My Green Switch Was Flicked On

I was watching Live Earth, I said, Self, what can you do for the environment? So I created this blog. I do a fair bit but I'm running out of ideas. I'm hoping people post comments or suggestions. Let's all do a couple of things to make the EARTH better.



Things I've done to help the environment:

1 Replaced 21 light bulbs with CFL's.
2 Put a few lights on motion detectors.
3 Use a real coffee mug and silverware at my desk.
4 Only buy fair trade and/or organic coffee.
5 Only buy organic produce and meat.
6 On the 100 mile diet. (90% Compliant)
7. Use my own grocery bag.
8. Try to buy products with less packaging.
9. Switched to paperless banking/bill payment.
10 Don't use air conditioning.
11. Take public transit.
12. Unplug instant on stuff, except for VCR and alarm clock.
13. Buy only sustainable power from Bullfrog.
14. Switched to Ice Melter instead of salt.
15. Offset the rest of my emmisions with a carbon credit.

Green things I still need to do:

1 Get rid of my extra beer fridge. (I don't know about this because I brew my own and it need's to be refrigerated.)
2. Quit smoking. (OK, so I'm working on this now)
3. Buy a hybrid. (So, I couldn't buy a hybrid this time cause I had to get a work truck but, I'll limit my driving and will buy a hybrid for personal use at a later date)

Please Note: I am not a writer. Most of these articles are shared from other sources. Please use the links provided to get the whole article from the source site. Please support these sites too! We all have a role to play.

Where I'm At Now

I've decided that organic may not be the way to go. What's the sense of shipping an organic product 3,000 miles if I can find a locally produced item? OK, so it may not be organic but I guess it's a balance between chemicals to grow or chemicals to ship. I've actually found local chicken, beef, pork, lamb and goat, all naturally raised, antibiotic free and free range where applicable. I've managed to find local potatoes, yams, carrots, onions and garlic all winter. I also have a local hydroponic lettuce grower and besides lettuce he grows cucumber, bell peppers and tomatoes.

I've switched to Bullfrog Power. Bullfrog uses only environmentally sustaining power sources like wind as well as low-impact hydro-electric.

I've also discovered Guerrilla Gardening. Take over an abandoned patch and make it grow. Stay tuned.

Well this year, I've decided to post more about what I'm doing. I'll still have cool products once in a while, especially if I've tried or switched to them.

Thursday, October 1, 2009

Pay It Backward Day

September 30th was Pay It Backward Day. This is from the PIB site,

"Pay It Backward Day is a unique, refreshing initiative that allows socially conscious individuals across Ontario to unite in the spirit of changing the world through small, daily acts of kindness. On September 30th, we invite you to come out to any of Ontario's participating Second Cup locations and offer to "pay it backward" by buying coffee for the person behind you in line. With each simple act of "coffee kindness", we* will donate $5.00 to SickKids Foundation. Alongside our generous sponsors, Second Cup and Silk Soy Beverage, we hope to inspire 2,000 acts of kindness on September 30th in order to reach our goal of raising $10,000 for SickKids Foundation in a single day! So, if helping out SickKids Foundation in a big way through small acts of kindness sounds like your cup of tea, coffee or soy drink … then JOIN THE MOVEMENT today and agree to pay it backward on September 30th!"
That's pretty awesome but to make it even better, I won a Coffee Hero Card for putting a PIB button here on my site. I was able to buy a "round" for everyone in the store. This wasn't really about me; it was about the intent of the day. I go to the same Second Cup every day so the staff knows me. I just gave them the card and explained what to do with it. If anyone asked, they told them it was me but most people were only told about the PIB movement and that somebody paid for their coffee. If you didn't know about it before now, please keep it in mind for next year.
Visit http://www.dailychallenge.org/events/payitbackward/ for more info on PIB or better yet, join The Daily Challenge and do something good every day. http://www.dailychallenge.org/
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Looking forward to your comments, Barry.

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I've Started The 100 Mile Diet

Here is a sample market run. Not all of this is available during the winter

All Produce was Local & Organic, Lettuce - Romaine, Red Leaf & Green Leaf
Celery, Peppers - Green, Orange, Red & PURPLE, Radish, Green Onion, Cucumber
(That's my weekly salad stuff)

Spinach, Swiss Chard, Peas, Corn, White and Sweet Potatoes
Onions, Apples, Pears
Lots more available but I didn't buy.

Dairy, All Local & Organic (Naturally Raised or Free Range)Milk (In Glass Bottles), Cheese, Butter, Eggs, Yogurt, Cottage Cheese,
Sour Cream & others available but I didn't buy.

Bread and Rolls, Organic but not all grains local. I've been baking my own too, using local if possible.

And for the Meat Eaters, All Local & Naturally Raised
Chicken - Whole, Boneless & Skinless Cuts (Other Cuts Available)
Lamb Chops (Other Cuts Available)Pork Chops (Other Cuts Available)
Beef - Steak, Ground (Other Cuts Available)
There were other products such as Goat, Emu and others that I didn't buy.

Now, I know not everything is available to all but if you can replace half of your grocery list with local products you would be doing what you can as well as telling retailers you want local products.
I know I'll have a challenge in February. There won't be as much local produce available.
I've committed to starting a greenhouse garden in my basement and growing my salad.I'll let you know how that works out.
Barry

Update: June 2,2008

February produce was a challenge but I found lettuce, bell peppers, cucumber and tomatoes, all grown locally the hydroponic way. At least I had a small salad every day.

I don't have a basement greenhouse yet but I do have a backyard garden.

More later.

Update, August 18th 2008

Well the vegetable garden was a bust. I put in a 10' X 12' garden but I don't get enough sun in my yard. We have tomatoes and peppers in containers and they are doing much better. Looks like I need a new plan.

Update, September 12,2009

So gardening at my house is out. Too shady.
I switched to Bullfrog Power a year ago. My hydro comes from wind and non destructive hydro-electric.
I gave up driving to work a year ago as well.

With a friend of mine, we started Earth Hour By The Dozen.
It's Earth Hour but we have it on the 4th Saturday of every month.

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