With Christmas sneaking up once again, I have been thinking about what to put under the tree and on the table for my friends and family. There are a few things to consider, such as a financial crisis, lead in toys, Listeria in meat, and the abandoned plastic toys that clutter the bottom of the closet, to name a few. This year, I am endeavoring to put my money where it is going to make the most difference, not only to my family and friends but to my community and the planet as well.

So where will my money make the most difference?

For my friends and family, that means buying them something that they will actually use and enjoy. My kids see toys that look like a lot of fun on TV and in print ads, but in the past, the entertainment value rarely lasts until bedtime. If the box is big enough, it can last a week or two before it is discarded.

For my community, I can buy local products. The more local the product - resourced here, made here, owned by local community member – the more I am contributing to my local economy and the more we, together, will weather any financial storms that come our way. Did you know that in 2005 foreign corporations took almost 31% of profits in Canada, with over $22.3 billion of foreign controlled corporate profits leaving Canada?

If I am buying goods from overseas, then I should ensure that the goods support another local economy and that the workers can support themselves and their families. Large corporations that set up factories in developing nations are not supporting their local economies. In fact they are contributing to their destruction, by destroying their resources, their traditional ways of life, and by forcing them to seek out city life, housing in slums and factory work that often doesn’t pay enough to feed, clothe, educate and care for themselves and their families.

For the planet, I can buy products made with sustainable resources that after use can be recycled or repurposed in some manner, including the packaging. They will also be devoid of toxins that destroy our soil and waterways and kill our plants and animals. Commonly the manufacturing of consumer goods creates more garbage than the use and destruction of goods, so I can rethink the idea of wasteful factory goods and think about companies that are more thoughtful of their manufacturing processes.

I can also buy something that will last. 99% of what we buy is trashed in six months, including those attractive toys our kids are so drawn to in sparkly commercials. Unless, that happens to be perishables such as fruits and vegetables - and they aren’t on my kids’ Christmas list - then we should not be buying and tossing out our planets resources at such an alarming rate. In the last decade, one-third of our planet’s resource base has been consumed. This is not sustainable and we can’t continue at this rate. It is impossible.

Over the next few weeks, we will be making some suggestions regarding gifts for all of the most important people on your list. So come back and see what we have unearthed for this year’s holiday season.

In the meantime, if you would like more information on why we should change our shopping habits and how to do that, check out www.storyofstuff.com

Get off the shopping wheel and enjoy this holiday season.

I was at Wicked Café a few weeks ago and since they seemed like a conscious-type spot I found myself looking for the familiar Fair Trade logo; it was nowhere to be seen! I was about to say something to the nice peeps behind the counter when a pamphlet caught my eye. What was this Direct Trade business all about? Here I was thinking Fair Trade was the way to go, could it be true there was something even more fair than Fair Trade? As it turns out, yes, actually there is. I was glad I held my tongue - it would have been another foot-in-mouth moment.

If you have seen the eye-opening documentary Black Gold, and I suggest you do, you can most likely understand my all-consuming guilt when drinking generic mystery-sourced coffee with no hint of its origin or how the farmers were compensated for their globally traded commodity. I also can’t stand those little plastic disposable creamers and straw-like stir sticks but that’s another blog post altogether – literally. According to the film’s website, just four multinational corporations dominate the world coffee market: Kraft General Foods, who also have a licensing deal with Starbucks, produce such brands as Maxwell House, Nabob, Brim, Chase and Sanborn, General Foods International Coffee, Gevalia, Kenco, Maxim, and Sanka. Nescafé and Taster’s Choice belong to Nestlé. Proctor & Gamble owns Folgers and Millstone. Sara Lee owns the Senseo brand, roasting under the Doewe Egberts division and also boasts a foodservice division called Java Coast; Sara Lee formerly owned MJB, Chock Full O’Nuts and Hills Brothers. I know that’s some bitter corporate brew to swallow, but there’s hope!

I found a very good explanation of the differences between Fair Trade vs. Direct Trade on Coffee Tao. Basically, Fair Trade is an official certification system established by TransFair, paid for by the grower, which serves to ensure certain labour and environmental standards are being met in the coffee production process. Remember, Fair Trade is not automatically synonymous with organic! On the other hand, Direct Trade seems to be a handy self-explanatory term. On top of also ensuring socially responsible practices, Direct Trade means importing coffee directly from the growers, sans middleman or corporate interference. Just the way I like it! Oh, and did I mention Direct Trade pays growers 25% more than Fair Trade? Now that’s a morning pick-me-up we can all feel good about.

There is a great list of Fair and Direct Trade coffee cafés at the Vancouver Indy Coffee Scene site that you can consult for your next java-fuelled engagement. As you can see, every drop counts!

I loved Hallowe’en as a child. I always enjoyed making my costume, gallivanting around the streets with friends at night, and of course coming home with more candy than my parents would buy me in a lifetime. There was always that scary house in the neighbourhood, the one we dared each other to visit. Only the bravest of the group would dare step foot on the path, let alone knock on that door. You know the house I am taking about.

Now, I am a mom and I still love it: the costumes, the decorations, the jack-o-lanterns, and the excitement. Some things don’t change. However, this year, while you are planning out your jack-o-lantern, also plan to keep the festivities as eco-friendly as possible. Here are some ideas to get you started.

Costumes – At our house, we have never purchased the kids expensive all-in-one costumes. Instead they make their own with odds and ends from the local fabric store, thrift shop, stuff from their own closets and mine. We also are happy to receive hand-me-downs and trades. From my own childhood, some of my favourite Hallowe’en memories come from making my own costumes and running around the neighbourhood with friends, rather than eating treats. So this year, limit the budget or put the wallet away entirely and challenge your family to make their own costumes from what they can get their hands on.

Candy – Buy fair-trade organic candy and chocolate, if possible. Pure Fun is a Canadian company that offers fair-trade, organic candy. Why not offer a treat you can feel good about? Since you didn’t spend all that cash on an expensive costume, you likely have the extra money you might need to buy a make a more responsible candy choice.

Candy Alternatives - In my neighbourhood, many people give out large handfuls of candies to each child that comes by. As a mom, I’d rather they receive less candy.  Some other alternatives to large handfuls of candies could include organic fruit leathers, organic granola bars, or a healthier version of  traditional snack foods. If you would like to give some non food treats away this year, try yoyos, spinning tops, Hallowe’en tattoos, soy crayons, beads, seed packages, or any other creative treat you can come up with.

Pumpkins – Buy local pumpkins. Does your child know where her/his food comes from? This is a great opportunity to take a trip to a local farm and have some fun. Buy some farm fresh berries or pies while you are there. After carving the pumpkins, use soy-based and beeswax candles rather than petroleum-based candles. Last year, we used bicycle lights in our pumpkins, which glowed red and flashed. They made our pumpkins look extra spooky and fun. We also baked the pumpkin seeds with some soy sauce and gobbled them up.

Trick or Treat – Walk don’t drive. Don’t know your neighbours? This is your excuse to knock on their doors and say, ‘hello.’ What will you put that candy in? We have fun reusable Hallowe’en themed bags that the kids use every year. They will last a long time and can be handed down at a later date. If you don’t have appropriate reusuable bags, buy plain cotton bags and let the kids decorate it with non-toxic fabric paints. You might want to stay away from the pillow case idea. Finally, wear a reusable reflective band on your arm or leg so you are visible at night.

Enjoy Hallowe’en!

Happy Thanksgiving! As we head toward a long weekend and one of my favourite Canadian feasts, it is a time to reflect on what we are thankful for.

I am thankful that I have the right to vote, and I exercise that right each chance I get. I am thankful that I have the power to effect change.

Noam Chomsky, linguist, scientist, author and one of the United States most outspoken political activists said in an interview in October 2006, “…it’s new in my experience, which goes back 60 years: a feeling of hopelessness. I mean, we have every possible opportunity, and an incomparable legacy of freedom, of privilege, of opportunity, and there’s numbers that I’ve never seen involved, engaged, and concerned. But they feel they can’t do anything. They feel hopeless.”

Although he is speaking of the United States, Canadians exercising their right to vote has decreased from 75.3% in 1988 to 60.5% in 2000. In research done by Elections Canada in 2003 and based on nonvoters in the 2000 election, the top five reasons Canadians didn’t vote were

• Just not interested
• Didn’t like parties/candidates
• Vote wouldn’t matter
• Didn’t care about issues
• Busy at work

I am thankful that Canadians seem to have shaken their sense of hopelessness, disinterest and disdain. Many people are working tirelessly to make this election about the environment. I am thankful to all of the individuals and organizations that have been actively working to keep the environment on the table this Thanksgiving.

Here is a short list of websites to visit to get more information about this election, each with their own flavour and presentation style. No matter which one suits your tastes, walk off your Thanksgiving meal and vote next Tuesday.

www.voteforenvironment.ca

www.voteenvironment2008.ca

www.democraticspace.com

www.new.facebook.com/group.php?sid=81fe0781cc713c942680bc066bb795c5&gid=25808609138
Vote swapping ends tonight at midnight for this Facebook group.

www.vtacc.org

www.avaaz.ca/ca/stop_harper_pledge

The United Nations has designated the first Monday of October each year as World Habitat Day. The idea is to have us reflect on the basic right for each human being to have adequate shelter. As more and more people move into cities looking for work, shelter, food and health care and cities grow and spread into agricultural land and then into animal habitats, each of us needs to think about our own actions. Do your actions contribute to adequate habitats for all plants and animals (including humans) or do your actions contribute to the decimation of these habitats?

Today the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has published its 2008 Red List, which assesses the conservation status of animal species, subspecies, and varieties in order to bring our attention to those that are threatened with extinction and to promote their conservation. I have heard the argument in the past about how we should be thinking about the needs of people, not the needs of animals, but today with World Habitat Day and the publication of the most recent Red List, I invite you to consider the undeniable link between the two.

Without the variety of plants and animals we have, we would not be able to survive on this planet. From plants and animals we derive our food and much of our medicine. One example is pollination, without the birds, bees, butterflies and bats that pollinate our crops, one-third of our food sources would become extinct. That represents about $10 billion in the United States alone. The Salmon Forest Project, out of the University of Victoria, has found a  connection between the size of the salmon run and the growth of trees, which can be measured by the tree rings. We need the plants and animals.

I have heard the argument that species extinction and the evolution of new species is a natural phenomena. So true. And there have been mass extinctions in the past similar to the one we are facing now. The difference comes when we look at the reasons for the mass extinction and the consequences. In the past, mass extinctions were the result of non human behaviours since we weren’t here yet. According to Endangered Species International, the mass extinction we face now is largely due to habitat destruction, human overpopulation, invasive species (usually brought by humans), pollution, and over-harvesting.

We need to reduce our population through access to education, opportunity, health care, shelter, food and water. We need to take care of the water, land, animals and plants; not because they are ours to rule over but because we need them to survive and we have no God-like rights to destroy them.

So today, when you think about World Habitat Day, think about the Red list and the link between the two. Think about the link between your personal behaviour and how you can make a difference now that will be reflected for generations to come.

Here is a list of just a few animals those future generations may never know.

Wild Horse, Hawaiian Monk Seal, Bawean Deer, Mountain Pygmy, Possum, Dingiso, Tenkile, Northern Glider, Telefomin Cuscus, Black-spotted Cuscus, Woylie, Celebes Crested Macaque, Grey-shanked Douc Langur, Black Crested Gibbon, Cozumel Harvest Mouse, Alcorn’s Pocket Gopher, Poncelet’s Giant Rat, Vancouver Island Marmot, Spoon-billed Sandpiper, Reunion Cuckooshrike, Mariana Crow, Akekee, Floreana Mockingbird, Tristan Albatross, Cuban Crocodile, Madagascar Big-headed Turtle, Radiated Tortoise, Plaoughshare Tortoise, Spider Tortoise, Flat-tailed Tortoise.

Grey-shanked Douc Langur

Just imagine if a company came along that was willing to pay all the upfront costs of installing a solar thermal heating system for a Canadian hospital. What if they were willing to eliminate maintenance costs? What if the hospital could know today what the cost of the energy will be for the next 10 to 20 years so they could budget accordingly? What if the hospital then only had to pay that set price for energy actually used? Sounds incredible, but this is no fairy tale.

Mondial Energy, in Toronto, finances solar thermal projects for commercial and multi-unit residential projects. One of their current projects has them working with SickKids Hospital in Toronto to install 92 solar panels along with 480 gallons of storage volume. This will provide the hospital with hot water for domestic use. The system will collect the sun’s energy when the sun is shining and store that energy. The hospital will then have the hot water available for use when they need it most, even if the sun isn’t shining. This project only provides hot water to the hospital at this time, but it demonstrates what can be done.

For every project, Mondial Energy monitors the amount of energy used and green house gases avoided. On their website, you can look at each project individually and see how much energy is being generated now, how much energy has been generated historically and the amount of greenhouse gases avoided. Here is a link to one of their projects.

Currently, Mondial looks for projects that use large amounts of hot water, which limits it to commercial and multi-unit residential buildings; are financially sound; and can commit to a 20 year project. This has been a challenge in Canada’s manufacturing sector where 20 years is a huge commitment. In order to proceed with the project a building permit must be acquired so all the necessary inspections take place. If you need a new roof, this project is not for you.

Organizations, that meet the criteria and want to move into the future, will actually be using a technology that was first patented in 1890s, when Clarence Kemp patented and then sold solar thermal systems to almost one third of the homes in Pasadena, California. Somewhere between then and now, gas and oil became our main source for heating water. Today with prices rising and our increasing understanding of how our behaviours affect our world, more people and organizations are willing to reconsider our energy sources.

With Mondial Energy, everyone wins. Mondial Energy provides the financing and takes on the risk, but earns a profit in the long run. Professional solar designers and installers provide the solar system and work on large-scale difficult to finance projects. SickKids Hospital has a competitive and stable price for hot water, at a time when rising energy prices threaten precious and ever more scarce health care dollars. The community lives in a cleaner environment with a reduction in greenhouse gases. A happily ever after story if I ever heard one.