¶ Published Tuesday, March 31st In Design & Features, Miscellaneous - No Comments »
Some people say the printed page is on a slow, inexorable, march towards death, we tend to agree. However, there is still hope in the dismal newspaper world. The video below demonstrates how taking a design centered approach to a newspaper can help it beat the technology revolution; the designer in question, Jacek Utko, looks at a newspaper as one complete work – as opposed to a series of articles. He then applies fabulous layout, typography and consistency to produce a product people want to purchase – what a crazy idea! His main point is this, “Any industry, no matter how dull andRead the Rest…
¶ Published Friday, March 27th In Environment - No Comments »
George Monbiot remains unconvinced by the latest in green miracles: biochar, a form of carbon capture, long ago discovered by indigenous people of the Amazon who used it to create fertile dark earth.
¶ Published Thursday, March 26th In Environment - No Comments »
A recent story by Bloomberg News indicates Exxon, of the infamous Exxon Valdeez, is still using single hull ships to move oil around the world. In fact, they used more single hull vessels last year than the next 10 oil companies combined.In their defense, Exxon saves money with this practice Exxon saved an estimated $18 million last year using single-hull vessels, based on the number of times it hired such ships multiplied by 2008 rental rates from Drewry Shipping Consultants Ltd. and average durations compiled by Bloomberg. Hiring a double-hull replacement for SeaRiver Long Beach for a year would haveRead the Rest…
¶ Published Thursday, March 26th In Miscellaneous - No Comments »
I have already blogged on the pitfalls of enterprise software, but for our 100th post, I thought I would return to the subject. Last week, we attended the AMERICANA tradeshow and conference where we met prospective clients. Many showed interest. Now the question becomes, how do we efficiently convert those interested people into paying clients? They realize we offer a solution, we know they have a problem, but how much time should we devote to speaking with each potential client? The more time we spend time selling, the higher our operating costs, the higher our costs, the higher our price.Read the Rest…
¶ Published Monday, March 23rd In Miscellaneous - No Comments »
The Local Government Association, a UK government agency, has created a ‘blacklist‘ of words for council communication. The list includes items like ‘Capacity Building’, ‘Worklessness’ and some more dubious ones such as ‘Capacity’ and ‘Bottom-Up’. Generally speaking, a list of banned words seems like a good idea, it forces you to rethink your sentence structure and how you explain initiatives or concepts. In an attempt to sound smart or forward thinking, organisations use abstract terms to explain simple concepts. Capacity Building? How about teaching and learning? Management and Sustainability consultants, too often, rely on complicated terms to upsell their servicesRead the Rest…
¶ Published Friday, March 20th In Announcements, Environment - No Comments »
Just came across a great plain language version of ISO 14001:2004, definitely our cup of tea. For example, the plain language version of the two sections relevant to Nimonik (section 4.3.2 and 4.5.2) are clearer, though slightly longer, than the official version. Nimonik has two partners who can help you get up to speed on ISO 14001 without all the paperwork. In Toronto, contact Shirley Segev (shirley@greenmark.ca) who works with Green Enterprise Toronto. Outside of Toronto, visit our friends at ISO 14000 store where they offer useful documents and tools to build your own EMS or go DOWNLOAD some free EMSRead the Rest…
¶ Published Friday, March 13th In Environment, Legal Issues, Miscellaneous - No Comments »
The minister of the environment (MOE) of Ontario, John Gerretsen, just spoke at an Ontario Environment Industries Association (ONEIA) event in Toronto. He discussed a number of things, but focused mainly on the Green Act and it’s implications for the Ontario economy. Clearly a forward thinking man, he insists the environment industry will play a large role in any economic recovery by offering practical solutions with quicker than expected payback periods. Specifically, the Green Energy Act proposes to have a one (1) permit system to help projects cut through the red, or as the minister calls it, green tape. RightRead the Rest…
¶ Published Friday, March 13th In Environment - No Comments »
Ontario’s new cosmetic pesticides ban takes effect April 22, 2009. Changes to Ontario’s Pesticide Act come into force will prohibit the sale and use of pesticides for cosmetic purposes on lawns, gardens, parks and school yards, including many herbicides, fungicides and insecticides. Over 200 products and 80 pesticide ingredients are affected. Some exceptions apply to agriculture and forestry. Details can be found here.
¶ Published Friday, March 6th In Environment - No Comments »
One thing about the Conservative government in Ottawa: they’re comfortable with the notion of law enforcement. You might have heard that under a new federal Environmental Enforcement Act introduced this week, corporate polluters would risk multi-million dollar fines — as high as $6 million. Even smaller companies would be exposed, albeit to lesser fines ($25,000 to $4 million). If passed the new law would also subject them to a public shaming by creating a registry for Canadians who want to check their environmental records. Its adoption would amend nine existing laws, principally the Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA), to harmonizeRead the Rest…
¶ Published Wednesday, March 4th In Environment - No Comments »
There’s an interesting debate forming around NAFTA and environmental protection laws. Dow AgroSciences LLC, a subsidiary of U.S. chemical giant Dow Chemical is suing Canada for more than CAD $2 million in damages under NAFTA. Why? In a move well received by environmental groups, Quebec has prohibited the sale of 2,4-D, a widely used herbicide, in the province. Dow claims the ban lacks scientific support and amounts to an “expropriation” of its business in the province (many Dow products contain 2,4-D). Dow is not the first to use NAFTA’s dispute-settlement provisions to attack public health measures. In his column today,Read the Rest…
¶ Published Monday, March 2nd In Design & Features - No Comments »
We just launched a new topics menu. It makes moving around the site a whole lot faster. Check out the video below to get a demonstration. We hope you enjoy the new menu. (High Quality here)
