Friday Feel Good News

It's Friday, and in my books, that means it's time to feel good. Let's set aside the doom-and-gloom stories for a moment and focus on some good news!

--------------------

Today's FFGN is less about news and more about feeling good. Check out this cute Star Wars-themed parody of the war between conventional and organic food:



It's so cheesy but so funny at the same time! The facts about unsustainable practices in modern industrial farming must get out to more people; why not speak in a language that a huge chunk of the population understands? Obi-Wan Cannoli is right when he says that people don't even want to know where their food comes from, they just want low prices. Who knows, maybe someday it will be possible for a potato "father" to have a cucumber "son" thanks to genetic engineering.

I hope you enjoyed the video, and have a great weekend!

The Story of Broke

Annie Leonard returns with Season 2 of The Story of Stuff! Watch her new movie, The Story of Broke: Why There's Still Plenty of Money to Build a Better Future, to bust the myth that the United States is broke. Annie talks about corporate tax loopholes, enormous tax breaks for the richest 1%, and military spending, and then she breaks down the different types of subsidies that the government hands out to big businesses - all of which give the impression that the country is too broke to build a healthy, green economy. My hope is that this information helps us realize that we can't keep electing the wrong people, people who will only continue this disastrous trend that offers such a bleak future for the generations to come. Please share this video with your friends and family!

Does Recycling Deserve Applause?

You tell me. Watch this video and let's talk about it.



I absolutely loved this video when I first saw it (thanks to Laura from The Mindful Merchant for posting it back in March). While I'd hate to be in the spotlight like that and would probably freak out a little receiving a standing ovation in such a public area, it is nevertheless awesome that the folks who make the Testé sur des humains TV show came up with this flash mob idea. Briefly, the show features staged situations (with show hosts and guests as actors) that are meant to elicit a reaction from the public to test out whether everyday people are willing to step outside of their comfort zone. In essence, the show explores the human condition, and it's definitely a thought-provoking version of reality TV.

So, does recycling deserve applause? Did the woman in the video feel motivated to keep up the good work in her personal life, perhaps to take on a more challenging green lifestyle change? It's hard to say. I'm not sure exactly what matters here: recycling, or understanding that we share the responsibility for keeping public spaces clean? Maybe some of the people who came before the woman are avid recyclers but feel no need to tidy up after someone else. I'm sure at least one of those people believes it's the cleaning staff's duty, so why bother? From a scientific perspective, there are too many variables that can't be accounted for, making it difficult to pinpoint why one woman did what tens or dare I say hundreds of others did not do. However, I'd like to believe that if green behaviour was more appreciated in the same way that acts by good Samaritans are praised, we'd live in a cleaner world.

Planet in Focus 2011

October is when the sun rises later and sets earlier... the air has that shiver-inducing chill in the morning... the leaves explode with colour... and the Planet in Focus Environmental Film Festival returns! Get ready for another five days of screening the best new documentaries and videos about the state of our natural world.



For the 12th year of PiF, the spotlight is on landscapes. The selection of films will look at how rising sea levels, slash-and-burn agriculture, post-industrialization, the globalized food trade, desertification, glacial recession, and the generation of coal and nuclear energy are transforming global land and seascapes. In total, 100 Canadian and international films will be shown, and audience members will have a chance to interact with many of the producers and directors during post-screening Q&A sessions.

But the festival isn't just about watching movies! The Industry Series includes two days' worth of panel discussions and workshops, where professional filmmakers will discuss film production, distribution, and development funding within the environmental film industry. PiF also strives to raise awareness among children and youth with weekday morning and afternoon programming full of educational and informative films designed for elementary and secondary students. Not only that, but the Green Sprouts! Youth Filmmakers' Showcase will feature films made by youth, for youth, including those made during PiF's own Youth Camera Action! video production camp.

When I volunteered at the festival last year, I had a great time. Although I shed some tears (some of the films are very moving), I also learned a lot. That's why I'm returning for another year to help make the week a success and bring the green message to a wider audience. PiF is on from Wednesday, October 12th, to Sunday, October 16th. Check out the full schedule here, and buy your festival pass today, before the presale ends!

Friday Feel Good News

It's Friday, and in my books, that means it's time to feel good. Let's set aside the doom-and-gloom stories for a moment and focus on some good news!

--------------------

Today I have a fun and happy video for you. See what residents in post-Katrina New Orleans are growing! The soundtrack features a brass band that one of the urban farmers plays in - you may want to turn down the volume, it's a little loud at the beginning when the trumpeter starts up!


The Perennial Plate Episode 57: Lord, Lord, Lord from Daniel Klein on Vimeo.

I just love some of the great truths about gardening that come through loud and clear with this video: spending time in a garden makes you happier and healthier; it's something you can do without needing to first acquire a highly specialized set of skills or a large sum of money; and the self-sufficiency that arises out of growing your own food is good not only for the wallet but also for the feeling of accomplishment.

Just imagine if all 66,000 vacant lots in New Orleans were turned into productive gardens!

Friday Feel Good News

It's Friday, and in my books, that means it's time to feel good. Let's set aside the doom-and-gloom stories for a moment and focus on some good news!

--------------------

It's been a while since I posted a video, and this one will definitely reward your patience! Check out the incredible story of a fresh food market on wheels that brings healthy produce to a food desert (a neighbourhood with severely limited access to fresh fruits and veggies) in Chicago:



I can't get over how delighted the boy is when he bites into the apple, like he's never had one, or it's been so long he couldn't remember the taste, smell, texture, and juiciness of it. A mobile produce stand like this could combat food deserts in every city. With adequate funding and a donated bus, this model can be replicated anywhere. I even think the contents of the market could be tailored to the neighbourhood being served such that culturally appropriate produce is available to the communities that traditionally cook with ingredients not commonly found in Western supermarkets. A market on wheels targeting specific neighbourhoods could meet that need.

For more information on this incredible project, check out the Fresh Moves website and enjoy this Feel Good News Friday!

Friday Feel Good News

It's Friday, and in my books, that means it's time to feel good. Let's set aside the doom-and-gloom stories for a moment and focus on some good news!

--------------------

Today's good news comes from the city of Hangzhou (with a population of over 6 million) in southwestern China. Watch this short video about the city's new public bike sharing program:



How cool is it that they include kids' bikes in the system? And that some of the adult bikes come with child seats! I'm particularly impressed by the integration of the program with public transit such that you can use a bike for 90 minutes at no cost if you've just stepped off a city bus. The designers behind this system have clearly thought about some of the barriers that prevent many people from cycling - having children with them or living outside of the city's core where the stations are located - and made it more convenient for everyone to make use of the bikes. Here's hoping they reach their target of having 175,000 bikes available by 2020!

World Water Day

In honour of World Water Day today, let's watch Annie Leonard's Story of Bottled Water.



Next time you feel tempted to buy a bottle of water, think about the oil and energy that goes into making the plastic bottle, the downcycling that occurs once you toss the bottle into your blue bin, the fact that the water itself isn't from some pristine spring but rather a municipal source - which is already clean enough to drink from and much, much cheaper than the bottled version!

Looking for water-saving tips? Here are 100 ways to conserve. Can you add any more ideas to the list?

The Story of Citizens United

Annie Leonard, one of my eco-heroes due to her public education work with The Story of Stuff project, just released another film: The Story of Citizens United vs. F.E.C.: Why Democracy Only Works When People are in Charge! (video embedded below)

In the film, she explores the history of corporations. In the beginning, they were used as a sort of short-term contractor for building things like bridges and railroads. After these projects were complete, the corporations were disbanded. Not so today, where corporations exist indefinitely with the purpose of maximizing profits, often at the expense of people and the planet.

Fast forward to 2010, when corporations fought to be granted the US First Amendment right to free speech, as though they were people. By winning this Supreme Court case, they were given a green light to spend as much as they wanted to influence elections, including intimidating and crushing candidates running on a platform against their interests. In other words, since 2010, corporations have played a big part in getting policymakers elected who give them what they want: being subjected to as few government regulations as they can get away with.

Outraged by this decision, the public is asking for a constitutional amendment that would exclude for-profit corporations from the protection of First Amendment rights, and a bill is in the works to allow for public financing of campaigns so that candidates without corporate backing stand an equal chance at getting elected. Don't lose hope, take action!

Please watch the film and spread the word, then leave comments below.

If It's Yellow, Let It Mellow

Many years ago, I participated in the national youth volunteer-service program called Katimavik ("meeting place" in Inuktitut). As one of a dozen youth living together in the same house, I came to see environmental efforts as not only an ideal, but a necessity for getting through the day. Even after switching to evenings for my showers, I still had to be quick about it if I wanted anyone else to have hot water after me. Likewise, we kept our utility bills low by turning the thermostat down in the winter - in northern BC, no less - and saved money on gas by taking public transit to our volunteer placements. These are behaviours I continue to practice.

As you can probably guess from the title of this post, we also committed to the selective flushing mantra, "if it's yellow, let it mellow; if it's brown, flush it down". The only time this caused a problem was when we embarked on a weekend road trip, and the last person to use the bathroom before we left didn't have the presence of mind to make an exception to the rule. Please note: after two days, pee in the toilet smells bad!

I'm curious to know whether any of you save water in this way in your homes, and if you don't, what the barriers are. However I'm also writing this post because I recently came across a great public service announcement video published by a Brazilian environmental organization. Check it out:


Pee During Shower (english subtitles) from Fernandosanches.net on Vimeo.

It was Jen at the Clean Bin Project blog who posted the video at the beginning of the month, and I'm happy to report that she received a lot of positive comments. More than half of the readers admitted to having done this a few times, if not regularly, while those opposed to the idea cited cleanliness and squeamishness issues as impediments, as well as the idea that "there's something unacceptable about it". So here are my arguments: as far as I understand it, if you're healthy, your urine is sterile. In other words, we can't catch anything from each other by coming into contact with each others' pee unless our immune systems are compromised, in which case we're probably more likely to catch a cold or the flu. To minimize any lingering smell, peeing at the beginning of your shower closest to the drain should do the trick. Remember, the end result of this activity is that once a day, you're not flushing the toilet: instead, you're peeing in the shower while already using the water to clean yourself - it's a direct grey water system. As for whether this act is inherently right or wrong, that depends on your upbringing and the beliefs you choose to value. In my opinion, it's much more of a travesty that we put drinking water into our toilets only to soil it with human waste and regularly use up to 13 litres of water to rinse away a couple hundred ml of mostly sterile urine. To me, that's what's unacceptable about the present situation.

Your turn: do you let it mellow when it's yellow? Do you pee in the shower? If you don't do either, what are your reasons?

It's Winter As Usual

If underwhelmed isn't a real world, it ought to be. Because that's how I felt this morning after looking outside to find about half as much snow as was forecast, then having Twitter inform me that many people were staying home from work and most schools were closed for the day. Although I'm not nearly old enough to start a sentence with "when I was young", I will anyway: when I was young, 20 - 30 cm of snow was considered a moderate amount of snow, not "Snowmageddon". From my undergraduate days in Montreal I still have fond memories of writing December final exams during real storms - and getting there on time after leaving extra early, because that's what you do when you live in a city that experiences cold, snowy winters! Only the 1998 Ice Storm brought Montreal to a halt, making a typical snow storm look much less threatening. Face it, Toronto: just because you no longer call the army for help doesn't mean you've learned how to suck it up when it comes to snow.

So in honour of a weather event that is being taken way too seriously - and because if we're going to call this a snow day, then I'm taking the day off from writing a real blog post - I bring you an old spoof video of a CBC National Special Report: Snow in Toronto.

Trash-Talking... in a Good Way

It's always bothered me that we don't take waste generation seriously - after all, it's not often we think about what happens to trash once we put it out on the curb. Out of sight, out of mind, anyone? When you read the word "landfill", you probably conjure a mental image of a mound of dirty, smelly stuff, but do you ever think about where it is? Do you know where the landfills are located in your area?

Living in Toronto, that has been an easy question to answer: Michigan! But not anymore. As of two weeks ago, our garbage is staying in-province! The best part: it's called Green Lane, which makes me think of ponies on a meadow, with flowers and butterflies. Wee! Interestingly, this landfill is equipped with a methane gas collection and flaring system. I'm not sure how this is possible without housing the trash indoors, but I'm happy to hear that the emissions will be used to generate electricity. While this is not exactly what I had in mind when I heard Ontario will be phasing out its coal-fired power plants and relying more on alternative sources of electricity, it's better than letting the landfill fumes directly contribute to global warming (methane is much more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide). Just don't use this as an excuse to avoid practising waste diversion!

In other trashy (but good) news, Vermont has become the 27th US state to ban electronic waste from its landfills. It's always a good idea to keep lead, mercury, and cadmium away from, well, every living thing! Toxic chemicals like these can mix in with that nasty sludge created by mountains of garbage, and this concoction seeps into the ground, then leaches into groundwater. To make an electronic waste landfill ban effective, proper disposal of the toxic products must be cost-effective and convenient. Vermont has opted for a free recycling program paid for by manufacturers, discouraging the public from illegal dumping and providing an incentive for electronics companies to reduce the amount of hazardous materials in their devices in the long run. What's next? Ensuring the e-waste is disposed of properly and on domestic soil, not shipped overseas to be taken apart in ways that hurt workers and the environment.

While Ontario has not put an electronic waste ban in place, the City of Toronto encourages its safe recycling and provides free curbside pickup of unwanted devices. Check out the spoof video ad:



For more details, read the City of Toronto media release about the Green Lane Landfill and the Associated Press article about the electronic waste landfill ban.

No Impact Week

Tired of the same old, same old when making new year's resolutions? Disillusioned by previous attempts to adopt a new exercise routine, cut certain foods out of your diet, and stick to a monthly budget? I've got just the thing for you: No Impact Week.

You can think of No Impact Week as a seven-day cleanse... of carbon! That's right, this is a week for experimenting with greener lifestyle choices and challenging yourself to live without certain luxuries you probably take for granted but don't necessarily need. You'll get a chance to take a hard look at your carbon footprint and use those fine-tuned problem solving skills I know you have to reduce or eliminate some of its sources - especially the ones that eat away at your pocketbook without actually contributing to your quality of life!

Once you sign up, you will receive a how-to guide, a short survey about your current lifestyle, and daily challenges, ideas, and resources. There will be many opportunities to share your experiences over the course of the week with blogs, pictures, and discussion forums. Most importantly, you will be connected with other participants to share tips and support.

After the week is up, you'll get a chance to complete the lifestyle survey again and measure the change you've made, and if you're really keen, you can register to become a No Impact Ambassador in your community. Feel free to make a cape and send me pictures!

No Impact Week is the brainchild of Yes! Magazine and Colin Beavan, who lived as No Impact Man for one year in New York City. Watch the video to find out what he accomplished and to get an idea of what the week will be like for you:



The countdown is on... the week kicks off on January 2nd!

Watch This and Feel Better!

In celebration of my 50th blog post, and because we could all use something to lift our spirits after last week's democratic disaster (you know, that thing about the Senate killing the climate bill?), watch this great spoof video narrated by Jeremy Irons about the life of the plastic bag:



Thanks to Jen from the Clean Bin Project blog for advertising it!

The Story of Stuff

Annie Leonard is my hero. If you haven't already, watch The Story of Stuff and The Story of Bottled Water, and read this LA Times article about her.