Take a Greener Vacation

Vacations vary greatly on the impact that they can have on the environment. Backpacking in the woods would cause significantly less carbon to be produced than flying halfway around the world. Here’s five tips to make your vacation more environmentally conscious.

The list is clearly focused on Americans, but this is one that can apply to the planet:

4. Find A Green Hotel

This may seem like a monstrous task, but it’s not– check this registry of environmentally friendly hotels. They’re standing ready to assist in your eco-escape, conserving waste, and committed to reducing their toll on the planet.

Put Your Fridge Outside

I’ve always found it fascinating that in Canada we don’t have a system in our houses that use the naturally cold air outside (during the winter of course) to cool our fridges. I’m not the only one who has wondered this.

World Changing has wondered this as well:

“…designed to provide such free cooling for walk-in coolers, freezers and cold storage warehouses. The system utilizes an electronic controller to finely tune the operation of standard refrigeration equipment, and this controller simply monitors the outdoor temperature and desired temperature settings and stops refrigerator evaporator fans when not needed, which also reduces the compressor’s refrigeration load. Proper airflow is maintained when the evaporator fans switch off by operating one or more energy-efficient circulating fans.”

Amsterdam Wants to be Known for Sustainable Transportation

Like a town in Sweden, Amsterdam wants to be known for it’s greenness. The city council has decided to show the uniqueness of their beautiful city by being the exemplar of sustainable transportation.

The Netherlands – Amsterdam, the world’s number one cycling city with some 60% of all trips in the city centre made by bicycle, wants to turn into the world’s centre of expertise on sustainable mobility. A program to reach that goal was launched on Tuesday.

Amsterdam City Council and various Amsterdam businesses and organizations have joined together in a platform for sustainable mobility: Amsterdam Cycling to Sustainability. A declaration of intent was signed on Tuesday 1st April by Councillor Tjeerd Herrema and the initiators Jos Louwman of MacBike and Pascal van den Noort from Vélo Mondial. Prominent Amsterdam businesses and organizations such as the RAI association, JCDecaux, the Amsterdam Innovation Motor, the Fietsfabriek and Mister Green, also signed the declaration of intent.

Sustainable mobility will ensure that Amsterdam maintains its accessibility and quality of life. Amsterdam is on the right path. Bicycles are widely used in the city and there are all sorts of positive initiatives in the field of sustainable mobility. There is, however, a lot still to be done which is why the Amsterdam City Council and various Amsterdam businesses and organizations are working together to promote sustainable mobility in Amsterdam.

Check Marks to Save Lives

An article on the CBC’s website today mentions that intensive care units in Toronto will be using a checklist to ensure the best medical care for patients. Yes, a checklist.

It’s one of three ICU checklists Dr. Damon Scales has adopted in his Toronto hospital.

“When I tell people about these things they sort of have the reaction of saying, ‘How could you ever forget that?’ said the clinical associate in the department of critical care medicine at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre. “But this is a busy place with complicated patients and these are the kinds of things that can get lost in the shuffle.”

It’s such a simple solution that most people don’t think the checklist is real. In December the New Yorker ran an article on how checklists are the best thing to happen to medicine since, well, seemingly forever. The New Yorker article is a great read.

Paris Airport to be Powered by Water

Orly Airport, outside of Paris, will be using geothermal energy to lower their carbon footprint. They’ll drive two 1.7km long pipes into hot water that is below the surface of the airport.

“We have the unprecedented luck of having hot water below our feet that can heat a large part of Orly without CO2 [carbon dioxide] emissions. We are the first airport in Europe to do this,” Pierre Graff, who is chairman and managing director of Aeroports de Paris (ADP), said on Wednesday.

The project, launched after a technical and financial feasibility study, will cost 11 million euros (17.27 million dollars). The Orly-Ouest terminal, part of Orly-South, the airport’s Hilton Hotel, and two business districts will be hooked up to the system from 2011.