Keira-anne.com

I am very, very excited to say that I made my first happyfrog purchase after work tonight as part of the shopping shenanigans that Dave put a couple girls up to.

A few weeks ago I wrote about some really great, locally-made cloth bags that are useful for pretty much anything. In particular, I was rather fond of the “F*@k Plastic” design.

This and all the bags from BYOB collection were designed and manufactured in Vancouver by Jenny Hughes and Elizabeth Clark, whose philosophy behind the bags is simple and straight to the point: “There is an overwhelming use of plastic bags littering the earth and bringing your own bag is the immediate solution.”

Our product mission is to provide people with the best selection of reusable shopping bags that combine fashion, style, quality, and awareness.

On the weekend, Becky mentioned that she’d picked up a reusable bag herself, and at a bargain price. While BYOB bags cost more than a pretty penny (mine rang in at a little over $45 and change with tax), their purpose is to go beyond the practical and bring sustainability into the fashion realm. And the cotton…luxuriously soft!

I picked my bag up at Farfalla in Gastown (located at 57 East Cordova). Check out BYOB’s website to order directly or scope out their list of local retailers near you. Click here to view happyfrog.ca’s listing.

I can’t wait to go grocery shopping!

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And while on the topic of pretty things, I got an early Christmas present today from my darling friend Andrew. We met a few years ago through mutual friends, and it took next to no time to realize that we had oh-so-very-much in common. I’ll never forget the day I met him, if only for the fact that he was wearing two belts and I thought it rather peculiar that anyone would wear two belts with an otherwise seemingly normal outfit. Though looking back, it was rather suiting that he had one little quirk about his appearance because there is something entirely unique and wonderful about his personality too.

He has indeed been a good friend to me over the years, one who always, always, always has my back and supports me in anything I do. So to him I say bon voyage, Merry Christmas and merci beaucoup, mon ami. Je t’aime.

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.

Very recently, a (not to be named here) mens’ publication formulated a list of the most unattractive female celebrities, strictly in their opinion. I had heard about this through word of mouth and not by finding the list online. Instantly I stated that I didn’t want to know who had nabbed the number one spot though accidentally found out by reading entertainment headlines.

What I want to know is this: unattractive in comparison to what? In comparison to whom? What were these women being measured against? My guess would be impossibly high standards. The first thought I had was for those actually named in the list. As a celebrity, it seems most likely that shedding off negative press becomes second nature, but to me, this is over the line. How hurtful it must be to read such bullshit, knowing it’s bullshit, but also well aware that it takes a very direct and “purposeful” stab at you.

Was the point of this list pure entertainment? Probably. But in an age of media where 75% of what we read, hear and see is harmful, why create such moral destruction on purpose?

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Make room for one more on the greenwagon. November’s copy of Cosmo contains an entire section on “green” beauty products that make you simply smashing while doing their part at taking care of the environment.

One for getting top marks? Burt’s Bees consider themselves Earth Friendly Natural Personal Care for The Greater Good. Their line of total body care products for the entire family, largely comprised of organic ingredients, and environmentally-friendly business practices are “the DNA of Burt’s Bees.” And further to that, the company is committed to 100% natural product formulas in addition to 100% PCR/biodegradable packaging by the year 2020.

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Lastly, tomorrow sees the annual recurrence of Halloween. Not being much of one to celebrate, dress-up or get loser drunk this year, it’ll be like any other day for me. I do, however, tend to delight in movies designed to make me squirum. I considered posting my top ten frightening flicks but that’d just be superfluous. Quite obviously, if you haven’t seen The Shining, there’s no point in waiting any longer. Even to this day that is one movie I still cannot watch by myself.

Alternatively, if you’re simply looking to be grossed out, then grab my other all-time favourite, The Devil’s Rejects. Any of you who are regular readers of my blog know that this Rob Zombie-directed gore-o-rama gets a lot of praise from this girl. Why? Because if you can look past the content of this movie, there’s a lot of great acting, memorable lines and fantastic direction.

Because we all know I’m such a tease, I’ve included a clip of each.

Happy Hauntings…

The Shining (1980)

The Devil’s Rejects (2005)

Videoclips courtesy of YouTube

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 can’t believe it’s taken me more than two decades to do so, but as of late, my level of environmental awareness has shot through the roof. Perhaps it started with the realization of my near-kindred relationship with killer whales, but taking care of the world around me is something I’m starting to incorporate in my life more and more each day.

As I stood in the line-up at the English Bay Safeway this evening, I surveyed the dozens of customers at the overloaded tills and was shocked at the endless stream of plastic bags being used. So, I loaded up my three reusable bags and hiked home in the rain, hellbent on sharing with you all some easy ways we can start being less ecological jackasses and more educated nature lovers.

- Not in the room? Shut off the light.

- Unplug any adapters or electronic items you’re not using at any given moment.

- Leaving the water running while brushing your teeth can cause up to 3 gallons of water to go to waste. That’s more than people in some third world countries use in a week, let alone two minutes of brushing your teeth. Shut the tap off.

- Cold? Grab a blanket.

- If it’s possible where you live, compost your organic waste. Those apple peels and egg shells can count for up to 40% of what fills your garbage can. (As I mentioned last week, I recently wrote to the City of Vancouver regarding composting initiatives for those of us living downtown but have yet to get a response.)

- Much of your so-called garbage is recyclable…make sure you throw your soda cans, bottles, cardboard, and newspaper in the blue bins. Some grocery stores have plastic bag recycling bins, so if you insist on being an idiot and not switching to reuseable bags, at least recycle your plastic ones.

For more information on ways in which you can better do your part, visit some of the following links:

Changes Recycling Centre
Metro Vancouver Garbage & Recycling
Recycling Council of British Columbia
Return-It

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*Post Edit: In the comments section, many of you have been contributing great ideas of your own so THANK YOU! With Christmas just around the corner, please be reminded that wrapping paper is not recyclable. As another smart-thinking solution, I’ve decided to wrap all my gifts in recycled paper or plain stock paper that I can decorate myself and then recycle. Also, all gifts will be given in reusable bags to spread the green cheer!