Irving launches constitutional challenge of migratory birds act

While the purpose of my blog isn't necessarily to share news items, this one was sent to me tonight and I think it's worth posting.

Big oil and big forestry bring the anti-environmental fight to the courtroom. The message appears to be that you can do what you want for the almighty dollar. If you get caught destroying heron nests, fight it in court. If it looks like you might lose, fight the legitimacy of the law.

Shame on the Irving Companies. Boycott anyone?

Irving launches constitutional challenge of migratory birds act
Last Updated: Monday, March 10, 2008 | 9:50 AM AT
CBC News

J.D. Irving Ltd. is challenging the constitutionality of Canada's
Migratory Birds Convention Act.

Lawyers for the New Brunswick-based company have filed a notice of
motion alleging the act is too vague.

Continued at:
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/new-brunswick/story/2008/03/10/irving-herons.html

Various Monday Updates

It was a busy week last week and I didn't get to finish all of my water related challenges, so I'm going to keep going with them this week. I did some bill comparisons and it looks like I'm using a fair bit of water still, perhaps a bit lower than average, but still a substantial amount. Must keep working on it.

I also did some quick investigations into the 100-mile diet. Rough conclusion: I'm not ready for it yet. With projects at work and school and the fact that it is still March in Nova Scotia means that I'm going to have to study a bit more to figure out how to do it well. Regardless, I am going to be trying to incorporate more local items and less take-out food into my diet. There is talk of a local food cookbook going around Dalhousie this week. I will try to get my hands on one.

I spent a whopping $12 at Home Depot yesterday on materials for my second Pop Can Solar Furnace. While Spring is just around the corner, I'm pretty sure a few days of heat to get us through to the summer will still be beneficial. More sun now will also help! I will post pictures and perhaps video of the build when it happens.

Looking at the blog's stats and I'm pretty happy. We've had visitors from 22 different countries and many parts of Canada and the US. Some people have joined the Facebook group as well! The challenge to you this week is to help me fill in the gaps in my Visitor Map. Please share this blog with someone you know in one of these areas:

• P.E.I. or Manitoba
• Alaska or Nevada
• Anywhere in Africa, Asia, or Europe

That's it for today. More to post this week as things get going!

Green Week 2008 - Events Listing & Schedule

Thought I'd drop a plug for the Green Week happening at my university next week. Can't wait for a few of the talks that I hope to get to.

Dalhousie University's Green Week is coming up next week - starting Monday, March 10th with a whole slew of events! Please find at the following links, both the EVENTS LISTING and SCHEDULE for Green Week 2008:

Events Listing

Events Schedule

We're also part of the Light's Out Challenge. Tuesday in Shirreff Hall and Wednesday in Risley Hall. Turn off your lights and computer for one hour.

Who's Your Eco-Hero?

I've been coming across an awful lot of green blogs and press and such about some fantastic people who are doing some great projects. People like No Impact Man, Vanessa at Green as a Thistle, and so many others.

I was thinking that I could feature an Eco-Hero every now and then on the website and then do a comparison between them. This would eventually generate an award of recognition from Lower Footprint.

You can nominate your Eco-Hero now by leaving a comment here or on our Facebook discussion group. I'm also interested in what categories you think are important for comparison purposes. Let me know!

Got Facebook?

Lower Footprint is now a group on Facebook. If you're already on Facebook, join the group, join in on the discussion, and share your stories of green-powered change however big or small!

Water Project Update

I thought I'd share some of the ideas that I've received for my Water Conservation project this week.

• Dpatel recommends I try the yellow water approach in my toilet, flushing only before I go to bed.
  
  
• Elasticsoul recommends insulating the hot water tank and re-routing grey water (water from sinks and showers) to the garden
  
  
• Dw1ght had a whole list for me:
  
  

  Concentrate on the 5 BIG water uses in the home: Turf, Toilets, Showers, Laundry, Dishwashers!
  1. If you irrigate turf, stop it! (I don't. NS gets enough rain)
  2. Replace toilets with HET models that use less than 1.3 gallons per flush (working on it)
  3. Replace shower heads with 2.0 gallon/per minute heads. Turn off shower flow while lathering hair and body. (working on it, <5 minute showers anyway)
  4. Replace standard 45 gallon/ load clothes washer with new 20 gallon per load model. Only wash full loads. (doing it already)
  5. Do not rinse dishes before loading into dishwasher. Scrape the dishes with a spatula into garbage pail. Do not use garbage disposal. Only wash full loads. (yup - check)
  
  Do all these things and you will reduce water use by more than 35%.

• Finally, my cousin Frank recommended an interesting approach:
  
  

  Just an idea - but with multiple toilets in the house, why not use 2 bottles in one so it goes super low flow and restrict that one to number 1 only - that way - little water and you don't have to let it mellow.

So I thought that was a pretty good idea, but I think I need to come up with a good sign to post above the toilet, or risk some plumbing issues. Any funny ideas? Here are my two:

• Sh*t Happens, but not here.
  
• We're #1! Take your #2 somewhere else.

Post your funny ideas in the comments section!

Finally, here's a list of similar recommendations from Natural Resources Canada. They pretty much say the same thing as Dw1ght, so we're looking in the right direction. Time to go gather some water displacing bottles.

PS: Next week is Green Week at Dalhousie. Here's the line-up of events on the Green Week 2008 Facebook group.

Project: Water Water Everywhere

This week, I'm going to be starting my water challenge, aiming to reduce the amount of water my house uses for everything. Compared to some statistics I've seen,I use a reasonable amount of water, so gains might not be that dramatic, but as with everything, a little bit helps.

While I'm a bit loathe to consider the "if it's yellow, let it mellow" philosophy, I know there are at least two ways to reduce the impact of my flush. First, I'm going to reduce the size of my toilet tank by displacing water with a 1 or 2 litre bottle inside. That will be the first step. With four toilets in the house, I'm also going to check to make sure none of them are leaking by using food dye.

At some point in the future (perhaps via the 25kW Challenge), I will replace some toilets with low-flow, efficient models. Hopefully with ones that include a two-flush option... one half-flush for the aforementioned "yellow" variety and a full-flush for the other.

Apparently, Ed Begley gives these toilets away, so if he and Rachelle are ever in the neighbourhood or want to come to Nova Scotia for a visit, I'd happily take them on a tour. Consider this an official invitation!

Of course, the rest of the week will bring other related projects. I need to check my shower heads, look for leaky faucets, and the rest. Have you done a water audit? Let me know what else to check!

In other news, I wanted to thank everyone for their support of the 25kW Challenge to date. Keep it up!

Also, I'm looking at doing the 100-Mile diet for a week... Maybe next week. Could be a way to learn some new tricks or lose some weight... Not sure how to manage the coffee part of it though. Does locally roasted, fair trade count for anything???