Back to school green tips

You’ve heard the jingles. For retailers, back to school season is the second most wonderful time of the year. 

According to a Retail Council of Canada survey, Canadians planned on spending about $350 on back to school items from pencils, to lunch boxes, to laptop computers. That’s a lot of coin, especially if you are feeling the financial pinch. 

It could be less – and better for the environment.  This back to school season, by thinking green, you might just save some cash as well as resources and, yes, the environment.  Eco expert and writer Lauren Maris has some advice to share. 

Before you go back to school shopping, think before you spend. Make a list of items you need; then check it twice: make sure you really do need them before buying them brand-new. Many items purchased for the previous school year can be used again. 

Forget about brown bags.  Pack lunches in reusable lunch boxes, along with reusable cutlery and containers. Don’t worry, your kids will remember to bring them back home. Try buying food in bulk; it’s cheaper and uses less packaging. 

A new back to school wardrobe can be the most important thing to kids. Try hosting a clothes swap, or hunting down bargains at consignment shops. If brand-new is the only thing that will do, try to limit them to a single new and versatile outfit. 

If at all possible, walk your kids to school and back; organize a large group of your community’s kids to do a “walking school bus.” If the school is too far for walking to be an option, see if car pooling works. Remember not to idle when dropping them off or picking them up. 

 Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle this back to school season. It’s elementary!

Nothing says tree hugger like owning a cell phone

Helping to save the environment may be just a phone call away. 

In December 2008, mobile phone subscribers passed the 4 billion mark which, in case you were keeping track is 60% of the entire global population. This connectivity represents revolutionary changes in economic, social and political fortune. 

It also represents a lot of environmental trash.

Cell phones contain toxic chemicals which are hazardous when left in landfills. Cell phone companies which have typically been slow to tap into more eco-friendly options are now beginning to answer the call of social responsibility. With a wider range of eco-friendly options, a new niche for environmental technology and marketing is emerging. 

Take the Motorola Renew, for example. It’s made from recycled water bottles. If that conjures up images of an old-school Science Fair project, make no mistake: this technology is cutting-edge. It is the first carbon-neutral cell phone on the market. 

Sony Ericsson recently launched an environmental warranty, and a phone which is built from biodegradable parts. The GreenHeart™ has bio-plastic cases, recycled plastic keypads, zero chargers with efficient stand-by power, paper-saving online manuals and environmentally conscious packaging. 

Nokia has an energy-saving phone with a natural-light detecting sensor. Digicel is developing the first solar-powered low-cost mobile phone—ideal for parts of the world where there is limited or no access to electricity. 

With all of this new environmental technology, dialling into the environment has never been easier.

Obama’s green inauguration

Barack Obama’s election is all about colour – just not of the skin.  

President-elect Obama is doing everything he can to ensure people associate him with the colour green.  21 years after President George Bush (the first one) said he wanted to be known as “the environmental president,” America’s next head of state is using his inauguration to do just that.  

From walking to his swearing-in ceremony on a recycled carpet, to collecting manure from mounted police (the horses, not the policemen), to distributing recycling bins around metropolitan Washington, DC, an attempt is being made to render the ceremonies as environmentally-friendly as possible.  

One of the most important (and for Beltway insiders, most-anticipated) events of a presidential inauguration is the ball.  Well, technically that’s inaccurate – there’s almost always more than one ball.  At least two of Obama’s have been designated “green.”  

The Green Inaugural ball, Maximum Celebration, Minimum Impact, is hosted by Planet Green and R & B star Wyclef Jean, is designed to have a minimal impact. Located a block from a Metro station, the Green Inaugural Ball will be serving organic and local food and lit by low-wattage LEDs. 

Al Gore, who has some enviro-credibility of his own, is also hosting a Green Ball at the Smithsonian.   Fittingly, Gore’s event is perhaps more cerebral – invitees include more than two dozen ecological and environmental coalitions, all encouraged to “celebrate a commitment to growing the New Green Economy.”

It’s often been said that inaugurations set the tone for the presidency. President George W. Bush’s first inauguration was marred by frigid weather and loud protesters. A few dour presidents even cancelled everything other than the swearing-in ceremony itself.  

Obama is trying very hard to paint his nascent administration in shades of green.  Time will tell whether this is prescient or just another gesture.

Upcycling

If the old saying is true and “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure”, then Nike has struck eco-gold with their upcycling program.

Coined by eco-inclined writers William McDonough and Michael Braugart, ‘upcycling’ is the process of transforming disposable materials into something of greater use. Where recycling reuses the same materials to make something similar, like recycling paper into newsprint, upcycling takes something of less value to produce more value.

Put another way, upcycling is to recycling what “pay it forward” is to payback.  

And Nike has emerged as a corporate leader in upcycling. As with automobile manufacturing, the shoe industry debutes new models and designs every year, using more or less the same component materials. This similarity is what makes upcycling possible. 

For Nike, upcycling is part of their Considered Design concept, which emphasises green business practices.  Nike’s goal is to have all of its sportwear and equipment classified as “considered” by 2020. Stated goals include achieving a 30% decrease in packaging waste, and a 95% reduction in toxic cements by 2015.

How does upcycling work?  Actually, there’s not a lot to it.  Both old material and scraps from the cutting room floor are used to make new shoes.  Combined with a variety of manufacturing and assembly techniques, upcycling uses fewer materials overall.  

A few of Nike’s innovations include mechanically locking soles, meaning no glue or solvents are required in the production process; insertable booties; removable logos and generous use of recycled polyester and organic cotton, with water-based adhesive techniques in place of toxic cement or VOCs.  

Upcycling is a relatively new concept and as such, it isn’t exactly widespread yet. For now, Nike is far and away the leader. But because it will save them a lot of money, that alone will guarantee the upcycling race will have more contestants. Soon.

I resolve to…

The Daily Green is highlighting 15 New Year’s resolutions that can help you conserve energy, protect the environment and create less waste. Here’s a selected look at actions you can take to put a green glow on 2009.

If you overindulged during the holiday break, get back on track by promising to recycle and choose recycled goods, like the Nahui Ollin Overturned-Tootsie Pop Candy Wrapper Tote or the recycled Wine Bottle Coat Rack from the Green Glass Company.

On the home front, resolve to have a greener kitchen, bathroom and laundry. Save energy in your kitchen by running your dishwasher only when it’s full and use the air-dry setting instead of heat-dry. Tune up your fridge to ensure peak efficiency by cleaning the condenser coil and when you grocery shop, use reusable bags.

Put a fresh green spin on laundry Mondays by resolving to line-dry your clothes or if you need to use the dryer, make sure the lint filter is clean (a new hobby!), the load is full, the timer is working and wet clothes are not added in the middle of a cycle. Save additional energy by washing clothes in cold water, or if really soiled wash them in warm instead of hot water.

In the bathroom resolve to fix that leak in your toilet and buy recycled paper products. A switch to facial tissue and toilet paper made with recycled content (recycled fiber and post-consumer recycled content) could have a big impact on the environment. The Natural Resources Defense Council estimates that if every household replaced one box of virgin fiber facial tissue with 100% recycled tissue and one roll of virgin fiber toilet paper with 100% recycled TP, we could save 586,900 trees. 

That’s got to be getting close to saving a forest.

Are you celebrating the New Year with any energy savings resolutions?

Hypocrisy? No, just reality

New information about Canadians’ environmental activism suggest that many of us are doing what we can to make the world a greener place. Statistics Canada reports that virtually everyone with access to recycling programs use them, 59% of us have converted to compact fluorescent lights, 56% to low-flow showerheads and 54% of us have lowered our thermostats.

However, another StatsCan report states that our homes and personal vehicles are still responsible for nearly half of the country’s greenhouse gas emissions.

Recycling and the other “green” behaviours – which, incidentally, increase commensurately with household incomes – involve relatively simple choices. Some, such as using less water, lowering thermostats and using fluorescent fixtures, are essentially no-cost options which quickly yield personal savings. There’s also a couple of downsides to fluorescent light fixtures: they don’t contribute much heat to a house and disposal presents a problem because of the mercury they contain.

Moreover, in Canada’s generally long winters, turning down the heat significantly usually isn’t an option and, unless we live in a major metropolitan centre, neither is mass transit. Sure, there are some gains to be made by improving household insulation or moving away large vehicles, but the capital costs can be considerable. 

So what a cynic might see as hypocrisy is seen by others as simply the reality of life in a northern nation.

Green cake?

The way of the future lies in green cake. Sounds like a line from Dr. Seuss, but it’s how the music industry is using their position as social icons to demonstrate the need for change. And Cake, the ultra-cool band behind such hits as No Phone, Short Skirt Long Jacket, and Never There, is doing just that.

Cake uploaded video onto their fan site of the installation of a photovoltaic system on the roof of their Sacramento recording studio. The band announced  that their next album album will be recorded exclusively with solar energy.

 

This isn’t an isolated feel-good story, either. The greening of the music industry is a growing trend that advocates hope becomes the standard.  The CLIF GreenNotes program is a perfect example, not just because it grew by five artists recently, but because their program is based on supporting eco-conscious artists.  

GreenNotes helps musicians integrate environmentally friendly touring practices. GreenNotes funds artists to use biodiesel, sell organic cotton shirts, print on recycled paper and soy ink, stock backstage with locally grown organic produce, and buy renewable wind credits to offset their remaining carbon footprint.

GreenNotes has helped their musicians reduce their carbon emissions by 25 percent, eliminated the use of more than 2,900 pesticides, and offset 2.2 million pounds of carbon.

Bigger names are getting into the act, too.  The Barenaked Ladies will be using biodiesel, buying carbon offsets, recycling and ditching disposables.  In addition to spearheading the “Vote for Change Renewable Energy Project”, Pearl Jam has a Carbon Portfolio Strategy that includes using biodiesel on tour. 

If such notorious sybarites as musicians can change their tune, maybe other industries can follow their act.

Does the thought of winter give you a chill? Cool your heating costs with these hot energy tips

Winter is coming. 

In Canada, those words have an ominous ring, even scarier than “We need to talk.” Not just because of the impending backbreaking snow-shovelling duties. Not because of the day you know you will spend digging out your windshield scraper. Not even because of malls jam-packed with holidays shoppers scrambling to find the best deal that says “You’re someone special.”

In Canada, that winter is on its way means consumers will need to spend more heating their homes. What’s worse – the cost of heating your home is projected to rise. This winter, Canadian can expect to pay about 10 per cent more on heating. But the good news is there are many simple, yet effective ways to cut heating costs this winter.

Small measures add up to big savings

It’s easy to dismiss small measures as just that – small.  What difference can adjusting, say, the power settings on your computer make?  About $40 per year.  Not bad when you consider that a lot of small adjustments add up and in a hurry.  

Time to pull out your sweater – Adjusting your thermostat to a lower daytime temperature by one degree can save up to three per cent on your heating bills, depending on your home design, heating system and insulation.  It’s a fact that many homes are unnecessarily warmed to summer temperatures all year round. Lowering the temperature even more at night will further cut your savings. 

Ceiling fans – Reversing the direction on your ceiling fan will reverse the air circulation, drawing the air upwards instead of downwards. Just as it promotes more efficient cooling in the summer, reversing your ceiling fan promotes heating efficiency in the winter.

Give your laundry the cold shoulder – Washing your clothes in cold water, instead of hot or even lukewarm, will cut your energy consumption dramatically. 90 per cent of the energy used for laundry is in heating the water. Plus, your clothes will survive more spin cycles.

Put the damper on heat loss – Simply closing the flue damper when your fireplace is not in use will save you an extra $190 per year. That’s because when not in use, the chimney still draws in warm air, from your home. Conservatively, you could be spending an extra $50 per month during the winter months to heat the outside air.

Dodge the drafts – Weatherizing and insulating your home will not only cut costs, but increase comfort. Check for cold air drafts and seal up windows and doors with easy-to-install weatherstripping. Consider adding extra insulation to attics, basements and crawlspaces.

Give your hot water tank a cozy cover – Covering your hot water tank with an insulation wrap is an inexpensive and simple way to improve the efficiency of your system. Costing about $20 for the wrap, the energy savings will pay-off in a few months.

Cut back on hot water consumption – Installing a low-flow showerhead, turning down the temperature setting on your hot water tank or just taking a shorter shower will cut down on your energy bills. On average, consumers spend 15 per cent of their energy costs on heating water. If you are considering upgrading your hot water tank, consider a solar hot water heater. 

Let the sun shine – Opening drapes and window coverings to let the sun in will offset heating costs with free passive solar heat. Be sure to take advantage of prime southern and western exposures.

Flip the switch on incandescent light bulbs – Replacing your outdated incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs will multiply the energy savings. A shocking 95 per cent of the energy used by incandescent bulbs goes to heating the bulb. Compact fluorescent bulbs use two-thirds less energy and last up to 10 times longer.

If that isn’t enough to give you a warm and fuzzy feeling this winter, check out these energy rebate and incentive programs.

Rewards for Recycling – The Ontario provincial power authority in cooperation with Canadian Tire has launched a recycling incentive program. Consumers will receive Canadian Tire gift cards in exchange for returning used air conditioners, dehumidifiers and halogen lamps. The program will result in a total gross energy savings of approximately 10.38 million KWh, equivalent to the total consumption of over 12,200 households.

Power Smart Rebates – The Canadian government will provide up to $500 for switching to an energy efficient furnace. In many provinces, the provincial government will match or supplement the rebate. For example, Manitoba Hydro offers Power Smart rebate which doubles the federal rebate.

Project Porchlight – Started in Ottawa in 2004, the project is dedicated to making efficient compact fluorescent bulbs available to consumers through a trade-in program. Consumers can trade their old incandescent bulbs for the newer, more efficient compact fluorescents.

Energy Audit – Often sponsored by gas and electricity utilities or local governments, energy audit programs offer consumers free or subsidized energy audits. A qualified energy auditor goes over your home with a fine-tooth comb, looking for energy leaks and suggests ways to reduce your energy consumption with home improvements. Even when paid for out of pocket, the savings will pay for the audit within a few years.

Rebates – Designed to help lower-income Canadians with their energy costs, rebate programs vary widely from province to province. Ranging from rebates to offset higher heating costs to incentives for purchasing energy efficient homes, find out about the programs in your area.

So remember…winter is coming. But by making a few small changes, we can add up the energy savings and beat the cold weather blues.

Okotoks…painting the town green?’

Having won three environmental awards, including one from the United Nations, Okotoks, Alberta is showing just how big an impact a number of small steps can have when you put them together.

Formerly best known as the home of the world’s largest glacial erratic rock, Okotoks is now building a rock-solid reputation as a green community. From a bylaw requiring the installation of low flow toilets to construction of Canada’s first fully solar community, Okotoks is recycling environmentally-harmful practices into new, responsible approaches.

One has to wonder if Okotoks, which has put limits on just how big the town can get, can do it, why can’t every other city in Canada? Many communities have green programs in place and are taking a look at a broad range of energy and water conserving practices. Many of these programs are small and simple, though they require the engagement of the entire community, but the biggest obstacle to implementation is funding for the programs.

Back in Okotoks, as shown in its Sustainable Okotoks Green Guide, they know it’s not necessary to move the big rock all at once, but that success can come through combined, individual effort that slowly chips away at the big problem.

Were we greener 50 years ago?

Everything old is new again, or at least recycled

Like a lot of families these days, mine dutifully recycles cans, glass, paper, cardboard, beverage containers, milk jugs, and more. We’ve done it since the kids were in grade school. In fact it was largely at their insistence that we started in the first place. Little did I know recycling is actually a time-honoured tradition that didn’t spring up recently.

A couple of months ago I was chatting with my 86 year-old mother. I’m not sure how, but the topic of recycling came up and I was explaining what it entailed and why it was such a good thing.

She listened patiently for a while, then shook her head. “Oh you kids (everyone younger than 75 is a kid to Mum). Your generation thinks they invented everything. We recycled during the last war. Had to. They needed the materials for the war effort. And we didn’t stop at tins and glass either. Any metal. Old razor blades. Toothpaste tubes. Rags, paper, bones, drippings, ash from the coal stove, rubber. Rubber was a big item. There was a constant parade of men coming to cart stuff away.”
“Bones and ashes?’ I asked. “Must have been garbage collectors hauling it off to the dump.”

“No. I’m sure it all went toward the war.”
I decided this warranted further research. Not that I don’t believe my own Mum, but bones and ashes?
Apparently bones and drippings such as bacon fat and grease were used to make glue for aircraft. A half pound of fat rendered enough glycerin for 150 Bren gun rounds. And ashes were an ingredient in building materials, hence the term cinder block.

There were some pretty strict conservation measures as well. Men’s suits couldn’t have wide lapels or cuffs. Women went without silk stockings and instead used make-up and drew fake seams down the backs of their legs. Foods were strictly rationed. And the Ontario government imposed a 40 mile per hour (64 kilometres per hour) speed limit to save gas and wear and tear on rubber tires.

If Mum chided my generation for thinking recycling was new and wonderful, previous generations could chide her. It seems that throughout history, war and recycling have gone hand in hand. In fact, in 1776 during the American War of Independence, a statue of King George III was recycled into bullets which were then used against his troops.

War wasn’t the only impetus for recycling. Economics played a big role too. As early as the 11th century, the Japanese were recycling paper, a trend that didn’t catch on in Europe and North America until about 600 years later. A whole industry evolved from people picking through waste, salvaging anything that had potential resale value. In fact some cities gained a revenue stream from the resale of usable items collected by their street cleaners.

Even earlier, recycling was a necessity. Prior to the Industrial Revolution, broken items such as furniture, tools and cooking implements; building materials such as wood, bricks and even hardware, were constantly repaired and reused because of the difficulty in replacing them. This activity grew less crucial as factories began mass producing everyday domestic goods.

There was a resurgence in recycling during the Depression, again for economic reasons. People just couldn’t afford to replace broken, or worse, out of fashion items with new ones.

In terms of the environment, the advent of packaging in Europe during the 1500s, and selling food in glass or metal containers in the 1800s, created more waste and the need for its collection and disposal. This was exacerbated in the 1900s with the onset of plastics and our modern “throw-away” society. In fact dealing with waste has been an environmental issue since human beings evolved from a nomadic society into a more stationary society with permanent settlements

Were we greener 50 years ago? That’s fodder for a family debate. But no single generation can claim full credit. We’ve been green, off and on, for centuries. Perhaps now, though, it’s more important than ever.

Which reminds me. Be careful introducing other “modern” environmental concepts around the family dinner table. When my Mum began to describe recycling kitchen scraps into compost and growing an organic garden and having to rely on locally grown produce, eggs and milk, I decided to save discussion of the “new” 100-kilometre diet until a later date.