Hey Metro Vancouver!

I'm Alison Richards and for 30 days, starting on April 1st, 2011 I'll be monitoring and documenting my actions and activities while striving to live with the least amount of impact and creating zero waste. This interactive web site is meant to serve as a portal for your participation. Chat with me during my daily 5PM web cast or post your tips and suggestions on the Facebook page. I hope to create a ripple of change through awareness and focusing on making one small change each day.

Day Twenty One - April 21st, 2011

Totally enjoyed meeting Christina and Cara from Scraps Green General Store today. Don't forget to bring some empty containers since you'll want to stock up on their selection of personal care and household cleaning products. Organic bamboo clothing, repurposed street banners turned funky laptop bags, bottle cap earrings... you'll find something to treasure for yourself or to give as a gift. I bought peppermint castile soap, a shampoo bar and citrus chamomile tea.

Be sure to watch Live @ 5 Each Day at 5PM for updates on Alison's progress and as she shares her experiences during the 30 day zero waste, zero impact challenge.

*Earth Day Celebration*
- CODE GREEN -
Not Your Average Walk in the Park

April 22nd - 10am to 4pm
Robert Burnaby Park

FULL Details

Dear Ali chan,

GOD! Just got home from a seemingly ENDLESS walk with Dinkey who would NOT cooperate and poo! Around and around, and up and down, and back and forth until we actually got lost. That's something that's pretty easy to do in the labyrinthine back streets of Tokyo, but I haven't done it for YEEEARS! He finally did his business, and I am now happily ensconced in the big armchair (found it in the garbage two years ago!). Ding Dong has eaten his din-dins and is now finishing the cats' leftovers. Waste not, want not!

I was getting a bit cranky during walkies, and wishing the dog would stop fartarsing about and get on with things when I realized that the extra exercise was good for me. Most Japanese walk, or cycle or take the train, so you don't see many fatties over here? Is that considered politically incorrect? "Fatties"? Oh well, couch it in whatever term you're using these days, but fat is still fat! Extremely unhealthy, a burden on the health care system, and one person eating the food of two (or more!) people is a waste of natural resources! All the walking and cycling and stairs plus a good diet is what keeps us slim and trim over here! Interesting to note that the Japanese are one of the longest lived races in the world! Food for thought. LOL! Get it? It's a diet joke!! FOOD FOR THOUGHT!!! Never mind...

Anyway, I was reading the news tonight and it said that since the quake, when Tokyo's UNBELIEVABLE (and the world's busiest! Google Shinjuku Station, the station we use, and you'll see what I mean) transit system was crippled forcing tens of thousands to walk hours and hours to get home or to not get home at all, bicycle sales have soared. Good for your health, great for the environment. The humble bicycle was able to go where the trains couldn't, nor cars and buses which were stuck in horrendous traffic jams.

I haven't driven a car in close to 17 years. LOOOATHE driving!!! Such a waste of time! I'd rather sit on the train and read and let someone else get me where I need to go. This morning on the commute to uni, I went over what I need to teach tomorrow (lung structure and function), and now I don't have to do it at home. YEAH! More free time! Good for me, great for the environment.

Take public transit people! Cheaper than driving/owning a car and better for the planet. Car pool if you have to drive! Take the stairs! Butt starting to hang down and flap behind your knees? Take the stairs two or three at a time, then!!! A colleague of mine, Marsh, when we were working in one of the skyscrapers in Shinjuku, used to strap weights on his ankles, then JOG up the stairs to our office ON THE 19TH FLOOR! (He did this for years and he's in his forties!) Ride a bicycle rather than take a car whenever possible. Take a backpack when you cycle to the market, load up with fresh goodies and get a bit more of a workout on the return trip! Good for you, great for the environment!

Well my dear, time for a LIGHT supper, (leftover stew), read a bit, then beddy-byes! Hope all is well on your side of the planet. (Wish our side would stop moving!!!) Kiss, kiss...
Brent

Brent Fialka

Shinjuku is one of the 23 city wards of Tokyo, but the name commonly refers to just the large entertainment, business and shopping area around Shinjuku Station.

Shinjuku Station is the world's busiest railway station, handling more than two million passengers every day. It is served by about a dozen railway and subway lines, including the JR Yamanote Line. Shinjuku is also one of Tokyo's major stops for long-distance highway buses and city buses.