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?

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.

WWF has a great blog Miracle in your pocket by Zoë Caron (co-author of Global Warming for Dummies with Elizabeth May): It seems that iPhone has come out with another application that makes me drool, this one from Skeptical Science (getting skeptical about global warming skepticism).  It allows you to look at the main arguments from the denier camp and shares the real science in an easy, accessible way. They're asking people to download it and give them feedback, so the next version will be even better!

Maybe now my husband will give in and let me buy an iPhone! Maybe if I beg? Say it's for ClimateSphere (of course I might enjoy it a little)? Please, if I can help to save the world?

Every day, landfills across the country receive truckloads of things that are perfectly good but just not needed anymore.  It’s an inglorious end for stuff that still has useful service to offer.

But there’s a better way.  If you’re looking to get rid of perfectly good stuff that’s cluttering up your basement, garage or office, consider freecycling it.  Freecycling is making it available (via the internet) it at no cost to someone in your community who could use it. 

Check out www.freecycle.org; there’s a good chance you’ll find a local on-line group you can join.  If there’s no Freecycle group in your community, you can ‘be the change’ and start one!

You won’t get rich freecycling, but you can unclutter your life and you’ll do a good thing by keeping stuff out of the landfill before its time.  And maybe, you’ll discover that someone’s giving away something YOU want…

(If you prefer, there are plenty of charities across Canada that can use your used goods: http://www.charityvillage.com/cv/charityvillage/donate.asp.)

In the news:

"It's happening much faster than our most pessimistic projections," said University of Manitoba Professor David Barber last week, releasing the results of an extensive new study of Arctic ice disappearance.

Arg!!  Guess where global warming ranked in a Pew Research Center survey asking people to prioritize 21 social and economic issues... 

Mais oui - bilingual signs for your paper towel and soap dispensers are now available for download here.  (Thanks to subscriber Mariet van Groenewoud for the suggestion!)

For many people, climate change is about a few degrees of warming.  But wait – there’s more, much more!

If you would like to learn more about developing community based power projects circle November 15 and 16 on your calendar to check out the first annual Ontario Sustainable Energy Association Community Power Conference in Toronto.Davis Suzuki is the Honorary Chair.

Conference topics include:

• Community Power project models
• Project management
• Community Power policy and programs
• Financing models and opportunities
• Grid infrastructure
• Opportunities for First Nations, municipalities, farmers, LDCs, landowners, educational institutions and local citizens
• Capacity building
• Social friction, effective consultation and partnerships
• Planning and permitting
• Feed-in tariffs

Visit http://www.cpconference.ca/ for more information.

We recently installed an air to air heat pump for our home, and wow - what a difference.

Natural gas is not available where we live, so our home has been heated for a number of years by a combined electric / wood furnace. The wood provided wonderful heat through the ducts when we used it, but was a bit labourious at times to feed it. I am well aware that air to air heat pumps are much more efficient than virtually all other forms of heat, but I have to admit that I have been truly impressd and surprised at how much we are saving already.

I installed an energy monitor last year to see our energy consumption real-time (check out the project here) and noticed last winter that when the electic furnace kicked on we were running upwards of 20 kW at any given point in time (that is a lot!). Now with the heat pump we are down to about five or six kW...bottom line, this will translate into hundreds of dollars a year in savings!

Ok, so the heat pump was in the $10k to $15k range, BUT it will increase the value of our home, lower our energy bills substantially AND lower our carbon footprint by a few tonnes per year.

What more can we ask for?

This is my first blog on Greennexxus.com so first of all I just want to say, Hi! How's it going? I look forward to blogging on this beautiful, green website of ours!

That being said, I thought for my first entry I'd be a green Grinch and target my environmental concerns this week at the most joyous time of year-- Christmas. It's coming up... and it'll be sure to bring your bank balance DOWN DOWN DOWN. For besides being the season of carolling, yule logs, snowmen all that good wholesome fun, it's also the season of incredible consumption, especially in the western parts of the world. Now I come from an extremely small family and we're all tree-huggers in our own right, so here's a few homegrown tips on minimalizing your holiday consumption:

1. Wrapping. Don't use it! Not the store-bought stuff anyway. It's a waste of money and a waste of the Earth's resources. There's all sorts of things around the house that you can use: newspaper (especially the Sunday comics for colour), old bags/gift boxes from previous X-Mas's, sheets, fabric, etc. etc. It's your chance to be creative.

2. Don't give a lot of gifts! I know this sounds selfish and cheap, but really... there's no need to get 10 presents from each person in your family (you're probably only going to end up using half of the stuff anyway). Instead, try doing a secret Santa where everyone picks a name out of a hat and gets one big gift (or small) for one person instead of a bunch of cheaper gifts for a mass of people. Not only does this save money, time and environmental waste, it makes that one gift extra special so you know the person giving it must have put a lot of thought into it.

3. How about giving a charitable gift for someone? Sites like http://goodgifts.org/ will let you browse through hundreds of gifts from a variety of charities which you can put in someone's name. Eg. Price: £27.00 Give the Gift of Sight - "Simple operations can restore the sight of those in the developing world suffering from cataract, trachoma and other blinding conditions. For as little as £17 an operation (£27 for a child) you can give the gift of sight." (taken from goodgifts.org) We've gone this way for a couple of years now and have found it very rewarding.

4. Don't give Christmas cards!!! They are so unnecessary, are usually lost or thrown out (eventually) and in this day in age, with e-mail, the internet and cell phones that can practically fly us to the moon, there is no need for excess paper waste.

For more interesting tips and suggestions, visit http://www.greenlivingtips.com/articles/46/1/Earth-friendly-holiday-season-tips.html

Let's all give a little christmas cheer to Mother Earth this season! 

Apple (IPod, IPhone, etc) have long been the target of environmentalists for not being too 'green'. Seems that has just changed.

The company recently released a fairly comprehensive report on their environmental impact and what they are doing about it. And, in true Apple fashion, they are telling their story in a pretty way.

The Apple environment web pages take you through every stage of their operations and subsequent environmental impact, from manufacturing to transportation to product use. Their apparent reporting transparency on five key environmental impacts is impressive - climate change, energy efficiency, material efficiency, restricted substances and recycling.

I have always regarded Apple as a forward thinking company (who couldn't), despite being a 'PC' guy for over 25 years. Ok, I admit, I love my IPhone, and am tempted to make my next laptop a Mac.

Back to the environment...well done Apple. Someday, I hope all other large and small companies share their environmental impact to this extent. Keep it up Mac.