Archive for April, 2008

After reading this post, don't forget to enter our contest – you could win a new dishwasher. Plus, do you have your own story to tell? Send it to greenchallenge@canadianliving.com (no more than 300 words, please), and you could win one of 30 daily prizes.

On any occasion with lots of gifts, I can't help cringing at the mountains of gift wrap and packaging left over, not to mention the cards, envelopes – and the gifts themselves. I'm a strong believer that gift-giving has gotten excessive in our society, and it's rarely eco-friendly.

But there are a number of ways you can lessen the environmental impact of gift-giving at holidays and birthdays. (more...)

After reading this post, don't forget to enter our contest – you could win a new dishwasher. Plus, do you have your own story to tell? Send it to greenchallenge@canadianliving.com (no more than 300 words, please), and you could win one of 30 daily prizes.

Further to the concept of reducing our waste is one easy way to cut back on your garbage and to provide fresh, healthy sustenance for your garden: composting.

Composting is the process of turning plant-based waste (kitchen scraps, grass clippings, fallen leaves, even some pet waste) into piles of soil-like compost that are packed with nutrition to feed growing plants. It's the human-based version of what happens on the forest floor and is the best way to dispose of organic waste in an eco-friendly manner. (more...)

After reading this post, don't forget to enter our contest – you could win a new dishwasher. Plus, do you have your own story to tell? Send it to greenchallenge@canadianliving.com (no more than 300 words, please), and you could win one of 30 daily prizes.

Today's post is by online food editor Christine Picheca, who also writes our food blog, the Foodie File – check it out!

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Remember the three Rs, reduce, reuse, recycle? It seems the recycle aspect of that old adage is the only one we have held on to. Of course, reuse and reduce mean consuming less, and we currently live in a time of consumption. I am old school when it comes to eco matters – I still live by the reuse and reduce rules. I try to purchase quality items that have longevity and that I truly love, I am resourceful and a great re-inventor of items I already have, and I know that a great deal is only a great deal if I actually need and use what I am purchasing.How does this translate to the world of food? (more...)

After reading this post, don't forget to enter our contest – you could win a new dishwasher. Plus, do you have your own story to tell? Send it to greenchallenge@canadianliving.com (no more than 300 words, please), and you could win one of 30 daily prizes.

Kids have even more of a reason to care about environmental issues than adults do – after all, they're going to be here for longer. One way to share ecological values with the kids in our lives is through books. Here are a few examples you might want to consider next time a child in your life has a birthday coming up.

The classic: The Lorax by Dr. Seuss
Dr. Seuss was ahead of his time on this one, which Random House has just re-released on recycled paper. The Lorax tells a cautionary story of profit over preservation and teaches kids that our natural resources are not unlimited. I'd say it's my favourite Dr. Seuss book. (more...)

After reading this post, don't forget to enter our contest – you could win a new dishwasher. Plus, do you have your own story to tell? Send it to greenchallenge@canadianliving.com (no more than 300 words, please), and you could win one of 30 daily prizes.

Back onto the concept of eco sins is another thing I feel guilty about ecologically – I love to travel. To faraway places. And if there's one way to instantly increase your carbon footprint, it's long plane rides. According to the David Suzuki Foundation, air travel is responsible for 4-9 per cent of human-caused climate change.

While carbon offsets are one way to atone for flying, another thing you can do is to choose vacation destinations that are more eco-friendly. Here are a few tips. (more...)

After reading this post, don't forget to enter our contest – you could win a new dishwasher. Plus, do you have your own story to tell? Send it to greenchallenge@canadianliving.com (no more than 300 words, please), and you could win one of 30 daily prizes.

Today's post is by senior copy editor Austen Gilliland.

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I'll be honest: it wasn't until a few months ago, shortly after I set my oven on fire, that I actually harnessed the cleaning power of baking soda.Of course, baking soda is also a pretty good fire extinguisher (thank you, Girl Guides, for teaching me that), and it was because of its fire-extinguishing properties that I grabbed the box and upended it onto the bottom of the oven.

But then – oh, the mess! Half a box of baking soda, plus the charred remains of the overflow from a particularly juicy pineapple upside-down cake that I'd forgotten about entirely, until, two days post-baking, I turned to see bright orange flames licking the racks of the oven I'd innocently set to pre-heat and then walked away from. (more...)

After reading this post, don't forget to enter our contest – you could win a new dishwasher. Plus, do you have your own story to tell? Send it to greenchallenge@canadianliving.com (no more than 300 words, please), and you could win one of 30 daily prizes.

Further to my post on greening your consumption of tea and coffee, you can also make more eco-friendly picks when it comes to alcoholic drinks. Here are a few tips. (more...)

After reading this post, don't forget to enter our contest – you could win a new dishwasher. Plus, do you have your own story to tell? Send it to greenchallenge@canadianliving.com (no more than 300 words, please), and you could win one of 30 daily prizes.

Today's post is by editor-in-chief Susan Antonacci.

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I'm hooked on hybrids!
I recently shared in my magazine column my newfound love of hybrid cars (environmentally friendly, gas-efficient, easier on the pocketbook) and how proud my husband, Greg, and I were to incorporate green ethics into our annual summer holiday plans.Around this time last year I was spending hours hunkered down at the kitchen table with maps and four-colour brochures plotting out our vacation (originally we planned to fly out east). Then one day we were invited to try Nissan's Altima Hybrid. How could I say no? That's how our ultimate road trip began. (more...)

After reading this post, don't forget to enter our contest – you could win a new dishwasher. Plus, do you have your own story to tell? Send it to greenchallenge@canadianliving.com (no more than 300 words, please), and you could win one of 30 daily prizes.

There was a time when the idea of paying for a bottle of water would be laughable. Nowadays, however, most people think nothing of spending a couple of dollars on prettily packaged tap water – and of just as quickly disposing of the plastic bottle it came in. (We'll give them the benefit of the doubt and say the bottle was recycled.)

There's a number of problems with bottled water: (more...)