add. Just roll out the dough 1/8 inch thin and bake for 10 min on a greased pan at 400 degrees. Simpler than pie! I cut the second batch with a pizza cutter before putting it in the oven which made perfectly baked strips. I pair the crackers with Carmelis chevre and organic jalapeno and apple jelly or with home made humus. Yum!

Darrell has also been experimenting with cooking, not baking. He used some organic ground beef from Nature’s Fare and made a huge batch of bolognaise sauce to freeze. He asked the owner of Cook’s Quality Meats why it's hard to find organic beef, and he said many cattle farmers have to use antibiotics to treat infections in their herd, otherwise half of their herd would die when they were young. It takes one year for antibiotics to leave a cows system, and then it can become certified organic.

Outside of the kitchen we always look to the organic or eco-friendly option for products, but we are now starting to find ways to reduce the amount of stuff we purchase or continually purchase. I now have a toothbrush from Natural Rezources that has a disposable head, so the whole toothbrush doesn’t need to be thrown out. And our lotion, shampoo, dish soap and detergent containers are all refilled at Samson's Soap Shop.

I recommend to all those who like big box stores to try shopping for one or two items a small natural food store, artisan shop or soap shop. It actually becomes an enjoyable experience, instead of rushing around hundreds of people, standing in line, getting claustrophobic and anxious just to get everything you need in one store. The small shops help calm us down, create an enjoyable experience and make for a fun day of going to the bakers for bread, the butchers for meat, the health food store for vitamins and the Farmer's Market for veggies. The people working at these places are connected to their products, making them passionate about what they do. Do you think the cashier at Walmart gives a crap about local vs. imported products? Maybe, but her personal values definitely are not reflected in her job.

The moral of the story (or rant, if you like) is that we all need to find out what makes our conscience feel good. What is your philosophy to living happier and healthier? Do you want to make a difference in this world? Because if this is not what you are striving for, then why are you doing what you are doing?

Making the switch to eco-friendly clothing may not be easy, considering the lower prices of apparel that may be harmful for the environment.

In Part 1 (of a 2 part series), we outline the environmental problems of producing clothing materials that we take for granted. (In Part 2, we will discuss alternative solutions).

Part 1:
The manufacturing process of conventional fabrics doesn't take into account the harmful effects on the environment.

• Cotton - uses lots and lots of pesticides and fertilizers rich in nitrogen. One cotton t-shirt can use 1/3 of a pound of chemicals
• Synthetics - petroleum-based chemicals are used and a tonne of energy is wasted to produce them
• Wool - livestock may be dipped in pesticides, given hormones and anti-biotics. To clean the wool, harsh detergents may be used
• Rayon - manufacturing process uses lots of water and chemicals and wood pulp is wasted. A product called Tencel is better for the environment
• Dyes - used on garments but contain chemicals and metals that may end up in wastewater

Source: Article by Edward M. Eveld titled "Commit to 'greener' clothing"

The biggest share of home energy costs is accounted to home heating at 60%. If your boiler or furnace is more than 10 years old, it's probably a low-efficient model having a Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency (AFUE) between 60 to 70%. i.e. It's only producing 60 to 70 cents worth of heat for every dollar you are spending.

There  are Energy Star natural gas equipment that can perform upto 97% AFUE (furnace) and the Energy Start boilers can perform at 85% or more AFUE.

Terasen Gas has 14 leading brand manufacturer rebates that range from $150 to $700 which expire on January 31 2009. Visit terasengas.com to take a look at the offers. Terasen will also give you a $250 credit for replacing your old furnace or boiler with an Energy Star model by December 31 2009.

The Province of BC's LiveSmart program has other incentive for renovating your home with the federal government's ecoENERGY retrofit program. Visit www.LiveSmartBC.ca and click on 'Save on Energy'

The Interior Health Authority (IHA) received $78,000 from FortisBC recently for their energy efficient lighting upgrades.

They exchanged over 16,000 light fixtures across South and Central Okanagan. The facilities that were upgraded were the Penticton Regional Hospital, Kelowna General Hospital, Cottonwoods Extended Care and Three Links Manor. The lighting upgrades cost $714,000 but will save IHA $100,000 each year. The IHA is commited to reducing energy use and environmental emissions.

The City of Castlegar also received $13,600 in rebates for their upgrades in the Castlegar City Hall project. The energy efficient upgrades will reduce power consumption by 230,000 kWhs each year, enough to power 23 houses. The City Hall also has geothermal heating and cooling, a heat recovery system, energy efficient glazing on the windows and an energy efficient elevator. 

Summer Cooling Tips from FortisBC:

• Close blinds or curtains to block out the sun
• Switch to CFL lights to reduce heat
• Use ceiling and space fans
• Use major appliances early in the morning or after the sun goes down
• Turn off the air conditioner when you go out at night
  

What is the Cool Shops program?

It's a program put together by FortisBC, Terasen Gas, and the City of Kelowna, in partnership with the Clean Air Foundation that helps small businesses conserve energy, save money and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by identifying and implementing in-store energy management measures.

Through their efforts, they've helped 8,000 retailers become more energy efficient and 5,073 megawatt hours and 1,532 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions have been saved.

Case Study

Olympia Greek Taverna recently switched to a high efficiency pre-rinse spray valve which will reduce their hot water consumption by 2/3s. That’s a saving of between $400—$800 a year.

Also, the owner's found out that through the Cool Shops program that they have the potential to save approximately $1,400 per year if they upgrade their incandescent and fluorescent lights to more efficient lighting.

If you own a business or work for a business you can set up a free no obligation energy audit.
 
What your business is provided with:

•      a non-intrusive 15 minute palm-pilot based energy audit on the lighting
•      compact fluorescent bulbs (CFLs) that last 10,000 hours (twisty bulbs)
•      LED exit lamp kits for exit signs that last 2 years and use 2.4Watts
•      Other FREE sample energy efficient lighting products such as flood lights, candleabra lights, dimmable floods, MR16 track lights
•      an energy efficient spray valve (for restaurants)
•      energy saving tips and advice
•      Incentives on items that wish to be purchased through FortisBC and Brite-lite (these savings are 50-75% less than what you would pay in a retail store and the incentives are available until June of next year)

If you are interested, please contact:
 
Fawna More
Cool Shops Program Coordinator
coolshops@fortisbc.com
250-469-8107

 

With gas prices higher than ever before and this being the busy season for summer travel, it may be a good time to offer tips to save at the pump.

The following tips provided by Ford, are geared towards driving behaviour and it can save you quite a bit. You can increase fuel-efficiency simply by changing your habits.

Ford calls it EcoDriving - because it is eco-nomical and eco-logical.

The tips are listed below:

• Maintain a steady speed; if you pump the accelerator often, more fuel is pumped into the engine. Use cruise control on the highways to maintain speed.
• Relax, because aggressive driving such as accelerating quickly or braking and also speeding can reduce gas mileage and wear out your tires and brakes.
• With newer vehicles there's no need to idle (warm-up the engine) - even in cold temperatures.
• Maintain good tire pressure, this alone can save you 3-4% in fuel.
• Service your vehicle at the recommended times - tune-up the engine, align the wheels, replace air filters
• Remove heavy and unncessary items from your car. This reduces the worl-load on the engine
• Use heating and air-conditioning wisely to reduce the load on the engine
• Have windows closed when travelling at high speeds
• Use the right oil  for your engine - there are good quality, energy conserving EC oils. They have a ECII symbol to indicate their fuel-efficiency.
• Plan your trips to reduce extra, unneeded trips
  

Source: Article titled "Tips to save gas costs"

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.

State-of-the-art green homes can be sold at market price 

Weatherford Place in Roswell Georgia is a green residential community. It's described as a "solar community of net-zero energy homes" built to the greenest building standards.

In fact, each "EcoCraft" home is at a platinum LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) level. The highest level which includes points for such things as reuse of materials, pollution reduction, green power, rapitable renewable resources, etc. It's the first project of it's kind built using "Nature's Code".

The solar power generation in the community is what differentiates this development from the rest. One of the unique features is that each house serves as a power source for the community. The solar energy collected from the houses are put in to the power grid and used by everyone. The specifications show that each home should generate more than it uses thus making each home a net-zero energy home.

The homes also use 2/3 less energy than regular homes and use solar power to heat water, etc. Each home will have monitors and sensors to measure energy consumption and the overall eco-friendliness. The data will be used in energy-efficiency studies.

The prices of these homes are listed at $750,000 USD (for homes between 2500 to 3900 square feet), but have already appraised at $1 million. This project indicates that green homes can be built to LEED standards and can be profitable.

Source: Article in Event Magazine by Maria Saporta titled "Green Homes"

We were on a mission last night to find blinds for the home and to get tips on making the windows more energy-efficient.

Our stops included Sears and Home Depot. The staff pointed us towards cellular honeycomb blinds which maximizes energy efficiency and insulates the home fairly well. They come in single, double and triple cell arrangements which provide different levels of insulation and light transmission. Chelsea at Home Depot indicated that depending on the supplier, installation times can range from 12 to 19 days. Both places offer free in-home consultation though. I think we are definately leaning towards these shades.

Other options include bamboo roll-up blinds (as a easily renewable resource) and Home Depot also has energy film that has 99% UV Rejection, 85% Light Transmission, 65% Solar Heat Rejection. It can help you save up to 12-18% of annual energy costs but they are recommended for single pane windows.

The reviews have been good: "This film keeps out drafts and conserves heat in winter, to save money and conserve energy."

Clean Green using household ingredients

 If you want to avoid using toxins and non eco-friendly cleaning products, there are green cleaning alternatives that can be formulated at home.

Kitchen Cleaning

You can use household ingredients such as baking soda, lemon juice, Borax, vinegar and salt to create your own green version of kitchen cleaners. Not only will you save a little bit of money but you will be reducing the need for toxic cleaners.

• if you combine salt with water and vinegar, you can use the solution on your kitchen counters and other surfaces such as microwaves and lino floors. Salt grains act as an abrasive and help remove dirt from hard surfaces.
• a mixture of salt, vinegar and baking soda has the effect of deodorizing while disinfecting at the same time.
• Borax is a white powder that was used in the 1950s to soften water during a load of laundry. It can be used as an all-purpose cleaner and it can act as a cockroach and ant repellent as well.

Bathroom Cleaning

You can keep your bathroom clean and free from bacteria by using baking soda and vinegar instead of bleach and other chemical based solutions.

• to clean bathroom tubs and tiles, pour vinegar over the surface then sprinkle in baking soda on top; then you can use a sponge to scrub the surfaces
• to clean the toilet bowl, pour in one cup of vinegar and 1/4 cup of baking soda, let it stand for a few minutes before cleaning the bowl with a toilet brush

Window Cleaning

 Windows accumulate dustbunnies and a bit of moisture with dirt over the winter months but there isn't a need to get harmful cleaning supplies.

• an all-purpose window cleaner can be created using 3 tablespoons of vinegar and one quart of water. You can put the mixture in a spray bottle for easy application
  
• a half teaspoon of liquid soap can be used in the mixture created above for extra-soiled windows
• to get a streak-free clean window, use newspapers to wipe the windows down

Resources:

EarthEasy.com 

GreenerChoices.org 

 
Source: Article by Jennifer Preyss titled "Clean green this spring" 

TH!NK offers North America sustainable mobility

In partnership with clean-tech investors, RockPort Capital Partners and Kleiner Perkins, Caulfield and Byers, a Norwegian electric vehicle company, TH!NK Global, established TH!NK North America. Together, they plan to bring electric vehicles into a society where gas prices are ridicilously high and environmental concerns are becoming a factor.

TH!NK Global mass-produces highway-capable electric vehicles which has no emissions. TH!NK city is the model that will be pushed into North America and these battery powered cars will be available in 2009.

The cars themselves are made by 95% recyclable materials; the body is made from recyclable plastic and the car has met all US federal motor vehicle safety requirements. It has a top-speed of 100 km/h and can travel 180 km on a single charge. The plan is to sell them for less than $20,000 US.

Source: TH!NK Press Release, Article by Bob Keefe

Dell is making strides to Go Green

It wasn't long ago that Dell as a company was crucified for its poor environmental efforts. But things have changed. On Earth Day, April 22, Michael Dell got acclaim as being one of the most forward thinking CEOs when it comes to eco-friendliness.

Dell introduced a new energy-efficient computer that will be available later this year. It is constructed from recyclable materials and encased in bamboo. The new coputer will be about 80% smaller but just as powerful as a desktop tower. It will use about 70% less power and it will sell between $500 to $700 USD.

Dell is reducing its own operating costs by cutting energy costs, reducing packaging, and taking other steps to help the environment. Dell's headquarters is powered by 100% renewable energy and the company plans to be carbon neutral by the end of the year. The company is able to reduce the annual cost of running its best-selling corporate desktop from $100 to $22 a year.

E-friendly renovation tips that can increase the value of your investment

• Windows - switch to triple-glazed that are installed properly
• Lighting - use sensor lights, skylights, compact-flourescent bulbs
• Heating - get high-efficiency furnaces, radiant heating, solar panels, solar heated hot water tanks (hot water tanks are 25% of your gas bill)
• Insulation - pack insulation in the walls, basement, attic, around pipes
• Water - install low flow toilets and showerheads, install on-demand hot water heaters
• Paint - use paint that has no VOCs (these cause breathing problems)
• Carpet - install wool carpets that don't pollute the air and are renewable,
• Floors - use renewable resources such as bamboo or cork or recycle old materials
• Surfaces - use products such as PaperStone that is made from recycled paper instead of non-renewable stone

Tips gathered from Joanna Pachner's article titled "Green renos increase a home's value".

Renovations that make your home green can increase it's value by upto 10%

Houses that are energy efficient are more attractive to home buyers these days. Rising energy costs are driving consumers to ask about gas bills and what's been done in the house to counter the problem.

Not only do Green renovations increase home value, they decrease monthly bills as well. A study done in Toronto showed that home values increased by 5 to 10%. An Angus Reid poll indicates that 72% of Canadians will look for a more eco-friendly home with their next purchase.

RBC Royal Bank has data indicating that making green renovations such as getting energy-efficient windows, and doors and draft-proofing the house can help save nearly $25,000 over 20 years.

The Federal Government says that homes can save upto $700 a year on their heating bill by making their home more energy efficient. They also provide programs to entice home owners rebates, discounts and other cost savings.

Joanna Pachner of BMO has an article with more.

Top 10 Green Vacation Ideas

• Use public transportation as much as possible
• Pack light - to save on energy exerted on the additional weight
• Go on a Volunteer vactation for a worthwhile cause
• Check-in at an eco-friendly hotel
• Use a digital camera, use rechargable batteries - save on film and batteries
• Avoid destinations that would suffer with the arrival of tourists - Amazon Rainforest
• Rent a smart car
• Conserve energy in hotel rooms
• Don't do too much laundry - washing sheets everyday is unnecessary
• Eat locally grown produce

Source - Article by Susan Sardone at About.com