While searching for articles more in-depth on the first issue here, I came across some interesting finds. If you can read between the lines, you’ll figure out my headline. (Unintentional cheesy rhyming.)
The nuclear plant explosion caused by Japan’s magnitude 8.9 earthquake, and potential of further danger, reminds us just how risky and costly nuclear power is, says Greenpeace. Writes Ariel Schwartz for GOOD, “Nuclear power plants aren’t cheap, either. Reactors cost billions of dollars to build, which is why there are only 104 operating in the entire country [US] and why they’re all old — all of these plants began construction in 1974 or earlier.” And I think we can all agree a wind or solar farm is far more attractive than a nuclear power plant. Speaking of solar farms, this farmer is harvesting the sun along with his wheat.
I recently wrote about New York City’s transportation and public space plans and progress. (It was written too quickly and wasn’t very thorough unfortunately — a product of daily blogging.) Hot on those heels, today’s Vancouver Sun opinion piece may spur a little competition if not debate over whether NYC does indeed take the green cake in North America. With Vancouver’s plans unfolding, the Big Apple may not hold on to this position, but this kind of competition is good. Among American cities, however, I’m torn between Portland and Manhattan as the greenest. (The author doesn’t mention Mexico.) To be convinced, I’ll be hearing David Owen’s argument at his lecture, Why Manhattan Is the Greenest City in North America, Thursday, March 17. (Vancouver Playhouse, 7:30pm. Free. Register with lzanatta [at] telus.net)
I was very fortunate to have attended David Suzuki’s Legacy Lecture in December, 2009. It’s hard to believe it’s been over a year since that evening at the Chan Centre that induced goosebumps and inspired the longest standing ovation I’ve ever witnessed. It became a book and award-winning documentary, and this Sunday, the venerable CBC airs Force of Nature: The David Suzuki Movie at 8pm. (Repeats April 3.)
I knew the power of his voice and his story the first time I heard him speak in our humble gathering space at the Foundation’s office. I’d never been to one of his lectures but I knew David had been toiling over his Legacy speech for quite some time before the nearly flawless delivery that evening, an intensely rehearsed and refined story that dances its way into our hearts. Like any good story it hits varying emotional points, triggers tears and joy, but inevitably leaves us feeling uplifted. If his intent as an environmentalist and scientist was really about fear-mongering like detractors suggest, the mood at the end would have been gripped in paranoia, instead of the recognition that we can dream, imagine and create, together, a future in which we live within the limits of nature. That future is not a return to dark ages; indeed, it’s full of vivid life, community and bright ideas. It’s a future where we’re no longer talking about “being green,” it’s intrinsically our way of life. What is so fearful about that?
I had a tea container I couldn’t recycle, so I repurposed it with a strip of cute paper.
GOOD Magazine‘s latest contest asked for photographs of something repurposed and today they announced the winner, beautiful lamps made from glass bottles, by Lauren Lee. They’re stunning and blur art and design together, in the sense that she used essentially a readymade and added both intent and function.
Contributor Ivy Lane calls repurposing objects and materials “upcycling”, in stark contrast to downcycling, which typically refers to the deterioration of plastic as it undergoes multiple recycling processes. Repurposing is the ultimate sustainable thing to do with stuff that already exists. It extends its life, creates something new (our brains thrive on novelty, hence the rampant consumer culture), and inspires creative thinking to imagine objects being used for another purpose in new combinations. It’s easy to think of repurposing as taking something easily recyclable and giving it a new lease on life, but where it succeeds most wonderfully is in saving garbage-bound objects from an eternity in a landfill, bringing to mind the old adage, “One person’s trash is another’s treasure.” (Just check out some select submissions to see what I mean.)
I hope repurposing can find a home nestled between the handmade revolution and high design so as to appeal to anyone. In fact, there is no reason it cannot.
Update March 9:Today’s ethical deal is 50% off two Vancouver Farmers Markets memberships!
Following several mentions at this past weekend’s Greenest City camp of how food prices have risen in the wake of higher oil prices, I was reminded again by The National‘s coverage tonight. They examined which commodities have spiked most, how our food spending compares to other nations and how to save money.
The prices for grains, dairy and sugar — the latter of which is non-essential — have risen by 10% to 30%, reaching in some cases historical highs. When comparing food spending — Canadians put 11% of their income toward it, whereas the Chinese spend 36% and in Yemen 80% — it’s important to realise that while our food spending has trended downward, our health costs have increased dramatically. This relationship between food and health spending has much to do with the quality of our food. So while the CBC’s reporter suggests 11% is a good number, I disagree.
Rising oil prices, a trend that will inevitably continue as supplies dwindle and economies recover, are a reminder of just how much energy goes into agriculture from the field to the plate. For Americans, the combined cost of transportation and energy accounts for more than 10% of the cost of US-produced food, with the majority of each dollar going to marketing. Factor in how much of our food comes from other continents — bananas, cocoa, sugar, seafood, rice — and watch that energy cost go up.
I was excited when I noticed a dramatic, beautiful piece of art hanging over my head on the bus the other morning. It was Emily Carr University student Alison Woodward’s work (see the eighth image here), one of 31 images by 18 artists studying at the school. It’s TransLink’s new pilot initiative, which is “building on the success of the Poetry in Transit program, which seeks to bring visual art into the transit environment through on-vehicle advertising panels featuring emerging artists.” I quite enjoy the Poetry on Transit panels when I find one I like, and so far, in Art on Transit, I love what I’m seeing.
I love GOOD Magazine for their content and design. I got a little emotional at work recently when I opened fifteen of their website’s articles just from their bottom-of-the-page grid — probably 95% of the content there. Inspired by their new “Overload” articles where an author with a similar habit to me — link-happy without enough time/energy to read everything in a day — posts snippets with links to interesting articles, here’s my first one. I might do this again later when I have lots to share but need to get my post out the door quickly.
Candy Chang is amazing. She’s started a community engagement project that uses stickers to enable people to imagine how neglected parts of New Orleans could be revitalized. You don’t have to be an urban planner to hope and dream about change in your community.
I’ve known about London’s Unpackaged shop for awhile and, being the food lover and waste detester that I am, I’m very excited at the thought of visiting the shop when I travel to London this spring.
If London’s too far away, there’s a Food Coop in Port Townsend, WA. So next time you’re feeling plastic-free and hungry on your way to Seattle or Portland, or you’re a diehard Twilight fan, be sure to stop by. Supporting small businesses with these genuine values is incredibly important.
Del Monte has officially gone bananas backwards by introducing individually-wrapped bananas — as if nature hadn’t already done the job. The bags, apparently containing a “Controlled Ripening Technology”, are supposed to extend the shelf life by up to six days.
James Harvey, Del Monte’s UK managing director, told the Fresh Produce Journal: “Del Monte’s new CRT packaging is designed to provide significant carbon footprint savings by reducing the frequency of deliveries and the amount of waste going to landfill. The packaging is also recyclable.” — Mail Online
Uhhh-huh. Funny, I wasn’t aware of this landfill burden that biodegradable bananas are causing. Hmm, wouldn’t it be cheaper and simpler to just buy what you need, solving both the “frequency of deliveries” and “amount of waste” problem and saving the money lost on wasted food and the cost of dealing with the plastic (landfill or otherwise) and avoiding this higher-priced packaged banana? Or, you know, storing your bananas properly and composting? Clearly Del Monte is out to make extra money under the guise of “food waste reduction” in a day and age when people are starting to be critical of excess packaging. (Notice Harvey said recyclable and not biodegradable?) Since when is the banana peel itself not good enough?
As my colleague said, if your bananas are getting too ripe, make some banana bread.
Bike parking at Stockholm Central Station. (Photo by EURIST e.V. via Flickr)
I read quite a great article about Stockholm’s sustainable qualities last year and can’t find it, but here are some interesting new-to-me tidbits I dug up tonight:
This is awesome: the 250,000 or so people passing through Stockholm Central Station every day generate a lot of heat, and one Swedish company has figured out how to harness the otherwise wasted energy to heat a nearby building. The system “lowers the energy costs of the office block by as much as 25%.” (Via GOOD)
Hammarby Sjöstad, formerly a run-down industrial area in Stockholm, has been undergoing a metamorphosis since the early 1990s that has made it a model of sustainable urban development. From waste and wastewater management to renewable energy and active transportation, the community has an integrated plan with strict requirements and ambitious goals. GOOD talks about the community’s use of distributed energy, and it’s pretty exciting stuff.
Check out this Green City Guide on Stockholm’s other offerings, like a green hotel chain and organic treats, clothing and cosmetics.
Photo by Snurb via Flickr
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I had a tea container I couldn’t recycle, so I repurposed it with a strip of cute paper.
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Bike parking at Stockholm Central Station. (Photo by