For the Beauty of the Earth! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gAsaeXzyi4

Photograph = To Depict In Light If a picture tells a thousand words..... https://www.youtube.com/watchv=NXTIfcfzSnE&list=PLuBFYz4XFs5MZOPKmUSQzfLob0MQRNcAs&t=223s But beware of Photoshop and similar software! It can alter "the truth" captured in light using highly sophisticated photo editing software to enhance or alter photographs! Sometimes, not everything is as it seems! Can you spot the difference between an authentic original unaltered photograph and one that is "edited", "altered", "doctored" or "enhanced"? Good examples of altered depiction of photo and moving photography or film/video are those "fun filters" on your mobile device's video camera! My advice? Just go outside and play! Explore! Discover! Ride bikes! Enjoy Mother Nature! Dance and Enjoy Dynamic Movements! Be Good! Be Safe! Be a Good Friend! Respect your Elders! Consider the needs of others, but job number one, take good care of yourself so that others can feel less stress and worry-free! Take GOOD Care!

I second the motion; in fact, I dream of plastic being only 0.01% of the materials we use globally asap in the future!

I wish for a 99.9% global ban on plastics. Am I only dreaming? Am I only dreaming? Can it be real? Very likely, because we just need to learn from what people did before the invention of plastics, right? OK, so we must ask industrial designers, "How much plastic is actually considered absolutely necessary and indispensible for functional designs?" Plastic was discovered and invented in roughly the turn of the century. So how did we manage from 100 BC to 1900 AD? We might learn a thing or two or even much much more! I think the more we explore this as a real possibility to consider, the more solutions we will find.

My late mom's diagnosis before she died was breast cancer. According to Google: Bisphenol A (BPA) is a chemical used to make Bisphenol A diglycidyl ether (BADGE) epoxy resins and hard plastic containers 1. Its use in the food industry is common, as BADGE epoxy resins are often coated on the inside of cans to prevent direct contact between the food and the metal.Sep 18, 2020 If we want preserved foods, we should ask for them in glass jars. Metal cans are a relic of past wars and should be banned across the board wherever reasonably and soon as possible. Besides prolife as my "religion", sorting my recycling is my natural habit in my humble abode. Thank you for also doing yours! Thank you for sharing your concern. After googling your concern, I now have yet another reason to change my food purchasing habits. You may have saved my life! 💕

Yeah, I like those Indian and Chinese stackable lunch containers, IF i must eat food at ambient weather temperatures. Here, I am hazarding an educated guess, based on my previous knowledge retained from Chemistry 12: Metal is a natural element, so it may rust, it may dent, but it will go back to the earth or can even be smelted down and recycled in some cases. There's the problem of rust that leads naturally to soil acidification. Corrosion is a natural phenomenon due to exposure to earth's natural elements. It definitely is more naturally biodegradable than plastic, but may potentially acidify the soil when it rusts and becomes iron oxide. The soil acidity can be remedied with human intervention of neutralizing the acids by adding some basic or caustic powders, but then, there's the problem of salts that occur when bases mix with acids. I also guess this could require personal protective equipment to prevent chemical burns - and PPE can be a waste problem, too. If anyone knows better, please, step in and set the record straight! The upside is that it will last for centuries and can be passed down as an heirloom if well designed, well cared for and well protected from corrosive elements.

Which is a perfect segway for discussions about Inclusivity, Accessibility, Caring, Diversity, Intercultural Sharing, Truth, Reconciliation, and "Land Back" Restitution especially where ecological and natural and social heritage damage has been sustained due to natural resource exploitation and industrial pollution.

The mention of "produce counts" and market value shows how very crucial inventory, accounting economic systems and transport logistics (hence plastic clamshell packaging) are for farms and farmers to survive I am sure. Would the intrinsic value of work ever be enough to motivate us to do something valuable for the community with our time? Systems development for profitability has created things like Monsanto and monocultures, but it has also sacrificed biodiversity and good flavour in things like tomatoes - they're simply not sweet. In a way, we've grown so urbanized and divorced from owning a family homesteading life so as to end up being dependent on urban market farmers, grocers and farm produce truck drivers. Speaking of homesteading and homegrown veggies and fruits, I remember when my late Dad grew, among many other things, the sweetest varieties of tomatoes that have since been unsurpassed. Because he took care to nourish the soil, I have never tasted the equal to my late Dad's homegrown tomatoes, in terms of sweetness, colours, and firmness. He tried everything, including fish guts fertilizer. I regret I never learned from his encyclopaedic practical knowledge base - he died too soon at age 67 before I woke up and realized how much I missed learning from him. A man like that is worth 60 times his weight in gold! And he had a wife who was his equal, too! She died at 68. At least I learned some cooking skills, language arts, and mathematics from both of them. No amount of money can replace the "profitability" of learning from your Elders!

By the way, https://www.bcorporation.net/en-us/standards/controversial-issues/ does seem to indicate that b corp has some interest and concern, as a consultancy, for human rights and environmental rights issues in establishing standards for conducting sustainable ecologically and socially responsible "business". Setting and upholding best practice standards is always a work in progress as situations change and systems evolve. "Business" entities with different sets of challenges in their respective and emerging industries with different benchmarks for industry "gold standards" share their operational, socio-ecological marketing integrity (temptation to greenwash or resort to spin-doctoring ranges from subtle to blatant forms of dishonesty) challenges. Administrative governance, overall strengths and weaknesses, definitions of profitability that go beyond monetary values, but may also be based on relational values of intrinsic, aesthetic, emotional, psychological, spiritual, biodiverse ecological, pristine environmental, natural zoological, natural botanical, healthy social, intercultural, all-inclusive and universally accessible, and more values going beyond only material and monetary assets. Shorter and longer term goals (7 Generations to Cherish & Consider!) seem to guide b corp as a "new giant egg" growing and developing. B corp seems to be growing its customer base while carefully marketing its brand reputation - even though impact assessment criteria and certification assessment standards are unknown or vague to the general public, b corp is positioning itself to become the quintessential information and data analysis advising consultancy workhorse devoted to "sustainable" business intelligence for informed practice. Managing and marketing its brand reputation, b corp is founded on business networking for data collection and analysis of industry relevant and entity specific standards for continuous learning and improvement on ever present and emerging issues in sustainability. Combined with a greed for knowledge with a view to dominating the information and data market to support business intelligence and guide sustainable policy enactments and investments - while gaining more more knowledge to transform into expertise in order to solidify its role as an advisory consulting body with a socially, ecologically, and ethically responsible business standards assessment & certification standard. At least, that appears to be the goal of b corp.

https://www.bcorporation.net/en-us/standards/development-and-governance/ https://www.bcorporation.net/en-us/faqs/what-topics-are-covered-b-impact-assessment/ lots of words, but distilling the information about assessment and certification into key points or topic headings & highlights? Unfortunately, nothing is available publicly, so far that I have seen. Most of the document talks vaguely about how organizations are classified for the sake of distinguishing between types of entities - for the sake of organizing the data they collect in the certification process. In the meantime, still searching for answers from B Corp about how they offer value-added ecologically and socially sustainable substance. Maybe it's proprietary? Maybe we'll never know unless we buy in? If I missed something, please do let us know! 😊

Maybe we need to explore other ways of incentivizing productivity and work that doesn't only look at dollars and cents to valuate productivity. When we talk of economic value, very often it seems that other esteemed values are not tangibly represented in terms of dollars and cents - values such as biodiversity, ecological and human health, caritas or caring relationships, quality of life and quality of time, love, experiential value, sentimental value, etc. How do we factor these intrinsic values into "the equation"? These "intangibles" are much more important than any amount of money can represent. Maybe what we're talking about is the possibility that money-based economics might not suit our needs going forward into the future? But what are the alternatives? And are we afraid of the implications, if we can foresee any?

Especially due to lightning strikes

Does having a phone with "the latest" feature necessarily equate with "being the greatest"? The rate at which people upgrade their phones seems to indicate that "the latest is the greatest" is the newest vanity fair to build up our self-identity, pride, and sense of personal worth. That is basically materialism as a form of ego and social image enhancement. The reality? Good relationships (even if it's only one or two) and good health are the greatest wealth! These things require that we also unplug and disconnect from digital electronics in order to develop quality relationships and quality of life in terms of health and happiness. Enhancing communication skills is always a worthy endeavour, because it enhances our relationships. So there you have it! Materialism is not the way to win true friends and influence people. Nurturing your heart and mind is the best place to start growing the garden of your life - in terms of one's relationships and healthy lifestyle and happiness.

https://www.nina.no/archive/nina/pppbasepdf/Policymix%20Report/Svarstad%20Three%20POLICYMIX%20Report%201%202011.pdf This article might have some answers to the question I posed above regarding..... Here is a very interesting quote on the topic of legitimations, Parkin 2002 is quoted below from the above article: “Legitimations are the claims that dominant groups make about themselves – claims that they would naturally wish everyone else to accept. Legitimacy, on the other hand, refers to the condition in which such claims have in fact been accepted and endorsed by subordinate groups. That is, the grounds upon which obedience is claimed and are accepted as valid by those who are expected to do the obeying. Legitimations emanate from on high, but legitimacy is bestow from below” (Parkin 2002: 77-8). From the ground running, how do we implement real changes in consumer behaviors and choices from the ground-level to beyond? I might even argue that such awareness might have originated from those of us who are on the front lines coping with the challenging demands and consequences of waste management or lack thereof! If you look at BBY's Metrotown Food Court and Richmond Town Centre Food Court in the lower mainland of BC, they have recycling service facilitators literally providing recycling service to customers of the food court. Sometimes, it is this hands on approach to service that does the rest of us some real good, but it was implemented because so few of us actually took the time to sort our recyclables at the fast food outlets. Shopping Centre Food Court Administration in cooperation with the Janitorial Staff implemented this service to help those who are confused by the process of sorting recyclables from compostables and absolute refuse. The advantages are obvious; what we lose is the opportunity for every citizen to develop an awareness of recycling and composting requirements and applications. Therefore, to promote awareness, WE can do this through Public Educational TV Programming, because not everyone tunes into these topics on YouTube everyday.....unless we're already keen to learn about it due to our sensitivity to pollution and waste. So, please thank your recycling service providers today - frequently paid at minimum wages, we deserve much much more, but at least a friendly, appreciative smile and nod would make our "raison d'etre" - which is to mitigate waste - feel more acknowledged and validated, and would make our workaday lives much more pleasant knowing that our efforts are appreciated! Would that would translate into better or even best wages for all "waste management service providers"

Hey, Amy! I went to a dairy farm in Quebec where the cows were treated very humanely, with plenty of space and lots of free pasture time among the grassy fields. The milking quarters were humanely provisioned, clean and hygenic, too! I just thought you'd appreciate a bit of good news from the dairy milk farming industry in Quebec!

The three dimensions of justice are: • Distributional • Procedural • Recognitional Please expand upon this idea, for everyone's benefit? Thank you, Czarina

Have you ever looked at what it might cost to replace your gortex jacket with a sustainable cotton and wax alternative? Check this out: How can I stop buying Gortex when the alternatives are becoming an ecologically & environmentally correct fashion-affluence statement for the "haves" who also have their vehicles and homes for more than just shelter, as is so disparate from the "have nots" who line up outside in the weather to sleep indoors on a floor mat or cot?

Hi, Anya! 'Love this topic! It can get really really detailed in terms of degrees and orders and scales of observation, study, and applied learning when it comes to Permaculture and Ecology! This according to Google: Permaculture is an approach to land management and settlement design that adopts arrangements observed in flourishing natural ecosystems. It includes a set of design principles derived using whole-systems thinking. Sounds great to me!!!! Is there any way to find out how to invest in and finance these permaculture foods production operations, for those of us (not me!) who have the means and interest? Cheers! Thought you might like this image of my niece at her first pumkin patch in Richmond BC, Unceded Coast Salish Territories! 'Tis the season as I write this!

Have you ever tried plant-based vegan hazelnut chocolate pie? Or vegan chocolate cake? Or vegan ice cream? I must admit, these are delectable examples of opting for soy over dairy in some very wonderful recipes that lend themselves remarkably well to soy and nut based options! The more, the better, and I would like to say here that I am so grateful to the recipe developers who create dietary alternatives based on peoples needs! However, that being said, when none else other than dairy will do (and there are a few cases - like fried and scrambled eggs on real butter), I don't think it is reasonable for me, a person who lives on dairy products from since toddlerhood, to deprive myself of dairy if no other vegan based option will do to sufficiently replace. For example, vegan coffee creamer simply doesn't have the same "onctuousness" or creaminess that I simply crave when having a hot chocolate or coffee; if I have to choose between vegan coffee creamer or not, I'd sooner taste and drink my coffee black. That's how much vegan coffee creamer makes me squirm and grimace, LOL! It's literally quite visceral! I give 110% Kudos to the recipe and food developers who create meat and dairy alternatives for us every day! I think it is brilliant for those of us who have no need to withstand temperatures below zero every day! But, the fact is - in my personal experience growing up in a cold weather climate - protein, fat, and carbs still play a vital role in surviving cold temperatures, especially if one must work or exert energy. Dairy, carbs, and meat still remain highly efficient winter foods - usually the best food for survival where long-burning resistance and stamina against very very cold climates is required. For me, I like to eat fruits and veggies in spring, summer, and early fall; I like meat and dairy in winter (though I only eat about 1 palm-sized amount of meat and/or eggs each day); Grains, lentils, pulses and starchy root vegetables I eat all year round. My diet seems to reflect what can easily be prominent in the local growing seasons. And then, I have a lot to learn about agriculture. I really dig those videos on how big agro operates - so far, I don't really know what's wrong with it? Maybe I fail to see "the aftermath" of big agro? I am defintely not in favour of developing chemical pesticide resistant strains of plants with a view to increasing their tolerance for more chemical pesticides. This seems to me, genetic & chemical manipulation for the sake of what? To introduce more chemicals into the mix? We have seen how people have been harmed by pesticide spraying. How is this a reflection of the wisdom of Creation who formed the elements and living organisms? Maybe if we learn more about nature, in great detail and in every magnitude of order of observation (visible to invisible) and let Nature do its thing, maybe we could learn to appreciate the biodiversity that Creation is quite capable of managing itself, leaving us to merely observe and learn and respond to the immediate needs of our crops. Otherwise, we might just "let it be" and let Nature and Creation work their "magic" - we just have to be grateful for what we have from Nature and Creation. I think being Grateful is the best investment in the future; observing the Science of Nature and Creation of Biodiversity offers an interesting view of interwoven relationships between creatures and humanity. Boy, I just need to get our of this cubicle of a studio apartment and into the Arbutus Greenway Community Gardens more often! Or perhaps take advantage of my UBC student status and visit the Botanical Gardens and Nitobe Gardens and UBC Farm. Maybe we should do this sometime? Anyone up for a weekend outing to said destinations? Cheers, and Happy Weekend!

Very well said.....and generally a very good practice! However, please forgive me - for seeming to be contrary, but.. also looking at your posted photo..... I began to wonder... Are there some rare or exceptional reasons to occasionally break this rule? Even if it costs more to leave the lights on, it might deter theft, it might heat the house ambiently and be cheaper than forced air heating, it might be a (right or wrong?) signal that someone is home to passersby or visitors, it might make someone feel welcome when they come home to their own, it might have aesthetic value? It might offset the gloom and dark of a very very long winter.....it might make someone feel safe to walk through the neighbourhood at nights, or is it a festival of lights season? If none of these are reasons or concerns, then by all means, PLEASE DO turn your lights down low! And remember that, sometimes, there IS compassion behind "the madness" A chief example is: those darned plastic spin-off caps on juice, milk, milk alternatives, coffee creamer, molasses, etc - the thing is: no four year old can easily pull off the trick to removing the plastic pull seals! Only a grown up can do that! Hint: hurried children and hurried parents; families where both parents are "bread winners"; "dual income" households; single moms, abandoned dads, children working to survive. Who has time to show a 5 year old how to open the spout or "bec" of a traditional plastic free TetraPak paper milk carton with the "gable top"? Who has time to be at home when the children are well beyond OM's milk? How long is pregnancy, parental, and personal leave in the USA and Canada now? Is there even such a thing for "cooleys" back in China or cobalt and sulfur gatherers? If some of us are unemployed and have been searching, why are some of us so severely overworked? Why can't husband and wife teams balance their life-home-work responsibilities through JOB SHARING and TEAM TEACHING? So what if you have different values, priorities, and views? Is that really grounds for divorce? The children can learn to balance different ways and different views - we have different ways of learning from both parents, ideally - understanding and working through our BIG diferences can be an exercise in both social growth, social awareness, and conflict resolution development! And we have an opportunity to learn what give and take and compromise means in "the real world". Teaching and communication skills? People skills? Organizational Behaviour? Herd mentality? The social cost of Choosing to Be Different? The personal cost of not speaking and not choosing to respond from a genuine place? Social strategies for raising children have suffered in my generation since both parents started both working and both struggling to pay for the house utilities and services and food and care items; Or was it systemic racism? What do vital statistics agencies say about the documented increase in divorce rates? What do Gen X and Gen Y say about it? What is Gen Now doing? Back to the "conveniences of technology" Rice Cookers to InstantPot: Who has time to watch a cook pot full of rice when the main entree is still in progress, along with all the other fixings? Just ask Mom, the MultiTAsker! Look at Mom! She is tending the fields while her baby is on her back! Or baby is wrapped around her middle while she picks and carries firewood on her back and fetches water balancing it on her head. Please! Be helpful to Mom! Ask her what you can do to help! Interesting title: "How Europe Underdeveloped Africa" by Walter Rodney - has anyone read this? If so, please do give a synopsis! Hint: hurried children and hurried parents; children help pick up the slack at home by learning to help in the meal prep while Mom and Dad are at work! The NEED to make money has also earned us these other "child-friendly" kitchen appliances, amazing inventions on one hand, but poor in nutrients and proteins convenience foods on the other, such as: • Grilled Cheese Sandwich Maker: Just store-bought bread and processed cheese slices; don't begrudge our buying real cheese only because it's "too expensive"! • Microwave Ovens: the only way to cook potatoes for a family of four in 11 minutes! Apple Betty for four in 11 minutes! And cabbage rolls for four in, oh, I forgot - maybe just under 60 minutes? • InstantPot: This one isn't too bad; but I already have a tried and true slowcooker and ricecooker and not enough kitchen counter space; • PopTarts: Candy Coated Cookie with Sprinkles and Simulated Fruit Filling - all in one! Have toaster, will pop up! • KD: cheesiness when you crave carbs, fat, and salt - actually needs parental guidance, at first, unless you can read by age 8 • Instant Ramen Noodles: hot slurpy salty comfort food in less than 10 minutes on HIGH heat • Yakult: A healthy choice, and lovingly bottled in individual plastic bottle portions so a 3 year old can help themselves to a portion without wasting any - provided it is reachable by a child at a height of 2.5' - most likely to be found in the produce drawer! Assuming you have the luxury of a working fridge, in the first place! • Velcro Shoes: Do we really need laces anymore? Laces are more sustainable for grown ups who have already learned their "bunny ears" method for tying shoelaces and have a fairly consistent shoe size • "Cranky" Shoes by NB (someone would write a book about how cranky a child's shoes can become!): Look, Ma! No laces! No velcro that gets matted in the washing machine with balled up dryer lint after several washes..... In fact, it's actually fun as a toy! No kidding! Are these conveniences supposed to replace the arms of loving parents or guardians? A former bf once revealed this observation (and the ensuing terrible dark discovery about social hierarchy and how we run ourselves ragged serving others just trying to survive): Welfare Wednesday? Oh, Pop Tarts are on sale! Same with pop! Same with my favourite sugar coated "cereal" and licorice and twizzlers - PLEASE! These are not foods! They're CANDY! And why do they go on sale at the grocery store every welfare wednesday? The good groceries, he observed, like lean meats and fresh fruits and vegetables and whole grain products, went on sale in the last week before welfare wednesday....sad realization he had made and revealed to me in 1998. Survival of the fittest? Let's say, survival of the richest, in many cases as we had known it in the past and into the present - but does it always have to be this way? Some of us take it much for granted. So, who really wants to "feed the world and make it a better place"? Let's hope that the original ideal behind mass manufacturing and high speed mechanized food processing and packaging practices will manifest in actually making (sorting our recycling) lives easier (meaning, unhurrriedly and simply) and quality food more plentiful by lowering the overall cost per unit and easing the drudgery of our lives? What is ACTUALLY worthy of "sustainable mass manufacturing" these days? - from an Ecological Health and Human Health Biodiversity Health Protection Point of View? What about customization and custom tailoring? It was originally intended for those born with "special differences"; currently it is sponsored by the "whims of the rich and famous" because, after all, "where will the money come from?" The Media Marketing and Advertising Industry? Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous? Who actually has time to drive 12 Rolls Royces? LOL! Unless it's for the wife and all 10 teenagers..... Colin R Turner started thinking outside of the money equation: by his deduction, it came down to this: Who is gonna clean our public toilets? Who is going to take out the garbage and compost and recycling? Who is going to clean up the trash? Who is going to engineer and tend to our waste to energy systems? Who is going to teach their child how to potty? And how do you open that gable-top milk carton (the one that has no plastic spin-off cap) for your children? There is compassion in the ones that have plastic caps designed to be operated by grown toddlers verging on early childhood - presuming Mom or Dad or Gramps or Granny did the hard part of removing the plastic pull tabs?!? Of course, Love and GRACIOUS Consideration, Devotion, and Dedication HAS DONE/TRIED TO DO/ DID THIS! So, count your lucky stars: Our Sanitation and Janitorial Workers take care of our aesthetic and important hygiene needs; so let's not look down on them as "uneducated broomstick pushers"or "cooleys" but rather, the essential workers that they are for our comfort, safety, and health - including Construction Workers and other General Labourers. Why can't we treat garbage truckers and the likes of janitorial cleaners who handle refuse and recyclers in real activated kindness and build hot showers conveniently situated near the workplaces (like the landfill, or close to the recycling sorters) with some of the methane gas recapture for hot water? This way, they can return home in their private or personal vehicles without risking contamination or smelling like absolute refuse - or better yet, they may actually be able to opt into pleasantly supporting the public transportation systems because they won't "stink" What does it take? Does capitalism actually solve problems? Or do other ways and means actually signify or mean something else, something more, something different?