PHOTO BY TERRI CHU/GLEANER NEWS: Cars rule the road in Madrid (above), a city whose culinary delights and historic sights are marred by the population’s refusal to use public transit.

Time to end the car era

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Governments need to change behaviour through policy

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It’s hard to borrow a cup of sugar…but the problem isn’t Toronto

Kellie Leitch is reportedly getting packets upon packets of sugar in the mail as a response to her comments that in Toronto, you can’t walk next door and borrow a cup of sugar. She’s right, to an extent…just not in Toronto.  Read more

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Embrace the green and lower your footprint

Christmas came a little late for me this year. I woke up on New Year’s Day and looked out of the window at the gas station sign. The ever slightly higher gas price was a pleasant reminder of the new carbon tax that Ontarians are now paying and I couldn’t be happier. Natural gas will be increased by about 7 cents a cubic metre, and gasoline about 4 cents a litre. This is truly a great day for our children. It’s a small but important step in the right direction.  Read more

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Five alternatives to store-bought gifts

By Terri Chu

When I was a child, Christmas was a magical time. But as I grew older and became more environmentally aware, the holiday quickly became one of my least favourite times of year. Now I can’t even step into a mall during the holidays: just the mere sight of so many useless gifts meant as a token, ultimately destined for the landfill, makes me grieve for the planet.  Read more

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Draw attention to what really matters

By Terri Chu

Sometimes I wonder why, knowing what we know about climate change, there are people who continue to buy things they don’t really need for the sake of it. We have our share of green businesses in the Annex, but that doesn’t make us immune from replacing our perfectly functioning phones with newer ones, or falling for the latest fashion trends (none of which are sustainable).  Read more

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By Terri Chu

Having a kid is expensive, anybody can tell you that. What nobody told me though was how expensive raising a child can be when you try to stay low on environmental impact. Cloth diapers are a huge capital outlay and I’m not convinced they are used long enough to break even against disposables. Using a diapering service costs around $25 per week while disposables are about $0.30 each, which even at 10 per day comes in at $21.  Read more

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What the industry doesn’t tell you is that plastic doesn’t get recycled very well.

By Terri Chu

An attempt by Toronto city council to dispense with the 5-cent fee on plastic bags has instead resulted in the outright ban of the bags.  Read more

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Both have their environmental benefits, but how do you know which too choose?

By Terri Chu

Organic greens have expanded from a niche, farmers’ market item into the mainstream. I consider anything found at Loblaws–where about one in three grocery dollars in Canada are spent–mainstream.  Read more

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