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When I was a little girl, our family always trekked onto the snow-blanketed farm at my Uncle Alfons’s and picked out the most beautiful tree we could find for Christmas. I loved bringing it home and decorating each and every branch with all things twinkley and bright. What I loved even more was the rich scent that filled every corner of our house.

In the last ten years or so, it seems that Christmas has instead become a time to pay hommage to Radiohead with a fake, plastic tree in our household.

My family isn’t the only one to take on the ideal that it’s better to have a fake, reusable tree rather than cutting down a real one each year. However, if we really get to the “root” of things, it doesn’t seem as though that’s the case.

Photo courtesy of Janet Moore-Call on Flickr

Dr. Faisal Moola of the David Suzuki Foundation supports an excellent case for trimming a real tree each Christmas rather than hauling that big box out of storage.

“Real trees are far, far more superior environmentally than a plastic tree that is non-biodegradable and can’t be recycled,” he notes. “Most cities have programs where they will collect Christmas trees and pulp them or chip them and then they’ll use them as a growing medium in our parks and natural areas so the nutrients the tree acquired while it was growing are then returned back to the earth.”

Still not convinced? Time for a breakdown.

1. Real trees are biodegradable; fake, plastic trees are not. (Just make sure you remove all scraps of tinsel and garland when disposing of the tree).

2. Local Christmas tree farms grow the trees for this very specific purpose, and you can rest assured that as soon as you hack your tree down, another seedling is planted in its place.

3. Growing trees, whether in nature or on a Christmas tree farm, produces oxygen and absorbs carbon dioxide - your lungs will thank you (and the trees smell grrrrrrreat!)

4. Sure you can use your fake, plastic tree for a dozen Christmases, but did you give much thought to the environmental pollution generated to have that tree shipped to you from China? And further, even though it’s fake, the tree will ultimately still reach the end of it’s life and will simply be another chunk of non-biodegradable plastic in the landfill.

5. Shop for your tree at a local, sustainable Christmas tree farm and you’ll be supporting your local economy.

One of my favourite aspects to regularly blogging is all the networking opportunities you find, and better than that, the fantastic people you meet through said networking.

It goes without saying that blogging has certainly brought Rebecca and I into each others’ realms a little deeper, and through her I’ve met others who are passionate about many of the same things.

A couple months ago, I met her and John’s friend Dave at their place, and I was excited to learn that not only does he care about many of the same global issues that I do, but he’s part of a group that is actively doing something about it. Enter happyfrog:

“happyfrog is a fresh and fun interactive web site designed to leverage the collective knowledge of our community to create an indispensable new resource for bringing about change – in our personal lives and across the planet.

…

Our vision for happyfrog is that it will become a home for a community of values-aligned members who happily enrich each other’s lives simply by sharing information about their favorite things.

For many, there is still a gap between our growing knowledge of the challenges that our planet faces and our ability to act on our concerns each day. happyfrog was created to help us close that gap.”

- From www.happyfrog.ca

What makes this initiative so exciting for me is that I have, in recent months, been supporting the ideas of shopping locally and also trying to stick to the 100-mile diet. I find that there are many, many people out there who genuinely desire to make changes in their day-to-day lives to better benefit this beautiful planet we live on, but often have no clue where to start or what they can do. This is what’s so great about happyfrog.

It’s a comprehensive online resource chalked full of B.C. companies and products “that make our corner of the world a little kinder, smarter, healthier, greener and more interesting.”

Since this little tadpole has recently only grown its webbed feet to start hopping, Dave thought it would be a great idea to get two local ladies (that being Rebecca and myself) on board to help show you, our readers, just how fantastic this project is and how easy it can be to use products and services that you’ll truly feel good about employing.

Armed with $100 each, over the coming weeks you’ll see Rebecca and I sharing with you products and services we’ve found through happyfrog as we explore eco-friendly ways to spend the cold hard cash. Since “Miss604″ has a good corner on the Vancouver market, it’s my endeavour to support Island-based businesses over the Christmas holidays. In the meantime, head on over to happyfrog’s website and check it out - you never know what frogilicious business might be right in your neighbourhood.

Tuesday is the one day each week where you can skip into any entertainment retailer and grab the newest releases in movies and music. Being that HMV is supremely convenient for me, it’s where I go. Today, as I paid for my purchases, I discovered that shopping at HMV is going to be something even easier for me to do; not for convenience sake, but in terms of shopping with a clean, green conscience.

“Oh! And check this out…our bags are now biodegradable!” the eager young salesman pointed out.

HMV has swapped their trademark shiny black and pink bags for white transparent ones with the same logo splashed across the side. The bags are made with EPI Environmental Technology:

“Once discarded in landfill sites, the exposure to sunlight, oxygen and heat will convert the plastic in this bag into water, carbon dioxide, mineral salt and biomass. Like a fallen leaf it will disappear over time and leave no harmful residue in the soil.”

I’m applauding yet another retailer making a small effort in the big picture.

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While I’ve got you thinking green (and shopping, for that matter), I want to tell you about a brand new website that just launched. ClickGreener is something I heard about through the grapevine (the grapevine being Bethany), and it seems as though it arrived just in time for Christmas.

Photo courtesy of CarleyJane on Flickr

With this season and all its joys comes countless hours of dragging one’s feet through overcrowded shopping malls in search of awe-inspiring gifts for friends and family. ClickGreener endeavors to avoid this annual headache by presenting an online shopping portal - linked full of names and companies that you know and love - with the goal of making shopping greener.

“ClickGreener has carefully chosen its non-profit partners to ensure that every dollar generated from your purchase helps the environment as much as possible

Each partner uses the money generated from your purchase to focus on a specific area of environmental impact. Together, these four areas form a holistic approach to making this a greener world.”

Consider ClickGreener as a smart alternative to your Christmas shopping for 2007.

(And hold your breath because there’s an equally cool - if not cooler - website that I’m going to share with you all in the coming days that’s much more Vancouver specific, so stay tuned!)

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The weeks before Christmas are going by faster and faster with activities, parties, shopping, preparations, baking and all things that get me excited happening on a near-daily basis. Mt. Washington Alpine Resort is set to open on December 6th - that’s just two days away! I can already smell the snow, pine and clean air. You and me, Becky - we’re on.

Tomorrow, as you all know, is Wednesday. With Wednesday comes my weekly delve into human sexuality and I am quite sure that most of you are going to have an opinion on tomorrow’s post, one way or the other.

Photo courtesy of Mount Washington Alpine Resort

That exciting day is only 13 sleeps away! Mount Washington Alpine Resort is set to open on December 6, 2007, so pray to the snow gods, keep your fingers crossed,and your board waxed! Life on the slopes gets better and better each year at Mount Washington, now with expanded night skiing, 1,200 acres of all skill levels of terrain, snow tubing and, of course, a wide selection of beer in Fat Teddy’s at the lodge.

For more information on operating times, location, lift tickets and anything else your brain requires, visit Mount Washington’s website.

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Photo courtesy of spectruss on Flickr

Last night Vancouver’s local news reported that Canadians use approximately 55,000,000 plastic bags every single week across our country. Re-using your bags is always a great idea, but these will all ultimately end up in landfill. I know many of you are already on board with cloth shopping bags, but lately using these satchels to carry your stash has become much more trendy. If you’re not itchin’ to grab some (which are usually about .99 cents at your neighbourhood grocery store) from Safeway or Superstore, check out BYOB - Bring Your Own Bag.

Developed in 2005 by two Vancouver-area women, BYOB actually designs seasonal cloth bag collections with delicate motifs and tongue-in-cheek slogans. Personally, I’m a fan of the “F*@k Plastic” tote.

There’s a lady in my office who likes to brush her teeth. She brushes them every single time she eats, even if it’s just after a coffee break. She’s meticulous in her brushing and usually does so for a minimum of two minutes. She also likes to leave the faucet running at full blast when she does so.

When leaving the tap running, you’re wasting an average of five litres of water per minute. For this particular lady, that equates to 10 litres of water completely wasted every time she brushes her teeth.

Recently I made mention to her that if she were to turn the tap off while brushing her teeth, she’d save a lot of water so maybe it’d be a good idea to do so. Her response?

A slight laugh followed by a shoulder shrug and “Oh well…it’s the way I do it. It’s part of my routine.”

It’s now to the point that I can’t even be in the washroom while she’s engaging in routine because this just absolutely seethes me! Am I overreacting or is she simply ignorant?

I’m sitting here at my desk, drumming my unmanicured fingertips (yikes!) on my desktop and coming up completely dry with something to blog about. I’d like to think that the rain would somehow inspire me since I love the rain so much, but brace yourselves…you may very well get to the end of this post and be filled with such anger at me for completely wasting five minutes of your life.

Last night I got my hair cut. I decided to buck out all the layers and go blunt in an effort to grow my hair to mermaid proportions. The bangs need to catch up though.

Why the webcam photos lately, you ask? I’ve lost my camera. Maybe it was stolen - I have no idea. I had it last time I was home on the Island and now it’s magically disappeared. I’m not really so terribly upset because it was a total piece. Also, I’m keeping my fingers crossed that Santa will put a new Canon under the tree for me this year. If not, I’ll dry my tears and buy one anyways.

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Lately I’ve really been discovering my roots…er, rather Roots, that is. For as long as I can remember, I’ve always had a strong dislike for the blandness that’s been produced by that store. It was far too Canadiana after they sponsored the Canadian Olympic team, but over the last few weeks, I’ve been exposed to how fantastic it’s become. True outdoorsy clothes, super cute and uber soft sweaters, leg warmers (!!), girlie toques, cuddly scarves, sweet waffle weaves, furry collars and everything else that is actually just so very me in terms of style.

Another reason to love the beaver? Live Green. Not only are they offering fabrics made out of eco-friendly bamboo, but Roots is spreading the anti-global warming message through a series of t-shirts to support Environmental Defence Canada. If that’s not enough, a new initiative in greener shipping options is putting forth an effort to tackle climate change. To learn more about how Roots is working with ZeroFootprint, click here.

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The plan for tonight was to visit Fright Nights at the PNE. With the rain and cold, kicking frightening bad dudes in the shin was the last thing I felt like doing. I contemplated joining Becky, John and Duane at Fogg ‘N’ Sudds to watch the game, but not only am I not drinking for a long time after last weekend, tomorrow I’m doing the Gulu Walk with Chelsea. So what instead?

A trip to the Ridge Theatre at 16th and Arbutus with my friend Amy to see the Sean Penn-helmed Into the Wild. I really know nothing about it except that it looks like a fantastic, outdoorsy story with a moving message underneath. I’d rather re-cap it tomorrow instead of trying to tell you about it right now, so visit the website if you’re thirsty for more.

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And last, but certainly not least, let’s have an updated look at Mt. Washington’s 24/7 live webcam in an attempt to tease you all. Having a mom and aunt living 10 minutes from the chain-up area is oh-so-sweet…