I read two articles last week that on the surface seem to have nothing to do with each other, but I managed to connect them in my silly little head

The first article was in a magazine in my doctor's office - I don't even remember the magazine, but I do remember the topic.

Seven years have passed since 9/11 and seven years have passed since we were told that the site of the World Trade Centre will be rebuilt. And yet...there is still a hole in the ground. Numerous organizations can't agree on how to proceed, building permits and other regulatory agencies can't get on the same page. Seven years have passed, and there is still a hole in the ground.

In the meantime, China has built about half of the equivalent US infrastructure during the same period of time. Now, I know there are issues with their approach, etc with respect to feeding that amount of growth, but...it is a reality. North America has to wake up to this new reality.

Another reality facing North America is our slow pace in adopting the labelling the carbon footprint of consumer products. UK has begun, and now Japan. Walker Crisps (chips in North America) now state right on their bags of chips that each bag is responsible for emitting 75 grams of CO2. I actually carry two empty bags of Walker chips in my briefcase to share with people I meet.

Whether it is carbon labelling or construction or manufacturing more fuel efficient vehicles, North America has to wake up, or else we are in big trouble...

It's a big word - REVOLUTION!

Dramatic change, radical alteration, sea change, metamorphosis, transformation, 

innovation, reorganization, restructuring; informal shake-up, shakedown. 

Thought about it? Time for change, I'd say.  Time to shift paradigms in our society toward sustainable practices. Time to understand how our actions affect the world and each other. Time to get real about comprehending the full cost of our actions and becoming accountable for every step of what we need, use, want, desire.

Think about the computer you're using. What raw ingredients from mines were needed to make it? How much recycled content? Where did the ingredients get shipped from? Where was it put together? How far did it travel from the manufacturing facility? What resource input was needed to develop the programs you are using? Where does your electricity come from and what resources are used? Those are just a few of the questions we could be asking ourselves on things we buy and use every day. These are the questions that businesses and corporations could consider in their procurement policies. 

I believe that if people thought about these kinds of questions and could find easy answers, they would want to lessen their ecofootprint, their carbon footprint, to help the world, cool the climate, save the planet. If people are educated, I believe they will be willing to change, to adapt to sustainable practices, to morph into environmentally aware human beings. To join the green revolution!

Shift happens? 

I believe. 

I read in a blog about green marketing and I also read a news paper article about green products and their regulation in the very same day.

From these articles and issues  I found that I am not alone in wondering how we really can find out if the companies are just talking the talk or are they really walking the walk.  What scares me is that people in general show environmental issues and the environment as being really important, however these are the same people who won't necessarily do the research to make sure it is going to help.  Just saying something is green and picking up the product, no doubt will start making things better, however, if we want to have an impact we have to make sure that the regulators keep on top of the products and make sure the companies us e at least a template to qualify as a step in the right direction.

I am a marketer at heart and I know that products can use the label "new" for products that have been available for two years.  What qualifies a product for a proper greeen designation.  I thnk that green should be product based as well as product based.  I company should have a ecologically friendly product, produced in an environmentally friend production line.  Re-using water, recycling programs in-house and all the other great steps should assist with giving the product a 1 - 10 rating.

What is our responsibility... We need to let the MP's or Government members that proper and tighter regulations have to be in place in the consumer product market and that companies have to prove that they are truly green products without getting the designation.

What else can we do?  We can contact out City Councillor all over the country and let the know that their municipality should implement a green procurement policy and that they need to make more ecologically friend choice.  The municipalities and governments in general need to lead the way but the political will has to be there first.   The political will comes from the people.  Speak up, speak often, it will come but we have to make sure greeen products are really green and that we use them.

 What do you think? 

One of the challenges major corporations face moving into the 21st Century is how to relate core values and products with environmental action. For example, when you think of Nike or Coca Cola or McDonald's, being environmentally friendly doesn't automatically come to mind, but in fact, they are being proactive.

That said, on a quick scan (by design), McDonalds are starting to build 'green' LEED restaurants, Coca Cola mentions climate change on their website and Nike scores 82/100 on ClimateCounts.org (a very cool website). However, despite their positive action, none of these three companies have built addressing climate change and other environmental issues into their core products or messages (yet).

Two companies that do incorporate green into their core products and services are Aeroplan and Enterprise Rent-A-Car.

Aeroplan offers air miles rewards (and other products and services), primarily through Air Canada. Earlier this year, Aeroplan launched a carbon offset program that allows members to exchange points for offsetting flights, in partnership with the Carbon Reduction Fund. The program is very use friendly - 780 points and my flight to Montreal for the weekend was offset with just a couple of clicks of the mouse!

Enterprise now offers carbon offsets for clients - right on their home page. They have also created www.keystogreen.com to help share their story with clients, focusing on their fuel efficient fleet, tree planting program and carbon offsets. They also have a great little video explaining carbon offsets - a must watch!

Companies like Aeroplan and Enterprise that incorporate client friendly experiences to address climate change are certainly the leading edge today. Hopefully we will see more and more companies doing the same thing in the near future.

Picture these products on the market in 2 years:

- The Recycled, Carbon Neutral Nike

- The locally grown, organic Big Mac

- The refillable Coca Cola steel cup that you take to the convenience store (hey, Tim Horton's does it now - why not Coke too!) 

They may seem like a stretch today, but so did the Internet in 1990!

Here is an interesting thought about purchasing electricity - it is one of the very things that we pay for and really don't know how much we are going to pay until 45 to 15 days after we use it (i.e. when the bill arrives). I just changed that problem in my home with an electronic meter that monitors my electricity use in real-time. Click here for the full project description and background on the equipment.

The meter sits on my desk and is currently showing that my home is consuming 0.320 kW, or the equivalent of about $480 per year for electricity ($40 per month) - wouldn't that be nice! It was reading 0.520 kW before I unplugged my TV / cable box / stereo / DVD player and a couple of unused lights.

The TV and related equipment all consume 'phantom power' when they are off but still plugged in - all of those pesky red and green LED lights need energy. I have plugged all of that equipment into a power bar that is easy to reach so it is easy to plug in and unplug.

Some quick math tells me that leaving that stuff plugged in was costing me about $100 per year and about 500 Kg of CO2 emissions - YIKES!

These monitoring units cost between $150 and $300 depending on the model. The encourage you to turn things off and save. I figure this thing will pay for itself in a less than a year. Money well spent for my wallet and the planet!

One of the great things about hanging out on GreenNexxus is receiving really interesting, valuable and sometimes scary information from friends! One of them is Lil MacPherson, a fellow Climate Project Canada presenter and co-owner/operator of the best darn restaurant in Halifax, Nova Scotia - The Wooden Monkey.

Lil just sent me an incredible PowerPoint on the fate of plastic shopping bags - this is a must watch! Please check it out - if you don't use reusable shopping bags now, you will after seeing the PowerPoint show.

Do you realize that most individuals do not use sun block to protect themselves from the sun?

Now that the warm days are here, the sun is shining, schools are out for the summer and outdoor events are happening just be:

Sun Smart – Slip, Slop, Slap, Wrap 

   
When I was involved with the Canadian Olympic Regatta at Kingston (CORK) as a Race Management Official. I met a former sailor from the Seventy- Six Australian Olympic Sailing Team. He and the Australian Sailing team were promoting amongst the youth sailors at the event the slogan:  Slip, Slop, Slap, Wrap. 

At Canadian Sailing Youth and Major Class Regattas Ombrelle   http://www.ombrelle.ca/en/index.html

(which is recommend by the Canadian Dermatologists) supplied the sunscreen and the Sun Smart program. There were stations at each dock prior to sailors going out on the water. Volunteers made sure that each sailor applied sun block, had a shirt, cap, and water.

We love our sports and being outdoors. Be Sun Smart because skin cancer is caused by exposure to harmful ultraviolet radiation where we can be at risk while we’re outside enjoying ourselves. The really good news is skin cancer is preventable. So one of the most important things you can do is to practice Sun Smart behaviors while playing sport or enjoying the outdoors.


 
Slip   into a shirt – and slip into some shade, especially between 11am and 4pm when the ultraviolet rays are most fierce. There are manufacturers and retailers of UV protective clothing check out the list with the seal of approval provided by the Skin Cancer Foundation.  http://www.skincancer.org/prevention/dress.php

Check the group GreenNexxus Eco products and Consumer Reviews for sun products
http://www.greennexxus.com/group.aspx?id=22
 

Slap  on a hat with a brim or a cap with flaps. More people get burned on the face and neck than any other part of the body, so a good hat is important. A sailor’s favorite (been wearing mine for over twenty years) is the Tilley’s Endurable Hat that is guaranteed for life. http://www.tilley.com/certified_sun.asp 

Wrap on a pair of sunglasses. Choose close fitting, wrap-around glasses Protect your eyes do not pick out a pair at that trendy boutique. Check with an optician mention what activities you do outdoors such as water sports, cycling for example. The optometrist will suggest the right UV filters and prescription for your glasses.   

Have a great summer and do not get burned!!!

Who knew that a discussion about ants could be so inspiring? This week I realized how much my life has changed in the last 18 months and will continue to change as we work together for a great future. I am a true believer in projects and experimenting and my blog articles will be about new ways of doing things.

Last year we were infested by ants, although I don’t get many visits at the office, these creatures are not welcome. This year they started to make an appearance again and we know we have to deal with them early. Last year we called Pest control and this year it was apparent that there must be a more environmentally friendly way. After some research and some information from my friends here at GreenNexxus I reviewed the suggestions and made my choice from the many suggestions.

There were a few suggestions; however the most common ones were:

1. Pepper - spreading pepper around the perimeter of a building, room and heating ducts etc.
   
2. Cinnamon - This is a wonderful spice that ants don’t like. They will find another home if you spread it around the problem area (building, lodging whatever)
   
3. Straight borax - The suggestion was to put borax into the ant hill or nest and that should take care of your problem.
   
4. Borax and Icing Sugar - There were two recipes for this so depending on which site or source was found 1/3 – ½ Icing sugar with the remainder Borax.
   
5. EcoSense - An environmentally sensitive method to manage the ant population.
   

When I finished my research I decided that option 4 was where I was going to start. I met with the owner of the building and then found out that I could try the experiment but that I had to do the experiment myself. I picked up a box of borax and mixed somewhere in between ½ and 1/3 icing sugar to approx 2/3 borax and proceeded to spread the concoction around the building. We haven’t had more ants but it will take a few weeks or at least a few days to see if it works.

A year ago I would have just simply called Maintenance and not cared or concerned myself with the methods they would use to combat this problem or any other. Now I know that the changes in the way we do things have to start with our own actions and our own convictions.

Things change but they really change based on our own decisions to take action. Since I started the research there are two or three people trying eco ways of treating their ant issues. Research, take initiative and best of all share your stories because there are other people with the same problems that just need a little push to make the right choice for a better tomorrow.

Next: Update on the ants, and a look at Eco Gardens in my area.

Send your experiment ideas along. I am going to try a few things every week and let you know what works and what doesn’t. The search continues.

Do you tell the clerk to keep them for the next customer whose purchase is $1.03 after tax?

Are they culminating in a desk drawer?

Do you even have a special piggy bank?     

A lot of individuals would not bother to pick-up a penny from the ground. The Canadian Royal Mint and United States Mint are looking for your spare change. Consider the cost of producing a single penny is more than the value of the coin itself.

Facts about the Canadian penny http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penny_%28Canadian_coin%29 

That is why both the Mints our encouraging citizens to recycle their coins and cash in. Keep in mind that every coin recycled and placed back in circulation is one that doesn’t have to be produced. Which, in turn, preserves our precious environment and helps reduce emissions caused by mining and smelting, even the energy used in the coins production at the Mints. 

Tired of rolling pennies, no time to spare, frustrated with the plastic or paper rolls?

Statement from the Royal Canadian Mint:

Here is a solution for you, now you can turn your coins into CASH, FASTER!Now an even faster and more convenient way to recycle coins is available in Canada. Coinstar Centers are self-service automated machines now available at supermarkets in parts of Canada, and appearing in stores across the country. Coinstar Centers are convenient, fast and reliably count up to 600 coins per minute. After the coins are counted, customers receive a voucher to redeem for cash or to put toward store merchandise at the store’s checkout. The cost to use Coinstar is a service fee equal to 9.8 per cent of the total value of the coins.

So instead of leaving your hidden treasure to collect dust, why not recycle your spare change. Just think 1+1= 2 and 2+2= 4 how much the Enviroment and our Communities can benefit if we donate our pennies to the charity partner groups listed with GreenNexus What a collective change we would make. Considerer your own local charities, many retailers have left containers at their cash counters which have sent inner city youth to camps, help feed and provide shelter to the homeless, obtain land for wildlife preservations, assisted sick children and their families for example. There are far too many great programs and charities to mention.

So can you spare any change? Do some spring –cleaning, clean out your drawers, empty your piggy bank, pick –up that penny on the ground the Coins you gather can make a difference.

(Pennies, Nickels, Dimes, Quarters)  

They do add up!!! 

FUN FACTS From the Mint

 A 4-litre pickle jar can contain:

 4,992 pennies = $49.92

 8,400 dimes = $840.00

3,411 quarters = $852.75