Somehow, somewhere in the world wide interweb, a wire got crossed and the following edition of Talkin’ Trash from sometime in the future ended up in the hands of Wikileaks who, in their dedication to bringing important news and information to the public, leaked it to us.  And because we, the Editors of Talkin’ Trash, can’t resist green-stalked, onion flavoured root vegetables, we feel it our duty to share…

Still Partyin’ Like It’s 1999
(apologies to the artist formerly, and once again, known as Prince, even in the future)

Heidy-ho, UHN…hard to believe it’s the future already and that we’ve been at this for all these years.  To celebrate the passing of yet another glorious year, we’d like to take the time to reflect on all the stuff and thingies that happened over the previous twelve months:

  • UHN’s recycling rate, once again, came in at 100%.  How boring can you get?
  • The demolition and complete recycling of the Clinical Services Building was completed, and in its place the McEwen healing gardens have sprung up.  Featuring the Peter Munk Wellness Path, the gardens now play home to a host of indigenous plants…the major exception being the DeGasperis organic greenhouses, which should yield their first batch of free range coffee in the spring.  Make sure to check in at Timbucks regularly to get a taste.
  • Several players from our beloved Toronto Maple Leafs dropped by to participate with UHN staff in the 20 Minute Makeover, momentarily helping us forget that, even now way in the future, they haven’t hoisted Lord Stanley’s Cup for quite some time.  Okay, we didn’t really forget, but for 20 minutes, we pretended to.  Hard to believe that, at one point in the past, the Makeover was dedicated to picking up litter (a strange habit where people used to throw their garbage on the ground) instead of the futuristic, community enhancing event it is now.
  • A futuristically efficient light was left on unnecessarily for about 20 minutes when an occupancy sensor failed, but it was quickly turned off and repaired.
  • Due to lack of demand, several more parking spots were taken out of commission and the space converted to futuristic clean energy units.
  • What could quite possibly have been the last printer at UHN was found being used to hold open a window; the printer was sent for recycling and replaced with a fair trade window holding open stick.  For those who don’t remember printers were once used for…hmmm, I can’t seem to remember what they were used for.
  • City Council voted to make University Avenue a car free zone – not hard, since there haven’t been any cars in Toronto for many years.  Instead, the road has been dedicated to cycling, walking, roller-blading and other green commuting ways of the future.
  • UHN’s Energy & Environment department reaffirmed its vision “Enough for all…forever”.  “We know we’ve met all of our goals,” said UHN’s futuristically suave Vice-President of Energy & Environment, “but we were too busy tending to the McEwen gardens to think about another vision.”

And to think, all of this started with a few greening resolutions way back in 2011…

Happy New Year, UHN, Happy New Year.

You can never have an impact on society if you have not changed yourself.
-Nelson Mandela

The Future Starts Now Links to the Outside

  • Nature has invented thousands of wheels – who are we to reinvent them?  Learn more about biomimicry and the potential to “learn from and then emulating natural forms, processes, and ecosystems to create more sustainable and healthier human technologies and designs” at www.biomimicryinstitute.org.
  • Buildings that don’t use energy…now that’s crazy talk.  Or is it…?  www.netzeroenergyhome.ca/

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You Gotta Start Somewhere Links To The Inside (works only on UHN Network computers)

  • Okay, maybe not as exciting as high-speed bullet train designs based on kingfishers, but UHN’s Energy & Environment intranet page (http://intranet.uhn.ca/departments/enviro/) has loads of information to help you start (and continue) greening right here, right now.

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Procrastinators Rejoice Links To The Inside-Out

  • When it comes to new year resolutions, it doesn’t get easier than the Talkin’ Trash With UHN blog featuring a resolution a day for the month of January.  Get informed, inspired and all the scoop on greening in healthcare and UHN at https://talkintrashwithuhn.com/.