Oprah has turned the world onto Eckhart Tolle, the Vancouver-based author and spiritual teacher. Oprah, always the star-maker, picked Eckhart’s latest book, A New Earth, for her book club; Tolle has also joined her for a free 10-week internet seminar. In the three years since A New Earth came out it has sold a half-million copies. Now with the “Power of Oprah,” Penguin, the publisher, is printing a million copies a week to meet demand. eckharttolle.com
Women with breast cancer can now navigate their way through the disease on the internet. Created by the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation (BC/Yukon Region), the new website offers an interactive online navigation map that allows women to equip themselves, in the privacy of their own homes, with the tools to make informed decisions about how to proceed through their journey with breast cancer. Each stage is accompanied by short videos of survivors talking about their experiences and offering advice. breastcancernavigationmap.com
Betty Krawczyk has been named “one of the 150 people who have shaped B.C.’s story” by Victoria’s Royal B.C. Museum. Krawczyk, the 79-year-old environmental crusader who did 10 months’ hard time for protesting highway construction on West Van’s Eagleridge Bluffs, is also running for mayor of Vancouver under the Work Less Party banner. bettysearlyedition.blogspot.com
Vancouver Film Studios is the first facility of its kind in Canada to go carbon neutral. After a year of planning and preparation, VFS now boasts, among other initiatives, energy-efficient light replacement programs for offices, reduced temperatures in vacant stages, LCD screens (in place of plasma screens), and a composting program for kitchen scraps. To achieve carbon neutral status, VFS corporate practices underwent rigorous analysis by Go Neutral Now Consulting. vancouverfilmstudios.com; goneutralnow.com
Derek Gent is the new executive director of the Vancity Community Foundation. Gent was an investment manager at Vancity Capital for the past seven years. Before that, he was the first manager of social responsibility and community at Coast Capital Savings. Gent steps into his new role April 1.
Vancouver-based neurologist Dr. John Stewart is donating part of his pay to build healthy communities in Africa. By signing up for Canadian Physicians for Aid and Relief’s Third Annual World Health Day Challenge, Dr. Stewart pledged to donate a portion of his income to support development work in rural African communities. Dr. Stewart is one of 25 doctors and health practitioners in Canada who’ve risen to the Challenge. World Health Day is April 7. cpar.ca
A new store in Kits invites you to indulge in some feel-good spending. The recently opened The Bright Side is Canada’s first “Genuine Neighbourhood Shoppe” (a store that originated in New England) and it carries exclusively the “Life is Good” brand of organic cotton clothing, sustainable housewares, non-toxic, recyclable doggie toys, and much more. Visit 3036 W. Broadway, lifeisgoodvancouver.com .
Tickets are on sale for the brand-new Pemberton (music) Festival July 25-27. Headliners include Nine Inch Nails, Jay-Z, Coldplay, and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, but what we really love about this fest is its commitment to being green: cars arriving with four or more people will park for free, Pemberton Valley-grown food will be served throughout the 360-acre festival site, and a farmers’ market, where local growers can sell their goods directly to concertgoers, is in the works. pembertonfestival.com
Vancouverites yearning for simpler times and greener transportation will get the best of both worlds when they hop a streetcar to get between Granville Island and Second Avenue. As part of the preparations for the 2010 Winter Games, the City has approved the replacement of rail tracks between Granville Island and the future Olympic Village SkyTrain station. The City is also hoping to develop a Downtown Streetcar Demonstration Project, using modern streetcar equipment, for the Games. vancouver.ca/streetcar
Want to be Power Smart? Then let BC Hydro light the way towards cutting energy use in your home. Till April 30, Hydro is offering in-store discounts on compact fluorescent bulbs (CFLs) and ENERGY STAR light fixtures. To find participating retailers, see bchydro.com/powersmart/cfl/cfl8605.html .
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