Sustainable Steps

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  • How to Rock It as a Costco Shopper, in 13 Sustainable Steps

    Let’s face it: the biggest barrier for most of us when it comes to sustainable shopping is price. We’d all love to have earth-friendly, health-friendly everything, but other than the MOST sustainable ways to shop (thrifting and abstention), the cost of voting with our wallets is not always sustainable for those wallets. Enter the big…

  • Grocery Store Cheat Sheet for Healthy Eating

    Does anyone else’s head swim in the produce aisle? I know this stuff — I research it and care about it — but for some reason, every trip to the grocery store stumps me at least once. So I made myself a cheat sheet. Sharing it in case anyone else would like to copy or…

  • All Fracked Up

    There’s an LNG plant being built not too far from where I live. It’s up the coast about a half hour drive, and if and when the plant is online, ships carrying the fracked gas will travel down through the narrow fjord that runs past my village and several other small communities, out to the…

  • The Good, the Bad, and the GMO

    What in the world are GMOs? GMOs, or Genetically Modified Organisms, are living creatures whose genetic material has been altered in a lab. This could involve splicing genes from one species into another, or enhancing a seed to make it resistant to pests, disease, or harsh weather. Are they good or bad? On the surface,…

  • U.N. Sustainable Development Goals: What they are, why they matter, and how they work together to create a world that works

    I first heard about these goals when I was volunteering on a campaign for Mike Simpson, an inspired candidate who has led delegations at United Nations climate conventions. Whenever an election issue came up, he would state his position with ease, often drawing reference to one or more of these 17 goals. He described them…

  • How on Earth can we tackle microplastics?

    I used to think microplastics were only an issue in seafood. I used to be wrong. These tiny particles of plastic have been found in salt, honey, beer, and nearly every protein source, from animals to plant-based. The more processed a food is, the higher the microplastic content is likely to be. But even apples…

  • How To Be A Savvy Seafood Shopper

    It’s hard to shop for seafood these days. We hear, “Always buy wild, never farmed.” We hear, “Wild fish has plastic in it.” We hear, “Farmed fish is full of hormones and wrecks the local fish populations.” We hear, “Fish you buy at the grocery store is almost never what they label it.” We hear,…

  • The B Corporation Certification: What does it mean and why should we trust it?

    When I first started shopping with sustainability in mind, my head was swimming, wondering who I could trust and how I could trust them if I wanted my purchases to count. One buzzword I kept hearing was the B Corp certification. The more I read, the more I like and trust it as a standard…

  • Writing Letters to Politicians: Tips for Maximum Impact

    One of the best ways to make change happen is to reach the hearts of politicians to inspire them to bring changes into parliament. There are a few ways to get their attention. Writing a letter is one of them. Politicians get hundreds of letters every day. Here are some tips to make yours stand…

  • Eco-Friendly Climate Control: The Heat Pump

    We added a ductless heat pump to our home a few years ago. It was much easier than we thought it would be. For homes with a duct system already in place, it’s even easier. We added our heat pump because our home had no air conditioning, which is typical in British Columbia for homes…