Vasil started writing her Ecoholic column for Now Magazine in Toronto in 2004 and hosts regular podcasts and Echoholic TV videos on her site, www.ecoholic.ca. "When Ecoholic first came out, environmental issues were kind of fringe," she says. "There weren't a lot of options, because consumers just weren't asking for it... Now you can get furniture made out of unproductive rubber trees at The Brick, for God's sake." Her book includes a "greenwash decoder" and a section on deciphering which of the many green seals on products are legit. Vasil is quick to acknowledge that consumer choices are only one part of addressing the environmental crisis. "Obviously we're not going to buy our way out of this mess," she says. "If your sheets are perfectly functional, don't go out and buy new organic ones."

Many of her green living tips cost less than 20 bucks, and can actually save you money in the long run. "Just putting all of your electronics on a power bar, and flicking it off when you're not using it, can reduce your energy bills by 10 percent," she suggests. "If everyone in Canada did this, we could decommission a whole coal plant." This season, throw up some caulking and weather stripping, throw on sweaters and slippers, and either turn your thermostat down or ask your landlord to do it, she adds.

Vasil also tackles more complex issues, such as when buying used isn't necessarily buying green - for example, she counsels avoiding buying that overstuffed couch from Craigslist, as much of the furniture made in the past several decades is also stuffed with polyurethane foam, carcinogenic dyes and other nasty chemicals that could stay in your system for years.

Mindful of her activist roots, Vasil tries to find ways to encourage her readers to become environmental advocates beyond the private realm, such as lobbying their MPs to make their neighbourhoods more sustainable. "I want to reach Canadians wherever they're at, and support them whether it's their first step going green or their 181st step," she explains. "If you can get them thinking about the choices they make in their everyday lives... it can segue into broader engagement."

On Nov. 10, Vasil will be in Montreal to launch Ecoholic Home and give a talk and Q&A at Paragraphe Bookstore (2220 McGill College) at 6:30 p.m.

 
 

		Write your comment on this article!

Write your comment! please follow these guidelines

Information requested in blue will remain confidential   [privacy policy] Please indicate your real first and last names.

First name :

Last name :

Your email :

Confirm your email :

Title of your comment (max. 150 characters)   Your comment (max. 2000 characters)  characters remaining       LIMIT PER PERSON : one comment per article per member. Thank you. Your comment will be read by our approval team and, if it is approved, will be posted on the website within 24 hours. It could also be published, along with your name, in the printed version of Hour magazine and on any of our partner websites. In order to present the highest quality of comments, Hour reserves the right to refuse certain submissions. Any plagiarism will entail the entire removal of the member’s profile. Hour is not responsible for the opinions expressed by the members.