By the Light of Moon

I know it is cold today but it might be a great night to get out and do some snowshoeing. The moon is full tonight and according to National Geographic it will be the biggest full moon of 2010. Looking out my window right now it appears as though it might not be that cloudy later so there should be lots of light to wander by. The weather forecast is calling for a frigid cold night though so be sure to dress warm and carry extra layers. For safety carry a flashlight, candles, matches, and some extra food and water too.

GWC Update Week 4

It is week four of my Green Weight Loss Challenge and things are now moving along smoothly. It is taking less for me to convince myself to walk into work and I even walked in through a snowstorm this week. I have to admit though I was offered a drive and took it after getting about half way there on foot. One day this week I could have made $1.15 collecting redeemable beverage containers. That is 23 cans/bottles randomly thrown out along the Main Streets in Sussex. That is a bit dissappointing. To add to this, if Tim Horton Cups were redeemable I would likely have made $100s of dollars. I truly think this is something that should be considered. I am sure those who eek out a living collecting redeemables would appreciate it and move up highly in the earning category.

I have now walked to work 15/20 days and lost, are you ready for this....5lbs. No change from the week before, I know, but I ate a couple of large meals this week, including two on the road.

So my total mileage saved on my car is up to 72km, resulting in 17.06kgC taken out of the atmosphere.

Week Three of the GWLC

My Green Weight Loss Challenge is now entering its fourth week and I am pretty happy to say that I have started to notice some weight loss. From my starting weight of 206lbs I am now down to 201lbs. I weigh myself on my home scales in the evenings. I simply wanted to make that consistent and I tend to remember it better at night than in the morning. I have managed to walk to work 11 out of 15 days so I am pleased with that. I feel more energetic, more peaceful and if not for a bit of a cold, I would likely be able to sleep better.

So on the Green side of the challenge, my walking to work has reduced my carbon emissions by approximately 12.51kg to date. Again to review the formula I take the number of days walked to work (11) multiply that by the distance walked each day (4.8km) and multiply that by the kilograms of carbon my car emits per kilometer (0.237kgC/km) so the end formula looks like this - 11dys x 4.8km/dy x 0.237kgC/km = 12.51kgC.

My next step in this challenge is to find out how much 1carbon credit is worth and whether or not you can receive payment for partial credits. As I stated in last weeks up date I would have to walk to work for 4years before recieveing a full credit, so I hope it is worth lots :)

Green weight loss challenge

Ok so it is the end of week 2 of my, what I call, "Green Weight Loss Challenge" and I have to say it is more difficult than what I first thought it would be. We are a single car family and therefore walking to work is not always feasible as I may have to go pick up the kids somewhere or what have you. I also find I am missing the physical act of actually driving a car. My goal is to walk to work 4days a week and so far I have walked 7 days over two weeks. Not bad but I can do better. The walking is not hard, in fact I rather enjoy it, but it is not resulting in any weight loss. As I stated in the introductory blog about this, I don't want to change my eating habits all that much, but I think maybe I have been eating more because the walking makes me hungrier. So I need to make an effort to eat the same calories I was eating before I started the walking.

The green part of the challenge was to monitor my carbon footprint reduction. This is where a fair amount of mathematics comes in. According to Offsetters my car would emit approximately 4734kg of carbon annually based on 20000km. This equates to 0.237kg/km, meaning that for each trip I don't take to the office I reduce my carbon emissions by 1.136kg. For trading purposes 1credit=1tonne so I only have to walk to work another 873 times or for another 4+ years to get one credit.

When I put it that way, this challenge becomes more and more challenging. I have to find other ways to reduce my carbon emissions.

So to sum it all up:

Weight loss to date....................................................0lbs

carbon reduction to date (7 x 4.8 x 0.237)............7.96kg

A Two-fold Challenge

Recently I have embarked on a two-fold challenge. One is a physical challenge and one is an environmental challenge. I want to let you know about this challenge as it might interest you. So what are the challenges?

The physical challenge I am taking up is to walk to work at least 4 days a week. I live approximately 4.8km from my office and it takes me almost an hour to make it to the office. My goal from this physical challenge is to lose some weight and tone my body a bit more. I will not be changing my diet or my life style significantly as I love food. I hope to lose some weight simply by burning a few extra calories.

The environmental challenge is to walk to work 4 days a week. I live approximately 4.8km from my office and this will save me fuel and reduce my carbon footprint. As an environmentalist it is important to me to take this step and I hope to monitor my progress and tally my carbon credits. I don’t know a great deal about this process but I am hoping that as I learn so to will those who follow my blog.

This one activity has a significant impact on two main themes in my life; active living and environmental conservation. I hope that through this exercise that I can demonstrate to myself and others how easy it is to reduce my carbon footprint while living a healthy lifestyle. The final equation will show total weight loss as an equivalent to carbon credits.

Stay tuned and get active for the environment.

Dairy Town Classic reminder

Recently I wrote about watching sports and in that blog I mentioned the Dairy Town Classic High School Basketball tournament. Well that tournament takes place this weekend. This would be a great way to support youth sport in our community. This years tournament features both boys and girls teams, with a total of 6 teams in each division vying for the Milk can. This tournament brings a fever to Sussex and I bet the school is buzzing already in anticipation of what will happen this year. The DTC committee should be commended on making the needed changes to bring this feverish tournament back.

It promises to be a very entertaining weekend filled with lots of cheering fans and athletic drama.

Good luck Sonics.

What a game

My last blog was about watching sports and how it can be active. When I wrote that blog I was thinking about watching a game live. Last night I watched as the IIHF World Junior Championship Game played on TSN. I got excited and did some screaming while my wife was trying to put my daughter to bed. I couldn't help it. What a game to watch. I didn't really like the final results, but the Canadian Juniors showed character and man what a game to watch.

My hats off to the under twenty team for a great tournament and to Saskatoon for a brilliant show. Now to get ready for the Olympics.

ON TOP OF THE WORLD. USA is No. 1 in junior hockey for the first time since 2004. Photos: Vinnick-Manor / HHOF-IIHF Images

Watching can be a sport

I like to be active and be the one taking part in most sporting activities. If there is a game going on I like to be a participant. Every now and then though, it is nice to sit in the stands and watch a game. Recently, I had a chance to take my son to his first hockey game, and it reminded me just how fun it was to sit and watch a game. From the simplicity of watching the zambonies clean the ice, or chanting simple cheers, it is all enjoyable. You might even say that watching is as much exercise as playing…depending on your level of fan participation.

In Sussex we are blessed to have many sports to not only play but to watch as well. High school level athletics is very entertaining and anyone who has watched a Dairy Town Classic basketball game can attest to this. This tournament by the way is coming up January 14-16th. If you have watched the Sonics take on the Blackcats for the championship you have seen some incredible intensity and passion. Sussex Regional High School has football, soccer, field hockey, baseball, and hockey teams which compete at very high levels and watching a game with students who simply want to have fun is an experience in itself. For schedules contact the school at 432-2017.

Hockey fans can also cheer on local athletes by taking in a Kings County Hockey League game. This is probably the highest level of hockey being played locally and the rough style of play is very entertaining. Add to that, the relatively cheap cover charge, it is a great night of entertainment. This is also a great venue to introduce your young child to hockey, as a way to gauge his/her interest in playing the game.

Thanks to Jim and Chris Andrew of Tim Horton’s I was able to take my son to another level of hockey. The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League is arguably the highest level of hockey in the Maritimes and we were able to watch one of the top teams in the league play. Living in Sussex we can easily travel to watch the “Seadogs” play in Saint John or the “Wildcats” play in Moncton. The venues are bigger and it is a much bigger presentation than what you might receive at the Eighth Hussars. Usually there are substantially many more people at these games adding another level of fan participation to the atmosphere. This makes it easier for you to take part and not feel at all foolish. If you can avoid the snack bars, I bet you could even burn lots of calories and consider watching the game a form of exercise. Many players call their home fans an extra player, and as someone who used to play at local levels, I can remember feeling an extra boost in front of large home crowds so in essence fans are playing.