I took this picture from my kitchen window one morning last month. The trick is to look at the little numbers on the inside. That’s right, –30 degrees Celsius. It gets cold in our beloved river city.

You’re a Hawaiian in an Edmontonian’s body though, right? An island-dweller stuck on the frozen tundra of Alberta. If only nature would understand your needs. Oh well, the only thing to do is hunker down and stay inside for six months a year except for that dash to your idling car. That’s why our merciful Creator invented remote car starters, isn’t it?  read more... »

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... »

Peter Amerongen installing a sun pipe on the MCNZH's roof

Construction of the Mill Creek NetZero Home (MCNZH) is progressing nicely.

Before Chrismas we (as in, Peter's crew and a friend of mine) started installing the steel roof. We installed the locally made sun pipe that will pipe natural light to the windowless bathroom on the second floor:

 read more... »

Andrea from Edmonton-owned website/marketplace raisingspaces.com recently informed me that Edmonton has it's very own local manufacturer of light pipes: Sunscope Natural Light Systems. We'll be considering their product first for the Mill Creek NetZero Home (MCNZH) because buying locally helps to create the vibrant local, green, living economy that we need.  read more... »