Today is Blog Action Day ‘09, and this year’s topic is climate change. What better topic for an ecoBlogsphere Watch post? Most of these links come from the last 3 months or so.

Let’s be clear. This isn’t about politics; it’s about facts. Ice doesn’t care how you vote or what you believe, it will melt regardless, as long as it’s above 0 degrees Celsius. Fact: at the current rate of melting versus snowfall, Glacier National Park (USA) will have no glaciers left by 2020. The glaciers of North America’s interior mountains are melting at an astonishing rate (I highly recommend taking the walk to the edge of the Athabasca Glacier to get a sense of how fast it’s happening). This should be a huge concern to citizens of cities like ours that rely on rivers whose source is those glaciers. How will our communities change when glaciers no longer feed those rivers?  Fact: the Arctic pack ice is also disappearing, with the last three summers marking the three lowest extents of Arctic sea ice since 1979, and totally ice-free summer conditions now expected within 20-30 years. And a must-read report on prehistoric carbon dioxide levels using ocean floor sediment samples in this week’s issue of Science may explain why that is happening way faster than previously predicted, and indicates that our current political targets for emissions reduction are probably not stringent enough.

The consequences of climate change will be felt everywhere, in ways we don’t yet appreciate as a society: people are aware that the extinctions of large numbers of vulnerable species is one cost of inaction (save the polar bears!), but tend to think less about human problems like floods, droughts, famines, wars, and refugee migration. Google have used their Maps app to create stunning visuals of how different our planet could look with conservative estimates of temperature changes worldwide and flooding in coastal regions – go watch if you haven’t seen it yet.  The military are already using these when-not-if scenarios as part of their strategic planning, and so are the agribusinesses who’ve led the rush to buy fertile land in Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, and Latin America.

What can we do? I mean, apart from becoming survivalists living on off-the-grid communes on high ground – good luck to you if that floats your boat, but personally, I like city living.

Well, we can mitigate these consequences by reducing our greenhouse gas emissions and slowing down the rate of global climate change. (We’ve made a change that big before: think of the 1980s ban on chlorofluorocarbons to save the ozone layer. And most experts agree that we have the tools and technologies we need – see TED.com and worldchanging.org – we just need the political will to apply them.) This means asking the Canadian and Albertan governments to kindly stop cowtowing to the interests of multinational businesses (many of whom are already quietly investing in biofuels and renewables), to sign treaties and adhere to them, to create provincial building codes and municipal guidelines that value density and energy efficiency, to work to integrate renewable energy generation as a major component of the grid, and to create programmes to retrain workers and retool industries. Well-drillers can become geothermal experts, and machinists and electricians can learn how to build and install solar and wind microgenerators.

On an individual level, this means becoming engaged citizens, asking tough questions of our representatives (especially here in Oil Country), and making appropriate choices for our families. It means looking hard at our homes and habits, then making honest efforts to do what we can to reduce our environmental impact. Locally, lots of organizations are working to help us do these things – signing up for E-SAGE’s newsletter is a great way to keep abreast of all those groups’ events and projects.

After figuring out what our homes’ and businesses’ carbon footprint is and doing what we can to make it smaller, the best (although still flawed) way to mitigate the effects of our remaining emissions is still to buy carbon offsets – thankfully the David Suzuki Foundation has recently created an independent report on offsets that helps us navigate that minefield and figure out which offsets do the most good.

Am I a total nag? Good. In graduate school, we scientists are taught to use language carefully, to always provide context and not jump to unwarranted conclusions. You don’t ever want to appear alarmist or unprofessional. It’s very difficult training to break. So when I read the statements being made by climatologists, ecologists, and wildlife biologists about climate change and its consequences, I’m startled by their urgency and directness.

We’ve already unwittingly changed the world. Now it’s time to change our course.

A collage of photos I took at my favorite sidestage sessions of EFMF'08.

The Edmonton Folk Music Festival is already one of the greenest events on Edmonton’s packed summer festival calendar. Here are some ideas for things to put in your backpack to make it even greener, inspired in part by UK site ecotopia’s green festival kit designed for multiday campout events like Glastonbury. (If you’re heading to a multiday campout festival, may I suggest this more exhaustive checklist?). I suggest visiting a combination of Carbon Environmental Boutique, Earth’s General Store, and our local MEC outlet to get all of these items while supporting our local economy and avoiding the extra carbon footprint of shipping from across the Pond.

- windup LED flashlight – if I was headed to a campout I’d consider making this a flashlight/radio.
- a solar charger for your cell phone and camera: ecotopia have the Freeloader Solar Charger in their kit.
- a large stainless-steel refillable mug, thermos, or water bottle
- cutlery set or chopstick set
- refillable toothbrush (Preserve or another)
- natural/biodegradable wipes (Tushies), tissues, menstrual pads (NatraCare), lip balm, toothpaste (Kingfisher), sunscreen, bug repellent – and shampoo and deodorant if you’re camping, too

plus the usual:
- tickets, ID, cash, cards
- cell phone, camera
- MP3 player. book, magazine for down time
- umbrella, shoes that can get wet and muddy, emergency rain gear
- sun hat, sunglasses
- tarp (or collapsible tent if you’re at the top of the hill), tentpegs, location marker
- chair
- programme
- notepad, pen, highlighter
- comb
- first aid kit (esp with kids), advil, pepto bismol
- food and drink in a small cooler

You know it’s going to be hot, for at least part of the day, so I’m planning to try this to restyle a tshirt while I’m on early morning tarp lineup duty, since all I’ll need to pack is my scissors (and a needle and thread just in case).

101-LED-wreath, via instructables.com (http://www.instructables.com/id/101_Led_Wreath/)

We’ve all been sick in my home over the holidays, so I haven’t posted much lately. Just in time for New Years, here are my thoughts on ways to make your holiday celebrations a bit easier on the earth. Hopefully this will give you some ideas for next year!

1. Decorate your home with LED lights; if you haven’t already replaced your old incandescent outdoor strings, look for LEDs, which use a lot less energy, and put them on a timer. This year we used one of Noma’s new solar-powered sets for the first time; they’re a bit dim, especially compared with our neighbors’ giant incandescent bulbs, but so pretty, and so practical for lighting areas that aren’t near an outlet. I think we’ll move them into the backyard and use them as year-round fairy lights. Post-Christmas is a great time to find them at discounted prices.
2. Oh, Christmas trees… The long-running real-vs-artificial debate is still going, but you’ll notice there is now consensus on the topic. Current green wisdom holds that real trees – especially organically-grown living ones that can be replanted – are the most environmentally friendly choice (especially if that PVC number with the LED lights built in is manufactured in China, where environmental regulations are, shall we say, permissive). That said, if you already have an artificial tree you should continue to use it, unless there are safety concerns (such as lead content, offgassing,  or electrical peculiarities) – otherwise you’re wasting the material and energy investment that went into making and transporting it. Another caveat is that none of the discussions I’ve seen online take the concerns of families with environmental allergies (to molds and tree pollens, for example) into account. My extended family is rife with dust, pollen, and mold allergies, so I have fond memories of decorating our 1970s-era artificial tree made of hideous brown and green plastic well into the 1990s. The key to the greenness of any artificial tree or tree-alternative is to find something that works with your lifestyle, and that you’ll be happy to reuse for a decade or more. An older wire-based faux tree from the thrift store is easily refurbished with careful fluffing and the addition of some garland and floral picks to fill in the gaps (again, beware of lead content and electrical irregularities – a vintage aluminum tree is the best choice, if you can find one). There are lots of great alterna-trees, too: you can decorate a houseplant, or a chunk of driftwood, or a vase full of bare branches, or skip the ‘tree’ and decorate with wreaths and garlands instead. There’s great coverage of cool artificial trees on digsdigs and inhabitat, including this genius tree made of water bottles (by Paprika Design, from a Montreal shop window!) and a gorgeous CNC-cut plywood tree from Australia. (more…)

Pumpkin patch. Photo: Kent K. Barnes kentkb

Holidays are always great times to consider the implications of the choices we make, and to create moments where we can pass on lessons about our values to our children. With this in mind, I’ve been looking for ways to make Hallowe’en a little greener in our home.

Costumes are one of the major semi-disposables of the season, but my fondest costume memories have always been thrift store finds or repurposed everyday wear, so I’ve tried to continue that with my kids. (more…)

Urban Eco Chic, by Oliver Heath. This will be joining the books below on my reference / inspiration shelf shortly.

(this article was first published in January 2008 in vol.1, no, 1 of the ecoDomestica reDesign newsletter)

Here are a selection of the publications that inspire and inform my work. Enjoy!

Books:

- Alan Berman. “The Healthy Home Handbook: Eco-Friendly Design” (2001) …This practical, British guide to making eco-friendly choices for the construction and decoration of homes is wildly inspirational, with photos of sustainable interiors in a variety of styles from around the world.

- Kari Foster, Annette Stelmack, and Debbie Hindman. “Sustainable Residential Interiors” (2007) …The definitive reference book for North American interior designers on environmentally and socially responsible design principles and practices. Quote: “The finishes in a home can exemplify environmental responsibility, as well as reflect the inherent beauty of design.” (more…)

Manfish: A Story of Jacques Cousteau has quickly become a favorite bedtime book in our household.

I’ve started collecting children’s books – both literature and crafts books – with an environmental theme for our kids’ library. Here is a brief list of what I’ve found so far, with reviews.

Manfish: The Story of Jacques Cousteau by Jennifer Beme boasts incredible artwork and a gentle message packaged with M. Cousteau’s biography. I’ve wrapped it up with the equally gorgeous Ocean Seasons by Ron Hirschi for a beautiful and educational ocean-themed kids’ birthday gift.

Another lavishly-illustrated picturebook series to look for is Barbara Bash’s series on trees of different continents and the ecosystems they create. The watercolours are breathtaking. So far I have In The Heart Of The Village: The World of the Indian Banyan Tree, and Tree Of Life: The World of the African Baobab. I think I’ll give the kids the rest of the set as a Christmas gift. (more…)

This past July, I spent a couple of weeks planning my five-year-old’s birthday party and volunteering with the Devonian Botanic Garden to help organize their new Green Festival… plus I was asked at a networking event how to go about greening a conference. (I think now that the person I was chatting with had confused me with the fabulous proprietress of TulaJane Eco Events. Now that I know about them, #1 on my list would be to call them if resources allow!) Anyway, thoughts of how to go about making any kind of event more sustainable were much on my mind, so I did what I always do and made a list. The filters to bring to bear on all the decisions come down to the old mantra of reduce, reuse, recycle, of course; but it also includes educate, go local, and give back. Here is a round-up of 20 Ways To Green Your Party or Event, which is compiled in part from the links provided further below. (more…)

(this article was first published in January 2008 in vol.1, no, 1 of the ecoDomestica reDesign newsletter)

Let’s take a look at some commonly recommended I’m-going-green New Years’ Resolutions, and see what really makes a difference. Statistics courtesy of thegreenguide.com, sierraclub.org, and the City of Edmonton.

1. Switching to eco-friendly cleaners: Home cleaning products and air fresheners are one of the main sources of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and other airborne chemicals (such as ammonia and benzene) that can trigger asthma attacks and migraines, and have been implicated as carcinogens, endocrine disruptors and developmental toxins. Add to that the phosphates, sodium hydroxide, sodium hypochlorite, and ethanolamines which are themselves or form dangerous environmental pollutants after you flush them down the drain… Yikes! When you switch, remember that natural isn’t the same as nontoxic, and look for products from reputable brands like Method, Ecover, and Seventh Generation who list the ingredients they use. (more…)