Sustainability and Loblaw’s Keiser Soze 1
Sustainitiatives is a section on The Urban Country where we highlight companies or individuals who are taking initiatives to help reduce our harm on the environment. Corporate Environmental Sustainability is something we hear a lot about recently; however it’s not something we should take at face value. Many companies are more pre-occupied with “greenwashing” or ...
Sustainable Living: Celebrating Earth Day 2009 2
Earth Day was officially born in 1970 after a proclamation by its founder, Wisconsin Senator Gaylord Nelson in September 1969 that stated a “nationwide grassroots demonstration on the environment” would take place in Spring of 1970. Thirty-nine years later, Earth Day is alive and well and nothing gets me more excited than knowing that billions ...
Sustainable Commuting 4
Excerpt from my blogTO article: “When it comes to commuting to work, we have many options to choose from. We can drive to work, take public transit, telecommute, walk, bike, rollerblade, skateboard, fly, take a train, ride a bus. The list goes on and on. At different points in my life I’ve experienced most of ...
Technology: The Good and the Bad 1
Last night we rented a movie. When returning the movie this morning on my way to see the dentist, I was reminded how technology has helped us avoid mundane time-consuming tasks. Just one decade ago, I might have been late for my dentist appointment if I realized that the previous night I had forgotten to ...
Measures productivity by how few people are working
I’m reading a really great book right now that my brother Tom thoughtfully gave me for my birthday. It’s called “Cradle to Cradle – Remaking the Way We Make Things“. Amazon has labelled it as a “Paperback”, but it’s not your typical “Paperback”. The book is printed on synthetic “paper” and it’s made from plastic ...
Sustainitiatives: Toronto Self Sustaining Home 12
Imagine living in a large house that has all of the luxuries that normal houses have, such as a dishwasher, laundry machines, electronics, etc. except it’s almost completely self sustaining, without relying on city water or the electricity grid. Twelve years ago, inventor Rolf Paloheimo built a self-sufficient home in Toronto. He invented his own ...
Sustainitiatives: The Beer Store Corporate Environmental Responsibility 4
Since I’ve been on the topic of environmental responsibility lately, I might as well share with you a great example of how Corporations can be great stewards in helping the environment. In Ontario, we have to purchase our beer in special “Beer Stores”. These stores only sell beer and accessories related to beer. The Beer ...
Your Ecological Footprint 5
Ever wonder how many earths we would need to sustain your lifestyle? A coworker sent out a link to an online quiz that gives you an idea of your ecological footprint. It tells you how many hectares/acres your ecological footprint is, and how many earths would be required if everyone on earth lived like you. ...