There is a local green energy pioneer that came into the store to see what we were up to.  He has been tracking solar hours for a long time.  We showed him our predictions and he told us we were vastly understating solar potential in Huntsville.  We are using sophisticated software to accurately predict output, I replied.  Conservative, to say the least!

Remember a couple weeks ago I told you that in the first couple of days of connecting our customer's solar array to the grid he earned 50% more than we predicted?  Turns out we were a tad more wrong than we initially thought!

This 3kW polemount system is producing 20kW per day in February and March!!!  That's more than 100% better than we predicted.  Jason from Advenergy who designed and installed the system, has to take a drive over and check it every couple of days because pinching himself isn't cutting it. 

I think when summer comes around, Jason, myself, and our customer will be sitting around watching the meter.  It's more exciting than the SuperBowl!!

While we're on the subject of carbon footprints, I came across this website today, ZeroFootprint.  The site has been working to create a global community aimed at reducing our collective global footprint.  On the site, you can create your own profile, calculate your carbon footprint, create goals, join discussions and view listings of green businesses/services.  It's one of the most user-friendly and interesting sites of it's kind that I've visited so far.

I signed Sustain up today....we'll keep you updated on how we're doing with our own carbon reduction goals.  I stongly suggest a visit!  You might be surprised at how daily living really adds up.  You can make it a fun project to do with your kids, and work on reducing your family's footprint together. 

We're all pretty familiar with carbon footprints by now.  What you may not know is how to figure out what your footprint is.   Until now, or, more precisely, a year from now, when UbiGreen is released.  The University of Washington and Intel have collaborated on what we, at Sustain, think is a fun way to get people thinking about their impact on the planet.  The app is called UbiGreen - it calculates  the CO2 emissions from different methods of transportation, including walking, biking, driving as well as travelling by train or plane.  An accelerometer (limited to iphones for now) tracks your speed; a menu pops up at the end of your trip if you were travelling by car, carpooling, bus or train, as these will have different carbon footprints. 
The app measures your weekly footprint, and as you make greener choices a tree grows and displays leaves, flowers and fruit.  Icons also light up when a choice saves you money or incorporates exercise.
While our lives are becoming more and more filled with technological gidgets, evidence shows that if you are exposed to something full-time, you are more likely to make changes - making UbiGreen a good thikng

Let me share a funny story with you.  Celine and I wanted to put a t-shirt into our store.  We didn't want to just throw our logo on a shirt though - we wanted to put something that was a little more objective, a little trendy and speaks to a green lifestyle.  After much deliberation we came up with 'ecocentric'.  We loved it.  It's cool, fresh and the type of thing you might wear without feeling like a billboard.  We got them printed locally on bamboo shirts that are probably the most comfortable shirt I have ever worn.  All in all, we were very happy with the result.  But wait....we haven't got to the funny part.

No sooner did we get our shirts proudly displayed in the store - feeling pleased as punch with ourselves at how well they turned out - and our first customer walked in and said:  "ecocentric?  Isn't that the name of the store in Orillia that just opened up?"  Way to shoot a man's horse!  Had there been some nice loose sand and I was an ostrich at that moment!  Well, I'm proudly displaying them anyways.

The first thought that comes to everyone's mind is: "Are you nuts?  That's your competition!"

We have a different, or rather an ancient perspective on competition. The word competition has it's roots reaching back to the very first Greek Olympics.  The defenition, in those days at least, was:  to strive with.  There was an understanding in those days, that two atheletes 'competing' with one another would drive each other to do their personal best.  Without it, no records would be broken, no great advances would be made.  In modern North America we believe that competition means "crush your opponent".  The spirit of competion somehow got twisted into something truly ugly.    

So, to answer your question - no, I am not nuts.  Or at least, not in this case! 

I went to Orillia and met Kara and checked out her store 'Ecocentric'.  I told her about our shirt mishap and she very graciously thanked me for not doing my homework.  Kara's store is a very nice boutique and while there are similarities we really are different stores.  Except, of course, we are both green businesses.  That said, a few more green businesses means more innovation, more striving for personal bests.  Good luck Kara - I wish you well.  We're in this together, after all.

While we are on the subject of olympics...we would like to extend a hearty good luck to all the athletes that strive together to do truly amazing things in Vancouver this month.  And maybe give thanks to whoever said that they no longer need to wear loin cloths!  Brrrr.




I

Sustain and Advenergy connected  a 3.3kW pole-mounted solar array to the grid late in the afternoon on Wednesday February 10.  Under the Ontario micro-FIT rules anyone is eligable to install a solar array no larger than 10kW and receive 80.2 cents per kW for 20 years.  There has been a great deal of skepticism with regards to this program and concern that the solar arrays would not net the projected results.  Well, let me address that. 

Yesterday - our customer's first day of generating power - he produced 16kW of power!  That's more than a 50% increase from projection!   That amount of electricity production (which will only improve as the day gets longer) will make our customer just shy of $5000.00 per year.  He'll recover his investment in 6.5 years.  He'll make $100,000.00.  

                                                         He'll nearly triple his initial investment! 

As you can see from the photo, the system that generated 16kW is shaded due to branches that still need to be trimmed.  In addition, the sun is shining through the trees due to the low angle of the winter sun.  Imagine what it will produce when the trees are trimmed.  Better still, imagine what it will produce in the summer.  The panels, despite all the recent snow, have shed all the snow on their own.  I am excited to see what this system will be able to do once we have finished optimizing it.  The customer, incidently, was so happy with this system we will be hooking up another 5kW for him next week. 

The moral of the story:  Get FIT.  It pays!!

I had the pleasure of attending the first - FINALLY - meeting for the development of a sustainability plan for Huntsville.  While my focus is blatently the environment, sustainability is about economics and social concerns as well.   We saw a lot of passionate people out to express their concerns about the future of the community - most of which were more focused on the socioeconomic aspects of sustainability.  I'm not surprised.  Pocketbooks have a lot of pull - so we need to find a way to make sustainability the bottom line!  But, if we could channel all that passion into one common goal - look out climate change!!

The meeting began with a presentation and was professionally facilitated by a consulting firm.  Then there was time for attendees to get together and brainstorm key questions about their vision.  I have to admit I was skeptical about this process, but when the ideas were presented some strong themes emerged.  I was very impressed by the meeting so I thought I might share some of the key themes that emerged.  So here they are:

-Create more greencollar jobs in all sectors, including consulting, green energy, r and d, manufacturing;
-Attract more Universities to put satellite campuses focused on environmental education;
-Make public transportation and human powered transportation a priority;
-Support the rich arts community with marketing and exibits;
-Aim to make Huntsville a model of sustainability in Canada;
-Promote the natural environment and ecofriendly tourism and recreation;
-Support our lakes and forests by discouraging non-ecofriendly use i.e.:  2 stroke engines (as a side note did you know that using a jetski for one day pollutes more than driving your car for 250,000 km's!!!)
-Upgrade buildings and building code to be more environmentally conscious;
-Invest in green energy; 
-Host green events and lots more.

I'll keep you posted on how this process plays out.  One thing I can say is that we spend a lot of time focused on what we're not doing well - so I'm going to bring you a whole series focusing on what we are already doing well.  A pat on the back can move things forward far better that a slap on the backside.  This meeting was a good start.

I've had a few people here at the store ask about mineral makeup, after Dr. Oz' Tuesday's show about the dangers lurking in your make-up bag.  I completely agree that many cosmetics are dangerous, as many very dangerous and very toxic ingredients are still found in beauty products, such as parabens (for more information on this topic, check out our other blog, PureGreen, Fresh Face for 2010).  It was mentioned on Dr. Oz that mineral make-up can be dangerous, as nano-particulates in the products can be absorbed into your lungs and bloodstream.  At Sustain we've worked really hard to bring you a brand of cosmetics that takes your health VERY seriously.  Although I know that LUVU contains no nano-particles,  I thought I'd contact Tira Wootton, CEO of LUVU Beauty to get a straight answer - here is what she had to say:


"First of all, nanoparticles can be defined as particles sized between 1 and 100 nanometres. Unlike many mineral makeup brands, LUVU Beauty Minerals does not use nanoparticles or micronized ingredients in its products. We are well aware that nanoparticles can potentially cause health risks as the very fine particles can be absorbed through the skin. One common mineral makeup ingredient that is often in micronized form is Titanium Dioxide. If you see mineral makeup with the ingredient 'micronized titanium dioxide' - then that product is using a nano ingredient. The average particle size of micronized titanium dioxide is usually 1 nanometre or smaller. Mineral powders that use micronized titanium dioxide tend to be very sheer - non-micronized titanium dioxide is a very opaque ingredient. The average particle size of the titanium dioxide used in LUVU Beauty products is 1000 nanometres - well above the nano particle threshold of 100 nanometres."


Also, companies are required to state on the label whether they use micronized particles.  One more reason to read your labels!  I hope this helped clear up the issue for you.

Celine

Welcome to Sustain's first ever blog post. 

I should start by introducing myself:  Jonathan MacKay.  My wife Céline and I are the founders of Sustain.  Sustain is a small company with a BIG vision: an eco living store that is ever more a whole home solution for building, decorating and living green.  Sustain was created with on primary assumption in mind:  People want to be green - they just don't want to change their lifestyle.  If you are reading this blog than cahances are you are already ahead of the curve, but the vast majority of us don't know how to do that.  That's where Sustain comes in.  We make it easy.

Sustain isn't just about the environment, of course, the earth is our primary concern.  We are also about sustaining a modern lifestyle with all the needs and wants of a modern life.  Sustainability doesn't mean that you can't replace your countertop.  It just means that you should shift your effort and donate your old one to Habitat for Humanity rather than haul it to the landfill.  Choose a new one that is manufactured in an environmentally responsible manner using materials that are likewise diverted waste.  Choose one that will last a long time and can be reused, repurposed or recycled when you are done with it.  And it can still look awesome!  New green products have a modern aesthetic that will appeal to the most design savvy.  

We aren't out to topple consumerism and we don't expect you to live off the grid.  We just want to show you how you can make different choices for the same, albeit more eco conscious, result.  The more we learn about eco-conscious products the more we read labels and make better choices.  As I mentioned before, if you are reading this blog than you are already doing that.   

If that's the case then you have waded through the endless sea of products that market themselves to be green.  Every big company is jumping on the eco bandwagon in terms of finding creative ways to market their product as eco.  It's called "greenwashing".  Once people choose to purchase better products they then are faced with the daunting task of sorting out the good, the bad and the just plain ugly.  It's a lot of work and in the end, most of the time, it's a guess at best.  Sustain sells confidence.  When you shop at Sustain you don't have to question our products - we've already done that.  Shopping with us keeps you healthy and supports sustainability in your home, your life and your planet.

                                                                                   - Inspiring a Climate of Change -

Thanks for reading.  I've told you a bit about who we are and what we do.  We will be updating regularily with green design tips, new and cool stuff in the eco-world, store news and even some savoury recipes for the ecochefs out there.  Be sure to stay tuned and we'll be sure to stay fresh, engaging, relavant and current.