Bull's eye! Organic greens and biodegradable plastic packaging.

I don't know about you, but when I buy organic greens (which is all time time), I don't feel good about the plastic packaging. Organic food and traditional packaging is an unfortunate contradiction. So I was pleased to find this organic produce from Kildara Farms that's packaged in biodegradable plastic bags. Also, kudos to Thrifty Foods for carrying this produce and Richmond Plastics for manufacturing the bags.

Yes, recyclable plastic packaging is a good thing. But biodegradable is even better. It makes me want to burry the plastic in my garden and see what happens. I can't say I've ever wanted to try that with normal plastic.

More information: kildarafarms.com

Niche is a French word. So is fleur de sel.

Problem: you move to Canada from France and can't find locally made fleur de sel that's up to your standards. Solution: learn the craft, start your own business and serve a niche. It can't hurt that the name of the island you live on has the word "salt" in its name. Well done, Philippe. For more information, visit saltspringseasalt.com.

Sauerkraut Geek!

Is it possible to be a sauerkraut geek? Yes, apparently that's a thing. Melanie, Salt Spring Island's self proclaimed geek, makes an amazing array of naturally fermented sauerkraut and kimchi. I bought some at the Salt Spring Island farmers' market and I'll definitely be back for more. What's so great about fermented foods? Check out culturalivefoods for some information about how bacteria can make you healthier. Healthier!? It's all stuff our ancestors knew about (and we forgot about). Except for the geeks.

Wheels with solar panels can power a bicycle

These people in Denmark are working on a solar powered electric bike where the solar panels are actually embedded into the wheels. The wheels charge the battery when parked, which in turn powers the bike when in motion. But don't expect this invention to directly power the wheels without charging the battery first. At least not yet.

nanoFlowcell might beat Tesla at the electric car game

A European company called nanoFlowcell is developing their Quant electric cars without traditional batteries. Instead, they have two fluid reservoirs – one for a negatively charged electrolyte and one for a positively charged electrolyte. A membrane between the two electrolytes generates a current, powering the electric motors.

This would seem to solve the three big issues with battery electric vehicles – recharge time, range and infrastructure. The electrolyte fluids can be filled-up in about the same amount of time as petrol. The first two Quant prototypes have a range of 800 kms (for the large car) and 1,000 kms (for the small car). And you would think that existing gasoline stations could be easily retrofitted to dispense the fluids since they're already in that business.

It will be interesting to see how this technology develops.

Radio in a mason jar

For those of you who appreciate clever design (and only like one radio station), this product could be for you.

Hydrostor might solve the Achilles' Heel of renewable energy

OK, back to the subject of storing renewable energy to be used when the wind doesn't blow and the sun doesn't shine. Could Hydrostor have the solution?

How to make an electric car go 1,000 miles on a charge

Could aluminum air batteries provide the solution to range anxiety with electric cars? Phinergy and Alcoa may have the solution.

How to store wind and solar energy

When the sun doesn't shine and the wind doesn't blow, solar panels and wind turbines have an obvious problem. Has Isentropic solved the problem of grid-scale electricity storage? 

How to easily fix your bike's flat tire on-the-go

Getting a flat tire when riding your bike is a real drag. Problem solved.

Elio Motors combines the best aspects of cars and motorcycles

Cars are big, expensive and use a lot of gasoline. Motorcycles are smaller, cheaper and more fuel efficient. But motorcycles aren't as safe and don't provide protection from bad weather. Problem solved.

Chocolate on a diet?

Here's the counterpoint to Beta 5's amazing cream puffs. They also make a 90% dark chocolate bar that has zero grams of net carbs (carbohydrates minus fibre) and zero grams of sugar. So for those of you who are on a low carb / low sugar diet such as the Atkins diet, this may be the perfect treat. It's also the first high cocoa chocolate I've tried that doesn't taste bitter. I wonder how they do that. Clever!

As a footnote, I should mention that the list of ingredients does include cane sugar. How can something that includes sugar indicate zero grams of sugar on the nutrition label? I'll be sure to ask them the next time I'm in Vancouver stocking up on these chocolate bars.

UPDATE: Okay, so I asked. The amount of sugar is so minuscule (less than .5 of a gram) that it is rounded down to zero in accordance with labelling regulations.

What happens in Vancouver stays in Vancouver

I was one of the people who stood in line for hours at Dominique Ansel's pastry shop shortly after he unleashed his cronut craze on NYC. It wasn't my idea to invest that much time cueing for his cross between a doughnut and a croissant, but my taste buds were glad I did.

Now, another clever idea is surfacing in Vancouver. Beta 5 is selling their new take on the lowly cream puff. This diet-busting pastry is by-far the guiltiest thing I've ever tasted. It tastes way better than skinny feels.

Heat + water = electricity

I think it's becoming fairly obvious to my readers that sustainable energy is one of my favourite topics. Here's another example. This technology has the potential to generate electricity when the wind isn't blowing and the sun isn't shining (even at night).

Sustainable produce delivery gets it half right

While I applaud spud.ca for their innovation, it's unfortunate that such a delivery service should need to exist. In a perfect world, people living in dense urban centers like Vancouver should be able to walk or cycle to their neighbourhood store and buy local organic produce. Just one suggestion here: the monster van kind of negates the sustainable theme. Electric vehicles or cargo bikes might be more appropriate delivery methods.

Korner uses technology to enhance neighbourhood watch security

Here's something clever and useful: an affordable home security system (starting at $100) with no monitoring fees. It uses a smartphone app plus your neighbours and other people in your social network to protect your home.

Hold the plastic! Butcher's Daughter deli offers boxed water.

The bottled water industry has taken a lot of heat over plastic bottles. Could this be a solution? I trust this packaging is recyclable. Kudos to the Butcher's Daughter deli in NYC for trying something different.

No anesthesia? No problem.

Anyone who has experienced general anesthesia for surgery knows that waking up afterwards is no picnic. Problem is, that's the method vets typically use to keep Rover from thrashing about when his teeth are being cleaned. But this dental hygienist / dog-whisperer in Vancouver, BC doesn't use anesthesia. I can attest that our dogs don't seem to be tormented or emotionally scarred by the process. Before and after photos show an impressive improvement, which is important, because dogs can suffer from dental problems from poor hygiene (just like humans).

TuneIn Radio iPhone app gives amazing access to online music

I'm a music lover, so I'm hooked on this iPhone app. It gives access to online radio stations, streaming music channels and podcasts from around the world. It works over WiFi so you can use it at your home or office. It also works over cellular data networks, so assuming you have a good data plan it's great in your car. In my home and office, I use it with bluetooth wireless headphones or my AirPlay compatible speakers. In my car, I use streaming bluetooth into my car's audio system. In fact, my new car came with a three month free subscription to Sirus XM satellite radio. I never used it.