Sometimes it is really cool how the little things can add up to make a big difference. Take light bulbs for instance. Last year we found out that there was a new type of fluorescent light bulb on the market that uses about 25 watts instead of 32 watts. (sarcastic voice) "Biiiiggggg deal right, 6 watts... what an amazing technology!" And I would normally agree with you because 6 watts isn't that  much. But.... in this case it is 19%. And did I mention that we replaced 80,000 light bulbs around the campus, including our satellite campuses at 200 Lees and Roger Guidon. That means that we were able to shed 480,000 watts (or 460kW). So what does 460kW mean? Well it means that the University was able to save over $190,000 (assuming that the lamps are only on for 10 hours a day - 3,600hours x 6 watts = 21.6kWh per year x 80,000lamps x $0.11 = $190,800/year). The project was completed in 6 months and has a 2 year payback -  good economics...

Spring is now fully upon us, bringing with it an anxiousness to rid oneself of all the habits and possession that we accumulate in the long cold winters. Some students are moving on to new lives having graduated, others may just be moving on to new places, leaving behind their cramped residence rooms, in lieu of less supervised and more spacious digs to live out their future university memories. In any case it has led to an abundance of perfectly good clothes, food, and furniture to end up on roadsides, in dumpsters, and in some cases in our Dump ‘N Run locations. For those of you that haven’t seen the photos, or seen our posts, Dump ‘N Run is a time when we take donations or things we’ve found dumped around the University, sort it, clean it up and then donate it to local charities and shelters, saving hundreds pounds of perfectly good things from ending up in landfill sites. For those of you who have seen the photos and posts, yes we did in fact climb into dumpsters and sort th...

click here to see the full image Polythene bags are very popular with both retailers and consumers. They are strong, lightweight, functional and hygienic means of carrying items. Though they are a modern convenience that we cannot do without, they are a menace. Around the world, this menace is showing its impact now. Not totally excluding the impact of other reasons like green house gases, pollution and deforestation, polythene has a much greater impact. As for me being an international student at University of Ottawa, I’ve come realise a lot of things. When I was a kid, we had this old age tradition to take our own shopping bags even for little stuff may be just fruits or vegetables. We would have exclusive bags, could be handmade or recycled or cloth that were beautifully painted or embroidered. I never understood why my grandma was always against getting any polythene bag home. As I grew older, finding out why a polybag was not good, I came across a lot of strange facts that ...

While the Fulcrum’s latest sex-ydition and the Recycle Mania waste-free challenge that are plaguing my mind of late, I have to pose the question: “Environmentally friendly sex; is it possible?” Let me rephrase, “is environmentally friendly, baby-free, safe sex possible?” Answer after my research: Probably not. Option 1: The pill, one of the most popular prescriptions on university campuses, can be used to effectively prevent pregnancy and if you’re in a committed relationship where both partners are tested negative for STIs, it may be appropriate. Though, as recently covered in the  media , the estrogen in the pill is causing the feminization of fish and also, those plastic cases aren’t recyclable in your regular recycling (they are in our campus plastics program though). Option 2: Condoms, sitting out in front of Health Promo (if you are interested in some freebees) for the campus population, are also effective in preventing pregnancy and the transmission of STIs. H...

**** Just for the edification of the reader, this post originally opened with one of the most awe-inspiring introductions ever. It was utterly captivating. It brought tears to the eyes of the assistant director. It put our entire existence on this planet into perspective. It was lost when we accidentally saved the file under the wrong extension. Easy come easy go I guess. Now let's join this blog post already in progress**** ... Now this isn’t my first job so I know that it is natural to experience a little bit of anxiety on the first day of a new job, but what I felt on my way to work my first day wasn’t anxiety but what I call enxiety. What is enxiety you may ask? Enxiety is the overwhelming feeling of fear and concern in regards to the impending doom of our environment. Enxiety can create feelings of fear over environmental degradation, helplessness in changing national and international policies on the environment, and frustration about the extent of the problem, other...

My dear, old French teacher in high school would pointedly announce periodically throughout the semesters, during which he taught 15, 16 and 17 year olds. Mind you, I have another old high school teacher who recently quoted K. Vonnegut on Facebook, “True terror is to wake up and discover your high school class is running the country.” Mixed messages- but they motivated this blog. Recently, my Environmental Approaches to Geographical Issues course had a mock United Nations Framework Convention on Climatic Change - the class was divided into groups and each was assigned a country to represent in a Conference of Parties to discuss possible mitigation and adaptation policies that were previously set out in a “University of Ottawa Accords 2011”. I’m sure some of you have experienced similar simulations, especially if you are in a political sciencey program of study, but this was my first “debate-style” presentation. I want to congratulate all of the students that took part in the mo...

Okay, I might be jumping the gun (ahead of the French debate) but what happened to the environment. It wasn't even brought up once in the Leader's Debate yesterday. Come on! Last time the debates happened the environment was one of the biggest issues, if not the biggest. Almost every economic stimulus package from other countries around the world included a significant investment in green technology and resource efficiency. Not in Canada. I was really hoping that there would be a lively debate about the environment, hell I would even settled for a passing comment about a platform promise... but nothing? Okay, in all fairness, there was mention about Bill C-30 and how quickly it was killed. But is that it? What about the fisheries, what about the oil sands, what about our food security, what about our climate change obligations? I am crossing my fingers in the hopes that they will pick up this question tonight in the French debate. I am not the type of person that likes to choos...

Photo Credit: Jonathan Rausseo I see garbage on the ground, I pick it up and put it in the trash. I drink an iced tea, I carry it until I see a recycling bin I see a light on and not in use, I turn in off I know we're both going to the same place, I carpool I don't agree with where my meat and produce comes from, I won't eat it I turn the lights off during Earth hour I know that something's in walking distance, I walk I see someone throw away a can when the recycling bin if five steps away, I get annoyed I have clothes that are too small for me, I donate them In my mind, I'm a pretty average guy, just tryin' to do my part. Apparently I'm a 'hardcore environmentalist'. For the longest time I didn't get it; the title really pissed me off. 'Not being a jerk when you don't have to be' is considered being 'hardcore'. But through the last month of Katimavik, living and co-operating with 10 other people and trying to make compromises...

Photo Credit: Jonathan Rausseo A couple of months ago I blogged about the surveys that were being conducted in Eric Crighton's Environmental Studies course ( Love and Surveys ). For those of you that didn't read it here is the Cole Note's summary... students conducted over 2,000 surveys about environmental issues on campus. This was part of the Experiential Learning Program. As the results begin to role in I thought that I might take the time to tell you about the recommendations that were made. Each student was asked to only do the surveys, but also include a series of recommendations about how to improve the campus based on their surveys. The results are in... Most people recommended that we needed more bins (228). Another 107 recommendations were made to produce more information. 63 people wanted more online content, etcetera. All the big recommendations have been highlighted in the nifty chart up above. They cover everything from recycling to green space to paper consu...