Canadians urged to turn off the lights for Earth Hour CBC website

Turn off your lights tonight between 8:30 and 9:30 p.m.

That's all that the supporters of Earth Hour 2012 are asking you to do.

It's easier than you'd think—fun, even. I blogged about my family's activities last year (Standing in the Dark: Earth Hour 2011) and the year before (Earth Hour 2010). The event is supposed to make us all think about our electricity use and little things we could do to reduce it.

If you'd like to have fun with just the light of the stars, you may want to take advantage of Public Star Night tonight from 7:00 to 10:00 p.m. in Fish Creek Park by the Royal Astronomical Society and Fish Creek Provincial Park (it's FREE and there will be BIG telescopes).

Click on the links below for more information on Earth Hour 2012 and events taking place in Calgary tonight:

Earth Hour events in Calgary aimed at raising awareness of global warming: Calgarians asked to minimize energy consumption for one hour on Saturday night Calgary Herald

WWF Earth Hour info page

Will you turn out the lights tonight? I'd love to hear about your Earth Hour 2012 plans in the comments below!

While I’ve never been one for New Year’s Resolutions, I do resolve to waste less food next year.

Image courtesy FoodandYou flickr photostreamFood waste has always been a hot topic in our household. One might think that my husband and I were raised during the Great Depression based on how we respond when good food is thrown out or wasted in our home (while neither of us lived through the Depression we both come from frugal Saskatchewan stock that valued not wasting food).

Eco etiquette: is wasting food a sin? Huffington Post

Our two sons went to Outdoor School with their classes this semester. One of the many things that left an impression on them was the focus on food and food waste. After each meal, every table group (of several children) would gather together all of the food left uneaten on their plates. The goal by the end of the week was to consistently make sure that there was no food gathered—zero food waste. (All four classes succeeded.)

How do we avoid food waste? For me, the most important step is to avoid purchasing too much to start in the first place. Even the smallest amount of meal planning can help individuals or households with buying only the food they will use in a certain time period. Composting organic waste means that leftover food is at least being put to good use. The City of Calgary’s Green Cart pilot will begin in March 2012 as four neighbourhoods try to collect their compostable food waste (that would otherwise go into the garbage) into green bins.

Simple lifestyle changes can reduce food waste Calgary Herald

In a world of abundance, food waste is a crime USA Today

I just discovered the University of Calgary Waste Management site, which shows an impressive push to work towards being a net zero waste campus. The same site has a wonderful checklist for anyone who wants to hold a waste free event.

Sometimes, of course, food should be thrown out for safety reasons. How can you be sure? You may want to visit the StillTasty: your ultimate shelf life guide site (or download its iPhone App), which lets you know when to keep and when to toss.

	American wasteland: how America throws away nearly half of its food (and what we can do about it) by Jonathan Bloom
	Waste: uncovering the global food scandal by Tristam Stuart

Sunday morning some friends and I had a beautiful run downtown and around the zoo as participants in the
8^th Annual Gorilla Run. It was my second year participating in the Gorilla Run, a unique and enormously fun running race in which all of the proceeds raised go to conservation efforts.

Half of the money raised goes to the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International, which sends money to support local efforts in Africa working to protect the gorillas and gorilla habitat. The other half goes to the Calgary Zoo to support their conservation efforts working directly with communities in developing countries.

If you’re interested in protecting great apes and their habitat, you may want to go to Banff this Friday, October 21 to spend an evening with Jane Goodall. Famous for her work studying chimpanzees, Jane Goodall is also namesake of a Canadian organization, the Jane Goodall Institute of Canada, that not only supports efforts to protects chimpanzees and their habitat, but also supports international environmental and humanitarian initiatives. Here is information from the Banff Centre on the Jane’s Journey event:

"Jane Goodall, acclaimed environmentalist, founder of the Jane Goodall Institute, and UN Messenger of Peace, will present an exclusive screening of Lorenz Knauer's 2010 documentary film, Jane's Journey, followed by a question and answer session."

For more information or tickets to the Jane's Journey: an evening with Dr. Jane Goodall, visit the Banff Centre's website.

If you're interested in running for gorillas and conservation at next year's Gorilla Run, go to the website and hook up with them through email, Facebook or Twitter. The run is well organized, fun and you'll be surrounded by like-minded people and get a funky running t-shirt~

← (the image on the left is from this year's shirt).