My concern for the environment led me years ago to become acutely aware of the role that energy plays in our lives. The following quote sums it up nicely:

There is no substitute for energy. The whole edifice of modern society is built upon it…. It is not “just another commodity” but the precondition of all commodities, a basic factor equal with air, water and earth. E. F. Schumacher (1973)  read more... »

I love good coffee. There are few finer things in life than a delicious cup of Joe first thing in the morning. The problem is, Edmonton is 4000 km away from the nearest coffee producing nation. There is a significant environmental cost to drinking coffee.

Luckily, Earth's General Store (EGS) roasts organic fair trade coffee right here on Whyte Avenue.

What makes their coffee the eco-est?  read more... »

Change your light bulbs. Environmentalists and other green types have been begging us to do it for years now. Regular incandescent light bulbs waste 95% of electricity that we throw at them, among other reasons to switch.

Nonetheless, "Incandescents filled 85% of sockets in 2002 compared to less than 2% for Compact Fluorescents" (source).  read more... »

Alberta's electricity is mostly coal-fired. And coal is the enemy of the human race. So what is a green Edmontonian to do?

The first, most profitable and greenest thing you can do is to reduce your energy use. The easiest ways to do that, all of which have better paybacks than most any mutual fund, include lighting with only compact fluorescent bulbs, replacing your 15-year old refrigerator with a new energy efficient model, and plugging your consumer electronics into power strips to that they don't suck juice while they're turned off. We'll cover all of these actions in future posts.  read more... »