EPIC Homecoming (by Chris Tilley)
by Chris Tilley
First of all welcome home Matt & Steph from your 11,000 mile run. The impact that you have had on the world can not be measured. All those kids you inspired to action are going to change the world and what a wonderful world it will be.
I went to Vancouver to welcome home Matt & Steph and attend EP!C Environmental Expo. I’ll let them tell their story of how the day went. I met up with them at Stanley Park with a number of other supporters and ran the last two kilometers to the convention center. It was a wonderful weekend all around and I got to see products that I knew existed but never actual had seen and a couple that just made me go wow.
First up there were solar panels for for everything from rooftop systems to elegant hand bags that recharge your cell phone. Wind turbines for home and business, designed to be quiet. Rainwater collection systems that have come along way from the barrel under the drainpipe.(source) That’s a complete article on its own. A lot of things that would make my house more environmentally friendly but the money just isn’t available for improvements. There was a company there that finances improvements. They get you tax and grants back and charges you your energy savings as the lease payment. I need to crunch the numbers on a couple of improvements.(source)
I also met a fellow who distributes the reusable bags made out of recycled plastic bottles and puts your logo on them. We see these all over the place these day. On my last grocery shopping trip I was carrying three reusable bags all with different company logos. A plastic bag with your logo on it has a 5 minute lifespan to the consumer and 1000 year lifespan in the dump. A reusable bag will have your logo out there for a long time.(source)
One company that blew my socks off so to speak was EnviroStyles. They have reusable coated cloth sandwich bags and wrappers. These are non toxic, washable and keep the food fresh. This has been an environmental issue in our household as we used plastic bags. It bugged me that there wasn’t something better. Reusable container worked but didn’t come home often enough to actually be an improvement. These have cool designs and my son was jumping up and down as we told him what they are for and told him to pick some out. Hopefully that means that they will come home. They also have a place to write your name, just in case.(source)
Another company that surprised me was a company that looked to be selling Styrofoam clam shells. That caught my attention so I had to see what they really were. They are 100% biodegradable and compostable. Returning to the earth in under 90 days in a compost. They are made from a molded fiber pulp. They even have straws.(source)
We will be going back next year and look forward to seeing all the new ideas. Small changes make a big difference. I’m not sure how many lunch plastic bags I will save but times it out over all the school kids out there and it has to be substantial.and
Chris, it was great to see at the Homecoming. Thanks for keeping us all so well informed about some of the possibilities that lie ‘out there’.
Comment by Steve — Tuesday, May 12, 2009 @ 2:32 pm
Great synopsis of some of the products displayed at EPIC! Good seeing you again! Cheers, Shaunah
Comment by Shaunah — Wednesday, May 13, 2009 @ 12:39 am