The Ontario government has approved a plan to build a huge solar farm near Sarnia, according to an article on CBC.ca. The 40 megawatt installation is expected to be online by 2010.
Thanks to the provincial “Standard Offer Program” the government now pays 42 cents/kwh for approved solar energy projects, thus making this a sound business venture for the company in charge of the installation (Optisolar).
Here is a blurb:
The project would be the largest in North America using photovoltaic solar cells, which collect energy from the sun’s rays and convert it into electricity.
It’s also larger than any other existing solar-cell plant in the world, although a number of projects underway would surpass or equal its size. Construction of a 40-megawatt project in Germany is already underway, and last fall, the Australian government announced funding for a proposed 154-megawatt solar power plant to be built in Victoria state and expected to be fully operational by 2013.
Power plants using solar energy and operated in the Mojave Desert generate more than 300 megawatts of power, but those plants are powered through solar thermal energy, a different form of power generation that collects the sun’s rays and uses them to heat a liquid that then acts to produce electricity.
The Sarnia solar farm was one of 14 new alternative energy initiatives announced by the government to add more than 107 megawatts of power to the grid. Two new water-power projects with Ontario First Nations were also announced.
This past Saturday, after snagging our new rain barrels, Steve and I decided to head to Home Depot.
I’m definitely glad we went - aside from getting some needed items, it was also really interesting to see some of the green changes under way at HD.
You may recall my first post about Home Depot’s ‘Eco Options’. Again, this is a magazine that informs customers about the various eco-products available in the store, as well as offering quite a lot of interesting green living info in general.
When I first heard about it (last December) and had a look at the HomeDepot.ca site, I was pretty impressed with the online version of the “Fall” edition but still wondered how much of an effort they were making.
I had not seen any of the magazines in the store before, and was a little disappointed that the Eco Options section of the website was completely buried with no mention on the home page.
Well things have certainly changed. Not only are the magazines readily visible (and available) in multiple locations within the store, but Eco Options information is now also prominently displayed on the main Home Depot homepage. Add to this the fact they really seem to have expanded their selection of eco-friendly products and I have to admit I’m pretty impressed!
Speaking of cool eco products - I was blown away by the fact that they now offer multiple rechargeable lawn mowers along with a variety of quality push mowers! I can remember being frustrated two years ago (when I bought my current pollution machine from them) with their very limited selection of green mowers (they had some plug-in mowers and some sad push mowers).
This week (until April 29) they are actually offering anyone who brings in an old gas mower up to $100 credit towards the purchase of one of the new eco-friendly models. I’m thinking very seriously about taking advantage of this offer. From what I understand, gas mowers are unblievable bad when it comes to greenhouse gas emissions. Although only 2 years old, I would love to get rid of mine!
Eco Options has also launched in the US, according to a story in GreenBiz News (link to follow). When I wrote my post in December I couldn’t even find mention of the program anywhere on the U.S site!
According to the article, Eco Options has been in Canada since 2004!! That’s a pretty major indication of the level of effort they put into the program prior to this past fall (I had no clue it even existed).
Here is an interesting blurb:
Home Depot has labeled more than 2,500 Eco Options products already, including all-natural insect repellents, compact fluorescent lightbulbs, cellulose insulation, front-load washing machines, and certified sustainable forestry products. By 2009, Home Depot expects the Eco Options label to grow to 6,000 products.
I am certainly interested to see how our Canadian Eco Options program develops over the next few years. So far so good, but of course there will always be room for improvement.
I noticed an interesting link submission to the “Eco-Heros” section of our directory this morning so I decided to check it out.
This led me to KABMan.org where I downloaded the video you can watch above. The movie made me laugh and I decided to get in touch with Rob from Keep America Beautiful (who submitted the link) to see if he had any plans to upload the video to YouTube and just to generally learn more about KAB Man.
Apparently KAB Man gets his big launch tomorrow - April 24th
Here is a press release Rob shared with me:
– Keep America Beautiful, Inc. (KAB), the national nonprofit that famously sponsored the “Crying Indian” public service advertisements in the 1970’s, will unveil the organization’s first national outreach effort since 1998 during a Times Square ceremony on Tuesday, April 24th.
The campaign will launch with three web-based animated films, viewable from www.kabman.org. KAB Man, the central character, is a 20-something everyman enlisted to help the organization’s mission to reduce litter, promote recycling and waste reduction, and to encourage community beautification through graffiti prevention, tree plantings, community gardens and green spaces.
The website will also feature bonus content such as an online “fly and recycle” game, eco-friendly themed merchandise, and downloadable posters. The posters feature Molly Sims, co-star of NBC’s “Las Vegas” and supermodel, who makes an animated cameo appearance in one film. Funds raised through online donations and purchases will support KAB’s mission and ongoing activities to improve communities through its network of nearly 1,000 local affiliates and participating organizations.
”KAB recognizes that the future of our organization depends upon engaging today’s up-and-coming generation of environmental stewards, and the web is the place to reach them,” said Robert Wallace, KAB’s vice president of communications. “Like most people, this generation feels overwhelmed by big-picture environmental issues like global warming, and they are seeking ways to be a part of the solution through their everyday choices and actions. KAB Man is here to help.”
The character and films were conceived, directed and produced pro bono by San Francisco ad agency, Goodby Silverstein and Partners. “”The time for a reluctant, semi-competent, funny-sounding champion of environmental responsibility has come,” said Jeff Goodby, agency president and creative director of the campaign. “Litterers and recycling scofflaws are shaking in their boots.”
Additional new media and social networking efforts will include a KAB Man page on myspace.com (www.myspace.com/keepamericabeautiful), outreach to blogs and other social media outlets, and future promotions that enlist viewers as “environmental superheroes.” What can YOU do to keep America beautiful? Log on to kabman.org for more details.
About Keep America Beautiful, Inc.
Keep America Beautiful, Inc., established in 1953, is the nation’s largest volunteer-based community action and education organization. This national nonprofit forms public-private partnerships and programs that engage individuals to take greater responsibility for improving their community’s environment. The Great American Cleanup™ is the organization’s signature program that mobilizes millions of volunteers to improve their communities through hands-on participation. For more information, visit www.kab.org.
I haven’t actually heard that much about KAB (I’m from Canada, eh!), but it sounds like a fantastic organization. I’m definitely looking forward to seeing more episodes of KAB man!
Interesting news on CBC.ca last week (just came across it today).
Apparently Ontario will be completely phasing out the sale of inefficient incandescent bulbs by 2012. I’m definitely very pleased to hear this. Of course it would have been great if it could have been sooner (Australia has us beat with their 2010 ban), but I’m certainly not complaining.
Here is a blurb:
Ontario will ban the sale of inefficient incandescent light bulbs by 2012, a move that follows in the footsteps of Australia, the province said Wednesday.
The government estimates that replacing the 87 million incandescent bulbs in use across Ontario with more efficient bulbs would save six million megawatt hours every year — enough to power 600,000 homes.
Changing to more efficient bulbs is also the equivalent — in terms of greenhouse-gas emissions — of taking 250,000 cars off the road, said Ontario Environment Minister Laurel Broten, who announced the move along with Energy Minister Dwight Duncan on Wednesday morning.
Just wanted to write a short post wishing all our readers a very happy Earth Day! Hope you have been enjoying the weekend (absolutely gorgeous here) and getting involved in some Earth Day Weekend activities.
Steve and I got up bright and early on Saturday morning and met up at a local mall where the city was selling rain barrels (for an incredible bargain). I cannot believe how long the line was even at 7am. It took about an hour in a fast-moving line to finally reach our destination (the rain barrel truck), but it was a beautiful morning and it was nice getting caught up!
I’m definitely looking forward to getting my new barrel set up this week and kickstarting my 2007 water-conservation project (more on that in a future post)!
Sorry folks, I couldn’t think of a funny or creative title for this post! Oh well, sometimes keeping things simple and straight forward is the best way to go.
The important thing is that I am FINALLY ready to start welcoming visitors to my new composting website: RedWormComposting.com
It probably won’t look like much just yet (only a few posts thus far), but I can assure you there will be LOTS of new content and added features in coming weeks and months.
Also, don’t let the title fool you - while considerable focus will of course be placed on the topic of vermicomposting (worm composting), I will definitely be exploring many other related waste management and environmental topics as well.
Just so you know, I will still be talking about composting a fair bit here at EcoSherpa! The new site will however allow me to really run with the topic, and also will help the composting-keeners to easily find the info they are looking for.
Speaking of keeners, for those of you who are really interested in getting serious about worm composting (or at least want to learn more), I will be putting together a 10-Day Worm Composting E-Course (totally free of course) in the next week or two. If you think you might be interested, and/or want to stay up to date with new developments in general, please feel free to sign up for my email list.
Just received an email from Michael Del Ponte, co-founder of Conscious Lifestyle, a “nonprofit organization run by farmers, activists, and social entrepreneurs that are dedicated to protecting workers and the environment through education and action”.
Michael wanted to let us know about an opportunity that Conscious Living is providing for “young social entrepreneurs”. It definitely sounds like a cool opportunity for any young person interested in environmental matters.
Here is the info he included:
Apply to be a Conscious Lifestyle Social Innovator!
Start your Conscious Lifestyle Youth Venture with up to $1,000 in grant money!
The Conscious Lifestyle Youth Venture Social Innovator Program seeks
highly motivated student leaders who care about the environment and
their fellow human beings, and who have what it takes to lead a
Conscious Lifestyle venture.
The purpose of each venture is three-fold.
1. To educate students on how to become socially and environmentally
conscious consumers.
2. To make your school’s purchases better for the environment and the
world at large.
3. To be a pioneer in the burgeoning Conscious Lifestyle movement and
join the global Youth Venture Gen-V network.
Conscious Lifestyle Social Innovators will receive:
• A start-up grant of up to $1,000
• A web page for your Venture, hosted on consciouslifestyle.org
• Specialized support from Conscious Lifestyle
• A starter kit with guides on how to raise money, plan events, and
earn publicity
• Conscious Lifestyle t-shirts for your members
• Access to the Youth Venture Gen-V global network
If you are passionate about changing the world and have the leadership
skills to run a successful Venture we invite your to apply for one of
the 10 Conscious Lifestyle Social Innovator positions.
I came across a really interesting webpage this morning during a random StumbleUpon session.
It describes the conversion of a 24′ x 16′ x 7′ swimming pool into a beautiful backyard pond - undertaken by Erik Kilk shortly after moving into his new home in Portland Oregon.
It’s not every day you hear about someone doing something like this, so the article certainly caught my attention and made me want to read more.
As much as I enjoy a nice swim on a hot summer day, the idea of having my own chlorinated swimming pool has never really appealed to me. Aside from being an artificial eye sore in general, I just don’t like the idea of using all those chemicals and potentially a fair amount of power as well.
I do however love the idea of natural swimming pools - something I hadn’t even really thought about until I came across the “Bio Pool” at John Todd Ecological Design.
But before I get sidetracked…
Here are some exerpts from Erik Kilk’s page:
The pond took me about five months of pacing myself to complete. I worked about an hour every few days, along with maybe an extra effort every couple of weekends. My goal was to fill the pond and get the flower beds planted in January. This allowed me to get pretty winter plants (so the pond would look nice in the winter). It also allowed the water to acclimate before things warmed up in spring and summer.
…
I used four truck loads of dirt, 400 sandbags, and countless hours of wheel barreling to fill in the swimming pool. Sandbags were used to help build multiple levels of pond depth. As I approached the height I wanted, I took my time and made sure I was making a perfectly level sandbag top edge. In the picture above the outer ring of sandbags is the edge of the pond (to be covered with rock). The dirt remaining to the edge of the swimming pool will become flower beds.
…
I was very concerned about having such a huge amount of water go bad on me that I planned on a pond filter. I didn’t want a huge ugly algae mess. I spent considerable time researching filters. On my previous home’s pond, a smaller typical yard pond, I built it like an aquarium — with an underground gravel filter with PVC pipe running through it. It worked fantastic and I had perfectly clear water for years. But someone warned me it will be hard to clean. So this time I used the same principle (since it worked so well the first time) but I built it external to the pond. In addition I had now learned about the vegi-filter concept which incorporated plants.
Needless to say, you really need to check out the full article yourself - the story wasn’t featured in ‘Better Homes and Gardens’ for nothing!
Here is the link: Erik’s Swimming Pool to Pond Conversion
The pictures alone are worth the visit!
I love his biofilter design - what a fantastic (natural) way to keep your pond water clean and clear!
I get the impression that Erik’s pond was created more for aesthetic garden appeal than to serve as a swimming hole, but reading the article certainly rekindled my interest in the ‘natural swimming pool’ concept.
I found a really interesting webpage on the subject (again, with great photos) at TotalHabitat.com
Have you ever seen how many pounds of chemicals go into a typical swimming pool? Have you ever read the warning labels on the chemicals used to sterilize typical swimming pools? The basic pHilosopHy behind water quality in a typical swimming pool is to kill everything short of killing the swimmer. There is another way.
Visualize this: you are lazily floating, toes up, in a pond of sparkling clear running water, surrounded by wild grasses. Hummingbirds land on nearby trumpet flowers and the scent of jasmine and mint is in the air. Is this a dream or some mid-life fantasy? Neither. You may just be part of a new trend in swimming the natural way -without chlorine or other harsh chemicals in the water.
Sounds pretty awesome to me! If I ever decide to build a pool, this would definitely be the route I would want to go.
It’s certainly no secret that I’m pretty passionate about aquaponics (ok maybe only those who read the blog regularly would know that). This morning I came across a news alert mentioning a cool aquaponics site that I hadn’t visited in a little while (but one that is in my “favorites” folder) - ‘Backyard Aquaponics‘.
I was looking for something to write about at the time, so I decided to pop over and refamiliarize myself with the site. I’m really glad I did - what a great resource for anyone with an interest in aquaponics!
The site itself is quite simple in design so it’s very easy to navigate - always a nice treat! As I’ve mentioned before, I’m a pretty ‘visual’ person, so I definitely appreciate the abundant photos (such as the one above) as well.
Here is an exerpt from the homepage:
Aquaponics by definition is the combination of aquaculture and hydroponics. The beauty of aquaponics is that in the combining of the two they equal out the negative aspects in each of them. In other words, the sum of the two when combined is greater than the sum of the two individuals.
Nutrient rich fish water is pumped from the fish tank into gravel beds, where plants growing in the gravel extract the nutrients from the water. The water then drains back into the fish tank cleaned of excess nutrients and freshly oxygenated.
Imagine, your own permanent supply of fresh herbs, vegetables and fresh fish growing right on your back patio, enough to feed the whole family. With no chemicals and no wastes, using about one tenth of the water required for normal vegetable growing. This may all sound a little too good to be true and you might be wondering where’s the catch, but there isn’t one!
For the past few years I’ve been experimenting, designing and building aquaponic systems in my own suburban backyard in Western Australia. The further I delve into aquaponics and its possibilities, the more I’m convinced that it holds the answers to safe urban food production so many of us seek.
Aside from providing a nice introduction to the topic of aquaponics, the site also offers those who are serious about learning more, the opportunity to do just that. For sale on the site is a full info kit (book/DVD/CD) created to help others set up their own systems.
One thing to keep in mind is that the site is based in Australia, but I did notice he has listed an all-inclusive price (in USD) for shipment of the package to any international destination.
One other important feature to mention - it looks like he now has a thriving forum (more than 700 members!) as well. If you have any interest in aquaponics as a potential hobby I would highly recommend signing up for the forum. In a previous post I mentioned an email list that I am a member of - while still a quality resource, I’ve noticed that is has become pretty quiet, so this forum looks to be a great alternative.
Anyway, I highly recommend you check out Backyard Aquaponics when you get the chance! It’s easily one of the best aquaponics resources currently online.
What a lot of people do do (sorry, couldn’t resist) is put the stuff in plastic bags then toss it in the trash.
Well there are some other options worth mentioning.
The topic of ‘what to do with doggy doo doo’ came to mind this morning while reading an article in The Suburban.
Apparently some engineering students at Montreal’s Concordia University have come up with an interesting mechanized composting unit that is being tested at the popular N.D.G Park dog run.
This location was already more environmentally conscious than many, having experimented with the use of normal backyard composting units to handle the park’s dog waste. The problem, it seems, resulted from the large amounts of rocks and gravel that tended to get thrown in as well.
The old method, which was put in place following a student project about three years ago, involved shoveling dog waste into one of several composters set up around the dog run. However, since the run is covered in river rock, the rocks and pebbles that inevitably get scooped up along with the poop wind up in the composter and must be separated in order for the process to work.
Volunteers don gloves and grind the contents of the bins through a chicken coop mesh until all the rocks are gone, a process that Fares estimates takes two people roughly six hours to complete for one composter.
A team of fourth year mechanical engineering students took on the task of solving the problem as a university project. The result is a motorized composter that automatically filters rock from the compost and does regular churning, which is needed in the composting process.
I really hope this trial works out and that this sort of system is set up in parks across the country (and world for that matter).
Given the number of dog owners in North America alone (sorry - no stats for you, but I know it must be many millions), it’s safe to say that the environmental impact of dog waste (not to mention total pet waste) must be pretty significant. I can imagine that all those little plastic bags of doo doo take up a lot of (stinky) space in our landfills, while those left as lawn ornaments simply contribute to the N-rich run-off going into our local water bodies.
Of course, I would never suggest that people should start tossing the stuff in their regular backyard composter - especially given the fact that most yard composters do not reach the temperatures required to kill off nasties.
That being said, why not create your own separate ‘doo doo pit’? I don’t have a dog myself, but this is something I’m thinking about doing with some of my cats’ litter waste (not the litter itself of course).
Simply dig a hole in your yard, well away from vegetable gardens etc (perhaps in the vicinity of a large bush or tree). Make sure the location is a good distance from any body of water. I’d definitely recommend lining the bottom of the hole with a very thick layer of shredded cardboard/paper, fall leaves, or peat moss (although I try to limit my use of this material). You’ll definitely want some sort of lid - preferably something that a young child won’t be able to move.
Of course, to simplify matters, you could easily just set up a separate backyard composter devoted entirely to pet waste. I would still recommend digging a pit beneath it, and adding a LOT of carbon rich material to help balance out all the N in the waste and also to help keep things oxygenated.
Every time you add more poop be sure to add more carbon-rich material, and perhaps even a little bit of water during hotter summer months. Once this system has been working for a few months you might even want to add in some composting worms - they will definitely help speed up the process.
This still raises the question - ’so what am I supposed to do while out walking the dog?’
If you are deadset on using plastic bags, you can simply empty the contents into your doo doo bin when you get home then throw out the bag itself. Or you can try out one of the various biodegradeable bags on the market, such as the “BioBag“, which you can toss into the bin along with the treats inside!
