Awards season is upon us and I have one special film for your consideration…

Fast forward a few hundred years into the future. What would life on Earth look like? Actually, there would be no life on our dear planet, or so goes the premise of Pixar/Walt Disney Picture’s inventive film WALL-E.

One lone robot roams the desolate Earth, compacting and stacking piles of trash left by wasteful humans and the mighty multi-national Buy ‘N Large corporation. Incredibly, the first 30 minutes of the film features no dialogue, as we follow WALL-E going about his daily routine in a wasteland.

Yes, WALL-E is a cautionary tale about mass consumption and greed, but it is also a story about following your heart and overcoming great adversity. (WALL-E may also be the best date movie of the year…)

The film makes environmental problems relevant and accessible to a wide audience in a way that serious enviro-documentaries like An Inconvenient Truth and The 11^th Hour could not. The charming leading robot speaks to the shy and hard-working soul who seeks companionship and a meaningful existence. WALL-E just wants to live in harmony with all living things in the universe.

The film just picked up a Golden Globe for Best Animated Feature and has been nominated for six Academy Awards, including Best Animated Feature and Best Original Screenplay. The nod for screenplay hints at the Academy’s strong appreciation of the film, but the fact that it didn’t get shortlisted for Best Picture annoys me.

Since the Oscars instituted the Best Animated Feature category in 2001, no animated film has been nominated in the night’s biggest category. Even though the Academy claims a film can get the nod in both, many believe (including me) that psychology keeps voters from counting a film twice at the expense of another fine film.

What do you think?

Dear Good People of Ontario,

You’ve waited a long time for this. You’ve wanted a dependable resource that not only tells you what to do with old paint cans, antifreeze, batteries and other hazardous materials, but tells you the nearest place to take them.

Stewardship Ontario’s new online resource www.dowhatyoucan.ca can tell you where the nearest depot is, including more and more retailers like Home Depot, RONA and Jiffy Lube, not just municipal take-back sites.

Go to dowhatyoucan.ca and type in your postal code or municipality. You’ll find out which products you can return and where.

BUT…do note that this online resource is a work in progress. Currently in phase one, the program allows for returns of paints and coatings and their containers, solvents such as thinners for paint, lacquer and contact cement, paint strippers and degreasers, used oil filters, oil containers of 30 litres or less, single-use batteries, antifreeze, propane tanks, fertilizers, herbicides, insecticides and pesticides.

The next stage (up by the summer) will include more items such as aerosol containers, fluorescent light bulbs and tubes, switches that contain mercury, thermostats, thermometers and barometers.

The last phase will address items like corrosive cleaners such as ammonia, and pool and photo chemicals.

Thanks to Keith McArthur for the tip and for reading ecoblogist!

I spent a few days with my grandparents over the holidays, and had a great time sharing stories, meals and laughs. My grandmother just turned 86 and my grandfather will be 90 in five months. They are both healthy and active, real examples of vitality and longevity.

Henry and Lydia celebrating their 65th wedding anniversary

I’ll admit there was a downside to the visit, and it involved an old uncomfortable sofa bed that really should have been retired thirty years ago. But laying awake at night on the springless springs got me thinking. How many things in this house had been salvaged, reused or passed along? The sofabed was acquired from a friend of theirs, my grandma still uses her first-ever hair dryer, and when there was a 1/4 cup of coffee left in the pot, my grandfather made me drink it because “we shouldn’t waste it.”

It would seem my grandparents have a conservation ethic. They do not replace their appliances when a new one comes along, nor do they approve of wasting any food. BUT, is it practicing conservation when your appliances are so outdated that they are actually consuming more energy to operate?

Some folks will never warm to the idea of spending money on brand new items even if it means conserving energy, water, or fuel. But next time you make a consumer choice, try asking yourself the following questions:

Do I need this new product?
What will I do with the one I am replacing? Can someone make use of it? Can it be recycled? Can it become something else, maybe a craft project?
Could I get the same product second-hand?
Will this new product help me save more electricity/power or water?
What are the environmental standards (and business ethics) of the company who produced the product?

Finally, if you are ever unsure about whether or not you should hop on a plane to visit your grandparents (or your grandchildren), always go with yes.