Green on the small screen
January 14, 2008
Watching TV isn’t much of a “green” activity, but it’s hard to break the habit during the winter when the days are short and the weather bleak. We’ve scoured the channels for a few weekly shows that’ll elevate your status from couch potato to couch broccoli with a few clicks of your rechargeable-battery-powered remote control.
Edible Toronto
January 7, 2008
Launched in September 2007, Edible Toronto is a new quarterly print mag that promotes sustainable farming practices and the local foodshed with a focus on growers, producers, purveyors, food artisans, farmers’ markets, chefs and restaurateurs, food shops and cafes. Supported by Edible Communities, a group of locavore foodie mags worldwide, Edible Toronto showcases and promotes the local foodshed of the Golden Horseshoe, an area of 100 municipalities populated by more than half of Ontario’s residents.
Earth-friendly furnishings
January 7, 2008
When you buy a piece of furniture, bring it home and set it up in a room, it doesn’t just sit there. No matter what it’s made from, chances are, it’s off-gassing. Canadians are exposed to toxic chemicals everyday through commonly used household items, including shampoos, air fresheners, cleaning products, furniture and appliances. Making environmentally conscious choices in furnishing your home or office can make a big difference in your impact on the planet and your health.
Toronto flick talks trash
January 4, 2008
Concerned for the welfare of his young son, filmmaker Andrew Nisker made Garbage! The Revolution Starts at Home, a candid chronicle of a Toronto family’s quest to track their garbage over a three-month period. As the two-parent, three-child McDonald family embarks on a journey to find out where their garbage goes and what it’s doing to the world, we discover that for every action there is a reaction that affects us and the entire planet.
Our top ten green reads of 07
January 2, 2008
Michael Pollan decided what we should have for dinner, Adria Vasil delivered the decisive guide to all things green in Canada, David Suzuki told the story of his life and everyone’s favorite boy wizard went green. From what we should eat to which green products we should buy, Living Green’s top ten environmental books for 2007 will leave you well-informed…and possibly hungry.
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).
Book leaves
December 11, 2007
Do you have a few shelves in your home filled with books you’ll probably never read a second time? Set them free with BookCrossing and join people in over 130 countries around the world already participating in a totally new spin on traditional book clubs.
Green on the big screen
December 10, 2007
Toronto’s movie industry hopes to set the bar for eco-friendly film production in Canada with its Green-Screen initiative. Announced in September, the voluntary Green-Screen program aims to endorse a set of environmentally sustainable standards and recommendations for all productions filming in Toronto.
Margaret Atwood: green inventor
December 6, 2007
Acclaimed writer and poet Margaret Atwood is also an environmental pioneer. Her LongPen™ invention, comprised of a video screen and digital writing pad at one location and a video screen and automated pen at another, helps authors and other celebrities reduce their ecological footprints by allowing them to forgo air travel.
