Today, we’re kicking of the SWEA Environment Challenge Contest.  If you’re a Swede or of Swedish descent living in metro Vancouver and are interested in entering our contest, which will involve filing in a short survey, please e-mail us at vancouver @ swea.org.  There are some great prizes that will be drawn at random from entrants:

As part of this contest, we’re also spreading some enviroment news, tips and sponsor messages.  Participants receive eight short e-mails through the course of the contest.  As we have a blog, we thought we’d share these messages with our readers too.

Here’s our first message and don’t forget to enter our contest:

What have you done to improve the environment this week?

Did you know that most coffee plantations rely on internationally banned pesticides such as DDT? By the time you drink your cup of coffee, most of the pesticides are gone. The pulping, processing, and roasting of the beans eliminate the majority of harmful chemicals and pesticides. The farmer, however, is not so fortunate. The spraying of coffee with harmful toxins is dangerous both for the coffee workers and for the environment.

Ethical Bean is a Vancouver based company which sells Fairtrade Certified Organic, Shade Grown coffee without the risks for the plantation workers and the environment.   It can be bought at most grocery stores including Costco as well as online.

Ethical Bean is an official sponsor of the Environmental Challenge by SWEA Vancouver.