Many Small Steps

Two Dollars

2009-03-30T19:45:00.003-04:00

A pair of loonies actually. Funny how they can change one's way.

Recently my landlord fixed the coin op's on the washer and dryer in my apartment. Now it costs two loonies to wash, and two loonies per drying cycle. It's not that I wouldn't pay the two loonies as much as it's I seldom have that many loonies lying about and there's no change machine.

It's all for the better though. I've taken to hanging my laundry to dry on the shower curtain rod and a small, folding dryer rack I purchased. Works just fine for most things. Definitely uses less energy.

Turns out two loonies can drive change ;)

Earth Hour

2009-03-30T19:30:00.002-04:00

http://www.earthhour.org/about/

It's a nice idea, however, I think it misses the mark. Maybe not so much as stopping short

Earth Hour

The hour parts the problem. Earth Hour. An event to increase awareness re power consumption, global warming, etc. However, in talking to people, most miss the point.

I can't really blame them. Earth Hour's own website claims that this year, you could vote earth by turning off your lights. For an hour.

Vote earth? For an hour? Then what? For what? All sorts of electricity stats. Buildings and companies post statements re what they are doing for that hour.

What crap. If you want to vote earth, you'll need to keep doing whatever it is for more than an hour. Change your ways. Do things differently. I wonder why the managers of most of those office towers who proudly canned their lights for an hour on a Saturday night do not seem to realize they could do the same, for the whole night, every night, all year long. Sure, some offices are 24/7, but most, no. Why light an empty space?

Fortunately many people do try to change how they do things on a more permanent basis. I wish the organizers of earth hour pushed the idea of long term change harder. After all, having everyone go home, happy they killed the lights for an hour and saved the planet isn't really what we should be looking for.

The Last Continent

2009-03-01T09:24:00.002-05:00

I watched The Last Continent by Jean Lemire last night. It's a documentary of a crew of scientists and explorers who winter over in Antarctica to document the affects of climate change over the winter period.

Beautiful scenery, of course, of a quite and forgotten place, but a place that factors so heavily into our climate, our world. The lack of ice and the disappearance of great glaciers in just 50 years are of great concern

If you see it at the video store, definitely give it a watch.

Hundreds Attend Global Warming Protest

2009-02-13T15:23:00.002-05:00

Arctic Ice melting Faster than Predicted

2008-12-26T09:08:00.002-05:00

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/north/story/2008/12/24/climate-passage.html?ref=rss&loomia_si=t0:a16:g2:r3:c0.0761463:b20424631

The entire arctic ocean could be ice free in the summer months by as early as 2015? That's only 6 years away (using 2009 as the year, as we are only days away from it).

Of course, people then argue and disagree as to the why's of why this would be so, while the rest of us ignore it as the experts are fighting over if it's good or bad, or if it's natural or caused by too much CO2, or if it will be by 2015 or 2016, 2017, 2020....and on and on it goes.

Does it really matter?

We know we cause too much of an impact on the resources of the planet. At some level we can't help it. There are just so many of us. Regardless to cause, we all know it makes sense to treat this planet, the place we live, the only place, at the moment, we can live, with some care. Reduce our impact on it as best we can.

Try?

Seems the obvious path to me.

Embarrassing

2008-12-06T09:57:00.000-05:00

http://green.sympatico.msn.ca/article.aspx?cp-documentid=740007

Embarrassing....

Recycling

2008-11-29T10:21:00.003-05:00

I caught a TV news article earlier this week in which the topic of the article was the issues recycling programs are starting to have with the downturn of the economy. Problems are the cost of the programs to cities and counties were offset by the resale of the collected recycling materials to manufacturers. The TV report wondered if the slowed economy was to be the end or put the brakes on the efforts of environmentalists.

My thoughts at the end of the article, and digging into it more afterward, I think it just might be the best thing for these programs.

Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle.

The focus really, by cities and places trying to reduce waste, has been a lot of focus and effort in the last one - recycling. Diversion of materials from land fill sites, predominately as most are filling rapidly or full. People happily recycle while feeling they are doing the environment good. In reality, we are still throwing the stuff away. Yes, it's better to try to recycle it than to landfill it, but the emphasis should be on the first two. Reduce and Reuse.

Reduce our impact, our consumption. Maybe not as much packaging, for example. Perhaps making things of a less disposable nature. Making things to last.

Reuse. Resealable plastic containers instead of covering bowls with plastic wrap. Reusable shopping bags.

Perhaps we should rethink the recycling part too. It appears recycling at the moment means shipping stuff, like plastics, overseas to a place where we don't care what fumes or waste is created in recycling the materials. Or perhaps the affect of breathing those fumes on the workers. Or how the energy used to recycle the products is created.

Progress....or have we made any?

At least it appears we compost our organics here. Little steps.

B.Y.O.B

2008-11-26T19:02:00.003-05:00

BYOB - Bring Your Own Bag. All in favour say Aye.

AYE!

Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. Bringing your own bag definitely exercises the first two.

Besides, 5 cents a bag isn't too exorbitant, should one want to stay with plastic bags. Price Chopper, No Frills, Food Basics all charge a similar fee already and have for years. I know that most people know use their own bags. I see it every time I'm at the grocery store.

It's a good idea. I believe they charge way more than 5 cents a bag in several European countries already. Sure, some will say it's just another fee pushed off to users, but for once, it's one that was long over due.

Solar Powered Charger

2008-11-17T16:53:00.007-05:00

Was at a users conference last week put on by a supplier of product for the company I work for. Usually at these things they give you some form of trinket...um...I mean parting gift to remember them by. This conference was no different. Now, it's not top quality, but it is kind of neat. It's a solar powered charger. You put it out in the sun, and let it charge it's internal battery, then charge your electronic devices with it. Here's a shot of it connected to my MP3 player, charging it up:

It's hard to see it charging, but here's a shot of it completed. You can see the MP3's charge status is full if you have good eyes:

Maybe an easier shot to see, I thought since it worked on the MP3, I'd give it a go with my cell phone. Red LED is on indicating charging, I'll have to see if it fully charges it:

Pretty neat. Maybe it would be a bit neater if it was of better construction and not feeling like it was soon destined for a landfill.

(Editors Note, from the next day - Yes, it did charge my cell phone....cool...)

Inertia, Momentum and Acceleration - Physics for the World

2008-08-09T12:15:00.003-04:00

Inertia: The resistance an object has to a change in its state of motion.

Momentum: Has the special property that, in a closed system, it is always conserved.

The earth, yes this place we live on, is a closed system...

The climate, the world, is changing, and not for the better, due to the impact we have on it. The change is in progress. Inertia means change would not want to stop. Momentum's on it's side.

From 2004:
"Ticking Time Bomb" - an article on the massive amounts of methane stored in the frozen expanses of the world.

Expanses that have now begun to melt...more rapidly each year...

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/06/080610112628.htm

I heard a news report on CBC radio earlier this week about problems in some northern villages in Canada. People were complaining about issues with the smell of methane that was bubbling out of some northern lakes. A northern park was closed and people had to be evacuated as large portions of a trail through it disappeared.

A little snippet of the linked article:

"Pauline Scott, a spokeswoman for Parks Canada, told the BBC News website that after two weeks of record-breaking hot weather in June the ice had "melted at a phenomenal rate - we've never seen this kind of phenomenon in almost 40 years since the park was first opened".

Speaking from Iqaluit, the capital of the Canadian Arctic territory of Nunavut, Ms Scott said that due to the massive amount of melting ice "huge portions of what was formerly a 96km trail in the park have completely gone". "

Inertia, momentum and acceleration. We are past the point of having time to just talk about what to do. We are past the point were we should have taken action. We need to act, to change, and to do so now. Life as we now live it cannot continue on, if we as a race, as a species on this dot of a world, wish to also continue on. We need to change, to learn to blend in with our surroundings, to other species on the globe. To lessen our footprint. Wisely use our resources. There are lots of things that can be done.

For starters, we could reduce our reliance on automobiles. Live closer to where we work. Work from where we live. I could. My work environment is a phone and a computer. I carry the computer back and forth between my office and home already. Corporations can change their view of where I could work from, and make a change. Governments can spend money of improving public transit.

I live in Toronto. Ever expanding Toronto. To the north, to the west, to the east. The only thing stopping to the south is the lake. Other cities are the same, but I'm going to use Toronto as an example. What if governments took a map and drew a line around what is presently the developed city of Toronto and mandated that everything on the outside of that line was green space. No development allowed. Any growth that happens in Toronto has to happen within the line. Greater density as opposed to sprawling suburbs. If this were to occur, instead of the governments (national, provincial, municipal) spending tax money on building and maintaining expanding roads, sewer systems, water systems, garbage and recycling systems, they could focus money on better moving people around withing the lined in area. On best using resources within that area. Zoning to make sure what people need is near where people live. Better efficiency, less demand on resources.

It's a thought. It's not just up to governments though. We, the people, also need to accept that change is required. That perhaps, driving over an hour from a sprawling suburban area into a downtown core isn't sustainable. That maybe we should be trying to leave the car at home a bit. That we too need to change.

Inertia. It's hard to overcome.

Subways and Bags

2008-07-03T13:39:00.002-04:00

Living just a short distance from a subway stop in a big city is definitely a benefit. Wow can I get around quickly and painlessly. Plus a little friendlier to the environment. Mass transit can work ;)

I'd posted about the Wine Shoppe changing bag to paper bags. I was at another store this morning who also have changed the bags they use. They've gone with bags you can compost.

Small Changes

2008-06-14T07:56:00.002-04:00

As attitudes have been changing in regards to the way we do things, changes have been following. For some changes, we've come full circle. I wonder how often it is that things in the world, the things we humans do, go in circles?

Yesterday evening I stopped at the wine shop in a grocery store here. Small little shop with two employees. One a very young lady, the other an elderly gentleman. There were both helping me at the cash counter. Instead of the plastic bags they used to use (really, really durable plastic bags. I think you could tie them together and use them as rope) the bottle was put in a paper bag. I remarked "oh, a paper bag". The young lady readily explained how they have changed to paper bags instead of plastic ones to reduce the environmental impact, and how this was a great new initiative. The elderly gentleman looked at me and added to her explanation "Paper bags, just like we used to".

Ok, I'm not that old, but yes, I do remember that groceries all used to come home in paper bags. Apparently wine bottles too. Seems we've just trekked around another circle. Maybe sometimes it's just what we have to do.

Garbage bag quest continued....

2008-06-10T22:06:00.005-04:00

So far, lots of ideas and info have been shared in the comments related to the last post and the one before it. Thanks everyone! I'm reading up on bioplast-2189 (check out the comments left on the previous post for a link). I'm a bit confused as to why the product is stated to be completely biodegradable, but the compostability depends on the final product form and thickness. I wonder if they mean within a certain time frame as they state there are no legalized regulations on composting in the EU? That would make sense.

At any rate, if all else fails, I could at least not use plastic shopping bags and use only a plastic garbage bag. I know, still not perfect, but a step closer. I found a kitchen garbage can that would support this. It has a removable inner plastic shell:

As most of the goopy stuff goes in the kitchen composting, it should stay relatively clean. Still, a liner bag seems like a good idea. Or is that just as that's all I've done for all my life? I should just try it out without the bag and see how it works.

Kitchen Garbage Bags

2008-06-06T08:08:00.002-04:00

So, if not using plastic shopping bags, what to do? Obviously buying little plastic garbage bags to replace the plastic shopping bags isn't a step in the right direction.

There are some alternatives?

Bag to Nature:

My only question is, what the heck are they made of? Renewable resources as per the description, but maybe also non-renewable? Is this another biodegradable plastic product where the word biodegradable is a stretch? Over what time frame do they degrade? To what percent?

No problem, I've never seen them in stores, so couldn't buy them anyway?

Of course, there are lots of others. Degradable plastics, that don't so much break down but rather are made with something that will break down (or that organisms will break down)so that they are in little tiny bits you can't see. But they are still there. It's like the magical shove everything under the bed cleanup you would try to do as a kid. Maybe still do.

Many small steps. I'm going to keep using up those plastic bags for the moment, especially as if I don't use them I'm just going to throw them out anyway. I'll just try to use less.

Kitchen Garbage Bags

2008-05-29T21:29:00.002-04:00

So I have a problem. A dilemma. If those thin plastic shopping bags are banned outright, what will I use for kitchen and bathroom garbage bags?

Yes, I think we should use re-usable shopping bags, but what will I use for these garbage bags? I could buy some little plastic garbage bags. That seems both silly and counter productive. Doesn't help at all, other than the fact that I get overrun with more little plastic shopping bags than I can use. Many small steps backwards do not help. Need many small steps forwards.

Yes, once again the words written in Ecclesiastes (it's in the Bible...) echo around in my head. "There's nothing new under the sun. It's been done before. It's just been forgotten" Or something to that effect. How did people handle kitchen garbage before these plastic shopping bags were so prevalent? How is it handled in places that have discontinued using plastic shopping bags today? What can I do? What will I do?

I'm feeling a bit dull, as I don't readily see an answer. Guess I need to think outside the box a bit...

Old is New Again - The Clothes Line

2008-05-25T11:43:00.002-04:00

A reassuring part of life is that people can and do change. Sometimes they even change for the better ;)

I noticed that this brand new clothes line had suddenly sprouted from my neighbors back yard. Clothes lines used to be quite a popular thing, especially before electric dryers, to use to dry your clothes. They started to fall out of popular use and in some places, were even prohibited by bylaws as they were seen as an ugly mark on the landscape of a neighbourhood. Such forward thinking laws we make at times....

With the focus now being on reducing one's impact on the world around us (one that I see individuals are doing a much better job at than governments, cities, corporations - many little steps starts with each of us individually) drying one's clothes using the sun and wind is, of course, an easy decision. Yes, it's true that some of us cannot do this, but others can. We each only need do what we can to make a difference. Some people (my parents fall into this category I'll note) have always continued to use clothes lines.

Not only are clothes lines easier on the environment, they are easier on the pocket book. No need to pay for the electricity and/or gas required to heat and dry your clothes. No need to pay for "country fresh" or "outdoor scent" dryer sheets to make your clothes smell outdoors fresh.

Work closer to where you live, live closer to work

2008-05-20T19:53:00.003-04:00

I'll be doing this, but I can't credit the move to great concerns over the environment (although I do have them) but rather to the fact that I'm tired of driving so far in heavy traffic each day, and I'd like to sleep an hour longer in the morning.

Right now, I live 50 km's from work. That's 100 km's/day, 5 days a week, for a total of 26,000 km's per year approximately (ignoring vacations, holidays, and stuff like that). However I do car pool with someone. We take turns driving, so on average I only make the trip 2.5 times a week, for a total of 13,000 km's per year. If I add the distance from my house to the fellow I car pool with, the 13,000 kms become 16,380 kms per year.

After I move, I'll be 10 km's from work, which would be 5,200 km's per year.

I'll still need to drive the 50 km's back and forth to see and get my daughters, so it's not an overall picture of all my driving, but it is quite an illustration of how those km's add up each day. 5,200 km's as compared to the 26,000 km's I did each year before carpooling, and the 16,000 km's I do now. Of course, the fellow I drive in with now will still drive in, so his vehicle will be going 65,000kms a year, thus in the end, unless he finds someone else to car pool with, there will not be less carbon in the air because of my move. There will, however, be less carbon in the air because of me.

Standby Power

2008-05-15T21:38:00.004-04:00

I really wish manufacturers would start to design devices to avoid using power even when the device is "turned off". Many devices now really do not turn off, when you power them down, but instead just use a bit less power than when they are fully on. Some examples of devices that function like this - TV's, Radios, Microwave ovens, anything with a remote control that can turn on the device (the device is on and listening for the command to turn on).

I looked around my apartment and took note of things that constantly use power. Here's a list. The ones with the * after them are devices that really do not need to be always using power. Ones with a ** behind them are things I could really find a better solution for.

Kitchen:
Fridge
Stove*
Glade Air Freshener**
Microwave Oven*

Bedroom:
Clock
Computer*
Computer Monitor*
Computer Speakers*
Cordless Phone Charger
Printer*

Living Room:
TV*
Cordless Phone
DVD Player*
Cable Modem(*)
Cable Receiver(*)
Phone Modem
Game Station*
Router(*)

Bathroom:
Night Light**
Tooth Brush*

That's quite a list. I could see where it would get worse, if I had a different stereo, for example, or a blue ray player. My, my, we are out of control.

Some are pretty convenient to have running all the time. I marked these with a (*). Just because to turn them off means waiting a long time ( like up to 2 minutes!!! - oh the hardship) for them to be ready once they are turned on.

For some of the rest I'm going to invest in power bars with on/off switches. No sense using the power while I'm not using the device. It is a waste and just creates more pollution.

Use Less Plastic Food Wrap

2008-05-11T18:37:00.001-04:00

Plastic food wrap is pretty convenient, I'll be the first to admit that. Just leave those leftovers sitting in the bowl or on that plate, and seal it over with a thin covering of plastic.

Of course there are alternatives that can be used to freshly seal away that food, without using a plastic film that you will soon be discarding.

I've been using resealable food containers. Plastic ones mostly, but I just picked up a couple glass ones with plastic lids. Mostly to keep myself from just tossing the plastic ones into the microwave oven and reheating the food in them. Very bad for you. So I've switched to glass ones with plastic lids. Great for brining leftovers to work with me. Also great, in that the ones I bough can also be put directly into the oven to reheat food, not just the microwave (no, do not put the plastic cover in a conventional oven. It would just melt). Cuts down on dishes even. Handy.

When stuff is already in a bowl it's still possible to avoid using plastic wrap.

I just invert a saucer on top of it in the bowl.

A saucer works great with this bowl. I have a bigger bowl and do the same thing, only I use a plate. Give it a try.

V for Vendetta - Plastic Bags

2008-05-11T18:17:00.000-04:00

Grocery stores. Hardware stores. Clothing Stores. All nicely packing your goods away in plastic bags. Do your groceries and when you get home, you find you are swimming in them. I store them up and use them as garbage bags, but then I end up throwing the smaller plastic bags, now full of garbage, into a larger garbage bag so the city will take it. I'll have to rethink that. Eventually, I end up with so many little plastic bags that I just throw them out. What a waste.

About a year and a half ago I picked up a couple of these reusable bags. About a buck a piece. I keep them in my vehicle, and bring them in with me when I do groceries. Has dramatically reduced the number of plastic bags I have kicking around the apartment. They are standing up pretty good too. The picture is of one of the two I bought. The ones I have are fabric. They have an added bonus as the handles are much broader and way better than the little loop you get with the plastic grocery store bags. These ones do not cut into your hand as you carry your groceries.

Some countries in the world have come out and banned the use of plastic shopping bags, or have put programs in place to actively discourage their use (a per bag fee, for example). Here in Ontario, Canada, our premier noted how China had set a great example in banning the use of plastic bags, but in the "our leader apparently isn't a good follower" category, no similar plans for Ontario are in the works. We can, however, drop the bags off for recycling. Funny, the recycling motto around here goes Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. Guess someone should introduce the first and second words to our premier.

I got the message though. Reducing & reusing. Hopefully these bags have many more trips left in them before it's time to recycle them.

Putting Words into Action

2008-05-11T16:30:00.000-04:00

Putting words into action can be hard, especially when they are your own words. Words are easy. Actually doing things takes effort. Doing intelligent things takes more effort. Research and some thinking. Stand me in one place for 5 minutes, with nothing but thoughts in my head, and what do you get? More words. Ideas, more words and a plan. A plan on how to follow up on the "better tomorrow for all" part of what I was standing for. I thought I'd document things I do here, a bit as a forum to commit me to actually doing them, to hold my feet to the fire in a sense, but also to open these ideas to others. Things others can do as well to reduce our consumption of every resource on this planet. Let's face it, we are out of control. Addicted to everything - Energy, ease of use, disposable, oil, electricity, wanton use of water, pesticides, you name it, but like all addictions, eventually the toll it takes begins to show...and we all know it's showing. It's time for an intervention...

Feel free to share your ideas in the comments section or via e-mail. I'll save them up and post them from time to time to share with everyone.

Many small steps start with just one.