On halloween, as I said I would earlier, I make an Eco-Kid superhero costume and carried my trick-or-treat for rainforests box. All together I raised $10.50 . My dad is going to take the box to his office along with all the candy we didn’t want (quite a substantial amount, by the way) so that people who make a donation can take some.

A few days ago, I was appointed as my school’s (Tyee’s) first environmental minister. My friend Zoë is the president. We were talking to our principal about all our ideas for green stuff. She had this great idea for doing ‘1000 acts of green’ and making it a school challenge (I made it 1001 because it is just that little bit more exciting). Eventually the conversation moved on to the idea of having a green club. Mrs. Rosa (the principal) told us about a conference about kids who had been in the ‘family of schools’ our school was part of and all the amazing sustainability-oriented projects they were doing. She thought we could invite a few kids with a real passion for nature and the environment from each of the schools in this family to meet us at the conference, and start an inter-school environmental club. We were going to think of a name for the club and I said I had been wanting to start a kid’s environmental club for a while and had come up with the name CAN, Children’s Association for Nature. Me and Zoë were going to be the co-founders, but she said since it was mostly my idea I should be the president. So now Zoë is the vice-president.

The CAN launch isn’t the only exciting event this week–the day after the conference is the deadline for an art competitin about nature and schools.So not only do I have to prepare for the conference, but I have to make my submission(s) and organize at least 20 others in the school to do the same. There are money prizes if you get published in the book, but the coolest part is that for every entry $5 gets donated to Tyee for sustainability projects, with a maximum of $100.

I had to write a 400-word essay on a topic of my choice, and not surprisingly it had to do with sustainability. While I was doing research for a greener paint project that I will address in a later post, I came across the phrase Sick Building Syndrome and naturally I was curious as to what it was. So I did some research, and here is my essay:

The Sick Building Syndrome

       The Sick Building Syndrome (SBS) is the result of a series of negative qualities in an architectural establishment. The main variable in this problem is indoor air quality. Paints that emit volatile organic compounds (VOCs) cause serious degradation of this important factor. All industrial paints today release a minute quantity of these chemicals, but acrylics and natural plasters seriously minimize the effects of VOC pollution. Oil-based paints, on the other hand, emit tremendous amounts of VOCs compared to the latter option. Not only do these gasses contribute to the greenhouse effect when they seep out into open air, but while contained they pose health hazards to people and, if in the VOC infected building, their animal companions as well. In humans, these effects can be as minor a nuisance as a headache, irritation of the eye, nose or throat, dizziness, nausea, fatigue, odour sensitivity, etc. or as drastic as antibiotic immune bronchitis or pneumonia. As well as these copious amounts of health-deteriorating repercussions, exposure to volatile organic compound emissions can cause emotional changes such as rage, weeping, paranoia, and depression.
       There are many more components of the Sick Building Syndrome. Infrasound, since it is lower than human hearing capabilities, causes nausea and discomfort. Lack of natural sunlight causes SAD (seasonal affective disorder), some types of cancer, and schizophrenia among other things. Artificial fragrance, toxic mold, and other forms of indoor air pollution affect people in ways akin to VOCs, another form of air pollution. Poor heating or air conditioning causes the obvious problems of colds, flu, heat rash, heat stroke, and other problems associated with temperature.
       Another important element of the Sick Building Syndrome is lack of human engineering. In some ways, this encompasses all of the factors of the SBS. Absence of ergonomics, when things are not made with the user in mind, is a big problem. A building demonstrating good ergonomics would be easy to navigate, have diverse shapes and colours, be no more than four stories high unless very well done, and to most people just “have a good feel to it,” for reasons they can’t always explain. Certain shapes and colour combinations are pleasing to look at; for example Golden Rectangles and circular designs. Patterns, both complex and simple, are also satisfying to look at.
       People today and in the future should know about the Sick Building Syndrome so it can be circumvented. In a world groping for sustainability, we cannot have sick buildings.

The media of today is not made to give people a look at reality. Rather than having access to a real-life mix of funny, positive, exciting stories, mostly you get the scary, often violent ones which are not as common in real life as the latter. Most media makes people feel like they are helpless and can do nothing and that they should support thier current government, no matter which government it is. If you saw ordinary people coming out with sustainable breakthroughs, succeeding to protect a wildlife reserve, etc. on TV, you would be more likely to have enough self-esteem to do the same. That’s what I am trying to do with this site; I am trying not to put people down in the environmental doom and gloom but rather to raise them up and make them feel like they can make a difference.