I've written about Earth's General Store before because it's one of my favourite businesses. We get our coffee there because it's the lowest-impact available, but I mostly like it because I can trust it.

What I mean is, I trust that they've done the research for me on any given product. And that there won't be any "surprise" non-organic items in my bag when I get home (virtually everything they carry is organic, and whatever isn't is well-labelled).

Proprietor Michael Kalmanovitch has now written a convincing post about how Earth's General Store beats Planet Organic on price most of the time.

If you don't shop at EGS yet, what exactly is holding you back?

Earths General Store has reopened at 9605 – Whyte Avenue (across from the Humpty’s), its new, bigger and better location. EGS was the flagship of the Edmonton environmental scene in the early 1990s. It remains the main hub of conscious green living in Edmonton. If you want to get connected to Edmonton’s environmental community, EGS is the place to be.

In its new location, the store has expanded from its role as retailer, coffee roaster, bookstore, and information provider to included groceries and an expanded line of offerings.

EGS now sells food!

One of the things I’ve always loved about the store is that Michael and his staff have done “the research” for me. At most other stores, you have to constantly be on the lookout for green washing and gouging. At EGS, you can relax and trust that whatever you’re buying is truly the greenest, healthiest choice.

I’m thrilled that EGS has stepped into the role of green grocer. Stop in and check it out. Here are some more pictures of the new space:  read more... »

Eco Reno Demo Days
Join Raising Spaces on Saturday July 18th, 12:00 pm - 4:30 pm at the Eco Ammo Headquarters (#102, 10436-81 Ave) for an afternoon dedicated to exploring Green Home products and practices!
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Embodied Energy

    the available energy that was used in the work of making a product (from Wikipedia)

Once we use energy to make something, we should keep using that thing as long as possible. It provides a service to us, and once we stop using it to provide that service we generally need to spend more energy to create whatever replaces it. Home Re-use-ables exists to extend the life of building products – to maximize the value that we get from their embodied energy.

This is Sherry at Home Re-use-ables. It’s located at 8832 62 Avenue, and it may just have what you’re looking for for our next renovation project.  read more... »