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.

 

 

Every September 22, people from around the world get together in the streets, intersections, and neighbourhood blocks to remind the world that we don't have to accept our car-dominated society.

World Carfree Day, a showcase for just how our cities might look like, feel like, and sound like without cars, is an en excellent opportunity to rethink and rediscover our personal mobility and the urban environment we live in.

Come celebrate International Car Free Day and to promote clean air, safe streets and the many active transportation and making healthy and active transportation choices on Saturday September 26th 2009 from 12:00 pm to 4:00 pm in Downtown Kelowna on Bernard Avenue by the Sails and Kerry Park.

There will be Free activities including live music in Kerry Park, skateboards and bike demonstrations, games for all ages, interactive booths and displays, you can explore a Double decker bus, street art and face painting and more!

Source: I-Go Central Okanagan

                    

 

Conserving fuel to stretch your fuel dollar and to be environmentally responsible is extremely important.

Listed below are more tips from Shell Canada on simple ways to increase fuel efficiency and save money at the pump:

• Keep your distance - If you keep your distance from the car in front of you, you will avoid hard braking. Hard draking uses more fuel than smooth braking.
• Use air conditioning (and other electrical appliances) sparingly - Using air conditioning in the city can increate fuel consumption by 20%. On the highway you can use the flow-through ventilation. On city streets, open a window.
• Check the air filters - Replacing a clogged air filter can improve fuel economy by 10%
• Conserve momentum - Anticipate hills, traffic lights so you avoid hard braking and sudden stops.
• Avoid small fuel fills - Every time you open the fuel cap, fuel evaporates. Try to fill up when you're at a quarter tank.
• Perform a monthly check - If you can, check tire pressure, fluid leaks, fluid levels, cracked or loose hoses and wires, adequate braking efficiency and wheel alignment in between your regular checkups.

 

Greenpeace first released their 'Guide to Greener Electronics' in August 2006; the guide ranks the 17 top manufacturers of personal computers, mobile phones, TV's and games consoles according to their policies on toxic chemicals, recycling and climate change.

In their 11th edition, HP, Lenovo, and Dell received a penalty for breaking their promises to phase-out toxic chemicals. In fact, of the 5 top PC makers, only Apple is making large strides. Meanwhile, Philips was moved from 15th place to 4th in the list of companies.

1. Nokia –  Keeps top spot with new CO2 emissions reduction targets.
2. Samsung - Up two places with clear support for global climate change cuts.
3. Sony Ericsson – Down one place with more work to do on recycling.
4. Philips - Biggest mover, up 11 places due to big recycling policy improvements.
5. Sony - Up two places with better product energy efficiency reporting.
6. LG Electronics - Loses points for delaying toxics phase out for all products.
7. Toshiba- Loses points for poor CO2 reduction target and missing energy efficiency data.
   
8. Motorola - Down one place, needs to improve on waste and energy.
9. Sharp - Unchanged - gains point for new US recycling scheme, loses one for weaker commitment on global emissions reduction.
10. Apple - Up four places, good on chemicals elimination, improved on recycling but still poor on energy.
11. Acer - Score drops slightly due to poor e-waste scores.
12. Panasonic - Down 3 places due to poor definition of precautionary principle and energy efficiency reporting.
13. Dell - Continues to drop, penalty point for breaking commitment phase out of toxics by end 2009.
14. Lenovo - Penalty point for breaking commitment phase out of toxics by end 2009.
15. Microsoft - Score drops due to bad performance on e-waste.
16. HP - Penalty point for breaking commitment phase out of toxics by end 2009.
17. Nintendo - Remains in last place, unchanged score.

Take a look at the Guide to Greener electronics for more detailed information (including the grading criteria).