Give Earth a Hand!

Video posted by Greenpeace International for Earth Day last thursday

Reducing, reducing, reducing...

I have to say that I feel like I don't do that bad at reducing my footprint. My roommates are not really cooperative about switching off the lights when no one needs it, they somehow always want to have a light on everywhere. I will just keep annoying them until they get it, they will not get rid of me that easily! I also decided to switch off my phone during the night, small step but still a step to decrease my power need..

Even though last weekend I went to Whistler, I bus-pooled with about 40 other people (the bus was packed) which made me feel better. Random surprise, the sushi place I went to had re-usable, plastic chopsticks. I found that great, so first there's no risk to eat wood that comes off of it, and second it is better than chopping down trees for chopsticks =)

I bought my vegetables and bread for the week at Farmer's Market yesterday, I doubt I need some more grocery shopping this week. If I do need it, the Food Coop is close ^_^

Toxicity report: Head & Shoulders Classic Clean

Active Ingredients: Pyrithione Zinc (1%) (Anti-Dandruff).

Inactive Ingredients: Water, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, Cocamide MEA, Zinc Carbonate, Glycol Distearate, Dimethicone, Fragrance, Cetyl Alcohol, Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride, Magnesium Sulfate, Sodium Benzoate, Magnesium Carbonate Hydroxide, Ammonium Laureth Sulfate, Benzyl Alcohol, Sodium Chloride, Methylchloroisothiazolinone, Methylisothiazolinone, Sodium Xylene Sulfonate, Blue 1, Red 4.

The overall hazard of this product is 5 out of 10, which does not seem too bad to start with. Looking at the toxicity levels of the ingredients, the top three are the following: fragrance has a score of 8, benzyl alcohol 6 and methylchloroisothiazolinone scores 6 as well.

This last ingredient sounds entirely unfamiliar to me, which is why I decided to do some more research on it. According to the EWG website, this component raises concerns about allergies as well as organ system toxicity while violating restrictions. The ingredient itself is used in shampoos, body wash or facial cleansers and can cause cancer too.

Researching a bit more about it, I found four other names that sound even more complicated than this one but also an explanation about what it is used for. Methylchloroisothiazolinone is a preservative found in many personal care products as well as cosmetics. It can cause skin irritations or chemical burns if the concentration is too high, and is not used in most cosmetic products anymore. It has not been removed from products that are only in contact with our skin for a limited amount of time, such as shampoos for example. Although the ingredient is currently not on the list of possible human carcinogens held by the IARC (International Agency for Research on Cancer), approximately 1.7% of individuals have allergic reactions to it. Some research is there saying that it can cause cancer, but no scientific data is available to prove it.

I cannot really imagine how I could eliminate this product from my personal care. However, there must be some better alternatives that would satisfy the same need. As I looked for a better shampoo on the EWR website, the first appearing on the list says ‘Pet/Human’, which does not really appeal to me. However, there are a few other alternatives with a score of 0 or 1, even though none of these brands sound familiar to me. Since I have very sensitive hair, I would be ready to give this product up if any of them is easily available and works as well as the product I currently use.

the bus thing

I can't cheat and I have no idea how to lie, but there's one bad thing I am good at: being late!

So taking the bus to go to school is vital for me if I want to make it to class somehow on time. I have to review my objective about that and state that I will walk home from school, but if I walk to school, I'm going to be late. all the time.

My Ecological Footprint, take 2!

As you may or may not know, I'm not from Bellingham, or even close to here haha It takes about 13 hours by plane and at least one stop in the middle for me to get home, or at least closer to home. That might not sound really eco-friendly, but that's not the purpose here.

You might have noticed that when you took the EF quiz, you could choose your location. Did anyone else than me wonder why there were three to choose from? You get United States, Calgary and Switzerland. Well, obviously for the purpose of the class, I answered United States, as you can see on my first article.

But my curiosity got stimulated, so I took the quiz again by selecting Switzerland. Even if the questions were slightly different since they were adapted to the offering of the place as far as services, food supply etc. goes; I tried to answer them the same way as I did the first time. (the picture is in french, but i guess everybody can compare it to the english version and figure out what each term refers to)

Well, here's the result:

United States: 3.3 planets

Switzerland: 1.9 planets

I wanted to know where these differences come from, so I started by reading the super long and super boring PDF file about how the footprint is calculated. This resulted in about 55 formulas, and 67 explanations, I gave it up.

I decided to contact the footprint network, hoping they would be willing to answer my questions, and they did!

First of all I asked why these three locations were there to choose from. The reason is simply that the Footprint Network has done work with these areas that have allowed them to do the necessary research to produce specific footprint calculations. They also said: '' We are hard at work to expand the locations for which we have footprint calculators. Keep your eyes peeled in the next 2 weeks for many other countries to be added! ''

They also were kind enough to make all those calculations a bit simpler for me and mainly explain the differences between both of my results to me.

Basically, besides your own answers, it considers the 'services' in your country, such as public services, government assistance, roads and infrastructure or the military, which obviously varies between the countires. This makes the 'services' part of the footprint, every citizen is allocated his own part of all these things and this cannot be changed. That's one of the reasons why the footprint can sometimes not be under one planet.

The woman who answered my e-mail also raised some concerns about the fact that besides changing everyones personal footprint, they are trying to influence some higher instances such as the government as well. A large portion of the footprint comes form the way national infrastructures are designed, how goods are produced and how public services operate. '' In order to allow their citizens to achieve a lifestyle that fits within one planet, governments need to dramatically improve the efficiency of the built environment and invest in renewable energy and smart lande-use planning''

I hope we all learned something new! =)

(thanks to Nina Brooks, Finance & Database Associate at the Global Footprint Network)

You wanna dance?

You guys like to party ? (i'm pretty sure I know the answer to that question)

Look what we’ve got in Europe! =)

Yes, it does really exist, and it’s called the Sustainable Dance Club. (I know, super creative) It’s in Rotterdam, Netherlands.

Here’s the way it works:

When people dance, or even when they just walk, vibrations are produced. The floor in this club is able to transform these vibrations into energy and also reacts to the dancer. The reaction is expressed through individual lighting depending on the way people dance, so you basically make your own light! I have friends who went there a couple of months ago and said it's definitely worth it!

See the video! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rzb3VFi3Sew

And here’s the link to the club’s website : http://www.sustainabledanceclub.com/

My Ecological Footprint

If everybody was living like me, we would need 3.3 planets for our lifestyle.

I have to say, I am a litte surprised, but just a little. While taking the quiz, the first question asked about my location, which made me think there must be some kind of adaptation of the score depending on the region. In fact, I took the test again but entered Switzerland as a location, answered the same as I did before, and ended up needing only 1.9 planets for my lifestyle. It also said that the average swiss person needs 2.4 planets to live, that made me feel better =)

Another thing related to my score is probably the place I live in and the miles I had to fly lately.

Most of the land I use is for energy, most likely related to the fact that I don't really know how much energy I use in general, before Forest Land, because I live in an appartment building made of wood.

The category of consumption contributing the most to my footprint is Services, related to the busses I use and the planes I took a lot recently, before goods and food.

I must say I had to think for a while before coming up with actions that would effectively reduce my footprint, but here are the main ones I chose:

1. Walk to and from class everyday. I have classes at noon and spring is supposed to be coming at some point, so that should not be too much of a challenge.

2. Eat more locally grown food and shop at Farmer's Market. Even if the prices are a little bit higher than in a grocery store, I think it is a good investment. I'll try to get half of my food from local or organic sources.

3. I already unplug all electric devices when I am away for a long period, but I will try to not have my computer be on all the time when I am home, or at least not have it plugged in non-stop when I use it. I need and use my computer a lot, but I will change the energy economy settings and only plug it in when the battery is empty.

4. Be aware of the lights on in my appartment and motivate my roommates to switch them off when no one is in the room or during the night. For some reason, my roommates like to have a light on somewhere during the night, but I don't think it is necessary.