It’s been a while since i’ve last posted - i was away for a trip and just couldn’t keep up with quality postings! Anyway, i’m back and back to blogging about how we can/not shop our way to sustainability!
I’ve discussed Walmart’s sustainability policy before, and I’m excited to see how companies such as Walmart is enforcing some sort of environmental responsibility to their suppliers. Really it’s a win-win situation for Walmart because they really don’t need to do much other than “asking”, while getting all the credits. Personally, I’m just happy that things are moving in the right direction.
Yesterday Walmart announced that they will be creating “green labels” to measure the social and environmental impact of the products it sells in its discount stores. Although only 100 out of 40,000 products will bear the label in the beginning (which are the Energy Star appliances), I’m sure more will come eventually. I’ve always wanted to be making green labels for products! Now there might be some opportunities for me to dig in more!
In January 2008, China banned the use of free plastic bags that are less than 0.025 millimeters thick in shops, supermarkets, and sales outlets. This article published on the Worldwatch Insititute discussed the report card after a year.
The results?
- 40 billion bags were eliminated according to the government estimates
- but rural area seem to continue giving out free plastic bags
How do they do it?
- a fine of $10,000 yuan (around $1,650 CAD)
- a large troop of 600,000 inspector and a well funded inspection program
Side effect?
- shut down of a plastic bag manufacturing plant in China
I think overall it’s a great thing that the China government is banning plastic bags. I was just in Shanghai for a few days and I must confess that I get free plastic bags everywhere I went. Some of them were quite thick at shops, but I’m not sure how many actually meets the reg! But i guess it’s still a good start!
Watch this movie on youtube - A hymn for the planet
I actually haven’t got a chance to view it myself but I intend to (therefore I put it on my blog). Please let me know what you think of the project =). Some info:
HOME is an ode to the planet’s beauty and its delicate harmony. Through the landscapes of 54 countries captured from above, Yann Arthus-Bertrand takes us on an unique journey all around the planet, to contemplate it and to understand it. But HOME is more than a documentary with a message, it is a magnificent movie in its own right. Every breathtaking shot shows the Earth - our Earth - as we have never seen it before. Every image shows the Earth’s treasures we are destroying and all the wonders we can still preserve. “From the sky, there’s less need for explanations”. Our vision becomes more immediate, intuitive and emotional. HOME has an impact on anyone who sees it. It awakens in us the awareness that is needed to change the way we see the world. (HOME embraces the major ecological issues that confront us and shows how everything on our planet is interconnected.)
Synopsis
In 200,000 years on Earth, humanity has upset the balance of the planet, established by nearly four billion years of evolution. The price to pay is high, but it is too late to be a pessimist: humanity has barely ten years to reverse the trend, become aware of the full extent of its spoliation of the Earth’s riches and change its patterns of consumption.
A People’s Project
By bringing us unique footage from the Earth and sharing with us his wonder and his concern, Yann Arthus-Bertrand lays a foundation stone for the world that, together, we must rebuild. The film HOME intends to shift people’s perceptions, to make us aware of the tectonic movements at work and to incite us to act.
We have a greater impact on the Earth than it can bear. We over-consume and are depleting the Earth’s resources. From the air, it is easy to see the Earth’s wounds. HOME simply sets out our current situation, while saying that a solution exists. The film’s subtitle could be “It’s Too Late To Be A Pessimist”. We have reached a crossroads; important decisions must be taken to change our world. Everybody knows about what the film says, but nobody wants to believe it. So HOME adds its weight to the argument of environmental organizations that we need a common sense approach to change our consumerist way of life.
I came across this blog tonight and the first posting caught my eye right away - there was a logo like the one you’re seeing here “USELESS”. How brilliant! We should definitely use less! I went on and read the article, it discusses how “people” are not always “consumers”; in fact, we should try to be people and not consumers! I like the idea.. and I agree with the concept.
Some of the products are very interesting:
- the messenger bags are made of used billboards: 700,000 billboards are used annually (and discarded annually) in the US!
- the “USELSS earth” costs $25 and you can by it made of 100% nothing - all proceeds go into funding clean water projects
- all products “locally” made in US
- 10% of all sales go to funding clean water projects
Have a look at the website and this blog article, i enjoyed both!
Are you a consumer or a person?
The Challenge Series is an online book, it tells the story of Vancouver’s Olympic Village at Southeast False Creek: Millennium Water. It will be published in eight monthly installments, available on the web and in print, it focuses on the visioning, planning, design and construction processes and celebrates collaboration and sustainable innovation. This is the first month and it was published on May 22!
This introductory chapter provides a glimpse into the history, policy and personalities that shaped the development of a sustainable community in Southeast False Creek (SEFC). Formerly an important industrial hub for Vancouver, SEFC occupies a key piece of waterfront real estate adjacent to the city’s downtown core. The future of SEFC became a focal point of discussion in the early 1990s, following the city’s decision to release the SEFC lands from the industrial land base. It became clear that the redevelopment of this 80-acre, centrally located site presented an opportunity to make a statement about the direction of future development in Vancouver.
In 1991, after years of discussion, consultation and weighing of options, Vancouver’s city council determined that the SEFC lands should be a model sustainable community: “On the south shore of False Creek, develop a neighbourhood that is the model of sustainability, incorporating: forward-thinking infrastructure; strategic energy reduction; high-performance buildings; and high transit access.” This proclamation marked a momentous achievement for the City of Vancouver, and a turning point toward a sustainable approach to urban design. In the ensuing years, city staff and countless people from local interest groups and the professional community became involved in the visioning process for the site’s redevelopment.
Chapter One of The Challenge Series describes SEFC’s past and future, discussing the importance of sustainable community development. It looks at the influences that led to the policy development and design of a new sustainable neighbourhood.
from the Challengeseries.ca website
Big Green Big Deal | flo | 
July 16, 2009 7:49 am | 
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