Letter to the editor of the Sun Times, a daily newspaper in Owen Sound, Ontario in reference to a column by Dennis Thomsett.

“Apathy is the glove into which evil slips its hand”~Bodie Thoene

After a full day promoting projects that strengthen communities and address the reality of our changing world, I finally had time to read the Sun Times. For the second time in a few weeks, I was surprised by the ignorance and depressing message that some of your writers are sending to our children.

Since I was young, while organizing environmental programs that caused me to win OSCVI’s Citizenship award, I knew that global warming, the greenhouse effect, and climate change, are real and accelerated by humans; we need to be responsible and turn this around. Since the 70s, climate change science has been strong, and now even our esteemed CBC no longer has discussions about the reality of the science because the only debate is how bad it will get and how fast.

I’ve always believed that by educating people, we can make our communities a better place for ourselves, other living creatures, and leave a legacy of a beautiful world for future generations.

Instead of sending powerful, positive community-building messages like this to your readership, your paper has been publishing some sad, uneducated, unscientific and destructive articles spreading misinformation about what the educated world knows is the reality of climate change. The March 10 column from Dennis Thompsett is just one sad and awful example, and if I were the publisher, I would never print another word from him. I could easily win any argument about the reality and seriousness of climate change with your misguided authors, but it’s a waste of time. No wonder people are comparing this type of ridiculous spin to the 70s argument that smoking doesn’t cause cancer.

“We can’t change anything important and we certainly can’t make much of a lasting difference on God’s green earth, for good or ill.” If this is the kind of message you want to send, then put your head in the sand, stay home and do nothing more destructive than you’ve already done. Maybe then those of us who care enough about the world can be allowed to create a brighter future for our grandchildren without that kind of interference and negativity. Making more money selling controversial content should not be more important than ethics, truth and good journalism.

My 13-year-old daughter Corrina has spoken about addressing climate change to over 25,000 people around the province, will be receiving one of the Ontario Junior Citizens of the Year Awards from the Lieutenant Governor, and will be speaking on Earth Week to over 5500 students. Most people would want her to feel empowered, to know she is making a difference, but not Dennis. She read the article, and her response was: “He probably still smokes too.”

I find it extremely sad that your publishers, editors and writers are promoting disempowerment and taking so lightly the future of our planet. What is the world coming to?

I had lunch today at Isaac's Way in my hometown of Fredericton, New Brunswick. It is my favourite restaurant in town for three reasons:

1) The food is great.

2) They are a member of the Fredericton Green Shops Program - a great program the city developed to recognize local business. Every community should duplicate this program.

3) They are currently running a silent art auction to raise money for community programs - how cool is that!

How does it work?

-  Paintings by local artists hang in the restaurant from January to May.

- Customers write down their bids in a binder that circulates around the restaurant (click here to see the book)

-  Winning bidders are contacted in early May - they pick up the paintings and the proceeds go to local charities. In this case, it is dance (my daughter is a dancer), but it could easily be for environmental programs.

If I recall correctly, the owner said they have raised over $14,000 since they started the private auctions.

What a great concept - perhaps you can entice restaurants and artists in your home town to do the same thing!

I buy a new computer every two years. Because I work on it every day it is somewhat of a necessity. That said, that means there is a trail of slightly used computers in my wake.

They still work well if the user doesn't need the latest and greatest software. However, I don't see the value in having three, four or five computers in our home at any given point in time. So, what to do?

We now limit the number of computers in our home to two - my laptop and the most recent hand-me-down for our family's use. And the rest of the computers?

Yard sales work well, so does http://www.kijiji.com/. I recently sold my four year old Dell for $150 on Kijiji to an enterprising gentleman. He cleans up the computers (hard-drive, operating system, etc) and flips them to recent immigrants for a modest margin of $30 or $50. Works well for me, works well for him and works well for the new computer owner!

However, I have simply delayed the eventual e-waste that the computer will become - someday it will end up somewhere after life, hopefully somewhere of value and safety. Check out the documentary Manufactured Landscapes sometime - wow!

So, what to do?

Perhaps computer companies should take a closer look at at Xerox and printer cartridges? Xerox save millions by leasing photocopiers then taking them back at end of life, recycling many components - smart. By leasing them, they know exactly what photocopiers are where. Many retail outlets now facilitate easy recycling of printer cartridges (the ones that cost more than the printer!) - smart.

Perhaps rather than delaying the e-waste graveyard, computer manufacturers should 'take-back' three or four year old computers, recycle appropriately and hook customers for life.

Thoughts?

I just spent a few days in New York City with my family - we had a wonderful trip. While there, I had a great conversation with a New Yorker about 'being in touch with nature'. Something struck me during the conversation that made me realize something about the challenges humanity faces as more people migrate to large cities around the world.

It is generally accepted that well planned and clean urban areas are 'green' for a couple of big picture reasons - 1) millions of people travel shorter distances between work, home and play, and 2) less infrastructure is needed per capita. However, for as much as those benefits are apparent, the benefits of human contact with nature dwindles - a connection that is necessary for us to collectively remind us that we are stewards of this planet.

Enter Central Park, and all of the other parks of New York City. Trees are a plenty, and it is even possible in some areas to almost forget you are in a city of 8.6 million people (except for the noise of course). There, in the midst of one of the largest and most vibrant cities in the world, you can remember the value of nature, of a tree, of a garden.

So, I say to the people of New York of who had the in insight to open the 843 acre park in 1859 - good on 'ya. May it stay there forever as a constant reminder of how connected we must be with nature.

There is a young man in Canada who is fasting for climate change, Dante Ryel. I have spoken on the phone with Dante. He is really concerned about climate change. If I did not have children, I sometimes think I would probably be joining him because I know we have 2-5 years to get into motion politically, the economic changes needed to save our planet from runaway climate change.

Here is a description of his fast from Facebook  http://www.facebook.com/?ref=logo#!/group.php?gid=361963750008&ref=mf

Canada has an opportunity to take a historic leadership role in solving climate change. That's why I, Dante Ryel, am participating in a water-only fast from March 3rd, the Day parliament resumes, until the day our Members of Parliament vote on Bill C-311. Bill C-311 is also known as the Climate Change Accountability Act and it must pass. There is a huge difference between Stephen Harper's made in USA, weak, greenhouse gas targets and the ambitious targets in Bill C-311. If we want to avoid a more than two degree increase in temperature, a climate change tipping point, then our M.P.s must vote for this historic Bill.

The NDP introduced Bill C-311 and the Bloc Quebecois will support it. We must pressure the leaders of the Liberal and Conservative parties to vote yes on Bill C-311. In fact, all we need is Liberal support! However, many people are scared that the Liberals won't vote yes. That's why we must pressure them. Stephen Harper's Conservatives have consistently voted against Bill C-311, and have prevented any meaningful progress on climate change, but we should still ask them for their support. You never know.

We are so close to making history but we must make sure our politicians do the right thing! You can click the following link to send off an email to each federal party.

http://www.canadians.org/action/2009/10-Dec-09.html

In about a minute you could change the world all at the click of a mouse. You barely have to type! Or contact your local MP. You could Phone your MP, record yourself doing it, and post the video on YouTube.

Bill McKibben, the organizer of the fabulous international movement 350.org of International Day of Action on Climate Change fame, has written a great article called: Climate change skeptics present their case too well. In it, he talks about how the science showing the human causes of climate change are varied and solid, but the deniers have been able to create more doubt in people's minds. James Hoggan and Richard Littlemore wrote a great book called Climate Cover Up: the Crusade to Deny Global Warming and have shown how the spin doctors have shifted the debate from how bad global warming is to whether it is real.

It's really too bad that all our citizens don't  read enough to really understand these important issues: we could save our world if we all took the time to educate ourselves enough to make informed decisions and act accordingly.

Yes, I am a proud Canadian. Sidney Crosby and his teammates just won Canada our 14th Winter Olympics gold medal - a record for most gold medals in the Winter Games by any country ever. Not bad for a country with only 32 million people and lots of snow and ice!

And of that snow and ice?

As was evident early in the games, the planet is warming, Vancouver was the warmest city to ever host the games. Even Whistler was balmy. Even my backyard. We used to build a backyard rink - not so in the last three years - it has been to warm. This year it would have been a backyard slushfest.

So where is the hope in this note? From medals to a slushy backyard?

If Canada can do what we did in these games, then I am hopeful that the global community can do what has to be done for this planet and humanity. Getting there will be no different, but the way in which we reflect on success will be much different.

What do I mean?

We, as spectators, enjoy the MOMENT of the overtime goal, the MOMENT of a skier crosses the finish line or the MOMENT the last curling stone is thrown. What we do not see as spectators is the thousands of hours those athletes spend honing their skills, of perfecting their game and overcoming injuries and challenges along the way. Years of preparation are invested for one moment in time - the moment of victory.

That is where doing right for the planet differs from 'The Games'. For every slap shot or every curling stone thrown there one light bulb turned off and piece of litter picked up. But the reality is that we will never collectively pause as humanes and congratulate each other on saving the planet.

Sure, we may reduce our collective carbon footprint by 80% in the next 40 years, but will be gather as eight or nine billion people and celebrate our success? Probably not, but you know what? I hope so.

Stranger things have happened, like Canadian cleaning up on gold medals. Not bad, eh?

We all know that swapping out old incandescent light bulbs for compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) is one painless way to reduce your annual power bill. (Lights account for about 5% of overall household power use). CFLs use 75 percent less energy than their incandescent counterparts and last up to 10 times longer. When you do the light bulb math each CFL bulb can prevent more than 450 pounds of greenhouse gas emissions. And depending on electrical rates you could save about $80 in energy costs over the life of the bulb.

If you’re going to make this worthwhile investment (and it is an investment, considering the cost) you’ll want to ensure each bulb lasts a good long time.

A friend was complaining recently that CFL bulbs in his home weren’t lasting nearly as long as they were supposed to. We were noticing the same thing so I did some research and discovered a few tips to help extend the life of your pricey bulbs:

• In fixtures on a dimmer switch use dimmable CFLs (should be stated on the packaging). Dimmers shorten the life of regular CFLs.

• CFLs are best in areas where they’re likely to be on for 15 minutes at a time or longer. Using them in places where they’ll be turned on and off frequently (like closets and bathrooms) will shorten their life.
• For totally enclosed fixtures buy bulbs that state clearly on that packaging that they’re designed for this use.

• If the bulb has been used according to the manufacturer’s instructions and still burns out early you may be eligible for a refund or a replacement. Energy Star certified bulbs carry at least a two-year warranty (covering manufacturer defects). The catch is that you need to save your receipts and contact the manufacturer directly.

Something else you need to know about CFL bulbs is that they all contain mercury. As a result they’re considered household hazardous waste and cannot go in the regular trash. Spent bulbs can be taken to the Crane Mountain Household Hazardous Waste Facility (Saturday mornings) or to convenient drop-off boxes at Home Depot. The mercury is recycled into new bulbs.

Because of the mercury you should be careful where you use the bulbs. Basically anywhere with a higher risk of breakage is not a good spot for a CFL (ex. lamps in children’s rooms or table lamps in high traffic areas).

If you break a bulb you should open a window, leave the room and close the door, turn off the air exchange system and go looking for a glass screw top jar and a roll of duct tape. After 15 minutes you can go back in (wearing gloves), put the glass fragments in the jar and use the tape to pick up the tiny bits. Put the tape in the jar too and use a damp cloth to wipe the area. Put the cloth in the jar, screw on the lid and take it to the Household Hazardous Waste Facility.

This is the ultra-conservative clean up method suggested by Energy Star. Apparently the overall the health risk is minimal (each bulb contains just a fraction of the mercury contained in a silver filling).

We live in the Great White North (yes, Canada). It gets cold in Canada in the winter. That said, the last few winters have been depressingly mild - for those of us who like to build backyard ice rinks. And who said climate change is happening?!

Anyway, I digress.

Our home was built in 1983 and was heated until last Fall by a combination electric/wood forced air furnace. We replaced the old furnace last Fall with a heat pump (check out a short video on the heat pump here - video taken with a Flip Camera - very cool!).

A few months later we are pleased to report that it was a good call.

We have equal billing with our electric utility, meaning that we pay the same amount every month and it gets adjusted once a year for the new year. This year's adjustment happened this month. What a pleasant surprise (well, not too much of a surprise)! Our equal billing has dropped enough for our next two and a half months of electricity to be free.

Big picture, I figure we will end up saving just over $1,000 per year, granted the payback is around 12 years, but, hey, it also increases the value of our home.