From the November/December 2007 issue of E The Environment Magazine, Volume XVIII, Number 6, www.emagazine.com, page 12:
THE GREENING OF LAS VEGAS
Las Vegas is all about the "experience." In a city focused on spontaneous and gluttonous consumption, the trick is to keep the tourists entertained and the green innovation transparent, or the city will undermine its sole reason for being. But, with environmental concerns now looming large, even Las Vegas is looking to replace the Luxor beam with compact fluorescents.
"The bigger question is, do we even need a Luxor beam?" says Steve Rypka, president of GreenDream Enterprises, a Las Vegas green living consulting firm." Las Vegas has worldwide recognition. How wonderful it would be for the city to be seen as a leader in green."
From a building perspective, the multibillion-dollar Project City Center by MGM Mirage slated to open in 2009 has applied to become a LEED-certified development, the largest of its kind in the U.S.
"MGM Mirage has a commitment to sustainability but our sheer size requires examining the world of possibilities," said Gordon Absher, an MGM Mirage spokesperson. "The company overall is focused on three key areas for becoming greener: new resort construction, existing resort renovations and maintenance and general sustainable opportunities."
Taxis are a staple on the Strip, and Lucky Cab Company of Nevada introduced Toyota Prius hybrid taxis in 2005. Desiree Dante, vice president of Lucky Cab, says, "We're expecting that 20 per cent of our fleet will be Prius by the end of 2007. We save about $5,000 per vehicle annually with the hybrid cars." Other taxi companies in town are now testing hybrid vehicles in their fleets.
Las Vegas is also the first city in the West to put hydrogen-powered buses on the road to transport tourists from downtown to the Las Vegas Premium Outlets. Meanwhile, Nevada Solar One, a solar thermal installation in the desert outside Las Vegas, is producing 64 megawatts of power.
"We're stewards of the planet," says Rypka. "We now have a tremendous opportunity to use our intelligence to make a difference. There's currently no green solution for long-distance rapid transportation like air travel, yet Las Vegas is dependent upon tourism. We need to be more creative, to bring people in and lessen the environmental impact."
The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Bureau slogan is "What happens in Vegas, Stays in Vegas." But, when it comes to green living, everybody is affected.
CONTACTS: Green Dream Enterprises (702) 285-6845, www.green-dream.biz; Project CityCenter,(866) 722-7171,www.citycenter.com.
-Cindi R. Maciolek
Showing posts with label green. Show all posts
Showing posts with label green. Show all posts
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
British Business Group & Climate Change Commitment
From the Business section of the Toronto Star, Tuesday, November 27, 2007, page B4:
U.K. EMPLOYER GROUP VOWS TO FIGHT CLIMATE CHANGE
London - Britain's top employer's organization pledged yesterday to help combat climate change, saying the issue is an urgent priority for business, government and consumers alike.
The Confederation of British Industry has placed global warming at the heart ofits agenda at the start of its annual two-day conference in London.
Reporting the findings of its climate change task force, the federation called for fundamental change in British business and issued a series of pledges to help companies adopt greener practices.
Firms must "change their business models to meet consumers' and society's needs in an era of climate change," it said.
One key pledge was to "develop new products and services that will empoyer households to halve their emissions by 2020."
Another vow was to save an extra 1 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions.
Federation director-general Richard Lambert added: "This report makes clear that in the future, businesses will have to be green to grow."
The task force comprises top executives from 18 well-known companies, such as BP, Royal Dutch Shell and steel maker Corus, which employ some two million people.
"Today the ... task force has demonstrated its commitment to tackling climate change," said chair Ben Verwaayen, who is also head of telecommunications group BT.
Meanwhile, the federation has questioned the British government's ambitious targets to slash carbon emissions by 26 per cent to 32 per cent by 2020 and 60 per cent by 2050.
"The U.K.'s carbon reduction targets for 2020 are likely to be missed , but that 2050 goal, whilst stretching, can be achieved at a manageable cost - provided a greater sense of urgency is now adopted, " it said, citing analysis by McKinsey consultants.
Agence France-Presse
U.K. EMPLOYER GROUP VOWS TO FIGHT CLIMATE CHANGE
London - Britain's top employer's organization pledged yesterday to help combat climate change, saying the issue is an urgent priority for business, government and consumers alike.
The Confederation of British Industry has placed global warming at the heart ofits agenda at the start of its annual two-day conference in London.
Reporting the findings of its climate change task force, the federation called for fundamental change in British business and issued a series of pledges to help companies adopt greener practices.
Firms must "change their business models to meet consumers' and society's needs in an era of climate change," it said.
One key pledge was to "develop new products and services that will empoyer households to halve their emissions by 2020."
Another vow was to save an extra 1 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions.
Federation director-general Richard Lambert added: "This report makes clear that in the future, businesses will have to be green to grow."
The task force comprises top executives from 18 well-known companies, such as BP, Royal Dutch Shell and steel maker Corus, which employ some two million people.
"Today the ... task force has demonstrated its commitment to tackling climate change," said chair Ben Verwaayen, who is also head of telecommunications group BT.
Meanwhile, the federation has questioned the British government's ambitious targets to slash carbon emissions by 26 per cent to 32 per cent by 2020 and 60 per cent by 2050.
"The U.K.'s carbon reduction targets for 2020 are likely to be missed , but that 2050 goal, whilst stretching, can be achieved at a manageable cost - provided a greater sense of urgency is now adopted, " it said, citing analysis by McKinsey consultants.
Agence France-Presse
Monday, November 19, 2007
Summary of Climate Change Report
From the StopGlobalWarming.org website, http://www.stopglobalwarming.org/sgw_read.asp?id=6385211172007, here is a brief summary of the “Synthesis Report” from the International Panel on Climate Change's Climate Change 2007 report.
The three other sections of the report are available online to read at the IPCC website, http://www.ipcc.ch/, or if you are a scientist or independently wealthy from Amazon.com, etc.; (1) The Physical Science Basis; (2) Impacts, Adaptation & Vulnerability; (3) Mitigation of Climate Change. I imagine copies will also find their way into libraries around the world, as they are available in many languages.
KEY FINDINGS OF UNITED NATIONS' SCIENTIFIC REPORT
by: Associated Press 17 November 2007
The following are some key findings in a report issued Saturday by the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change:
The three other sections of the report are available online to read at the IPCC website, http://www.ipcc.ch/, or if you are a scientist or independently wealthy from Amazon.com, etc.; (1) The Physical Science Basis; (2) Impacts, Adaptation & Vulnerability; (3) Mitigation of Climate Change. I imagine copies will also find their way into libraries around the world, as they are available in many languages.
KEY FINDINGS OF UNITED NATIONS' SCIENTIFIC REPORT
by: Associated Press 17 November 2007
The following are some key findings in a report issued Saturday by the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change:
- Global warming is “unequivocal.” Temperatures have risen 1.3 degrees Fahrenheit in the last 100 years. Eleven of the last 12 years are among the warmest since 1850. Sea levels have gone up by an average seven-hundredths of an inch per year since 1961.
- About 20 percent to 30 percent of all plant and animal species face the risk of extinction if temperatures increase by 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit. If the thermometer rises by 6.3 degrees Fahrenheit, between 40 to 70 percent of species could disappear.
- Human activity is largely responsible for warming. Global emissions of greenhouse gases grew 70 percent from 1970 to 2004. The concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is far higher than the natural range over the last 650,000 years.
- Climate change will affect poor countries most, but will be felt everywhere. By 2020, 75 million to 250 million people in Africa will suffer water shortages, residents of Asia's large cities will be at great risk of river and coastal flooding, Europeans can expect extensive species loss, and North Americans will experience longer and hotter heat waves and greater competition for water.
- Extreme weather conditions will be more common. Tropical storms will be more frequent and intense. Heat waves and heavy rains will affect some areas, raising the risk of wildfires and the spread of diseases. Elsewhere, drought will degrade cropland and spoil the quality of water sources. Rising sea levels will increase flooding and salination of fresh water and threaten coastal cities.
- Even if greenhouse gases are stabilized, the Earth will keep warming and sea levels rising. More pollution could bring “abrupt and irreversible” changes, such as the loss of ice sheets in the poles, and a corresponding rise in sea levels by several yards.
- A wide array of tools exist, or will soon be available, to adapt to climate change and reduce its potential effects. One is to put a price on carbon emissions.
- By 2050, stabilizing emissions would slow the average annual global economic growth by less than 0.12 percent. The longer action is delayed, the more it will cost.
Sunday, November 11, 2007
Federal Government's "Lip Service" to Going Green
We all know that Prime Minister Harper and his government are less than enthusiastic about making significant changes in order to meet targets set in the Kyoto agreement. So it is hardly surprising that although there are some (I would disagree with the following article calling them "tough") weak measures in place for industry to clean up the environment, apparently they are being called out in an audit for not having greened itself.
From the News section of the Wednesday, October 31, 2007, Toronto Star, page A5:
GOVERNMENT PAYING ONLY LIP SERVICE TO GOING GREEN
Environmental tool 'simply is not working,' commissioner says
Allan Woods
Ottawa Bureau
Ottawa - The federal government has put tough rules in place to make industry and individuals clean up the environment, but it has shirked its own commitment to go green, a new audit has found.
The federal environment commissioner says Ottawa has been promising to put in place a sustainable development strategy to clean up the actions of its departments since 1992 but has little to show for it 15 years later.
"It's one of the many tools that the government introduced ... to manage environmentally sustainable development well," commissioner Ron Thompson said, "It's a matter of great concern to us that that tool simply is not working."
Auditor General Sheila Fraser adds that the government's continued neglect of this plan to factor the environment into departments' decision-making process is a "major disappointment."
The goals that have been laid out by the government provide little in the way of expectations for departments to help clean up the air and water, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and make more intelligent use of natural resources.
"Nor does it provide baselines or targets against which departments could monitor or report on their progress," says the report, which puts the blame on the shoulders of Environment Canada, the department responsible for the sustainable development strategy.
"We expected Environment Canada to have managed this issue more consistently and proactively."
Government departments have been producing sustainable development strategies every three years since 1997 and the environment commissioner has written 10 reports so far on the substandard progress that has been made.
But despite consistent promises to take "appropriate action," little improvement has occurred.
Part of the problem, the audit suggests, is the poor attitude of officials who view government plans to go green as a "compliance requirement" rather than a new way of doing business. "It is apparent to us that departments are working to satisfy the statutory requirements set out in the Auditor General Act. We are concerned that they are working to meet the letter of the law rather than the spirit of it."
Environment Canada responded to the audit with a promise to "improve the government's approach" by October 2008.
"There will never be a better time to carry out this review." Thompson said.
From the News section of the Wednesday, October 31, 2007, Toronto Star, page A5:
GOVERNMENT PAYING ONLY LIP SERVICE TO GOING GREEN
Environmental tool 'simply is not working,' commissioner says
Allan Woods
Ottawa Bureau
Ottawa - The federal government has put tough rules in place to make industry and individuals clean up the environment, but it has shirked its own commitment to go green, a new audit has found.
The federal environment commissioner says Ottawa has been promising to put in place a sustainable development strategy to clean up the actions of its departments since 1992 but has little to show for it 15 years later.
"It's one of the many tools that the government introduced ... to manage environmentally sustainable development well," commissioner Ron Thompson said, "It's a matter of great concern to us that that tool simply is not working."
Auditor General Sheila Fraser adds that the government's continued neglect of this plan to factor the environment into departments' decision-making process is a "major disappointment."
The goals that have been laid out by the government provide little in the way of expectations for departments to help clean up the air and water, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and make more intelligent use of natural resources.
"Nor does it provide baselines or targets against which departments could monitor or report on their progress," says the report, which puts the blame on the shoulders of Environment Canada, the department responsible for the sustainable development strategy.
"We expected Environment Canada to have managed this issue more consistently and proactively."
Government departments have been producing sustainable development strategies every three years since 1997 and the environment commissioner has written 10 reports so far on the substandard progress that has been made.
But despite consistent promises to take "appropriate action," little improvement has occurred.
Part of the problem, the audit suggests, is the poor attitude of officials who view government plans to go green as a "compliance requirement" rather than a new way of doing business. "It is apparent to us that departments are working to satisfy the statutory requirements set out in the Auditor General Act. We are concerned that they are working to meet the letter of the law rather than the spirit of it."
Environment Canada responded to the audit with a promise to "improve the government's approach" by October 2008.
"There will never be a better time to carry out this review." Thompson said.
Tuesday, November 6, 2007
Don't Wash Car in Your Driveway: Use Car Wash or Rain
Now I thought leaving the rain to wash your car was the most eco-friendly thing to do, but if you must have a shiny car, the following article encourages you to go to a car wash, as it is an environmentally more friendly thing to do. This is from the Saturday, September 15, 2007, Living Section of the Toronto Star, page L13:
Enlightened Shopper
GO GREEN -- PAY FOR YOUR CAR WASH
Driveway hosing contaminates waterways, experts say
David Rider
Toronto Star
In the coming season, aptly named because half of nature suddenly falls down upon us, a car parked outside can quickly take on the appearance of a giant rolling chia pet.
The options are either clear leaves off the windows and pretend you're driving one of those vegetation-sprouting "art cars" or get the thing washed.
With nature literally staring you in the face, you're doing it a favour by running a hose on the driveway instead of putting your vehicle through one of those big commercial car washes, right?
Not so, say the Canadian Car Wash Association, environmental groups and the City of Toronto. While driveway washing may be cheap and, for many, a relaxing weekend ritual, it can unleash a nasty brew of gasoline, oil, exhaust residue and traces of heavy metals into storm sewers that discharge directly into Lake Ontario and other waterways.
Also, car wash equipment is carefully designed to use as little water as possible, typically about a quarter of the amount used in a driveway wash, experts say.
"There's no comparison -- washing a car at home is terrible for the environment, especially if you're doing it on a hard surface like a driveway where significant discharge runs right into storm sewers," says Kevin Mercer, a volunteer with Riversides Stewardship Alliance (riversides, org, 4116-868-1983), a Toronto-based group that fights water pollution.
Detritus from cars, including engine fluids and bits of brake pad, pollute water bodies and pose a risk to aquatic life, as do soapy detergents, Mercer says.
If commercial car washes got rid of their waste water the same way, they'be charged under city and provincial regulations. They must separate out solids, as well as grease and oil, for proper landfill disposal. The water left over goes down sanitation sewers that flow, like the ones in your home, to a city facility for treatment.
Mercer says community groups should find ways to raise funds other than holding charity car washes, unless they enlist the help of a commercial car wash or get use of a Latimat system (http://www.latimat.com/) that puts a pad under the vehicle to contain and collect the runoff.
Michael D'Andrea, the city's director of infrastructure management, says a multi-year plan to clean up waterways and the waterfront includes educating people not to put dirt and chemicals down storm drains -- so don't wash your car on a driveway.
If for some reason you have to wash it at home, he says, do it on a porous surface, such as your lawn, so runoff doesn't go into a storm sewer. When you're done, put the soapy water down your basement or laundry drain so it gets treated.
While homeowners who let soap and other runoff go down storm sewers could technically be fined under a city bylaw, officials opt for education, D'Andrea says.
He advises consumers to ask at their car wash if they recycle their water, reducing the amount they use while also decreasing the level of contaminants.
One self-serve car wash in Etobicoke, Wash N' Go (4000 Dundas St. W.), uses solar power to heat its water, though it is augmented by a boiler in winter.
"The biggest trend in our industry is really a green trend," says owner Vito Cosentino, who is also president of the industry's national association.
"Solar is great for us -- we reduce utility costs and use it as a tool to market the business."
Asked about other industry trends, Cosentino mentions one that's about cleaning up another type of environment.
"We have a fragrance machine to get smells out of cars and we get an incredible amount of traffic from teenagers at 1 a.m. trying to mask the smell of cigarette or pot smoke from dad's car."
David Rider is an editor at the Star. Reach him at drider@thestar.ca .
Enlightened Shopper
GO GREEN -- PAY FOR YOUR CAR WASH
Driveway hosing contaminates waterways, experts say
David Rider
Toronto Star
In the coming season, aptly named because half of nature suddenly falls down upon us, a car parked outside can quickly take on the appearance of a giant rolling chia pet.
The options are either clear leaves off the windows and pretend you're driving one of those vegetation-sprouting "art cars" or get the thing washed.
With nature literally staring you in the face, you're doing it a favour by running a hose on the driveway instead of putting your vehicle through one of those big commercial car washes, right?
Not so, say the Canadian Car Wash Association, environmental groups and the City of Toronto. While driveway washing may be cheap and, for many, a relaxing weekend ritual, it can unleash a nasty brew of gasoline, oil, exhaust residue and traces of heavy metals into storm sewers that discharge directly into Lake Ontario and other waterways.
Also, car wash equipment is carefully designed to use as little water as possible, typically about a quarter of the amount used in a driveway wash, experts say.
"There's no comparison -- washing a car at home is terrible for the environment, especially if you're doing it on a hard surface like a driveway where significant discharge runs right into storm sewers," says Kevin Mercer, a volunteer with Riversides Stewardship Alliance (riversides, org, 4116-868-1983), a Toronto-based group that fights water pollution.
Detritus from cars, including engine fluids and bits of brake pad, pollute water bodies and pose a risk to aquatic life, as do soapy detergents, Mercer says.
If commercial car washes got rid of their waste water the same way, they'be charged under city and provincial regulations. They must separate out solids, as well as grease and oil, for proper landfill disposal. The water left over goes down sanitation sewers that flow, like the ones in your home, to a city facility for treatment.
Mercer says community groups should find ways to raise funds other than holding charity car washes, unless they enlist the help of a commercial car wash or get use of a Latimat system (http://www.latimat.com/) that puts a pad under the vehicle to contain and collect the runoff.
Michael D'Andrea, the city's director of infrastructure management, says a multi-year plan to clean up waterways and the waterfront includes educating people not to put dirt and chemicals down storm drains -- so don't wash your car on a driveway.
If for some reason you have to wash it at home, he says, do it on a porous surface, such as your lawn, so runoff doesn't go into a storm sewer. When you're done, put the soapy water down your basement or laundry drain so it gets treated.
While homeowners who let soap and other runoff go down storm sewers could technically be fined under a city bylaw, officials opt for education, D'Andrea says.
He advises consumers to ask at their car wash if they recycle their water, reducing the amount they use while also decreasing the level of contaminants.
One self-serve car wash in Etobicoke, Wash N' Go (4000 Dundas St. W.), uses solar power to heat its water, though it is augmented by a boiler in winter.
"The biggest trend in our industry is really a green trend," says owner Vito Cosentino, who is also president of the industry's national association.
"Solar is great for us -- we reduce utility costs and use it as a tool to market the business."
Asked about other industry trends, Cosentino mentions one that's about cleaning up another type of environment.
"We have a fragrance machine to get smells out of cars and we get an incredible amount of traffic from teenagers at 1 a.m. trying to mask the smell of cigarette or pot smoke from dad's car."
David Rider is an editor at the Star. Reach him at drider@thestar.ca .
Looking for a green event to participate in? Then check the calendar on ZeroFootPrint: http://www.zerofootprint.net/events . Events for November 10th, 2007, are listed below as an example of the worldwide listings.
2007-11-10
Beyond Green: Toward a Sustainable Art
Greencastle, Indiana, United States
Beyond Green: Toward a Sustainable Art explores how this design philosophy resonates with an emerging generation of international artists who combine a fresh aesthetic sensibility with a constructively critical approach to the production, dissemination, and display of art.
Organizer: Richard E. Peeler Art Center at DePauw University
Venue: Richard E. Peeler Art Center at DePauw University
2007-11-10
Wind Power Systems
Machynlleth, Powys, United Kingdom
This course is suitable for those interested in buying and installing an aerogenerator as well as for those with a general interest in the subject.
Organizer: Centre for Alternative Technology
Venue: Centre for Alternative Technology
2007-11-10
Les Respirations
Enghien-les-Bains, France
Speakers will debate around the theme of air quality, both indoor and outdoor at this event.
2007-11-10
Landscape Functions and People: Applying Strategic Planning Approaches for Good Natural Resource Governance
Bangkok, Thailand
The course offers participants an opportunity to familiarise themselves with current practices for landscape-level planning approaches.
Organizer: Wageningen International and Recoft
2007-11-10
PV Design Online
United States
This course is for the person who is interested in learning how to produce their own electricity from the sun.
Organizer: Solar Energy International
Venue: Online
2007-11-10
Forty-third Session of the International Tropical Timber Council and Associated Sessions of the Committees
Yokohama, Japan
Come and join the Forty-third Session of the International Tropical Timber Council and Associated Sessions of the Committees.
Organizer: International Tropical Timber Organization
2007-11-10
Advanced PV Online
United States
This course is designed to follow the PV Design & Installation workshop or the PV Design Online course with the next level of design criteria and maintenance issues.
Organizer: Solar Energy International
Venue: Online
2007-11-10
Celebrating Women & the Spirit of the Cranes
Delta, British Columbia, Canada
Nominate a women who represents the qualities associated with women and cranes-industriousness, loyalty, longevity, good fortune and gifted in handiwork. Nominations open in the Arts, Business, Community Spirit, Education, Science & Technology, and Fledgling Chick (women 30 or younger).
Organizer: Burns Bog Conservation Society
2007-11-10
Third International Conference on Rural Development
Kaunas City, Lithuania
Third international scientific conference on RURAL DEVELOPMENT 2007 This Conference is dedicated to the presentation of results in research of economical, managerial, social,technological, ecological, environmental aspects.
Organizer: Lithuanian University of Agriculture
2007-11-10
Ecomondo 2007
Rimini, Italy
Ecomondo has strengthened the original project - Ricicla - by in-depth coverage of the numerous issues linked with the concept of ‘environmental sustainability'.
Organizer: RiminiFiera
Venue: Expo Centre
2007-11-10
Euromoney and Ernst & Young Global Renewable Energy Awards
London, England
Now in its fourth year, the awards were established to recognise the projects, companies and individuals who contributed the most to take the industry forward and demonstrated best practice in renewable energy finance and development.
Organizer: Euromoney Energy Events
Venue: Riverbank Plaza
2007-11-10
San Francisco Green Festival
San Francisco, California, United States
What will you find at the Green Festival? Tasty food, great music, and 300 green businesses as well as films, workshops, yoga and other types of movement classes.
Organizer: Global Exchange and Co-op America
Venue: San Francisco Concourse Exhibition Center
2007-11-10
Sustainable Innovation Summit
Glendale, Arizona, United States
The Thunderbird Sustainable Innovation Summit is pleased to host global thought leaders from academia, Fortune 500 companies, and sustainable development organizations to shape the future of sustainable innovation.
Organizer: Thunderbird School of Global Management
2007-11-10
Califia Sketchbook Design Competition
United States
The purpose of developing the Califia Sketchbook Design Competition is to express to a wide variety of people what life will be like in Califia, a proposed next generation eco-city.
Organizer: Green Century Institute
2007-11-10
Off-Grid Systems for Professionals
Hopland, California, United States
This two-day advanced class in off-grid PV covers the complex world of hybrid power systems, which integrate multiple energy sources (PV, wind power, small hydro, and generators) to satisfy the electrical demand of off-grid sites.
Organizer: Solar Living Institute
Venue: Solar Living Center
2007-11-10
Black Creek Pioneer Village is Open
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Activities and events take place all year long at the historic village.
Organizer: Black Creek Pioneer Village
Venue: Black Creek Pioneer Village
2007-11-10
University District Farmers Market
Seattle, Washington, United States
The University District Farmers Market is Seattle's oldest and largest "farmers-only" neighborhood market. Founded in 1993, this Saturday market offers a place for more than 50 Washington State farmers to sell their fresh produce and quality products each week.
Organizer: Neighborhood Farmers Market Alliance
Venue: University District Farmers Market
2007-11-10
HomeStreet Bank Tree Challenge
Puget Sound, WA, US
The HomeStreet Bank Tree Challenge is a program to plant trees in the Puget Sound region.
Organizer: HomeStreet Bank, Cascade Land Conservancy, Mountains to Sound Greenway Trust, Capitol Land Trust and Friends of the Hylebos
2007-11-10
Launch of Kerr Village Organic Farmer's Market
Oakville, ON, CA
Launch of new Oakville market! An open-air market featuring fresh in-season produce from sustainable farms, all within 150 km, prepared artisanal meats, & cheeses,holitics, arts & crafts, speakers and info tables on sustainable living, food preparation, preservation & nutrition, social issues and plety of children's activities.
Organizer: Canadian Organic Growers, Slow Food Canada
Venue: Kerr Village Organic Farmer's Market
2007-11-10
Laughter Gone Wild!
Banff, Alberta, Canada
Laughter Gone Wild! is Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative's signature comedy night.
Organizer: Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative
Venue: Eric Harvie Theatre and Banff Centre
2007-11-10
Whole Village Ecovillage Workbee
Caledon, Ontario, Canada
Work Bees are held monthly. All members, friends, guests and anyone interested in spending a day doing a variety of hands on work with genial forks in a gorgeous country setting are welcome to attend.
Organizer: Whole Village
Venue: Whole Village
2007-11-10
Beyond Green: Toward a Sustainable Art
Greencastle, Indiana, United States
Beyond Green: Toward a Sustainable Art explores how this design philosophy resonates with an emerging generation of international artists who combine a fresh aesthetic sensibility with a constructively critical approach to the production, dissemination, and display of art.
Organizer: Richard E. Peeler Art Center at DePauw University
Venue: Richard E. Peeler Art Center at DePauw University
2007-11-10
Wind Power Systems
Machynlleth, Powys, United Kingdom
This course is suitable for those interested in buying and installing an aerogenerator as well as for those with a general interest in the subject.
Organizer: Centre for Alternative Technology
Venue: Centre for Alternative Technology
2007-11-10
Les Respirations
Enghien-les-Bains, France
Speakers will debate around the theme of air quality, both indoor and outdoor at this event.
2007-11-10
Landscape Functions and People: Applying Strategic Planning Approaches for Good Natural Resource Governance
Bangkok, Thailand
The course offers participants an opportunity to familiarise themselves with current practices for landscape-level planning approaches.
Organizer: Wageningen International and Recoft
2007-11-10
PV Design Online
United States
This course is for the person who is interested in learning how to produce their own electricity from the sun.
Organizer: Solar Energy International
Venue: Online
2007-11-10
Forty-third Session of the International Tropical Timber Council and Associated Sessions of the Committees
Yokohama, Japan
Come and join the Forty-third Session of the International Tropical Timber Council and Associated Sessions of the Committees.
Organizer: International Tropical Timber Organization
2007-11-10
Advanced PV Online
United States
This course is designed to follow the PV Design & Installation workshop or the PV Design Online course with the next level of design criteria and maintenance issues.
Organizer: Solar Energy International
Venue: Online
2007-11-10
Celebrating Women & the Spirit of the Cranes
Delta, British Columbia, Canada
Nominate a women who represents the qualities associated with women and cranes-industriousness, loyalty, longevity, good fortune and gifted in handiwork. Nominations open in the Arts, Business, Community Spirit, Education, Science & Technology, and Fledgling Chick (women 30 or younger).
Organizer: Burns Bog Conservation Society
2007-11-10
Third International Conference on Rural Development
Kaunas City, Lithuania
Third international scientific conference on RURAL DEVELOPMENT 2007 This Conference is dedicated to the presentation of results in research of economical, managerial, social,technological, ecological, environmental aspects.
Organizer: Lithuanian University of Agriculture
2007-11-10
Ecomondo 2007
Rimini, Italy
Ecomondo has strengthened the original project - Ricicla - by in-depth coverage of the numerous issues linked with the concept of ‘environmental sustainability'.
Organizer: RiminiFiera
Venue: Expo Centre
2007-11-10
Euromoney and Ernst & Young Global Renewable Energy Awards
London, England
Now in its fourth year, the awards were established to recognise the projects, companies and individuals who contributed the most to take the industry forward and demonstrated best practice in renewable energy finance and development.
Organizer: Euromoney Energy Events
Venue: Riverbank Plaza
2007-11-10
San Francisco Green Festival
San Francisco, California, United States
What will you find at the Green Festival? Tasty food, great music, and 300 green businesses as well as films, workshops, yoga and other types of movement classes.
Organizer: Global Exchange and Co-op America
Venue: San Francisco Concourse Exhibition Center
2007-11-10
Sustainable Innovation Summit
Glendale, Arizona, United States
The Thunderbird Sustainable Innovation Summit is pleased to host global thought leaders from academia, Fortune 500 companies, and sustainable development organizations to shape the future of sustainable innovation.
Organizer: Thunderbird School of Global Management
2007-11-10
Califia Sketchbook Design Competition
United States
The purpose of developing the Califia Sketchbook Design Competition is to express to a wide variety of people what life will be like in Califia, a proposed next generation eco-city.
Organizer: Green Century Institute
2007-11-10
Off-Grid Systems for Professionals
Hopland, California, United States
This two-day advanced class in off-grid PV covers the complex world of hybrid power systems, which integrate multiple energy sources (PV, wind power, small hydro, and generators) to satisfy the electrical demand of off-grid sites.
Organizer: Solar Living Institute
Venue: Solar Living Center
2007-11-10
Black Creek Pioneer Village is Open
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Activities and events take place all year long at the historic village.
Organizer: Black Creek Pioneer Village
Venue: Black Creek Pioneer Village
2007-11-10
University District Farmers Market
Seattle, Washington, United States
The University District Farmers Market is Seattle's oldest and largest "farmers-only" neighborhood market. Founded in 1993, this Saturday market offers a place for more than 50 Washington State farmers to sell their fresh produce and quality products each week.
Organizer: Neighborhood Farmers Market Alliance
Venue: University District Farmers Market
2007-11-10
HomeStreet Bank Tree Challenge
Puget Sound, WA, US
The HomeStreet Bank Tree Challenge is a program to plant trees in the Puget Sound region.
Organizer: HomeStreet Bank, Cascade Land Conservancy, Mountains to Sound Greenway Trust, Capitol Land Trust and Friends of the Hylebos
2007-11-10
Launch of Kerr Village Organic Farmer's Market
Oakville, ON, CA
Launch of new Oakville market! An open-air market featuring fresh in-season produce from sustainable farms, all within 150 km, prepared artisanal meats, & cheeses,holitics, arts & crafts, speakers and info tables on sustainable living, food preparation, preservation & nutrition, social issues and plety of children's activities.
Organizer: Canadian Organic Growers, Slow Food Canada
Venue: Kerr Village Organic Farmer's Market
2007-11-10
Laughter Gone Wild!
Banff, Alberta, Canada
Laughter Gone Wild! is Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative's signature comedy night.
Organizer: Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative
Venue: Eric Harvie Theatre and Banff Centre
2007-11-10
Whole Village Ecovillage Workbee
Caledon, Ontario, Canada
Work Bees are held monthly. All members, friends, guests and anyone interested in spending a day doing a variety of hands on work with genial forks in a gorgeous country setting are welcome to attend.
Organizer: Whole Village
Venue: Whole Village
Friday, November 2, 2007
Gas Prices Falling Equals Obesity Rates Higher
This article is in the Business section of the Friday, September 14, 2007, Toronto Star, page B3. It shows a correlation between obesity rates and falling gas prices. Though it may do nothing for our finances, higher gas prices may be better for our health and the health of the environment.
RESEARCHER LINKS GAS PRICE, OBESITY
Commuters more likely to walk, bike or take transit when costs rice
Michael Babad
Business Reporter
High gasoline prices may prompt people to tighten their belts in more ways than one, a U.S. economics researcher has found.
Studying average U.S. state fuel prices and U.S. government-reported health trends, Charles Courtemanche, a PhD student in health economics in his final year at Washington University in St. Louis, Mo., found high pump prices can bring lower obesity rates.
"My finding is that when gas prices rise, there does seem to be some reduction in body weight and in obesity as a result," Courtemanche, 27, said from St. Louis. "Everyone's miserable about the high gas prices, so here's kind of a little silver lining in the story."
Courtemanche wrote in his study "that a $1 (U.S.) increase in gas prices would, after three years, reduce U.S. obesity by approximately 15 per cent, saving 16,000 lives and $17 billion per year."
The study, A Silver Living? The Connection Between Gasoline Prices and Obesity, also estimated that 13 per cent of the jump in obesity in the United States between 1979 and 2004 was attributable to a drop in real gas prices.
High gas prices, he said, may prompt people to switch from driving vehicles to walking, biking or using public transit, which involves walking to and from a bus or rail stop.
As well, higher gas prices may prompt more people to eat at home more, rather than at restaurants, and home meals tend to be healthier, his study said.
Courtemanche's findings were based on U.S. research. He has never been to Canada, but he would expect his results to be about the same.
"I would think generally, the magnitudes, might be slightly different," he said. "For example, if it's colder and snowier up there, walking might be a little less feasible, that sort of thing."
Courtemanche, whose commute is 30 minutes, got the idea when he was pumping gas, thinking he may need to consider switching to the Metro, the ground and elevated transit system in St. Louis.
Courtemanche's research has also sparked some chatter in the United States.
"I've already been getting hate mail from people thinking that I'm trying to call for further increases in gas prices or something like that, which is definitely not the case," he said.
RESEARCHER LINKS GAS PRICE, OBESITY
Commuters more likely to walk, bike or take transit when costs rice
Michael Babad
Business Reporter
High gasoline prices may prompt people to tighten their belts in more ways than one, a U.S. economics researcher has found.
Studying average U.S. state fuel prices and U.S. government-reported health trends, Charles Courtemanche, a PhD student in health economics in his final year at Washington University in St. Louis, Mo., found high pump prices can bring lower obesity rates.
"My finding is that when gas prices rise, there does seem to be some reduction in body weight and in obesity as a result," Courtemanche, 27, said from St. Louis. "Everyone's miserable about the high gas prices, so here's kind of a little silver lining in the story."
Courtemanche wrote in his study "that a $1 (U.S.) increase in gas prices would, after three years, reduce U.S. obesity by approximately 15 per cent, saving 16,000 lives and $17 billion per year."
The study, A Silver Living? The Connection Between Gasoline Prices and Obesity, also estimated that 13 per cent of the jump in obesity in the United States between 1979 and 2004 was attributable to a drop in real gas prices.
High gas prices, he said, may prompt people to switch from driving vehicles to walking, biking or using public transit, which involves walking to and from a bus or rail stop.
As well, higher gas prices may prompt more people to eat at home more, rather than at restaurants, and home meals tend to be healthier, his study said.
Courtemanche's findings were based on U.S. research. He has never been to Canada, but he would expect his results to be about the same.
"I would think generally, the magnitudes, might be slightly different," he said. "For example, if it's colder and snowier up there, walking might be a little less feasible, that sort of thing."
Courtemanche, whose commute is 30 minutes, got the idea when he was pumping gas, thinking he may need to consider switching to the Metro, the ground and elevated transit system in St. Louis.
Courtemanche's research has also sparked some chatter in the United States.
"I've already been getting hate mail from people thinking that I'm trying to call for further increases in gas prices or something like that, which is definitely not the case," he said.
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Leadership Vancuum on Climate Change
From the "Ideas" section of the Toronto Star newspaper, Friday, September 28, 2007, section "Ideas", page AA8, comes the following article by Kathleen O'Hara about the provincial "leadership vacuum" on climate change.
LEADERS FUMBLE GREEN BALL
Kathleen O'Hara
Are we all living on the same planet, being exposed to the same frightening information about climate change? Based on the provincial election campaign so far, I wonder. You would think that the status quo is fundamentally fine, but just needs adjusting. Far from it.
There is no shortage of reminders about the crisis we face. Lester R. Brown of the Earth Policy Institute wrote: "Saving civilization means restructuring the economy -- and at wartime speed," Author Jeremy Rifkin states: "There are rare moments in history when a generation of human beings are given a new gift with which to rearrange their relationship to one another and the world around them. This is such a moment."
Yet, I detect no real appreciation of this "moment" from our provincial campaign, no sense of urgency, no vision of a relatively carbon-free future. During the leaders' debate, no one picked up the green ball and ran with it. The closest thing to inspiration was Howard Hampton saying we needed "leadership" on the issue of global warming.
This leadership vacuum is tragic because, in spite of the fact that many of us support the crucial transition to green, it isn't going as well as it could or should. Instead of confronting the Earth's crisis in a co-operative, enlightened way, some are using it to make a questionable buck. Take wind power. Who would have thought it could be controversial? Harvesting energy from thin air without drilling, refining, transporting. No need to exploit foreign resources, no wars or occupations. It sounded like a godsend.
But controversial it is -- from the islands near Kingston to Atlantic Canada to Australia, the U.K. and India. People are protesting against the turbine "monstrosities," "the juggernaut which runs roughshod, unchecked over some of our loveliest land," "the resources exploitation and industrial domination over our territory."
Over the summer, the proposed introduction of what one opponent called "industrial scale wind plants" on nearly Wolfe and Amherst Islands divided these quiet, rural communities. Some secretly leased their land to Canadian Hydro Developers Inc. so that the Calgary-based company could install more than 80 steel turbines on each island.
Dividing families and friends, the company's methodology was far from green. Anti-wind-plant protest groups were formed. On Wolfe Island, opponents were worried about the distance of the 90-metre-tall turbines from homes, a wetland and bird migratory routes. After taking a township bylaw to the Ontario Municipal Board, the setbacks were increased, much to the relief of many. The issue still festering on Amherst Island.
These controversies illustrate that our society hasn't learned anything about how we have reached today's crisis, how running roughshod over lives and resources just doesn't work. The fact is that we can't simply create new sources of energy; we must create a new kind of society -- by building and designing our new systems in humane, democratic ways with strict regulations and community input.
Rifkin warns that we can't allow our energy future to be hijacked by profit-driven corporations the way the Internet was. "The great promise of the Net . . . has been compromised, at every step of the way, by commercial interests determined to gain a foothold over the medium."
Yes, the world is getting off to a rocky start when it comes to "saving civilisation." Here in Ontario, it doesn't look like any person or party is going to lead us out of the increasingly hot wilderness -- no matter what the election outcome. That is a disgrace when so much is at stake.
Kathleen O'Hara is a Kingston-based journalist and writer.
LEADERS FUMBLE GREEN BALL
Kathleen O'Hara
Are we all living on the same planet, being exposed to the same frightening information about climate change? Based on the provincial election campaign so far, I wonder. You would think that the status quo is fundamentally fine, but just needs adjusting. Far from it.
There is no shortage of reminders about the crisis we face. Lester R. Brown of the Earth Policy Institute wrote: "Saving civilization means restructuring the economy -- and at wartime speed," Author Jeremy Rifkin states: "There are rare moments in history when a generation of human beings are given a new gift with which to rearrange their relationship to one another and the world around them. This is such a moment."
Yet, I detect no real appreciation of this "moment" from our provincial campaign, no sense of urgency, no vision of a relatively carbon-free future. During the leaders' debate, no one picked up the green ball and ran with it. The closest thing to inspiration was Howard Hampton saying we needed "leadership" on the issue of global warming.
This leadership vacuum is tragic because, in spite of the fact that many of us support the crucial transition to green, it isn't going as well as it could or should. Instead of confronting the Earth's crisis in a co-operative, enlightened way, some are using it to make a questionable buck. Take wind power. Who would have thought it could be controversial? Harvesting energy from thin air without drilling, refining, transporting. No need to exploit foreign resources, no wars or occupations. It sounded like a godsend.
But controversial it is -- from the islands near Kingston to Atlantic Canada to Australia, the U.K. and India. People are protesting against the turbine "monstrosities," "the juggernaut which runs roughshod, unchecked over some of our loveliest land," "the resources exploitation and industrial domination over our territory."
Over the summer, the proposed introduction of what one opponent called "industrial scale wind plants" on nearly Wolfe and Amherst Islands divided these quiet, rural communities. Some secretly leased their land to Canadian Hydro Developers Inc. so that the Calgary-based company could install more than 80 steel turbines on each island.
Dividing families and friends, the company's methodology was far from green. Anti-wind-plant protest groups were formed. On Wolfe Island, opponents were worried about the distance of the 90-metre-tall turbines from homes, a wetland and bird migratory routes. After taking a township bylaw to the Ontario Municipal Board, the setbacks were increased, much to the relief of many. The issue still festering on Amherst Island.
These controversies illustrate that our society hasn't learned anything about how we have reached today's crisis, how running roughshod over lives and resources just doesn't work. The fact is that we can't simply create new sources of energy; we must create a new kind of society -- by building and designing our new systems in humane, democratic ways with strict regulations and community input.
Rifkin warns that we can't allow our energy future to be hijacked by profit-driven corporations the way the Internet was. "The great promise of the Net . . . has been compromised, at every step of the way, by commercial interests determined to gain a foothold over the medium."
Yes, the world is getting off to a rocky start when it comes to "saving civilisation." Here in Ontario, it doesn't look like any person or party is going to lead us out of the increasingly hot wilderness -- no matter what the election outcome. That is a disgrace when so much is at stake.
Kathleen O'Hara is a Kingston-based journalist and writer.
Green Living
This article by Peter Gorrie is from the Toronto Star, Saturday, October 6, 2007, page U2:
NATURE
The art of reconnecting
Claudia Davila offers and "inconvenient truth" to those who believe they can buy their way to a small environmental footprint.
"That's the easy route, and it's just a start," says Davila, 34, an illustrator and designer of children's books and magazines.
Her message: we need to recognize that we're part of the natural world and reconnect with it.
"If we just keep shopping" -- for energy-efficient appliances and other "green" products -- "we miss the whole root of the problem."
Davila was born in Chile and came to Canada as an infant in 1973, after the overthrow of the elected government by General Augusto Pinochet.
"My whole life, I've really appreciated nature and tried to reconcile how humans interact with it," she says in the tiny College St. apartment she shares with her husband artist Michael Cho.
"It's just something inside of me. It tells me that humans are not separate from nature. We're part of it."
Davila's awareness started to turn into action when she was studying fine arts at York University and met up with like-minded people.
Her "beginning attempts at a smaller footprint" included biking to work and school, buying in bulk, producing as little waste as possible and delaying the purchase of a car.
Today, she buys as little as possible and second-hand whenever she can. She uses the library instead of bookstores. She and her husband share a car with her parents and married brother. She buys local foods, and uses found objects and scrap paper in some of her art.
One of her frustrations is that, since she lives on the second floor over a store, the city won't let her use a green bin for composting.
Davila is also focused on peak oil -- the realization that we're running out of fossil fuels. It's the subject of a book, Spoiled, that she has drawn and written, as well as Internet blogs she hosts.
In her optimistic moments, she sees the impending fuel shortage as a chance. "It's a symbol of a wake-up call for people. It's hopefully an opportunity to realize that we've fallen so far away from our relationship to nature . . . That we have to give back as much as we take."
-- Peter Gorrie
NATURE
The art of reconnecting
Claudia Davila offers and "inconvenient truth" to those who believe they can buy their way to a small environmental footprint.
"That's the easy route, and it's just a start," says Davila, 34, an illustrator and designer of children's books and magazines.
Her message: we need to recognize that we're part of the natural world and reconnect with it.
"If we just keep shopping" -- for energy-efficient appliances and other "green" products -- "we miss the whole root of the problem."
Davila was born in Chile and came to Canada as an infant in 1973, after the overthrow of the elected government by General Augusto Pinochet.
"My whole life, I've really appreciated nature and tried to reconcile how humans interact with it," she says in the tiny College St. apartment she shares with her husband artist Michael Cho.
"It's just something inside of me. It tells me that humans are not separate from nature. We're part of it."
Davila's awareness started to turn into action when she was studying fine arts at York University and met up with like-minded people.
Her "beginning attempts at a smaller footprint" included biking to work and school, buying in bulk, producing as little waste as possible and delaying the purchase of a car.
Today, she buys as little as possible and second-hand whenever she can. She uses the library instead of bookstores. She and her husband share a car with her parents and married brother. She buys local foods, and uses found objects and scrap paper in some of her art.
One of her frustrations is that, since she lives on the second floor over a store, the city won't let her use a green bin for composting.
Davila is also focused on peak oil -- the realization that we're running out of fossil fuels. It's the subject of a book, Spoiled, that she has drawn and written, as well as Internet blogs she hosts.
In her optimistic moments, she sees the impending fuel shortage as a chance. "It's a symbol of a wake-up call for people. It's hopefully an opportunity to realize that we've fallen so far away from our relationship to nature . . . That we have to give back as much as we take."
-- Peter Gorrie
Living Green & Leading by Example
Toronto Star, Sat., October 6, 2007, Section U, "Green Living".
For the Children
LEADING BY EXAMPLE
Small changes can yield big results, especially when the goal is healing. You can learn from friends whose reusuable shopping bags and energy-efficient lightbulbs inspire green living. Pick up a few eco-friendly habits and feel good for passing yours along. Saving the environment can be easier than you think.
_____________________________________________________________________
The following is an article by Dr. David Suzuki, in the Toronto Star, Saturday, October 6, 2007, "Living Green," page U1. Dr. Suzuki is a scientist, author, professor, lecturer, and Canada's leading environmentalist:
What does it mean to live green? Unless we live under a rock, we are all part of a way of life that is unsustainable because it is undermining the life support systems of the planet -- air, water, soil, energy and biodiversity.
Globalization conceals much of the ecological cost of our way of life. From the moment I wake up in cotton sheets under wool blankets, I benefit from materials grown, shipped and manufactured all over the world.
Think of the source of the coffee, sugar, newsprint and ink, porcelain dishes and metal cutlery that help us start the day. By the time we get to all the components of our radios, or TVs, cars, phones and computers, you realize we are invisibly plugged in to the rest of the world and if 6.5 billion people aspire to our standard of living, the burden on the planet will be overwhelming.
But 30 million Canadians making small changes in our lives -- rejecting disposability, consuming less and more judiciously, driving less, etc. -- can nevertheless be very significant with no diminution in the quality of our lives.
Can we change to a society that covets clean air, clean water, clean soil, clean energy and a diversity of other species as our highest priority, or will be choose to carry on with business as usual because we are unwilling to jeopardize the economy or sacrifice our hyper-consumption?
Whatever we choose, nature will ultimately impose the final limits and conditions on our survival and well-being.
We all live with contradictions. In 2000, I purchased the first Prius sold in Canada. I bicycle around Vancouver, and I take the bus or walk even more.
But I fly, and as George Monbiot's book Heat points out, air travel is the one major activity that cannot be changed to meet the large reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions necessary if we are to keep global temperature from rising more than 2C this century.
To bring human-generated GHGs into balance with the biosphere's capacity to absorb them, Monbiot asserts we must reduce our annual output of GHGs to an average of one tonne per person on the planet. At present, the average Canadian generates 20 tonnes and, according to Monbiot, a round-trip flight from Toronto to London produces one tonne per passenger.
To move toward balance with our surroundings, we have to spread information and knowledge, and that has been my rationale for continuing to fly. But it's not a satisfying one because I know people can rationalize just about anything.
For more than three years, I have been flying gold-standard "carbon neutral" -- that is, for the energy used on my behalf when I fly, I invest in putting 1 1/2 times as much green energy (solar and wind) onto the grid in developing countries like China and India.
The atmosphere is a single entity, and what happens there affects us all. By investing in such countries, we reduce their incentive to build polluting coal-burning plants.
But "carbon neutral" is not a licence to pollute. So this year I have cut my flying in half. I lumped commitments to fulfill several speaking engagements and television work on one trip.
Monbiot points out that short flights produce a disproportionate amount of GHGs because takeoff and landing are the times of greatest energy use. So I take trains between Toronto, Montreal and Ottawa and, although they take longer, I can work and relax and travel from downtown to downtown.
I have declined several invitations to speak abroad. And now I am offering to give speeches to various places but on condition that they be by teleconference. This month, I do my first two teleconference speeches to Australia and I hope that next year, most of my speeches will be from the comfort of a studio in Vancouver where I live.
It means I'll be better off psychically and physically, my family and friends will be pleased and, I hope, Mother Earth will have a slightly reduced burden.
David Suzuki is a broadcaster, scientist and founder of the David Suzuki Foundation: davidsuzuki.org
For the Children
LEADING BY EXAMPLE
Small changes can yield big results, especially when the goal is healing. You can learn from friends whose reusuable shopping bags and energy-efficient lightbulbs inspire green living. Pick up a few eco-friendly habits and feel good for passing yours along. Saving the environment can be easier than you think.
_____________________________________________________________________
The following is an article by Dr. David Suzuki, in the Toronto Star, Saturday, October 6, 2007, "Living Green," page U1. Dr. Suzuki is a scientist, author, professor, lecturer, and Canada's leading environmentalist:
What does it mean to live green? Unless we live under a rock, we are all part of a way of life that is unsustainable because it is undermining the life support systems of the planet -- air, water, soil, energy and biodiversity.
Globalization conceals much of the ecological cost of our way of life. From the moment I wake up in cotton sheets under wool blankets, I benefit from materials grown, shipped and manufactured all over the world.
Think of the source of the coffee, sugar, newsprint and ink, porcelain dishes and metal cutlery that help us start the day. By the time we get to all the components of our radios, or TVs, cars, phones and computers, you realize we are invisibly plugged in to the rest of the world and if 6.5 billion people aspire to our standard of living, the burden on the planet will be overwhelming.
'Carbon neutral is not a licence to pollute. So this year I have cut my flying in half.' David Suzuki
But 30 million Canadians making small changes in our lives -- rejecting disposability, consuming less and more judiciously, driving less, etc. -- can nevertheless be very significant with no diminution in the quality of our lives.
Can we change to a society that covets clean air, clean water, clean soil, clean energy and a diversity of other species as our highest priority, or will be choose to carry on with business as usual because we are unwilling to jeopardize the economy or sacrifice our hyper-consumption?
Whatever we choose, nature will ultimately impose the final limits and conditions on our survival and well-being.
We all live with contradictions. In 2000, I purchased the first Prius sold in Canada. I bicycle around Vancouver, and I take the bus or walk even more.
But I fly, and as George Monbiot's book Heat points out, air travel is the one major activity that cannot be changed to meet the large reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions necessary if we are to keep global temperature from rising more than 2C this century.
To bring human-generated GHGs into balance with the biosphere's capacity to absorb them, Monbiot asserts we must reduce our annual output of GHGs to an average of one tonne per person on the planet. At present, the average Canadian generates 20 tonnes and, according to Monbiot, a round-trip flight from Toronto to London produces one tonne per passenger.
To move toward balance with our surroundings, we have to spread information and knowledge, and that has been my rationale for continuing to fly. But it's not a satisfying one because I know people can rationalize just about anything.
For more than three years, I have been flying gold-standard "carbon neutral" -- that is, for the energy used on my behalf when I fly, I invest in putting 1 1/2 times as much green energy (solar and wind) onto the grid in developing countries like China and India.
The atmosphere is a single entity, and what happens there affects us all. By investing in such countries, we reduce their incentive to build polluting coal-burning plants.
But "carbon neutral" is not a licence to pollute. So this year I have cut my flying in half. I lumped commitments to fulfill several speaking engagements and television work on one trip.
Monbiot points out that short flights produce a disproportionate amount of GHGs because takeoff and landing are the times of greatest energy use. So I take trains between Toronto, Montreal and Ottawa and, although they take longer, I can work and relax and travel from downtown to downtown.
I have declined several invitations to speak abroad. And now I am offering to give speeches to various places but on condition that they be by teleconference. This month, I do my first two teleconference speeches to Australia and I hope that next year, most of my speeches will be from the comfort of a studio in Vancouver where I live.
It means I'll be better off psychically and physically, my family and friends will be pleased and, I hope, Mother Earth will have a slightly reduced burden.
David Suzuki is a broadcaster, scientist and founder of the David Suzuki Foundation: davidsuzuki.org
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Get Rid of Visual Polluation
In Alternet there is a story about Sao Paulo, Brazil, banning all outdoor signage in the city.
Just imagine, Toronto, or whatever city or town or even countryside you live in, without billboards or signs (even on barns)advertising everything. Isn't there enough advertising on TV, in magazines and newspapers and blogs or websites?
When I travelled in Spain a number of years ago, the countryside was unmarked by the legion of billboards and signs that ruin the beauty of streets or buildings or views. The only one I remember seeing now and then was an artistic sign, just a totally black sign, with no words or designs, in the shape of a bull. It looked like art and not visual garbage like almost every sign and billboard you can think of.
I am going to write to politicians at all three levels by email to let them know about this additional way to go green by cutting out the visual pollution everywhere. A bonus is that part of being green is to stop being such rampant consumers of things we do not need. Without the signs everywhere, maybe we can act like people and not Pavlov's dogs.
Let us take back our cities and towns and countryside from the corporations so that we can live in a more simple and green and beautiful manner.
Just imagine, Toronto, or whatever city or town or even countryside you live in, without billboards or signs (even on barns)advertising everything. Isn't there enough advertising on TV, in magazines and newspapers and blogs or websites?
When I travelled in Spain a number of years ago, the countryside was unmarked by the legion of billboards and signs that ruin the beauty of streets or buildings or views. The only one I remember seeing now and then was an artistic sign, just a totally black sign, with no words or designs, in the shape of a bull. It looked like art and not visual garbage like almost every sign and billboard you can think of.
I am going to write to politicians at all three levels by email to let them know about this additional way to go green by cutting out the visual pollution everywhere. A bonus is that part of being green is to stop being such rampant consumers of things we do not need. Without the signs everywhere, maybe we can act like people and not Pavlov's dogs.
Let us take back our cities and towns and countryside from the corporations so that we can live in a more simple and green and beautiful manner.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
