Green Books Campaign: The Value of Nothing by Raj Patel

A month or so ago, I was contacted by Raz from Eco-Libris about a campaign.  200 bloggers were going to simultaneously publish reviews on sustainably published books (meaning, books printed on recycled or FSC-certified paper).  The concept was simple: We select from a list of books, the publisher provides us with a copy, and on November 10 at 1 pm, we publish our review.

Free sustainably published book? I'm in.

I had trouble selecting a book, though. The ones I initially found interesting based on the title were taken. And the bloggers were selecting books fast and furious, so the books I was choosing as alternates were quickly being snapped up too. Finally I selected one that I wasn't familiar with but sounded intriguing: The Value of Nothing by Raj Patel. The concept seemed simple; a book talking about how we as a society have skewed our priorites around setting values, how things that really have no intrinsic value have a high value placed on them by our society, and how conversely the things that we depend on as a society have very little value placed on them. I signed up.

I got the book. I started reading.

When I'm reading a book, and something catches my attention, I fold down the corner of a page so that I can go back to it.

When I finished the book, I looked at the edges. Nearly every corner of every page has been turned down. Both top and bottom.

This book is going to stay with me. 



The Value of Nothing is a bold statement on the actions and mentalities that got us in to not only the Great Finanical Meltdown of 2008, but that truly have caused caused most if not all of the crises of the late 20th and early 21st century: the belief that the exchange of goods for money is the "right" way to run a society. Patel clearly articulates the economic theories that those who ran the show believed in - and just as clearly articulates why these theories failed in a clear, accessible way.

This book is filled, filled on every page with revelations that will change the way you look at the world you live in, and more crucially, why we live in this kind of world. Is the "free market" truly the way our world should work, or have we simply let the inmates run the asylum? Has the free market created a market of things we truly need to survive and thrive, or has it created a market simply to sustain the market? Is the free market good at truly assessing what people need, or does it only assess what *it* needs? And what has the Western Free Market done to the rest of the world on an economic, social and environmental scale? Once Patel has answered these questions with unvarnished truth, he then offers solutions to fix the problems we've created - and illustrates times and places where we've already started the solution. Not a moment too late.

The Value of Nothing explains the theories behind free markets - and their failings.  Filled with theories and examples, this book is incredibly informative, especially for the economic n00b such as myself. The theories are fully explained - and their failings detailed. For example,  Patel explains that while a free market claims to despise subsidies, the truth is that our entire economic ecosystem is subsidized. That hamburger deal that costs $6 out of your pocket? also took your tax dollars to subsidize the corn that fed the cows. It's also using your tax dollars to pay for food stamps and medicare for the underpaid workers at the counter. It's also using your tax dollars to clean up the environment after factory farms ravage it. Realize that that meal deal may well have cost you $200. Free?

Or know that that "free" cell phone you got with a three year contract was made with precious metals from the Congo, extracted by horribly abused and exploited workers who live under the threat of poverty, starvation, rape and torture, all supported by their military in order to maintain the supply lines to the west. Free. Free?

Patel points out how we in the West have shunted the societal and environmental costs of the way we live from the rich to the poor. And it's imploding on us.

The Value of Nothing will change the way you look at how you live, how markets operate, and how we engage with each other.

The Value Of Nothing is available at Chapters and other retailers.

“The opposite of consumption isn't thrift. It's generosity.” - Raj Patel

Ottawa Eco-Stewardship Fair: April 24, 2010

It's that time again! This year on Earth Day, the Ottawa Eco-Stewardship Fair will be happening again at the RA Centre on Riverside Drive in Ottawa, celebrating Green Living ideas, products and services. A fantastic day is planned, with excellent exhibitors such as Ecocentrik Apparel, Eco-TAV Creations, ecomama and more, food exhibits including The Red Apron and the Ottawa Farmers' Market Association, and much much more. Much more.  There's also an eco-artist display and the Eco-award ceremonies recognizing individuals, groups, organizations or businesses that have made a significant contribution to protecting the environment and promoting conservation and sustainability.  And, awesome?  Admission and parking are both free (especially bike parking.)  See you there!

Our Choice: Al Gore

In the pile of delicious books I received for review from Rodale Publishing, the second one on the review list was the new book from Al Gore called Our Choice. The former US Vice President and high-profile environmental activist has followed up his tremendously successful and enlightening first book, An Inconvenient Truth, with a work that tells us what we can do to change the truths and realities exposed in that book: a new book called Our Choice: A Plan to Solve the Climate Crisis.

In Our Choice, Gore tells us the realities of how we're living on this planet right now: what are the sources of the energy we use? And knowing our appetite for energy, how can we change those sources and move to something more sustainable? What are the challenges of moving to those technologies - and what are the challenges of *not* moving?

In this exhaustively researched yet compellingly written book, you'll see beautiful images of the world we live in and how it's changing due to the impacts of human energy consumption (including fossil fuels, food, and much more). You'll learn about the realities of solar, wind, geothermal, nuclear and biofuels, including the way they work as well as the challenges involved in using them (eg. the requirement for a new power grid to distribute the power in a smarter way).

In the end, Gore poses us a choice. It is still possible to fix the damage we've done and to halt the progression of the problems we've created. And in 20, 40, 100 years, how will we explain what we've done? How will we say to our children, this is how we fixed it - or this is why we didn't? Ultimately, Our Choice is a testimony to the reality of the climate crisis - that it is not insurmountable, that it is fixable, and that is within our power to do so.

You can pick up Our Choice at Chapters/Indigo and other retailers.

Ottawa Hidden Treasures Giveaway Weekend October 24-25

Do you have tons of stuff in your house that isn't broken or otherwise not usable, but that you're just not using anymore? Old CDs, mismatched end tables, maybe some 4 year old magazines... who knows? Well, if you're in Ottawa, take that stuff, clearly label it as "FREE", and put it out to the curb on Saturday and Sunday for the Hidden Treasures Giveaway Weekend. It could be anything - just as long as it's still usable for someone, it just might find a home. Check out the website for the official "rules" of the giveaway such as how to display your items, and which items might be best left un-given away. Happy hunting!

Kick your Plastic Bag Habit - here's how!

I'm pleased to announce that my first article is up at Hugg.ca:

You've heard it all already - how plastic bags are used for an average of 7 minutes then discarded. How they take thousands barrels of petroleum a year to make. How they end up in landfills to slowly disintegrate over hundreds of years. You have in fact heard all that, I'm sure.

So how to go from knowing plastic bags are a drag, to actually decreasing your use of plastic bags? Everyone tries, but I'm sure everyone can think of a time they ended up at the checkout reusable-bag free. Here's a few tips on the easiest ways to eliminate (or at least massively decrease) your bag usage.

Click through to read the full article!

Inhabitat Summer Contest: Green Gadget Giveaway!

One of my favourite eco-blogs, Inhabitat, is giving away a PILE of swag on their blog this summer.

Up for grabs: A Voltaic Solar Powered Backpack containing an Inhabitat T-shirt and tote bag; a Freeplay hand-crank LED Lantern inside a cool Inhabitat Tote bag, and a bunch of awesome Inhabitat T-shirt or tote bags.

You just need to be signed up for their newsletter to be eligible for the giveaways. More info and how to claim your prizes are posted here. Even if you aren't looking for swag, though, it's worth it to sign up for their e-mail or RSS feed - it's a great eco-blog with tons upon tons of news from all over. Check it out.

EcoWeb June 17

Don't worry, ecochicks: I have read the internet so you don't have to.

You a geek who wants to be green? Gizmodo showed us this new Monitor from LG that uses about 45% less energy than traditional models. Now you can feel a whole lot less Green Guilt about your WOW addiction.

Looking for a new source for green news? The Huffington Post, the US political commentary site named the World's Most Powerful Blog by the Guardian, recently launched a new channel: Huffington Post Green, with news, blogs, and commentary about all the latest green news. This one will have some clout!

Sustainablog brings us news about Power of Green Consumers working together through Earth Aid Group Buys: Groups of consumers combining their purchasing power to buy in bulk and get better prices on green goods. Take the power into your own hands! They also posted a great article on Low Impact Living: 10 ways to cut energy consumption. What changes can you make?

Inhabitat featured several cool stories, including these awesomely funky Lamps made with recycled bottles, cool Solar Curtains that shade your home from the sun while absorbing energy, and an uber-useful Crank USB Battery that you could use right away to generate power, and that you will need to surf the web in case of the apocalypse.

At Treehugger, they featured this cool Lettuce Billboard, the Whippy Light (hide your CFL bulbs no more!) and these recycled plastic cutlery cases to curb your need for take-out cutlery with your pad thai.


There was also one piece of ironically good news: the high price of petroleum means that the Cost of Petro Plastic is Skyrocketing, forcing companies who rely on petro-plastics to find alternatives - natural rubber vs. synthetic rubber, reducing plastic packaging, and looking to increased use of recycled materials. While the price of petroleum is hard on the wallet, it's forcing industry to make changes that make things easier on the planet - which in the end, is good for everyone.

Oh, muffin - is all this gloom and doom getting you down? Don't worry: the Budget Ecoist has a great list of 5 Great Organic Wines for Summer to help you through.

Got any ideas for ecoweb? Send 'em to me at talk at ecochick dot ca!

eco-Writers: Win a Chelsea Green Publishing Contract

Are you a budding eco-writer who just needs her or his big break? Well, here it is. Chelsea Green is offering up to 5 publishing contracts for folks who come up with the next best idea for one of their Green Guides. They've already got guides about great stuff like water conservation, composting, recycling and more. Have you got a great idea that can fit into a pocket-sized guide? Then email Chelsea Green and tell them about it. You'll need to have a plan to research, write and illustrate the guide - and in return, the winners will get a publishing contract and a $1000 advance against royalties - sweet!

The deadline is July 4, and all the rules and regs for entering are here - so get your creative juices flowing, people, here's your chance to write a book and maybe change the world.

WorkCabin.ca

Hot on the heels of my post about Green Work Canada comes a post about their partner site, WorkCabin - a green job listing site. At WorkCabin, you can create a profile, search for green job listings (both paid and volunteer spots), post a new green job, review the job seekers who've posted their public details, and more.
There are jobs available all across Canada and some in the US; there are also several work from home opportunities.

WorkCabin is genuinely green: they are run on Bullfrog Power and specifically target green jobs to green job seekers, aiming to service those for whom eco-friendliness is a priority in finding an employee or a career. They're also a certified member of 1% for the Planet, a growing movement of companies that donates 1% of their sales to environmental organizations.

WorkCabin is an excellent resource for those looking for a new job in the environmental sector, or even just with an environmental slant - check it out, job seekers!

Green Work Canada

Looking for some more eco-reading material to green up your feed reader? Then check out the excellent Green Work Canada, an excellent new Canadian Green newswire service. They specialize in Canadian corporate/organization news releases and resources, green work advice, job leads, and more. They post relevant eco-news whenever it's available, such as information on the 9th Annual Smog Summit in Toronto or Hydro Ottawa being recognized for their energy conservation efforts. They have a listing of the latest green jobs posted on WorkCabin, an awesome blogroll where they obviously choose the highest quality Canadian environmental blogs (cough, cough). It's an excellent resource and one that's worth checking frequently - head on over and subscribe today.

ecoWeb

There's lots of environmental news out there. In a new feature on ecochick, I'm going to be bringing you some of my favourites of the week to let you know what else is going on in the world of green living.

Green Daily has posted a useful guide to Green Spotting: A Field Guide to Environmental Types. "...In the 21st century, green has gone mainstream. The weather is getting weirder, the kids are pissed about inheriting a steaming ball of toxic sludge from their parents, and the ex-hippies are retiring from corporate life and rediscovering their treehugging roots. Yep, nowadays, there are all kinds of ways of being eco-friendly without ever strapping on a pair of sandals. Below, a few of the more common species of modern greenie. Read more...


The Budget Ecoist knows that even when we think we're not using lots of paper, we are. Receipts! Receipts for purchases, for bills, for taxes.. ai yi yi. But they come to our rescue with a guide on how to Organize your receipts greenily. "You can recycle your receipts along with the mixed paper recyclers either at home or the office. But what about my taxes? My files? My obsessive little piles I keep in the corner to comfort myself that "I purchase, therefore I AM!!!!" OK, well, let's talk about bookkeeping, taxes and the like. The obsessive little piles...well, just stay strong. Read more after the link.

Inhabitat and several other websites had the news about Apple filing a solar patent. This is exceptionally cool news: Apple just filed a patent to infuse their hand-helds and computers with a thin film of solar cells, paving the way for a new generation of gadgets with battery life boosted by the sun. The patent approaches the prospect from every angle, with schematics to stack photovoltaic cells beneath the entire surface of their portables - including the screen! Not only is this ecofriendly, it would also be an excellent way to extend the sometimes unsatisfying standby battery life on Apple gadgets.

Sustainablog has your back in the event of unemployment, food shortage or just plain adventurousness, with this handy Field guide to dumpster diving. For as long as our unsustainable society insists on wasting edible food, there will be people, mindful of this tragedy, to remediate it. They are known as “dumpster divers." Dumpster diving is a sustainable act — again, as long as our society insists on being too wasteful for sustainability. The food is there, and it is headed for a landfill. What is the logical thing to do?. Read more!

Alexis Madrigal, Science and Green Tech writer at Wired Magazine, did a very cool presentation at the 2008 Webvisions Conference. His slides on How the Internet is redefining environmentalism are posted, talking about environmental challenges and how the internet is changing the ways in which we can change the world.

And finally, the gang at EcoGeek were delighted to discover that close to nine in 10 women (88 percent) say they’d rather chat up someone with the latest fuel-efficient car versus the latest sports car. Read more in Apparently Eco-Geeks get all the girls!

Green Living Ottawa

Green Living Ottawa is a blog that does exactly what it says: Talks about environmental issues in and around the Ottawa area. It's a fantastic resource that provides plenty of tips on how to be more eco-friendly locally, including barbecuing with local, pasture-fed beef, convenient computer recycling in Ottawa, or even providing simple commentary on what's really "green" about some "green" bags.

Based on this site, ecochick is going to compile a list of city-based eco-sites across Canada to give people insight into what's happening in their local area. Do you have a favourite? Send it to talk at ecochick dot ca.

One Good Chair Design Competition

From Inhabitat: the One Good Chair design competition is on! The one good chair competition is all about rethinking how things are designed, not just what they're made out of. They're inviting designers to consider form and function, to think about what will truly make an eco-chair both comfortable and beautiful. Take a fresh eye to the furniture you use every day, and see what you can come up with. They'll be looking at the following criteria:

• Make good (Material conservation). How can shape optimize resources in design, fabrication, and shipping? What forms create little waste but lots of taste?
• Feel good (Physical comfort). How can shape aid the body in the act of sitting? How do different people sit? How might they?
• Look good (Emotional resonance). What kinds of images create emotional bond between viewer and product? What is the intersection of sustainability and sensuality?

There's a cash prize of $4500 to the winning entry, and there's still time to register by May 30.

Big Green Purse Book Giveaway

And now - the moment you've been waiting for! The lucky recipients of a free Big Green Purse book are:

Comment 3: Natalie
Comment 4: morgan
Comment 11: Couz
Comment 20: Hit Pay Dirt
Comment 29: sunflowergal

Email me at talk at ecochick dot ca with your mailing address! And thanks for playing!

Readers, hold on to your seats - this giveaway rocks!

I've already talked to you about Big Green Purse, the awesome book and website that talks about how women spend (or have influence over) 85% of every dollar spent in the marketplace. That's power. And Big Green Purse tells us how we should use that power to send a message. The message is: we are only interested in buying products that are healthy, sustainable, and good for us and for the planet. Manufacturers are resistant to laws forcing them to become sustainable, but they will always listen to the power of what's selling in the marketplace, and it is with our Big Green Purses that we will tell them exactly what kind of products we will - and won't - spend our money on.

The book is hefty (excellent for chucking at the heads of eco-jerks), printed on 100% recycled paper, and is chock filled with tips on how to spend your money greenily and wisely. This book is an excellent resource for anyone who is looking to change their lifestyle and their spending. You'll learn:

• how to become a savvy green consumer — or not consume at all
• twenty-five key commodity areas where your dollars can have the biggest environmental impact
• standards you can use to choose the greenest option, no matter what you buy
• how to prioritize your green spending, clarifying what’s worth the premium price some green products cost, and what isn’t
• specific companies in each category you can support (and some you should avoid).

So here's the best part: ecochick has five (that's right, 5) copies to give away to readers. Simply comment on this post by Friday, May 30th, telling me one of the Green Shopping Principles found on the Big Green Purse website. They're easy to find, trust me!

I'll post the names of the book recipients on this post after May 30th, so don't forget to check back after that date to see if your name is posted - I'll need you to email me with your mailing address.

Big Green Purse: One in a Million

You remember Big Green Purse, the awesome ecobrainchild of Diane MacEachern. You know there's a great, informative and fun website on how to spend your $$$ more enviro-sustainably, and you also know there's an awesome book that just hit the shelves (and if you're interested in getting a copy of the book, you really really need to come back to ecochick in the next couple of weeks. Really, you do. Just sayin.)

What you may not know is about their One In a Million initiative. Knowing that one of the most effective ways to make a difference is to shift your spending into environmentally friendly products and services, the One In A Million initiative is aiming to get one million shoppers to redirect $1000 of their yearly spending into these services. The site gives you great ideas on where to start shifting that spending (local, organic food? Energy efficient appliances? Fair Trade Coffee?) and, once you sign up, it gives you a helpful balance sheet so that you can track your new green spending.

It's a habit that you may find will stick once you've started it. Go become One In A Million!

Green Chic: Saving the Earth in Style

Thanks to everyone who commented on this post! The lucky new owners of copies of Green Chic are Gabbergirl and dragonfly - please contact me at talk at ecochick dot ca with your contact information so that I can send you your books!

Every day, you hear it. "Live green." "Save the planet". "Stop Global Warming." For the average everyday consumer, these messages can be overwhelming. It's really tough to know what to do - especially lately, when it seems like every day we hear about something new that's dangerous to us or the planet.

How do we learn about the things we do, big and small, about the products we consume every day? How can we find out easy, cool ways to lessen your own impact on your environment - without being preached to or having the living daylights scared out of you? Christie Matheson's new book, Green Chic: Saving the Earth in Style, is just the way for you to get started.

Matheson herself isn't living in a hemp cottage off the grid. She's a regular girl like you and me, who's heard the bad news and who wants to know how to lessen her own impact without losing her cool cred. And she's written the book exactly for that same audience. Green Chic talks to you like your best girlfriend would, giving you the info in plain english instead of the sciencetalk of an environmental scientist or cosmetic company chemist. She gives you the straight talk about what is out there and what we're dealing with and gives you alternative ways of purchasing and using and thinking about the things we consume. And in the end, she also tells you why living green is actually way more chic than you think. For example, what's better: A meal prepared fresh from ingredients that were picked that day from the farm down the road, or a package of store bought cookies wrapped in plastic and packed with preservatives? Yeah, I thought so.

This book (printed on 100% post-consumer recycled paper with vegetable based inks, natch) is an excellent resource that tells you the plain truth about Why we need to change, and easy ways on How to do it. It's simple and it's sassy, and it is the perfect place to start learning about what you can do to start changing your own ways without sacrificing chic - in fact, while becoming more chic than ever.

Interested? Well, here's the good news: ecochick has two copies of the book to give away to you, dear readers. One will go to those who are subscribed to the newsletter, and one will go to a commenter on the post - so get typing! Simply comment on this post by May 16 and a copy of the book could be yours. Or if you can't wait, you can pick up a copy at Amazon.

Take a load off, Toronto

The folks at Toronto Hydro are smart cookies.

They know the hot Ontario summer is one of the highest demand times on the power grid. And they want to try to do something to help people lower their use, instead of just saying "cut back - you figure it out". Finally, they also know that clotheslines are no longer banned anywhere in Ontario.

So, on three consecutive weekends - April 26, May 3 and May 10 - they're giving away free clotheslines and discounts on other items at select locations across the GTA (you'll need proof of Toronto residence, and there's 500 available at each location each day).

That's hot.

Ontario lifts clothesline ban

If you know ecochick personally, it's no secret how she feels about certain aspects of suburbia. One of the more bewildering aspects is the strange set of "rules" for many communities, rules that stifle personal expression as well as making no sense. One rule that falls in to the latter category is the banning of clotheslines in many areas, since they are considered "unsightly". Thus, homeowners were forced to either hang their washed clothes to dry inside (a whole lot less efficient and kind of a pain) or use their dryers all the time (energy hogs, hard on clothing so that your items don't last as long and require quicker replacement, did I say massive energy hogs?).

Well, no more. The Province of Ontario has just passed a law overturning all clothesline bans, including those mandated by subdivisions. According to the article, using outdoor clotheslines instead of electric dryers can:

• Save consumers $30 a year as dryer use would be reduced by 25 per cent
  
• Cut greenhouse gas emissions, as five dryers produces about the same amount of emissions as an average-sized car
  
• Reduce demand on the power grid, as dryers use about 900 kilowatt hours of electricity a year.

In addition, there are other great benefits of clothesline use:

• Your clothes last longer since they're not getting beaten up by the dryer;
  
• static electricity is reduced, thus eliminating the need for dryer sheets or fabric softener;
  
• the smell of line-dried clothes is sublime, eliminating the need for artificially scented products ("fragrance" is one of the worst items on an ingredient list, environmentally speaking);
  
• the sun's bleaching ability is better than bleach itself, especially for things like baby diapers. Hang them in the sun and watch your whites go sparkly white.

So head to your nearest home goods store and pick up a clothesline - with weather like this, there's no reason not to!

Daily Greenmail

In my never-ending quest to bring you the latest and coolest Green news, I've subscribed to many a website's emails and newsletters. For the ecocurious, here's what's arrived in the last week. Anyone else have any suggestions?

Dell's ReGeneration. The ReGeneration is a global movement - a group of people committed to sustaining the world's natural environment.

The Newsletter from Lime - healthy living with a twist! Lime is "a place where you can find all the ideas, information and resources to inspire you to live healthier and help make our planet greener - and have some fun while you're at it."

Green Living Online, the companion newsletter to Green Living's print magazine and website. And they're Canadian!

Ideal Bite's daily fix - easy eco-living tips delivered in a short, sassy email each workday.

British-based Hippyshopper - your guide to ethical consumerism. This one is a favourite in spite of - or perhaps because of - the fact that many of the eco-items they feature aren't available in Canada. Yet!

TreeHugger - Wide ranging, comprehensive, educated, smart and fun, TreeHugger is a must for any envirophile's inbox.

The Green Guide from National Geographic, the companion guide to the Green Guide print magazine.

The More Hip than Hippie newsletter from Greenfeet, an awesome US-based store with plenty of cool environmentally friendly products.

Lilou Organics sends out a periodic newsletter highlighting their latest and greatest wares, including frequent discounts and sales on ecofriendly beauty.

Finally, the Flick Off newsletter still arrives in my inbox, with plenty of cool tips on going green.

Just found a new one... the newsletter from Green Mom Finds!

What's your favourite?

No Impact Man

Have you heard of No Impact Man? Kerry from Passive Aggressive Notes sent me their way. Aside from having one of the best blog descriptions I've ever read ("A guilty liberal finally snaps.... and generally turns into a tree-hugging lunatic who tries to save the polar bears and the rest of the planet from environmental catastrophe" - there's more, go read it!), this is also one of the coolest ideas I've ever heard.

No Impact Man is Colin Beavan, and he, his wife, their two year old daughter and their dog decided to live for one year without leaving any environmental impact. This meant drastically changing everything they did, from transportation to food to sewage requirements. And they live in New York City. The questions they tried to answer with this "crazy-assed" experiment include "What would it be like to try to live a no impact lifestyle? Is it possible? Could it catch on? Is living this way more fun or less fun? More satisfying or less satisfying? Harder or easier? Is it worthwhile or senseless? Are we all doomed or is there hope?

If you're struggling with living green and making different decisions to adapt your lifestyle, this blog can provide you with an enormous amount of perspective. He tells you how they got started, the year long plan and still posts every day even though the year is over. Check it out!