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.

 

 

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.

 

The Preserve toothbrush comes with a handle made from 100% recycled yoghurt cups and new nylon bristles. It is also 100% recyclable.

If there are no recycling facilities in your area, you can send the used toothbrush back and they will pass it on to a company that will make plastic lumber out of it.

I purchased mine in the USA on vacation but they are available to order online or at Wholefoods in Vancouver. There are three different bristles to choose from and a wide variety of colors.

Another great feature is that it is sold in a reusable plastic travel case.

 

Sara Johnson is a representative of Lalabee Bathworks - a local company that handcrafts skincare products for Mommy & Baby. All their product lines are made in Kelowna using certified organic and natural ingredients. 

 

 

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.

 

                    

 

It is recycle glass week September 21-27.  Glass is continuously recyclable and just by recycling one bottle you save enough energy to run your computer for twenty minutes.  A quick reminder that it takes over 4000 years for glass to decompose.

Although glass does not go into the Blue Bins in Kelowna, it can be dropped off at the bottle depot on Pandosy. 

Lalabee Bathworks has started using recyclable blue glass bottles for some of their products as an alternative to plastic.

Sara Johnson is a representative of Lalabee Bathworks - a local company that handcrafts skincare products for Mommy & Baby. All their product lines are made in Kelowna using certified organic and natural ingredients.   

 

                    

 

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).

 

Lalabee Bathworks is a local company that handcrafts organic skincare for Mommy & Baby. All our products are made in Kelowna using only certified organic and natural ingredients, bought from local farms and suppliers as much as possible.

We started off in 2007 as Lalabee Baby, offering affordable organic alternatives to infant skincare. Our Bottom Balm (for diaper rash and eczema) is still our best selling product.  A few months later we added our organic Mommy Line, as there was a definite gap in the market for Canadian made organic skincare for Moms.

Lalabee Bathworks strives to be environmentally responsible by not using plastic containers for our products, recycling all our packaging and donating to Heifer International.  Plus we use as many organic ingredients as possible.  You can find our skincare in over fifty stores across Canada and locally at The Natural Baby Shop, Choices Market and Tidy Tushees.

 

The City of Kelowna is promoting several environmental initiatives on their site:

Earth Hour - Turn off you lights from 8:30 to 9:30 PM on March 28th

Kelowna 2030 - What will Kelowna be like in 2030? How can we be more sustainable?

Living Greener - Links and information for a sustainable Okanagan

Solar BC - Kelowna leading by example with several solar projects

LiveSmart BC - Make green choices that save money at home, at work and on the road.

Get Water Smart - The City's goal is to reduce city-wide water use by 15% by the year 2012.

Regional Waste Reduction Office - For tips on recycling and scheduled pickups

 

Glenmore Cycling Route
Kelowna Mayor Sharon Shepherd was able to convince enough councillors to consider a new Glenmore cycling route connecting Kelowna to Lake Country.

Some councillers were skeptical because the project may take away from other projects within the city. While other councillors backed the idea of at least studying the project.

Green Transportation
Canada's Transportation Minister, John, Baird, announced that the Government of Canada is investing in 11 projects across the country that supports green transportation. The projects will receive upto $421,000 under the Moving on Sustainable Transport (MOST) program. The program is intended to support community groups and non-governmental organizations in their initiatives.

House boats not causing pollution
Houseboats in Gellatly Bay didn't show any signs of environmental pollution via leakage from septic systems or fuel systems so they won't be forced out by the provincial environmental ministry.

Water Issues
Kelowna councillors will be discussing water conservation measures for the city. They will look at the efforts made so far to develop a Water Sustainability Action Plan and look at initiatives outlined to reduce water consumption within the Kelowna utility by another 15% by 2012.

Waste Reduction
Volunteers are being invited to participate in the rollout of the automated curbside waste collection program. The new garbage carts are an easier, cleaner and greener method of waste collection. Residents will receive 3 bins - one each for garbage, recycling and yard waste. Large bins encourage more recycling and yard waste will be picked up on the opposide biweekly schedule. Check out the 2009 Calendar for more information.

Cherry Hill Coffee, based out of Kelowna is turning a deeper shade of green.

Cherry Hill is offering certified fair-trade (allows the growers to compete globally by offering better trading conditions), organic coffee (which is grown without using pesticides and chemicals). They have 3 delicious organic blends available for the holidays - Jack Frost, Gingerbread and Christmas Blend.

Cherry Hill also introduced a take-out coffee cup made from sustainable materials. The Ecotainer is made from a bio-plastic that is created from corn. These cups are 100% compostable and can decompose into water, organic matter and carbon dioxide.

Finally, they have partnered with a local compost and recycling company to establish a waste management program that takes care of the pickup of your compost. Every week, coffee grounds, ecotainer cups and other organic material can be picked up and converted into nutritious topsoil for local farms.

Source: Article by Natalia Hahn titled "Heard of Green Tea? How about Green Coffee?"

The 3rd annual Organic Okanagan Festival takes place this Sunday September 21st at the Summerhill Pyramid Winery located at 4870 Chute Lake Road from 11 AM to 4 PM.

It's being called the Okanagan's Finest Green Living Expo and is organized by the Okanagan Green Society. There will be over 40 exhibitors talking about natural health and healing, sustainable energy, alternative education, recycling and composting. Samples of locally grown organic food will be given out as well.

Entertainment includes films such as The Story Of Stuff and Table Land and music by The Raging Grannies, The Treelight Room and Daybeats.

There will be kids activities, blind taste tests of organic versus non-organic foods (put on by Nature's Fare, a new sponsor). Nature's Fare will be handing out a goody bag filled with coupons, a green guide and organic food items.

Attendees will be given Taterware plates made from potato starch to sample some of the foods and after the event the plates will be composted. Solar power will be used to provide Vendors at the event with power.

Admission is $5 plus a Kelowna Food Bank donation. Funds raised at the event will support the Okanagan Green Society's projects including Local Food for Local Schools and the Kelowna Food Bank.

Source: Article by Lori-Anne Charlton in the Event Magazine titled "Keen on Green"

Sysco volunteers to keep the garbage heap small

During a May 14th Food show at Prospera Place, Sysco took the initiative on a green approach for waste removal. The Regional Waste Reduction Office along with volunteers and Lindsay Keller of Tigress Ventures sorted the garbage destined for the landfill into 3 piles: compost, recycling and landfill.

Here are some of the results of the sorting:

• 800 lbs of compostable food waste and biodegradable plates and cutlery were collected by Russ's Recycle and Compost Removal Services
• 500 litres of recyclables were diverted
• alot more cardboard was kept out of the garbage than at previous shows

As you can see, if the volunteers didn't take the initiative, the garbage heap would be alot larger today. We should do our part in helping the environment by simply sorting the thrash before dumping in the garbage bin.

Source: Kelowna Capital News Article titled "Sysco food festival joins recycling spirit"

Yard Waste Collection Schedule for May

Here's the Yard Waste pickup schedule for Kelowna in the month of May:

Kelowna A and Westside A and B
May 12 -16

Kelowna B and Peachland
May 19 - 23

Lake Country and Joe Rich/Ellison
May 26 - May 30 

• 7 AM set out time
• use clear bags or reusable containers
• residential yard waste only
• 23 kg per item
• bundled prunings must be less than 1 metre long and 1/2 metre across

For more information: Visit RegionalDistrict.com  (Departments -> Regional Waste Reduction Office)

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".