Ideas for the planet

Our Wedding

2009-06-23T16:28:00.004-04:00

I am getting married on July 4th. We've decided to make it an environmentally friendly wedding. Well, as best as we can anyways.

I find that at social events, disposable plates, cutlery, and glasses are used once and thrown out. That is the norm in our society for most things: use it once, throw it out. Just think of all that packaging that holds our food together and protects it from air, molds, water, and everything else that can ruin food.

We use it once, and throw it out. Some people can't even learn to recycle, and they feel that they have the right to put as much stuff in the garbage as possible. For instance, the Toronto city strike is hapenning right now and almost immediately, people began throwing their garbage in local parks to prove some sort of point (we can assume).

My downstairs neighbours feel that they NEED to throw out 2 bags of garbage every week. They appealed to the city of Brampton and were not successful. I tried to get them to recycle, but they have lame excuses like "I've got a kid" or "I don't have room to put it all" or "I get tired going up and down the stairs". Bunch O' bull obviously. Now, they use industrial sized garbage bags and every wednesday I see the outlines of all the most common recyclables like food cans, pop cans, and even 2L pop bottles! And they know that those are recyclable.

So, are you wondering what's in the recycling bin (which they do actually put out)? Well, everything from old winter coats, to shoes. From used tissues, to used Q-tips. From chip bags, to watermellon scraps. A few weeks ago, I removed a brick from their blue box. Like I said, I spoke nicely to them, and received the barage of excuses. They also think that having to pay $1 for the garbage tags is a "cash grab" by the city. I can't allow that blue box of garbage to go into the recycling, so every Wednesday I put on some rubber gloves and go through their garbage which was put in the recycling bin. Since we only produce a small grocery bag of garbage every week, I get out a large garbage bag and put their recycling/garbage in that bag. Apart from the things that mentioned above, I also have removed the following from the recycling bin:

a blender
useless plastic toys
paper towels
popsicle sticks
old dead flowers

With some advice, I've come to the conclusion that these are people that will never learn until it becomes legally mandatory or financially burdensome to not recycle. Also, I don't go through their trash with hopes of changing them, but for the planet instead.

Back to my point, we're going to have a greenish wedding. We have bought disposable cups, but they are supposedly biodegradeable and we're getting everyone to re-use their cups. Same things for the forks. We have also asked for non-material gifts, so as to keep out our current possessions from the landfill. Rebecca was kind enough to dedicate her wedding shower gifts to children in Nigeria. The gifts were school supplies and she has given them to a fellow teacher who is from Nigeria and he will be delivering the school supplies this summer.

Getting at people doesn't help and won't change them, so I'm going to lead by example. That is advice that I've received from my sister and Rebecca. Perhaps I should run for Green Party, they are looking for a member in the Brampton-Springdale area.

There's a reason why they make you pay for your extra bags of garbage......

2009-04-29T21:46:00.003-04:00

Rebecca and I have recently upped our eco-lifestyle quite significantly after returning from Woofing (stands for workers on organic farms). We've been buying almost everything organic, including milk. We've also gone pretty much veg, but I still cheat because I have this strange philosophy that I don't want to be labeled. And well, sometimes I like to eat some meat. But, I haven't bought any meat in a long, long time.

We've also recently put in a "worm bin" in our kitchen where we compost a good deal of our organic waste. We have also both instigated worm programs at our schools thanks to Gerrie (aka "The Worm Lady"). We also have found that we have reduced our garbage output to 1 bag every two weeks. Suzuki does one a month. We could be there quite easily, but we've so far chosen to put our kleenexes in the garbage instead of the green bin or the worm bin. Perhaps it's time to ignore the cooties?

Also, I've joined freecycle, where people post items that they want or need. What people give away is quite normal, but what's funny is the stuff that people request. They always want something really specific, or something of value like "wanted: men's bike in good working condition". Why not post "wanted, your unneeded cash."

Anyways, as I said, we put out little waste. However, our downstairs neighbours put out quite a bit. They have a 5 year old boy, but they have been putting out two bags of garbage out for the last two weeks. I didn't mind not throwing out any garbage last week, but that's only because our garbage doesn't stink! We only throw the minimal amount of plastic packaging that comes with some of our food.

So, I called the neighbours, and they argued that it's the landlord's responsibility to buy the required tags or to have this building rezoned to accept more garbage on garbage day. They aren't as educated as they should be about these things (they use their green bin as a hockey stick holder), but I thought they would realize that the garbage tag program is not a way for the city to make money, it's an initiative to encourage people to reduce their garbage output!

So what's my point? Basically that we are going to approach them as subtly and courteously as possible to encourage them to think more responsibly. We're going to give them some bio degradeable bags for the green bin, and discuss recycling (like how you shouldn't put shoes and soccer balls in the blue box). And once again, I'm not mad or even dissapointed with them. Recycling is easy for people who are educated and pay attention to the world. It's the people who are apathetic and possibly illiterate that we need to educate in some way.

To really make a significant dent in the level of waste and pollution that this world produces, we have to make it so that ALL people either want, try, or have to.

Rebecca's friend Sue said that she makes choices in the grocery store because with Rebecca's image in her mind. She actually thinks about what she buys because of Rebecca's philosophies. That's awesome! And this is how it may have to happen. If policy doesn't change, then people will have to demand that change by influencing their peers and making their money "talk". As a friend says, "every dollar is a vote" meaning that if you spend a $ on something, then you're saying that that thing is OK.

My advice: get someone you know to produce less waste.

Just look at the picture.......

2009-04-01T10:28:00.003-04:00

Not too much to say about this, but it reminds me of why I started a blog in the first place. I'm thinking of making some small notes for people in the neighbourhood to use sites like craigslist and freecycle. Speaking of which, I have someone picking up an old monitor this weekend through freecycle

M.E.C. Rules

2009-01-08T20:19:00.003-05:00

When I worked at Canadian Tire, they would throw out thousands of dollars worth of perfectly good products and appliances into a secure dumpster so that no one else could benefit from them. I've heard of some companies even grinding up thousand dollar sets of golf clubs as well. Why do they do this? So that the new product (that which makes money) doesn't get cheapened by having it out in the world being used.

On my way to work this morning, I heard that MEC donated close to 5000 pairs of long johns to schools and native communities in the far north. Now, that is very nice of them, but this is why MEC "rules" in my opinion:

They gave those away because the long johns didn't live up to their recycling standards! Most companies throw these things out, but not MEC. Someone up north caught wind of this faulty shipment of clothing from China and simply asked if they could have some of them. MEC insisted that they take all of them and they shipped it free of charge.

This makes me happy. Someone very high up in the company made this decision. It wasn't a profit driven decision, but a moral one. Hopefully the bug catches, because this kind of thing is good from an environmental point of view but it's also great press for the company!

Way to go MEC!

P.s. If you can find the article about this, please let me know. I couldn't find it personally. I hate navigating the CBC website.

Don't fix it, get a new one....

2009-01-06T22:10:00.004-05:00

Our dryer has been squeaking lately. The noise is unbearable, so I decided to replace the parts that needed replacing.

I proceeded to take apart the dryer, removed the rear rollers, and went to a sears outlet store and bought the over-priced yet necessary parts and a lint collector. That was about $70. Then, when I put the rollers on, I noticed that I needed to replace two little pieces (called a bearing kit) that consisted of a piece of cork and a special friction resistant plastic. Those cost $20 each!

When I found out the price, I called my landlord to inform him of the parts that I was about to buy and that everything would cost about $110. Unfortunately, I was reminded of North American society's consumer ideologies. Basically, his solution was to buy a new one for about $20 more and it would be under warranty. He wanted to pay only a small portion for the fixing of his dryer.

The fact that he wanted to replace it entirely was a blow to my day because I was reminded of how the world works. I was also disgruntled because I already took the initiative to fix this thing on my own without charging for any labour and only the cost of the parts. Essentially, I'd be saving him time, and money.

My personal dilemma with my landlord is not important in this entry. Actually, I don't really blame him for wanting to buy a new one. When our society is based on monetary competition, companies like Sears will charge ridiculous amounts for the most simple, yet necessary appliance parts. There is no incentive to fix your shit! I've always known this, and you have as well. But when the guy told me that this piece of cork and plastic was $20, I was hit hard with this re-realization.

Well, I'm going to fix this dryer. Since it is not my property, we will be trying to get reimbursed for it. If we don't, then I'll simply leave the parts that he paid for and take out the ones that I bought and replace the old, noisy rollers that I removed. Am I really that childish? Yes, I guess I am. I paid good money for those parts, and I have the right to take them with me. I may even go so far as to wash the grease that I bought off of the bearing shafts!

Anyways, the moral: fix your shit!!!

Addendum:

Coffee maker is on the fritz. I would like to fix it, but on the bottom there is a warning that says that there are no serviceable parts inside. I thought: "screw that, I'll fix it". So I turned it upside down, and ironically I can't "screw" that because it's a triangular screw! Who uses a triangular screw except for the good people as Bosch?

Pricks......

Environmental Investment which cost nothing but a little effort.

2008-12-19T23:00:00.003-05:00

I've been becoming increasingly annoyed by paying lots of money to get my oil changed. So, I thought it was time to invest in some car ramps so I can change my oil at home instead. I figured that I would have to pay about $50 for the ramps, and that in about 2-3 oil changes at home they would be paid for.

I was wrong. I was wrong in a good way. Instead of running over to Canadian Tire and buying the car ramps there, I decided to "invest" my time instead of my money. How? I went on Craigslist. I searched for some to buy, but I also put out a wanted ad for car ramps. Within a few hours, I had 3 offers of car ramps for a nominal fee. The winner was Bob, who gave me the ramps for free.

It was a little drive out of the way on our way to Hamilton and was well worth. Turns out that he didn't want to have them end up in a landfill. Myself, do I care whether the thing that my car is going to rest on is bran new or not?

Bottom line, is..... well, the bottom line. I may have rammed my wang up the economy's ass without a condom, but what good is an econmy that is based on waste? It has to end sometime.

I wanna buy some gold..............and a random thought to conclude

2008-12-17T23:06:00.003-05:00

I wanna buy some gold.

Yes, for investment purposes, but also because it's just so neat. I picture myself staring at a couple of sweet gold coins like I was Frodo staring at the ring.

If you really think about the value of gold, it has no value. You can't eat it, drink it, inject it, drop it, or smoke it (he he). It's only valueable because someone else wants it. Right? Ok, I know this, but I still want some.

Did you know that one ounce of gold can be hammered out to cover a rediculous area and that gold foil is only 20 atoms thick? That's pretty cool.

But really, my excuse is that it will go up in value drastically with the progressively worsening economy and it would be beneficial in case financial doomsday (collapse of the U.S. dollar). That's why I "need" some, but I want some because.....well....I can't give you a rational answer. It's just plain neat!

If the world turns to shite, then it would be good to have. But if it doesn't, then I'd have some gold. I just wish that I wasn't in such debt.

Speaking of which, why am I charged interest on my student loans? Isn't the point of a student loan to make a person more educated and thus more productive to the economy? Why would a bank feel the need to capitalize from me persuing my education? We think that's it's the government that lends us this money, but it's really the bank. Right now, the people that I deal with are not government workers. They are a seperate company that is paid to manage the people who owe money from going to school. Now, since I have to pay6 $450 a month just for the "government" loan, I can't do too much can I? How is this helping our bleeding heart economy if I can't save up to buy say, a bran new spankin car from one of the THE BIG THREE.
Fucking banks. They lent me money that never existed (if it is at all like the American system), and now I have to pay it all back and then some. I probably wouldn't have taken loans if I knew that my loans would actually cost me much more that I borrowed. I foolishly believed that the interest rate would be significantly lower than other loans, but it isn't. I even applied for interest relief, twice, and sent a letter to the government (the actual government) and again....."I make too much money".

Canada's a good place to be, but this feels like the government doesn't really care about the people. Well, the student loan sector anyways.

Some over stated, cliché thoughts....

2008-12-14T23:25:00.002-05:00

I just saw the movie "Sicko" by Micheal Moore. Yeah, he still uses simple examples to show his point (like how the French doctor was very wealthy which proves that socialized medicine still allows doctors to make enough money) but it made realize nonetheless that America really sucks.

All this bullshit patriotic rhetoric that so many people swallow is repeated ad nauseum and it is nothing more that the biggest, most obvious (yet most subtle) lie. Is there a small group of people who think "lets make sure that we say how it is heroic to die to for your country, or to work like a slave in the name of the USA as much as possible"? I don't know. Maybe, maybe not. But it is hapenning. The powerful people in that country really have the people by the balls, and truly don't care about them. They want their people to be defeated for some reason, and I can't see why that is good.

It's really too bad. Although it happens in Canada as well, most US doctors and medical companies are profit driven. The most accurate word that I can think of to describe this corruption is barbaric. A doctor will actually prescribe more pills because it will make him/her richer. And, if you can't pay your hospital bill, you can actually be kicked out of the hospital. I know that Moore's films have a tendency to state broad, sweeping generalizations. In Columbine, he found that "Canadians don't lock their doors". I fucking lock my door. In this film, he makes the US medical system look much worse that it is and much better in other countries by using one carefully chosen example. Despite this, you can't deny that it is a dog eat dog world down there - well, more than most "civilized" countries. How could the government spend so much money on defence which kills it's soldiers and millions of others, and neglect the problems that are right at home. Aaaargh, I'm so angry at stupid and degressive it is!!!!!

For some reason, I'm really pissed right now. That's why I had to write. I really want the American people to get really pissed off and actually do something. The American Empire will fall, and I feel like it will happen in our lifetime. And guess what, I can't fucking wait. Those greedy freaks who perpetuate these institutions and hold back positive change have had their fun and the party's gotta end sometime. I hope soon.

Anyways, I'm glad that I'm Canadian, even though our country is far from perfect. Living in America seems like pure shite though.

Is this an idea for the planet? Well, it can relate. I'm too tired/lazy to think of an interesting point that isn't blatently obvious. So, you think of one for me. I know that only one or two people read this blog, but that's cool. Even one is enough.

Thanks for reading.

A view from the other side.....

2008-11-21T08:44:00.003-05:00

All throughout history, there are incidents of false paranoia and mass hysteria. Is it possible that the financial crisis, global warming, peak oil, and the environment are similar?

Well, as for the financial crisis, here is an interesting article that explores the other side. There are some interesting points that explain how the media convinces people to behave like there is a recession. In other words, the chicken is hatched before the egg.

Click Bellow:

An open letter to the Wall Street Journal

Let me know your thoughts.

I also just caught this snippet from Ron Paul.

http://www.lewrockwell.com/blog/lewrw/archives/024086.html

Perhaps a change in currency is closer that we think.

Arguments

2008-11-17T22:44:00.005-05:00

The last few days I spent many hours debating a friend of mine on certain issues that I've been concerned with. It led to do some reading online and I ended up learning quite a bit. I must admit that it really took a lot of energy to look up so many conservative based arguments. The idea that we should keep on going like we have been simply doesn't sit right with me.

A large part of our discussion was about global warming science. So in my readings, I came across a movie called "The Global Warming Swindle" (which I've recently downloaded and am going to watch soon). The series of youtube videos shows a few clips from the documentary, interviews the film maker, then they proceed to debate both sides with a panel of scientists.

Global warming isn't really my main concern at this point in my life, but I'm interested in it and these videos are worth a look.

Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6
Part 7
Part 8

The next 20 years are going to be very different than the last 20 years

2008-11-15T06:18:00.011-05:00

My concern and worry for the future of society has taken an exponential increase in the past few weeks.

It started when I when I watched the second Zeitgeist movie: Zeitgeist Addendum. It's basically a documentary about the entire concept of money and the complex systems that are involved with it. Have you ever had the conversation where you ask yourself: "what is money"? It's just paper right? Yes, it kind of is. Thankfully it's widely agreed that it's worth something to other people. We trust the fact that is worth something, and that it will be worth something in the future.

I've also watched Chris Martenson's Crash Course, which really clarifies the changing times ahead and questions the state of money in general. You owe it to yourself to watch this series of videos, and you'll be glad when you do. The more I think about this concept of money, the more I realize that we live in old fashioned times. Our grand kids will look back at this time as a time of gluttony, waste, and ignorance.

One point that I took away from the Crash Course - which is something that I think of often - is how much energy we get from oil. Chris Martenson's main point about oil is that we live like kings!!!! Why? Well, a gallon of gasoline is worth 500 hours of man labour. We all make much use out of this liquid slavery. Sure, we can be seen as slaves to oil. In actuality, we harness the energy of several slaves with this energy source. Currently, a gallon of gasoline(that's 3.79 litres) costs about $3 and that gallon will give you 500 man hours of work. So, if you burned 1 gallon of gasoline in a car, and then had someone push it back to where you started, that would be how much energy was used in that gallon. So, how much would you pay that guy for pushing your car that far?

Chris Martenson's thesis in this series of videos is that "The next twenty years will be (much) different than the last twenty years". Watch these videos, and get your own opinion. There is no fancy music to heighten the emotional impact of his points. Rather, he presents facts in a logical and seemingly unbiased way. Of course, he states his opinions, but he tells you when he is. I personally do not have the time, patience, or even intelligence to conduct the research that he has done. So, take advantage of this package that he has produced.

In watching these movies, I realized that I don't fully understand the concept yet. But, what I took away from it all is that money is really quite fake. It is created out of thin air by the federal reserve. Can you write yourself a check and get rich off of it? Obviously not. But, the government can. This irresponsibility on behalf of our leaders will catch up with everyone (government and citizens) sooner than later because inevitably, we will all be bound by the planets environmental limits. It's plain physics really, not the results of marijuana smoking/hippy/environmentlist/left winged influenced ideologies. Nope, physics. We'll hit these limits hard and fast. Humans don't deserve to live like we do right now and making this change will be very difficult for our society.

Please, watch these videos. It's important. Give me suggestions as to how to influence people to choose to watch them. It's not as easy as I thought it would be.

To be continued........

Confession

2008-11-13T12:51:00.004-05:00

As I took out the garbage last night, I saw that my neighbour had a computer monitor, some wires, and a 90's style dot-matrix printer waiting to be thrown out.

Unfortunately, these things will be thrown out in the garbage and not recycled. So, I was going to do a good thing. I found a business in Brampton that recycles old electronics. Great! I can just drop it off and they'll take care of it. The name of the business is "Sims Recycling Systems" and their motto is: "Save Our Planet". Then noticed that there was a "quote generator". Yup, you had to pay to have it recycled. So, I got a quote for how much it would cost to recycle this monitor and it was over $150. I later learned that this was more for corporate recycling hence the cost. Even then though, how is a company or corporation expected to recycle their "old" computers if they have to pay for it? Obviously, I don't see this happening.

With a little more searching, I found that the City of Toronto has many locations for residential electronics recycling and it is free of charge. There was one right on my way to work, so I was going to put that printer and monitor in my car before the trucks came and drop it off myself.

Well, I was running late, and it was pouring rain. The equipment was soaked, and I was in a hurry. That right there was enough to deter me from taking the step to put it in my car. So, I didn't get to do my good deed for the day.

What I deem to be the real problem though is that there isn't enough awareness or publicity about these recycling centers. There should be commercials, infomercials, and incentives to use these facilities. My neighbour is an intelligent guy with a really cute dog and he commented on my green party sign that I had on my lawn before the election. But, it takes that extra step to actually recycle. It shouldn't be this difficult!!!!!

Use Craigslist and watch "Story of Stuff"

2008-11-12T09:04:00.007-05:00

Craigslist is a great way to re-use your products. You can either give away something for free, or charge a few bucks for it. If someone picks up this product that you don't have a use for anymore, then you get two happy parties. By giving away or selling your older products, you might get a few bucks, but more importantly you'll also prevent a new product from being purchased and starting the wasteful cycle again.

This being said, you sometimes have to pay for using Craigslist. I recently gave away a computer monitor (because someone left a better one in the recycling room at my old apartment). The guy who took the monitor had no phone manners whatsoever. When he came to pick it up, he showed up with three other gangsta looking dudes. He took the monitor without saying thank you. I felt like I was owed that. That is how I paid for using Craigslist.

Oh well, hopefully that monitor is getting used. Most people would throw it out because they just got their bran new flat screen LCD. You can also recycle these things, but you have to make special arrangements or drive the electronic equipment to the recycling center. I did this once with an obsolete scanner. I was surprised to see several "old" computer monitors in many crates. They looked quite useful, along with the computers that accompanied them. I just hope that this electronics recycling system is viable and that those electronics materials get used again.

Some other sites recommended by First Gate Blogger that are similar to Craigslist which I haven't yet used:
http://www.kijiji.com/
http://www.freecycle.org/

I highly recommend watching the following flash video:

http://storyofstuff.com/

It's a graspable concept of how materials are produced, sold, and thrown out in our current society.

Bikes in the garbage

2008-11-09T10:04:00.000-05:00

In my neibourhood, the garbage gets picked up on Thursday morning. Before getting in my car to go to work, I saw two complete bicycles next to some bags of garbage. One was a mountain bike, while the other was a child's bike.

Immediately I thought of Canadian Tire, the store that most likely sold this bike for a mere $100 or so. There is a factory that made this thing, which pollutes and uses resources. The buyer's son probably grew out of the smaller bike, but the other one just got old and useless. Now, it's in a landfill, most likely without even given the chance to have it's metals recycled or it's tires reused. It doesn't take space up in his garage anymore, but it still takes up space.

In a way, I don't blame the buyer for throwing these things out. There is no financial incentive at all to dismantle the bikes and have them recycled. There is no financial incentive to drive the bike over to a used bike shop and donate the bikes. There is also no financial incentive to take the time to put the word out online for someone who could use the bikes. Well, in this case, he could have received a few dollars for the bikes, but it's much easier to just put them in the garbage where a worker uncritically takes away the crap that you don't want or need once a week and puts them somewhere else. Out of sight, out of mind.

I've been reading Elizabeth May's book "How to Save the World in Your Spare Time", and I've been thinking about organizing something to help people not waste as much. Ideas to come and if you have any, let me know.

P.s. I drive to work because it's cheaper and faster. We are surrounded by ipods, cool cell phones, and other technology that distract us from the fact that we are actually technically stunted. Humans have done so much, so why is it more expensive to take public transit?