The New Pollution

I am completely ecstatic that Degree's Diner at my alma mater has switched to "completely biodegradable take-out containers, coffee cups, lids, utensils and straws".

It’s one of the first university restaurants in Canada to make the switch and the move earned the U of M headlines and news coverage across the country.

Now when you order food to go from the University of Manitoba Students’ Union run restaurant you can toss your package material into recycling bins on campus where it will be composted by the Campus Compost Program.

It gets better though... the company distributing the biodegradable materials is based in Winnipeg.

I would especially love to see areas with a cluster of restaurants under one roof, such as The Forks, latch onto something like this.

Doing what we can

It can be very hard to bring myself to mention climate change after days and weeks of windchill and wearing two pairs of pants, just to be warm enough to walk to the bus stop. Winterpeg isn't just a clever nickname. I heard a rumour (okay, read it in her blog) that my cousin saw An Inconvenient Truth. She blogged about about some of the ways she is doing her part to minimize her environmental impact, as it were. She neglected to mention one of the most important things she is doing: talking about it.

Nobody is eco-perfect. My fiancé owns a mini-van, and we like to take road trips. I buy bananas, despite my guilt about how far away they are grown, because they are so cheap and convenient. And sometimes, I let the water run while I'm brushing my teeth because it's just easier. But when I read about what other people are doing, and talk to people about what they could or should be doing, I am encouraged to do my part. It's easy to get discouraged, due to the largeness of the issues at hand (as that movie undoubtedly pointed out), but everybody just has to do what they can, and keep talking about it. Look how we're scaring the Harper... someone who has been quoted as calling the Kyoto accord a money-sucking socialist scheme.

Le stade

I don't pay much attention to sports, but I do love new things!

A proposal from CanWest Global executive David Asper to help build a new $120-million stadium for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers was swiftly met with praise from politicians, including Premier Gary Doer and Mayor Sam Katz.

Freshening up the stadium sounds like a great idea, especially because the public money going into it will be paid off in about six years.

There is some concern about privatizing our team, which is one of 3 community-owned teams remaining in Canada, along with Edmonton and Saskatchewan.

This strikes me as funny for some reason. Probably because Saskatchewan would un-privatize Walmart if it could. Saskatoon's convention centre isn't named after a company, it's named after the Teacher's Credit Union.

I love you Saskatchewan! I love you, new sporting facilities that will potentially house great concerts!

Jubs and Pembina to the Forks!

ALL LEVELS OF GOVERNMENT TEAM UP TO GIVE
WINNIPEGGERS MORE ENVIRONMENTALLY
SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORTATION CHOICES

I nearly keeled over at first glance of this news release. Could it be true? All levels of government teaming together to fight the evil gingivitis, err, climate change?

“We are providing provincial support of $847,500 toward this exciting new transportation initiative that will, among other things, help create new walking paths and improve the existing ones, from the Forks area to Jubilee and Pembina... We are also supporting a new pilot project to encourage citizens to look at alternate transportation choices, so they can reduce the number of single occupancy car trips they take in the city.”

This is completely awesome. This is exactly what I wanted to hear.

Did I mention I work near the Forks and live near Jubs and Pembina?

The main objective of the WinSmart Showcase is to promote innovative approaches to urban transportation that increase energy efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Situated in the area of the city that experiences the heaviest traffic, between the University of Manitoba and downtown Winnipeg, the WinSmart Showcase promotes environmentally sustainable transportation practices in three strategic areas...

Tell me about it. Jubs and Pembina is about halfway between the U of M and Osborne Village, and O.V. is just outside downtown. I coughed on many a fume on my walks to work this summer.

One of the largest projects in WinSmart is the construction of an active transportation path from The Forks to the intersection of Jubilee Avenue and Pembina Highway.

Wasn't I just saying how much I missed walking to work?