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Archive for the ‘good news’ Category

Canada’s most celebrated and well known activist. scientist and multi media star turns 80 years old today!

Thank you for your tireless work to raise awareness about environmental stewardship; oceans and sustainable fishing, climate change and clean energy, and sustainability

  November 5th – 7th at the Landmark Cinemas

at The New Westminster Skytrain Station

 New West Film Fest Website

Check by clicking the above image

or The Elections Canada website HERE

Bill McKibben  is the founder of  350.org .

In this short film he makes it very clear what has to happen; people need to “do the math” and make changes!

EcoJustice, is a charitable organizations working to  protect Canadian rights to a healthy environment. Over 100 countries world wide have already recognized their citizens rights, Canada should be next.

I just found this site called Worldometers, made by the Real Time Statistics Project.

This site keeps a running total of many fascinating and frightening statistics! Ever-changing World Population, Government Economic, Social media, Environment, Water and Energy Use and types. The project is constantly recalculating data.

Find out how much money is spent on video games in the world today. Or how much energy was used and the source of that energy. Ever wonder how many news papers were circulated today?  It also keeps a running total of Carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions this year, in tons.  You can even learn how much Desertification happened this year ( in hectares) and how many days to”end of oil!”

There is even a section with “statistics of the month” like these

• April 2009 – Toilets flushed today
• March 2009 – Glaciers lost this year in West Antarctica

• March 2008 – Garbage piling up in the streets of Naples without being collected
• February 2008 – Price of a bottle of beer in Zimbabwe
• January 2008 – Toxic chemicals released by industries worldwide into our air, land, and water this year

The numbers are surprising and sobering.

Originally published December 2010

When you live in a big city you often see people moving in and out of houses and apartment buildings. One casualty of many movers is furniture and electronics left abandoned near apartment building dumpsters at the end of the month. Luckily there is a huge network of people ready to rummage through castaway treasures on every other street corner too.

“Binners” or “dumpster divers” are recyclers roaming the city on bikes and pushing shopping carts. Although many of these people collect mainly bottles to take to the recycle depot, transfer stations, or Encorp Return it centres, these places  will also accept electronics. This helps in the reduction of hazardous toxins in landfills, and reduces the amount being shipped over seas to be processed by workers who’s health and very lives are put at risk  in the name of  “Ewaste recycling.“

Toxins like Lead, Cadmium, Mercury, Chromium, and Polyvinyl Chlorides (PVC) are found in many common electronic devices today. When they become obsolete the items are discarded, leading to  these toxic materials being released back into the environment during the process of reclaiming more valuable components.

People today are more aware of the issues and Extended Producer Responsibility or “Product Stewardship” is now becoming more commonplace in manufacturing.

What to do with unwanted furniture has been a solid waste issue for many property owners, landlords and householders alike. There are some places that will take furniture to resell, requiring the items be delivered there. When this is not an option people look to places like Big Brothers, The Salvation Army, and The Developmental Disabilities Association to take away the unwanted furniture.

Most places are so overwhelmed with unusable junk that it actually costs them money to dispose of these items causing them to no longer accept any furniture, good, bad or otherwise.These organisations will still pick up clothing, toys, books and small household items.

The Home Start Foundation now offers an environmentally friendly option to recycle your good used furniture. This foundation takes used items and helps furnish houses and create homes for some  needy and deserving people. Clients include  families, elderly or other people who are in need  and are refereed through social service agencies.  They help create a comfortable environment when it is most needed.

This is a great example of finding a way to reduce your waste and in turn into do a good dead for someone else.