People have a funny way of teaching children lessons. Take the importance of keeping one’s walk clear of ice and snow. Back in the day, between Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood, Sesame Street and Mr. Dressup, short animations from the National Film Board of Canada would air. Special Delivery, a film where a mailman slips and dies on a snow-filled front porch, was one such short. This little cartoon was seared into the minds of children – not simply because of the gruesome result of not shoveling and de-icing, but because of the full-frontal male nudity featured in the animation. Think I’m kidding? I am so not:
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The motley crew of items in the picture on the left probably seems more disjointed and in need of rehab than the circa 80’s actual Motley Crüe. Not true intrepid DIYers. It is in fact my very own collection of shop throw-aways that instead of heading for the landfill–ended up making me “Dr. Feelgood”. (Too much Crüe? Yes–agreed, let’s move on). [click to continue…]
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As more and more people become concerned with saving money and / or saving the environment, it only makes sense that water conservation has our attention. In traditional toilets, there’s just one style of flush, regardless of your, um, business. The amount of water used in each flush doesn’t change. As it turns out, you don’t actually need all that water for every … err, transaction. [click to continue…]
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You’ve likely heard the term “carbon footprint” before. It’s a way of gauging how much carbon dioxide your activities (heating and running a home, transportation, food consumption) produce. The hope is that once one understands his or her carbon footprint, he or she will take ownership on their impact on climate change (based on the thinking that man-made carbon emissions have ramped up global warming) and adapt their behaviour for a greener earth.
The tough thing is, the issue of man’s impact on climate change is rife with conflict. Politics, special interest groups, accusations of conspiracies and other distracting fun have muddied the issues for many. More and more, people are starting to compare carbon footprints to Bigfoot prints.
Regardless of where you stand on the climate change / carbon debate, the majority of logical, sane, observant people can at least admit that we have an ecological impact – and that’s something we should care about. [click to continue…]
