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).

(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…)