a bright idea

So, a couple days ago my mom and I were talking about the environment, and my mom mentioned that she had read somewhere that compact fluorescent bulbs can't be thrown away with regular trash because they contain mercury. I don't know whether that's common knowledge or not, but I had never heard that before. I was also kind of surprised because CFL bulbs are usually touted as a major step towards being truly green, and "change your light bulbs" is always in at least the top five of all those "Ten Things You Can do to Save the Environment" lists. If people are just dumping their used CFL bulbs in the trash, and the bulbs contain mercury, then they really aren't being so green at all.

Anyway, I bring this up because today I did some research. Both General Electric Lighting and Tree Hugger confirmed that yes, CFL bulbs do contain mercury and should not be thrown out with regular garbage. There are a variety of recycling programs that are popping up throughout North America, and both sites referred to Lamp Recycle as a good source to find out where you can take your used bulbs. I didn't find that site particularly helpful (there were only four Canadian locations listed) but I was interested to discover that Ikea takes back used CFL bulbs.

GE Lighting says that each bulb only contains a tiny amount of mercury, and no mercury is released while they are in use and if they are disposed of properly. Both GE and Tree Hugger say that while the whole mercury thing isn't ideal, it's still better to use CFL bulbs over incandescent bulbs because the CFLs are just so much more efficient. They also both note that most of the mercury polluting the air and water comes from giant coal plants that are generating electricity. Therefore, the less electricity you use, the less mercury that gets spewed into the environment. And as long as you dispose your CFL bulbs properly, mercury pollution shouldn't be too much of a concern on that front.

So there you go. I found enough information to convince myself that compact fluorescents are probably still the best option, short of living without lights altogether (it's 4:30 p.m. right now and it's already dark here...living without lights doesn't feel very appealing). It does go to show, however, that more information is needed than simply telling people "Switch your bulbs." When you're doing things to solve a problem, you need to make sure you're not just making another problem (that's my whole beef with ethanol, but that's a different topic for a different time). Anyway, if anyone knows anything else about good lighting options, let me know...

a story from the vinyl cafe

So, I was not planning on writing here today at all because I have about a hundred other things I'm supposed to be doing, but I can't let this moment pass. So here I am.

Yesterday, my Mom and I went to see Stuart Mclean live for the Vinyl Cafe Christmas concert. For those of you who don't know, Stuart Mclean is a radio show host for CBC Radio. He has (in my mind) kept alive the dying tradition of radio storytelling with stories of his characters Dave and Morley. Combined with musical guests and the "story exchange" submitted by listeners, the Vinyl Cafe is entertaining, engaging and fun in a totally unique way. Many of the Vinyl Cafe stories have been published into anthologies (which is actually how I discovered them) and are truly worth reading. These stories have had me laughing out loud in my work lunchroom, on city buses, in my living room, etc. etc. I love the Vinyl Cafe, and so I was giddy when I heard Stuart Mclean was on tour with the live show. I was even more giddy when I discovered he was performing nearby and that my Mom and I scored second-row tickets!

The show was last night. It was so much fun. Stuart Mclean is an amazing storyteller. He had the whole auditorium laughing. The musical guests were amazing. He told two new stories that I had never heard before, and one old favourite.

After a story and a musical set, he was talking to the audience and asked if anyone had a student loan. I looked behind me at the audience. The theatre was packed, but not a single person had their hand up. Mr. Mclean said, "Really, no one has a student loan? Someone here must have a student loan. Anyone?" I glanced around, and then raised my hand. He saw me right away. "Okay, we've got one!" he said. "Do you have a loan?" he asked me. I nodded. He asked me my name. He said, "Okay, Alison, come on up here, then." I was so floored I couldn't move for a second. I looked at my mom, who smiled at me, and then I walked up onto the stage and stood next to Stuart Mclean(!!!!). He asked me what school I went to. He said I looked too young to be in college (I didn't get into the fact that I actually graduated last year) and then he gave me a CD/DVD of one of the night's musical guests, Danny Michel. He talked to the audience some more and found a couple of young kids, so he got me to walk through the audience and pass out CDs to both of them. Then he found the oldest person in the audience (a 91-year-old woman) and got me to hand out a CD to her, too. It was so exciting. After that was the intermission, but I couldn't wipe the smile off my face for the rest of the night.

It was such a great night. I had so much fun, so excuse me while I let the excitement get the best me: I LOVE THE VINYL CAFE!!!

let it snow!

I woke up on Wednesday morning to this view out my window:


I don't particularly like being cold, and I don't particularly like wading/stomping/tripping through snow, and I don't particularly like how winters here can last up to five months, but I LOVE the first real snow fall of the season. It's just way too beautiful not to love it, and, while I don't go running outside for a day of snow angels and snowmen anymore, it's still just so exciting in a deep-down fundamental kind of way that I was actually happy to get out of bed and walk to work in this idyllic postcard-version of winter time.

eight days and counting...

We are eight days away from Buy Nothing Day. I just wanted to get the word out now so there is still plenty of time to cancel any shopping spree plans that were in the works for that day. Make the world a better place!!! Buy nothing on November 23 (bonus points if you keep it up all holiday season...)

road trippin'

Joel and I just got home from a week-long roadtrip to Florida and back. Our actual destination was Disney World, which I know is totally hypocritical considering I won't even buy breakfast cereal from corporate giants...but I had never been to Disney World before, and the kid-part of me really, really wanted to go. I have no excuses or reasonings other than that. All I will say about it is this: despite wanting to go, I was still sceptical as to how great a giant fake world spattered with animated characters brought to life could possibly be. Well, it turns out it is so much fun. I loved how everything went so all out to make you feel like you were walking through Mickey Mouse's house and were exploring the Swiss Family Robinson's treehouse and were witnessing a pirate fight. Everything was so creative and imaginative and cool. I loved it. I'm having a hard time right now remembering why I hated Disney before this, sneaky corporate masterminds that they are. I am sure that this is all a part of their plan to take over the world. Whoever would have thought an over-the-top theme park was the way to do it?


It's been a long time since I was in the U.S. at all, and I've never been as far south as Georgia and Florida. Some things were really different than they are here in Canada. For one, there were a lot of breakfast places, like Ihop and the Waffle House. The further south we went, the more Waffle Houses we noticed. Joel and I thought this was funny since Waffle House doesn't even exist in Canada, but we counted 31 between Macon, Georgia and Orlando, Florida alone, along i75. At one point, we could see three Waffle Houses at the same time. They were close enough geographically that you could literally have stood at any one of the Waffle Houses and seen the other two. On the way home, we counted 37 along i95, between Orlando and somewhere maybe in North Carolina or Virginia. The further north we got, the fewer there were until they seemed to just disappear. Oh well. It was an interesting car trip game during the tedious 26-hour drive home.

I also thought it was harder to find vegetarian options at restaurants. We ordered pizza one night in Georgia and the only veggies they had were black olives, mushrooms, green pepper and hot peppers. Maybe it was just the restaurants we stopped at, but a lot of the time the only vegetarian options I could find were either salads (with no bacon bits, please) or - yes - waffles. There were always waffles.

People seemed really nice everywhere we went, albeit a little misinformed about Canada. One lady in Georgia asked us what airport we flew to. Joel said, "We actually drove here." The woman looked at us like we had gone mad. She said, "You drove here? You can do that? I thought you had to take a boat or something!" We thought she was joking, but she was serious. That was just kind of the way it was, though. In Canada, America is always so prominent and obvious and there. In the U.S. Canada seemed non-existant.

But you see, this is why road tripping is great - the whole process becomes a part of the trip, and you not only get to experience the destination (i.e. a big theme park), you get to discover how you get there and the very country that can create and support such a thing (i.e. the mighty USA). The week went too fast. A part of me is happy to be home. The other part of me wonders what I'll do the next time I have a craving for waffles without a Waffle House around the corner...