Our Big Fat Energy Credit

Anyone depending on sun & wind to power their home dreads the month of November. It's usually the darkest and wind-stillest month of the year. Drizzle and wet snow will come straight down; compare that to the blizzards we can expect very soon, and I suppose we should be grateful for it...

A typical November day: no sun, no wind...

For solar and wind-powered folks like us things are a bit different. We almost welcome those howling storms that make the snow fly horizontally. It means lots of energy is being produced and stored in the battery banks. Same for those bright January and February days, when you can't go out without your sunglasses and sunscreen on: lots of sunlight bouncing off all that snow produces lots of solar energy. Call us crazy, but we can't wait till it gets cold & windy!

Until then, we'll just have to sit this dull November out. Looking at our charts I see we produced a measly 12.5 KW/hrs of solar energy and 9.5 KW/hrs wind energy over the past 7 days; that's a total of 22Kw/hrs. We typically produce that in 2 good days.

Still, the lights stay on at the Nolalu Eco Centre, together with the stereo, the fridge, our computers and even the big-screen video projector for those must-have movie nights.

Of course we're a bit more careful when using power, but what really saves our free-range bacon: it's days like these that we happily dip into the credit we've built up with the Power Utility. Each summer and fall we produce hundreds of excess Kilowatt-hours that all get pumped back into the power grid, producing a big fat credit at Hydro One. Think of it as a Power Piggy Bank that we're now taking some change out of.

Of course we should still be careful how much power we're using, as even big fat credits will come to an end. But at least we don't have to worry too much about those long dark days. And thank goodness, we can still have our movie nights!

Greenwash of the Red (Wine) Variety

The digital ink of my previous post had hardly dried or I came across yet another fine example of greenwashing. Or more accurately: I fell for yet another fine example: this bottle of Eco Trail, an Ontario-made red wine by Pelee Island Winery (a VQA, no less).

That's right: Eco Trail. So being a certified green geek, I made a bee line for this bright green label the moment I spotted it at our local liquor store.
It had all the trappings of the environmentally responsible purchase: a local -or at least regional- product (Ontario), environmentally acceptable packaging (glass), an eco label ("Eco Trail") and a non-impulse purchase (hey, I happen to like a good glass of wine, okay?).

So how come I feel taken advantage of?

Well, upon reading the bottle's fine print on the back label, it appears this winery isn't as "eco" as its label suggest. For me, an environmentally responsible wine maker doesn't use pesticides, doesn't use petro-based fertilizers, doesn't over-irrigate, only uses local varieties of grapes, you get the idea. None of this is mentioned on the loftily-phrased back label.

So why does this vinyard consider itself greener than the competition? Well, there's extensive talk about a near-extinct type of frog which used to live there in large colonies before someone with a business plan turned this frog's natural habitat into a winery. However, a few frogs managed to survive and according to the back label, the winery decided to let them be and not eradicate them (there probably weren't enough of them to do any serious damage).

Somehow I don't think this is "eco". Somehow I don't really think this actually makes our world a better place. Somehow I think: it would have been better if those frogs hadn't been killed in the first place.

My verdict therefore: greenwash of the very first order.
But I must admit, it was a very nice wine...

Green Wave or Green-washing...?

Halloween had hardly left the building or Santa lept on the stage. Judging by his zeal I'm sure he could hardly wait. Already we're surrounded by Christmas songs, Christmas decorations and Christmas advertising. After all, Christmas (the most important time of year for most retailers) is all about buying and selling and excessive consumption, isn't it? And with everyone jumping on the Eco bandwagon, expect to see a lot more "green gifts" and "eco presents".

A good example is this "Eco Dollhouse With Furniture" by Playwell, proud member of the Canadian Toy Association. Their ad claims "This eco-efficient dollhouse is made from chemical-free rubberwood and features replicas of alternative energy sources (including a windmill, solar panels & electric inverter), recycling bins & an adjustable blind to control sunlight & air circulation. It also includes 5 rooms of furniture made from organic cotton" (suggested retail: $269.95).

Why, it's a mini Eco Centre without solar hot water collectors (although they beat us on the organic cotton thing)...!

Only... I'm not so sure what to think of it. Okay, I guess it's better to have this house concept available as it represents a saner life style than the standard consumerism one, but still... I can't shake this feeling something's wrong with it. Maybe it's the whole political correctness-thing of it (forget the kids; their eco-conscious parents can't wait to show it off to their similar-minded friends). Or maybe the nagging feeling that it's very likely "made in China" - the other side of the world, burning oodles of fossil fuel to reach our toy stores' shelves, like 95% of our toys.

Christmas for me is not about $270-dollhouses, no matter how "eco" they may be. Christmas should be less about consuming and more about sharing & restoring. My verdict for now is this is an example of "green-washing", giving consumers the feeling they're helping the environment while conveniently not requiring to change their life style.

Oh, and just for the record: don't ever think of mounting your windmill onto your house - a recipe for disaster.

Morning Snow

Just a picture of two young bucks (that's male deer, for those who don't live up here) in our snow-dusted field this morning. The nights are getting colder, the days shorter, we've gone back from Daylight Saving Time to Standard Time (Daylight Wasting Time...?), all sure signs that the cold season is closing in.

Pretty soon our fields will be permanently covered with snow, and wildlife (including ourselves) struggling through what promises to be another long cold winter. The wood stove is on most of the days now, just a small fire as our thick straw bale walls keep the house nice and warm.

The Nolalu Eco Centre will be going into hibernation mode, too. Workshops and the Eco Hero contest are done, house tours and presentations are slowing down for the winter, only the occasional B&B guest drops in. New plans and initiatives are in the works, though, there's always plenty to do.
And I just realized our snowshoes haven't even been touched up yet from last year's intensive use...!

It's Little Things That Make Our Day...

It was only a small gesture, but it sure felt good when we picked up the Saturday newspaper and unexpectedly came across this "Thumbs Up" notice:

Who ever it was, thank you for being so thoughtful and for making our day!

Embracing My Inner Geek

I'll be the first to admit that my passion for all things green borders on the realm of geekyness. I realized this when we got a shipment from the U.S. in; some fragile items that had to be packed with some protective material to avoid damage.
Opening the package I went all oo and ah the moment I saw what was used for protective material. Instead of the common foam chips there were these folded paper triangles. Not made of (toxic) plastic foam or bubble wrap, not made of (extremely inefficient high-embodied-energy) corn starch - no: just plain and simple paper.

A bunch of environmentally-friendly Expandos

It's called Expandos and hails from Denver, CO. I never thought I'd be reading the entire website of a packaging materials manufacturer, but I did. I was looking for a catch (there always is one, right?), but no: it's made out of recycled paper using Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) practices. It's bio-degradable and fully recyclable. It uses low-energy manufacturing methods and produces no toxic by-products or waste. Oh, and did I mention it works as good as if not better than conventional packaging materials?

Up close and personal - hi there, handsome...

Okay, call me an eco geek, but it's little things like these that make me happy. It almost makes me me wish we had lots of fragile stuff to ship out. They even offer this option to have your name printed on each individual triangle. Hmm, I can just see our logo there right now...

Cutting It Pretty Close...

Our Eco Centre has thick straw bale walls that are plastered. Plastering is a tough job, especially if one section is out of reach of any conventional rental scaffolding, as was the case with our East gable. Perfectly tucked away out of anyone’s reach, this section been sitting there waiting to be plastered ever since we finished construction 3 years ago…

Of course this meant that whenever we had a serious rain or snow storm coming from the East, that wall would slowly erode and seep water in. Also the sun’s damaging ultra violet rays were beginning to leave their marks (thank you, hole in the ozone layer).

So this year we really had to get around to plastering that section from hell. Winter is lurking behind the fall-red maple bushes, and once it’s snowing you can forget about any plastering for the next 6 months. If only we knew how to get up there…

And just when we started to get slightly desperate: presto, our farmer neighbour Mo turns out to be a serious scaffolder with just the right equipment for this kind of job. Mo arrived with his truck full of bits and pieces, and 3 hours later we could get up there - finally!

Presto again, and our friend and neighbour Dan Bigelow offers to help us out with a paddle mixer and lots of plaster pointers. Heck, he even offers to do the plastering himself! Dan happens to be a concrete & plaster specialist, so what he says goes (plaster-wise that is).

Plastering away with Dan up top, Hubert as his Vanna White

And after 3 years of head scratching and finding excuses, the East gable finally got finished yesterday! Just in time, it appears, as this morning we woke up to this fall’s first snowstorm. Winter has moved in, the plastering season is officially over…

24 hours later: 3cm of snow and -6C...

A big shout out to Mo and Dan for helping us out just in time!

And The Cape Goes To…

About 30 people got together here last Saturday to share some fellowship, ideas and -just as important- some good food & drinks. But the real reason for this festive get-together was to honour North Ontario’s very first Eco Hero Jeanie Gaudette, and runners-up Laura Ogden and Gary Peacock.

They all received a certificate and an environmentally-friendly prize package, sponsored by local businesses. Winner (and elementary school teacher) Jeanie Gaudette also received a congratulatory letter from the contest’s honorary patron, Canadian astronaut and environmentalist Dr. Roberta Bondar who compliments Jeannie writing: “(…) It is very important that our children learn ways to protect the environment. You are a wonderful role model not only for your pupils but everyone around you!”

North Ontario’s very first Eco Hero(ine) Jeanie Gaudette (Centre), flanked by runners-up Laura Ogden (right) and Gary Peacock (left)

We had a blast with this contest, learning about all these initiatives to help our fragile environment, and especially meeting the people behind them. It’s incredibly encouraging to see how much is happening on a grassroots level, ideas that slowly but surely perculate into ever-wider circles.

Don’t worry if you missed this year’s contest, the Eco Hero will be back next year.  I’m just thinking, some contests have a crowning ceremony, so maybe we should introduce a “caping ceremony”. You know – super heroes, capes?
Okay, maybe not…