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Glendon Roots & Shoots
Glendon Roots & Shoots’ Interweb Home
Bievenue and Welcome!
Recent Posts
- Meetings and Minutes/Réunions et Procès-verbaux (2008/2009)
- A Tariff On Carbon
- Fossil Fools Poster and Details
- The Lorax Challenge
- notes, fools and facebook
Anti-Bacterial Products – Healthy?
Anti-bacterial products were intended to stop the spread of infectious disease in patients in hospitals, but have increasingly been introduced into household products – what is the effect of this? Bacteria are a natural part of our body-system and exposure to them is important in developing a healthy immune system. What is the effect of the increased use of anti-bacterial products? This study suggests that it can lead to a natural selection process creating bacteria which are naturally resistant to anti-bacterial products and antibiotic medicines.
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/eid/vol7no3_supp/levy.htm
The EU seems to be ahead in making regulations about animal welfare, and here is another great step. I think this is definitely something we should aim for here in Canada.
Success for FOUR PAWS Campaign
No More Dog and Cat Fur in the EU
No More Dog and Cat Fur in the EU
http://www.vierpfoten.org/website/output.php?id=1194&idcontent=1655&language=1
Art or Animal abuse?
This seems to be a recent petition, and having been an art student who finds the declaration of anything to be ‘art’ as an excuse to case harm is deplorable, I couldn’t help but put this up:
http://www.vierpfoten.org/website/output.php?language=1&id=1163
“Guillermo Vargas Habacuc is a Costa Rican who claims to be artist. The past month of August he made a exhibition in a gallery of Managua (Nicaragua), hunted a street dog, tied it with one short cord to one of the walls of the gallery and let it die of hunger and thirst. According to him, that act of cowardly sadism is art. Now this torturador has been invited to participate in 2008 in the prestigious Central American Biennial of Honduras.There is an international campaign to collet signatures to request that this invitation is retired. You can sign in at
http://www.petitiononline.com/13031953/ and, please, forward the message to all your well-known ones.”
I received this email this morning from Downbound.ca and I thought I would share it. If you are looking for somewhere sustainable to go on vacation this is an ideal place. Btw, the Art or Animal Abuse article made my heart cry.
***
As you likely know, one of Downbound’s many ethical offerings is handmade organic furniture made from sustainably harvested wood. We are honoured to announce that our beds have been exclusively chosen for the guests and staff at North America’s first and only five star luxury eco spa and resort, Perfect Earth Tours.
Perfect Earth Tours’ celebrity and elite ecologically minded guests will sleep on Downbound’s Queen Sized Mission Style Sustainably Harvested Oak Wood Beds. Perfect Earth Tours’ staff will sleep on our equally high quality Twin Sized Platform Style Sustainably Harvested Oak Wood Beds.
In addition to wanting to share this testimonial about our beds with you, Leigh, we think you may enjoy learning a little bit about this truly unique ecologically sensitive wilderness adventure and spa resort. If you are interested in taking a luxurious eco vacation this summer, we hope that you will consider doing so with our friends (Alana and Mike) at Perfect Earth Tours.
The Perfect Earth Tours spa resort is located lakeside deep in the wilderness of the Canadian Yukon territory, a 35 minute private floatplane ride from Whitehorse, Yukon. The entire luxury resort is powered by solar, wind, water, and human power. It features an organic vegan spa with massage, body wrap, and facial services. All food and beverages are local and organic, including an impressive selection of organic wines. And while non-vegetarian meals are served, gourmet organic vegan meals are a standard option too, prepared by Perfect Earth Tour’s internationally acclaimed chefs.
And the crystal clear stars of the northern sky aren’t the only stars that you’ll be rubbing shoulders with at Perfect Earth Tours. In addition to attracting celebrity guests, each of the 27 pre-scheduled ‘tours’ this summer will feature an intimate (only 8 other guests) concert with a celebrity singer / songwriter. How would you like to vacation with Sophie B. Hawkins or Hawksley Workman? For a complete list of internationally renowned award winning artists that will be vacationing and performing at Perfect Earth Tours this summer, visit http://www.perfectearthtours.com/artists.html.
Perfect Earth Tours takes environmental sustainability very seriously. At the end of each summer, the entire resort is disassembled and removed, leaving the pristine northern wilderness clean with no negative human footprint. The entire resort is made up of organic canvas luxury tents. Each guest tent is outfitted with all of the amenities you would expect from a five star resort, including a woodburning stove, a private solar heated shower room, and a private washroom with a state-of-the-art odourless composting toilet (more info on composting toilets here). And of course, what truly luxury vacation would be complete without solar and wind powered in-suite DVD players, satellite radio, and wireless internet connectivity?
There are both 4 day and 6 day eco vacation packages available. For both, you have the daily option of relaxing on your own (hiking, canoeing, luxuriating in the spa, reading, etc.), or taking a guided wilderness excursion. For the 6 day trip, guests spend a day floating over mountains and into valleys in a hot air balloon, silently ’sneaking’ up on wildlife without causing any disturbance. Regardless of whether you are in the hot air balloon or simply hiking, you will be sure to see plenty of Dall Sheep, Caribou, Moose, and Grizzly Bears (from a safe distance).
Available dates start from May 28 (Grand Opening), and and run through to September 4. Celebrity vegan raw food chef Bryan Au (author of ‘5 Star Organic Spa Cuisine’) will be offering free private raw food ‘cooking’ classes on the following trips: June 3-8, July 6-11, August 8-13.
Leigh, if you are interested in learning more about Perfect Earth Tours’ alpine eco spa resort, please visit http://www.perfectearthtours.com or call 1-888-KARMA-08. Ask for Alana or Mike.
Sincerely,
Adam Wilson
Chief Executive Activist
Downbound.ca
As China Roars, Pollution Reaches Deadly Extremes
To be honest, this article is somewhat hopeful. It is getting to the point where the Chinese government can no longer ignore it.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/26/world/asia/26china.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
ps Leigh– Amazing link! I would absolutely love to go there one day.. when I can afford it!
IMPORTANT: YOUR ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT
http://www.eco.on.ca
Today I had a meeting with Dave Ireland, the Curator of Conservation at the Toronto Zoo who has been running the Eco-Cell program which we are affiliated with, and he made some good suggestions about eco-involvement. One of the most important steps, he said, is participating in Environmental Assessment as a public citizen. This is one way we can be actively involved in development issues in Ontario.
We as citizens actually have an Environmental Bill of Rights
Bill of Rights, and it is our role as citizens to help the Environmental Commissioner by participating in the Environmental Registry, which is “an online database where Ontario government ministries are obliged to post (and invite your comments on) new Acts, regulations or policies, or approvals of instruments that may significantly affect the environment.”
Unfortunately, only about 1% of Canadians actually do this. I imagine even this is a large estimate.
(The Environmental Commissioner of Ontario does not have ANY political affiliation, is appointed by the Legislative Assembly and his role is to be a watchdog: “on the government’s compliance with the Environmental Bill of Rights to ensure that Ontario’s natural environment is protected and conserved for future generations.”)
Our role is to find these problems and make a comment on these proposals to cry foul. Basically, developers must post potential development projects they want to be passed through, which may or may not accord to proper environmental law. If these proposals pass without much conflict, they can go through. They will skewer words and make proposals seem to be insignificant, when really they severely affect important large natural areas.
For example, there is a request now to “Assess potential to expand on the Greenbelt.” This is against Greenbelt regulations of no development, so it should be fought.
To do this, you need to make an account with the Environmental Registry by going to the Environmental Commissioner of Ontario Website and click on the side link of Recent Registry Postings of Interest to look at development proposals, and comment (which can be done via email, mail, OR through this site) to show your voice.
This site is to make use of our rights under the Environmental Bill of Rights to make sure environmental policies are followed. I suggest going to the FAQ page for more information.
WOMEN EMPOWERED
Abay’s Return: A young Ethiopian girl’s brilliant struggle to end Female Genital Cutting in her village.
Phil Borges, the creater of the film, states that his “photographic projects are devoted to the welfare of indigenous and tribal people. My intention is to help bring attention to the value these cultures represent and the challenges they face.” His projects include indepth portraits about women around the world who have made a significant impact in their community, who would have gone unnoticed had it not been for this collection.
http://www.philborges.com/we/women-empowered.html
I strongly recommend watching this video, because it is nothing less than expiring.
“CLICK TO GIVE”
http://www.thebreastcancersite.com/clickToGive/home.faces
The Breast Cancer website offers the opportunity to help add some extra funds to important causes by clicking daily on links that bring money from the sponsors. This is a very simple method, which has apparently been very effective in providing supplies.
It is a small effort with no cost that anyone can do. (However, it is no substitute for bigger efforts.)
If you look at the top, you can click and support the following causes:
Hunger
Breast Cancer
Child Health
Literacy
Rainforest
Animal Rescue
Money isn’t the solution to everything, but it sure helps.
Another important site is
GOODSEARCH
http://www.goodsearch.com/
This is another important website which uses the same fundraising method by sponsorship. Everytime you use this search engine, a penny goes to the organization of your choice. If 1000 people search twice a day, $7300 will be raised for that organization in a year.
There is a good article about this site on the New York Times:
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/26/technology/26ecom.html?ex=1293253200&en=1552a1acc34e3c4b&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss
I am supporting the “Cameroon Wildlife Aid Fund” , which is the organization that rehabilitates orphaned chimps and gorillas in Cameroon (which they do with the most selfless integrity.) I am associated with the Canadian branch of this organisation and its members. They were the ones who opened my eyes to the bushmeat trade and inspired the cell phone recycling program.
Beautiful and delicious!