Plant a tree!
May 22, 2008
Ontarians are being challenged to plant trees in their yards, neighbourhoods and communities to help green the environment and fight the effects of climate change. The Plant A Tree Challenge is part of the McGuinty government’s plan to plant 50 million trees by 2020 - the most ambitious project of its kind in North America and the single largest commitment to the United Nations Billion Tree Campaign.
Green event listings
May 22, 2008
Green events for the week of May 22 - 29
Some Like It Cold: The Politics of Climate Change in Canada Book launch and lively discussion featuring author Bob Paehlke. Thursday, May 22, 5:30 - 7pm. Sustainability Network, 215 Spadina. $10.
Kidical Mass Group ride celebrating cycling for kids and people of all ages. Friday, May 23, 6pm. Free. Withrow Park Clubhouse.
Green Toronto Festival
May 21, 2008
Toronto’s third-annual celebration of all things green - the Green Toronto Festival - will take place on Friday, May 23 from 10am to 4pm and Saturday, May 24 from 11am to 9pm at Yonge-Dundas Square.
The green goods
May 21, 2008
Cool green stuff we stumbled across this week:
Green My Ride! Facebook has another new green application that allows you to show all your friends how you’re saving the planet, this time by the specific eco-friendly products you use.
An ordinance unanimously adopted by Malibu’s city council this week will soon make plastic bags a thing of the past among its 13,000 residents and four supermarkets. The action follows a number of other efforts in California to ban plastic bags, including a vote in February by Santa Monica’s council to draft similar ordinance. If they can do it, why can’t we?
Drivers, stop your engines
May 21, 2008
The City of Toronto is launching an anti-idling blitz, part of a campaign to educate the public about the impacts of vehicles left idling. “Not idling vehicles is a simple thing that all of us can do in order to reduce pollution in our city,” said Glenn De Baeremaeker, chair of the city’s Public Works and Infrastructure Committee. “In fact‚ if all drivers of light-duty vehicles in Canada avoided idling for just five minutes a day we would prevent more than 1.6 million tonnes of green house gases from entering the atmosphere. That’s the equivalent of taking 490‚000 cars off the road.”
Green Screens
May 20, 2008
The National Film Board of Canada’s Mediatheque is going greener this month, offering Torontonians a special expanded edition of its free monthly Green Screens environmental screening and discussion series. Green Screens brings together award-winning feature documentaries and environmental experts and the launch of the NFB website FOOTPRINTS: Environment and the Way We Live, offering an important venue for focusing on the state of our planet today.
Green grill guide
May 20, 2008
Barbecue season has officially begun for most Torontonians. Finally! Like many things we do in our daily lives, there are ways to make your summer barbeque party lighter on the planet - from your choice of grill and fuel to what you cook and what you use to eat it. Granted, a single grill probably isn’t going to ruin the environment, but when millions of people opt to cook outside, the impact can really add up. Check out our tips for greening your backyard parties this year.
Green word watch
May 17, 2008
ecotistical (noun) \eee-ko-TIS-ti-kul\
1. Characteristic of those having inflated the truthfulness about their own environmental accomplishments.
2. Characteristic of having an exaggerated sense of environmental importance.
3. An environmental disregard of others.
TO Cyclists Union to launch this week
May 17, 2008
After nine months of planning, the Toronto Cyclists Union (TCU) will officially launch on Tuesday. Working together with other groups, such as the Toronto Coalition for Active Transportation, Advocacy for Respect for Cyclists, iBikeTO, Toronto Bicycle Network, the new union hopes to build Toronto’s cycling community into a strong, diverse and effective network to ensure that bicycles are taken seriously by politicians, planners and the media.
Is your blue bin too big?
May 17, 2008
Two hundred Toronto households have been granted exemptions from using the new wheeled recycling bins because of space issues, says Robert Orpin, director of collection services. Because the households don’t have enough room to store the new bins, they’ll be permitted to use transparent recycling bags.
