Idle No More...

I've been shutting off my engine at red lights, in traffic, every chance I get since Linda gave me the facts in her fantastic book. Now here's a great article from www.IslandParent.ca that'll surely convince you to, too.

"Turn It Off "
A mere 10 seconds is the amount of time Natural Resources Canada recommends you leave your engine idling while running errands, chatting with a friend, waiting at the ferry or picking your children up after school. "Avoiding unnecessary engine idling is something that we can all immediately do to minimize our contribution to greenhouse gases," explains Oak Bay Green Committee (OBGC) member Trevor Williams. The OBGC and Green Gatherings are launching a community No Engine Idling campaign targeting Oak Bay schools. The campaign includes free No Engine Idling aluminum signs and information kits for the schools. "The No Engine Idling campaign not only educates drivers about the need to reduce emissions, but it also creates awareness around the relationship between society’s over-reliance on vehicles and the damage it is doing to the environment and our children," says campaign co-ordinator Britt Karlstrom.
According to Natural Resources Canada, children are especially susceptible to carbon emissions due to their developing lungs and need to take in oxygen at an increased rate, exposing them to increased amounts of particulate matter believed to cause respiratory related illnesses. Vehicle emissions also greatly contribute to the pollutants that contribute to greenhouse gases—the gases that are responsible for the climatic change. Statistics show that parents contribute to unnecessary engine idling more than any other group.
"We are hoping that (the No Engine Idling campaign) will continue to spread to other communities as well," explains Williams.
"We have already sold signs to individuals from Sundance and McTavish Schools and to someone who wants to put a sign at the ferry on Cortes Island."
If every driver of a light-duty vehicle in Canada avoided idling for just five minutes a day, we would prevent more than 1 million tonnes of CO2 from entering the atmosphere each year—that’s a huge contribution to Canada’s climate change efforts. Oak Bay’s first No Engine Idling sign is located at Demitasse Café at 2164 McNeil Ave.
For more information on the Oak Bay No Engine Idling campaign contact The Oak Bay Green Committee at 370-7736 or visit our website at www.greengatherings.ca."

Thanks so much for that, Andrea Rutz!

Consider LED lights

Did you know that those new compact fluorescent lightbulbs contain mercury and that one lightbulb can contaminate 6,000 gallons of water if it's not recycled properly? Click here to find the nearest recycling depot near you. And after reading about the hazards of these trendy new lights here, you might want to consider using LED lights instead. I am!

Healthy Home Video

Well worth watching, this 2 minute video was on CBC. Please watch it and let me know what you think. WHY do we put up with this stuff? Why oh WHY are there known carcinogens inside of canned foods, for example, and we just ACCEPT that. WHY???