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As of May 2008 the estimated world population is just over 6.6 billion people. Wow! Its no secret that the world population is growing at an alarming rate and that something needs to be done. Another interesting or alarming, however you look at it, is the decreasing forests, trees, and rainforest’s. Yet again not another big secret, but something is being done to help solve this problem and in fact those efforts are getting stepped up. I am talking about an old initiative that is being renewed to be known as the 7 billion tree project.

The project originally started as a 1 billion tree project, but goals were easily completed and exceeded to 2 million trees. So that begged the question, how high can we go? The campaign was originally spearheaded by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF). It was unveiled in 2006 as one response to the threat but also the opportunities of global warming, as well as to the wider sustainability challenges from water supplies to biodiversity loss. With the success of the previous campaign Achim Steiner, UN Under-Secretary-General and UNEP Executive Director, said “In 2006 we wondered if a billion tree target was too ambitious; it was not. The goal of two billion trees has also proven to be an underestimate. The goal of planting seven billion trees, equivalent to just over a tree per person alive on the planet, must therefore also be do-able given the campaign’s extraordinary track record and the self-evident worldwide support”.

This is surely to be an aggressive goal to complete but with the success of the previous goals achieved, there is no reason why it cannot be accomplished. Its really simple, go out and plant one tree and your contributing to the cause. If you really want to get ambitious, plant a couple of trees. This really is a great initiative and I believe it will be achieved. Click here and here to learn all the details about the campaign that I have left out.

Keep it green,

Paul

Hello again everybody, today’s post is for all you Southern Ontario/Torontonians. Deep within Canada’s largest urban center lays the most wild river known to man. The Don River! If you don’t know the river I am talking about then google map it, the river is right beside the 404/DVP in Toronto.

Anyways, the occasion was called Paddle The Don and its all about having fun, enjoying nature, and celebrating the Don River watershed. The annual event attracts hundreds of participants each spring and helps the TRCA (Toronto and Region Conservation Authority) raise money for the regeneration of the Don watershed. This year over 175 canoes entered the treacherous waters which raised over $30,000, and Team Thermos was there leading the pack! Check out the pics below to see the team in action. Great job everyone!

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Consumer awareness is emerging at an all time high. People are concerned about what they are putting into their body, where their products are coming from, and how their products are made. This is a great time to be a consumer and we can only hope that people continue to make ethical decisions that will force companies to make ethical decisions. One of the more predominant issues recently surrounding the news has been the amount of BPA in products, specifically baby products. Well I am here today to give another BPA free update.

There are plenty of BPA free products that can be found and retailers are beginning to make BPA free products the standard. Just recently consumer demand prompted London Drugs to increase offerings of BPA-free alternative product.

London Drugs immediately removed baby bottles, sippy cups and select food containers and water bottles containing BPA from store shelves in April and provided customers refunds for 50,000 products - mostly baby bottles - containing BPA. London Drugs now offers only BPA-free baby bottles, toddler sippy cups and child drinking cups from reputable manufacturers such as Born-Free, Chicco, Nuby, Medela, Nurture Pure and Thermos”.

A great display of what ethical consumer demand can accomplish and force retailers to change their ways. You can also click here to get another full list of BPA free products for you little ones.

Keep it Green,

Paul

800px-bignickeljpg-jpeg-image-800x593-pixels_1210615457531.png Whats the biggest attraction you have ever seen? Mine would have to be the world’s largest nickel in Sudbury. Those roadside attractions that claim to be the world’s biggest always give me a bit of a chuckle, like the worlds largest ball of twine. All these attractions are funny but what about the worlds largest solar farm? Thats right, green/eco tourism is coming!

So this is literally, big news for the green energy world! According to Jetson Green and the Sacremento Business Journal, plans are being put in motion to build the worlds largest solar farm in San Luis Obispo County, California. It will be located on the northwestern corner of the Carrisa Plains and will produce sufficient electricity to power the equivalent of approximately 190,000 average California homes. The company undertaking this challenge is OptiSolar, but the big worry is where the funding is going to come from? OptiSolar has already begun construction of a massive farm in Sarnia, Ontario where they successfully raised the money, so mabey the doubt will be put to rest. Should the plan be successful, construction will start in 2010 and is expected to be completed three years later.

So when you are planning your next “Worlds Biggest” road trip, mabey you should consider making a swing down to the California area and get your picture taken at the worlds largest solar farm. However at the rate solar power farms are being built, who will the pitch the next world’s biggest solar farm?

Keep it Green,

Paul

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Okay so there are lots of companies that are making strides to become eco-friendly. Very often it is a thin line between “greenwashing” and actual improvements but that is a different story all together. So I’m doing my usual perusing around the web today and I come across a story that almost knocks me off my feet, Nike is the most eco-friendly practicing business!

I know, I know. How is this possible? Well around this time in March we were talking about the improvements Nike was making but to think that they are the best? That seems a little strange to say the least! I talk about companies making eco-friendly strides all the time so mabey the Nike news fell through the cracks? The question is, who exactly made this ranking? The non-profit organization is called Climate Counts started by Stonyfield Farms Inc. which is an organic yogurt company. Climate Counts goal is “to motivate deeper awareness among consumers-not only that the issue of climate change demands their attention, but also that they have the power to support companies that take climate change seriously - and avoid those that don’t”. So the question is, how exactly did they rank companies in order that Nike ended up at the top of the pile? In simple terms, there was a 100-point scale that was based off of 22 criteria to determine if: companies have:

  • MEASURED their climate “footprint”
  • REDUCED their impact on global warming
  • SUPPORTED (or suggest intent to block) progressive climate legislation
  • Publicly DISCLOSED their climate actions clearly and comprehensively

So click here to learn a little more and you can go to the direct site yourself to see how other companies matched up and all the details on the ranking. Am I the only one that finds this a little crazy?

Keep it Green,

Paul

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