Photo by Szymon Surma via Flickr.

The colour-themed window display changed from blue to a startling black. This was no longer the time for a cheery yellow, or a come hither violet which announced itself in beautifully intricate illustrations. No, it was a display that suggested mourning: Kitsilano's Duthie Books is closing at the end of February.

It is my daily dose of design inspiration on my way to work. The highlight of my short walk after a long bus ride. The surprise, the freshness — what will they think up next? or ooh, they are incredibly clever/thoughtful/creative! and gosh, that must be fun! (Perhaps I'll take a page from their book — no pun intended — and rearrange my own every so often. But I will need more first.) I have enjoyed it day after day for over a year. I have even sometimes wondered if others watch me staring at the covers intently and ask themselves what could be so fascinating. And, as if they knew who was walking by twice a day, the staff put up design books one week and I felt giddy. I cannot think of anywhere else that has helped me discover so many interesting book covers — and potential reads. Design love aside, however, the rotating display is a highlight for many of my colleagues who are as heartbroken as I am to see it go.

I could write about how fantastic last year was for me... or I could just show you. Through my lens, last year looked, and felt, like this.

January

In January, I wrote about what I missed when I did not bring my camera, accompanied by photos taken the next day when I did. Of course, the scenery was altogether different, but no less remarkable. There was still evidence of the bewildering snowfall that lingered an unusually long time.

February must have been particularly grim as I only have blurry shots of a crescent moon riding beneath a star or planet.

March

If you're reading this you might be as last-minute with your holiday shopping as I tend to be. Admittedly my post itself is last-minute. I've done half my shopping and, this year, with each item I've put more thought than ever into what effect each will have on this finite planet. If you're the kind of giver that prefers to give an item rather than an experience, make it meaningful not just as a useful object but as one with the smallest environmental impact possible.

Before I tell you how easy it is to be eco-conscious at Christmas, you might want to know why you should:

• according to Statistics Canada, 900,000 tonnes of garbage is produced between Thanksgiving and Christmas each year
• transportion of gifts that are produced a great distance away, whether it's Califonia or China, emits greenhouse gases that pollute our air and contribute to climate change
• logging of old-growth forests to produce "virgin" paper products releases CO2 into the atmosphere and threatens animal habitat (think of the caribou and the owls!)
• conventional plastic is a petroleum-based product, which carries a triple-threat carbon footprint
• it takes resources and produces waste to make something new and to recycle or dispose of it at the end of its life cycle (which, these days, is often pretty short!)
• that regiftable stuff is better off loved by someone else than being a guilt trip in your closet for you or your kids!
• buying local supports the local economy and friends of your friends
• and more environmental, ethical and health-related reasons...

Ok, I get it. I'll be good this year. How easy is it?

Got a bookstore nearby? A Choices/Capers/Whole Foods? MEC? Independent coffee shop? Granville Island? Main St or Commercial Drive? You can make smart choices anywhere — that includes IKEA. I did not have to go out of my way to get smart gifts for my family. A bit of thoughtfulness and planning is all it takes. And do I ever feel good about it!

Here are some suggestions and tips!

I'm passing on this message from the Climate Action Network:

World leaders are meeting in Copenhagen at the UN Climate Summit over the next two weeks to negotiate a new global climate agreement.

Between December 11th and 14th, Canadians will be organizing and attending events across the country to send a clear message: The world wants a real deal. That means a climate agreement that is fair, ambitious and binding. Rallies in support of a real deal are being held in major cities in Canada and around the world on December 12th as part of the Global Day of Action.

Vancouver's participating

11am - 9pm, December 12, 2009
Vancouver Public Library, Central Branch Promenade. 350 West Georgia St, Vancouver

Join people at the VPL for a full day of climate action:

11am - Open Discussion (filmed)
12pm - Opening Ceremonies / Music
1-3pm - Speakers, Kids Programming, Theatre
3pm - Flashlight, Bikelight, Cellphone Vigil
5pm - Candlelight Vigil @ the Art Gallery
5:30pm - Candle vigil procession back to library for singing and to warm up.

Facebook event page

Visit TckTckTck.org to find out what else is going on around the world. It's also not too late to send an email to the Prime Minister to tell him you want action on climate change. Over 11,000 people already have.

Don't live in Vancouver? Find an event in your community! Don't live in Canada? Avaaz has you covered.

Update! Thanks to everyone who came out.

Our team at DSF has been working steadily for months to bring you a new website that lets you — people who care about environmental issues, sustainability, and health — share your ideas, questions, and stories about how we can all make a difference. The site also makes it easy to learn about relevant issues and take action in meaningful ways, big and small.

The design is a significant departure from our old site, which is cluttered and inconsistent. We've taken on a new strategy as well: most content is written to fit into either the Learn, Do or Share category, then pulled into project pages where relevant. This allows content to fit into two projects without duplicating pages, gives us flexibility when projects come to an end, and helps you get the freshest content. It's a more accessible approach than organizing content around our programs, and avoids dividing complex topics like climate change into single issues. Everything is interconnected.

I was criticized once by someone who didn't believe that my choice to not buy broccoli from China and peppers from California in the wintertime would make any difference. I would indeed be acting alone and in vain if everyone lacked faith in the power of the collective. After all, revolutions and rallies are composed of individual people sharing a common purpose. My argument was that if enough of us did not buy Californian peppers in December, it would affect the amount purchased by the store that carried it, impacting up the chain and so forth. It seems like a naive thought but the popularity of eating local has been growing, and with good reason. Eating local and in season offers many benefits including support of small-scale agriculture and healthier, more flavourful food. In terms of climate change, supporting local agriculture and in tandem avoiding foods — especially processed and pre-packaged foods — that have travelled a long distance make a huge impact. Agriculture is as responsible for greenhouse gas emissions as is transportation, based on a system designed around accessing foods year-round and producing these foods in large quantities to be shipped long distances.

I hope my lack of writing lately is a sign of a good social life rather than exhaustion. Here is finally my experience at the recent slow food cycle.

The gems are often tucked away at the end of a road. Like last year's treasures in Pemberton, the most wonderful spots in Agassiz's slow food cycle route lay a ways down a road or off a nondescript path you only just had to trust would lead somewhere.

At one end of the self-guided, circuitous route through Agassiz's sprawling farmland and country houses was a paradise I could not have expected. The Back Porch seemed to suggest with its name a rustic and romantic place. Greeted by dozens of bikes, we found ourselves on a farm that could have been transplanted from the artsy, organic culture of BC's Gulf Islands. A pottery studio and coffee grinding shop occupied the first outbuilding, a unique combination that was at once odd and harmonious. Antique coffee grinders (ca. 1919) sat among vintage graphic design pieces which tickled my design nerd fancy!