Our Challenge for August

What a great time for our August challenge.....buy locally. This is the time when we should be seeking out those public markets, checking out what local farmers are producing, and supporting the small businesses within our cities, towns and our beautiful province. There are so many local products that we can purchase to help the economy within British Columbia. This month we challenge you to again, take the time to look at labels, to be conscience of where your products are being made, and again to buy fresh produce grown close to home.

Here are the guidelines:
1. Buy produce and products grown locally
2. Buyer beware! Look at the labels of your products and buy products closest to home....start with your city, then your province, and finally within your Country.
3. Eat Fresh! It's summer folks.....take the time to buy your food fresh.
4. Support your local businesses and help out out local economy. If all else fails and you find it hard to buy locally....look for small neighborhood businesses that you could support.

Good luck to everyone.....this is such an important issue and getting into the habit of being buyer aware not only helps our economy, but helps our environment. Remember how those great Japanese crackers you love get here.....and how much fuel is needed for that long boat ride across the sea.....Why not opt for some Que Pasa Chips or some Wild Salmon from our Coast.

Please send us some the names of some of your favourite local businesses, Food Markets, and Farms so we can share them will all our challengers.....

Algonquin Park, Ontario

The letter below was sent to the Superintendent of Algonquin Park as well as Greenpeace by challenger Leigh.

Hello there. I arrived home last night from five days in Algonquin Park. It was stunningly beautiful and so much fun. My Dad and I stayed at the Lake of Two Rivers campground. Algonquin Park makes me proud to be a Canadian. I love the fact that we have preserved this wonderful wild area so that generations of Canadians and others can enjoy and appreciate our natural heritage.

I have one large complaint, however. I was sooooo diappointed to see that Kimberly Clark products are used in the bathrooms!!!! Kimberly Clark makes Kleenex and provides toilet tissue for many many public bathrooms but what a lot of the public is not aware of is that they use 100% virgin growth forest in their tissue paper. They are currently clearcutting Canada's own Boreal Forest while there are many many alternatives to this, and loads of tissue companies haved jumped on board using recyclable materials or sustainable logging to name just a few of these alternatives.

It was a real blow to see the use of products from a company who is one of the most harmful predators of our own Canadian wilderness, in Canada's most famous and wild provincial park. It is reasonable to assume that the person/s in charge of doing business with Kimberly Clark was/were previously unaware of their atrocities and I do hope that you will take the time to research this further, and make the only sane choice considering what your park represents.

Thank you so much for your time and all the work you do. Please feel free to contact me or Greenpeace if you have any questions or concerns, and be sure to check out the following website.

http://kleercut.net/en/node/26

Our Challenge for July

With summer here and all of us itching to travel, we must not throw all that we've learned away, but rather put our environmentally friendly knowledge to good use. Lets face it, it's easy to forget the small but important things when we travel, but we must not let our greed and materialistic ways impede on our ability to reduce our footprints while we're away.

Listed below are some tips to think about while travelling this summer.

1. When you start thinking about where you want to go this summer, consider taking the train if it's possible. In North America it can be very pricey, but if you already know that you're going to Europe, don't fly from country to country. Take to train and enjoy the view.

2. If you're not one to pitch a tent while travelling, here are some things to think about while you're staying in hotels.
- Turn down the A/C when you're in the room and turn it off when you're gone
- Reuse your towels
- Unplug TVs and appliances when you go out
- Turn off lights when you leave a room
- Take showers instead of baths

3. If you're going to renting a car during your travels, look around an choose a car company that rents eco-friendly and low-emission vehicles like Toyotas, Renault and Skoda. If you're daring enough, rent a scooter instead of a car to really reduce your footprint. Also look for taxi companies that use hybrids... go ahead and request it!

4. When eating out, think authentic. Try to eat foods that are local. Why would you go travel to Greece and order lobster from Atlantic Canada??

5. When we travel, we always want to buy souvenirs. Look to see where the souvenirs are made before you impulsively buy them. Giving someone a gift that was made locally will be much more adored than one that was made in China (well unless you go to China this summer). Also consider fair-trade when you visit certain countries.

Bon Voyage!

Our Challenge for June

This month we are going to reuse a challenge. We have picked this challenge to reuse due to it's importance. We cannot have enough awareness and practice when it comes to reducing, reusing and recycling.

When you become aware of the 3 R's you will find many ways to help save our Earth. Here are some suggestions to help you get you started on this month's challenge. If you have any other ideas...please send us an email, or comment on our post and let's find ways to help our dying planet.

Reduce:
*reduce energy by turning off lights and unplugging electronics and appliances
*reduce water by turning off the tap when you are brushing your teeth, by taking shorter showers and being water conscience when washing dishes
*reduce paper cups by taking your own mugs to coffee shops or making your own coffee
*reduce emissions by not idling your car
*reduce garbage by recycling and starting a compost for fruits and vegetables
*reduce emissions by walking to work, taking the bus, biking or carpooling

Reuse:
*reuse containers from home (replace plastics with glass)
*reuse ziploc bags and other plastic bags
*reuse items in your home by lending (see lendlist.org)

Recycle:
*take the time to wash out containers and put them in the blue box
*recycle newspapers and magazines by bringing them to work for friends to enjoy
*recycle items such as toilet paper rolls, buttons etc. by donating them to a local school for art projects
*become aware of our recycling program and the Numbers associated with containers
*return bottles and containers to the Bottle Depot

Good luck on this reused challenge!