Salvaging the urban forest
December 21, 2007
Most of us have learned to recycle everything from coffee filters to cell phones, but Urban Tree Salvage in Toronto has taken the concept a step further. With storm damage, maturity, insects and disease taking their toll on our urban canopy, close to 9000 trees have to be removed every year in the GTA. Urban Tree Salvage (UTS) rescues logs from local municipality forestry waste and builds functional and beautiful furniture, flooring and lumber.
Green buildings: what is LEED?
December 21, 2007
Don’t be confused. We’re not talking Christmas lights - those are LEDs - we’re referring to North America’s most respected green building rating system, Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED).
Green event listings
December 20, 2007
Green events for the week of Dec. 20 to Dec. 27
Island Airport Protest Demo With music, drumming, singing and dancing. 5:30-7:30 pm, Friday, December 21. Free. Foot of Bathurst. http://communityair.org.
Lululemon follows MEC’s lead in pulling bottles
December 20, 2007
Lululemon Athletica is the second Canadian retailer pull water bottles containing bisphenol A from their shelves. Beginning in January, the popular athletic and yogawear stores will no longer sell hard plastic bottles containing the chemical, following Mountain Equipment Co-op’s lead.
Have yourself an eco-friendly Christmas
December 19, 2007
The holidays bring out the best in many of us. But they also bring an environmentalist’s worst nightmare: excess in everything from energy consumption to packaging and food. With that in mind, we’ve compiled a few final tips for celebrating the season and the planet, too.
Paint it green
December 18, 2007
According the the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, indoor air is three times more polluted than outdoor air and considered to be one of the top five hazards to human health. Paints and finishes, which release low-level toxic emissions for years after application, are among the leading indoor air pollutants.
Are you a locavore?
December 18, 2007
If you’re conscious about filling your plate with locally grown foods, you can officially be called a locavore, the New Oxford American Dictionary’s 2007 word of the year. The locavore movement encourages consumers to buy locally grown ingredients and seasonal foodstuffs from farmers’ markets or pick or grow their own food, based on the argument that fresh, local produce is more nutritious and often tastes better. Locavores avoid supermarkets as an environmentally-friendly measure, since shipping food over long distances requires the use of fossil fuel for transportation.
Little Green Book of Big Savings
December 17, 2007
Committed to living greener in 2008? Check out the Little Green Book of Big Savings, a local directory and coupon book for green living in Toronto. For the budding environmentalist to the established eco warrior, there are pages of information and resources related to reducing your ecological footprint, saving money and supporting local green businesses. The book, printed on post-consumer recycled paper, includes 180 coupons worth over $4000 in savings and freebies from local green businesses and services.
Test your vocab and help end world hunger
December 16, 2007
Nearly 25 000 people die every day of hunger or hunger-related causes - one person every 3.5 seconds, according to the United Nations. Wish there was a straightforward way to help? Check out FreeRice.com and help provide rice to hungry people in need in exchange for brushing up on your vocabulary. It’s simple: test your word knowledge, and for every definition you get right, FreeRice will donate 20 grains of rice to the United Nations World Food Program (WFP).
Setting an eco-friendly holiday table
December 15, 2007
From cutlery to the actual table guests will gather around, look for sustainable alternatives when planning your holiday feasts this year. With a little ingenuity and planning, show family and friends how to throw a party in eco-friendly style.
