Vancouver’s plan: ecodensity
November 30, 2007
The City of Vancouver’s EcoDensity initiative is intended to engage public dialogue in regards to how we can reduce our ecological footprint in terms of sustainable housing, accessible amenities, transportation and land use. In conjunction with this the goal is to support new and different housing typologies as a way to promote affordability.
Recycling in Vancouver: the definitive guide
November 30, 2007
Recycling bottles, cans, paper and plastics and composting leftover coffee grounds and orange peels can sometimes be confusing. Scratching your head over what to do with a dead houseplant? Not sure where to recycle your old cell phone? We’ve compiled a definitive list of what goes where to help you sort through what’s rubbish and what’s not.
Oh tannenbaum
November 30, 2007
With the holidays approaching, Vancouverites will be heading out in droves to pick up Christmas trees and all the trimmings to decorate for the festive season. On the surface, it may seem more eco-friendly to buy an artificial tree that can be reused, but according to Earth 911 and the National Christmas Tree Association, real Christmas trees are the better environmental choice.
Going out on a limb
November 30, 2007
What does it mean to be 100% fair trade certified?
November 30, 2007
If you see this logo on coffee, tea, sugar, chocolate, fruit, spices, cereals, crafts and a growing list of other items, it is your guarantee that the products you are buying are part of a rigorous system of global commerce in which farmers and workers in developing countries are paid a fair price, have equal market access and safe working conditions, as certified by Transfair, the agency that monitors fair trade goods in Canada.
Our food: back to basics
November 30, 2007
Our collective food choices have a huge impact on the planet. With the global food industry shipping products further around the world, and farming becoming ever more intensive, this impact is only getting worse.
Ban the plastic bag Vancouver
November 30, 2007
In late November, Vancouver’s official opposition party requested the City to eliminate the distribution of plastic bags from its grocery stores, something San Francisco legislated as of March of 2007, and the town of Leaf Rapids, Manitoba did the following month.
Have less, live more: buy nothing xmas
November 30, 2007
On the heels of another internationally successful Buy Nothing Day, Vancouver-based Adbusters is promoting their annual Buy Nothing Christmas. The BNXmas has been gaining popularity since the late nineties, with the goal of ‘downshifting’ the personal debt, spiritual emptiness and environmental damage that the holiday season entails.
Unbearable, but true
November 30, 2007
A study released by the Vancouver-based David Suzuki foundation has found that multi-level jurisdications in Canada are failing to protect polar bears from the threat of extinction.
Leapin’ lords
November 30, 2007
Not only would presenting your true love with gifts from the carol The Twelve Days of Christmas cost you nearly $20,000, but Dale Marshall, climate change analyst for the Vancouver-based David Suzuki Foundation, speculates that it would come with an environmental price tag of 54.4 tonnes of greenhouse emissions (average annual output of emissions per person: 5 tonnes).