To the child Activists...

Dear kids,

Our planet is really, really old, but we’ve really only been trashing it for the last, say, sixty years…Prior to that, overpopulation and over hunting and fishing was a concern, what to do with our trash was a concern, pollution was a concern, but nothing that couldn’t be swept under the rug by big business.  Big business controlled the culture, the law, the school books, everything…It still does.

Of this brief history, I can only really speak to the last thirty years, since I was your age.  Back then, things were completely different…AND, sort of the same.  When I was a kid, we did learn about the environment in school and how of our processes would have terrible repercussions for the future.  We learned that, but I’m not completely sure that our parents did.  The difference was that when we got home, upset about the things that we learned, we were told that there was no options, that the scientists would save us when we really have a problem on our hands, that the oceans were BIG and cleaned themselves, that wind and solar were not reliable enough to replace coal, that plastic gets recycled into shiny new plastic bottles, and at the very worst, we were laughed off as if our concerns didn’t matter.  This is true, this is what happened to an entire generation of kids that cared and these kids are now your parents.

To be fair though, the world was a different place back then, cars were terrible gas guzzlers, but many families only had one, and could ride bikes down quiet neighbourhood streets instead of driving.   The population of the world had not reached such terrifying heights, when you walked down the streets of Niagara Falls, London or New York, you didn’t have thirty thousand people in your line of vision, and you weren’t worried about losing your kids in the masses on public transit.  When you were in the grocery store, you didn’t have to give up half your wages to feed your family, even though we took our groceries home in plastic bags, most products you purchased were wrapped in paper or glass, convenience over health wasn’t a thing yet, coffee still took time to brew and your average product had fewer ingredients that you couldn’t read.  Technology that came out when I was a kid could be relied upon to still be usable in ten years, machines that took phone messages for you when you were out of the house and the ability to record live television and radio were amazing inventions to us and it really made our lives better, easier, and we paid a lot for them.  But most adults owned their own home, jobs were plentiful, education was still kind of optional and if you ignored certain things that those pesky scientists said about the “greenhouse effect” and “landfill sites”, it was smooth sailing for a good night’s sleep.   

A couple of other things brought us to where we are right now:

Science was bought.  Science needs funding, and big business has been providing a lot of funding.  To say that the public didn’t know was going on is not quite true; but what studies were done, what studies were published and what studies were reported on during the evening news, was decided by people that didn’t have your Earth in mind, only money.

Politics became ridiculous. It’s said that Newt Gingritch brought a level of polarization to the government that had never been seen before but has since become common place.  Suddenly no matter what one side said, the other side would say the opposite, there was no common ground, no agreement no matter how small.  Agreement of any kind was seen as defeat.  Politics now is a LOT of talk, and almost no action, the strong action and agreement that is REQUIRED to dig us out of this hole won’t be found in the government.  Politics as well is largely funded by people that also don’t have your Earth in mind, only money.

The economy is in the toilet.  Most people are in a lot of debt.  Most people don’t feel good about not owning the roof over their head, the car in their driveway or even the clothes in their closet.  When these things get purchased on credit, it takes years to dig yourself out of this debt.  Whole countries carry absurd amounts of debt and year after year, term after term, leaders only consider means of balancing the books and passing off the debt.  Somehow, environment aside, we are passing off a world to our kids where they will be under mountains of debt: more educated, but less trained, not able to buy a home, jobs are short term and can’t be relied on and all the while the division between rich and poor has never been so extreme.  People are pretty desperate to keep their jobs and are not likely to make suggestions about more environmentally friendly options that cost twice as much.

Our culture has been created, in part by the companies that produce the products that fill our homes.  They have created spin over the years to make people not speak up, not demand more for fear of sounding like an environmental hippie… Even when I was young, activists were often mocked by the media so that people could continue to sleep well after the evening news was done.

But not all changes have been bad.  In short, technology has:

•          Disrupted big business
•          Created more transparency in business and government
•          Created more entrepreneurs and artists that can work from anywhere with very little start-up costs
•          Created a voice for that middle ground between very opposing political sides
•          Opened the doors for better and better invention
•          Aired people’s concerns
•          Taught people how to knit, and garden, and fix their own cars
•          Created a two way connection between companies and their clients
•          Created communities of people that could make things happen
•          Educated even the least privileged child 

These things might seem normal to you now, but trust me when I tell you that technology and the internet has changed the world in ways that no one expected.  There’s now no stopping the online community, companies and politicians now have no choice but listen and be held up to the standard of public opinion.  People are no longer limited to news and research broadcasted on their TVs or read in newspapers.  But instead, you can seek out your own news and your own truth.

Technology is not all good, and certainly there are a lot of negatives about the constant inter connectivity of people, but it is the hope that I cling to in very bleak times.  I see that we’re on the edge of real change, and I don’t know what’s coming next.  I see store after store closing down, people have so much stuff and so little money that thrift stores, homemade and homegrown are making a comeback.  Learning how to make your own ketchup or dish detergent is just a click away. It’s now much easier to lead a smaller, more environmental life than it was even ten years ago.

So kids, don’t back down!  Learn as much as you can, change what you can in your own life, don’t accept things the way they are because they haven’t always been like this.  Keep fighting for your future!  Big business is strong and will oppose you, but public opinion is gaining momentum and will back you.  I will back you.

The tides have turned, but the question remains...Are we building our lifeboats fast enough?

The good news?  Conversations are being had and technology may be catching up.  People look at me less and less like I have three eyeballs when I try to use my own containers at grocery stores or ask for no straws in my drinks.  People are starting to wake up to the possibility that the world we know and love is a little more fragile than we have always been taught by our big oil funded society.  We need to start nurturing this planet a bit more. 

The bad news?  People are tuning out.  These conversations are tough, the science is technical and the idea of people dying from climate change, low air quality and extreme heat, downpours and droughts makes some folks sleep very poorly at night.  But here is what has been going on lately

This week the first US city has banned natural gas hook ups in new buildings.  They are taking an official stand on a power once thought as clean…It is clean, when the alternative is coal fired…When the alternative is nuclear or water generated, natural gas can now be known as that new frontier for protecting the environment, that next problem child to deal with.  Gas plants are still being built in some places, true, but is meant to fill the gap beyond baseload power, when all the air conditioners are on but the sun isn’t shining and the wind isn’t blowing.  Gas plants that generate power are quick to respond to changing conditions and until more research is done to outfit the power grid with methods of storing power, it is a necessary evil.  This ban is meant for natural gas hook ups in homes and businesses and the possible leaks that widespread distribution can sometimes bring.  But how is our timing here? – Can we create new infrastructure fast enough to allow for clean power to take over from fossil fuels?

This week as well, there was a plea made to the United Nations to adopt a fifth Geneva Convention to protect the Environment.  Geneva Conventions were established to ensure standards of humanitarian treatment during times of conflict and war.  The Geneva Conventions have remained largely unchanged for the past 70 years, seeking to protect wounded and sick soldiers in the field and at sea, prisoners of war and civilians during times of conflict.  A letter from a group of well-known zoologists and environmental researchers was released yesterday, calling the UN to include environmental protection as a Fifth Geneva Convention, asking for more accountability for the often devastating consequences of war on the natural environment.  This will be something to watch this month as the UN holds its Climate Change Summit in September.

The UN is also holding an open call for environmental nerds like me to help solve climate change in a very techie way.  Reboot the Earth is bringing young computer programmers and scientists together to help solve the world’s climate problems with technology.  The nerd in me is intrigued and would love to be there in person to see the technology and ideas, but the environmentalist in me LOVES this idea.  I’m of the opinion that we need tons of new ideas and technology to help dig us out of this mess, people are so unwilling to move backwards away from modern convenience, that we have to make technology work for us instead.

The other thing that’s been going on for the last couple of months, are a couple of countries have been sending large shipping containers of junk back to the countries that made it…But not exactly.  China had been excepting plastic waste imports from other countries for a long time…Something that many people living in developed nations have either not known about, or not cared.  We live in fantasy land for the most part where we imagine that the plastic water bottle you throw in your blue box actually gets recycled into your next plastic water bottle.  Turns out much of this waste is just shipped to other countries to deal with, but China had had enough.  No real surprise.  Unfortunately however, this lead to numerous “recycling facilities” from countries like Malaysia and the Philippians to turn a profit by accepting this junk into countries that are ill equipped to deal with it.  Reports of burnt polyester just scratch the surface of what is being done with it.  These importers are being called traitors and the governments are sending this junk back to the countries that it came from on their dime.  Changes have been made to the Basel Convention to allow for better practices when shipping mixed plastics to other countries.  The question remains whether the 3,000 metric tons will find space at the doorsteps of the factories that produced the products so that they can be accountable for their choice of packaging.

The Switch - Shampoo Bars

A friend of mine started using shampoo bars this week.  This is a switch that I wish all people made.  There are a couple of reasons that shampoo bars are more environmentally friendly.  First, using bars rather than bottles entail way less waste and don’t rely on the oil industry.  In today’s world, I think that it’s important to distance ourselves in any way possible from these companies.  Secondly, shampoo bars are soap based, often natural and free of all the insanely harsh chemicals that we then flush down the drain.  People shampoo their hair WAY too often, and when they do, they use way too strong of chemicals to do it.  Like everything else on our bodies and on our planet, there is a fragile balance that we don’t want to throw off. 

I do however have a couple of cautions.  When your hair is used to the chemicals, and you’re used to the ease of just squeezing two products out of bottles, it takes some adjustment.

1.        Don’t shampoo as much.  Unlike using shampoo and conditioner that ensure that you have to use it every other day just to keep the oil away, shampoo bars keep your hair clean for almost a week.

2.       Use the shampoo bar on the top of your head and scalp rather than the tips – similar to bottle shampoo, it can dry out the ends.

3.       Use an Apple Cider Vinegar rinse.  This is incredibly important to rinse the soap residue away every time.  A tablespoon or two mixed with a cup of shower water to rinse your hair – instead of conditioner.  Very cheap, very simple.  If you’re worried about the smell from the vinegar, it smells pretty strong, but the smell doesn’t hang around on your hair.  Unless you have really short hair, if you skip this step you will likely not be able to use shampoo bars for long.

4.       Consider using baking soda every other time.  Baking soda is a very gentle cleanser and people are starting to use it on their hair more and more, especially if they want to grow their hair long.  It works great and is gentle on long hair.  Just like the Apple Cider Vinegar rinse, a tablespoon or two of baking soda mixed with a cup of shower water and work it into your scalp.  Don’t expect suds, and it might not feel “clean” until you’re out of the shower, but I promise it does work.  Finish with an Apple Cider Vinegar rinse and away you go.  Cheap and simple, and therefore something big business doesn’t want you to know.

Shampoo bars are really the way to go.  There are some talented soap makers that make amazing shampoo bars…Check out etsy.com for some fantastic shampoo bars or your local farmers market.  

A Seed of Truth

Early spring is a pretty boring time in this house.  We look forlornly at our gardens and frozen ground and know, that even on beautiful sunny days of positive temperatures, we can’t plant until that magical weekend in May in fear that everything will freeze and die.  We have one maple tree that will give us sweet syrup.  It isn’t a sugar maple.  I think it’s a black maple and its syrup is sweet and yummy although not exactly “mapley”.  The tree is getting bigger and bigger, and although spring these days is very inconsistent for getting sap, at least it keeps us busy.  We get about a mason jar full every year.

This year though, things are different. In August last year we built a greenhouse.  When we moved into this house, there was a decrepit shed on a cement pad.  We quickly tore down the shed, but had no idea what to do with the cement pad until a year or so ago.  Now, I know how lucky I am: my husband is a tall, handsome builder, and together with the help of two strapping young boys we were able to get it all done in a week while we were on “vacation”.  We got two massive windows from kijiji, bought a new skylight, sliding door, cedar shakes and a steel roof.  We also had piles and piles of stones from an old pond that we finally got to make use of.

I’ve heard it called a “She Shed” on occasion, but I take exception to that term.  My husband and I spend hours in that greenhouse, planting, repotting, sitting in the sun.  Firstly, the greenhouse is insulated, we used a product called rockwool, which is water resistant and therefore it’s warm and quiet in there.  We also were amazingly lucky with the windows we got from Kijiji….While they are almost as old as I am, they’re not drafty, they open for summer cross breeze and they are beautiful and wooden on the inside.  The inside is also cedar clad on the walls, cedar is good for keeping away bugs and it will never need to be painted or stained.  We also heat the thing…This year we’ll be installing solar panels to provide us with the power, but for now we just have a temporary cord running out there to power the heater and the ceiling fan.

Why the ceiling fan?  Two big reasons.  First is that it strengthens the plants. If there was no breeze in there, the plants would be weak and stringy and not at all prepared to live in outdoor conditions when the weather changes.  Second, the moving air dries out the soil and leaves, so the plants are required to draw in more nutrient rich moisture from the soil and grow a bigger root structure in the process.  Because of the direct sunlight for most of the day, and the constantly warm temperature, we’ve been able to fill the greenhouse with plants that don’t normally survive here and we’ve been able to try out seeds that we never would have attempted before.   We have palms and hibiscus, orchids and potatoes, avocado, peanuts, salad greens, peas and bok choi.  There’s not much we won’t attempt, we’ve even started lemon seeds so the plant will eventually grow in our greenhouse.  We compost everything that doesn’t work and we don’t feel bad about the power that we’re using or the new products we had to purchase for the greenhouse, because we’ve used it all winter long.

Here in Southern Canada, we’re having some pretty wild winters lately.  The polar vortex from climate change is creating WILD swings in temperature and sometimes weeks with little to no sun.  A normal winter will be about -10 C (14 F) with the occasional snowstorm, but the last few years, the temperature can plunge to -30 C (-22 F) wind-chill.  The heater in the greenhouse keeps the plants from freezing at night, but the large windows and the sun create a “vacation” like temperature even in the middle of the winter it can get to more than 25 C in there (80 F).  The overall effect of this space for us is really positive for our mental state, we’ve been basking in Vitamin D while the rest of the country is drudging through a long cold winter.  Again, I know how lucky I am.

There is something so wonderful about watching things grow, a wonder that has been lost to too many.  People think they don’t have a green thumb and they label themselves plant killers, so they give up and don’t try again.  If you don’t think you can handle growing from seed, I get it…We have started our garden with small plants from the plant nursery for the last ten years.  The main things is don’t give up, always try again, and don’t limit yourself to flowers and shrubs, because you’re really missing out on some super nutritious, straight from the garden fruits and vegetables that have a beauty all their own.

Growing your own Potatoes - Inside

What do you do with your old potatoes?  It seems like no matter how many we eat, there’s always a leftover or two out of the bag that end up being more sprout than potato.  For sure, some potatoes do go bad and start rotting, but the ones that sprout are just crying out to be planted!  We plant potatoes every year in our garden, we have a garden by our deck that only grows hastas that we plant seed potatoes in every year.  It doesn’t have great soil, but potatoes don’t need great soil, and after a summer of minimal effort, we get to go treasure hunting in the fall to find our potatoes.

This year I tried them indoors.  Here’s what I did:

1: Find the biggest planter you can find – make sure there’s drainage.

2: Fill the planter half full of soil –It doesn’t have to be super fertile soil, potatoes prefer sandy soil but in my experience potatoes will grow in almost anything.

3: Plant your sprouting potatoes – You can even cut them in half as long as there’s a sprout growing on each half.  If you have a really big planter, you can plant up to 5 or 6, but I wouldn’t really go more than that.

4: Water well, but don’t allow standing water, keep in warm sunny spot in your house – A south facing window is great for this.

5:  Keep checking for shoots – Before you know it, there will be a potato plant coming out of the soil.

6: Cover with more soil – This allows the plant to put more energy into creating potatoes below the surface – Repeat this until you have a full planter.

7: Don’t over water – To check to see if your potato plant needs water, put your fingers an inch or two below the surface of the soil to check for moisture.  Potatoes don’t need a lot of water or attention, and they will grow into a huge plant, quickly.  As long as the plant looks healthy, your potatoes should be growing well beneath the surface.

8: Check for potatoes – After several months you can start checking for potatoes beneath the surface.  If you find one that’s the size that you and your family like, you can dig them up and fill your larder, or you can keep them on the plant until you’re ready to use them…You don’t get much fresher than that!

Can Eco-Friendly be cool?

I recently purchased a Chevy Bolt, a completely electric vehicle.  Here in Canada, they are still a bit of a novelty.  I knew my next car would be an electric, but I was willing my old car, my Pontiac Vibe to last just a few more months.  It didn’t work out like that.

Oddly enough, I remember my childhood hero Bill Nye the Science Guy mention that he had a Chevy Bolt, so I thought I’d check it out.  Turns out the range is phenomenal.  My commute is about an hour a day and I could probably go three days without a charge, and everything else I heard about the car made me more and more sure that it was for me.

I had to find a local place that sold it though, not every place here in Canada even offers them.  I went in, they had one to choose from, a white one.  I had my three kids in tow and we took it out for a spin.  My youngest in her car seat and the boys on either side, there was plenty of room, even more room in the seats than the Vibe had.

Sitting in this car is like sitting in a space ship, it’s warm, comfortable, the music sounds great and what can only be described as a computer screen can hook up my phone to the car and play all the books on tape that I can download from my library app from the car’s speakers, the backup camera is clear and large and the heated seats and steering wheel promise to convince me to get my ass to work even in the depths of winter…Granted, part of this raving is that I hadn’t sat in a new car in 13 years.

The main thing is the drive.  This car teaches you to drive differently.  It’s quiet.  It’s hard to tell at first whether it’s on.  In the winter, when you remotely “start” this car from your phone, it goes into a pre-conditioning mode that just warms up the cabin.  It’s pretty cool.  You hit the “gas” and it’s pretty punchy, still quiet, but sounds more like the transporter from the original Star Trek than a gas powered engine. 

They have this thing called regenerative driving that takes some getting used to.  You use the accelerator like normal, but the second you let off the gas it slows down much quicker than a normal car.  If you’re considering getting one of these, a good idea is to just drive it around town for a few days to get used to this, or you’ll really annoy the people behind you.  (I wouldn't recommend getting used to this thing in a snow storm like I did!) It slows down quicker because the car is capturing kinetic energy back into the battery.  There is also a paddle on the steering wheel that slows you down even quicker so to capture even more energy when you have to stop at a red light or stop sign…  How quick you slow down depends on how fast you’re going, so until you get used to it, you might be slowing down more or less quickly than you had in mind.  The break pedal is still there of course, but I hardly ever use it.  I don't imagine the breaks in this car will have to be changed all that often!

The dealership was pretty great about shipping in the colour that I wanted.  I wanted a bold beautiful blue.  I think this is a car that demands some attention and dirt doesn't show as much on a bright blue car.  Funny thing about buying the car was the warranties that they offer are not yet designed to encompasses electric cars, flipping through their pamphlet for their power-train warrantee was kind of funny.  But the battery was covered for 8 years and roadside assistance was covered for five.

Then there`s the charging.  The charging cord that comes with the car is a level 1 charger.  It plugs into a regular socket, it takes over two full days for a complete charge, but if you`re not driving it far or often, this might just do you fine.  There are two options that you can set the car to.  The default in the car is 8 amps and you have to manually put it up to 12 amps every time.  It`s worth checking the breaker to see if it`s shared with any other appliances.  But even at 12 amps, a level 1 charger is not enough if you commute, unless you`re lucky enough to have a charging station near your work.

I have a level 2 charger installed now.  It runs off a 240 volt plug similar to a dryer plug.  It draws a lot more power and will fully charge a completely drained battery overnight….But after my commute, I still have about two thirds battery charge so it only takes maybe three hours to charge, that it can be set to do at night when the energy rates are off-peak.

Charging stations may not be everywhere yet, but more and more are being built and they are SUPER easy to use.  They are either free to use, or the paid ones just involve finding the location on an app, parking, tapping your credit card or your phone, and plugging in. They are often located in places that you can stop for a coffee etc.  For instance, here in Canada, I would really appreciate if Tim Hortons got on board and put a charger at more and more of their locations...These coffee shops are almost everywhere, and if people knew just to look for their nearest Tim's when their charge was running low, isn't that good for business too??  

I've had it for just over a month.  I was happy with the cost, I'm amazed at the drive and the technology in it and, you know...I don't miss stopping at gas stations?!  All in all, it's a pretty bad ass car, and it`s the kind of sexy we need to bring into the world of Environmentalism if we want more recruits! 

How to not be jerks about it...

People are complicated.

 

Your Point of View:  You’ve come to a realization.  You’ve made an eco-friendly switch in your home and you love your new product and wish everyone could try it!  You’ve given up eating meat and you feel great and you wish that everyone would join you in your love of the environment and animals.  You found an amazing item at the thrift store and you feel proud that you’re helping the earth and saving money, you wonder why anyone shops new anymore when there is already so much stuff in the world.  You’ve planted a giant garden this year and you got twelve huge butternut squash with little to no effort.  You’ve gotten yourself an electric car and you love the drive and wish everyone were driving them.

Everyone else:  Well, I recycle…. What a jerk.

How do we get along with such differing viewpoints?  I can tell you that I’ve felt like an outsider in most conversations my whole adult life.  There are not many decisions that I make in life without taking the environment into consideration, I am just that person.  I don’t mind being different, but it’s hard to feel like somewhere along the way you woke up and look around to realize that everyone else is still sleeping.  You used to be sleeping too.  The other thing is that you get super excited as an environmentalist when you find something that helps you sleep at night – As in, something that aligns with your goals of minimizing human’s harm to the planet.  Cloth diapers are SO adorable.   Electric vehicles are amazing to drive.  Cloth pads are simple, comfortable and work well.  Tapping your maple trees to make your own syrup is a fun family activity.  Etc. etc. etc.  We do get excited, but how do we talk about going above and beyond the norm while not making others feel bad about their own efforts?

Even more than this though. Environmentalists have become some of the most jerky people on the internet, and it’s not helping anything and it’s giving us a bad name.  Have you heard the joke:  How can you tell there’s a vegan at your party?  Don’t worry, they’ll tell you!

A fast food company wants to advertise that they’ve made the switch over to beef without the use of hormones and are reducing the waste they produce.  Companies are NOT people, but they have made these decisions because it’s a way they can differentiate themselves from their competitors and they believe there is a market of people that are irked when they get a plastic straw in their drink that they didn’t ask for.  All too often though people break out their soapbox and chastise these attempts as not enough…They shouldn’t sell beef at all, they’re still cutting down trees for their napkins…*Eye Roll*

It’s okay to get excited about your latest green item, but let’s try to not let hippie turn to jerk.  Baby steps are good steps, any company that is trying is better than the other 99%, banning straws won’t do much, and a beach cleanup won’t stay clean for long, electric car batteries do still take resources from the earth, and shipping glass over distances might take more fuel than plastic, but in this world if you take one step toward caring for the earth in any way that you can manage, you’re alright in my books.