Everywhere!

Change Everything deserves a Webby Award!

A little while ago I nominated our online community ChangeEverything.ca for the 2008 Webby Awards - the Internet Industry's most respected symbol of success (kind of like the Academy Awards for the internet). Last week I got word that we have been selected as one of 5 finalists in our category (social networking).

This is a huge honour and a very big deal. The other four nominees in our category are some of the biggest developments in social networking of the last year or two (Facebook for example)

The two awards we are up for are considered the most sought after awards in the Internet Industry with over 10,000 entries from over 60 countries being submitted this year alone. The list of judges who selected us as a finalist and will select the winner include

Well it is official! The winners of the 2008 Viva la Resolution contest are....

The deadline has come and gone and now it is time for you to enjoy the qualifying entries for this years Viva La Resoulution Contest and cast your vote in our poll.

Did any of you get photos of the full lunar eclipse last night? If you did, upload them to flickr and tag them 'changeeverything' so we can all enjoy them

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As of this morning 38% of you claim to be sticking to your New Years Resolutions. Why not blog about them on ChangeEverything.ca for your last chance to win $1000 in our annual Viva la Resolution contest which will close February 29th.

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events around town
It must be winter because there are so many cool events going on around Vancouver right now. I challenge you to check one of them out and blog about it!

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When I read this post by JennyWenny  about her plans to participate in the Weekend to End Breast Cancer , I immediately wanted to

I read this story over and over again and still cannot quite wrap my head around the fact that a man was beaten to death for blogging about a protest he witnessed.

Hey all, there is 12 more days till Christmas and we are attempting one final push to collect items for Spare The Cold 2007!  Remeber the items we are hoping to receive are 

Local food banks benefit and harmful waste is diverted from the garbage when we recycle our used inkjet cartridges and cell phones. So I have set up a drop off here at my office (Vancity Head Office - Main and Terminal). If you have an old cellphone or inkjet cartridge, feel free to drop it off Monday-Friday between 8am and 5pm. Make sure you mark it "ChangeEverything - Kate Dugas". forward this around, i'm curious to see how many cellphones we can collect on ChangeEverything...

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I have been happily nudging people on ChangeEverything.ca this week, it is really fun! Have you tried it?

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I have heard quite a buzz lately about a possible Carbon Tax for British Columbia. What do you think?

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According to Mother Jones, while most of us are not aware of this, biologists widely accept the fact that by the end of the century, half of all species on Earth may be extinct due to global warming and other causes. Who will survive the world's dwindling biodiversity, and why?

events around town

Check out Transit Camp!
and the good people who bring you Green Drinks each month are having a Christmas Party on December 3rd. They want to see YOU! http://www.changeeverything.ca/green_holiday_part_2007

November 24 - December 31, 2007
Heritage Christmas. Historic setting for Christmas activities. The village and farmhouse are beautifully decorated with lights and traditional ornaments for the festive season. A visit with Father Christmas in a must. Come experience the Christmas season at the Burnaby Village Museum; 604-293-6501,

Improvisational Music Workshop with Arrington de Dionyso
Saturday December 1st, 3pm-6pm $30.00
197 East 17th Avenue (@ Main Street)
For musicians of any skill level and non-musicians alike, this workshop will introduce and develop techniques and listening skills to foster and enrich the creative process in improvised music. Set in an intimite and supportive environment, participants need only bring an instument and an open mind to engage in discussion and music making in the workshop.

Today marks the one year anniversary of the biggest snowfall we had last year and the day Got Hats was born. Many of us living in Vancouver at the time were at home enjoying a 'snow day'. It was a beautiful sight, the mountains and trees and streets covered in the beautiful crystalline stuff. PJs, hot cocoa, video rentals, snow angels, snowmen, and shrieks of laughter and joy from local parks where little ones who had never played in the snow were delighted to be off school for the day. But there was a darker side to the white stuff that fell that day; local shelters were well over capacity and people were literally freezing on our streets. That was when we decided to see what ChangeEverything.ca was made of. We posted a blog on the site asking if people 'Got Hats?' and if they did, could we come collect them. In just under 48 hours the community had used the site to organize, connect and inspire each other to collect over 4000 items of warmth to share with the people living in the Downtown Eastside. I am guessing that for many of us, the year that followed has been a pretty good. For me, it was a year full of learning and growth, love and most of all abundance. I am surrounded by interesting, funny, charming, quirky, wonderfully weird people. I have gone on a couple silent meditation retreats, travelled to beautiful parts of the BC coast, attended weddings, played with new babies, hosted dinner parties and shared countless laughs with friends. Sure there have been down times, and things that seemed downright crappy have happened, but more than anything, this year I have been absolutely gobsmacked with how much I have. Recently my car was broken into twice in one week. I was struck by the realisation that I have so much that I could not account for all of what might be missing - and I hoped that whatever the person took from my car was helpful to that person in some way.This year has been abundant with changes for the people on ChangeEverything, too. We saw Envirowoman blossom into a plastic-free superhero, the hugely successful bikeshare program. And there was Spare the Cold, a project that was incubated on the pages of ChangeEverything.ca by one of the volunteers who helped me pick up all the clothes in Got Hats. Gab used the pages of ChangeEverything.ca to reach out to members of the community to collect goodies for her dream of to delivering 102 backpacks filled with everything from warm gloves, socks and toques to chocolate and lip balm to people living in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside on Christmas Day.As I write this, Spare the Cold 2007 is in full swing and is looking for people like you to donate items to make up this years care packages that will be lovingly delivered to homeless people in three Canadian cities this Christmas day. And another inspired action has begun to take root, a very special soul named Satinder has taken it upon herself to organize this years' clothing drive with all the clothing going to the shelter we supported last year with Got Hats. Looking out the window to the promise of snow, I am overwhelmed with gratitude for all I have and for all I am able to share. Lets rally the way we did last year and support these two important, loving projects.

You may have noticed something new on change pages and blog post pages. It's a little icon that we hope will pack a big punch.

Hey Change Everything community,
I would like to let you all know it's about that time of year again. Spare The Cold (www.sparethecold.org) has launched it's 2007 initiative.

we are happy to announce the winner of the changesomething contest all the causes were inspiring. special shout out to SAINTS who came in
a close second. watch for special profiles on some of these orgs in the
near future.

Voting has now closed for the ChangeSomething contest. Thanks to all who participated. We'll be announcing the winner soon...

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final round of voting is now taking place for the ChangeSomething contest on ChangeEverything.ca. There are now only 5 finalists to choose from. Get in there and vote!

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BCSEA - promoting sustainable energy

CARES - helping homeless cats

girls education international - building schools for women and girls in Pakistan

SAINTS - caring for animals with special needs

working gear - clothing men in the DTES entering the workforce

as promised we have narrowed the voting choices down to five finalists in the ChangeSomething contest. voting closes October 25th 2007. now is your last chance to support the cause you feel should get the money. where will you direct your vote?

It feels like a punch in the heart when I read about the reports of hundreds of monks being massacred and tortured in Burma. I just don't understand it. I feel helpless and confused. But my spirits were lifted a bit when I learned that people are learning about this and speaking out, over 584,000 people have already signed an online petition (organizers are hoping to reach a million this week) and an International Day of Action is being planned for this Saturday (see below).

Still, the situation in Burma remains desperate, Burma's rulers have also

we have such a beautiful city and every once in a while I am overcome with gratitude for it. this week was

the 'week in review' was delayed last week because we were busy
launching some upgrades we've been working on (if you saw that the site
was down on Friday that was what was going on.) we think it will make
your ChangeEverything experience even better. we'd love to know what

This week the 'week in review' is a bit shorter than most and that is because I am away at a wonderful conference on Cortes Island. Web Of Change is a place where technologists who are working for social and environmental change convene each year to share our work, and find ways to collaborate.

Hey All,

For those of you that remember, last Christmas an initiative called Spare The Cold blossumed.

Spare The Cold has now become an annual initiative that aims to bring Christmas to
those less privileged in our local communities, such as people facing homelessness, working in the sex trade and struggling with addictions.

the ChangeSomething on ChangeEverything contest closes Friday September 14th (tomorrow) there have been some really wonderful entries. you still have a tiny window of time to enter for a chance to win $1000 for a cause you believe in.

Do you take education for granted?

Today marks the end of the Vancity Bikeshare experiment. We feel like the experiment was a huge success and we'd really like to hear your stories. Please take five minutes to write a blog post sharing your story on ChangeEverything.ca.

I am so inspired by some of the submissions for the ChangeSomething contest so far.

I wonder what this year's storm season has in store.

This week marked the last hand off in the Vancity BikeShare experiment. If you have one, now is the time to find someone and pass it on. There are people out there who would love a turn in the experiment.

I am excited and proud to announce that ChangeEverything launched the ChangeSomething contest this week. It is such a fun twist on a traditional contest. Basically we have $1000 that we want to see go to a great community initiative. Where you come in: you log on to ChangeEverything.ca and blog about what org you want to see the money go to.

poll results from last week (for those of you who voted) answer: andorra is the country with the world's longest lifespan

this was a while ago, but it still struck a chord with me!

In 2008, the world reaches an invisible but momentous milestone: For the first time in history, more than half its human population, 3.3 billion people, will be living in urban areas. By 2030, this is expected to swell to almost 5 billion. Many of the new urbanites will be poor.

A friend sent me a link to this video. It blew my mind and I have still not really managed to get my head around it. It pretty much trumps anything I could possibly say about this week in review.

It’s my last week as Vancity CEO and I can’t help but feel nostalgic.

I never quite know what to do with this kind of information about our home. It makes me wonder, if it could talk, would it say, "I'm meeeeelting....." (planet Earth, that is)

I was delighted to come across Big Picture TV a website that streams free video clips of leading experts, thinkers and activists in environmental and social sustainability. They offer a general audience analysis and commentary from a growing number of world leaders including scientists, journalists, economists, businessmen, designers and politicians. Very progressive.
“Big Picture TV cuts out the middle man and lets the student of world events connect direct to the movers, thinkers and shakers. A not-to-be-missed site!” -Jon Snow Channel Four news presenter, UK

Wow!

deep thought for the week: is the Internet a precursor to a fully conscious collective mind? Even sitting with what that might mean, kind of makes my own mind hurt a little bit.

This is my favourite new web shopping resource du jour. Envirowoman would be proud.

now which way does it go again? does art imitate life or does life imitate art? either way, this week there was a definite case of life imitating art by way of the major motion picture Superman 'predicting' Kryptonite decades before it actually happened.

Music is so important and I would love to see this happen any takers? comment on this blog posting if you are interested

Want to save money on your next fuel bill? As of April 1, 2007, Canadians homeowners can take advantage of the ecoENERGY Retrofit to help make their homes more energy efficient.

Finally a "Green Google "

We are excited to announce that we have officially named our winners for this years 'New Years Resolution' contest! Read about how we had to change the prize so that it would be acceptable to our first place prize winner, Envirowoman and how our CEO Dave Mowat awarded her prize to her.

ChangeEverything.ca is thrilled to announce the winners of the Viva la Resolution contest!

In first place…..drum roll please…..EnviroWoman! Vowing to eliminate plastics from her life in 2007, each post tells the story – often hilarious – of her attempts to find non-plastic alternatives to a product many of the rest of us take for granted. Her blog posts invariably foster lively comment threads that become little resource libraries, pointing to plastic-free options and information.

ChangeEverything.ca has been named as one of the 'Official Honorees' in the 11th Annual Webby Awards. We are very proud!

I get stressed out enough when my friends pop up on my gmail chat and I don't feel like talking. imagine this?

I keep hearing about zipcar lately and I wondered what exactly it is. Then I found this neat little piece about it over at Kitsilano.ca pretty cool idea!

Apple has just announced that it has sold 100 million ipods. Do you think the three broken ones I have gone through count?

Legendary author Kurt Vonnegut died this week.

Go play with Peter over at BeyondRobson. He made up a fun game called Crossroad where he posts an aerial shot of a part of Vancouver and you have to identify it for a prize...fun!

We invited 10 members of the ChangeEverything.ca community to a focus group we held this week. It was so wonderful to meet some of the folks who make up this great community and hear their feedback as well as hopes and dreams for the site. It was fun and inspirational to hear all kinds of creative and smart ideas for improving the site. And we were so jazzed by the evening's proceedings that we are starting to make some changes right away! Keep your eye out for the next ChangeEverything.ca newsletter (coming soon!) to learn more about the changes we are going to be making and why. If you are not a member of the community, you will not receive the newsletter, so make sure you sign up in order to get the inside track on this stuff.

cats....
this cat can flush the toilet (I wish mine could) how smart are you?

and dogs....
thrilled that people are still talking about dog poo! (did I actually write those words? oh dear)

what kind of city do you want?

the city responds to mandatory recycling

changeeverything member Akina confesses her addiction and causes a little fizz

why in the world would entertainment giants like Viacom not want the free publicity of having their material virally marketed on Youtube? Vancouver blogger Kate Trgovac discusses this very topic here

I have a fear of flying. I always have and it sucks. By the time I leave an airport, I am usually so grateful to be coming away from the experience with my life that I never seem to even notice if there are annoying things about the way the airport is run. Jen, from Vancouver's Beyond Robson, however has more to say on the subject of YVR being a little under par.

I went to see Vancity CEO Dave Mowat deliver his Inconvenient Truth presentation this week and it was great. I was truly inspired to get active around reducing my carbon emissions in my own life. So I took the OneLessTonne quiz (Pembina Institute) and found out what I can do to generate less emissions. Turns out I am already doing a pretty good job, but it offered me a chance to see where I can improve. I feel pretty empowered and hopeful that we can turn this thing around. It does not have to be doom and gloom after all, we just tweak the way we do some things.

Ouch. I found this collection of Youtube videos that make up this boy's weblog to be painful, awkward, scary, annoying yet somehow endearing. It really was truly like watching a train wreck. Is he acting? blog about it and tell us what you think

This post made me laugh out loud when I considered how ridiculous the idea of a lawn even is. Is anyone with me? In all seriousness though, I am pleased that people are reconsidering their relationship to pesticides. My landlords first solution to any kind of pest (including unsightly dandelions) is to destroy it with chemicals. So I just don't mention that we have silverfish and I turn a blind eye to the mice under the kitchen sink.

Having just returned from a trip to California last week (I flew) this story struck a chord. I have always thought I would die in a plane crash and every time I fly, I am actually quite terrified. My heart goes out to the folks who were scared and harmed in this tragic event.

And I Ioved this video that was posted in the comments of this post, I thought it was really well done.

Vancity's CEO Dave Mowat chimes in on climate change on ChangeEverything.ca! Vancity members can sign up for a chance to attend Daves presentation of Al Gore's Inconvenient Truth. Be sure to check out this special member event bulletin

ParticipACTION is back why can't they get better t-shirts? They made us run laps around our school until we collapsed in overheated heaps in the schoolyard. I have terrible memories of participACTION from Elementary school, do you? Blog about it

When we launched ChangeEverything.ca one of the first changes was 'eliminate daylight savings time' and now it is hapenning! I bet Ben Franklin would be proud of our evolution!

This week has been a crazy week for illness. Most everyone I know has been hit with this influenza thing. As I write this I am sicker than I have been in a while and this thing moves quicky; I was only moderately unwell just hours ago. I read this morning that a child even died from it. I did not know that the flu was this dangerous.

If you haven't yet voted on our current poll about mandatory recycling in Vancouver, take a sec to do so. It'd be great if you'd direct your friends and family to the poll too, we plan to collect as many votes as we can and then present the results to City Hall. Oh and read this funny post by the 'recycling bitch'

By now you must have read Mara's story. If you haven't, I highly reccomend doing so. It is an inspiring story of stength and spirit. Also consider taking a few minutes to think about how you might get involved. Something that might seem like a tiny detail to you, could mean a lot to this family.

And this post teaches us that it is often the approach that makes all the difference. Shaking your fist at an ignorant motorist does not get the same mileage as waving the peace sign as you pinch your nose to get across your message about unnecessary idling.

There is another amazing story developing on ChangeEverything right now. Sharryn wants to change something for a Rwandan refugee living here in Vancouver while her 5 children remain in Uganda. These people have been through a living hell and yet remain strong and bright. I encourage you to read their story. You have the chance to be a part of making life-changing change happen for a family who have been through more than most of us could bear to even imagine. Even if all you are moved to do is to send a link to this story to the people you know who might be interested in learning about it, that will have its own ripple effect.
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Interestingly not a single person who voted on last week's 'tipping point' poll thought "there is no such thing, everything is fine" and the overwhelming majority thought that we are going to "reach a tipping point and things will get better". This made me feel very excited, indeed. I have been doom-and-glooming-it for a while now and it was getting pretty dark. It is nice to be moving past that and to know that I am not the only one letting go of the doom n' gloom scenario.
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The Tyee ran a great article this week on Net Neutrality. Net neutrality. Did you even know this is an issue here in Maple-leaf land? The video on this American site, sums the issue up in an easy to understand way. Basically the same threat exists in Canada, except as the Tyee says, we seem to be sleeping through the threat. And while it it turns out that who owns the internet doesin fact paint a pretty picture if we lose net neutrality - the internet, (which is not a truck incidentally) things may never be the same again.

Over the past few days, you may have noticed that some of the functionality on ChangeEverything.ca was turned off. This is because we were busy tweaking some of the things behind the scenes in order to make the site faster. On that note, if you have any feedback for us around things that would make your ChangeEverything.ca experience even better, please let us know by dropping me a line.

Hello everyone,

It's been quite some time since we've last spoken.  No I am not dead, just recovering from a insane Christmas season. 

I would like to update you all on what happened with the Christmas packages for the residence of the Downtown Eastside.  It was an INCREDIBLE success!  This a HUGE thanks to everyone that contributed to the SPARETHECOLD.ORG project!  Thanks Thanks Thanks!  All 102 backpacks held: 2 pairs of socks, deodorant, 100g jar of vaseline, hygene products a hat, a pair of mitts and treats!   

There was a lot of potty talk this week on ChangeEverything.ca - everything from toilet paper to bidets. There is our current poll, the archives of toilet paper, and one person even convinced London Drugs to stock recycled toilet paper.

One ChangeEverything-er has decided to go plastic free in 2007. From reading her posts, it seems to be harder than it sounds. But she is managing so far, in fact she even insiperd me to get rid of my old deodorant and replace it with some lovely Lush stuff that doesn't come in a plastic case.

I saw this and thought about all of our lungs. It made me decide that the folks over at the DeSmogBlog deserve and honourable mention for the blog that is working earnestly to save the world. They are working hard to clear the PR pollution that is clouding the science on climate change.

A couple of people on ChangeEverything have mentioned this site. It is useful for getting a sense of how you are doing footprint-wise. I did the survey and despite the fact that I think I am a conscientious person and was somewhat surprised to learn that we would need 1.8 planets to support us if everyone lived like me.

And these just plain old made me laugh out loud!

In a recent ChangeEverything.ca poll 61% of people thought it true that cow farts are guilty of speeding up global warming. You were right! In fact, methane is the second most significant greenhouse gas and cows are one of the greatest methane emitters. Their grassy diet and multiple stomachs cause them to produce methane, which they exhale with every breath.
According to this article, "It’s not man’s carbon footprint causing climate change but the 1.5-billion and still growing cattle population chewing cud out in farmer’s fields"

Libby Davies is hosting a 100 mile diet breakfast next Thursday, January 11 from 7:30 am to 9 am at Pondok Indonesian Restaurant, 2781 Commercial Drive (south of Broadway Skytrain). The event promises that Libby Davies, Jack Layton, Nathan Cullen, plus Ione Smith from SmartGrowth BC and Susan Kurbis, Environmental Youth Alliance will discuss the NDP Green Platform and Climate Change. It is by donation and I am going to be there!

And if you think it is critical to be able to adequately warn people about things, this is for you.

here is a collection of interesting things that are happening on ChangeEverything and in the Blogosphere at large. enjoy!

Ok folks, this one takes the cake for the most ridiculous thing I have read this week. Soy makes people gay? I mean come on....

Darren Barefoot has hatched a truly brilliant idea. Check out his suggestion for what to do with the fallen trees in Stanley Park.

And reading this article gave me the chills and made me question where I am living. A Vancouver school trustee is fighting for the right to carry a concealed firearm. No this isn't Alabama or Utah, this is Vancouver....BC.

Interested in what changed on the music scene in 2006? Beyond Robson's 'Sean' posts his top 10 albums of 2006

At the office last week we were wondering what is going on with Bob Barker these days. Turns out he has finally decided to retire Good for you, Bob. We think you deserve it.

In Vancouver this weekend, the Winter Solstice Festival

And we wanted to share this with you just because well, it is SO darn weird/cool/creepy/

Hello Everyone,
Well it's been a crazy ride! We've been extremely successful with our SpareTheCold project. This is a quick update to let everyone know that we will be packing the backpacks at DEYAS (612 Main St.) at 1pm on Friday Dec. 22nd. For those of you who are interested let me know ahead of time so we don't over load the space!

here is a collection of interesting things that are happening on ChangeEverything and in the Blogosphere at large. enjoy!

Some great entries have been started for our $500 contest! Read them and consider entering the contest yourself!

Grassmonkeyz is still collecting goodies for the 100 care packages she plans to deliver Santa-style, to some of our less fortunate brothers and sisters in the downtown eastside on Christmas Day. The magazine 24Hours covered her story. (pictured above)

We published a couple helpful articles about how to use ChangeEverything.ca, in our learn-how section

Rumour that the Skytrain may go on strike, but that might not matter since nobody can seem to get on it anyway owing to our recent wind storm.

How many people does it take to power 1500 led light bulbs?

Apparently the Province has pledged to fund more social housing projects.

And just for fun, the world's tallest man saves dolphin.

Hey Everyone,
So the 22nd is getting closer and closer and this project (Everyone Deserves Gifts AKA Spare the Cold)is become more and more of a reality thanks to the community. I would like to ask everyone who has any donations to please drop me an email at gab@sparethecold.org. If you can let me know how many items you have, which ones they are and where you are dropping them off then that would key!!! Check out a our kindly donated website (by http://www.retrix.com/) at http://www.sparethecold.org/ for the projects cool poster and info about donations!

Hey Everyone,

There has been great response for this initiative. I am so happy to see everyone coming together to brighten up the lives of people in need! As promised I have put together an inital tally-up of what people had commited to donating. So far we have:

100 out of 100 Treats (Woo Hoo quota met!!)

100 out of 100 little jars of Vaseline (Woo Hoo!!)

Hello dear bloggers,
My name is Gab and I helped Kate with the clothing drive on Nov. 28th. The response and generousity has been overwhelming. Thank you to all who have contributed to saving lives. The reason for my post today is a call out for help. I work in the downtown eastside with a couple different organization. I am working with DEYAS (Downtown Eastside Youth Acitivities Society) in the Needle Exchange Van throughout the Christmas season including Chritsmas Day. The holiday season is a especially a hard time for people in the DTES. My goal is to organized packages to hand out to people on xmas as gifts. I am trying to reach 100 packages because that is how many people I tend to see in a night. I've done some consultations and here is what was said that was most needed.