These are strange times we’re living in, to be sure.  So much about our way of life is changing in shockingly non linear ways. 

As a student of biology and consciousness, I have come to understand that life flourishes only within narrow limits of size, density, chemistry, temperature, light, rhythm, love, and environmental integrity. 

And as a therapist working with babies, I think a lot about what kind of a world they will create, and are growing into.  

For these reasons, I believe that the goal of ‘sustainability within a generation’ as promoted by the David Suzuki Foundation represents one of the greatest moral  and spiritual imperatives of our time, and is easily achievable if we can each, individually, make some voluntary changes to the way we live.

I began about ten years ago to take some baby steps towards sustainability by selling my office based clinic - a 30 minute drive from home - and my car, to work from a purpose built home based clinic.  We took great care to build our home clinic sustainably, with renewable and non toxic materials. 

In addition to changing light bulbs, installing a high efficiency furnace, and sourcing more local organic food, I made a further commitment to reducing my carbon footprint by partnering with several  innovative companies for the clinic’s electricity and computing needs: 

Bullfrog Power is a Canadian green electricity retailer that, for a premium, supplies electricity generated by wind and low impact water sources. 

This website is hosted at MacHighway, an American web hosting company who themselves are powered by a similarly green energy supplier. 

OnlineDisclaimer is a British database linking service providing an alternative to e-mail confidentiality and disclaimer notices, so that printed emails are shorter.

Snacks and filtered water, both cold and hot for tea, are available in the waiting room.  We encourage you to bring your own permanent cups, or you can use compostable cold cups derived from corn for water,  and biodegradable ecotainers for tea.

In lieu of payment for snacks and tea, you can donate to a program we love to support called the New Leaf Yoga Foundation, which teaches yoga and meditation to incarcerated and at-risk youth.

And, though I don’t have a great deal of faith in party politics alone, I have been a long time supporter of the Green Party.

And closer to home, Wayne Roberts has pioneered a wonderfully local / global approach to food security based on the four ingredients of health, joy, justice and nature.

These token steps, it could be argued, probably won’t make much of a difference in the grand scheme of things, but cynicism is perhaps the most poisonous toxin known to growing beings, and, on the other hand, change is most evolutionary when it is conscious, welcomed, viral, cumulative, and catchy.  Hundreds of millions of people around the globe participated in Earth Hour this year, and over 30 million ‘acts of green’ were undertaken on Earth Day.

If this interests you, also check out a fascinating 20 minute presentation called The Story of Stuff, and for a diverse array of intelligence and innovation, watch the remarkable compendium of 18 minute TED lectures.

-Mark

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world.  Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." - Margaret Mead