Hope for the Future

Many people feel that we are too far gone and the earth can never heal from the damage done, but I am not one of those people. I try to have a positive outlook on things and I really feel that we can still make this world a sustainable place (hence my career choice), but it will take some drastic changes. We can’t just sit around and wait for it to fix itself, because if the earth were to fix itself it would most likely mean that all the humans would be killed through extreme weather or a massive disease outbreak. It would be like re-enacting a scene from one of the many movies written about the end of the world.

Until a drastic change is made, all of the symptoms of global warming will continue. Sea level will rise, weather patterns will change, biodiversity will decrease, etc, etc. People will find ways to alter their life’s to accommodate these changes in the environment. We are adaptable beings and we will find some way to make it work. But adapting to these changes without altering our ways of life is not going to work. The world will reach its carrying capacity, or the point where it can take no more abuse. I think that if this point is reached there will be a drastic decline in human population.

It’s crazy to think that after all of the visible symptoms of global warming, some people still don’t believe in it. They have to be living in denial or they just aren’t educated on the subject as it is so obvious when you have any sort of background in science (even a high school level). These are the ignorant people that we need to make sure are kept out of power. They should not be politicians, they should not be big corporations, and they should not be anyone that has an influence over a large number of people. This is crucial as they could influence other people to think the same way.

People need to stay encouraged and know that even though they are only one person they can still make a difference! One day soon, when im done school, I hope to be one of those people that really does influence an important progressive change on this planet.

My Stuff and Other Sources of Consumption

Everyone should watch this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gLBE5QAYXp8

I try not to consume as much as I can. When I was younger I used to go shopping all the time. I had sooo many clothes and just things in general, and the majority of it I did not need. Being a student makes me consume a lot less because I am too poor to afford anything! It has really made me realize how many things I really don’t need. Living in Victoria has really made me aware of supporting local businesses as well. I really despise Walmart and avoid it as much as possible, but on a student’s budget it is sometimes necessary.

Once you are conscious of the real source of the things you buy it makes a huge difference. To know that the cheap, disposable products are taking such a huge toll on the earth provides me with so much reason to not purchase those products.  Food is the one thing that I probably spend too much money on. My boyfriend and I always ensure that our fridge and cupboards are full, but we would probably be better off without a quarter of the stuff we have. Food is one thing that MANY people spend too much money on. I have read many publications on the growing obesity problem and am perfectly aware of the correlation between consumption, culture and obesity.

My family is nothing like me in this sense of understanding consumption. My sister eats fast food pretty much daily, and yes she is that person sitting in the drive-thru for 10 minutes instead of just walking in for 3 minutes. Most of her money goes to expensive clothes she doesn’t need, more food, and a lot of disposable products. My parents are a bit better but they too are victims to society in that they feel they need new things all the time to be in style or to impress their friends. Hopefully I can influence them to make better choices. There are easy ways to make a difference. Easy steps I have already taken to reduce my consumption include:

·         Shopping at local grocery store, such as The Market on Yates

·         Not consuming fast food such as McDonalds, Dairy Queen, A&W, Burger King, etc. (I haven’t since I was15!)

·         Avoiding Walmart at all costs

·         Avoiding disposable items

·         I am ok with spending a bit more money on higher quality, locally made, longer lasting products

·         Educating myself on how to do more and educating others!

Some people don’t agree, I know I am making a difference, even if it’s just on small scale.

The Sustainable City

Recently, cradle-to-cradle design has been a concept discussed for implementation on a city level. William McDonough is behind this new type that is pretty much a way of designing products, businesses and now cities to work in perfect cycles that leave virtually no waste behind. It views everything as nutrients, whether it is a technical nutrient or a biological nutrient, and promotes durable products that can be continuously recycled, similar to the biogeochemical cycles on earth.

A city based on cradle-to-cradle would be:

·         Designed to ensure all homes get natural sunlight at some point of the day (reduces energy requires, allows for in home gardens, etc)

·         Designed to ensure wind patterns allow all homes get fresh clean air (reduces illnesses)

·         Designed for mixed use (promotes mobility, reduced transportation costs/emissions, boosts local economy, etc)

·         Designed so that everyone is within a 5 minute walk of transportation hubs (reduces dependence on motor vehicles, promotes cleaner air, cleaner city in general, etc)

·         Has a 24 hour street to ensure there is always somewhere for people to be/go (helps reduce crime)

·         Wastewater is used to produce biogas to provide natural gas for cooking (treats what is considered now to be a waste product as an important source of energy)

·         Wastewater is also used to produce fertilizer (biosolids, which are now a waste product are used to grow food and then become a commodity)

·         Constructed wetlands all around the city to allow natural water filtration and ecosystem biodiversity (natural water filtration allows for reduction in chemical dependence, helps ecosystems)

·         All roofs are farms! Bridges connect rooftops to allow for the farmers to easily move from field to field (ensures that all space available is used productively and can produce something useful, no space is wasted)

·         Solar power will be generated on the roofs of all the industrial buildings and will be used to power the city (reduces dependence on fossil fuels)

All of these measures would cause cities to improve their sustainability greatly. Cities are pretty much the opposite of this now. More concrete than nature, huge amounts of garbage, too many cars, etc. McDonough is really putting ideas out there that will change the way cities are designed in a huge way.

All information was from William McDonough’s TED talk which can be found at this link: http://www.ted.com/talks/william_mcdonough_on_cradle_to_cradle_design.html

Powering a Sustainable Society

http://buildfutureenergy.wordpress.com/2010/05/02/green-giggles-renewable-energy-jokes/

Renewable energy is the answer to our dwindling resource woes. Oil and gas are increasing in prices and they will continue to do so. Therefore we need to find other ways to sustain and power our communites. A really great example using renewable energy in a community is in Okotoks, Alberta, where I used to work. In Okotoks, there is a solar powered community consisting of 52 solar powered homes. Okotoks is estimated to get as much sunshine as Miami Florida on a yearly basis. The houses look like normal houses except for a few solar panels on the roofs of the houses and the garages. These houses are special because:

·         90% of the energy required for space heating is produced by solar panels.

·         Each home produces 5 tonnes fewer greenhouse gases than a regular home does in a year.

·         All water is heated with solar energy.

In the summer when they are producing a lot of heat, it is put into a storage system for the winter months. To store energy there is 2 systems in place. For long term storage there is a borehole system built underground that cycles the heat through 144 holes that are 37 meters deep and 35 meters in diameter.  The borehole system holds heat by being insulated with layers of clay, sand, and other layers of insulation. When looking at the area where the borehole sits, you would never know that it is there. On land it is designed as a green space for families and pets to enjoy. The second heat storage area consists of thermal storage tanks that cycle the heat above ground.

http://www.dlsc.ca/how.htm

These are only a few of the measures taken to ensure these homes are sustainable. The list goes on much further than this!

http://www.dlsc.ca/index.htm

This type of community is easy to create. The solar panels do not take up virtually any space, and areas that get high levels of sunlight throughout the year can have quick pay back for the costs of the solar panels. This is a relatively easy way to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels on a community scale.

All information related to Okotoks was taken from the following website:

http://www.dlsc.ca/how.htm



Sustainability and Communities

http://www.equinoxcenter.org/research-topics/land-use/overview.html

This diagram summarizes the requirements for a community based on Smart Growth. Smart Growth is a method of designing communities in a sustainable manner. In my opinion... why the hell werent we designing communites like this in the first place!!! Its just so obvious that this is how communites will be more successful. Instead urban sprawl just took over and made cities way to big, and communites way too useless, destroying a lot of natural resources and land along the way.  

Studies have shown that if a person’s destination is more than 800m away they will choose to drive versus walk. Therefore communities should be based on a distance of 800m. This means that schools, churches, stores, banks, etc, Should all be within 800 meters from as many households as possible in a community. Most effective would be a circular community with all stores and amenities in the core of the circle with the homes surrounding the core to a distance of 800m in all directions. This ensures that people could live within their community and they could walk or bike to a destination very easily. This would mean that more kids could walk/bike to school, more people could walk to the grocery store, etc. This helps to ensure the community is liveable for all.

To promote walking there needs to be appropriate walking paths that actually go somewhere. Many walking paths in communities today do not lead to any actual destination or they are a much longer distance than the driving route. Therefore the users are limited to those who are just walking for fun. There also is a requirement in communities to provide parks, wetlands, and green space for community enjoyment. This helps to preserve open space and resources in the community.

Having a core business center in the community will promote economic development of the community. It can also act as a central meeting place for people living in the community to meet one another improving the social aspects of the community. Community problems such as crime, litter, accidents, and such will be minimized if the socialization between neighbours increases. When your neighbours are your friends and you know that they are looking out for you, it helps you to feel safer and can increase security of an area.

To ensure that people of all income levels and family sizes can inhabit the community a range of housing opportunities should be provided. You can make lower income housing in areas such as above businesses in the central core. A variety of townhomes, apartments, and single family homes should be present. This should be designed so that as many people as possible can be housed within the community and also try to satisfy the 800 meter distance to the central core.

For times when people need to leave their community alternative modes of transportation such as an appropriate public transit system must be available. Having a central transit area in the core of the community that would provide rapid transit buses to important areas of the city would be beneficial. Problems with public transit usually include:

·         Takes much longer than driving a personal vehicle

·         Never on time

·         Doesn’t service your community

·         Too expensive

The more of these problems that are addressed, the more people you will have riding it. Therefore a central transit area in the core of the community with rapid transit will ensure that the travel times are comparable to driving times and will also ensure that everyone in the community will have access to the system.

All of these ideas will allow an increase in the quality of life of all community members. It will provide people with more affordable and appropriate housing, a reduction in the dependence on motor vehicles through walking and public transit, opportunities for economic development, opportunities for social and cultural development, and more.

Even tho this is just a comic and is supposed to be ironic.. this actually happens.

http://rocknetroots.blogspot.com/2008_05_01_archive.html

Overpopulation and Overconsumption

Whether or not overpopulation is the stem of the problem, over consumption is a huge problem, especially in developed nations. My favourite example.... the show Man vs. Food on the travel network. (http://www.travelchannel.com/TV_Shows/Man_V_Food)

I despise this show, it makes me want to write hate mail after hate mail after hate mail. The entire basis of the show is there is one guy who travels around the US and other countries and gets challenged to eating massive amounts of food. So pretty much, one man gets to be the biggest glutton he possibly can, and over consume as much as he can, while there are billions of starving people in the world. He seriously eats enough food to feed at least 5 normal North American people a meal. The money and resources used by this show alone could probably solve world hunger when u consider the money for travelling, staff, food, other resources.... it is ridiculous and it really proves how messed up this world is that there is a need for this show to even exist. With obesity rates in North America sky rocketing it is also very apparent that over consumption is a problem. And this show is just contributing to the problem that much more.

Over consumption (related to my life directly) first became ridiculously obvious to me when I worked for the Town of Okotoks. I was in charge of educating the Town on the new bylaw of only 2 bags of garbage per week and ensuring that people were abiding to it. For my family (4 of us) this garbage limit would have never been a problem, but it didn’t affect us since we lived in Calgary and Calgary does not have garbage limit, which is outrageous! So after looking at peoples garbage every day I began to notice more when people in Calgary had around 10 bags a garbage sitting out beside their 2 escalades waiting to be picked up every week.. I don’t understand how that is possible. Calgary has a recycling program... you don’t even have to sort it and then bin itself is huge! How can a household still produce that much garbage? Its an exact demonstration of overconsumption.

These days there are millions of products that people don’t need, but they still buy. Mostly because they want to be “better” in society because people think that things make you seem successful, like nice cars, lots of toys, lots of clothes...etc.  For example, my mom is a bit bored now that all me and my sister have moved out so she keeps getting these ideas for renovating parts of our house. Our house is only 5 years old!!! It definitely doesn’t need any renovations. I ask her why she wants the renovations... “I hate the backsplash in our kitchen” is how she responds. I am somewhat of a minimalist, so to me this is just stupid that she wants to spend money and use resources on something that is fine just the way it is. I totally believe that if it isn’t broken..dont fix it! But everyone, including my mom, strives to consume in this society and it will continue until people change their attitude or there is nothing left to consume. Overconsumption is the problem.. and it doesn’t seem like it will get solved any time soon.

On the topic of overpopulation, here is an interesting video I found: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZVOU5bfHrM