Category Sustainability

puzzle piecePiece of the Puzzle:
Britain loses the potter’s wheel.

I developed my understanding of sustainability essentially by hyperlinking books. I would read a book, then go through the citations and find another interesting book. This led me through design and ecology and economics and psychology and business and so many other…

Crushing the Solar Garbage Compactor

I am not a violent man—but I can be quite ‘passionate’, and today I am feeling passion about solar garbage compacters. It may seem an unlikely lens, but garbage compactors are—ahem—very juicy. The passion precipitating post, on TreeHugger, was mostly…

The 3D Printing Bubble

This is a post with me, or about me, or something. After I engaged in a protracted argument in the comments section, Lloyd Alter summarized it into a post in its own right. Hint—I don’t think 3D printers are all…

Loaner Bags by Deposit

Originally published on theTyee.ca. Ever felt guilty for forgetting your re-useable bag at home? Felt the accusing stare of the clerk or fellow shoppers? With the memory of Christmas giving so fresh in our minds, redolent with blister packs and…

New Ways to Warm Your Bum

Originally published on theTyee.ca. Forget patio heaters. Use the heat restaurants cook up. I live in a nice neighbourhood. The pleasantly tattered barbershops and import food stores of Little Italy are only recently being replaced with baby boutiques and doggy…

Let’s Claim Our Rotting Riches

Originally published on theTyee.ca. A truly cool city would feature a short stroll to the local worm bin. You and I are caring people. And caring people care about composting, which is why many of us bemoan the fact that…

The 50-Million-Tree Slurp

originally posted on theTyee.ca. Hey coffee drinker, isn’t it time you started mugging it up? We have some amazing technology developing here in Canada. Homegrown high-tech whiz-bang — Nobel Prize material, really. This system is too good to be true:…

Let’s Pave Streets Green

Originally published on theTyee.ca. Would you give up your extra parking spot for a garden plot? The asphalt will crack and erupt, and green plants and vines will sprout forth. No, this isn’t my end of the world prophecy, this…

New Wine in Old Bottles

We do it with beer. Why not vino? I don’t usually have much difficulty in liquor stores; after all, the only product they sell is one of my favourite things. This time, though, I wanted to buy my red table…

We Can Be Garbage Free

My first post on theTyee.ca. The original article is here.               Trash is a choice. Time for Cradle to Cradle design. A month after Vancouver finally settled its garbage strike, people are breathing easier…

Your new car makes me Green with Envy.

This was one of my first posts on TreeHugger.com. See the original article here. A new kind of greenspace rolled out for this year’s International Car-Free day in Vancouver, BC – a Car Park. The Vancouver Design Nerds, a fluid…