Monday, May 21, 2007

Getting Help

I was into Nature's Fare today and the cashier asked me how I liked Amy's Organic Soups. Black bean and vegetable and chicken noodle are my favourites. I also like minestrone. These soups are $2.99. Now some of you might say well that's expensive for soup. Maybe so...but I used to eat out 4-8 times each week. Calculate that at probably an average of $15/meal. So $3.00 for a bowl of soup or a meal in my case is cheap. I've also lost 35lbs in the past seven months with a little help from Amy's Organic Soups. Now by no means is this all I am eating...but it sure has helped. Yes, these soups are more expensive than what you would find at big box stores, but the price I would pay for not making this change in my life is ultimately far higher.

Monday May 21, 2007

I was downtown by Value Village last night. I was appalled by the garbage strewn out on the street...This morning I went down the connector and right there on the side were a couple of garbage bags...broken open with stuff hanging out...Shame on whoever created such messes on our roads!!!!

Sunday, May 20, 2007

Planting

Well, I have done a good thing this long weekend and got my balcony garden going. Last year was the first year I did this. I went a little crazy with over 20 planters. However, I was pretty successful with it and excited to give gardening another shot. Mind you, I haven't filled every planter yet...The one thing that I accumulated last year and again this year are those plastic containers that the plants come in. So here it is...take those containers back to your local greenhouse and hand them over. Last year, I took them back to the Smorgasbord and they were happy to take them. While you are doing something good for the air, your neighbourhood and your general well-being, don't forget to go that one step further and recycle the plastics all of those plants come in.

Sunday, April 22, 2007

Happy Earth Day!!!

I hope that you are enjoying the day. The sun is out and the sky is blue. I hope that we are all working to keep our days like this and our earth alive and well. Recycle, walk, buy organic, reuse your bags (better yet get reusable bags), donate to local charities...Anything to make the earth and this world a better place to be.

Friday, April 20, 2007

Green Products

I know that we are well into spring. Spring means working on our gardens and lawns. Today I saw a very environmentally friendly lawnmower. One that doesn't have the emissions of traditional mowers. This mower doesn't require any pushing or heaving. So check this product out at friendlyrobotics.com.

Saturday, March 24, 2007

Adopt a Road

I heard the advertisement for the Adopt-A-Road program. As I was driving through town, I was appalled by the conditon of the roads. There was garbage along most streets. So I'm glad to hear that this program exists. So Kamloops - get clean and go green!!!! Adopt a road!!!!

Monday, March 12, 2007

Green Canadian Cities

Kamloops need to look at other cities around Canada for ideas to help protect even repair the environment.

Sudbury 35 years ago was compared to the moonscape. Astronauts were sent there to get an idea of what the moon was actually like. The problem: the land is barren. After 30 years or so of planting trees, the land is still barren. They figure that it will be another few hundred years before the land is healthy again.

Halifax is changing how garbage is disposed. Residents are expected to separate all the garbage - recyclables, organics, etc. Each garbage bag that is picked up is opened and sorted through again for the missed apple core or cola can. This means less garbage is going to the landfill and believe it or not not as smelly. Apparently the landfill in Halifax is only 10km away from the city core.

Toronto is also getting into the act. Companies got into the one tonne challenge and built energy efficient buildings. Another company found a way to change gases back into usable energy. They've also found a way to do this without burdening the taxpayers.

So what is City Council doing to make Kamloops a more environmentally city? How are the bigger companies here and in the area helping out? Where is the pressure to make the City and companies like Weyerhauser or Highland Valley Copper to clean up? Is Kamloops environmentally falling behind even bigger cities?

(All information about these three cities came from Peter Mansbridge on the National - March 12, 2007)

The Green Challenge

I purchased the Canadian Living magazine over the weekend. I did it because I was out of town for work, I'm obsessed with cooking ideas and because this was a green issue. They suggest ways to make your home energy efficient, environmentally friendly cleaning tips, and eco-friendly products. This is a great issue for those of you who would like to treat the planet better. You can also go to the Canadian Living website for more information and ideas. Go Green Go!!!

Sunday, March 04, 2007

Make up

With the exception of lipstick or lip gloss, I don't wear make up at all. I don't even wear lip gloss all that much. Even so, I've become obsessed with collecting the different colours that I find.

Recently, Nature's Fare has started to carry lip gloss by Alba - TerraGloss. For $6.99, you can have naturally shimmering lips. Check out their website at http://www.albabotanica.com/index.php?id=411.

This lip gloss is free of different chemicals including petroleum. The six different colours are naturally mineral based.

I really like the shimmer of these lip glosses. The colours are varied and beautiful. I do wonder what the difference is between the two colours - garnet and blaze.

Anyways I like these products. The price and the colours are comparable if not better than the price and colours of lip glosses sold at the Body Shop. So if you want to do something natural and beautiful for your lips, consider using TerraGloss by Alba.

Thursday, March 01, 2007

Empty Buildings

Around town, there seem to be several empty building. One that is soon to be empty here in town is the United Furniture building. I'm okay with empty buildings as there isn't anything we can do about them.

What I can't understand is why new businesses coming to town feel it necessary to clear a piece of land and put up a new structure. Why are they not using existing buildings and adapting them? Why is the City allowing this to happen? Are there not incentives for these companies to renovate and use existing facilities?

Congrats to the sports store that took over the JYSK building!!!

Wednesday, February 28, 2007

Comments on David Suzuki

I've had one reader talk a little about David Suzuki's talk here in Kamloops. I did hear that our Mayor, Mr. Lake, was getting the gears on Sunday.

It would be great to hear a little about that and what City Council's role and responsibility should be on the issue of the environment.

Sunday, February 25, 2007

David Suzuki

I didn't get to see David Suzuki today here in Kamloops. So if anyone out there would like to leave a comment about how it went and what he had to say, that would be great.

Saturday, February 24, 2007

The Winter Embarrassment

I'm embarrassed to say that after all of the hoopla over winning the International Communities in Bloom award, our city looks and smells like this...and the worst part is David Suzuki is going to be here tomorrow to see it...

Sunday, February 04, 2007

Follow up to Today's Rex Murphy Show

I was really glad to hear Rex tackle the topic of global warming and what we are willing to do about it.

Towards the end of the show, he was talking to a guest whose name I didn't catch. But I do remember that I was quite disturbed by something he said. It went something like this...

As world leaders (the Western governments), we are responsible for leading the way in reversing the effects of global warming and cleaning up.

I'm not sure if this next part was said or if it was alluded to, but it went something like this...

We can't expect countries like China and India to do this.

This very ethnocentric view is what has gotten us into losing situations like Iraq and Afghanastan. I guess situations where we think we know best, and those who don't agree are savages that need to be taught a lesson.

This speaker also failed to mention that while India and China are huge contributors to this environmental problem, we are the ones who started it.

Our demand for bigger, cheaper, faster has led to mass industry in these countries. Countries where labour and materials are much cheaper than they are here in the west.

We've also created the American dream...the big house, big car, a boat...etc....This is something that people have died trying to acquire...and thus the need for more manufacturing and bigger stores...What the rest of the world doesn't realize is that without the constant, compulsive consumerism, there is actually nothing of substance there.

All of this has led to other very pertinent social issues such as obesity. If you look at other countries, the incidence of obesity is far less than it is here in North America. having travelled to many different countries, I have see that with the invasion of junk food and fast food, obesity is on the rise. All for what, to live the so-called American dream.

Yes, there need to be leaders in eradicating global warming. We can't rely on the governments of the world to do this. Nor can we rely on the west. As inhabitants of planet Earth, we need to take responsibility for this very large problem and act now.

Rex Murphy

Today Sunday February 4, 2007 from 1:00-3:00 (PST) on CBC, Rex Murphy is discussing the personal cost of decreasing global warming. I'm sure I'll post about the show. In the meantime, I'm listening and hope you will too.

Saturday, February 03, 2007

Two Evils

This past year, I started shopping at Nature's Fare in Kamloops. Some of their prices are a bit higher, but I like the quality of their products. A lot of what I buy is organic - soups, biscuits, cookies...Organic is good for the environment and better for our bodies. The issue I have is the packaging. Chips, biscuits, cookies and such have a lot more packaging than conventional products of a similar type. Typically, there will be one or two cookies in foil or plastic packaging; all of these will be in a plastic tray; all of this will then be held together by a box or plastic wrap. So, we are doing something good for ourselves and supposedly for the environment. But ultimately, we are hurting our environment with all of the wrap that gets thrown away. I'm still trying to figure out which is the worse of the two evils.

Friday, February 02, 2007

Global Warming

This morning a report was released discussing the dire consequences of using fossil fuel. Now Green Peace is after Ottawa and our government to start rectifying this condition. The way it was expressed on Global was that without the leadership of our governments, there was little we could do.

Just because we vote for a complacent government, doesn't mean that we also have to be complacent. Perhaps it is because of complacency that we end up with a complacent government.

I don't know that things would be all that different with a different government (I believe that bureaucracy beats all of the best intentions down).

Individually, we can do so much and reverse the effects of our negligence. When I hear about young children who raise money and build wells in Africa, I know that we can fix this problem. It is time to wake up and take some responsibility for the condition of our Earth. Let's clean up, recycle, share, walk...whatever it takes.

Wednesday, January 31, 2007

The Air We Breath

I have travelled extensively overseas, and I'm always glad to come back to Kamloops. One time I was visiting after being away for almost four years and I started crying. It was snowing and quiet. I didn't think after being overseas for four years that there could be anything so beautiful. Now many of the places I've been to are filthy dirty. I spent a lot of time in Tsuchiura, Japan, a town north of Tokyo. I loved it as it reminded me a lot of Kamloops. Tsuchiura is located on the second largest lake in Japan. I also spent a lot of time around that lake. In the summer, it was impossible to walk by the lake without covering your mouth and nose. I wasn't the only one who couldn't stand the smell. Because of the heat, an algae rose from the bottom of the lake. This algae was the cause of the this horrible suffocating smell.

So what does this have to do with Kamloops?

Recently, the air is cloudy and smelly. Is this really cloud? Or is it pollution? This is much like what I saw in Japan. Our sunsets, while brilliant, are often like that because of the air quality. The sunsets in Japan were of the same quality. What's next? Our rivers? We rely on the Thompson River for everything...our recreation, our water...If the river isn't already affected, I'm afraid that it is next. If our rivers become the same as that poor lake in Japan, we are seriously compromising our quality of life. Do we really want to live in the environmental conditions that exist in Asia and many countries around the world? Now is the time to start taking care of our earth, our environment. What kind of home do we want in our future? What legacy are we leaving for the next generation?

The City of Kamloops and various businesses around town need to start taking some responsibility. As of right now, Earth is the only place where we can live, so it is time to clean up and take some responsibility not only for our house but also for our home, Earth.

Monday, January 29, 2007

Dining Out

Recently, I saw a feature on a new way to get food and eat. These young people were going into dumpsters and getting food that had been thrown out. They were finding food that hadn't been open and had only been expired for just a very short time. They worked together and created meals with what they had found. I had the impression that they also found vegetables, washed and ate them. This style of eating is not for everyone. However, perhaps it will make us think twice about throwing out unopened food just around the expiry date. Perhaps we should also consider that rather than opening the package and only eating a little bit we should just throw out the whole thing and let the dumpster divers have it. For those who might consider trying this new style of dining, you would certainly save money, cut down on the amount of garbage going out and definitely cut down on overall consumerism.