Kristen Villebrun and Wendy Bush hoped they wouldn't have to pray for Chedoke Creek, but four years after they first raised alarm about the water's condition, they were part of an Indigenous full moon ceremony to do just that. About 50 people showed up near Princess Point on the dark and frigid Monday evening for the monthly ceremony, which was particularly special as it focused on Chedoke Creek. The body of water that runs into Cootes Paradise had about 24 billion litres of sewage and storm water runoff leak into it due to a gate being left open.
In Saskatchewan, people can also opt for aquamation. It's been touted as a greener, more environmentally-friendly way to deal with a corpse. Aquamation, also known as alkaline hydrolysis, uses water flow, temperature and alkalinity to speed up the decomposition of the body while it is in an airtight, stainless steel container. "All it does is accelerate nature's process," said Jan Porten, managing director for Eirene Funeral Services in Saskatchewan.
Mindorff discussed the benefits of agrivoltaics, which he described as a hybrid agricultural system that maximizes land use and reduces water consumption while providing clean and affordable energy. Among the benefits is the potential to increase crop yields, while reducing water and fertilizer requirements as well as provide growers with additional income generated through selling solar electricity.
The 78-year-old Cowichan Valley resident and her husband have both made plans with a local funeral home to dispose of their remains using alkaline hydrolysis, also known as aquamation or water cremation. Mitchell says she’s attracted to aquamation because of her long commitment to reducing her carbon footprint. Flame-based cremation emits around 320 kilograms of CO2 per body, which Mitchell says she’d be “horrified” about. Aquamation uses water, warm temperatures and an alkaline solution, like potassium hydroxide, to break down tissue and bones.
To be considered for the Green Health Care Awards, NHH was required to track its performance against key indicators also measured by hospital peers on a national scorecard maintained by the Coalition known as the Green Hospital Scorecard. The Scorecard is the only comprehensive health care environmental performance benchmarking tool in Canada, measuring energy conservation, water conservation, waste management and recycling, corporate commitment, and pollution prevention.
In the spirit of maintaining a sense of control and purpose in a time of ever-increasing climate anxiety, you might be embracing subtle lifestyle changes to reduce your carbon footprint. Perhaps you've incorporated flexitarian eating, cut down on single-use plastics and are relying less on cars for transportation. Some people, however, are making more of a splash. Bidets — specialized bathroom fixtures that rinse your rear — are making a comeback, and new affordable attachments mean they're more accessible than ever. Beyond the thorough cleaning perks, bidets are often marketed as being more environmentally friendly than using toilet paper, with manufacturing companies claiming bidets can save trees, water and reduce your carbon footprint.
The Canadian government has offered up to $100 million to help global Australian mining giant BHP create the "world's most sustainable potash mine" in rural Saskatchewan. BHP's Jansen mine project, located about 140 kilometres east of Saskatoon, is currently in development and is expected to be operational by 2027. It's planned to be the largest potash producing mine in the world,. Canadian officials are putting the money forward to help the company reduce the mine's carbon footprint and invest in more environmentally friendly technology.
A wood pellet heating system that warms four buildings in Yellowknife has, after a year of operation, helped its biggest client — the territorial government — cut oil-use by 92 per cent. J&R Mechanical, a local plumbing and heating contractor, turned the 390-kilowatt system on in mid-March last year. It heats two of the business's buildings and a vet clinic. But half of its capacity goes into heating one structure: the territorial government's central warehouse on Byrne Road.
Choose modern low-flow plumbing. Low-flow faucets and shower heads reduce not only your water usage, but also the electricity needed to produce hot water since you’re using less of it. Add drain water heat recovery to your shower pipe. This “drain heat recovery” can recover about 60% of the water heat energy in an average house. The heat energy from the outgoing shower water or warm wastewater (from your clothes washer, for example) is transferred to incoming water. A simple device, once installed, it works for decades. (92)
The Water Act, passed in the P.E.I. Legislature but not yet proclaimed, was one of the more divisive issues of the first leaders debate of the provincial election campaign.
More than 250 people packed into an auditorium at UPEI to listen to the leaders discuss environmental issues, at a forum organized by Island environmental groups.
Topics ranged from protecting soil quality, to watershed group funding, to increasing the number of protected areas on P.E.I., to promoting the Island's natural history.
