“Biodegradable” has long been a staple of the green movement.  We know
to look for it on product labels because it’s good,  both in the
packaging and the product, but do we really understand what it means?

For the most part, no.  Unfortunately, it is one of the most commonly
abused greenwash terms, likely because there is no standardized
definition. Generally it means that the product will break down quickly
in nature to naturally occurring components with the help of the
existing bacteria.  But how quick is quickly?

Eco-Logo, the most prevalent environmental certification in Canada
requires that products or packaging be “readily biodegradable”.  They
specify a test for all products that measures how quickly a product
breaks down.  In general they are looking for at least 60-70% breakdown
within 14 days.

This test is going to screen out a lot of products.  Take plastic bags
for example.  Technically they do biodegrade - they break down in nature
– it just takes an estimated 1000 years to do it (we don’t know for sure
since plastic bags have only been around for 50 years…).  I don’t know
about you – but that’s not my idea of biodegradable.

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Candles have become a staple of the décor of many homes over the lastdecade.  While going green has come to the forefront of things like cleaning and personal care products, you may not have even consideredgoing green with your candles.  You should.  The story isn’t pretty.

Conventional candles aren’t green, and they definitely aren’t healthy.  The United States Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) found that approximately 40% of candles have lead wires in the wicks which ensure that the wick stands up tall.  Unfortunately, lead wicks also mean that the air quality in your house is severely compromised – as much as five times the amount deemed hazardous for children.  Lead poisoning has some serious side effects including hormone disruption and cognitive dysfunction to name a few.

Candles are also typically made of paraffin – most people don’t realize that paraffin is actually a petroleum product.  Burning candles indoors creates some of the same pollutants that come from your tailpipe.  If you see soot build-up around the jar, or on the ceiling above the candle, it’s a good indication of what might also be happening to your lungs.

There is a better way. Candles made from Beeswax burn much cleaner and are therefore better for the planet and for your health.  100% vegetable-based candles are also non-toxic and a good option.  Lead-free is an absolute necessity, so make sure that the wicks are made from cotton and labelled lead-free. Lastly – avoid synthetic scents, they may smell great but most are carcinogenic. Don’t buy candles from the dollar store.  Many will fail all of these tests.

You don’t need to give up candles to be green, but you may want to choose to be more strategic in the candles that you choose.  In candles, you pay for what you get – truly green candles that won’t compromise your health are more expensive to manufacture, and hence more expensive to buy.  We think it’s worth it.

Cottaging is one of the great pleasures in life, but as more and more of us head north to enjoy the great outdoors, the stress on the lakes can be more than they can bear. Here are a just a few tips on how you can minimize the impact of your cottage on the lake that you love.

1) Always choose biodegradable – Although there are no universal standards around what biodegradable means, in a nutshell it says that a product will break down into substances that are naturally occurring in a short period of time once it is used. For things like soaps, shampoos and cleaners that you’ll be using up at the cottage, this is critically important. Conventional products can literally take years to break down, which is very harmful to everything in the lake.

2) Think of your septic system – Bacteria are necessary for the effective functioning of your septic – they do the majority of the work breaking down your waste. You can imagine the problems created when you put things like antibacterial soap or toxic chemicals into your septic system which kill off all of the good bacteria. Choosing green products make a big difference when your wastewater goes directly into the environment.

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Have you ever read the warning label on a tube of toothpaste? Are you alarmed that toothpaste even has a warning label? I’ll guess that few people have bothered to read the safe use instructions on the package, including not swallowing the toothpaste and, on some popular brands, “Recommended for adults and children over 12 years.”

Why should we all be concerned about this? Because most people haven’t a clue what’s in toothpaste and digging up a list of ingredients takes more than a little effort.

You might be surprised to discover that conventional toothpaste contains the artificial sweetener Saccharin. Health Canada banned the use of Saccharin in food 30 years ago due to animal studies that linked consumption to an increased risk of bladder cancer. (They are currently rethinking that ban, due to heavy lobbying from the diet-food industry, but many scientists continue to recommend against lifting the ban.)

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The environmental implications of BP’s spill from the oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico is very concerning on so many levels.  But as I listen to the media create theatre out of bashing the big oil companies, it occurs to me that the real culprits here are you and me.  The problem is that you and I don’t really want to know how oil gets from the ground and into the tanks of our cars, or into the energy plants that produce electricity for our homes and offices and stores and streets.

So long as we are going to consume oil, we are going to have environmental disasters that result from accidental oil spills.  It is a random, yet probabilistic fact.  I don’t believe that anyone intends that these things happen, and maybe more regulation and inspection would help.

My point is that with everything we do with this planet, there is a balance between the consumption of non-renewable resources, economic prosperity, and lifestyle choice.  Be happy with the choices you make, be aware of the consequences those choices make to the planet, and respect with dignity the impact those choices have on the living things around you.

As my First Nations’ brothers and sisters in Canada say “Judge no man before you have walked two moons in his moccasins”.

[written by David Greene]