Where does rubber come from anyway?
Unlike money, rubber actually does grow on trees. That is, naturally occurring latex does. Natural rubber or latex begins its lifecycle when the Para rubber tree is tapped for sap, not unlike how our Quebequois friends bring us maple syrup.

Yet, the majority of rubber products you and I are familiar with are made not from natural latex, but from synthetic rubber. Synthetic rubber is derived from petroleum and other minerals, and is made into tires, gaskets, seals, moldings, carpet backing, bouncing balls, hoses, and wet suits for starters. (IISRP)

But, according to the Minnesota Building Materials Database, synthetic rubber has a high embodied energy. Embodied energy is a measure of the total energy required for sourcing or extracting raw material, material processing, manufacture and even transportation to the end material’s point of use. In a nutshell, look for materials with a lower embodied energy when possible.

What About Recycled Rubber?
Logically, when you cut out the raw material extraction phase of a product’s lifecycle, the energy savings are fantastic: recycling rubber rather than producing it from scratch can yield a 70% energy savings (Mumma, 1995)! While it’s true that collecting, processing, and remanufacturing recyclable materials takes a massive amount of energy, it’s safe to say that the benefits and savings are worthwhile.

Still, no matter how hard you try you can’t deny the fact that a recycled product retains many of the characteristics from its raw ‘material of origin’. In other words, this recycled content apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree. Read the rest of this entry »

The human species has this ego that they must know everything about everything. What good is this if it increasingly wrecks havoc on everything else. Ann and I have come to understand, the more we learn the more we realize what we don’t care to know. This makes us stand out a little as we prefer to look to nature for ideas, and accomplish tasks with some basic observations paired with on the spot solution creation (not problem solving). The solutions are not as complex as many may think they are. Whether it is gardening, house building or making appropriate climate friendly decisions, we think the less complex you make the task the more sense it makes in the bigger picture.

Gardening is a prime example of where the common sense and instinct from observing your surroundings provides plenty insight on how plants like to grow. We equate it to our compost system, where lots of different life forms keep everything in balance, and anything that gets too great in numbers always has a predator to knock it down. Nature does the complicated stuff and we can enjoy these simple tasty fruits from a garden that has lots of variety, insects, snakes, lizards, frogs, spiders and the list goes on. Our only rule is don’t worry, if it grows it will grow… if not then it won’t, just watch and observe and work with nature. Read the rest of this entry »

When summer comes around, you can bet that your fellow sun-deprived Canadian neighbours will as good as live outside. Come June and July, the home extends out the front and back doors for meals, mowing, and if you’re lucky, for meditating in that macrame hammock you bought in Mexico four Januarys ago.

In my part of the country, we’ve already had three generations of thistles and dandelions bloom and seed, and the hip-high quack grass has already grown back to calf-height since it’s last battle with the weed whacker.

If you’ve been tempted to reach for a chemical solution you are not alone. So many of us are prone to that deep-seated yearning for the perfect lawn and yard. But, when you take a step back and look at that thing they call ‘perspective’, a few (hundred) yellow flowers and some broadleaf grass ain’t gonna kill ya. But weed killer might.

As you’re contemplating life’s greater issues in that hammock, why not ponder the Grist’s Three-step Greener Yard Guide. You might even come up with a few kid-friendly activities around weeds and the outdoors.

And wouldn’t you know it, weeds can do you and the planet a few favours. They can prevent soil erosion, offer food and habitat for beneficial insects and wildlife, enrich the nutrients in your soil (depending on species), and in my case, camouflage my strawberry patch so that the birds don’t devour all the berries! After all, a weed is nothing more than a plant that grows where you’d rather not have it.

Resources

How to Green Your Yard

Dandelion Coffee Recipe

Other Dandelion Recipes *Important Notes: Do NOT consume your weeds if you have use pesticides in your yard.

Red Clover Recipes

Dandelion Crafts and Activities

As of Spring 2009, Ontarians scanning store shelves for pesticides will find them bare, thanks to recently passed Bill-64 Cosmetic Pesticides Ban Act. The ban has been greeted with praise on the one hand, as well as criticism.

For those municipalities with no local pesticide ban in place, the new legislation will protect Ontario families, children, pets and wildlife from exposure to a set of chemical pesticides, many of which are cause a higher risk and incidence of various cancers. Says Lisa Gue, environmental health policy analyst with the David Suzuki Foundation, “We all know that pulling these products from store shelves is the best way to ensure that they won’t be used.”

Yet, for cities with strict regulatory bans on pesticides already in place, the new Act could actually weaken prior efforts to protect their citizens from risks posed by pesticides. Essentially, the Act prevents enforcement of local restrictions on pesticides when they exceed the Act’s scope (David Suzuki Foundation).

The Act also lacks potency in that several amendments to strengthen it were defeated (Standing Committee on Social Policy Transcript). Yet, in the big picture, Ontario now has a provincial ban on cosmetic pesticides, which is more than they had before they started. And, if the chems aren’t available in stores, chances are

Ontarians won’t be buying and handling them.

Resources

Ontario College of Family Physicians Report on Pesticides

Pesticide Free Ontario

What’s your take on the new Cosmetic Pesticides Ban Act?

According to Clean Calgary, an award-winning eco non-profit group, using a commercial car wash is greener than spraying the jalopy down in the driveway. Home style carwashes, they say, cause soap, sediment, oil and other chemicals to enter the water system untreated where they have a real impact on aquatic ecosystems.

By contrast, commercial car washes send their wastewater to be properly treated. Believe it or not, commercial car washes are more water efficient than home car washes. See the original article on Clean Calgary’s web site.

But, if your car is spotless save for a few bird bombs, a simple spot clean will do.

Have you ever cleaned out your eavestroughs? I haven’t, but it’s on my mind with each and every spring shower we get. I live in a mature neighbourhood where elm-lined boulevards offer plenty of shade, comfort and neighbourhood allure. Chances are, my gutters are caked with elm leaves and debris from, gulp, the past five years.

From a green point of view, proper home maintenance and care is key. When we protect our homes from wear and damage, we make them last longer and delay repair and replacement, both of which require money, energy and new materials to be used. Home maintenance is all about durability, prevention, and quite often, safety. And, it’s always cheaper to maintain something than it is to fix or replace it.

Keeping the Clutter out of Your Gutters
In the vein of prevention, there are ways to keep your eaves troughs from piling up with muck. It’s about working smarter, not harder. Gutter screens or guards are typically made of plastic or metal screening, and install without much hassle. Look for them at your local hardware store, or find a company from the yellow pages. If you lack the time, tools, or the will to do the job yourself, there’s many a local company that will welcome your business.

Greener Gutters in Toronto & Calgary

Our fortunate neighbours in these two cities can now fit their gutters with U.S.-made RainTube, which is simply a corrugated perforated plastic tube that accepts the rain and turfs the rest. Although it does not carry an independent green certification, it is Greenspec listed, made from 100% recycled material, tested to last 100 years and recyclable, say RainTube manufacturers.

Until the product is offered elsewhere in Canada, the rest of us will be left scooping out the sludge or installing typical screens. Business opportunity, anyone?

(Image Source: RainTube)

Resources

How to Clean Your Gutters

RainTube

CMHC Seasonal Maintenance Schedule

Luc and Cheryl Gobeil exude an air of simplicity and normalcy as we tour the new off-grid home in St. Paul County, Alberta, that Luc designed and built for them over three summers. To design and build a house is an amazing feat for someone without a builder’s background, but to be responsible for the eye-catching 3200 square foot, built to last three centuries home we now sit in is nothing short of extraordinary. Still, the couple maintains that with extensive planning and research, building a green home just like the one at Sun Forged Acres is achievable for any green-enthused John or Jane Doe. I am left with a secret inner smile- there is hope for the lot of us!

“Why the fixation on such a long lifetime for the building?” I ask. Luc and Cheryl inform me that as original occupants of this home, they have the ability and therefore the responsibility to reduce the amount of waste it generates and to use the Earth’s resources wisely. Essentially, in nearly four generations, most of the home’s components will require far fewer replacements compared with a typical home. Luc and Cheryl will also be able to answer to their grandchildren when asked if they did their part to address current air pollution, climate change, and water scarcity challenges. Read the rest of this entry »

Article reposted with permission from the City of Ottawa

Corn Gluten Meal is a natural byproduct of wet-milling corn during the production of corn syrup. Corn gluten meal is used in the production of taco shells, pet foods, corn chips and animal feed.CGM is a 60 per cent protein material containing 10 per cent nitrogen. It has the following amounts of Nitrogen, Phosphate and Potassium: 10-0-0.Corn Gluten Meal is both a pre-emergent herbicide and a natural source of Nitrogen fertilizer, making it an all natural weed and feed product. It inhibits the germination of seeds. There are no pesticide or synthetic fertilizers in it. There are products available on the market that have other additives making them good general lawn fertilizers with CGM.

When a product has a nitrogen level of less than 10 (10-0-0), it is less expensive and also less effective. The fillers used in CGM where the N-P-K level is less than 10-0-0 have little to no fertilizing effect. According to studies and research done at IOWA State University on CGM, synthetic additives or fillers can result in a diminished pre-emergent effect on weed seed germination.

Corn Gluten Meal can be a fine yellow powder or a golden pelletized product. Both are pre-emergent herbicides. Pelletized product provides ease of application and effectiveness for up to six weeks, unlike the powdered product. It has a faint cereal like smell.

The first patent for CGM as a natural pre-emergent herbicide was in 1991 in the U.S.A. In Canada, the Environmental Factor Inc. has a temporary registration for Turfmaize (trademark product name) weed seed germination inhibitor.

Weeds That CGM Controls

In Ottawa, CGM is used primarily to control crabgrass (Digitaria ischaemum) and dandelions (Taraxacum officinale), but will also reduce the germination rate for curly dock, knotweed, lambs quarters, pigweed, and plantain.

Where to use CGM

Lawns, flowerbeds, bulb beds and vegetable gardens

When to Apply CGM

Three times a year is best but the spring and fall applications are the most important. Fall application prevents weed root systems from establishing before winter, while the spring application will control the germination of weed seeds from the previous fall.

The first application can be done in early spring, after the snow has melted, since the corn gluten pellet’s slow release life is about six weeks. This annual application occurs from mid-April (for crabgrass control) to mid-May (for dandelion control). Apply the first treatment of CGM before the tulips go dormant. If used annually it is 80-100 per cent effective at reducing crabgrass germination.

The summer application should be from the middle to the end of June, which will reduce the weed seeds that blow in, in late May.

In July to mid-August, the lawn will be dormant or semi dormant depending on the temperature and rainfall. Let the lawn go dormant by not giving it additional water. This reduces the survival of recently germinated weed seeds and the eggs of lawn insects such as the European Chafer Beetle, Japanese Beetle and June Beetles (lawn grubs).

In Ottawa overseed from mid August to mid of September if the lawn is not robust. Grass seed needs at least 6 weeks to establish before winter arrives. CGM can’t be applied until the grass seed is established.

The third CGM application is done in late August, if no grass seed has been put down, to stop the weed seeds that have blown in during the late summer from germinating. Otherwise the third application is done in mid-September to late October, after the grass seed is established, and late enough to be active in the very early spring. This is known as a dormant fertilization.

How to Apply CGM Read the rest of this entry »

Dear RS,

We are currently struggling with lawn maintenance and are desperately trying to find something that can remove dandelions and is safe for the environment.

We have done the picking dandelions by hand and then putting vinegar on the root. This has not been successful. We’ll do half the lawn and the next day new dandelions will pop up on that half.

I know that doing a herbicide without a fertilizer is a bit better for the environment but most herbicides still contain that 2-4-D thing which is horrid for the environment.

Any advice you can give would be great!!!!

Laura D.
Edmonton, AB

A -

Hi Laura,

It’s great to hear you’re looking for safe and healthy ways of dealing with your weed issues. I also am struggling with this. I regret to say that there are

Often when we pull out the dandelions, opportunistic seeds will find the hole and grow in there. If you used this method, it would certainly be slow. It would take the whole season to make substantial headway. But, if you continue this way, and aerate/reseed your lawn 1-2 times per season , mow to higher grass lengths, and water once a week if needed, you should encourage a healthier lawn that allows few dandelions to flourish.

My latest strategy is to buy one of those ‘fun’ standing up dandelion pulling gadgets so at least it’s not so much work on my hands and knees. I’ll be splitting it with my parents and we can share costs that way. You may have a neighbour who wants to do the same with you.

Lastly, there’s a product called ‘corn gluten’. You can find it at Earth’s General Store (call ahead to be sure it’s in stock), and sometimes Canadian Tire. It’s made out of just corn, which of course is non-toxic. When applied to the grass like a fertilizer, it inhibits the germination of dandelion seeds. I have heard that it also inhibits the growth of other seeds possibly including grass seed, so you would need to seed your grass, give it some time, and then apply your gluten once most of your seed is sprouted. I used it last year I think it was and it did seem to make a difference in the amount of new dandelions we got. Of course it’s hard to say if it was because of the gluten or some other factor. Unfortunately, it’s not going to get rid of your existing dandelions! We have also found that our dandelions fare worse in the backyard where our dogs are adding nitrogen to the lawn on a daily basis!

Dandelions are doing especially well this year in Edmonton because of elevated moisture levels. It’s a problem that most of us are dealing with, and it will drive you crazy if you let it. At home we just weed whacked our back yard and in a day the stems of the dandelions just shoot right back up and it is disheartening. But, we have other things that are beautiful in our landscape to focus on like the irises in bloom, lilac trees, and rose bushes just about to burst, and our native plant bed in front of the house.

In the end you’ll do what makes sense for you and your family. Those weeds are tough opponents no doubt. Good luck!

-RS

Have a comment about eco-friendly weed solutions? Post it in the green home discussion forum