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Breaking news at calgaryherald.com Friday, September 5, 2008 CC1111REAL LIFE

A year in the life of The Green Guide

EMMA GILCHRIST

CALGARY HERALD

Ihave a confession to make: ayear ago I wasn’t very greenat all.

I left appliances plugged inand permanently drawingpower. I bought apples fromNew Zealand and clothingfrom China. I used plastic bagslike there was no tomorrowand took long showers, think-ing water was abundant.

Flyers jammed my mailbox,defunct electronics crowdedmy closets, batteries went in thegarbage and a collection ofchemical-laden cleaning prod-ucts stewed under my sink.

My, what a year can change. The journey began when my

first Green Guide column ranon Sept. 7, 2007.

Just as the leaves werechanging colour outside, I toowas changing my colours. It’snot that I was environmentallygluttonous, but I wanted to bebetter. The problem was, I did-n’t know how to be better. Andmy friends, family and col-leagues were even further be-hind than me. And so, TheGreen Guide was born.

Each Friday, I’ve attempted tooffer practical advice so you toocan get on the path to greenerliving without tons of tediousresearch (and believe me, therehas been tedious research) or amassive lifestyle upheaval. Theidea is that I do the dirty workfor you, so you get the straightgoods on how to reduce yourimpact on our Earth.

Not willing to let this information slip into the abyss,I compile it all online, so youhave a guide to refer to whenever you want. If youhaven’t checked it out yet, visit calgaryherald.com/greenguide.

Now, without further self-promotion, let me share thewisdom gleaned from a year oftaking my own advice.

Start already

As with getting in shape orsaving money, one of the hard-est parts of going green is justgetting started. The psychologi-cal resistance to even the slight-est of changes (putting on run-ning shoes, abstaining fromthat extra-large caramel mac-chiato or using a reusable bag)is a peculiar thing.

Is rinsing out and reusing acontainer really that scary? Isbiking to work truly terrifying?Is foregoing the 10th pair ofjeans for your wardrobe reallygoing to make you less stylish?

The answers: no, no and no.So, break through the wall al-

ready and make the shift fromwanting to do better to actuallydoing better.

Break your bad habits

The day after my first columnran on how to pack a litterlesslunch, I crossed that mentalhurdle, took my own advice andfound myself decanting a largecontainer of yogurt intosmaller, reusable tubs.

I know, this miniscule actiononly saved a little bit of plasticand it wouldn’t make the slight-est difference on a global scale,but the subsequent string ofchanges add up to somethingbigger.

Soon I was priding myself onfour-course litterless lunches,digging cutlery out of my purseat inopportune moments andproudly developing a “system”for my reusable containers.

It was easy, it was satisfying, itwasn’t scary anymore. And sud-denly, everything from batteryrecycling to carpooling to ditch-ing the plastic bags seemed somuch more doable — enjoyable,even.

I joyously recycled all thosebatteries on a recent trip to IKEAand last winter I discovered car-pooling is good for more thanthe environment and the wallet— it’s good for the soul.

I cut my use of plastic bags tovirtually zero with one simpleproduct: Envirosax, a bag thatrolls up neatly to fit in yourpurse and weighs next to noth-ing. (Find them atenvirosax.com, Paper Root Stu-dios at Market Mall, Land &Sea, House of Knives, The Com-pleat Cook or Twisted Goods).

Get addicted

Taking my own advice goteasier and easier. I changed mylightbulbs to compact fluores-cents, I started making cleanersfrom vinegar and olive oil, Iturned off my computer when Iwasn’t using it.

After a few months, mypower bill was half of what itpreviously was, just by makinga few simple changes.

Reducing my consumptionwas becoming a satisfying per-sonal challenge — a challengethat made me feel better all-around.

Change the way you think

At one point, I found myselfunable to buy new clothes, be-cause I became so con-cerned with how they weremade. That cheap T-shirt wasn’t about the pricetag anymore. It was aboutthat other tag, the one thatsaid it was made inBangladesh or India or China.The mind boggled withthoughts of child labour, pes-ticide-drenched cotton andinternational shipping. Andonce I thought of all thosethings, I could rarely justify myirrational need for more “stuff.”

I got to thinking about what Ireally need. I made lists, priori-tized and scouted out purchasesbefore making and decisions. Ibegan to think about what com-panies I was supporting andwhether that was something I re-ally wanted to do. I woke up andbecame a conscious consumer.

Ask for help

Once you get into living green,you can’t help but want to knowmore. Of course, that’s wherethis column comes in and I’m al-ways happy to answer readerquestions via e-mail, but I’d alsosuggest a few go-to resources (allbooks printed on post-consumerrecycled paper, of course):■ Lauren Maris’ book LiveGreen, Calgary! (EarthWise So-lutions, $19.95) gives you thelowdown on local programs,products and services to greenyour life and save you money. ■ The Clean Calgary Associa-tion is an invaluable resource

for all Calgarians. They answereco questions, offer workshopsand publish guides on every-thing from green cleaning togreen building and renovating.Check them out at cleancal-gary.org or call 230-1443.■ Ecoholic (Random House,$24.95) by Adria Vasil gives thestraight goods on every eco-dilemma imaginable and is writ-ten specifically for Canadians.■ Go Green, Live Rich (Dou-bleday, 19.95) by New YorkTimes-bestselling author DavidBach offers 50 simple ways tosave the Earth (and get rich try-ing). The amount of money youcan save is seriously exciting.

Reap the benefits, then brag about it

Once you’ve found the path tosimpler living, you’ll want to domore. I can’t stress enough thepower of positive peer pressure.

Never could I have imaginedthat “I’m really passionate aboutwaste diversion” could be usedas a pickup line. But it has.

I’m conscious of my eco-foot-print and I’m proud of it — notobnoxiously so, I hope. But I doshare my small triumphs withcolleagues and friends: “I bikedto work today,” “Check out thisawesome litterless lunch,” “Fi-nally I got my act together andstarted using this reusable TimHortons mug.” And then Iwatch the movement grow.

If there’s one thing I’velearned, it’s to never underesti-mate the power you have overthe people around you.

For example, if I see thatsomeone leaves their computeron overnight, I tactfully ask,“Hey, did you know you leftyour computer on last night?”They never do it again.

In March, the Herald part-nered with Project Porch-light to give all 600 Heraldemployees a compact fluo-rescent light bulb. All themyths about dim light andtime-delays were erased ina a flick of the switch.

Beyondthat, I make

sure institu-tions and

businessesknow their

sustainability

efforts are important to me. AndI try to shop in smaller, localstores, where my voice actuallymatters. I joined my condoboard, canvassed the buildingand started a recycling programthat has cut our waste drastically.

Don’t get me wrong, I fullyrealize that even all of these ac-tions combined aren’t going tocreate a global turnaround. Yes,regulations are needed to stemthe tide of industrial pollution,but even the most monumentalof changes has to start some-where. And that somewhere iswith people. If you’re not partof the solution, you’re part ofthe problem.

The grass is greener on this side of the fence

Sure, sometimes I border onbeing an eco geek. But I’m OKwith that.

Despite the fact the terms“phantom draw,” “greenwash-ing” and “vermicomposting”are now a part of my vernacu-lar, life is simpler somehow.

I manage my money better, Iwalk more, I know where myfood comes from because I takemy time choosing it at the farm-ers’ market each week. And Ihave a new favourite colour:green.

EGILCHRIST@THEHERALD.CANWEST.COM

THE GREEN GUIDE

Vanessa Porteous wins our lit-

terless lunch contest not only

for her great tips, but for her cre-

ative writing skills and for shar-

ing the term “desk camping.”

She’ll receive a $50 package of

litterless lunch supplies from

Thermos for her efforts.

Here are her tips, as well as

some of the others we received:

■ Keep the ingredients of your

sandwich separate for freshness

and to minimize packaging. Pack

a hunk of bread, a hunk of

cheese, a piece of sausage, a

chunk of cucumber, a whole

tomato, some fresh herbs. It

doesn’t really matter what you

wrap these basic bits in: recy-

cled plastic bags, little tubs, nap-

kins . . . Nothing will get soggy.

Keep a mixed salt/pepper

grinder and an all-purpose

kitchen knife at work, or pack it in

your kit. Assemble your lunch as

desired. For some reason, in addi-

tion to minimizing waste and as-

suring freshness, when the time

comes to saw away at the bread

and sprinkle your salt and pepper

on your freshly cut tomato, this

approach will also make you feel

European and sophisticated, like

you’re sitting on the banks of the

Loire. You’re not just eating a

lousy soggy sandwich like some

miserable school kid. My partner

calls it “desk camping.”— Vanessa Porteous

■ Instead of buying pre-pack-

aged snack foods, we bake on

the weekends and freeze it so

that packing healthy homemade

foods is as easy as grabbing the

pre-packaged snacks.

I suggest people aim not for

perfection but to do their best

and build on their successes.— Karen Packer

■ To avoid both litter and soggy

sandwiches, wash lettuce and

then wrap it in a paper towel.

Stuff the paper towel bundle

into a washed cream cheese tub

and top with your choice of

sandwich vegetables such as

cucumbers, tomatoes or pep-

pers. Simply assemble the sand-

wich on site and throw the paper

towel in the compost and the

container in the dishwasher

when you return home.— Lloyd Buchanan

Your tips on packing waste-free lunches

Q : Though I love my sis-ter’s children, I cannotstand to be around

them.When the youngest (7)

stayed with me, he was ex-tremely rude, obnoxious andselfish. I corrected him with aloving, but stern voice, and hebecame bearable.

When my sister arrived, hereverted. She blamed hismedication. They left withouta thank you or an apology.

The next day, I visited withthem; he continued to berude, his medication couldn’tbe blamed this time.

I suggested my sister needsto work harder to overcomethis, as I did with my own son.

The older daughter (12) isalso obnoxious and rude;she’s made racist comments,which my sister just laughsoff.

I don’t want these childrenat my house if they continueto behave so horribly.

No one else in the familywants them around either.

Both parents seem to havemore time for their jobs thanthey do for their kids.

— Concerned Aunt

A:You could be an impor-tant influence, if you weren’tso intent on labelling theseyoungsters as damagedgoods.

They’ll soon be increasinglyexposed to friends’ parentsand teachers with stricter

rules and reactions to bad be-haviour. They’d adapt better ifthey had support from rela-tives who firmly but lovinglyhelp teach them what is unac-ceptable.

our sister didn’t get angry atyour comments, and that’s aclue that she sees a problembut either doesn’t know howto handle it or thinks they’lloutgrow it.

Instead of being judgmentalabout her work schedule, con-tinue to gently model correc-tive discipline. For example,explaining to your niece howracism eventually hurtseveryone or refuse to ac-knowledge your nephewwhen he’s rude.

Q: I’ve been trying to getmy boyfriend (of one year) tobe involved with my family,but he doesn’t like them.

When I ask him to travelwith me to meet my Grandmahe’s very hesitant.

I love his family and go toeverything with them.

Also, anytime I bring up theissue of marriage, he says hefeels pressure.

Should I lighten up? I wantthis relationship to work but Idon’t want to do all the work.

— Too Heavy?

A:After a year together,and with you so involved withhis family, you have a right toknow what he’s thinkingabout for the future.

When he says “pressure,”you can respond — lightly —“practical.” It means that ifhe’s only drifting with you tillhe meets someone else, thenthere’s no point in your hang-ing around, or being closewith his folks.

That’s not heavy, it’s self-preservation.

E-MAIL ELLIE@THESTAR.CA.

SEE ELLIEADVICE.COM.

I can’t stand myniece and nephew

Calgary Herald Archive

Emma Gilchrist learned some valuable lessons from follow-ing her own eco-advice in The Green Guide for the past year.

CALGARY HERALD

.c mONLINE FEATURES

Find the whole year’sworth of Green Guidecolumns online at calgaryherald.com/greenguide

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E L L I ESAV V Y A DV I C E

FROM C10

WEDDING: Friendsand neighbours pitch in

Bridesmaid DebraJakubec came from Ed-monton and found her-

self staying up till midnightthe night before the wedding,making soup.

“I was cooking in Gerda’skitchen and I knew that be-hind me in the fridge wereother ingredients,” she says.But those other ingredientsweren’t local and thereforeweren’t allowed.

“I was good,” she laughs. “Ididn’t cheat.”

Neither did family. Gerda’ssister Jenny Vester came fromthe West Coast to spend sev-eral days cooking, including aday rolling out fresh pastamade from flour milled frommore of her brother’s grain.

Her secret for great taste,even without salt and pepper?“Lots of onions,” she says.

Another friend made freshfruit punches from local rasp-berries, saskatoons andrhubarb juice; and five neigh-bours volunteered to roast the

meat for the wedding dinner.“Neighbours have been es-

sential to this undertaking,”says Jenny.

Indeed, after the sunny out-door ceremony, which tookplace beside the couple’sdugout pond, neighbours andlongtime family friends set ta-bles with a motley assortmentof tableclothes. Others sortedflowers (all local, of course)into an array of donated vases.

Those neighbours includedLeon Cyr, who lives nearGerda’s parents’ farm, west ofCarstairs. He showed up witha big grocery bag stuffed fullof beans, picked fresh fromhis wife’s garden that morn-ing.

“More people should doweddings like this,” he says,noting that 40 years ago, thisis the way most weddingswere done.

“It’s a good time.”

SBOETTCHER@

THEHERALD.CANWEST.COM