Existe-il des endroits dans le monde où il n’y a pas de transport en commun?

Photo Credit: octranspo1.com

Je reviens d’un voyage de 10 jours en Guadeloupe et je vous garantie que j’en reviens différente pas à cause de ses magnifiques paysages, ni de ses plus belles plages, mais plutôt à cause du système de transport. Là ou on est resté (Basse-Terre) c’est le coté montagneux de l’île. Comme toute colonie européenne qui se respecte, les routes sont étroites et il n’y a que des ronds-points; ce qui est pour nous quelque chose d’inhabituellement terrifiants pour la simple raison qu’il est difficile d’avoir le tour pour passer. En plus, Damme Nature a aussi ajouté son grain de sel; Basse-Terre est le coté de l’île le plus montagneux. Et croyez-moi, les pentes sont longues et apiques sur le bord de la plage.

Durant ce voyage, mon emprunte écologique était grande. Je devais uniquement me déplacé en voiture faute de la quasi absence du système de transport sur ce coté de l’île. En fait, jamais j’aurai cru qu’en cette colonie française, la voiture est très présente dans le quotidien des guadeloupéens. La route principale ne possède que deux voix (une voix dans chaque sens) et il n’y a même pas de trottoir pour les piétons!

De retour à Ottawa je constate que la grande majorité des média sociaux ne parle que des laisser passé universel de l’Université d’Ottawa (www.sustainable.uottawa.ca ). Cette nouvelle fièvre du laisser passé est vivement commenté par tout le monde…sauf moi. Grâce à mon voyage, je suis prête à contribuer au payement des laisser passé même si je vie à 10 min à vélo, 30 min en courant et 45 min en marchant du campus, parce que je veux que les étudiants profite de ce service qu’ils prennent pour acquis.

Cette année scolaire, profiter du système de transport en commun présent à Ottawa-Gatineau parce qu’ailleurs il y a des citoyens qui semblent ne pas a voir un autre choix que se déplacer en auto.

-amina

http://thesustainabilitree.blogspot.com/

Pads4Girls project

Photo credit: lunapad.com

Last week, as I was visiting the Lunapads website, I came across an incredible project. For those of you who are not familiar with Lunapads or the DivaCup, let me enlighten you! Lunapads are washable cloth menstrual products, and the DivaCup is a reusable silicone menstrual cup that is environmentally responsible, and latex, plastic and BPA-free. These products are wonderful environmentally-friendly versions of the tampons and pads you would find at your local drugstore. Here are a few environment (and health) facts for you before we begin:

• Approximately 20 billion pads, tampons and applicators are sent to North American landfills annually.
  
  
• On an individual level, each of the approximately 73 million menstruating women in North America will throw away 125 to 150kg, or approximately 16,800 disposable pads or tampons, in her lifetime.
  
  
• Disposable pads and tampons are made primarily of bleached kraft pulp or viscose rayon, the origin of which is wood cellulose from trees. What makes these products perform so effectively is the use of high tech chemicals such as super-absorbent acrylic polymers (SAPs) surfactant-laced gels and leak-proof plastic backings.
  
  
• Dioxin is a carcinogenic chemical, listed by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as the most toxic of all cancer-linked chemicals. It is banned in most countries, but not the U.S. Tampons currently sold in the United States (and Canada - I have not been able to find anything about tampon bans in Canada) are composed of rayon, cotton, or a combination of both. Rayon is produced from bleached wood pulp, and the chlorine bleaching of pulp produces a by-product of dioxin. (http://www.lunapads.com)

We are switching over to organic foods, BPA-free containers and water bottles, reusable bags and coffee mugs; why not environmentally-friendly menstrual products?

To cut a long story short, I was writing to you about a wonderful project; Pads4Girls. Lunapads has been sending pads as donations to women and girls in developing nations since 2000, when we were contacted by Zimbabwean/Canadian activist Isabella Wright. She informed us that girls and women had little or nothing to help them manage their menses, and as a result were missing school or work rather than risking discomfort or ridicule. The effect of these missed days is devastating, with girls missing up to 20% of their education and thereby increasing the likelihood of dropping out, earlier marriage and pregnancy as well as limiting career options. Since that time, we have received and fulfilled similar requests from individuals and NGOs in numerous other African nations as well as Mexico and South and Central America. (http://www.lunapads.com).

You can make a donation of reusable menstrual products to send to over nine different recipient groups (you can read more about each recipient group, and choose which one will receive your donation) or even make your own reusable pads to send to a young girl in a developing nation. There is a YouTube channel (http://www.youtube.com/lunapads) with numerous instructional videos on how to make your own reusable pads. I have myself made a donation of 30$ to buy a Pads4Girls kit, including a pair of underwear, which a lot of girls go without. Also, rather than receiving yet another bottle of perfume (which I will not wear), or my third set of hand-towels for Christmas, I am going to ask that a donation be made in my name to this organization. Why don’t you start by checking out their website? http://www.lunapads.com

You can also receive more information on Lunapads and the DivaCup at OPIRG (631 King Edward Ave. 3rd floor).

-brigitte

http://thesustainabilitree.blogspot.com/

Le projet Pads4Girls

Photo credit: lunapad.com

La semaine dernière, j’ai découvert un merveilleux projet lorsque je fréquentais le site web de Lunapads. Pour ceux et celles qui ne sont pas encore familiers avec le DivaCup ou le Lunapad, laissez-moi vous éclairer! Les deux sont des produits de menstruation écologiques ; les Lunapads sont en tissus lavables et le DivaCup est une petite tasse en silicone qui ne contient aucun latex, plastique, ni même de BPA. Au fin de compte, ces produits sont de formidables alternatives écologiques aux tampons et serviettes sanitaires que tu peux trouver dans la pharmacie du coin. Voici quelques faits écologiques (et médicaux) sur les produits menstruels communs:

• Chaque année, il y a environ 20 milliard tampons, applicateurs et serviettes sanitaires qui sont envoyés aux dépotoirs en Amérique du Nord.
  
  
• Au cours de sa vie, chacune des 73 millions de femmes menstrués en Amérique du Nord va envoyer 125 à 150kg ou environ 16,800 serviettes sanitaires ou tampons jetables au dépotoir.
  
  
• Les serviettes sanitaires et tampons jetables sont principalement fabriqués à partir de pâte kraft blanchie ou rayonne viscose provenant de cellulose d’arbres. Ce sont les produits chimiques à haute technologie tels que les polymères acryliques super absorbants (PSAs), gelés débordés de surfactants et doublage en plastique anti fuite.
  
  
• Le Dioxine est un produit chimique cancérigène; il est classé le pire (le plus toxique) produit chimique lié au cancer par l’US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Même si la dioxine a été bannie dans la plupart des pays, elle n’est pas bannie aux États-Unis. Actuellement, les tampons vendus aux États (et aussi le Canada – je n’ai pas pu trouver quoi que ce soit sur une interdiction de vente de ces tampons au Canada) sont fabriqués de rayon, coton, ou d’une combinaison des deux. Le Rayon est produit à partir de pâte de bois blanchie, et la pâte chlorée créer un sous produit de dioxine. (Traduit du site web: http://lunapads.com/)

Nous exigeons la bouffe organique, des contenants en plastique et bouteilles d’eau sans Bisphénol-A; nous changeons nos habitudes pour des sacs et tasses à café réutilisables : pourquoi pas des produits menstruels sains pour l’environnement?

Bref, l’objectif de ce blog était de vous parler d’un projet merveilleux; Pads4Girls. En 2000, l’organisation a été contactée par une activiste Canadienne/Zimbabwéenne Isabelle Wright pour envoyé des dons de serviettes sanitaires aux femmes et filles dans ces pays en voie de développement. Elle leur a informé que plusieurs filles et femmes dans ces pays n’ont pas de biens pour gérer leurs règles, et elles manquent des jours d’école ou de travail pour éviter l’inconfort ou de se faire ridiculiser. Ces filles manquent donc environ 20 % de leur éducation, ce qui augmente les chances qu’elles quittent l’école, des mariages et grossesses précoces, ou qu’elles soient limités dans leurs choix de carrières. Depuis, LunaPads travaille en collaboration avec plusieurs ONG dans plusieurs nations Africaines, au Mexique, en Amérique Centrale et Amérique du Sud. (http://lunapads.com/).

Tu peux faire un don d’un produit menstruel réutilisable, ou même fabriqué vos propres LunaPads et les donné à un des neuf groupes récipients (vous pouvez apprendre au sujet des différents groupes, et même choisir quel groupe reçoit votre don). Il y a un poste entier Youtube (http://www.youtube.com/lunapads) avec une série de films éducatifs, qui vous enseigne étape par étape comment fabriqué vos propres serviettes sanitaires réutilisables.

La semaine dernière, j’ai fait un don d’une trousse Pads4Girls de $ 30 avec une paire de sous-vêtements (la plupart des filles n’en ont pas). Pour noël cette année, au lieu de recevoir en cadeau une autre bouteille de parfum (que je n’utilise pas) ou mon troisième ensembles de serviettes à mains, je vais demander que l’on fasse un don à mon nom à travers cette organisation. Naviguez leur site web pour plus d’info : http://lunapads.com/

Vous pouvez également obtenir des plus amples renseignements sur les LunaPads et le DivaCup à OPIRG (631 rue King Edward, 3e étage).

-brigitte

http://thesustainabilitree.blogspot.com/

Lees, Lees, Lees

Photo credit: Jon Rausseo

When furniture reaches its expiry date, or simply doesn’t fit a space anymore, what do you do? Throwing it out is a waste of perfectly good furniture, but who has the time to dismantle countless pieces and recycle them, especially if the units can be reused? That is where we come in. Our furniture recycling program takes undesired furniture from all over campus and tries to find a new home for it! In the interim, the furniture gets stored at 200 Lees, where I lurk with a clipboard and pen, desperately trying to create a wonderful inventory system for it. Currently, the system follows the come-by-and-see method, usually followed by okay-let’s-find-a-matching-chair-and/or-table.

What I am aiming to do is create a method to our madness, and make this furniture recycling program into something more. We want the rooms that the items are stored in to eventually look like showroom floors: well-organized, well-labelled and tidy. That end product is still floating on the horizon, but is close enough to be reached. So, what exactly have I been doing all this time over there?

What Vedrana Does at 200 Lees: A Breakdown

My job is to:

1. Find matching furniture and make sure it’s all grouped, for easy access (this part is clearly not done entirely by me, as I cannot singlehandedly manoeuvre 200 lb tables shaped like tetris pieces through doorways),
2. Identify the number of unique pieces and label them with masking tape (usually resulting in accidental masking tape waxing and/or permanent marker stains),
3. Log the bar codes of the items in addition to their newly assigned numbers,
4. Dismantle and recycle furniture that cannot be reused due to its poor condition (lamenting its loss if it is a particularly excellent and/or neon item),
5. Photograph it in a tasteful way (this isn’t Victoria’s Secret, now), and
6. Input all the data into a master spreadsheet that will allow people to access our information with ease.

So, that’s about it for me and 200 Lees; if you ever need some free furniture, do come by (contact Jon Rausseo or Brigitte Morin first, though)!

-vedrana

http://thesustainabilitree.blogspot.com/

Moins de déchet, plus d’économie

Photo Credit: Jonathan Rausseo

À tous les amateurs de café : votre amour pour le café n’est certes pas une excuse pour boire du café quotidiennement dans une tasse en papier ou styromousse. Pourquoi? Considérez ceci : 6500 tasses de café sont vendues chaque jour au campus, durant l’année scolaire. C’est assez de tasse pour aller d’Ottawa à Toronto!

À mon avis c’est presque une honte sur notre Université qui se proclame une des universités les plus écologiques. Si la décision finale me revenait, il y a long temps que j’aurai éliminé les tasses de café jetables pour les remplacé par des tasse réutilisables que l’on rapportera au café plus tard ou que l’on peut poser à divers endroit au campus. Je sais que cela peu choquer beaucoup d’entre vous car on se dit, oui mais qu’arrivera-t-il si un jour j’oublie ma tasse et je ne veux pas utiliser les tasse que l’on fournit. Je vous répondrais que ca sera tempi pour vous car on essaie constamment d’accommoder les gens sans que ces derniers fasse le moindre effort.

Alors comment faire pour être un buveur de café responsable et intelligent ? La solution est simple, apporter votre propre tasse de café réutilisable avec vous, ceci ne générera moins de déchet et vous fera économiser de l’argent à tous les comptoirs alimentaires de l’Université d’Ottawa.

Visiter notre site web au www.durable.uottawa.ca, pour apprendre d’avantage au sujet de cette initiative verte dans notre campus.

-amina

http://thesustainabilitree.blogspot.com/

More Bikes on the Road

Photo Credit: Jonathan Rausseo

Bikes, bikes, bikes. It's all I ever hear about these days. There's the Bike Share program, the forth-coming Bike Coop, bike prevention tables and so on and so on. I just finished writing a description about Bike to Work week and taking my bike to the shop to change out the sprocket.

I guess what I am trying to say is that with so much "cycling" around me it is hard to remember that not everyone does it. The number of cyclists on campus is on the rise. This year 6% of the campus reported that they use bicycles to get around. Although this number is up from previous years, the number is actually really low.

In Denmark 27% of all trips are made by bicycle. In the U.S., and probably Canada, we haven't reached the double digits yet. So what to do?

Well a friend just sent me this nice article from the Scientific American (thanks Nads) about how to get more people biking. The solution... women. The article argues that biking rates would go up if the infrastructure was more accommodating to women. I had to think about this for a moment because I wasn't sure of the comments were sexist or nor.

I concluded that it wasn't sexist, it was actually kind of sensible. The article doesn't say "get more women biking", what is says it that you can get an idea of how good the infrastructure is by verifying the rates of female cyclists. The article argues that women are usually more risk averse and more focused on utility than man.

For instance, if I need to visit friends, or go shopping or get to work, than I want a direct path that is going to not only take me there, but also do it in a safe manner. Scenic bike routes along the canal are nice but if they don't take me to where I want to go than why not take a car?

After reading the article I asked myself the question "how many times have a biked down a street and feared I would be hit by a car?" I think I get that feeling about twice a week. And with that in mind I can see why anybody might not want to take their bikes as a primary form of transportation.

The Office of Parking and Sustainable Transportation has a webpage that talks about how to cycle to campus. It is nice to know that there are some safe routes but I think that it is going to take more. The new Bike Coop (website coming soon) will hopefully be able to really get cycling advocacy out in the forefront, but until that time KEEP SAFE.

You can see the Scientifica American Article here: http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=getting-more-bicyclists-on-the-road

-jon

http://thesustainabilitree.blogspot.com/

Why Bike?

During the summer, the temperatures skyrocket, the buses are crowded and sticky with the sweat of many a stranger and walking seems like a death sentence. There are plenty of places that we want to be, but there is the problem of getting there without wanting to lie down and pray to whatever deity that you’ll survive sweating out your life. Well, friends, there is a solution! That solution is BIKING! I’m aware that summer is coming to an end; however, biking season isn’t quite yet.

A lot of people enjoy cycling as a means of transport and/or exercise already, but you know what they say: “The more, the merrier!” The use of a bike isn’t limited to the summer, either; some die-hards bike around the city even in the depths of winter, but if you’re not in that category, it’s no big deal. The fact of the matter is that biking, in addition to providing an excellent means of transport with no detriment to the environment, is extremely good for the health!

You build stamina, improve fitness, build lean muscle and give your circulatory system a workout, reducing the risk of many heart conditions. What part of that doesn’t sound like a good deal?

The cost of owning and maintaining a bike is often a deterrent to individuals, and particularly students who are already up to their eyeballs in debt. For this reason, the university started up its Bike-Share program. All you need to provide to become a member is a student/employee ID and a $10 deposit. That’s it! After you get your membership card, you’re able to borrow one of the ten available bikes for a day (7h to 22h00), and cycle around to your heart’s content (or at least until your legs give out).

The best part is that the regular maintenance of the bikes is taken care of for you, so if you don’t know anything about a bicycle, you don’t have to worry.

So what are you waiting for? Register, and cycle your way to a healthy body and a healthier planet!

For more detailed information, visit the site

-vedrana

http://thesustainabilitree.blogspot.com/

Faire le ménage de notre boite de courriel, pour une bonne cause

Photo credit: www.abc.net.au

Vous êtes-vous déjà demandé quels sont les impacts environnementaux du monde des Internet? Ou bien vous faites partie de ceux, comme moi, qui cette question ne leur a jamais traversé l’esprit?

En faisant une recherche rapide sur les INTERNET, je me suis vite rendu compte que le monde virtuel des Internet pollue énormément. Bon, au point ou on est rendu on ne pourra se passer des Internet, et il ne serait pas pertinent de l’abolir puisque presque tout fonctionne par, grâce ou avec les Internet. Par contre il y a des gestes que l’on peut faire afin de minimiser l’empreinte écologique de ce réseau virtuel sur la planète, tel que garder notre boite de courriel légère.

Pour en savoir plus, lisez l’article de la gazette, intitulé Le cout environnemental caché des courriels, dans notre section de nouvelles concernant le développement durable sur le campus au lien si dessous et vous jugerez par vous-même le degrés de pollution que génère les internet.

Bonne lecture et débarrassons-nous de nos vieux courriel inutiles notre bien commun : l’environnement.

Article accessible à : http://www.sustainable.uottawa.ca/index.php?module=CMS&id=30&newlang=fra

- amina

http://thesustainabilitree.blogspot.com/

Italy & Switzerland

Photo Credit: itatour.net

The last leg of an epic journey took my family and me through Italy – Milano, to be specific, and then over a crazy alpine pass to Zurich, Switzerland. The small alpine towns we passed through seemed to function similarly to the sustainable glory that was St. Anton in Austria, though to a slightly lesser degree. Milano didn’t really give off the impression of being environmentally concerned; I didn’t see any recycling bins anywhere in the downtown core and surrounding streets, but to be fair, I didn’t cover much ground in my wanderings due to time restrictions. Given the sheer amount of tourist traffic, the quantity of waste that would be produced in that city would be gigantic; for the Earth’s sake, I just hope that they had some hidden recycling programs in place (however that would work).

As far as Switzerland is concerned, I saw quite a few recycling stations in Zurich that broke down recyclables very specifically – namely, there were separate bins for brown, green and clear glass in addition to aluminum bins. However, of all of these available bins, I didn’t see any for paper or cardboard. It’s not entirely unlikely that they don’t bother with paper recycling, as glass and aluminum cans can be recycled indefinitely, whereas paper loses quality with each cycle it goes through. This isn’t exactly the best way to go about things as recycling a kilo of paper offsets the production of roughly 0.6 kg of CO2, which is no small amount! But again, my stay was short, and perhaps I am missing something.

In any case, my trip was both interesting and enlightening; now I just have to come up with a good way to offset the 2 flights I took…

-vedrana

http://thesustainabilitree.blogspot.com/

Les Éco-ambassadeurs, une initiative verte

Voila déjà un mois que je travaille sur le contenu du site web des futurs Éco-ambassadeurs de l’Université d’Ottawa. Pour ceux qui se demande qu’est ce qu’un Éco-ambassadeur, c’est un étudiant ou une étudiante qui représente les initiatives écologiques dans sa résidence. Cette opportunité donne aux étudiants la chance de s’engager et protéger l’environnement. Afin de créer le contenue du site, j’ai dû faire de la recherche afin de m’informer et de m’inspirer de projets similaires existant dans d’autres universités.

J’ai aussi eu le plaisir d’assister à plusieurs réunions avec les responsables de la vie communautaire, entre autres Terry Kruyk, les coordinatrices du développement durable de la FEUO, Chaya Porter et Khadijah Kanji, ainsi que les spécialistes du réacheminement des déchets et du développement durable du bureau au campus, et oui vous les avez devinés Brigitte Morin et Jonathan Rausseo.

J’ai eu beaucoup de liberté à concevoir le contenu car je commençais le projet dès le début. Grâce à cela je n’ai pas vraiment rencontré de difficulté majeure lors de sa réalisation. Pour faire un excellent travail, j’ai commençais par faire un plan de travail pour ne pas perdre de vue mes divers objectifs. Ces derniers étaient de définir un Éco-ambassadeur, leurs tâches, comment les étudiants peuvent s’y impliquer, etc.

Après des heures de travail et de révisons avec mes patrons, en fin le contenu donne vie au site web des Éco-ambassadeurs. Vous pouvez suivre son progrès au lien suivant www.durable.uottawa.ca. N’hésitez pas à nous faire part de vos commentaires et suggestions.

- amina

http://thesustainabilitree.blogspot.com/

Sarajevo, Bosnia

Photo Credit: guy_incognito (Flickr)

After a nice stint in Croatia, my parents, brother and I drove to our so-called “Motherland” to visit family, and eat preposterous amounts of my grandma’s cooking. I wasn’t really expecting Sarajevo to have addressed any of its ecological problems, due to the fact the standard of living is drastically lower than any of the other countries that we visited. One of the biggest problems that the city faces is the incredible amount of smog generated by the masses of poorly-maintained, past-their-prime, inefficient vehicles being driven. Many of the cars on the road spew out putrid black smoke, and when you add all of it together, it poses a severe health hazard. This effect is only amplified by the fact that Sarajevo is located in a valley, directly surrounded by mountains that trap all of this polluted air and keep it hovering above the general populace.

The urban population numbers around 423,645 and the locals often joke that there are more cars than people in Sarajevo, which would definitely explain the poor air quality. In addition to an air pollution problem, the city has serious issues concerning littering and the general attitude towards the environment. The prevailing mentality is that of “I’m just one person, and this one piece of garbage won’t affect anything.” This way of thinking is not only wrong, but it severely damages what is an otherwise gorgeous city surrounded by ample greenery.

It does have to be mentioned that a majority of the produce and meat consumed within the city is procured from local suppliers and farms, so the inhabitants, inadvertently, are almost all on the 100 mile diet! Not to mention the fact that the local farmers are a lot less likely to use large amounts of chemicals on their plants, and the food tastes infinitely better as a result. Their main modes of transportation are trams and trolleybuses, which run on electricity and are infinitely better for the environment than a large fleet of buses. Though there are bus lines running in Sarajevo, a vast majority of people opt for the trams and trolleybuses for regular transport.

The main problem in Sarajevo, and Bosnia as a whole, is the standard of living, and the mentality that has formed over the last two decades as a result. Inhabitants are only focused on getting through each day, rather than considering the long-term effects of their actions, sustainably-speaking. That’s not to say that the entire country is doing really poorly, but the average person falls within these generalizations. They’ve got a long way to go to in establishing a sustainable society, but chances are that they won’t make any steps in the next few years; there’s a lot more going on in that area that has priority over establishing recycling programs and cutting down on vehicle emissions.

Next time: Italy & Switzerland!

- vedrana

http://thesustainabilitree.blogspot.com/

Compost Origami

So I wanted to get this video in really quickly before I get too many questions about what to do about compostable bags. I was lead to the concept of compost origami 6 months ago when a co-worker mentioned the idea to me. I clicked in instantly because origami paper baskets were the only thing I ever learned to make in cub scouts. When Brigitte asked me to post the video on our website I figured it was time to really push it out over our network.

It really is an elegant solution. Check out the video about and you should be able to make your own for compost bins at home. Just a few quick things;

• You need to use at least 3 pieces of newspaper, sometimes 4. You can stuff an extra piece of crumpled up newspaper under the basket and that definitely helps soak up any "compost tea" (the liquid that is produced from the decomposition of organic materials)
• You have to use a big newspaper like the Ottawa Citizen or the Globe & Mail, only they have pieces of paper large enough to fit in the bin
• You need to change your paper within 2 or 3 days so that you can avoid bugs

I really like this origami solution for a couple of reasons. Firstly, it is cheap. The compost bags you can get in the store are super expensive. Second, the newspaper helps soak up the odour of the compost so that the bin doesn't smell too bad. Odour is one of the big reasons why people reject using compost bins. And third, the newspaper is upcycled into soil.

- jon

http://thesustainabilitree.blogspot.com/