Edition 6 | August 16, 2021
Welcome to the Green Corner!

This newsletter will keep you updated with stories, challenges, resources and myth-busting information about how you can make more environmental sustainable choices.

Want to see past issues? You can find them all on our Green Initiative webpage by following this link!
CLIMATE REPORT
In the first week of August (just last week), the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released its Sixth Assessment Report. The five key takeaway messages from the NYTs were:

  1. Human influence has unequivocally warmed the planet.
  2. Climate science is getting better and more precise.
  3. We are locked into 30 years of worsening climate impacts no matter what the world does.
  4. Climate changes are happening rapidly.
  5. There is still a window in which humans can alter the climate path - the report shows that aggressive, rapid and widespread emissions cuts, beginning now, could limit the warming beyond 2050.

And as Dr. David Suzuki said when he helped us launch our Green Initiative, "In a world of more than seven billion people, each of us is a drop in the bucket. But with enough drops, we can fill any bucket."
A STORY FROM DUNDAS
Member of the 33 Dundas team filling
up their reusable water bottle.
"At 33 Dundas, we realize that small changes in daily habits can have a huge environmental impact. Despite good intentions single use plastic water bottles often don't end up being recycled - they fly away on garbage day or if the recycling contains unacceptable items, the whole batch gets rejected and becomes garbage. And even if they do get recycled, it takes energy that could be used for necessary purposes like lighting, heating, or cooling. Now each staff member has brought their own reusable bottle that they fill from the tap and keep at their workstation. On a weekly basis, this keeps saves 30 or more plastic bottles! So simple, and yet so impactful!!"
- Lenore Dickson, Dundas FHO Administrator
We want to hear about how you are being more green in your everyday life! Email the Green Team to have your story shared in an upcoming Green Corner!
GREEN TEAMS EVERYWHERE!
McMaster Family Practice has created their own Green Team! Here are some of the members. They've gone all in and embraced our July challenge of prescribing nature. Check out those T-shirts: Hamilton is Nature!
PRIZE TIME!
How's it going?

Have you made any progress with eliminating plastic water bottles in your site? Some ways of achieving this include encouraging your team to bring in reusable water bottles, providing compostable cups for your patients and ordering our Water Bottle poster. Email us and tell us about it to enter a draw to win this gorgeous water carafe!

ALSO: have you moved forward on prescribing plants from July's challenge? Let us know because we still have a copy of the fabulous Oh She Glows cook book waiting for one of you!
REMINDER: YOUR CHALLENGE FOR AUGUST
NO MORE SINGLE USE PLASTIC WATER BOTTLES
A reminder that your August challenge is to stop using plastic water bottles.

Plastic water bottles use 17 million barrels of oil and emit 2.5 million tons of CO2 every year. There are some simple ways you can help.

Please check out our Single-Use Water Bottle infographic to learn more ways you can eliminate the need for single-use water bottles in your practice.
Need help with our challenges? The Green Team is here for you! Contact the Green Team and we will be happy to get you started!