What hope is there for the Future?

So, I watched the Lorax for the first time. I am sorry to say that this beloved Dr. Seuss children’s book did not grace my book collection as a child. Watching the movie now, seen to the left in 2 parts, as an adult, and part of the environmental industry makes me realize just how accurate Dr. Seuss was back in 1971.

It seems to be part of human nature to take and take and take with no regard for the natural environment or how our actions affect the native organisms. We forget that everything has intrinsic worth. All sentient beings, all life, or all of nature including in animate objects have intrinsic worth regardless of their usefulness. This statement would then indicate that every object that currently inhabits the rainforests of the world has worth. I fully agree with this statement. Regardless of whether or not the frogs in the rainforest are worth monetary value, they need to be save because they have intrinsic value; they are a vital part of the ecosystem.



http://www.topnews.in/new-satellite-images-
reveal-shrinking-amazon-rainforest-236729

We have become so consumed with worrying about how to benefit ourselves, and building our collection of “stuff” that we have become a society guilty of overconsumption. And on this path, to support our nasty habit of overconsumption, we have begun to destroy one of the worlds most biodiverse environments: the Rainforest. It has been deemed one of Earth’s greatest biological treasures, yet we do not treat it like this. It once covered 14% of the Earths land surface, and currently it only covers 6%, with estimates stating that it will be completely consumed in less than 40 years. Some more stats taken from Rainforest Facts:

·         1.5 acres of Rainforest are being lost every second

·         Destruction of the rainforest is occurring because only the trees are being valued by short sighted governments, multinational logging companies and land owners

http://whyamazonherb.com/page-2

·         It is estimated that we are losing 137 plant, animal and insect species every day due to rainforest destruction = 50, 000 species/year

·         Currently 121 prescription drugs sold worldwide come from plant derived sources, with 25 % of western pharmaceuticals being derived from rainforest ingredients and less than 1% of the vegetation in the rainforest has been tested by scientists.

·         It was estimated that there were 10 million Indians living in the Amazon rain forest 5 centuries ago. Now there is less than 200, 000.

For more information about the destruction in the Amazon checkout Amazon Watch.

These facts are rather frightening. And they all remind me of the Lorax. There are a few individuals and organizations willing to take a stand, but their efforts are not effective against the large corporations and governments. They will do as they please regardless of the amount of protesting. Only once all their resources have been used will they stop and realize the intrinsic value of what they have destroyed. Hindsight is 20/20.

At the rate that we are going, I worry for our future. The more I learn about Environmental Sustainability, the more I realize just how much this is on the minds of our society.

My mother called me the other week asking about solar panels, and energy efficiency products. Her office is looking to become more environmentally sustainable through the use of energy efficient lights, power bars and solar powered products. Yet she cannot convince the men in the office to recycle more than just printer paper.

I feel that we are going to need some big changes in the future, changes that include altering the way people think about the environment, and changing habits that have been engrained in us for years. Perhaps with should start with the children. They may be our best option for a change in the future...

How is sustainable development in practice?

http://www.kootenaygraincsa.ca/about/

An example of sustainable development is the Kootenay Grain CSA. It was initiated by Matt Lowe when he attempted to do the 100 mile diet. He found that one of the hardest aspects of the diet was access to grain. There was no locally grain grown in the region. For this reason, he decided to create a grain CSA in the Kootenay region.  He determined how much interest was in the region, and found a couple of farmers that were willing to grow the grain. The CSA began with 100 shareholders, and has progressed from there.

Shareholders can purchase a full share, 100 pounds of grain, or a half share consisting of 50 pounds of grain.  In consultation with the shareholders, a variety of grain was grown by local farmers who had pledged to grow the crops organically even though they are not certified organic. One farmer is looking into incorporating the use of horses into his farming practices. The money from the shares goes directly to the farmers, acting as a consistent salary and ensuring job security. It also ensures that all of the shareholders and farmers bear the burden of crop loss or damage.

http://www.kootenaygraincsa.ca/news-and-events/

Once the grain is harvested in Creston BC it is transported to north to Nelson BC. Several members of the local sailing club offered use of their sail boats to transport a portion of the grain up the Kootenay Lake to the final offloading. The remaining grain that did not fit on the boats was transported by truck.

Cooking classes were offered by local women in the community to teach shareholders how to use the different types of grain that were being produced. During the cooking classes, baby sitting was offered by local teens.

The grain is not milled prior to distribution to the shareholders. To facilitate milling of the grain, there have been several small mills set up locally, and shareholders can get grain milled as required.

The grain CSA can be considered sustainable development as it demonstrates the joining of communities to move towards a common good. A need for local grain was identified, and members of the community joined together to fill that need.

The grain CSA is able to reduce the carbon footprint of the grain. As it is grow and harvested local to where it is consumed, rather than shipped from across the country, fewer fossil fuels are burnt. The CSA also improves the diversity of the foods present within the region.

The Kootenay grain CSA has the potential to be scaled up, but its success is hinged on its small scale. There is a greater likelihood of it continuing to succeed if it kept at the same scale, however the model may have potential to work in other areas with similar characteristics.

The communities of Nelson and Creston BC have broken their dependence on commercially grown grains. The grain CSA provides a more wholesome grain source to the communities.

My stuff and other sources and consumption

George Carlin talks about Stuff. He has a great perspective, which I feel is so true. Everyone is focused on having stuff. And getting more stuff.

My stuff currently resides between three places: Victoria, my parents house and my grandfathers house. The stuff I need to move out to Victoria fit in my car: books, clothes bedding, pillows, printers. Just the stuff necessary for survival for one year in a fully furnished house.  Then there’s the stuff I need while living at my parents: bed, dresser, night table, hope chest, clothes I didn’t want to bring to Victoria that all live in a room that just holds my stuff. Plus stuff from my childhood: drawings, books, blankets, stuffed animals that we just can’t throw away. They’re all in boxes, but I NEED to keep that stuff. And then there is all my house stuff and other random shit: kitchen supplies, books, notes and textbooks from college that I NEEDED to hang on to because “you never know when I might need to refer to them (I haven’t touched them in 3 years), and old baby clothes that lives in the basement at my grandpas, in what we refer to as the “Hole”.

The hole is a wonderous area in my grandparents house. There were times when we were kids that we would go snooping through all the boxes of stuff looking for cool things. I used to dig out old bridesmaids dresses that grandma wore in the ‘50’s and play dress up. I loved that she held onto that kind of stuff. She also used to hang on old kitchen dishes and utensils when she would get new stuff. The old kitchen stuff would get dregraded and relocated to the hole. And since you never know when you might run out of the 16 of each knife, spoon, and fork that are present in the kitchen and might need to run downstairs and use the old ones that you kept just for that occasion, she even held on to old utensils. And then there is some of my parents stuff, and my uncles stuff in my grandparents basement. The hole in the storage locker that everyone uses, but doesn’t pay rent for.

Then comes Christmas. Everyone wants to know what you want for Christmas. I have gotten to an age now, where if there is something that I need or want, I buy it. I don’t wait until Christmas and birthdays to ask for it. And anything that I do want or need is probably to expensive, which is why I haven’t purchased it yet. So the past few years I have been telling people I don’t need more stuff, I just want to spend time with family, and if they really want to get me something, then lets put the money towards a trip as a family. Especially this year. More stuff, means that I have more stuff that needs to be packed into my poor little 2-door cavalier to make the trek back home to Alberta. And the poor thing was packed to the brim on the way out here.

As a society we have become so obsessed with stuff that we have our stuff spread everywhere, because we don’t have the room for it all. But it’s a comfort to know that we have stuff. I like knowing that when I finally move back home, and into my own place, I have the stuff I need to furnish it. And if I ever need extra pots, or pans, kitchen plates, or cutlery, I can just going into the hole and use some of the old stuff, because grandma kept it.

The Sustainable City

In class we learnt about a website, walkscore, that allows you to determine the “walkability” of your neighbourhood. So I thought I would determine how walkable some of the neighbourhoods are that I have lived in. I grew up in Northern Alberta, and lived on an acerage, making getting anywhere dependant on vehicle transportation. I then moved to Edmonton to go to College.



First we’ll start with where I currently live in Victoria. I live in Langford, in between the box stores and Goldstream Ave. This area receives a walkscore of 66, and is considered somewhat walkable. I would have thought that the walkscore would have been higher for this area, but the walk to the amenities on Goldstream is a little over 10 minutes, and the site calculates a walk score based on what amenities are available within a 10 minute walk.

Langford, Victoria, BC
http://maps.google.ca/maps

Next we’ll move on to where I lived while I attended NAIT in Edmonton. I lived two and a half blocks from campus in a residential neighbourhood, and about 6 blocks from Kingsway Garden Mall. This area received a walk score of 48, and is considered car dependant. While living there, I walked to school everyday (yes even in the couple of -40°C days), walked to the mall to go to work, and after college, walked to work at the wedding rental store. The only time I ever drove anywhere was once a week to get groceries. Even if the grocery store was closer, I probably still would have driven, just because I can, and carrying all the groceries is not pleasant.



From here, lets look at where my parents live in Stony Plain, AB. They live 15 minutes outside of town, in a nice little subdivision. They get a walkscore rating of 0, and are considered to be car dependant, which they most definitely are. But this is expected, as there are no amenities around them. 

Stony Plain, AB
http://maps.google.ca/maps



This is the case as well for where I grew up in Peace River, AB. We lived on an acreage outside of town, making it completely car dependant. I think growing up in Alberta, in a lifestyle that required the use of a vehicle has made me very reliant on my car. Even though I have amenities within walking distance of my current residence, I still don’t walk anywhere. I feel that driving is an ingrained habit within me from childhood. 

Peace River, AB. The Red "x" is where I grew up outside of town
http://maps.google.ca/maps

Communities within Alberta are not designed to be walking friendly. Everything is spread out across the community, and the areas that are walkable, such as Whyte Ave in Edmonton, you need some mode of transportation to get there in the first place. I have travelled to England, and we did not have a vehicle to get around the various towns while we were there. We did use the train and buses to get between towns, but once there, a car was not needed. Getting around London was a breeze with access to the underground, and once we got to where we want to be, we walked EVERYWHERE. Not just because we didn’t  have a vehicle, but because it was easy to get where we wanted to go be it the grocery store, shopping, or to a pub. Being an older city, I fell that it was designed with that purpose in mind; access to amenities in just a short few minute walk. I think that aspect makes a city more sustainable. Another example is Buenos Aires. My parents were there for two weeks, and said that they were able to walk everywhere. There were so many streets that met up with each other, cut in between buildings, that it was very easy to get where you needed.
 

Buenos Aires, Argentina
http://maps.google.ca/maps



London, UK
 http://maps.google.ca/maps



In the future, I think more cities, and new neighbourhoods need to be designed with that in mind; all major amenities within walking distance. Rather than building an area in a block formation, build it in the old style, with many small street that interconnect, and create “shortcuts” to get places. I think that may help to break the driving habit of some Albertans. Albertans do seem to have the mentality that they want their own space. So perhaps a city designed like the old European or South American cities would not work.

Powering the Sustainable City

Communities are currently being powered by the consumption of non-renewable resources. The majority of our power is provided by the burning of coal, and natural gas. We know that the action of burning of these natural resources is contributing to global climate change, by releasing greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. The power produced powers communities around the world, the majority of which are not considered to be sustainable cities. If we are to move to sustainable development, and the creation of sustainable cities, the one thing that we need to do is move away from the consumption of energy produced by coal and natural gas, and begin to use renewable natural resources such as wind power, for the production of our energy.



Image obtained from:
http://pubs.pembina.org/reports/FITariffs_Primer.pdf



The Pembina Institute has produced a series of fact sheets explaining the new policies and technologies that would bring renewable energy to the forefront. They state that “renewable energy can create jobs and new industries, and improve air and water quality, energy security, access to energy, and community development”. If this is the case, why have we not taken the initiative to begin using renewable natural resources, such as wind, in order to power our communities? I feel that the answer to this is that it is in part due to the new introduced costs associated with the implementation of new power sources, as well as the fact that it is a large change. As a society, we seem to resist change.

More information about Renewable Energy can be obtained from the Pembina Institute Website at: http://www.pembina.org/re .

Sustainability and Communities

“ One can more likely cause an effect at a fine scale, whereas success is more likely to be achieved at a broad scale” – Forman (1995)

“[it is] at the community scale that the application of innovation, both technological and social occurs most effectively, and, when aggregated, has the greatest impact in increasing sustainability” – Dale, Lind, and Newman (2010)

I feel that both of the quotes are correct in what they are saying. It is easy for one person to make a change towards sustainability, however it is more difficult to gain success at a larger scale, such as world wide. It appears that changes towards sustainability are most effective at a community scale. A community can be considered to be a group of people living in a particular area, common ownership, or a group of interdependent organisms inhabiting the same region and interacting with each other.

 For example, the city of Curitiba, Brazil, has recreated the development of the urban landscape and created a sustainable city (http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/jaime_lerner_sings_of_the_city.html).

Another example of a sustainable community is the Kootenay Grain Community Supported Agriculture program (http://www.kootenaygraincsa.ca/). It is a grain community supported agriculture project. It consists of a group of farmers in the Kootenay Region of BC who work together to create a sustainable grain supply to the region. It is supported by the community by selling shares to consumers, and divvying up the resulting harvested grain crop. The carbon footprint of grain production is greatly reduced, and the farmers are guaranteed a fair income for their crops.

http://www.kootenaygraincsa.ca/images/file/Express20091021.pdf

These are just two examples of how sustainability can be achieved at a community level. They both represent peoples will and success to make a change towards a more sustainable world.

Overpopulation of Overconsumption

I recently completed my ecological footprint online at http://myfootprint.org/en/. If everyone in the world were to live the way I currently live my lifestyle (generally 4-5 flights per year, drive my car everywhere I go alone, do not use low flow toilets or water faucets, etc.) we would need 4.57 Earths. To me this indicates that I am currently living a life style of over consumption in certain aspects.

The below figure shows that compared to the country average, my footprint in global acres by consumption for carbon, and housing is below the country average. I am, however, about par with the country average for food footprint and goods and services footprint.

The website provides some recommendations to reduce my footprint. While living in Victoria, I feel that I could reduce my food footprint by eating more local, organic, and in season foods, shop at local farmers markets, and choose foods with less packaging. I could also reduce my carbon footprint by not driving to school, and riding my bike instead. As far as reducing my goods and services footprint, there currently is not alot that I can do. In our house, we already recycle all of our paper, plastic, aluminum and glass. I don’t have any waste electronics, as I tend to use them until they die. Composting is currently not an option, as it would have to be a household decision, which would not happen. As far as purchasing recycled products, at this stage in my life, I am not purchasing many goods, other than food.

The world’s populations is rapidly growing in developing regions of the world, showing that there is a chance for overpopulation. With regards to a sustainable world, there is a Population/Consumption Paradox: Population can only be controlled by increasing education (mainly for women) and affluence. However, both of these will increase individual consumption.

I feel that as part of education, we can educate the world about making smarter choices to decrease ones ecological footprint (as represented by my example). This in turn would possibly reduce the increase of individual consumption.

I don't think that it is an issue of overpopulation OR over consumption, but rather a combination of the two. The greater the population increase, the greater the level of consumption will be.





RRU Sustainability

Sustainability at RRU

Royal Roads University (RRU) has taken the initiative to create a sustainability plan. They have come up with several goals to become a green, sustainable university.

GHG Management

RRU has set a goal of reducing GHG emission on campus by 50 % from 2007 levels by 2020. They also hoped to be carbon neutral by 2010. The later has been achieved. In 2010, RRU was able to become carbon neutral, by carbon offsets. This is a system where you measure your emissions, and once a year, pay $25/tonne for that total.

Going “Grid-Positive”

I believe this is the loftiest goal RRU has set for themselves. They hope to be off the grid by 2018. Between 2001 and 2005 energy consumption on campus was reduced by 30%. Further efforts include installation of Solar Thermal hot water systems on the Nixon building and the Learning and Innovation Centre (LIC). Solar Thermal hot water systems involve the installation of solar panels to collect energy and heat the water system to a constant temperature, as to reduce the amount of energy required to heat the water from cold to hot. There is also potential for a shallow well geothermal system on campus. Further research must be completed to determine if this is feasible for the site.

Transportation Demand Management

RRU would like to achieve a pedestrian friendly campus, and reduce the presence of single occupancy vehicles. They are currently looking into the feasibility of implementing a U-pass for the Victoria bus system, with the hope to increase ridership, as well as increasing the bus service to campus. They are also trying to reduce the number of single occupancy vehicles onsite by encouraging carpooling. The idea of providing priority parking for carpoolers, as well as reducing the price for parking for those that carpool are being looked at. Also, as a deterrent for single occupancy vehicles, there is the potential of increasing the yearly parking fee, possibly making it a monthly fee, or reducing the amount of parking available on campus.

Ecological-Sensitive Siting and Heritage Conservation

http://www.royalroads.ca/news-release/1-million-awarded-
royal-roads-help-save-energy-lower-emissions

RRU is located on a National Historic Site, and is required to maintain the history located here. New development is only permitted on disturbed areas. Recently, $1 million was awarded to RRU to retrofit the heritage buildings on-site to make them more energy efficient. Completion of these retrofits will reduce RRU's carbon footprint.  

RRU is also in the process of re-establishing a wetland. There is an area, approximately 10 acres in size located between the Mews Conference Center and Cedar Building, down to the Esquimalt Lagoon. It was originally a wetland, but was drained and used for pastureland 100 years ago by the Dunsmirs. The area is linked to Esquimalt Lagoon, local stream and a pond system that is a habitat for Cutthroat Trout and Coho Salmon. There is also a fish ladder connecting the pond system to Esquimalt Lagoon. Recently, the practice of draining the area has been ceased, and natural vegetation and water flow have returned to the area.

University Stewardship

A program has been set in place to get the staff, faculty, and student body more involved in an on campus program called Campus Green. Currently, an extensive recycling and composting program is present on-site, which successfully diverts approximately 73 % of waste from the local landfill. The composting program diverts 10 tonnes of paper towel a year through composting.

Habitat Cafe, the on campus cafeteria, was the first Green Table Certified establishment on Vancouver Island (http://green-step.ca/?page_id=40). The on-campus custodial staff have been using a chemical free cleaning system for the past 10 years. The use of micro-fibre cloths and chemical free products has been successfully maintained.

As part of their sustainability plan, I believe that RRU needs to get the on-campus students more aware of the actions being taken. A Sustainability committee has been created, made up of representatives from the on campus cohorts, however, the remaining student body needs to become involved in some way. It would be beneficial during on campus orientation to have an introduction to the Sustainability Plan that RRU has developed so that new learners can become aware and potentially take part; either by volunteering their time, or providing suggestions or new ideas.

RRU has a large resource within the student body that should be utilized. The sustainability group is a step in the right direction.

https://sustainability.royalroads.ca/sites/default/files/web_files/Sustainability_Plan_summary.pdf

https://sustainability.royalroads.ca/sites/default/files/web_files/Sustainability_Plan_summary.pdf

The Cost of Inaction

Species Extinction – The Extinction of 32% of the World’s Amphibian Population

Photograph by Kevin Chodzinski, My Shot. National Geographic

The Wood frog can go into complete hibernation for the winter

months, and proceed to "thaw out" in the spring.
http://www.royalroads.ca/news-release/1-million-awarded-royal-roads
-help-save-energy-lower-emissions

There are visible signs across the world that mankind is on a path of unsustainable development. Clear cut landscapes, the increasing rate of desert encroachment due to drier and hotter climate conditions as well as human activity, and the increased extinction rate of amphibians. The latter was first noted in 1989 the First World Congress of Herpetology in Canterbury, England. A decline in researchers study populations was noted, however no action was taken. Now, 20 years later, over 200 amphibian species have experience population decline, as well as reports of at least 32 species extinction (http://www.nzfrogs.org/Amphibian+Extinction+Crisis.html).

Amphibians are very versatile creatures, having survived mass extinctions, surviving through droughts and extreme temperature increases, and surviving without food for many years. They are responsible for keeping invertebrate pests under control, and play a large role in the global ecosystem. They are both predator and prey, as well as food source in some parts of the world. Studies have been done on many species, identifying some chemical compounds produced by the frogs as medically beneficial to humans.

So what is causeing the decline of such a resisliant species?

NZ frog attributes human activity as the main cause of declining amphibian populations. Habitat destruction due to human population results in fragmentation of the world’s landscape. Pollution causing increased acidity of breeding fresh water pools, and climate change results in increase temperatures. Breeding times for frogs are influenced by environmental temperatures, potentially moving the frogs breeding season to earlier in the year. Predators and predation, and overexploitation of frogs for commercial food use are also contributors to population declines.

Our continued activities of unsustainable development will continue to affect the amphibian populations across the world. In essence we are destroying a wonderful creature’s habitat, in an effort to benefit ourselves. When stated like this, it seems that we are a very self centered species, only concerned with actions that will bring us the greatest benefit.

A decline if amphibian populations was first seen 20 years ago, and no action was taken at that point. Now, we have lost 32 species to extinction, and countless other animal, plant and invertebrate species due to our actions. Society realizes that our actions are detrimental, however actions to address this and alter our behaviour is only being taken by a small few. We need to make an effort as a society to repair the results of inaction.

Small groups have formed to help save the frog, such as NZ Frog (http://www.nzfrogs.org/NZ+Frogs/Save+the+frogs.html)  and The Amphibian Survival Alliance (http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/aug2009/2009-08-26-02.html).

For more information of the decline of the amphibian population, please visit NZ Frogs at http://www.nzfrogs.org/Amphibian+Extinction+Crisis.html, as well as an article by the BBC at http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8292690.stm

What is Sustainability Development?

Sustainable development, as defined by the Brundtland Commission, is “development that meets the needs of today’s generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” (source: Lecture notes, Chris Ling, Friday January 7, 2010).

I believe that in order to achieve this, there needs to be a balance between economic, social and environmental sustainability.

Environmental sustainability can be considered to live within the means of our natural environment, using only what can be regenerated. There are two categories of Natural Capital: Renewable Natural Capital and Non-Renewable Natural Capital. Renewable Natural Capital is considered to be natural systems that can replenish themselves using energy from the sun (i.e. forests), and Non-Renewable Natural Capital is passive systems that can’t easily replenish themselves (i.e. coal) (source: Lecture notes, Chris Ling, Friday January 7, 2010).

To a certain extent our economy relies on our natural capital. Deforestation (renewable natural capital) allows for the development of agricultural land (production of grains and legumes), as well as the pulp and paper industry. Over consumption of our forests compared to their ability to regenerate, creates barren landscapes, reduction of soil moisture, increased erosion, and potential collapse of the agriculture and pulp and paper economies (for example). This is not considered to be sustainable.

Use of our non-renewable resources, such as coal, allows society to produce electricity. Increased energy consumption would result in over use of our coal resources, which may run out at a faster rate. As coal is considered non-renewable natural capital, society would not likely see this source regenerate within our lifetime.

Overconsumption of our natural capital, both renewable and non-renewable, could potentially result in reduced natural capital available for future generations, resulting in an economic shift to un-sustainability and would not provide socially sustainable development. Yes, new technologies would be developed to accommodate the lack of coal for power production (i.e. wind power), and the lack of forest products, however, this would not be considered to be environmentally sustainable.

A balance of the three criteria - social, economic and environmental sustainability - would ensure that there would not be overconsumption of our natural capital (renewable and non-renewable). Future generations would then have access to this natural capital and sustainable development would be achieved.