Happy Birthday Green Earth Organics!

As we approach our Sweet Sixteen this Sunday June 1st, I thought it would be fun to sit down and interrogate, I mean interview, my boss. Company founder, Dan Henry, contrived the idea of an organic grocery delivery service back in 1998 after hearing of similar companies in England. He had already been looking to incorporate his experience working with an environmental group into a viable business and providing people with fresh organic produce while reducing the planet's carbon footprint was the winning combination.

"I wanted to start a business that I could make a living from and feel that I'm contributing to a better planet."

We have changed a lot since those first door-to-door promotions and telephone hot-line bin changes. Technology has made lives easier by providing a website for ordering and email newsletters, reducing paper waste. 100% of our office paper is reused and recycled, but we still look to reduce the need for it at all.

Our biggest change has been our siblings slowly spreading across Canada. "When I started Green Earth I was quite content having a small local company helping our members make healthier food choices for themselves and their families.  In the last couple years I felt I needed a new challenge..." In 2012 we welcomed three British Columbia cities to our banner; Victoria, Sea to Sky, and Fraser Valley. They were followed in late 2013 by our newest and fastest growing sibling in Calgary, Alberta.

"My goal was, and is, to partner with like-minded individuals, show them what I have learned over the past 16 years and support them along the way. So far this has been a great experience and I have met some great people that I now work with."

What can we expect to see from Green Earth Organics in the future? "I plan on improving our website and making it even more user friendly. I also want to expand our product lines. Hopefully, we will also see more Green Earth Organics locations in other cities in Western Canada this year."

Stay tuned next week to meet the rest of your Green Earth Organics team!

Lime Shortage

Due to a couple major tropical storms along lime growing regions of Central America, lime supplies have been reduced drastically. With them coming over the border at an extreme $110 per case, up from the usual $20-25 per case, it's likely that we won't be able to include them in your bins for a little while. Sorry! On the plus side, I've heard that strawberry season is starting off beautifully and that more and more BC farmers are planting organic in green houses, so we'll be seeing local organic greens even earlier than usual this season.

Creatively United for the Planet's 3rd Annual Festival - Saturday April 26th

Creatively United for the Planet is exactly what it sounds like, communities and individuals united together in creative ways to promote taking care of our planet. “We focus on education and awareness,” states founder Frances Litman. “We want to create a positive atmosphere and attitude towards approaching a difficult/negative subject [like the current state of the environment].”

Recently in June 2013, they created Vancouver Island Green Scene, another non-profit that specifically focuses on “building, enhancing and supporting a values-based green economy” which “promotes sustainable choices and responsible practices.” Members range from individuals and businesses to local agriculture and the regional government. As the list grows, Frances hopes that it can be used as a resource not just for members, but also the local community.

As a non-profit organization, their projects mostly involve bringing people together to share ideas and talk. A local company in Victoria has helped them create a community blog where anyone can share ideas, articles, stories, and anything that interests them or might interest others. This new program is called TicTalking and is an innovative new way to use technology to gather people together. Say goodbye to the old staple covered bulletin board at the community centre and instead just log on to TicTalk for all the latest in your community.

Founded in 2010, the society has hosted two community festivals, which last year drew over 5,000 Victoria residents. Amazingly, in spite of having over 5,000 attendees, the festival only had 4.5 bags of garbage! Everything else was either composted or recycled.

This year they are proud to present this year’s third annual Creatively United for the Planet Festival 2014 on Saturday April 26^th, which will coincide with the 33^rd annual Earth Walk parade. Gather together at Centennial Square at noon because the walk takes off at 12:30pm sharp to bring everyone to St Ann’s Academy, the festival hosts. With tons of food, arts and crafts, dancing and other events, the festival will be a great day out for people of all ages.

If you enjoyed our interview article on Level Ground Trading, co-founder Stacey Toews will be joining Deebee’s Organic Tea Pops founder Dionne Laslo-Baker in an educational talk. I had the great fortune of trying Dionne’s Tea Pop’s at a trade show last weekend and was incredibly impressed.

Stacey and Dionne will be sharing their experience and ideas on how everyone can integrate healthy eating, living, and being into their business. From how employees interact with each other, to product quality, relationships with suppliers, keeping your business environmentally healthy, and reinvesting profits back into the community.  The talk will be in St. Ann’s auditorium on Saturday April 26^th and goes from Noon until 1:30pm. It is a ticketed event (only $12 pre-sale, $25 at the door) and all proceeds go straight back into the society for planning their next event.

Another light hearted and fun family event will be the screening of “The Clean Bin Project,” a film where partners Grant and Jen go head to head to see which of them can “swear off consumerism and produce the least garbage in one year.” The film has won over six different awards since its release, including Best Canadian Documentary Projecting Change in 2011. It has been described as “An Inconvenient Truth meets Super Size Me.” It is also a ticked event $12 pre-sale and $20 at the door.

We hope to see you there!

From Our Newsletter : BC Budget Blues to follow Olympic Gold?

The Olympics are over, and Para-Olympics yet to begin. Canada won more gold medals than any country ever in the history of the Winter Games! Canada showed the world just “whose game” hockey is in their “edge of your seat” victory over the US. Canadian athletes captured the hearts of the world, and BC’s breathtaking scenery certainly captured their eyes.

But when the “highs” finally fade, financial reality will set in for those of us who call Vancouver home. Rate hikes by BC Hydro (about 9 percent) and inching-up gas prices indicate the “adjustment” is starting. Will we find ourselves nauseous atop the “porcelain throne,” like college fraternity members waking up after a two-week “budget bender?”

Bottom line: It’s hard to be totally awesomely “green” when you are going totally awesomely broke.

For example, over the next two years provincial funding for the arts will be gutted by 88%. School closures will once again make headlines. Poverty and homelessness in Vancouver’s Downtown East Side will remain a pressing problem harder to address with budget shortfalls. And don’t look now, but is that axe going to hit important Medicare programs?

Our friends at Dogwood Initiative have a great piece, with an eye-opening chart and informative interview, on “Unspinning the BC Budget”. See it here.

Green or not green?

Vancouver’s consistent “Green Messaging” throughout the Olympics paints an eco-forward, altruistic picture of Vancouver as the Greenest City ever, hosting the greenest Olympics ever.

So as the compost drum turns…is it… “Green or not Green?”

Green.

The athlete’s 2010 Olympic Village at False Creek was a triumph of Green building technology. From using captured methane gas from a former landfill for energy, to using waste heat expelled from a nearby wastewater treatment facility for heat, the village is a Green medal winner.

Green transportation also scored big during the games, though with substantial sticker shock: eighty-nine million dollars. But the hydrogen and fuel-cell fleet of green buses and smaller vehicles, and the new Canada Line system will improve public transportation.

Recycling is a Vancouver tradition, and played a prominent role in the 2010 Winter Games. It’s good that recycling bins are everywhere. They’re one thing a city can never have too many of. Still, you can lead a rowdy partier to the recycling bin but you can’t make them use it…

Vancouver is committed to a net-zero carbon footprint. As officials track the carbon footprint of the games, we will post results. Vancouver does win a Green medal for effort.

Points for Trying: the now-famous ice-cleaning machine that kept breaking down during men’s speed skating was engineered to be “green”, but just couldn’t cut it on the ice. It ended up being priceless publicity for Zamboni, which brought a machine in from Calgary to save the day.

Not Green.

Trucking and flying in massive amounts of snow to Cypress when our warm weather gave a whole new meaning to “green Winter Olympics.” Could there have been an alternative? Was this the only way to deal with the situation? Possibly. But the massive amounts of fossil fuel burned simply to whiten our green slopes for a sporting event gets a “not green” thumbs down.

Really Not Green

Much has been written about sponsor Coca Cola’s “green” Olympic efforts. And they may very well win a medal for “greenwashing.” But calling the Coca Cola Company “green” is like calling Dick Cheney a pacifist.

Coca Cola is famous for privatizing public water supplies, most notably in India, then polluting and poisoning them, systematically harming both the local environment and economy.

Coca Cola’s products are also NOT green. The concoction of industrial chemicals sold as “soda” is actually full of potential carcinogens and environmental toxins. Very recently Coca Cola has also been under investigation in China for mercury poisoning in their Beijing plant. Click here to read more.

To better understand why Coca Cola is “Not Green” check out the well-done 2008 documentary “Flow: For Love Of Water” or visit click here.

From Our Newsletter: Greening the Olympics?

It's nearly impossible to truly "green" a massive event like the Olympics, although we get points for trying. Hundreds of thousands of people will produce thousands of metric tons of garbage. Plastic trinkets of every type and size will be sold. The wealthy will burn jet fuel on private planes. And the majority of those land, air and sea military craft sure aren't hybrids.

About those planes...

One Olympic controversy arose concerning the proposed carbon offset program. Vancouver has offset the carbon produced in preparing for the Games (110,000 tons). However, over half of the total carbon count attributed to the Olympics will come from the people flying from all over the world to Vancouver. VANOC is relying on visitors and competing countries to voluntarily invest in an offset fund. If enough people don't volunteer, we won't reach our goal: 300,000 tons. Stay tuned for final results after the Games.

Here are a couple of the projects helping our Green City shine:

A Streetcar named Sustainability Star

The City of Vancouver and Bombardier Transportation has introduced The Olympic Line – Vancouver's Modern Streetcar. This "pimp my streetcar ride green" project is a prototype. But over 6,000 people who rode it on opening day (January 21), and nearly 9,000 people per day taking it since are making it popular enough so hopefully it will be a "keeper". Connecting Granville Island to the Canada Line Olympic Village Station (Cambie Street and West 2nd Avenue) until March 21, 2010, the Olympic line is FREE. Hours: 6:30 AM to 12:30 A> daily. Visit Getting Around for more ways to travel in sustainable style during the Olympics.

True Green at False Creek?

Despite scandals and budget woes, Vancouver's Olympic Village in False Creek is ready and seeking LEED gold certification (second highest level of certification) for its buildings and the highest platinum rating for its community center.

As seen on the news, buildings feature solar panels and self-sustaining "green roofs" that use a rainwater collection system. Radiant in-floor heating systems also save energy while reducing the circulating pollutants inherent to forced-air systems. Visit Olympics Going Green for more information on False Creek Olympic Village.