Here's a message from the Vancouver Sustainability Network:

A few Vancouver sustainability instigators have just launched the Red Dot Campaign - Canada Post will honour your wish to have no unaddressed junk mail delivered if you place the dot on your mailbox. For info: www.reddotcampaign.ca - you can download a snazzy dot from the site. [or click here for the PDF].

Spread the word! See also Interview on CBC's Early Edition (January 31, 2008)

And a great big thank you to the campaign leaders for taking the initiative! Check them out at the Red Dot website.

Thanks to Sid Maroney of Local Action for a Sustainable Tomorrow (LAST) on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington state for passing on the link.

The Climate Dialogues is a coalition of local and national groups led by the 2People.org citizen's network. Contact Phil Mitchell (phil [at] 2people.org) for information about getting your business or organization involved. The Dialogues have been formally endorsed by the Seattle City Council.

Here are some discussion materials from their website (http://www.climatedialogues.org/page/simple/materials):

Discussion materials

The following documents are available. All (except the Facilitator's Guide) are released under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs, which means we hope that you will re-distribute them widely.

Climate Choices briefing

The Citizen's Climate Briefing (PDF) is a 12-page document that covers what every person needs to know about global warming. It has been carefully reviewed and approved by our science partners.

Discussion Guide

The Discussion Guide (PDF) is a 4-pager that includes a welcome to the Climate Dialogues, a suggested outline for your discussion circle, and "From talk to action". You need this!

Endnotes

These endnotes document every factual assertion in the climate briefing. The notes are organized by the paragraph numbers in the briefing.

Facilitator's Guide

Tips for Facilitators
(PDF). This 5-page guide gives an introduction to holding a discussion (study) circle, and also explains how to respond to typical challenges that might arise. It comes from our partner, the Study Circles Resource Center, and is distributed by permission.

FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions

Our FAQ is regularly updated with questions and answers related to both the content and the process of the Climate Dialogues. If you have a question that needs an answer, please email it to info [at] 2people.org.

Study Circle Action Statement

The Action Statement (doc) is where your study circle becomes an action circle. This is what it's all about. By sharing your commitment with the whole Climate Dialogues community, we all become more inspired and more effective.

Study Circle Feedback Form

The Feedback Form (doc) tells us how the process went for your group, and helps us improve it for future circles. Thanks!

This is an ad running in Ottawa and Calgary papers put out by the Avaaz team (see below).
If you haven't signed this petition yet, there's still a few hours left - go to http://www.avaaz.org/en/another_canadian_climate_crime/9.php?cl=46187661

Here are some articles reporting on Canada's participation at the UN talks in Bali:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20071212.BALIMAIN12/TPS...
http://www.thestar.com/columnists/article/285171

Here is a message from Avaaz about the petition (Dec13/07):

Dear friends,

Wow - on Tuesday we aimed to get 25,000 Canadians to join the emergency call to Prime Minister Harper to stop blocking the crucial UN climate change talks in Bali - and we hit that target in just 18 hours!! In two days, 71,187 of us have signed the petition, and rising fast [it's now at 98, 607]- one of the largest online petitions in Canadian history!

The petition ads are running in papers tomorrow, including the Ottawa Citizen and the Calgary Sun. At the Bali summit, it is touch and go - with almost the entire world vs. Canada and the US over whether to accept targets on harmful carbon emissions. The draft agreement changes every hour, with carbon targets dropping in and out. We now have just over 24 hours left for an all-out push to get Harper to do the right thing. Let's ramp it up and hit 100,000 voices by Friday! If you haven't yet, please click below to sign up, see our ad, and then forward this email to everyone you know:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/another_canadian_climate_crime/9.php

Let's make sure that experts never again give Canada the "fossil" award for worst country in the world on climate change! If you've already told your friends and family about the petition, try calling Prime Minister Harper's office directly at 613 992 4211, or calling the House of Commons toll free on 1 (866) 599-4999 to talk to your MP about getting Parliament to act on this issue. Harper leads a minority government, he shouldn't be able to get away with ignoring the large majority of us who want real action on climate change.

Our incredible momentum is a wonderful and powerful statement about the Canada we all love and want to see - one that does the right thing in the world, whose flag stands for people and principles -- not the short term profits of big oil corporations. Let's forward this email round, blog this issue, talk about it at the dinner table and at work, and get an emergency people-powered movement going that reaches 100,000 by tomorrow!

With hope,

Ricken and the Avaaz team

---
ABOUT AVAAZ
Avaaz.org is an independent, not-for-profit global campaigning organization that works to ensure that the views and values of the world's people inform global decision-making. (Avaaz means "voice" in many languages.) Avaaz receives no money from governments or corporations, and is staffed by a global team based in London, New York, Paris, Washington DC, Geneva, and Rio de Janeiro.

Last March, UBC was host to Vandana Shiva, courtesy of the folks at Terry (terry.ubc.ca). Now you can listen or watch video of the presentation online - click on the links below. (Originally posted at here)

Quicktime 7 Required
“Defending Food Freedom in a Preriod of Food Fascism.”
(March 12th, 2007, Chan Shun Concert Hall, Chan Centre)

AUDIO | PODCAST | VIDEO PT1/PT2 (~100Mb each)

Dr. Vandana Shiva is a physicist, ecologist, activist, editor, and author of many books. In India she has established Navdanya, a movement for biodiversity conservation and farmers’ rights. She directs the Research Foundation for Science, Technology and Natural Resource Policy.

She is one of the leaders of the International Forum on Globalization, (along with Jerry Mander, Edward Goldsmith, Ralph Nader, Jeremy Rifkin, and others), and a figure of the global solidarity movement known as anti-globalization movement.

In 1993, Shiva received the Right Livelihood Award (also known as the Alternative Nobel Prize) “…For placing women and ecology at the heart of modern development discourse.” Other awards she has received include the Global 500 Award of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in 1993, and the Earth Day International Award of the United Nations for her dedicated commitment to the preservation of he planet as demonstrated by her actions, leadership and by setting an example for the rest of the world.

Her most recent books are Earth Democracy; Justice, Sustainability, and Peace and Breakfast of Biodiversity: the Political Ecology of Rain Forest Destruction.

(high resolution at http://www.blip.tv/file/291933/)

Victorian Government campaign produced by George Patterson Y&R Melbourne demonstrates the result of energy use in the home and greenhouse gas emissions using a black balloon as a tangible and easy to understand unit of measurement.

1 black balloon = 50 grams of greenhouse gas.
20 black ballons = 1kg of greenhouse gas
200,000 black balloons = 1 tonne of greenhouse gas.

The problem becomes very clear.

The following ads illustrate the impact of various actions that we can take to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

This comes a bit late, but oh well.

On October 11, I had the pleasure of helping out with the kick off of the first (hopefully annual) SFU SustainABILITY Festival, an collaborative event organized by the Climate Change Action Group, Sustainable SFU and the Resource and Environmental Management Graduate Student Union. The goal of the festival was to "raise awareness of sustainability issues with a specific focus on climate change and to celebrate sustainability solutions that individuals can immediately apply to their daily lives." The day went by without a hitch, all thanks to the amazing and dedicated organizing team behind the event who met starting in July '07 to plan and envision what the day would look like.

Here are some photos from the festival:

Volunteers showed up at 7am to set up for the day-long event, which featured a local beer garden, marketplace, eco-fashion show, live stage performance with musicians and dancers, and a learning exchange centre featuring innovative local businesses and NGOs passionate about sustainability.

I helped person the media table for the day and got a chance to catch up with other members of the ever growing sustainability community, which was great fun!

The festival also showcased a sustainability pledge where members of the community could learn about how they could make a difference and pledge to integrate those solutions into their lifestyles.

Wrapping up at the end of the day

...was the slogan for the recent anti-Gateway rally that took place on Saturday, September 29, 2007, outside the Westin Bayshore Hotel in Downtown, Vancouver, where former Vice President Al Gore addressed a sold out audience.

It was about the worst weather short of hail and snow that one could possibly want for an outdoor rally. However, despite the rain, and Vancouverites know rain well, there was a good turnout of people present to protest the provincial government's Gateway Plan.

Presenters included:

David Fields - Society Promoting Environmental Conservation (SPEC)
Adriane Carr - Deputy Leader, Green Party
Suzanne Anton - Councilor, City of Vancouver
David Cadman - Councilor, City of Vancouver
Heather Deal - Councilor, City of Vancouver
Joe Foy - Western Canada Wilderness Committee
Harold Steves - Father of BCís Agricultural Land
Michael Sather - MLA, Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows
Peter Julian - Federal NDP Transportation Critic
Betty Krawczyk - Wilderness Defender

According to the Government of B.C. website:

"The Gateway Program was established by the Province of British Columbia in response to the impact of growing regional congestion, and to improve the movement of people, goods and transit throughout Greater Vancouver. Gateway roads and bridge improvements are proposed to complement other regional road and transit improvements already planned or underway. (See TransLink web site.) These proposed improvements will help create a comprehensive, effective transportation network that supports improved movement of people and goods, facilitates economic growth, increases transportation choice and provides better connections to designated population growth areas. "

Here are a few websites for more information about why Gateway will not be a long term solution for improving the movement of people, goods, and transit through Greater Vancouver:
www.stopgateway.ca, www.livableregion.ca, www.againstportexpansion.org

Some photos from the rally...(view slideshow)

Folks from the Wilderness Committee send their message.

Volunteers direct traffic.

Adrienne Carr addresses the crowd.

rain, rain, rain..

Some recent articles have been published connecting urban sprawl and poor land-use planning to climate change. The Grist sums it up nicely - see articles linked below.

Walk It Off
Land-use decisions a key factor in emissions reduction, says analysis

Posted at 12:36 PM on 21 Sep 2007
URL: http://www.grist.org/news/2007/09/21/land_use/

How to reduce U.S. greenhouse-gas emissions? Building compact, mixed-use neighborhoods would be just as effective as much-touted policies like boosting fuel economy, cleaning up power plants, and building green, says a new analysis from the Urban Land Institute. The U.S. population is expected to grow 23 percent by 2030; under the sprawl-encouraging status quo, driving is expected to increase 59 percent in the same time period. But it doesn't have to be that way, says the ULI: some two-thirds of homes and other buildings expected to be needed by 2050 have yet to be built, and they don't have to be part of outward-oozing communities. According to the report, walkable neighborhoods can decrease driving by up to 40 percent -- which would reduce CO2 emissions, help save our arses, and perhaps reduce our arses as well.

sources: Los Angeles Times, Detroit Free Press, Tallahassee Democrat, Baltimore Sun, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Denver Business Journal

Evening walk from through Strathcona to Commercial Drive (Sep/07)

Ellen Kelleher et al: Green Roof Video from the Vancouver Research Facility:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=NbDhKMCXLjk

See website for more info: http://commons.bcit.ca/greenroof

From their website:
Upcoming Events

::HPO Conference
The Homeowner Protection Office (HPO) is holding a conference on May 29, 2007 to bring all interested parties together to discuss and resolve the recent insurance issues regarding residential buildings with green roofs. For registration and more information about the conference, please visit the HPO web site.

::2007 Course Schedule
View our green roof courses brochure or visit our green roof courses page for the 2007 fall course schedule.

:: Ongoing
You are invited to tour the Green Roof Research Facility every 3rd Thursday of the month. Learn more about our extensive roof system.

Documents
:: Report to CMHC
BCIT Green Roof Research Team investigates the performance and practical application of extensive green roof systems in Canada's west coast climate.

First off, a huge thank you to everyone who came out on Saturday and made the event a success!

Volunteers showed up at 7am to help set up all the equipment, the eco-village, hang the posters and signs, adjust curtains, etc. etc. etc. By noon, everything was set up and the live earth broadcast was airing on the big projection screen. From noon until 9pm folks were entertained by local artists and musicians, and had the chance to walk around the eco-village to talk with local NGOs and environmental groups working in the community. The energy was positive and fresh, and the response from visitors was fantastic.

Various local media attended the event and talked with organizers and representatives of environmental groups participating in the event. Jack Layton, leader of the NDP, also stopped by and thanked organizers and volunteers for putting on the event.

Here are some photos that I managed to snap over the course of the day:

Bobs & Lolo perform for the kids

In front of the maintstage

No event is complete without bubbles!/Vicki Sjohall performs for the crowd

Kid Zone

Face painting!

Eco-village

Sponsors, NGOs, and environmental groups talked with visitors about what they were doing to fight climate change and ways to get involved.

For more event photos, visit the gallery and click on the slideshow.

By 9pm the crowd dispersed and participants in the eco-village packed up for the day. The Western Canada Wilderness Committee had gathered hundreds of signatures for their petition to stop the Gateway Project. Volunteers began dismantling the stage and taking down all the equipment and gear - two hours later the site was clear!

Over 100 volunteers participated over the course of the day - some had been there since 7am and had stayed long after the end of the shift to the very end to help out! most of all because, despite the occasional heavy lifting, it was fun! We hope to make this an annual event, and the support that was shown by everyone involved proves that it could become a reality.

For more info about GHF and event sponsors, visit www.globalhabitatfestival.com

--

The Global Habitat Festival was one of 10,000+ "Friends of Live Earth" events that took place in 195 countries. Millions of people watched or heard the Live Earth online, on TV, or on the radio. Millions pledged to change their own actions and hold our leadership accountable. To continue building the momentum and contributing to a worldwide movement to focus attention on climate change, sign onto the Live Earth Pledge at: www.liveearthpledge.org

Madonna, Beastie Boys, Black Eyed Peas? Missed your favorite act on 7/7/07? You can see highlights and songs from all the concerts online at www.LiveEarth.msn.com.

A short while back, I got together with a bunch of people interested in getting something together for Live Earth - since then, things have really taken off and the response from the community has been tremendous. Thanks to everyone who’s helped get the word out about this event already. If you haven’t joined the facebook group, please do! (http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=2375013726&ref=mf) Hope to see you there!

A quick update at T-2 days:

Three weeks ago the Global Habitat Festival was just an idea on paper - a dozen or so people from groups around Vancouver sat around a table and talked about how to get this event of the ground. The Live Earth campaign had arranged for nine concerts on seven continents, but none in Canada. It was agreed that we would put together a Friends of Live Earth event and participate in the worldwide campaign to inspire action and help reach the tipping point in global awareness about climate change.

A week later, enough funding was raised to secure the venue, Robson Square, and the word was put out to folks around the city who could lend their expertise in any way possible to put together the event in 3 short weeks, with a minimal budget. Musicians and performers were contacted to see if they would volunteer their time on the day of the event. A flurry of phone calls and numerous press releases later, a few generous sponsors stepped up to the plate and pledged their support. Hundreds of volunteer hours have been poured into planning this event so far. Volunteers have been putting together a lineup, designing graphics, planning the logistics, fundraising, and running around the city postering like crazy!

Since then the momentum has continued to build - CTV decided this week to air the Live Earth concerts all day on Saturday, and various local media reps will be on location at Robson Square to report on the event. Close to 100 volunteers will be there on Saturday from dawn til dusk making sure the event runs smoothly. And that’s where you come in - after the 3 weeks of solid effort, it’s time to kick back and let loose to jazz trios, eclectic solo performers, indie rock and DJs from the West Coast!

Close to 100 volunteers will be there on Saturday from dawn til dusk making sure the event runs smoothly. And that’s where you come in - after the 3 weeks of solid effort, it’s time to kick back and let loose to jazz trios, eclectic solo performers, indie rock and DJs from the West Coast!

Come party with us on Saturday July 7, 2007, from Noon til 9pm at Robson Square for a FREE all-day, all-ages, carbon-neutral event - featuring live music, art, an eco-village and live coverage of Live Earth.

For full event details and lineup - check out www.globalhabitatfestival.com

Live Earth will be a legendary music event - over 150 headlining music acts, 24 hours of music across all 7 continents broadcast to over 2 billion people. If you can’t make it to the event, please help us by forwarding this and inviting your friends - we hope this will just be the start of some great new projects!

Cheers,
shelby

Entertainment

Live Music
The Global Habitat Stage is the heartbeat of the Festival and beckons fans to cool their heels while enjoying
the rhythms of jazz trios, eclectic solo performers, indie rock and DJ’s from the Westcoast.

Live Earth Coverage
Live Earth’s 24-hour global coverage will be broadcast live on a large screen.

Eco-Village
The eco-village features interactive booths, demonstrations and displays of environmentally-friendly technologies and techniques.

Kid’s Zone
Live performances by popular Bobs & Lolo for kids to dance and sing along. Plus face painting and bubble stations!

Greening the Festival

Global Habitat has addressed key areas to create an eco-friendly event including recycling, food and beverage, packaging, transportation and energy. Global Habitat Festival will take responsibility for the greenhouse gas emissions we created producing the festival by offsetting through carbon credits with help from Offsetters Climate Neutral Society.

• To conserve energy the festival is held during daylight hours
• Eco-tips posted all over the eco-village
• Secure, organized and complimentary bike valet
• A recycling system and recycling squad operates on-site
• Exhibitors are encouraged to use reusable or biodegradable food service products
• Festival posters and flyers are printed on 50% recycled paper with vegetable-based ink
• Carbon neutral event by purchasing carbon offsets
• Meat-Free Meals Served To Festival Crew, Artists and Volunteers (Raising animals for food generates more greenhouse gases than all the cars, trucks, planes, and ships in the world combined – 2006 UN Report).

Clay Bennett is an editorial cartoonist for the Christian Science Monitor. Visit his website, www.claybennett.com, for a full archive of his past work. Several of his cartoons have won the pulitzer prize, including the cartoons below:

Earth Day 2001

Genetic Science

Read his bio.

Every last Friday of the month, cyclists from around Vancouver gather in front of the Vancouver Art Gallery in downtown Vancouver and take to the streets in a massive show of spirit and strength. The critical mass phenomenon started in San Francisco in the 1990s and quickly spread - critical mass now occurs in cities around the world, with their numbers growing each year. Over one thousand cyclists came out for critical mass in June 2006, Bike Month, the largest turnout to date. Next month promises to be even bigger!

My bike!

This month critical mass cyclists took to the streets in fine form - pirate form in fact. Unfortunately I didn’t make it out to the start of the ride on Friday, but I caught up with the last of the bunch down at Kits beach on my way home - a good two hours later. Here are a few photos I snapped:

One less car - sticker courtesy of B.E.S.T (Better Environmentally Sound Transportation)

Sunset at Kits beach

Ocean, sky, mountains...

According to the website, www.critical-mass.org, there are over four hundred critical mass rides around the world, with about 230 of them in North America. See also www.critical-mass.info.

The first critical mass ride took place on September 25, 1992, in San Francisco.

If you are interested in starting a critical mass ride in your community, here are some basic guidelines, but remember critical mass takes different shapes in different places, and there is no central organizing body.

A local Vancouver film producer has produced a wonderful documentary film about critical mass in Vancouver titled, "You Never Bike Alone." Click to read the synopsis of the film - for more information, visit www.youneverbikealone.com.

To see more photos of the Vancouver critical mass rides, go to www.flickr.com/groups/vancriticalmass

The next critical mass ride in Vancouver will take place on Friday, June 29th, 2007!

For more information about critical mass in Vancouver, check out: www.velolove.bc.ca

For general info about cycling in Vancouver, check out these links.

For a map of bike routes in Vancouver, go to the city website or download the one-page PDF (more detailed versions are available on their website).

A while back, after attending the 'EPIC' "sustainable living" expo in Vancouver (blah), I posted an entry about plastic bags and their impact on the environment. Well, this article came up a couple weeks ago in the Guardian. When I was visiting my friend in the South of Germany, we went to the weekend farmers markets in the community square and everyone brought along wicker baskets to carry all their fresh produce back home. It was lovely - there were even a few people with collapsable canvas baskets. Talk about cool trendsetters.

Here it is:

World asks town that banned the plastic bag: how can we do it too?

Traders and customers say boycott will stay after six-month experiment

Patrick Barkham
Saturday May 12, 2007
The Guardian

Sandra Beard didn't stand a chance. Net curtains twitched. Shoppers tutted. The holidaymaker had advanced a mere 50 yards down Modbury high street before Helen Pickles burst out of her shop looking askance."Madam," the joint proprietor of R&H Pickles hardware trilled at Mrs Beard, "is that a plastic bag you're carrying?"

Two weeks after becoming the first town in Europe to ban plastic bags from its shops, an extraordinary transformation has taken place in the south Devon community. Carrying a plastic bag has become antisocial behaviour.

Wicker baskets, rucksacks and reusable bags of every shape and size swing from the arms of shoppers in the bustling town of 1,500 people. But if you're spotted with a plastic one you risk becoming a social pariah."I had to rescue one lady because she was walking down the road with a plastic bag and her friends were saying 'you can't be seen in Modbury with a plastic bag'," said Rebecca Hosking, 33, a wildlife camerawoman who came up with the idea in a local pub one evening.

"I ran out of my flat and said, 'it's OK, she's reusing it, she's allowed to bring it into the town'."

From the butchers to the Co-op supermarket, none of the town's 43 traders uses plastic bags. The 2,000 special edition Modbury bags made from fair trade recycled cotton are already a collectors' item; stores also sell 5p biodegradable cornstarch bags, biodegradable bin bags and even biodegradable bags for dog mess.

There is one plastic bag left in town and it is so rare it has a name - "the granny's knickers" - and has become the subject of earnest debate as it hangs from an oak tree by the car park. It won't foil the residents for long. Modburians have a talent for environmental problem solving.

Unlike fashionable Totnes nearby, Modbury is not a beacon for alternative lifestyles. "It's a horsy, farmy town that's always been very conservative," said Ms Hosking. "If we've done it, it proves you don't have to be one of those 'green' towns to change over."

Their plastic bag ban was not the result of years of campaigning. Ms Hosking suggested it in the pub one evening in March shortly after filming a BBC documentary about the devastating effect of plastic bags on marine life in Hawaii. She showed the film to the town's traders. Four weeks of sleepless nights researching viable alternatives followed and plastic bag-free status began on May 1.

Since then, she has fielded thousands of calls from shoppers and traders across the world wanting to follow Modbury's lead. More than 60 towns in the UK, including 15 in Devon and Cornwall, have approached her for help. International media has swarmed there; several celebrities desperate to "endorse" Modbury's action have been politely rebuffed.

Ms Hosking says she sometimes feels like Brian from Monty Python's Life of Brian. There is certainly a messianic glint in proud locals' eyes when they talk about the ban. "It's fabulous," said Anne Tillett, wielding a flowery blue bag. "I popped into a supermarket in another town yesterday and because I hadn't planned ahead I didn't have my bag and I just couldn't take a plastic bag. I've become a missionary."

Adam Searle used to hand out 200 plastic bags every day. His deli is busier than ever but he barely uses two cornstarch bags a day. "I don't think I'll get through my biodegradable bags before they biodegrade," he said. "You have a couple of awkward people who go 'it's a load of rubbish' and you explain what it's about and they pat you on the back."

It is impossible to find a cynic or contrarian even among outsiders.

Holidaymakers Terry and Gill Lodge were oblivious to the revolution in Modbury until they went shopping. They didn't bat an eyelid about buying a reusable bag. "Bloody marvellous," said Mr Lodge. "In Salisbury we always shop in Waitrose and their plastic bags are so flimsy that you put them in the boot of your car and they fall to pieces. Not satisfactory at all."

"The sooner we get rid of plastic bags and packaging the better," added Mrs Lodge.

Ms Hosking could easily make her fortune as a plastic bag guru but wants to get back to her day job - filming buzzards. Towns that keep asking her for "a manual" on how to do it need to look closer to home.

"It has to come from residents and from the community," she said.

Billed as a six-month experiment, townsfolk are adamant there will be no turning back. It received no funding or council intervention but Modbury was helped by its preponderance of independent traders. Only the Co-op supermarket was part of a chain and it has been an enthusiastic supporter.

But Ms Hosking reckons it is still possible for towns with big chain stores. "The supermarkets have two options - they can come with you and all the town looks good or they look bad when the whole town bans bags and they don't."

Back on the high street, Mrs Beard and her friend, Rose Rogers, were expecting that tap on the shoulder. "Before we went on holiday, my son said 'plastic bags are banned in Modbury. Mind you don't get arrested walking down the street with one'," said Mrs Rogers. But Mrs Beard was not offended by her interrogation. "My plastic bag is recycled," she said. "I always carry one around in my handbag."

Cutting down

· 17bn plastic bags a year are given to British consumers. The average Briton accepts five a week.

· Anya Hindmarch launched the limited edition £5 I'm Not A Plastic Bag this year. It has been criticised by some because it was made in China, but Hindmarch said they were careful to carbon offset the project and the intent was not to make a profit but "cast a spotlight on the issue".

· Taiwan is prohibiting not only plastic bags, but also disposable plastic plates, cups and cutlery used by fast food vendors. Threat of fines of up to £152 have resulted in a 70% reduction in the use of plastic bags, and a 25% cut in landfill waste.

· Ireland's 15p "plastax" on carrier bags, introduced in 2002, has led to a 90% reduction in use.

· In France, reusable plastic bags - heavier, easier to recycle and less likely to blow away - now account for more than half of the market.

· In 2002 Bangladesh became the first country to ban plastic bags. A movement against them began in the 1980s in Dhaka, where bags were found to clog drains in the monsoon rains, causing flooding.

· San Francisco has become the first US city to ban plastic bags. The ban will be enforced later this year.

Here are some guides produced by the lovely folks at TreeHugger. Enjoy!

Here’s where the rubber meets the road, people.

We present below, a plethora of handy guides to help you green your
lives with ease, while understanding why. Our aim is over 100+ guides
so do come back to visit. And please tell your friends, family and
colleagues! Most of us understand that we need to do something, some of
us understand what to do but few of us are actually doing
anything…Carpe diem kids!

Pick one and let’s get started!

• How To Green Your Wedding
• How To Green Your Electronics
• How to Green Your Pet
• How to Green Your Sex Life
• How to Green Your Coffee & Tea
• How To Green Your Dishwasher
• How to Green Your Recycling
• How to Green Your Cleaning
• How to Green Women’s Personal Care
• How to Green Your Furniture
• How to Green Your Work
• How to Green Your Water
• TreeHugger’s Green Gift Guide 2006
• How to Green Your Gifts
• How to Green Your Lighting
• How to Green Your Electricity
• How To Green Your Car
• How To Green Your Wardrobe
• How to Green Your Heating
• How to Green Your Meals
• How to Green Your Public Transportation

This is wonderful! Talk about pooling together!

----

Dear friends and supporters of Betty,

We would like to tell you about a wonderful new initiative that emerged from our community during the recent wave of sentencing in relation to Eagleridge Bluffs.

In January 2007, 16 people arrested at the Bluffs were found guilty of contempt of court by Justice Brenda Brown. In addition to $1,000 in legal costs, protesters had to choose between :

- paying a fine to the BC Supreme Court ($250, $500 or $5,000);

- or performing non-environmental community service (25, 50 or 250 hours).

There are many tough choices in life, but this wasn’t one of them. Almost everyone chose community service. After all, serving communities is not exactly what we call punishment! We served our community at Eagleridge Bluffs and are happy to continue to do that elsewhere.

But something unexpected happened along the way. While we were still at the courthouse, friends and family came forward and said: "If you're going to perform community service, we will do the time with you."

And so, Operation "Doing Time" was born!

We invite you to join a growing wave of friends, neighbours, and supporters who have pledged to perform volunteer service with the organization of their choice in dedication to Eagleridge Bluffs. They are using this positive initiative to express their strong disagreement with the court's recent decisions. And they are dedicating their hours to the two mighty great-grandmothers who fought at the Bluffs, Harriet Nahanee and Betty Krawczyk.

The support for this operation has been overwhelming. In total, the judge imposed 1,775 hours of community service. We were hoping to match that number and collect 1,800 hours of volunteer time pledges. But only three weeks after launching the campaign, we have already collected over 3,300 hours!

While Eagleridge Bluffs 'defenders' are not permitted by the Court to perform their service for an "environmental" cause, our supporters are under no such restrictions. You may choose any cause you like.

Doing time has never been so simple! Just go to http://www.eagleridgebluffs.ca/dotime. Follow the link called "I want to do time" and make your pledge on the online form.

Choose any cause or organization that you want, or check the "help me find a suitable organization" box, and we will hook you up with a group. We have great organizations on board which will gladly welcome you as volunteers. Some have supported our action at the Bluffs since day one, such as the Western Canada Wilderness Committee, the Green Party of Canada, and the Sierra Club.

Many supporters have asked if it's okay to report volunteer hours that they were already planning to give before the sentencing. The answer is Yes, of course! Indeed, we are not Madam Justice Brown and you should not be penalized for already being generous with your time. (Past hours, however, cannot be counted.)

A counter has been set on the website to track the number of hours pledged. Together, let's find out *how many times over* we can match the sentence. Let the courts know what you think of Justice Brenda Brown's judgment. Be a good citizen, do time!

Don't forget to direct your friends and family to the website of Operation "Doing Time":

www.eagleridgebluffs.ca/dotime

(Clayoquot "Hero" cartoon presented to Betty on her 78th birthday: Betty Krawczyk, In Case of Emergency. Celebrating with Betty is Adriane Carr of the Green Party of BC and Paul George, founder of Western Canada Wilderness Committee. Aug 4 2006, Photo: Monika Marcovici)

---

Over the weekend, I went to the EPIC Sustainable Living Fair in Vancouver (more on that later). I'm a bit torn about some initiatives to improve environmental conditions but consuming some other product, rather than lowering consumption to begin with. Eg. buy a bunch of new shirts, just buy them made of 'trendy' natural soy fibre, as opposed to reusing or patching up an old shirt.

BUT, there was one group that I had trouble resisting: BYOB Bring Your Own Bag based out of Vancouver - 'eco-chic reusable shopping bags' (ok well I don't know about the term eco-chic...but the bags are fun!)

some plastic stats from their website, www.bringyourownbag.ca:

Every year, an estimated 17½ billion plastic bags are given away by supermarkets. This is equivalent to over 290 bags for every person in the UK. 17½ billion seconds ago it was the year 1449.
Buy products that are refillable. For example, the Body Shop provides refills in its containers or takes them back for recycling. The recycled plastic is used to make items like nailbrushes and combs
Think of ways of reducing the need for packaging. Don't add extra packaging yourself - a melon, a grapefruit or a bunch of bananas already has natural packaging - does it need to go in a plastic bag as well as your shopping bag, and does that already efficiently packaged dairy product or piece of meat really need another wrapper?
We produce and use 20 times more plastic today than we did 50 years ago!
-Source http://www.wasteonline.org.uk

Plastic bags start as crude oil, natural gas, or other petrochemical derivatives, which are transformed into chains of hydrogen and carbon molecules known as polymers or polymer resin. After being heated, shaped, and cooled, the plastic is ready to be flattened, sealed, punched, or printed on. North America and Western Europe account for nearly 80 percent of plastic bag use-though the bags are increasingly common in developing countries as well. Each year, Americans throw away some 100 billion polyethylene plastic bags. (Only 0.6 percent of plastic bags are recycled.) In January 2002, the South African government required manufacturers to make plastic bags more durable and more expensive to discourage their disposal-prompting a 90-percent reduction in use. Ireland instituted a 15¢-per-bag tax in March 2002, which led to a 95-percent reduction in use. In the early 1990s, the Ladakh Women's Alliance and other citizens groups led a successful campaign to ban plastic bags in that Indian province, where the first of May is now celebrated as "Plastic Ban Day." Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the Philippines, Taiwan, and the United Kingdom also have plans to ban or tax plastic bags. Supermarkets around the world are voluntarily encouraging shoppers to forgo plastic bags-or to bring their own bags-by offering a small per-bag refund or charging extra for plastic. Challenge: Try to go at least one week without accumulating any new plastic bags. If every shopper took just one less bag each month, this could eliminate the waste of hundreds of millions of bags each year. Compared with paper bags, producing plastic ones uses less energy and water and generates less air pollution and solid waste. Plastic bags also take up less space in a landfill. But many of these bags never make it to landfills; instead, they go airborne after they are discarded-getting caught in fences, trees, even the throats of birds, and clogging gutters, sewers, and waterways. To avoid these impacts, the best alternative is to carry and re-use your own durable cloth bags.
-Source http://www.worldwatch.org/pubs/goodstuff/plasticbags/

When 1 ton of plastic bags is reused or recycled, the energy equivalent of 11 barrels of oil are saved. Paper or Plastic? The energy and other environmental impacts embodied in a plastic grocery bag is somewhat less than in a paper grocery bag. But paper is easier to recycle, being accepted in most recycling programs. The recycling rate for plastic bags is very low. So, which is better for the environment? Neither! The fact is that the difference between paper and plastic RECYCLING is small compared with the REUSING bags.
-Source http://www.sierraclub.org/bags/

Got this interesting little tidbit from a list serv I subscribe to.
Love it!

Pep Raleigh
Google gives out bikes to 2,000 employees across the pond

We have a vague recollection that there was life before Google, but it must
have been a sad, empty sort of life. Anyone recall? While you're casting
your memory back there, lord, we'll update you on the latest from the
altruistic search engine: they're giving free bikes (and helmets) to 2,000
employees in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. "We think that these
amazing bikes will help Googlers keep fit and healthy, get to know their
city better, and reduce the environmental impact of their journey to work,"
says Liane Hornsey, HR director for the region. The shift will also provide
a side benefit for the company: the folding and hybrid cycles, made by
Raleigh Europe, will bear the Google logo. Smaht! The bike blitz follows
last fall's announcement that Google will juice its California headquarters
with solar energy, in the form of rooftop panels and solar parking-lot
"trees." The company even got an award this week for using free-range eggs.
It all just makes us feel warm and googly inside.

straight to the source: The Guardian, Mark Sweney, 22 Mar 2007

straight to the (old but still interesting) source: Wired, Marty Graham, 13
Dec 2006

see also, in Grist: Did You Mean: Solar Power?

Cartoon by Mike Keefe, The Denver Post -
(http://www.cagle.com/politicalcartoons/pccartoons/archives/keefe.asp?)

Building Community - something we talk about and hear people talk about all the time. What does it really mean? How is it actually done? Like any learning process it could include a series of trials, experiments, observation and time. It's hard to predict how certain events and actions will affect other aspects down the road, and possibly contribute to shaping community. But, communities are certainly not static. People move in, people move out. How do you measure a healthy community? Are the healthiest communities ones where residents have lived there a long time? How does the built environment affect the shaping of a healthy community?

Many organizations run their programs based on the idea that living in a nice environment, whether it's the landscaping, or the scent, the air, the sound, the feel, generally has a positive effect on people's well-being. Projects like community art initiatives have led to noticeable decreases in crime and vandalism in many communities around the world. In Vancouver, the city runs a Graffiti Management Program where each year they have a mural competition and artists submit design proposals and the community votes on the best design. The City also sponsors community paint outs.

"Community Paint Outs involve local residents, businesses, schools and other community groups in your area to improve the physical appearance of your neighbourhood."

Tomorrow happens to be my birthday. eek. A few of us are planning on going to the Parade of the Lost Souls in light of Hallowe'en, or should I say in darkness. This event is an annual event organized by the Public Dreams Society who have been working in Vancouver since 1985:

"It began with a dream. In 1985, Dolly Hopkins, Paula Jardine, and Lesley Fiddler, all accomplished, working artists, had a dream of building better communities and celebrating the spirit of community in their hometown of Vancouver.

In this dream, they create community celebration events that provide mentorship and employment to their many colleagues in the arts...performing artists, visual artists, and technical and production specialists. Together they create events, performances and festivals that provide opportunities for the culturally rich and diverse population of Vancouver to come together. At these events, the citizens discover for themselves what it means to celebrate and be a part of a community.

At it's core, Public Dreams Society creates opportunities for people to experience the joy of artistic expression, to see themselves as creative beings, to turn passive consumption into active participation, and to experience belonging as an individual within a community."

Public Dreams Society strives to:

* Create artistically, innovative, culturally inclusive and enviromentally sensitive productions.
* Encourage creative collaborations and build fellowship among diverse communities.
* Foster the fertile ground necessary to create and enhance community vitality.
* Provide economic opportunities for local artists,communities, and businesses.

I couldn't resist adding a couple pics from past events. The visuals and the energy are stunning.

Just as I was wrapping this blog post up, Sarah call me over and announced that the staff we are going out to a mandatory lunch in celebration of birthdays (mine tomorrow, and Celine's, our Executive Director, which was yesterday). So we all headed on up the block to Aphrodite's, our neighbourhood cafe serving local seasonal organic treats. Delicious!

On Friday, Sarah and I attended the launch of a new network called "Walking The Talk". Their website, www.walkingthetalk.bc.ca is also built using the drupal framework and has many of the same interactive features and communication tools as relocalize.net, including blogs, forums, events postings and resource sharing. Walkingthetalk.bc.ca is an "on-line gathering place for people from all over British Columbia with an interest in sustainability education. It's all about sharing resources, finding out what people are doing in other parts of the province, and learning from one another." We hope to collaborate with the organizers of the project on developing stronger communications and strengthening the technical aspects of the website. Their website was launched a couple months ago, and speaking with their webmaster, Chris Ng, it sounds like they are going through much of the same growing pains as we are. It's definitely very encouraging to hear what people are working on.

The evening was full of delicious food provided by a local catering company and entertainment by a local "all lady, bike-inspired, street performing collective," called the B:C:Clettes. Their group came together only a few months ago inspired after a group in Portland, Oregon, called The Sprokettes. You can check them out at www.sprockettes.com

This is A Cartoon, a cartoon by Mr. Fish, published Friday, October 13, 2006. It is part of The Cartoons of Mr. Fish: a Selection, which is part of Features, which is part of Harpers.org.

http://www.harpers.org/Conscience-20061013.html

I've just returned to the office from a week at home in bed with a fever and strep throat. Very unpleasant. By the end I was jumping off the walls from not being able to leave the house.

Was this a sign of burnout?

Well maybe not this time but the importance of staying healthy did become increasingly clear. Having an online network makes it easier to stay in touch from different locations, but the work still piles up.

According to Katrina Shields, of the American Civil Liberties Union:

"High stress levels and burnout are very common among activists - both paid and voluntary workers. High stress levels are, obviously, bad for individuals, for those close to them, and for the organisations in which they work. Turnover can become high, with loss of skilled and experienced people. Stressed people are not effective and can often create conflict and contribute to low morale. They also often act in ways which make it unattractive for new members to join the organisation. Cynicism, negativity and rigid thinking are side effects of chronic stress. Serious anguish and long term physical, emotional and motivational effects that are suffered privately are not unusual amongst activists who have worked for several years.

Taking care of the part of the environment over which we have the most control - that is, ourselves, is a vital part of effective activism. Putting some attention into stress management and physical, emotional and spiritual renewal is, to use Covey's analogy, "taking time to sharpen the saw"."

To read more about preventing burnout, I would recommend the following article:
Coping with caring --- the dangers of chronic stress and burnout by Kristin Duare McKinnon, MSW
July 6, 1998

Hi all!

I will be taking a leave from work for the month of July to finish one last course at the University of British Columbia as part of my undergraduate education in Environmental Sciences. I will still be available through email and will try to keep up to speed with all the happenings in the Relocalization Network. Sarah will still be around and will be in for a busy month! You can email us both as always at network@postcarbon.org and one of us will be sure to get back to you.

As Sarah mentioned, we've been floored by all of the wonderful responses that groups have shown to welcoming Janaia Donaldson, and the Peak Moment TV Road Trip crew, as well as David Strongman who will be heading off on his month-long journey down the coast from Vancouver to South California. Sarah and I have also been working with Liz McDowell, our fabulous Development Coordinator, to make revisions to the fundraising toolkit for Local Groups, which should be available online in the coming week. Send us an email if you'd like to view a copy and we'll send it to you as soon as it's finished.

The course I'll be taking in July is called 'Plants and Peoples' and is an intensive 4-week exploration of the evolving relationship between peoples and nature through their traditional uses of native plants. Should be exciting! Our first class with involve a fieldtrip into the protected forest lands surrounding the University to brush up on our plant identification skills.

The anticipation of this course has got me thinking about how little I know and how little the general public knows about the native plants that grow in our backyards. There's a lot to be said about getting back to basics, especially as we begin this process of powering down and relocalizing our communities. This will force us to build stronger relationships with the local environment and live within the ecological boundaries of our locale.

Then I'll be back in August and our team of staff will be taking on the 100-mile diet. Join us!