I did a story for CBC News in Vancouver today that’s already getting a bunch of comments on our site. It’s about phone books being delivered that aren’t wanted, and what companies are doing about it. Not one but two thick business directories arrived on Vancouver doorstops a few weeks ago. I didn’t think much [...]
Posts from ‘February, 2009’
Talking trash with the Clean Bin Project
I spent yesterday morning with the people behind The Clean Bin Project, Jen and Grant. As I showed in my CBC story (video link) last night, they haven’t taken out the garbage in seven (!) months. They’re buying almost nothing, except food, and even with edibles they’re following strict rules to reduce packaging and waste. [...]
Could composting be the new recycling?
We started composting at home about two years ago. I had been resistant: the smell, the slop, the fruit flies. My only previous compost experience was a big rotting pile at the back of a Kits rental that itself seemed to be returning to the earth. But a friend who goes through a lot of [...]
Coming up: Storytelling for scientists
I’m giving a talk next month to a group of health science graduate students, on how to communicate their work in the media. I’m no expert, but I have worked in both worlds, and understand a bit about how they often clash. Both sides have work to do. For example, many (most?) reporters will cover [...]
On code, poetry and trying stuff out
[This is a post about making this site, so ignore if you're not into that.] This site is built using the blog tool WordPress. If you’ve never heard of it, neither had I until I went to Northern Voice last year. (Besides all the WP evangelists, founder Matt Mullenweg was the keynote speaker.) The funny [...]
Cleaning the peanut butter jar
Update: Thanks to @marklise, @nolanzak, @davejohnson, @ChrisParry and @eco_smart for their suggestions via Twitter! If you have a suggestion, let me know. I’ll admit it, I was a little resistant to taking on what are generally called “consumer stories” on my beat as an environment reporter. (Find out why after the jump) But my editors [...]
Welcome
I’m a journalist based in Vancouver, Canada, currently working as the environment reporter for CBC News Vancouver. One thing I’ll do here is post about the stories I’m reporting. They range from newsy, like the crash in recycling commodity prices, to the more citizen/consumer focused. For example, I recently did a piece on the messy [...]