Well, today the Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science Cohort at RRU finished the last two classes of Sustainability and Community relations. I have to say that I am going to miss that class.

The first lecture today was on planning for sustainable communities. It was wrap up lecture that takes all of the stuff we learned and integrates it together. We got into a great discussion on urban sprawl and how cities need to rethink the way urban planning is done. I was thinking of Calgary the whole time and how it is the model of what "not" to do. There was actually a documentary made in Calgary on the topic of suburban sprawl. It is called "Radiant City" and it discusses much of what we covered in our lecture. I encourage all who read this blog to check it out.

I think that suburban sprawl stems from the post war psyche that developed when all the veterans returned after WWII. The infrastructure that was built to support the war was enormous. Cars were now produced fast enough and cheap enough that they were affordable for most of everyone. The American Dream was sold to everyone as having your own home on your own piece of land and of course, a car that could take you anywhere you want to go. Suburb after suburb was built in almost every city on the continent to ensure that everyone got their piece of the "American Dream." Calgary, being an oil based community, is even worse. Albertans define themselves somewhat through fossil fuel consumption. I remember being told as a kid that Calgarians had the most number of cars per capita in North America.

I grew up in a suburb of Calgary and here I am now, criticising it. It seemed different back then and in a way it was. In my community there was a strip mall every few blocks that had a number of small businesses. Close to me there was a convenience store, movie store, hair salon, restaurant, dry cleaners, and sporting goods store. Not too far away from me there was another set of stores. these were the small power centers of that time. Now there is just a series of Macs stores and 7-11s. If you want to get anything these days you go to the malls and the power centers. Big box stores rule! If you can't find what your looking for in one of these stores, chances are you can't find it at all.

It has all become so ugly to me now and I want to change it. I think the transition for me was when I lived in an urban village in Sydney, Australia. It was so nice having everything within walking distance. There was so much character and culture on the streets and in the businesses. Coming back to Calgary, I noticed how faceless the city had become. I think one of the biggest things I have gotten out of this class is a kick start to being a part of the sustainable planning movement. I would like to encourage this new way of doing things and help bring back the urban villages. As I have said in previous posts, once I get settled I am going to start participating in community events by volunteering and attending meetings. I will bring this new enlightened information I have learned to the community and hopefully some of it will rub off.

With that, I am signing off!! It has been great communicating with all of you, whoever you are!!!

Cheers,

Sustainability and Beyond

Before I started my sustainable community class I thought that sustainability was just a word, applied to something that could continue indefinitely because it had little or no impact on the system in which it operates. I thought that it could be applied to building practices and lifestyle choices but what I neglected to realize was that it could be applied to communities and the social world. More importantly, it is the community that is the real root of sustainability.

Reflecting on the social capital lecture I attended a few weeks ago, I learned that our standard of living is intricately attached to how well our community functions. Crime rates, happiness, education and poverty were all closely correlated to the level of social capital experienced in a given area. So really when we discuss the issue of sustainability, we must first address the community because it is a reflection of the attitudes and ideals of its members. If the people within a community do not feel like they belong, it will be impossible to convince them of any sort of sustainable behaviour.

I also learned that getting people to participate in a community is harder than it sounds and it takes a lot more than just throwing a meeting. Leaders must be dedicated to community engagement and they must implement certain techniques that will guarantee them higher levels of success. Big decisions and plans for the future are much easier to implement if everyone is on board and have been able to contribute to the process. Future Search Conferences are excellent ways to move forward in decision making that is inclusive and doesn't only serve the interests of a few.

Knowing this I have been able to look at things in an entirely different way. I am actually thinking that community outreach might be an area of career interest or maybe something to do in my off time. I would love to participate in building a stronger community because I think it could have the most rewarding outcomes. When I get to wherever I am going after I am done school, one of the first things I am going to do is volunteer for some community function. Through this, I am going to learn and see where it takes me.

"Future Search" style meetings are the answer to solving Canada's complex resource issues!

After participating in the mock “Future Search Conference” in my Sustainable Communities class, I was able to recognize the huge benefit to orchestrating this style of community event. I have also realized that this is the style of community engagement that energy companies are using to solve issues with regards to building pipelines and developing the vast resources of Canada.
I was recently reading the business section of the Calgary Herald and I stumbled upon an article about how Trans Canada Corp. has applied and successfully been approved for federal regulation of its Natural gas transport system; “the Alberta System.” This 23,000km pipeline system transports 66% of North America’s natural gas from different wells to markets across the continent. Instead of it being regulated by the province, it will now be regulated by the federal government.
A decision such as this may seem small but it will have impacts on all the thousands of stakeholders that come into contact with the pipeline. In response to this, Trans Canada Corp. is setting up stakeholder consultations all over the province to inform and get feedback on the decision. Some of the stakeholders mentioned are Aboriginal Communities, shippers, landowners, oil service workers, and other affected businesses. This is an enormous task to undertake for what seems like a relatively small decision.
It just makes sense that this is the way things need to be done. There needs to be face to face communication between these groups so that they can truly realize what is at stake. Although it is a lot of work, these companies can only benefit from these conferences by reducing the possibility of resistance in the future and by improving their corporate images.

My Very Own Networking and Social Capital

Before I decided to go back to school, I was a very transient individual and I participated in a number of different occupations. I grew up in Calgary and have lived in Lake Louise, Alberta; The Cayman Islands; Gold Coast, Australia; Sydney, Australia; Olds, Alberta; and now Victoria, BC. Some of my previous jobs have included: Dishwasher; Retail Customer service; Courier; Roomservice waiter/Restaurant waiter; Bartender; Garbologist; Painter; Parks Crew; Labourer; Bar Manager; Flight Attendant; Financial Advisor; Herbicide Applicator and my most recent job as an Environmental Consultant. Wow, when I lay it out like that even I am even amazed. All of these places and jobs are different communities that I have participated in.

As you can imagine, I have met loads of people; many that I still stay in touch with today. Facebook has been amazing for bringing all the people I have known over the years together. When I was travelling, I was sure that a number of the people I had come to know, I would eventually lose touch with. Social networking groups have allowed me to keep loose connections with so-many people!

When I think about the diverse social capital in my life I feel very wealthy. There are very few professions in which I don't know a participant. When I was a Financial Advisor, I was part of a networking group that would get together every week for lunch. The idea was that we would generate leads for others in the group and they would do the same for us. We would exclusively recommend the group member's services if we ever discovered someone with a need. This scenario is really a community of sorts getting together and working together to benefit everyone. No different than any other community that utilizes its social capital.

This class I am taking in community sustainability is really making me aware of the richness I had never really payed attention too before.

"Thumbs Up" for Brownoff!!

Reflecting on Friday's presentation by Judy Brownoff, I am impressed with Brownoff''s style. The presentation was more than just one person informing the audience, instead, it felt more like a collaborative gathering.

It reminded me of what the social philosopher, Mary Follet, had wrote about "Experience Meetings." Follet describes these meetings as ones where the audience is asked to participate in a manner of bringing real life experience to the issue.

We were asked about community engagement and how we thought it could be more effective. By thinking about that question, we were forced to think about ourselves and what could have been done to convince us to participate. When Brownoff asked for our suggestions, her sincerity shined and the group seemed very eager to give their piece.

When I arrived to class that day, I was prepared for a presentation. After I left class, I felt I had contributed to something. Another thing that made it so effective, was the small group in the room. I believe that if more community meetings were held in the same manner, more people would be inclined to participate.

Overall, I am just glad to meet an elected official that is really trying to encourage my support, not just of her, but of the participatory process altogether. I am sad to say that it was the first time I can remember that happening.

Now if I could just get some reprieve from the workload at school, I might actually be able to participate. One day soon!!

India's Fight to Save Social Capital

I read a good article in "The Hindu", a major Indian newspaper, about a new foreign policy bill that will allow giant multinational retailers like Wall-Mart to operate in India. There is a huge community resistance because it is beleived that this policy will prejudice national economic and social interests.

In India, the retail sector is traditionally community-centric, low-cost and employment intense. Typically, a whole family will work in one shop and the whole community is engaged in the trade in a defined area. It is collectively almost an unincorporated enterprise formed by relationship-based communities that are now increasingly regarded as social capital. The argument is that if companies like Wall Mart are allowed to operate in India they will destroy the social capital that has taken soo long to create.

I personally agree with the resistance. The big box stores that litter the power centers of newly built suburbs are the definition of a disconnected community. Wall-Mart is very bad for small business and bad for social capital. If these stores are allowed to move in, India will lose millions of jobs and displace just as many people. The social fabric will be disturbed and community health will decrease.

For India's sake, I really hope the this bill does not get passed!

GMOs- Scary Business

I just finished watching the documentary "Life According to Monsanto" and it scared the living bejeezers out of me! I understand that documentaries can be tailored to manipulate the viewer into whichever perspective the creator wants, but watching this documentary coupled with a general understanding of how biotechnology works, it is hard to not be convinced that some pretty ugly stuff is going on in that corporation.

I think one of the scariest things I learned about was how they (Monsanto) are patenting all of these GMOs they are producing and virtually letting them run wild in the world. The examples used in the documentary are Round-up Ready Soy Beans and Round-up Ready Corn. These crops are very common in the US because of their genetically modified resistance to herbicide which allows for the destruction of weeds without harming the cash crop. The problem is that these plants are cross pollinating with other natural corn and soy species which cannot be controlled. Plants with the genetic information created by Monsanto are showing up in some of the most isolated agricultural regions of Mexico. Because these plants contain information owned by Monsanto, people who have these plants on their lands are being sued by Monsanto for royalties. If this continues to happen in mass as it has done, Monsanto could be receiving a royalty for all the corn and soy grown in North America; virtually controlling food!

Another scary feature of this documentary is how Monsanto has been allowed by the FDA to put these products on the market with little unbiased research. Scientists that expose Monsanto get shut down. This even happened in Canada when three doctors from Health Canada exposed the extremely harmful effects of Bovine Growth Hormone (BGH). This hormone is used to increase the production of milk from dairy cows. Not only does it cause irreparable damage to the cows, it has been found to cause cancer in the people that drink the milk. The Doctors that exposed Monsanto were fired from their positions and are currently in a lawsuit that has made national headlines.

I think when we talk about sustainability, we have to address these important issues that will only serve to make us more unsustainable. In my opinion, we cant just let these companies keep getting away with these things. It makes me think of the disconnection that exists between people, communities and their politicians. It always sounds like there are so many people in government that aren't serving the people that elect them. Why, in a free system, where the people are supposed to decide, do I feel so powerless? The more disconnected people become with their communities the less available we are to activate against our governments!

I really encourage anyone to rent/download this documentary. It will open your eyes to some of the real problems associated with GMOs!

Alberta gets a bad rep for the wrong reasons!

Alberta gets a bad rep for all the wrong reasons! Ya, I said It!

All I seem to ever hear about is how bad Alberta is for the environment. The oilsands this, the oilsands that! Its like, if the oilsands happened to be in BC or Ontario, there wouldn't have been any oil production. Yeah right! Unfortunately, the way our system is set up, we will exploit our resources wherever they lay. What people don't understand about Alberta is that because of its oil history, the environmental legislation in the province is stricter than anywhere else in the country. Our reclamation and remediation practices are unmatched in the WORLD!!!

Yes, I will agree, the oilsands is a bit of a disaster, but that can't be blamed on us. In the spirit of South park "Blame Canada" because it is all of us that are the real culprits. The oil in Alberta contributes more to the federal GDP than any other source. It pays for our social systems and the high standard of living that we have all grown accustomed to. As long as this is the case, shutting it down is going to be a really tough sell. I'm not saying that we shouldn't look for alternative sources of energy, just that the economics speaks for itself.

I got on this tangent because I just read an article on how Alberta is going to be the first province that recycles construction and demolition materials. We are the first in many areas of environmental sustainability, but nobody ever hears about that. The community of Okotoks, in Southern Alberta, has a suburb that runs almost entirely off the grid. Hundreds of houses hooked up to geothermal and solar panels. The town of Vulcan has set clear objectives to run the entire town off of solar power. Alberta is the biggest user of wind energy. The list goes on and on!

I am a member of the Alberta community and I think we are more sustainable than you may have heard!

A Thought on Communities and the Economy

When I was growing up, Alberta was in a recession. The destructive impact of the National Energy Program lasted well into the mid 90's.The community I was raised in, however, seemed to be much more integrated than it is now. I used to know almost every household within a four block radius of my house (especially the households with kids). There was a park on my street where all the kids in the community would meet after school. From there we would play street hockey, basketball, football, and other games of all sorts. We were always outside, year-round, rain or shine. Our parents were all friends and if we got into trouble or out of hand, they knew immediately. There was always some sort of community activity going on like a BBQ or dance.

Just before attending school in Vancouver Island, I spent a few months in my old community. 14 years later and I don't even recognize the place anymore. My parents only know a handful of people (mainly just the homes within the immediate vicinity) and they say that they haven't seen a street hockey game played in years.

In the last 10 years, Calgary has gone through a period of extreme growth. A huge migration of people from other areas of Canada and the world have decided to make Calgary their home. I believe that this has created a considerable disconnection between Calgarians and there communities.

It will be interesting to see what happens with this economic slowdown. Now that property values aren't doubling every six months, I have a suspicion that people will become more planted. With continued loss of jobs I can foresee individuals becoming more reliant on their communities for support.

Maybe community building peaks in hard economic times and weakens in good economic times.

Just a thought!!

Decentralize or centralize?

Recently, the provinces and municipalities made bids to the federal government for infrastructure funding. I watched a segment on the Victoria local news about how in the Greater Victoria Area, 14 municipalities had to make separate bids for funding to the federal government. Each of these municipalities were concerned that they weren't going to get their piece of the pie. Some of the mayors suggested that they should all think about almalgamating into one municipality so they only had to make one bid that represented them all. It was speculated that this would be a more effective approach.

I immediately thought of my Sustainable Community class and the discussion we had on decentralization. If decentralization is a more sustainable approach then why were these mayors suggesting to become more centralized? Was it because they were trying to be decentralized in a centralized system? My gut tells me that smaller, decentralized communities would be more sustainable but this scenario also leads me to believe that there are significant challenges to achieving that.

Unfortunately, I lack the knowledge of the inner-workings of government to make an insightful reccommendation for this problem and would appreciate any response from one who knows more.

Holiday Waste. Sick!!

After watching everyone open there Christmas presents this holiday season it was hard for me to ignore the amount of packaging waste that is created from consumerism. Not only did each present come wrapped in paper treated with metallic coatings, inks and dyes; the presents themselves were wrapped in a gross amount of crap. Cardboard boxes, Styrofoam, plastic bubble wrap and, of course, that extremely hard plastic packaging for small electronics that you need the "Jaws of Life" to open. It is truly disgusting!

I would like to find out how much extra waste is produced over the Christmas holidays. I bet it is astonishing. Of course, this behaviour continues throughout the year, but is intensified at Christmas by the obligations people feel they have to buy for others.

In my opinion, efforts to develop packaging solutions should be at the forefront of the environmental checklist. There has to be a more environmentally friendly way to transport goods. At least the goods, themselves, can usually be used for reasonable amount of time. I would estimate that nearly 80% of the packaging that these goods are shipped in is disposed of immediately. Yes, some of it would be recycled, but it was still produced to serve one purpose; getting it from point A to B. Not even close to a sustainable system!

An environmentally friendly packaging solution that lowers company expenses would be worth billions. I wonder sometimes how much unnecessary space some of these packages take up. I know that they are designed by engineers, but it seems like all that extra plastic was used just to hang those headphones on the wall of the store. I recently ordered a book from Amazon and was delivered in a box Four times the size of the book. The empty space was filled with bubble wrap. How can that make sense? Companies should be focusing on reducing the space consumption of packaging. Just look at Ikea! They have mastered the art of space utilization and it translates into extra dollars. There is less packaging and more units can be transported by one load. Makes sense to me so why doesn't it make sense to them?