Canadian Cancer Society to sell A Chemical Reaction

If you're looking for a copy of A Chemical Reaction, the film about Hudson's fight to ban the cosmetic use of pesticides, you can now purchase one online at www.ifightcancer.ca for $15.

The Canadian Cancer Society has signed on with the film's producer to be the Canadian distributor. We're glad that more people will have the opportunity to see it.

Using Lights While Preserving the Night Sky

Go Green Hudson is pleased to announce the talk “Using Lights while Preserving the Night Sky” by Pierre Tournay at the St. James church Tuesday, November 9th from 7:30 – 8:30pm, 642 Main Rd, Hudson. Tournay will show us how we can use lights, save money AND enjoy a beautiful sky. After the talk, weather permitting, Tournay and other astronomy enthusiasts, will lead an exploration of the night sky above Hudson. Through their telescopes, we will view Jupiter, the ET cluster, double stars and the Veil Nebula (a supernova remnant). Optional: participants can bring their own telescopes and binoculars. This event is free, bilingual and everyone is welcome.


S'éclairer tout en conservant la noirceur du ciel

Feu Vert/Go Green Hudson est heureux d'annoncer la conférence 'S'éclairer tout en conservant la noirceur du ciel' par Pierre Tournay à l'Église St-James, au 642, rue Main, Hudson, le mardi 9 novembre de 19h30 à 20h30. M. Tournay nous démontrera comment nous pouvons nous éclairer tout en économisant de l'argent et en appréciant un ciel magnifique. Suite à la conférence, si la température le permet, M. Tournay et autres enthousiates de l'astronomie nous guideront dans l'exploration du ciel nocturne de Hudson. À l'aide de leurs téléscopes, nous verrons Jupiter le constellation ET, des étoiles doubles et la nébula Veil (un reste de supernova.) Vous êtes invités à apporter vos téléscopes personnels et vos longues vues. Cet évènement est gratuit, bilingue et tous sont bienvenus.

Hudson's Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup

Join Hudson's Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup at Pine Lake on Saturday, September 25 at 11 a.m. For more information: http://shorelinecleanup.ca/en
Participez au Grand nettoyage des rivages canadiens à Hudson au lac Pine, samedi le 25 septembre à 11 hres. Pour plus d’informations: http://shorelinecleanup.ca/fr

The Clean Bin Project

The Clean Bin Project is a documentary film about a regular couple and their quest to answer the question "is it possible to live completely waste free?" Jen and Grant go head to head in a competition to see who can swear off consumerism and produce the least amount of garbage in an entire year. Their light-hearted rivalry is set against a darker examination of the sobering problem of waste in North America.
Join us for a screening of this Canadian-made film Saturday, August 21 at 7:30 p.m. at the Hudson Community Centre, 394 Main Rd. Filmmakers Jenny Rustemeyer and Grant Baldwin are cycling across Canada this summer to promote their film and will join us for a discussion after the screening. Free admission, donations welcome.
View the trailer.

A Chemical Reaction on DVD

The June 16 screening of A Chemical Reaction was a great success. We were lucky to have Dr June Irwin and Mayor Michael Elliott, two major players in both the film and the passing of our historic pesticide by-law, in attendance. The mayor offered a moving tribute to Dr Irwin, thanking her for dedication and persistence.
Those of you who couldn't make it to the event can purchase a DVD copy of the film at Hudson's Town Hall (481 Main), the Hudson Historical Society/Tourist Information Centre (541 Main Road),or through us by emailing gogreenhudson@gmail.com.
See the trailer.

Journée de l'arbre à Hudson Tree Day

Help keep Hudson leafy!
On Saturday, May 29 the town of Hudson is giving away small trees to its residents. Valérie Robert, the town’s environment agent, will be on site to answer questions about trees, insects, pesticides and other environmental concerns.
So head to town hall at 481 Main road, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, May 29 and get a free small tree, as well as the chance to win a medium sized tree.
For more information call Valérie Robert at 450-458-0222.
*The free trees are for Hudson residents only.

Aidez-nous à garder Hudson feuillu!

Ce samedi 29 mai, la ville de Hudson donnera des petits arbres à ses résidents. Valérie Robert, agente en environnement de la ville, sera sur place pour répondre à vos questions sur les arbres, les insectes, les pesticides et autres sujets écologiques importants.

Venez donc à l'Hôtel de Ville situé au 481, rue Main, de 11h à 16h samedi le 29 mai et procurez-vous un petit arbre gratuitement. Vous aurez aussi la chance de gagner un arbre de grandeur moyenne.

Pour plus de renseignements, contactez Valérie Robert au 450 458-0222

* Les arbres seront remis uniquement aux résidents de Hudson.

Visionnaires Planétaires/Earth Keepers

Le mercredi 19 mai 2010, nous avons eu l'immense plaisir de présenter le film Visionnaires Planétaires/Earth Keepers au Centre Communautaire de Hudson dans le cadre de notre série de films sur l'environnement.

Le film est excellent et très inspirant. Le jeune Mikael Rioux a su nous motiver à continuer nos efforts de conscientisation et d'action que nous avons débutés avec Feu Vert/Go Green Hudson en 2007.

Les discussions qui ont suivies la projection furent engagées et enrichissantes. Nous avons beaucoup apprécié que Sylvie et Jean se déplacent pour venir nous rencontrer et discuter leur film avec nous.

Nous aimerions lancer l'invitation à Mikael à venir parler avec les élèves de notre école primaire St-Thomas car nous y faisons beaucoup d'efforts et de gestes verts et sommes une école EVB. Les élèves seraient ravis de pouvoir dialoguer avec un jeune homme aussi engagé et motivateur. Les écoles primaires anglophones aimeraient aussi avoir la chance de rencontrer Mikael.

Au plaisir et encore une fois merci de la part des membres de Feu Vert/Go Green Hudson

A reason for optimism.

After the screening of Earth Keepers last night, we enjoyed a discussion with director Sylvie Van Brabant and researcher Jean Lapalme. One of those in attendance asked them whether they thought the recently announced Canadian Boreal Forest Agreement was cause for celebration or cynicism. Lapalme's answer was unequivocal; he believes it's a giant step in the right direction.
Read more about the agreeement here.

Earth Keepers film tonight!

Go Green Hudson is screening the documentary film “Earth Keepers: A Survival Guide for a Planet in Peril.” It recounts how Québécois activist Mikael Rioux goes on a global quest to meet 7 visionaries with concrete solutions to ecological problems. Together, they offer a survival guide for our planet and a journey back to hope.
Wednesday, May 19, at 7:30 p.m. at the Hudson Community Centre, 394 Main Rd. Free Admission. In English with French subtitles.
Check out the trailer.

Earth Keepers Film

As part of our 2009/2010 film and seminar series, Go Green Hudson is screening the documentary film “Earth Keepers: A Survival Guide for a Planet in Peril” on Wednesday, May 19 at the Community Centre.

This feature documentary by Sylvie Van Brabant introduces Mikael Rioux, a young Québécois activist who founded Échofête, Quebec’s first environmental festival. Spurred by his passionate concern for the world his son will inherit, Rioux goes on a global quest to meet 7 visionaries with concrete solutions to ecological problems. Together, they offer a survival guide for our planet and a journey back to hope. Director Sylvie Van Brabant will join us for a discussion of the film.

See the trailer.

Wednesday, May 19, at 7:30 p.m. at the Hudson Community Centre, 394 Main Rd. Free Admission. In English with French subtitles.

Feu Vert Hudson présentera le documentaire « Visionnaires planétaires: Guide de survie pour une planète en peril” le mercredi, 19 mai au centre communautaire.

Ce documentaire suit la quête de Mikael Rioux, un jeune
activiste natif de Trois-Pistoles. C’est Christian De Laet, 80 ans,
pionnier du mouvement environnemental canadien qui est son
guide et son mentor. Il envoie Mikael à la rencontre de 7 vision-
naires qui ont créé des projets innovateurs pour l’avenir de la
société. Réalisatrice Sylvie Van Brabant nous joindra pour une discussion du film.

Visionnez la bande-annonce.

Mercredi, le 19 mai à 19 hr 30 au Centre communautaire Hudson, 394 rue Main. Entrée gratuite. En anglais avec sous-titres français.

Free Seminar – Learn How to Compost!

Free Seminar – Learn How to Compost!

Composting kitchen scraps and garden waste will reduce your garbage by up to 59%.

Learn how to compost at this free seminar and get a voucher for a 25$ refund off the purchase of an outdoor composter unit! In addition, one composter will be drawn as a prize.

When: this coming Thursday, April 29th 7:30PM

Where: Stephen F. Shaar Community Centre, 394 Main Rd., Hudson

The seminar is given by the non-profit group Terre en Ville and sponsored by the MRC of Vaudreuil-Soulanges

Please note that this seminar will be given in English.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Conférence gratuite - Apprenez à composter !

En compostant vos restes de cuisine et de votre jardin, vous réduirez jusqu'à 59% du montant de vos déchets .

Venez apprendre comment composter lors de cette conférence gratuite et obtenez un coupon de 25$ sur l'achat d'une compostière extérieure! De plus, il y aura une compostière à gagner lors d'un tirage.

Quand: Ce jeudi 29 avril à 7h30
Où: Centre Communautaire Stephen F. Shaar, 394, rue Main, Hudson

La conférence est présentée par le groupe sans but lucratif Terre en Ville et commanditée par la MRC de Vaudreuil-Soulanges.
Veuillez noter que la conférence sera présentée en anglais.

Hudson Earth Day Fair

The birds are back, the spring flowers are blooming, and the trees, shrubs, and grass are going green. It must be time for Go Green Hudson’s Annual Earth Day Fair!

Join us for a family-friendly afternoon of good green fun. The Earth Day Fair is a great way to get to know local organizations that are making a difference and can help us live greener and better. Learn about native trees, growing food in your own yard, and discerning the truly green from the ‘greenwashed.’

Come and see or buy greener versions of just about every product you already use, or discover something new, such as: organic clothing, baby blankets, soaps, and baking; local produce; recycled bikes; rainwater barrels; geothermal heating; and much more. Remember to bring your reusable bags if you plan to shop.

Inside there will be more than 35 local businesses and non-profit organizations sharing information and exhibiting products that can help us succeed in leading more environmentally sustainable lives. Outside you can meet local farmers and the kids can enjoy fun activities organized by the Hudson Youth Centre. At the Legion, at 1 and 3 p.m. Rohini Persi, president of the Environmental Health Association of Quebec, will be giving a talk entitled ‘How Green Is Your Clean?’

Participants:

- Ferme Coopérative Tourne-sol

- Justin Reeves, vegetable farmer

- Alter Eco / Créations Ecologik, rain barrels

- IGA Poirier & Fils

- Hudson Youth Centre

- Hudson Garden Club

- June Irwin, dermatologist

- Géothermie du Quebec

- True Food Ecostere, Ethiopian organic food

- McCaig Honey and skin cream

- Donava Angus Beef

- Que de Bonnes Choses

- Organic Quilt Company

- Terra Madre, natural salts

- The Green Party

- Go Green In Stages, reusable lunch containers, etc.

- BoutiqueVert et Essentiel

- Aux Grains des Saveurs, bakery

- Morgan Arboretum

- Ecocentrik Apparel, organic clothing

- Centre Décor Hudson / Benjamin Moore

- Dix Mille Villages, fair trade products

- Salon Carole St-Pierre

- Steward Bags, organic produce bags

- Green Barn Nursery / Ken Taylor, permaculture specialist

- Ace Building Supplies

- Piscines Hudson, chlorine alternatives

- Matersum Sanitary Napkins

- Green Beaver, cosmetics

- Vélos de la Gare

- Ferme Lauzon

- Marché de solidarité Vaudreuil-Soulanges

- Pond World, rain water harvesting

- À Temps Perdu, books

- Environmental Health Association of Quebec

- Plus several more local farmers

Come and celebrate Earth Day in Hudson on Sunday, April 25, from noon to 4 p.m. at the Stephen F. Shaar Community Centre, 394 Main Rd., Hudson. Admission is free.

Join us and see how Hudson is going greener every day.

Feu Vert Hudson est heureux de présenter un évènement familial pour célébrer le Jour de la Terre. Nous vous donnons rendez-vous au Centre communautaire de Hudson, situé au 394, rue Main, le dimanche 25 avril, de 12h00 à 16h00.

Sur place, vous aurez la chance de rencontrer plus de 35 éco-entrepreneurs et organisations ''vertes'' de la région qui partageront de l’information et exposeront des produits pouvant nous aider à vivre de façon plus ''verte''. A l’extérieur, vous pourrez rencontrer des fermiers de la région et il y aura aussi plusieurs activités organisées pour les plus petits. De plus, à la Légion, à 13h00 et 15h00, Rohini Persi, présidente de l’Association pour la santé environnementale du Québec, présentera une conférence intitulée ‘How Green Is Your Clean?’ (en anglais).

Nous vous attendons donc pour célébrer ensemble le Jour de la Terre ce dimanche 25 avril au Centre Communautaire Stephen F. Shaar de Hudson, au 394, rue Main, Hudson. L'entrée est gratuite. Pour plus d'information rendez-vous à www.gogreenhudson.ca ou consultez Go Green Hudson sur Facebook.

Soyez des nôtres et voyez comment Hudson se verdit un peu plus chaque jour !

Come join us!
WALK FOR DUNES LAKE WOODS
The Friends of Dunes Lake invite you to join them for a walk through the bog, woods and trails surrounding Dunes Lake to raise awareness of the ecological, recreational and quality-of-life value of this area.

A road and housing development is being planned between the Bordelais Bog and Dunes Lake. This is home to many bird and animal species as well as old growth forest. It’s not too late to save this place, but we need your help! Let’s show the developers and Town Council that St. Lazare residents don’t need another road here - we want this ecologically sensitive area preserved for future generations!


WALK INFORMATION
Nature Interpreter Ryan Young will be our guide as we explore the bog, adjacent woods, and Dunes Lake. Come see some of the flora and fauna that make this area so special.
Date/Time: April 11, 2010, 1-2 pm
Start: Bordelais Bog parking lot (rue Yearling/Bordelais)
Bring your children, your friends and your dogs for the Walk, Easter Egg Hunt and other fun activities!

HOW YOU CAN HELP
If you haven’t already signed our petition, you can do so at www.lacdesdunes.ca. We’ve collected over 1570 signatures already, but we need to keep that number growing! You can help us raise greater public awareness by forwarding this message on to all your friends in this area. And don't forget to come out and join us on Sunday for a walk through this beautiful area!

QUICK LINKS
Friends of Dunes Lake website
Facebook group
Media coverage:
Ecolibrium appearance on CKUT 90.3 (interview starts at 9:00 min)
Hudson Gazette, April 7
West Island Gazette, March 17
Learn more:
VIDEO: Save Dunes Lake Woods
Photo album

Earth Hour 2010

The CN Tower, Buckingham Palace, The Golden Gate Bridge, Table Mountain, The Eiffel Tower—name a famous landmark and it's likely on the list of those that will be turning off their lights in support of Earth Hour 2010. In addition to the 75 landmarks, thousands of cities and hundreds of millions of individuals will be participating in this annual global call to action. What started in Sydney, Australia in 2007 has now become the largest global climate change initiative in the world.
The request is simple. Turn off your lights for one hour between 8:30 and 9:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 27. The statement you're making, however, is powerful. When you sit by candlelight that evening, the message you're sending to our politicians is to stand up, show some leadership on this issue, and take responsibility for our future.
To sign up go to www.earthhourcanada.org.

Feu Vert/Go Green Hudson on FB

We've got a page on Facebook now, so please check it out. Just search for Go Green Hudson and become a 'fan,' then you can get all the latest Feu Vert/Go Green news right on your FB home page. We'd love to read your comments and suggestions there too.

Eat Your Landscape Seminar

Feu Vert/Go Green Hudson presents “Eat Your Landscape”. Organic permaculture farmer and northern fruit specialist Dr. Ken Taylor is coming to Hudson next Wednesday, March 24, to give a free seminar on how each of us can eat local and eat better by growing more food right in our own backyards. After the discussion there will be a small auction of unusual and interesting plants and heritage seeds.
For more information on Ken Taylor’s plants and trees visit www.greenbarnnursery.ca. To hear Ken’s passionate views on permaculture gardening and creating an edible landscape, come to the Hudson community centre, Wednesday March 24 at 7:30pm. Free admission.

Défi Climat challenges us to do better

Quebec's own climate change challenge called Défi Climat launched its annual campaign today. According to organizers, over 55,000 Quebecers have participated in the last two years, pledging to make changes that amount to greenhouse gas reductions equivalent to taking 22,500 cars off the road.
Citizens, businesses, students, and municipalities are asked to join the challenge and make simple changes that will help reduce the effects of climate change. Go to the website to sign up.

NO IMPACT CHALLENGE

So what has changed because of this week?

1. CONSUMPTION/TRASH: This week made me want to reduce more the amount of trash and recycling coming out of my house. A) We need to buy less packaged items, ask stores we frequent to provide items without packaging, ex: in bulk, and put pressure on the companies buying large volumes of packaging and Styrofoam trays to ask their suppliers for compostable packaging. Ex: cardboard printed with natural instead of toxic dyes. B) I am starting to refill bottles I already have with cleaning products, shampoos etc bought in bulk or homemade. There are a surprising amount of recipes online for easy-to-make and healthier alternatives to store bought cleaners/soaps.

2. TRANSPORTATION: A) Why are more kids not walking to school? Some can't because they live too far away and need to be bused, but many others can. If we think back to our own childhood, wasn't walking to and from school some of the most memorable times? B) I want to help more people get biking in Hudson. I am going to look into setting up a workshop for people to maintain, repair, add baskets / trailers and customize their bikes to make them better modes of transportation for short distance travelling around town when there is no snow.

3. FOOD: I am going to try to eat vegetarian at least one night a week and am making plans to grow more in my vegetable garden this summer. If you want to grow interesting heritage species not available from garden stores, order your seeds now. (www.cottagegardener.com is one of many places to order). If you want to eat more year-round from local producers, sign-up for the Marché de solidarité Vaudreuil-Soulanges by sending an email to demarche@cldvs.com - I'll see if we can put a link to download the pdf form on our site.

4. ENERGY: Didn't change much, put up retractable clothesline in basement for winter drying.

5. WATER: The only thing I came up with was to put bottles filled with water in the tanks of our two toilets to use less water per flush. I am also going to look into cost of collecting rainwater and/or grey water to reuse in our home, if feasible I'll try to implement in the future.

6. Joined RAN (Rain Forrest Network) www.ran.org because trees are so important to environmental health. Sent information to see if I could become part of the Water Analysis by Volunteers Network and start testing the local waterways for dangerous pollutants, waiting to hear back.

Christine

No Impact Project: Water

I think we’re pretty good about water consumption in my house. The tap is never left running during tooth-brushing; we have a front-loading washer, which uses far less water than a tub-style washer; our taps and shower head all have aerators; we replaced our toilet with a low-flush version; we don’t water the lawn or power-wash our house or driveway.
But there’s always room for improvement. I have a bad habit of rinsing dishes before they go in the dishwasher and I let the water run while I wash pots and pans. I’m trying hard to break the rinsing habit and tonight I’m going to plug the sink instead of letting the water run.
By the way, I’m using small baby cloths as hankies now and it’s going great. My bathroom trash can is empty and it’s really no trouble. It’s not even gross. The key is to change hankies liberally—they’re so small it doesn’t make a difference to the laundry pile.

LKS

No Impact Project: Day Four: Food

Eating local food mid-winter in Quebec is a bit of a challenge. However, on my trip to the grocery store, I was pleased to realize that most of my regular food choices are grown/produced/harvested in Quebec, many others come from other parts of Canada. I made a couple of changes, such as choosing mussels instead of tilapia and forgoing bananas, which are usually a staple in my home.
My big sins are the chest freezer in the basement that’s full of beef and my family’s daily reliance on dairy products. It’s my understanding that conventional beef and dairy production is an environmental nightmare. The beef in my freezer, however, is local, grass-fed, and organic, and we only partake of its contents once or twice a week. My son’s (outrageously expensive) organic milk now comes in reusable glass bottles from Ontario.
Still, we buy a lot of non-organic cheese and butter and until my local stores stock tasty organic alternatives, I don’t see that changing very much. Home-baked treats made with butter are something I’m not willing to give up, nor is the deliciousness of cheese and its convenience as a protein source.

LKS

Day 3 No Impact Project

Well, it’s mid-week, ‘Food’ Day of the No Impact Challenge and so far it has been a somewhat normal week for us, although we (I should say ‘I’) are monitoring our habits even more closely. We’re generally pretty good about trash (recycling and composting make our volume of garbage much lower). This week, one difference is that we have quite a lot of tissues due to some runny noses and I don’t feel ready to switch to hankies that need to be washed… yet!
Our recycling bin was less than half full this week and we try to minimize our purchases of overly packaged foods.
The food issue is a difficult one and I challenged myself to buy foods produced in the province of Quebec rather than the 250 km radius which is tough. Quebec potatoes, onions and carrots are easy to find but other ‘staple’ fruit and veggies aren’t. I would also really miss my kalamata olives, extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar if I was to do this for a whole year!
Transportation Day fell on a bad day for me as I had a doctor’s appointment downtown which I had made months ago so not good! Living in the village, I do however walk a lot and get lots done locally. It’s fun and good exercise too. My husband takes the train to work as often as he can but having only 2 trains daily really limits its practicality and it seems that the option of driving to Vaudreuil often ends up turning into driving right downtown once he’s on the road.
On the energy level, we are very conscious of not having the whole house lit up and the kids are frequently reminded to shut the lights when they leave a room (start good habits young!) We also added some insulation to our house this year so that should make a difference in our heating consumption.
I have reduced the amount of water I use for washing dishes in the sink (1/3 full rather than ½) and that was a pretty easy adjustment. A good habit I started a while back is to put all water that comes back in my kids’ reusable drinking water bottles from their lunchbox right into my watering jug or even straight into a thirsty plant.
In the end, being conscious of our daily habits and trying to find ways to minimize our footprint is a huge step in helping the environment and the more you do it the better you feel! All these actions don’t go unnoticed and can help others make these changes and then the impact of our lessened impact is even greater. So keep it up, it’s our future!

Chantal

No Impact Project Day 4 - Food

Since Day 4 of this project is all about eating food with the lowest impact on the earth, this is the recipe I’ll make for my family tonight. It uses Quebec grown vegetables available in January (!) and is vegetarian, so has less impact on the earth. The only non local items are the kidney beans (although perhaps one could find some grown in Quebec) and I had to use canned tomatoes (checked that they were at least from Canada) as I didn’t have any frozen from last summer’s local crop. Also could not find local salt, pepper, vinegar or caraway seeds!
This makes a lovely red, burgundy and orange stew that cheers and warms you on a cold winter night.

(Local!)Ukrainian Beet and Bean Stew
1 tsp vegetable oil (try locally grown sunflower oil)
2 cups sliced Quebec onions
3 cups water
3 cups Quebec cabbage
1 cup Quebec carrots
3 cups chopped Quebec potatoes
4 cups peeled cubed Quebec raw beets
3 cups undrained whole tomatoes, chopped (frozen from this summer or canned if need be)
2 tsp caraway seeds
2tbs white or cider vinegar
1/2tsp salt
2 cups cooked kidney beans (okay, hard to find grown in Quebec but try soaking and cooking a big batch and freezing in reusable containers to avoid cans and transport)
1 taps dried dill (1/4 cup fresh) (also could be dried from crop this summer, though I didn’t!)
Ground black pepper to taste
Yogurt (Quebec company like Liberte)

In a pot, heat oil, add onions and saute 4 or 5 minutes until browned. Add 1 cup of the water, cover and simmer on low for 5 minutes. Add the cabbage and carrots and simmer covered for 5 minutes. Add the remaining 2 cups of water, the potatoes, beets, tomatoes, caraway seeds, vineggar and salt; bring to a boil, lower the heat, cover and simmer for about 35 minutes, until the beets are tneder. Add the beans and dill. When the stew is hot, add pepper to taste. Serve topped with a dollop of yogurt. Taken from: The Moosewood Restaurant Favorites.
Debbie

Consumption

I received this from a friend of mine, who was living on a boat with her three children and her husband and is now back on land. I like how she describes the difference between buying something and bartering:

So here we are, back on land, back in the world, not to say in line. Even from our distant countryside, our world never ceases to amaze us. « Financial crisis » did we hear as we were sailing towards Tonga. « The world is changing » kept repeating the few newspapers we managed to put our hands on in Fiji. « The world must change » threatened journalists on Vanuatu radio. If that was the case, could someone explain to me why the selection is still so large that it took us one and a half days to find THE bath tub, among the five dozens we saw in the numerous stores we wandered in, soul lost and brain-dead, in the middle-size town near our house? And that's not all: you can buy clothing, cooking, decoration, gardening stuff, all of it eco-friendly, who cares as long as we stay consumers. I am like everyone else, I fall in the traps and become once again the pray of my desires, convincing myself they are needs. Country girl that I have become, I make rare incursions into town, where I gather unnecessary treasures which I bring back to La Garde and enjoy with a vaguely guilty greediness. Far gone is the barter we used to practice in the Pacific. The beauty of barter is that, in an exchange, one is never certain of the value of what one gives and one receives. Many times, we were given so many fruits and vegetables to thank us for a few trifles we had offered that, moved by the islanders' generosity, we added a few tee-shirts, caps, cans or books in their outrigger canoes. Barter creates links that are clearly not established with a supermarket checker. And, above all, makes you feel the strange and rare, at least rare for a European, exhilaration there is in buying only what one needs...

Christine

No Impact Experiment – Day 3 Transportation

Because we live out in the burbs, this is a difficult one for my family. I work from home and both my children walk to school. We try to keep the kids activities local with the exception of music lessons. But, I do use a car to go swimming two to three times a week (if only Hudson had an indoor pool – any Hudsonites with a lap pool willing to rent out time??). Today I’ll do some tai chi instead of swimming. I’ll try to go to the closest pool more often (still a 15 minute drive away), even though the opening hours aren’t as convenient as the one 30 minutes away.

Our biggest problem with regards to cutting down on transport is that my husband works in Cote Vertu, 48km from our home. Up until this point he’s been driving our fuel efficient Honda Civic as his workplace is too far from the train station (would entail 4hours of commuting per day) and carpooling 25% of the time (co-workers in the area have alternating schedules).
We were so excited when the A40 bus going from Vaudreuil to Cote Vertu was announced. So today, I decided, was the day to research the logistics of having him take this bus. Went to the website www.citlapresquile.qc.ca. Discovered that taking a bus from Hudson to the Vaudreuil station is now possible!! Apparently the Hudson bus going to Vaudreuil is new. Also discovered you can use the A40 bus ticket on the Hudson bus without paying extra and that you can buy the tickets at Depanneur Shaar (10 for $34). Very convenient! The A40 bus leaves 5 minutes after the Hudson bus reaches Vaudreuil, fabulous, very well planned out! He can leave the house at 7:05 and be at work by… 8:35 after the 20 minute walk along the freeway. Ah but then, coming home… They haven’t linked the arrival in Vaudreuil to the departure to Hudson nearly as well as the morning busses. He’ll have to wait for busses and only get home at 7:30…. Which means a 12 ½ hour work day. So this isn’t going to work for us. The best thing to do would be drive to the Vaudreuil train station which will save him 45 minutes of commuting time. He could leave the house at 7:20AM and be home at 6:35PM.
After doing this research, I called the CIT (450-424-2485 ) to request better coordination between the A40 arrival times in the PM and the Hudson bus departures at that times. Apparently the city of Hudson pays for the number of busses leaving Vaudreuil and coming to Hudson and each bus costs $10,000 a year! (St.Lazare also pays a small amount of this.). Okay, this is a lot of money. Is it worth $10,000 so a couple of dozen people (small community) are more convenience to take the bus from the train station? I will let the city councilor in charge of the CIT know the difficulties we are having with the current schedule.

Debbie

I can easily reduce my consumption. In fact, I look forward to bringing less stuff into my home. My un-recyclable garbage is only one small bag a week. I can even improve that. What I find most challenging is transportation. For this entire week, I will have only used my car twice. Apart from a Go Green meeting and a large grocery order, nothing else was essential. But that's this week. In order for our family to make a significant change in this regard, frankly we'd have to move. Our bucolic lifestyle does not lend itself to many transportation alternatives as a larger city might. But there are still things we can do without much sacrifice. Our next car will be chosen for its fuel efficiency and low emissions first. Instead of deciding the morning of, I will decide meals at the beginning of the week and make less trips to the grocery store. I will make sure that the children are carpooled to their activities when feasible. I have always consolidated errands, particularly those that take me out of Hudson. And of course there's biking and walking - always great. To be honest there's not a lot more I think I could do but I'm open to suggestions.

Kirsten

No Impact Project Day 2

Today's goal was to reduce the amount of garbage we create. Here is what our family created yesterday in terms of garbage: kleenex,non-recyclable food wrappers such as a net holding oranges and frozen veggie bags that can't be recycled, ruined items rescued from my teething puppy's mouth, dental floss and pencil shavings. In order to reduce our garbage today, I decided to carry a cloth hankerchief (yes, there is a bit of a gross factor here but I'll get used to it). I'll remember to buy frozen vegetables in all plastic bags or boxes that can be recycled and oranges, well, an environmental purist would say maybe I shouldn't really be buying those... Can pencil shavings be composted? Bought the dog a bone (brought it home in a reusable container!)so hopefully she won't be ruining things today.
Had a friend over for tea. I was about to make our usual green tea (in individual packages) but decided to serve some lemon verbena tea that a friend brought me from her garden nearby - no packaging and local!
Debbie

No Impact Project: Day Two

If I'm only looking at my own personal trash, not my family's as a whole, I'm doing pretty good. I've got two recyclable items and a tiny amount of cotton from hemming a pair of curtains. I can't think what to do with the cotton apart from stick it in my kids's craft box and hope they make something of it someday.
As for the family's trash, well that's another story. Mostly it's food wrapping, such as the elastic band and cellophane the broccoli comes in, and tissues. I really do my best not to purchase overly packaged food, but it's hard to avoid sometimes. At the grocery store any fruit/veggie that's not wrapped will have a plastic sticker on it, and at the health food store they wrap everything in plastic claiming it dries out if they don't. Grrr! I resolve to complain about this at my local stores on a regular basis. Summer is easier because we get most of our plastic-free veggies from a local farmer.
Cloth hankies are on my to-do list for this week. I've also resolved to empty the vacuum into the compost instead of the trash. It's mostly dog fur. That's good for compost isn't it?!
LKS

I'm cursing the box of 72 fruit bars I bought last week. My thought was "....mmmm, an apple in every bar....my kids really do love them and they're so convenient". Well now there's piles of foil wrappers in the garbage, several of which I consumed. I also whish they had never invented pre-washed, organic lettuce in a plastic box. I'm standing in the produce section and my thougt is "wash each piece of lettuce and spin dry or throw in a bowl and have dinner ready 5 minutes earlier". There's some garbage that's difficult to avoid but these are items where I have to make more of an effort. The garbage that I'm creating now is from items that were all previously purchased. The real test of reducing my garbage comes when I'm back at the grocery store. I will also make an effort to eat less meat. There are many benefits to this of course but the one I'm thinking of now is to avoid those rediculous styrofoam trays that meat is sold on. One of the worst offenders in my mind.
Today at my gym I asked if they would put their sugar in those diner style glass jars instead of individual packets of sugar. The response that I got was "that would be too unhygienic...all those people touching the same sugar container". You have got to be kidding me!!

Kirsten

No Impact Project: Day One

Reducing consumption is today's challenge. The idea is to eliminate all unnecessary purchases and borrow, buy used, or make it yourself when something apart from food absolutely must be purchased.
No consumption for a week is fairly easy for me. I've been weaning myself slowly from the shopping habit over the years. When I do shop, I'm a big fan of buying second-hand.
The only two items apart from food that I would have purchased this week are disposable diapers and garbage bags. I usually use cloth diapers on my eight-month-old girl during the day and disposables at night or when we go out. By chance, I have seven disposables left, which I will save for nighttime use, and I'll just use cloth the rest of the time. Not a big deal at all.
As for the garbage bags, we use them to line our outdoor can, which is pretty silly really. We're already using smaller bags in the kitchen. They can go straight into the garbage can without another layer of plastic, I'm sure.
So far so good, but it's early days yet!
The Feu Vert/Go Green Hudson gang is blogging on the No Impact Project website, but we'll post some of them here too.
LKS

Day 1

Today I have to look at my consumption. This is something I think about often but I appreciate the opportunity to look at this more closely.
I like to shop. I usually congratulate myself when I go to the mall because I seem to be the only one who stuffs all of my purchases into an oversized purse instead of taking a bag. What I don't usually want to ask myself is "How much of a difference will this item make in my life aside from the short thrill of the purchase?" I need to take time to consider this every time I buy something that is not truly needed.
Today I was in Montreal with my sister who is shopping for her upcoming wedding. I was in an expensive store where the prices were marked down up to 60%. Seeing very expensive merchandise marked down that much makes you suddenly aware that it really never had much value in the first place. I felt a little shift take place.
From my entire day spent downtown, I brought home two empty creamers and a stir stick that I had to retrieve out of the garbage when my sister gently reminded me that I had to keep all my garbage.

Kirsten

No Impact Project

Up for a challenge in 2010? How about the No Impact challenge? Starting Sunday, January 10, the Feu Vert/Go Green Hudson gals are doing a one-week carbon cleanse and we’re hoping you’ll join us.

The challenge is based on the experiment by New Yorker Colin Beavan, a.k.a. No Impact Man, who decided to try living one year with less impact on the environment. Beavan, his wife, child, and dog lived for a year without producing trash or carbon emissions, without using electricity and only buying locally-produced food.

On January 27, we’ll be screening the film about their experiment at the Hudson Community Centre for free, but meanwhile we thought we’d try the mini-experiment ourselves and see what comes of it. Beavan’s website claims that the cleanse isn’t about suffering and deprivation (you can be sure that we won’t be turning off the heat in our Hudson homes mid-January), but about finding out whether all our so-called modern conveniences are really making us happier.

We’ll be signing up for the challenge on Beavan’s No Impact Project website and writing about our experiences here. If you’re doing the challenge too, please feel free to post your own comments about it.