Government Funds 8 Green Projects

, ,

With a goal to reach a target of 17% or lower of greenhouse gas emissions by 2020, the federal government regularly commits funding to more green-technology. A fund managed by Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC) will help several environmental projects see fruition. This federal government sponsored organization doles out support twice annually to worthy projects that bring Canada toward a greener future. In total, it has funded 230 projects since 1999, totalling $560 million. This round (Round 19) of funding will allocate $22 million to eight projects across Canada.

One of these projects includes the expansion of a technology used in the oil and gas sector through the use of a new instrument developed by Pure Technologies Ltd, a company based in Calgary. This equipment, a high-resolution magnetic flux leakage instrument, will be used by utility companies in Canada to detect faults in metallic water piping and extend their life. Furthermore, Vision Ecoproducts Ltd. is receiving funding for its development of a material that will replace the use of PVC in window frames and doors. This recyclable material is made from post-consumer recycled plastic and rice hulls (agricultural waste), requires less energy to create than PVC and aluminum and can reduce the energy consumption in buildings in which the material is incorporated. In addition to these, there are six other projects receiving help in this round of funding by the SDTC:

– Off-Road Vehicle Hybrid Drive Train Demonstration

– Variable speed fan drive

– EcoMer® Technology Pilot Plant and Demonstration Centre

– Underwater Compressed Air Energy Storage Demonstration

– TREK II Pilot demonstration farm

– Early Detection and Prevention of Potential Oil and Gas Pipeline Failure

Here we can see goals in environmental stewardship and economy growth work hand in hand. It is our hope that these continuous efforts have a lasting impact. If you wish to read more about the eight projects funded in Round 19, visit the SDTC website.

Via Toronto Sun

Photo courtesy of Ranjith Siji

/by

Real-Estate Story of the Week

, ,

The beautiful coastal city of Vancouver, though not a secret before, was displayed to the world while hosting the 2010 Winter Olympic Games. Vancouver is known for a multitude of things, including being one of the most expensive places to live in Canada. However, most people feel that the high price tag is definitely worth their while. Multiple ski resorts within a short driving distance (within city limits) a beautiful coastline and beaches, great cultural districts, and many other reasons are what have drawn 2.5 million people to call this city their home.

Today, a survey examining of 325 metropolitan areas worldwide declared this coastal city as the 2nd most expensive city in the world, next to Hong Kong. In fact, they surpassed Sydney, Australia, who was currently standing in this 2nd most expensive, or, “least affordable city” position. Though, with a current medium house price of $687,000, the shoe seems to fit. In April, 2011, the medium house price reached a peak at $900,000. These daunting numbers are most definitely going to create some attention for Vancouver, but whether this attention is negative or not is open to interpretation; it could very well attract some property investors with large wallets, or remove itself from a potential living destination for young buyers. Only time will tell if Vancouver’s newly declared “ranking” will have a significant effect on the real-estate market…or not.

Do you think that this title will be detrimental to the Vancouver real-estate market? Does this confirm what we were talking about in our Stroke of Luck post about Canada’s real-estate domain finally building itself back up? Follow us on Twitter to share your ideas and for more updates.

 

photo courtesy of Hubert Figuiere

/by

Green-tech: “Recycling” Electric Vehicles

,

Carbon emissions are one of the biggest environmental concerns in our society. The one large-scale solution that can ease-up the astronomical yearly emissions (33% of the United States and 20% of global carbon emissions) produced by motor vehicles is finally taking shape right before our eyes: battery-powered vehicles.

The electric vehicle was actually first introduced in 1996 by General Motors with their EV1 model. The EV1 was the first mass-produced all electric vehicle, and it’s reception was phenomenal. These vehicles were extremely popular in California, where they were first released to the public for lease-only agreements, as part of a “real-world engineering evaluation”.

After a few years of great success, GM decided that the electric vehicle was no longer a profitable niche within the automobile market, and in 2002 decided to literally take back crush all of these vehicles. The EV1’s removal from the market is, to this day, a controversial topic in many environmental circles. Who Killed the Electric Car?, a documentary released in 2006, investigates and examines the controversy caused by the removal of the EV1.

In hindsight, the removal of these vehicles seems unnecessary now that nearly every major car manufacturer is to release an electric vehicle within the next year; a concept and transportation mode that is growing very quickly in popularity.

Would non-removal of the Ev1 have put us a step ahead in the battle against our own carbon emissions? Now that the electric vehicle is taking its full shape in the motor vehicle market, what are the pros and cons of owning one of these clean, mean, green machines? Stay tuned to our blog for the “de-bunking” of the misconceptions about the electric vehicle.

 

photo courtesy of Plug In America

/by

A Stroke of Luck

, ,

Report released this month are indicating a possible easing of the pain that the real estate industry has been feeling. There is finally some positive fluctuation in the market, which could possibly indicate a recovery of the North American real estate market. For instance, a report released by Property Wire yesterday claims that Canadian market sales have grown 1.8% from November to December. This is a growing indication that the Canadian market may finally be starting its steady rise up to its former, prosperous self.

It would appear that the US market is also facing positive changes. An 11-month high in housing sales was recorded in December, combined with the lowest recorded supply of market listings, could finally mean that there’s a light at the end of the tunnel. Only time will tell whether these recordings are true indications of market growth and prosperity taking place in both markets, but one can only hope that they are.

According to this article, courtesy of CBC Money Watch, the US market is expected to have a growth of anywhere between 2% and 5%. Now, while these numbers don’t seem very impressive, not all change is instantaneous. There will definitely be more hard times ahead, but hopefully this growth is constant, allowing for a prosperous 2012 and even greater 2013.

 

photo courtesy of billaday

/by

Hump Day Tips

, ,

Wednesdays tend to be a struggle for a lot of people who work in offices. They are a day where a lot of work needs to get done, but the motivation to do so seems so far away as that holy Friday afternoon is not within grasp yet. Ever feel like you’re dragging your feet on these days and just straight-up don’t feel like working? Well, we have a few little tips to get you through this hump day.

Attitude is everything, so when your attitude is off, or “blah”, or just plain negative, you tend to feel bored, blank, etc. Looking at the root cause of this issue, why not try to do something about that boredom, or that sense of “I don’t want to” and make this time you have count for something. An interesting article entitled “The Boredom Manifesto” suggests a very alternate perspective on boredom that doesn’t include trying to add colour to the grey parts of your day.

When put under the microscope, our lives consist more of relatively boring portions of time that lay in between the things in our lives that we enjoy and benefit from the most. The reality of this situation is not deniable…so what can we do about it? That answer doesn’t seem very appealing, but it’s simple: succumb to the boredom! Embrace and realize the fact that the accomplishments you achieve in these boring portions of time are what allow us to benefit from the exciting times we experience. Use your hump day effectively. Get as much work done as you can so that you can set yourself up to leave worry-free on Friday and embrace that weekend of yours.

Happy Hump Day!

photo courtesy of ANGELOUX

/by

The Smartphone Dilemma

,

Every once in a while, while surfing cyberspace, you run into an article that makes you pause and go: “Wow!”. Well, today we had one of those moments. As it turns out, there has been a successful study that is now declaring that cell phones are in fact making people hallucinate. The interesting part, is that you’ve most likely had one of these hallucinations yourself at one point.

The study was conducted by British psychologist Richard Balding, and concluded that, despite smartphones supposedly alleviating stress for their users by allowing them to access their e-mail, messages, social media accounts, etc. while on the go, these devices are actually creating more stress than they are preventing.

This stress is generated by an overemphasis on the importance of checking messages and being “dialed in”. As a result, a lot of people in fact experience what Balding has coined as “phantom vibrations”, which is a hallucination experienced when you believe you feel your phone vibrating in your pocket, when it in fact it isn’t.

To double-check the frequency of this result, we asked around our office, and to put this into perspective, there wasn’t a single person who hasn’t experienced one of these “phantom vibrations”. So, should we really be as attached to our phones as we are? Is checking our messages every 5 minutes really as necessary as we think it is? Or should we make more of an effort to detach ourselves from these addictive devices? To read the full article, visit the following link:

http://gigaom.com/collaboration/is-your-smartphone-causing-hallucinations/

photo courtesy of http://screamingkid.blogspot.com/2007_01_01_archive.html

/by

A World Without Green

,

At this point in time, most people in our society are aware of the consequences of environmental irresponsibility. Greenhouse gas warming, global warming, whatever you may call it, is becoming a very daunting reality as of late, and is increasing its breadth as a global menace. However, this increasing threat has finally seemed to break into the scope of public concern, and thus the “green” movement has been born. A reflection of this public awareness is examinable in major advertising campaigns by companies like Diesel and the WWF (not the wrestling one). View this article for more of these ad campaigns.`

To avoid regression or failure in our attempts to grow the green movement, we must remember what our world could be if we did not take these precautions. For example, this photographic account of what the United States could return to, should environmental protection not be continued to the utmost extent. Images of smoggy cities and unsafe work conditions are only small in the grand scheme of things when examining the importance of environmental consciousness. What we mean by this, is the negative impact we are having on our climate is not only to do with temperature, but weather as well. To elaborate on this point, it turns out our own carbon emissions are also a contributing factor when it comes to natural disasters such as hailstorms and tornadoes. Frightening isn’t it…

Electric cars, solar panels, water conservation, the list goes on and on when it comes to efforts to preserve and save our planet from impending doom. However, with the amount of attention the green movement is receiving, its growth has been exponential in the past year or two. For example, nearly every major car manufacturer is now producing or designing and entirely battery powered vehicle in an attempt to cut carbon emissions down. Though only one example amongst many, this clear indication of a turn in the right direction may very well be enough save our planet.

Remember to always travel, shop, work, and all around live as green as you can to do your part. Want to take your first step in the right direction? Make the switch to enviromint today.

photo courtesy of SchizoDelight

 

 

/by

Enviro-Houses Vol. 2

,

This week’s Enviro-Housing searches proved to gather a larger result than necessary. In fact, so large that we aren’t even sharing a house with you, but an entire city! Yes, that’s right…an eco-friendly city by the name of Masdar is currently being constructed in Abu Dhabi. The most brilliant part about this city is the concept behind it’s eco-friendliness and sustainability. In fact, the goal is to have this entire city running on solar energy, or other renewable energy sources, while having a sustainable non-existent carbon footprint. Hopefully this concept is something that will catch on and be a gateway into a bright future for us all.

It seems that the trend of going green has in fact become so large that the Eiffel Tower is currently under exploration for a very interesting project. The goal: to attach 600,000 plants to this globally recognized structure in an attempt to remove an estimated 87.8 tonnes of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. The project is not to be permanent, and is encouraging a future with greener cities. The idea may seem overzealous, however the recognition achieved through a green act such as this, may very well be the fuel (or lack thereof) needed to encourage more large-scale green operations, just like Masdar.

 

photo courtesy of OliverN5

/by