Tag Archives: carbon tax

Free App Keeps Track Of Your Food Best Before Dates Saves Money

A major money saving and environmentally beneficial smart kitchen app launched waaaaay back in 2015, on World Environment Day, and deserves another look as it still works well and saves users up to $1,000 every year and helps reduce food waste.

The “Smart Kitchen” EatBy App reduces food waste, saving households up to $1,000 per year and helps the environment.

The staggering amount of wasted food continues to make headlines and back when the app was first created, husband and wife developers, Steffan and Barbara Lewis were focusing their passion for finding a solution to the environmental issues surrounding food waste and came up with the idea to develop and launch “Smart Kitchen” EatBy as soon as possible.

“We had the idea one lunchtime after we had to throw out the food we’d hoped to eat because it had passed it’s use by date. That led to a purge of all the out of date food in our kitchen. And quite frankly, we were shocked and disgusted with ourselves when we realised how much we waste.” said Barbara Lewis.

They decided to make the app free to download and offer expanded use with an optional shopping list that can be activated with an in app purchase.

“It’s important to us that the app’s basic functions have to be free in order to gain and benefit the maximum number of users. Collectively we can all make a huge difference to the environment. And it’s an added bonus that we’ll save around £700 ($1,000) each year.”

And the numbers add up.

Recent reports state that the average household wastes $80 usd ($109.23 CAD) every month on un eaten food. With over 123 million U.S. households that’s $9,840,000,000. Factor in similar habits throughout the rest of North America and an equivalent amount in Europe, the tally is somewhere around a staggering $236 Billion each year. It’s known that about one third of all food produced is discarded but the real cost to the environment is misunderstood: 1.3 billion tonnes of wasted food contributes 10% of worldwide total greenhouse gases.

Many strategies for reducing food waste have been proposed by environmentalists, government agencies and industry specialists. But the husband and wife creators of the EatBy App claim their app is the first practical personal tech solution to the problem of food waste. It is a simple to use Smart Kitchen App that effectively helps manage the food in your kitchen and lets you know when food items expire. The optional integrated shopping list will also help reduce buying too much food in the first place.

“We are under no illusion that our app will immediately solve this global problem,” Said Steffan Lewis, “But if only a few million people download and use it, then it’ll already make an impact and that’d be a great start. Obviously, we’d like everyone to use our app and benefit from it!”

The EatBy App is available for both Android and Apple devices. More information about the project’s history can be found at https://www.eatbyapp.com

Supplemental- Students in Vancouver, Canada feed 5,000 using ‘rescued food’

Climate Peril Book Highlights Predicted Ecological Catastrophe

How do we know? "Orbital climate satellites will measure changes in energy that is entering and exiting the atmosphere as well as the effect that manmade greenhouse gases (GHG) or aerosols, are having on the atmosphere." http://green.blorge.com/2011/01/the-glory-climate-satellite-will-join-the-a-train/
Orbital climate satellites measure changes in energy that is entering and exiting the atmosphere as well as the effect that manmade greenhouse gases (GHG) or aerosols, are having on the atmosphere. image: green.blorge.com

A new, authoritative climate book puts all major aspects of the climate crisis into a broad national and international perspective, revealing that the gravity, imminence, and permanence of the crisis are widely misunderstood.

Climate Peril
Climate Peril: The Intelligent Reader’s Guide to Understanding the Climate Crisis (Northbrae Books) by energy and climate expert Dr. John J. Berger  has an introduction by Dr. Paul and Anne Ehrlich of Stanford University and a foreword by Dr. Ben Santer, an internationally respected climate scientist with Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

The book underscores the unprecedented urgency of the climate crisis, providing detailed revelations about the grave harm climate change is now doing to human health, national and international security, our economy, natural resources, including the oceans, and biodiversity. Climate Peril demonstrates, for example, that holding global heating to 2° C is no guarantee of climate safety, contrary to the assumptions of many policymakers, and that the world is very likely to exceed this limit anyway.

2degrees threshold

Readers have found that Climate Peril makes important findings of climate science easily accessible and helps them better understand the breadth of the climate threat to our economy and society. The book begins by explaining how the climate system naturally operates and then illustrates how human activity has disturbed it.

Climate Peril goes on to document the broad consequences of rapid climate change, drawing attention to its impacts on nature, the economy, human health, and national security. In the process, Climate Peril highlights our proximity to irreversible climate tipping points and to ecological catastrophe.

Supplemental- Why a two degrees C increase in global average temperature IS a big deal by Elizabeth May  https://www.greenparty.ca/blogs/7/2013-01-21/why-two-degree-celsius-increase-global-average-temperature-big-deal

Winds Of Change Bring New Environmental Reality

The Ontario government is taking action to address issues of climate change.  Once in office, we have been acting as quickly as possible to fulfill our commitment to Ontario families and businesses.  For example, we revoked the cap-and-trade carbon tax and ended emissions trading and allowances. In addition, we have now released our Made-in-Ontario Environment Plan that takes concrete steps to protect our air, water, and land and fight climate change.

Climate change is here.  It is a reality and our environmental legacy will be predicated on our capacity to adapt, and to stop the worst consequences from materializing.

Fortunately, another reality is the fact the Ontario government is committed to protecting the environment using a sensible and balanced approach that creates jobs, respects taxpayers and grows the economy. But it is important to discuss what we’re fighting…the actual impact climate change can have on all of us.

Our government understands that climate change is a reality. It is a serious, worldwide problem.

More frequently, we hear media reports of severe weather that results in flooded basements, structural damages, and costly cleanups—sometimes in our own backyard. And the insured losses we’ve incurred in Ontario during 2018 give an unnerving snapshot of the consequences.

Earlier this year, a storm caused more than $46 million of insured damage in Brantford, Cambridge, London and the GTA. A spring storm in southern Ontario resulted in almost $80 million in costs. Soon after, winds and rains hit Hamilton and the GTA and caused over $500 million in damage. Last summer, a rainstorm in Toronto caused $80 million in damage. Further, we can’t forget the destruction left in the path of the Ottawa tornadoes this September.

The people across Haldimand-Norfolk are close to the land and are among the first to notice changes in the weather and the attendant damage and costs extreme weather can inflict on crops and buildings.  Farmers and those that work outdoors have long been aware of fluctuating temperatures and are taking note when scientists predict that the average annual temperature in Ontario could be increasing significantly.

Prediction Ontario Rising TemperaturesMilder winters and hotter summers create a paradise for insect and plant diseases. Are you getting more tick and mosquito bites? Lyme disease and West Nile virus, and other mosquito and tick-borne diseases, have been moving northward as our part of the world warms.  And with increasing temperatures and phosphorus loads, many have taken notice of Lake Erie’s more frequent algal blooms and accelerated aquatic plant growth.

These aren’t news items from a far-off land.  These events effect our health, increase food costs, hurt our communities, and can mean large repair bills and higher insurance premiums.

In a subsequent column, I’ll discuss our Made-in-Ontario Environment Plan and how it’s constructed to meet the needs of Ontarians by protecting and conserving our air, land and water; fighting litter and waste; building resilience to the impacts of climate change—particularly extreme weather—and illustrating ways for all of us to do our part to decelerate climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

As one with a background in agriculture and the outdoors, I’m excited about our environment plan. It draws on the expertise of environmentalists, scientists, stakeholders, Indigenous people, and the general public—more than 8,000 ideas and recommendations were received through our online portal.   But more on that in a future column. For the Silo, Toby Barrett.

New ‘tipping point’ in climate- “Holy Sh*t” moment says NASA scientist

Yeah this image is a little "Hollywood" but seriously, Europe DID have a Little Ice Age not that long ago......
Yeah this image is a little “Hollywood” but seriously, Europe DID have a Little Ice Age not that long ago……

 

The delicate balance of the planet’s biosphere is tipping — threatening all life on earth. Scientists are calling it our Holy Shit moment on climate change, and world leaders meet at the UN next month — we have until then for all of us, everywhere, to act, in the largest day of action on climate change in history, to call for action and fight for everything we love. Sign up to join in:

JOIN IN

The last ice age happened in 6 months. 6 months for the planet to unleash a giant wall of ice across central Europe and the Northern Hemisphere. This is what happens when we hit a climate ‘tipping point’, and right now we’re rushing towards 3 more of these catastrophic reactions.

[ Did you know? Europe had a Little Ice Age between the 12th and 15th Century- http://www2.sunysuffolk.edu/mandias/lia/little_ice_age.html ]

It’s our “holy shit” climate moment according to a leading NASA scientist, and only a holy shit massive coordinated day of action response, right now, can change the future we’re facing.

One agreement with common sense steps to end dirty energy can save us. That’s why the UN has called an urgent climate meeting next month with all major world leaders — if we greet them on September 21st with the largest ever global climate mobilisation in history, we can break through the walls of mega coal, oil, and business that prevent even the best politicians from doing what is right.

There’s no way to get around how big a task this is. But together, each small action will add up into a millions-strong movement that literally drowns out the opposition and gives our leaders the best reason to break free and build a hopeful, clean and green future. Click below to join in:

https://secure.avaaz.org/en/event/climate/?source=blast&cl=5698277643&v=44357

“Tipping points” are feedback loops, where climate change feeds back on itself and causes rapidly accelerating, catastrophic consequences. Right now, methane gas that is 25 times worse for global warming than CO2 is frozen into arctic ice. But as the ice melts, the gas escapes into the atmosphere, increasing global warming, melting more ice, and thus releasing more and more gas… everything starts to spin out of control. And that’s just one example. These tipping points are the reason why scientists are yelling from the rooftops that we have to act now.

The Great Irish Frost

We actually have the tools and the plan we need to make sure we don’t cross into a world where tipping points destroy us. And while it will take global cooperation on a bigger scale than ever before, our 38 million-strong movement already has real people power to help move leaders from every country to take the first steps. Recently, the United States and China announced serious new plans to curb their carbon pollution. Momentum is building ahead of next year’s critical Paris climate summit where a deal could be inked, and next month we can take it up a notch further.

Taking to the streets in a record setting show of power and coordination is one of the most effective ways to create change — from the anti-Apartheid movement in South Africa to civil rights in the US, it’s sometimes been the only way. This is our chance to bring that power to the most important issue of our time: survival and a thriving future for our families, their families and the generations of people to come. Click below to be a part of it all:

https://secure.avaaz.org/en/event/climate/?source=blast&cl=5698277643&v=44357

We know we can do this… and do it big. When our community was just 3 million people we held 3,000 actions on the same day to protect our planet. We’re now 38 million strong, twelve times that size! Imagine what we can achieve together now…

With so much hope for our future,

Ricken, Emma, Iain, Lisa, Alice, Emily, Uilleam and the rest of the Avaaz team

 

It’s time to put our climate mobilisation plan into action! Click to either host a local event in your community, or join one that’s already being organised – https://secure.avaaz.org/en/event/climate/?source=blast&cl=5698277643&v=44357 

MORE INFORMATION

Global warming: it’s a point of no return in West Antarctica. What happens next? (The Guardian)
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/may/17/climate-change-antarctica-glaciers-melting-global-warming-nasa

A Call to Arms: An Invitation to Demand Action on Climate Change (Rolling Stone)
http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/a-call-to-arms-an-invitation-to-demand-action-on-climate-change-20140521

Mini ice age took hold of Europe in months (New Scientist)
http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20427344.800-mini-ice-age-took-hold-of-europe-in-months.html

Report: Prepare for climate tipping points (Politico)
http://www.politico.com/story/2013/12/national-research-council-report-climate-change-could-hit-tipping-points-environment-100615.html

Great Lakes Frozen Over 2014- the scene from Space http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/02/140228160624.htm

 

 

Ont. Green Party: Back-room Collaboration Excluded Us From Televised Debate

GREEN PARTY OF ONTARIO CALLS FOR DEMOCRACY IN PROVINCIAL LEADERS’DEBATE

TORONTO, ONTARIO – Green Party of Ontario Leader, Mike Schreiner, penned an open letter to Ontarians today. Despite public outcry, the Green Party of Ontario was excluded from the provincial leader’s debate.

“I would have welcomed the chance to go head to head with the other Leaders,” says Schreiner. “As a small business owner who grew up on a farm, I know first-hand how to create jobs and responsibly manage our financial and natural resources. Greens are tackling the tough issues with straight talk and sensible, long-term solutions that need to be heard in the debate.”

The Green Party is running a full slate of 107 candidates in every riding in the province in this election. The Green Platform, released before the other parties’, tackles the major challenges facing Ontario today, with a long-term perspective that secures our children’s future.

The Green Party is clearly part of a growing global political movement that has elected officials all over the world – including seats in Germany, Britain, Australia and most recently, in Canada at the federal level with the election of Elizabeth May earlier this year. The Greens in the German state of Baden-Württemberg also formed government earlier this year, a global first.

Irrespective of the consortium’s decision to exclude the Greens in tonight’s debate support has been gaining for their inclusion in this election:

* According to an Ipsos Reid poll released on Monday, September 26, three quarters of Ontarian’s agree that the Mike Schreiner should be included in this year’s Leaders’ Debate.

* People across the political spectrum support fair and inclusive debates – municipal councillors, community leaders and members of all parties have signed a grassroots campaign ‘Mike at the Mic [1]’, started by Dave Meslin, a Toronto community activist.
* TVO has recently announced that Green Party candidates will be included in all of their election debates. This decision was made democratically according to Steve Paiken, “…after seeking input from our production team, [we] realize that the Greens had fully developed, and in some cases, quite different positions from the three mainline parties on a host of other issues as well.”
* Dozens of organizations, including the City of Mississauga, the Ontario Chamber of Commerce and the Canadian Federation of Independent Business have asked for the Green Party’s position on a wide variety of issues.

“The other parties speak about issues that area carefully calculated to gain power,” said Schreiner. “They neglect the real issues facing Ontarians and someone needs to make them answer for that.”
————————-

AN OPEN LETTER TO ONTARIANS

Dear Neighbours,

Tonight (Sept 27, 2011 CP) , many of you will watch the only televised Leaders’ debate in this provincial election.

I would have welcomed the chance to go head to head with these professional politicians. But I am sorry to say that you won’t have a chance to hear from the Green Party during the debate.

Unfortunately, the decision to deny the Green Party a seat at the table for this debate was made by a few non-elected broadcasters meeting in a back-room in collaboration with the three old parties.

I know you were looking forward to hearing a voice that reflects your desire to fix politics as usual.

To make sure Ontario is leader in the twenty-first century global economy, we must make the connection between a healthy environment and a strong economy. We will lower payroll taxes on local businesses to make it cheaper and easier to create good local jobs and lower income taxes so your money can support our local economy. Our plan to put a price on carbon will create jobs, strengthen our economy, balance the budget and reduce pollution and carbon emissions.

We need smart planning that puts clean air, water, land and communities first – instead we have the Liberal’s fair-weather environmentalism where decisions about mega-quarries and gas-plants only come when it’s politically convenient.

The Conservatives want to pull us back into the last century with their energy plans that will kill green energy and borrow billions to build expensive, inflexible new nuclear.

All of the old parties have irresponsible plans that borrow money to subsidize the wasteful use of energy.

The Green Party of Ontario is the only party helping you to save money by saving energy. Our green energy plan starts with low cost solutions that prioritize energy efficiency and conservation. Our plan will create good local jobs across the province and reduce the amount of money the province must spend on new sources of energy.

We are the only party dedicated to making family farming a top priority in this province, so we can all enjoy fresh, affordable food on our tables, today, and in the future.

We are the only party calling for a smart, fair, equitable school board system with a plan to engage citizens in determining the best way forward.

These are tough issues that the Green Party would have raised in the debate. And while the other parties may be too afraid to give us a seat at the table, our voice will not be silenced, nor will it slow our growth. We have policies that will improve your life and our communities today, tomorrow and years from now.

We will continue to reach out to Ontarians face-to-face, as our 107 candidates continue to knock on countless doors to earn your trust, and your vote on Oct 6th. We will continue to listen to you and present solutions to the issues that matter to you.

In my travels across our great province, I have been awed and inspired to see the commitment and dedication of thousands of individuals – people just like you – making their communities a better place.

Please take a moment to check out our platform. It’s time for a better, more sustainable Ontario. It’s time to vote Green so we can work with you to fix politics as usual in Ontario.

Thank you,

Mike Schreiner
Leader of the Green Party of Ontario

Media Contact:

Rebecca Harrison
Director of Communications Green Party of Ontario
(c) 905-999-5479
(e) rebeccaharrison@gpo.ca
Sent from Green Party of Ontario

PO Box 1132
Toronto, ON M4Y 2T8
Canada

Links:
——
[1] Silo Direct Link To Ontario Green Party Press Website
[2] rebeccaharrison@gpo.ca