I wasn’t there, but I’ve been told that my father’s first Christmas gift to my mother as a married couple was a set of jumper cables. Safety was very romantic back then. So I guess I come by my gift-giving tendencies honestly. I often try to mesh usefulness with the wow-factor when selecting gifts; however, it’s often not possible for a gift to be both terribly useful and ridiculously fun. Afterall, when was the last time your 16-year-old exclaimed “Thanks for the surge protecting power strip, Mom. I’m going to go plug it in right now, weeeee!” So here’s a list of useful gifts whose wow-factor comes in the form of super energy saving, earth-friendly lifespan, or completely sustainable in its creation. SMART... [Read more]

Better late than never! I had the opportunity, a few weekends ago, to attend an unconference in Toronto called Sustainability Camp. SusCamp was a full day of seminars, networking and a deliciously sustainable lunch! Here is a tidbit of what I learned in a session with Mark Federman, as well as some sites to add to your RSS reader of choice, and some interesting people to follow on Twitter. Accountability Federman talked about vision. When asking a CEO to talk about vision, that CEO could go on forever. Vision, however, is the only one of our sensory perceptions that operates at a distance and requires separation. Vision is always the future, ie, we never have to accomplish it. What kind of accountability exists with vision? Instead, Federman... [Read more]

It’s already December 1st, and despite the lack of snow here in Toronto, this past weekend saw many engage in the classic activities of preparing for the holiday season: Digging out the holiday decor, stringing lights outdoors, and of course, SHOPPING! So while we begin our wish lists and start seeking out the best presents for loved ones, let’s consider a few simple changes, BEFORE we drop the cash, that could benefit our earth this season. 1. Say no to plastic bags while shopping I know you’ve got a pile of reusable grocery bags sitting in your kitchen (and if you don’t, WHY NOT!?). Why are they reserved for groceries? Head to your favourite shop with canvas bags in tow and you can happily say “no plastic bag... [Read more]

Detoxing makes me cringe. Not because of the hardship of attempting a full detox diet, but because the last time I detoxed – introducing soy milk into my life to replace 1% – I discovered I was allergic to soy. But this is a different kind of detoxing. So I approached the panel discussion eager to hear from environmental experts, on detoxing your life. The panel discussion followed the screening of a film called Toxic Bust, which I posted about previously, and aimed to equip us with the knowledge to detox without breaking the bank. Here are the TOP 5 steps you can take to begin making toxins history: Avoid all plastics Anything made of polycarbonate can introduce toxins into your system when the plastic seeps into your food/beverage,... [Read more]

One of the benefits of SusCamp ’08 was “meeting” lots of like-minded people (I use the term meeting loosely, since most of the contacts I made were via twitter, facebook, and various blogs, rather than face-to-face chats). Through one such connection, I scored a ticket to attend Toxic Bust, a film taking part in the world’s first breast cancer film festival Breast Fest. You may wonder why this breast cancer film is relevant to Daily Tomorrow, well here’s your answer, straight from the makers of Toxic Bust. “The film raises questions about the long term health costs associated with early childhood chemical exposure revealing the relationship between degradation of our bodies and of our environment, and highlights the disproportionate... [Read more]