After a bout with bronchitis and antibiotics that I could swear were meant for horses, we are back after a lengthy silence. Not one to take medication, I probably waited too long. Nevertheless, I am back on track and look forward to a nice glass of wine once the anitbiotics are done with. I recently had the pleasure of interviewing Ezra Cipes, Chief Operations Officer and son of the founder of Summerhill Pyramid Winery in B.C.  Ezra passed on an interesting video and while I wanted to share it, I also wanted to know more about Ezra and why he was inspired to pass it on. Grab a glass of organic wine, sit back and be inspired!

EC: Summerhill is Canada’s largest organic winery. Has Summerhill always been an organic winery or was there a shift in philosophy at some point?

Ezra: Our family moved onto the vineyard in 1987 when we emigrated to the Okanagan from New York. The whole point of the move was a return to a more holistic lifestyle with the land, so the organic conversion started pretty much right away. The real challenge in converting to organic methods is not feasibility or economics. It’s overcoming the mental limitations; the feeling that chemicals or whatever are needed to ‘control the situation’. Our wine cellar achieved certification in 2007 under our great winemaker Eric Von Krosigk. The winemaker that Eric replaced was convinced it was impossible to go organic because he relied on caustic soda to control rogue bacteria from spoiling the fermentation process. You want to know what the organic solution is? Steam and ozone and scrub brushes. We are now working towards Bio-dynamic status in our vineyards.

EC: You’ll have to tell us when you achieve bio-dynamic status. Summerhill Pyramid Winery is more than just a winery. Tell me about the Pyramid.

Ezra: Ah, the pyramid. The pyramid is the wine’s temple and sanctuary, and it’s a bit of a spiritual beacon for people as well. The rational explanation concerns sacred geometry and the harmony of space and time. There is no electricity in the pyramid, and there is no metal in the construction. It is aligned to true north, and the angles and dimensions are a precise scale replica of the Great Pyramid in Egypt. So what you have is a very beautiful, still, harmonious energy in the pyramid. You have to go in there to experience it, I can’t explain it. But all of the wine ages there before it is put on the market, and this is our final clarifying and resting stage of production while the wine recovers from bottle shock.

EC: I’ll have to try it myself. Sounds like THE PLACE for wine tasting. Here’s a picture for the curious.

Summerhill Pyramid Winery

EC: Tell me, why should consumers choose organic wines?

Ezra:  You have to look at organics on a holistic level. It’s as much about the health of your body as it is about the health of our soils and our water. Concerning the larger environment, obviously the larger the organic market share grows, the less land will be maintained with petro-chemicals, and that is good for our drinking water, our oceans,  and maintaining the soils for the generations to come. Concerning the immediate environment of our bodies, there is new research that foods and grapes grown organically contain far more cancer fighting anti-oxidents. The hypothesis is that these compounds develop as the plant’s immune system works to live and resist disease and so on, and if you are constantly protecting the plants with herbicides, pesticides, and fungicides, as well as feeding it junk food with chemical fertilizers, these compounds will not develop in the eventual crop. (Never mind the systemic uptake of certain chemical products on the crop.)

EC: I recently discovered that I can drink organic wine after years of not drinking any wine. Instant hangover! Any ideas why I can only drink organic wines and other wine makes me feel quite ill even if I only drink 1/2 glass?

Ezra: A lot of people will tell you it’s sulphites, but sulphites only affect about 1% of the population, and they are in a lot of packaged foods, so it’s probably not that. (Some of our wines contain no sulphites, though.) A lot of people are affected by histamines, and those are mostly in red wines (ours too). So why does organic wine not give you the instant hangover that other wines do give? I don’t know, but a good percentage of our most loyal customers tell the same story.

EC: Thanks for passing the movie on to me. What struck you most when you first saw this movie?

Ezra: Well what struck me is that this is a document attempting to summon the political will for policy change regarding chemical food production, and I think that’s brilliant. As I said, economically it is feasible and I believe would be beneficial, and there is no shortage of scientific evidence making the case for organics. Of course there is always contrasting evidence funded by corporate interests and what have you, but come on! Scientific evidence can only get you so far. At some point people have to look inside themselves and ask themselves whether they believe the hype put forth by Monsanto and all the rest. Michael Pollan is a brilliant author on the subject, and he published an open letter to Barack Obama, but I don’t think the president took heed. A large scale change would take vision and chutzpah unmatched, and in the meantime we are going to have to content ourselves with the grassroots growing the organic market share every year in our own quiet way, and in turning on one consumer at a time, and touching their hearts. People balk at the extra cost of organics but I challenge the cynical perspective that sees the price of everything and the value of nothing.

http://nosenfantsnousaccuseront-lefilm.com/bande-annonce.html

EC: One final question. Since I have recently discovered that I can drink organic wine, could you suggest a couple of different wines that I should try. I am so new that you’ll have to help with what to pair them with as well.

Ezra: My favorite bottle that we make is called ‘Cipes Gabriel’. I can’t call it champagne, because champagne’s a place. but its the same thing only made in Canada. I would put the quality of this bottle up against French champagnes at twice the price and expect to come off favorably, and in fact we’ve won medals in France with this one. Drink it chilled at the beginning of an evening to get the vibe going, or pair with bread or starch to play off the earthy, yeasty notes, or salads to play off the acidity.
For a white, try our organic Gewurztraminer with sushi or curry. Gewurzt grows great in the Okanagan valley, with beautiful acidity that highlights the fruity notes and spice of the grape.
For a red try our Bio-dynamically grown Foch with the venison that your uncle brought home from the hunt, or pass it around the campfire and drink it straight from the bottle. Foch is hearty and rustic and should give you a wondrous rush of endorphins on your first sip. We don’t make much of it, and I drink most of it myself, so get it while you can.

EC: Thanks, Ezra.

I hope the movie touches you and inspires you to make change, including motivating your political representatives at all levels of government to lead the way for change. Next time you are sitting around the fire with friends drinking organic wine, toast to the health of our children.

Summerhill is B.C’s largest organic winery and vineyard. Ezra is the son of the owner/founder and the chief operations officer at the winery. He maintains a half acre organic veggie and herb garden that supplies their on site restaurant.

Global warming has emerged as the most important issue of our generation and the topic of “the environment” is hot these days- no pun intended. The question is: how do we best run our businesses in this context? We as businesspeople are becoming conscious of our ability to take an active role in solving our societies environmental crisis. At the same time, studies show that people will choose an eco-friendly or green option if given the opportunity. Increasingly, consumers are “voting with their dollars” to support green businesses that are reducing their carbon footprint and reducing the amount of carbon dioxide they produce.

Given this reality, it makes business sense for each of us to make our companies as eco-friendly as possible. Given the economic context of running a business, this shift towards low carbon use must be balanced with sound financial judgment; we must chose options that reduce our carbon footprint and also maintain profitability.

In this context, choosing green web hosting is a good business investment. In terms of pricing, green web hosting rates are reasonable. Solar Energy Host offers individual plans starting at only $9.95 per month ($119.40 per year.) For larger businesses, managed dedicated servers are also available. This compares to about $6.99/month for hosting that uses non-eco friendly energy sources. Conventional hosting seems cheaper. However, when the marketing benefits to your company of using green web hosting are taken into account, an option such as Solar Energy Host is actually more cost effective than conventional hosting.

The key to maximizing the benefit of green web hosting to your company is in publicizing it properly and using it as a marketing tool. Green web hosting conveys a key marketing message; “Trust us, we are doing the right thing, just like you are.” However, consumers are increasingly aware and critical, they are looking for proof. They want to know that the businesses they support are not engaged in “green washing.” This is why it is critical that companies go further and explain to their customers just what makes their web hosting “green.” This in turn will increase the customer’s trust and loyalty. Using an option such as Solar Energy Host allows companies to promote their web hosting as the “greenest” because they power their servers directly with solar panels. This reduces the carbon footprint of the Internet. This contrasts sharply with other “green” hosting companies that simply buy Carbon Credits while they continue to use “dirty” energy.

How this information is communicated depends on the nature of your company and target market. For example, it can be displayed on a special page of your website and/or links and logos can be displayed at the bottom of each page of the site to signify that your company is using the greenest hosting option possible. Your companies “green web presence” can also be promoted in other marketing material. In such a way your efforts to green your businesses can also improve your sales and leads and, ultimately, your bottom line.

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.

Way to go Premier Danny Williams. Boy, you tapped into a major find there with that off-shore oil field. I read that it contains between 400 and 700 million barrels. Let’s put this situation into perspective.

Starting in 2017 and for about 25 years, your province will be pumping out about 700 million barrels of oil in total. That’s enough oil to last the entire population of the planet for about 9 days if we use 2005 figures put out by the CIA. (And why would they lie?) By 2017, it might be enough for a whole week worth of oil.

For $20 billion and no more than 9 days of oil, you are willing to change Newfoundland and Labrador from this

Beautiful Newfoundland

to this?

Oil Spill

What are you going to do with the $20 billion? I would suggest putting a large chunk of it away to clean up the mess that the oil companies leave behind because they certainly aren’t going to stick around to clean up. How about putting some of it into sustainable industries, such as renewable energy that could take your province to sustainable economic prosperity (lasting more than 25 years), and preserve the beauty of your province?

I understand that you want to jump on the oil bandwagon and who wouldn’t with oil consumption on the rise, production on the decline and the price of a barrel set to go up and up and up. Just like hot air.

If you think about it, you will go down in history as someone who contributed to the oil age, even if for only one week. How far into history will that take you? Here’s what the oil age looks like in the bigger picture.

And your contribution is really more than one week. It is also 3,000 jobs over 25 years and generations of environmental devastation. Good on ya.

Can you hear that drip? That’s oil.

After I woke this morning and grabbed a cornmeal muffin for breakfast, I sat down to discover there was more controversy surrounding biofuels. Does using biofuel necessitate taking food out of the mouths of the hungry? Is it a sustainable solution to our current need for new sources of energy?

The article I read referred to a report from the World Bank that stated the production of biofuels had driven up food prices by 75%. Later in the article, it stated that because Canada produces 70% of our own food, we have not been affected. Regardless of how safe Canadians might feel today, we do need to address the issue. People are being affected now, and they don’t earn what we earn.

I grew up on a farm and used to be responsible for collecting the eggs every morning. On the farm, nothing was wasted: we used every inch of land; composted leftovers; tapped trees; conserved water. Waste not, want not.

If we choose to use rich agricultural land to plant low-yield energy crops such as corn, then we are not choosing a sustainable energy source and we are taking a source of food from our food stores.

However, if we harvest the corn and take it to market to feed people and then use the waste to make ethanol, then we are being smart about food and energy production. The same could be done for wheat and other crops that have unused agriculture waste.

If we choose to cut down great swaths of rainforest to plant crops to develop biofuels then we are creating more problems. Those trees are our source of oxygen. They are great healers and we need them.

However, we can produce biofuel using high-yield energy crops such as sugar cane (OK, not in Canada) or switch grass planted on agricultural land that already exists and is not suitable for food crops. This would be a sustainable solution.

I learned a lot growing up on a farm. Should we put all our eggs in one basket and act like biofuel is the answer? No, but produced in a sustainable manner, it is part of the solution. So, let’s not throw the baby out with the bath water.

Biofuel production boosts food prices by 75%, report suggests