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... »

When we need to "consume", we should be buying stuff that uses as little water and electricity as possible. Comparing the different products for these attributes can be difficult. Here are the best resources:

Searchable Canadian Government Energy Efficiency Ratings of all available:

• ranges
• refrigerators
• dishwashers
• washing machines 
• freezers

The (user-unfriendly) master page is here. I always have trouble finding these databases, so I thought that I would post them here for easy reference. After you've run your initial search, click on "Energuide Rating (kWh/year)" twice. This will order the appliances by the smallest consumption first.

For cars, if you simply must buy one, refer to the U.S. Government's Fuel Economy comparison website.

Earth's General Store (EGS) has been the hub of Edmonton's environmental community for the past 17 years. I love the store because I trust it implicitly - I know that its owner Michael Kalmanovitch and his staff have picked the products that they offer with true sustainability in mind. EGS is an example of what makes a city great: small businesses that care. Michael is a tireless worker for the community, and EGS has sponsored and organized countless worthy causes and projects.

Michael has recently decided to expand the store - his vision is a cross between the old Roots Organic market and the current EGS. He has developed an innovative funding mechanism (see below) that allows his customers/community to invest in in a resource that will serve them well. Michael already has my cheque. I hope that you will consider this exciting opportunity:  read more... »

This is a thermally insulated pressure cooker. We're not going to buy our way out of the environmental crisis, but certain purchases can make a big difference if they reduce our consumption of fossil fuels.

Pressure and Insulation for Efficiency

Pressure cooking is a super-efficient way to cook. A pressure cooker "can drop the consumption [of energy] by ... 68 percent ... compared to a flat-bottomed pot" (Stoyke, 2007, p. 80). It's so efficient because when it's under pressure, water can boil at a much higher temperature (about 120 degree Celcius), which makes the food cook faster.  read more... »

This is Tree Stone bakery in Old Strathcona. I love living near such a great bakery, and I would include walking distance to a local bakery on my list of must haves when choosing where to live.

Nancy Rubilak, the Tree Stone's owner/operator, buys almost all of her ingredients from local farmers, and uses organic ingredients in many of her creations. Plus, I love the fact that I can buy bread in one of the reusable cloth bag that she sells.  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... »