Environmental

There are 27 posts filed in Environmental (this is page 6 of 6).

One Million Acts of Green

Have you heard of One Million Acts of Green? I heard about it on The Hour. George is getting all his Canadian guests to participate (including David Suzuki!)

It’s a program through the CBC. You create a profile, and then you can pick from lists of green acts that will lower the amount of greenhouse gases (GHG) that you create. So far they’re only at 220,786. Workin’ on it.

I signed up but had a hard time finding acts that I a) wasn’t already doing or b) could reasonably do while renting/not owning a car/moving in two months. But after reading some of the site I feel it’s ok to add things you’ve already made a part of your lifestyle. You’re already making a difference, so feel good about it by having the site tell you how much GHG’s you’ve not made. Wee!

One that I wasn’t already doing and will now be doing is always running the washer on the shortest setting. I usually try and gauge how dirty that load of clothes is to decide but come on, I’m not that dirty anyway.

So log on and find at least one that you aren’t doing yet. Even the little ones make a huge difference, like using a refillable coffee cup. Have you ever looked around to see how many people are holding a disposable, in-the-landfill-forever cup? It’s gross really. Plus reusable cups keep your coffee warm longer!

If you end up making a profile and start a new act of green leave me a comment…because getting someone else to sign up is one of the acts! haha

I need a new iPod/cell phone/laptop…..

I saw a very informative, yet upsetting, documentary on CBC the other week. It looked at the recycling of electronics. Now if I were to get a new iPod/cell phone/laptop and found no one who wanted the old ones I would be a responsible consumer and take it to an electronics recycling company so they could take out all the valuable and/or hazardous materials and save them from the evil landfill. And I probably would have found said recycler via an internet search along the lines of “vancouver electronics recycler”. Done.

BUT…

Had I gone to Techno Trash (a company featured in the documentary), my item would have been placed in a container and shipped to Hong Kong, despite the fact that it is ILLEGAL to ship electronic waste from Canada to China. Once over there workers trying to make a living would be exposed to dangerous conditions involving harmful chemicals and materials in order to salvage the valuable pieces.

Other companies the documentary visited also followed the same path. Distraught and confused about what to do with my electronics, I was told about Geep, a company that actually recycles electronics right here in Canada like all the others say they do. Whew, I didn’t want to have to use my same laptop for the next 30 years to avoid throwing it away. Close call.

This is where your old cell phone could end up if you don't do your research!

This really showed me that you can’t always trust what companies say they do, even ‘green’ companies, although I often do. Why would a company concerned with the environment lie to consumer? Cuz’ you can make a buck at the expense of the environment. Take the time to do a little research for your self and find the companies that do it right, in all areas. This is a case of green-washing to the extreme.

This is where your old cell phone could end up.