To people living in the mid-island area of Vancouver Island, Dirk Becker and Nicole Shaw's urban (well, mostly rural) 2.5 acre Compassion Farm was created with the hard work of rebuilding the top-soil by hand! (The previous owner stripped all the top-soil off, leaving the gravel sub-surface). Due to a complaint by a neighbour the municipality has ordered them to stop growing food. (See a local newspaper or the Nanaimo blog for the scoop.)
Many other cities are realising the importance of urban gardening, and have changed the bylaws to allow for such operations. Not true here! Despite the fact that only about 5% of our food on the entire island is grown locally (down from 60% just a few decades back). We would soon starve if a natural or political disaster were to strike. Our food security is not secure.
It is strange that while homeowners can have home-based businesses, those who grow food cannot make it into a business, unless they are able to afford the very expensive (and increasingly harder to find) agricultural land. Farmers have discovered that they cannot compete with the subsidised foods of the world, and Canada is quickly losing ground in terms of self-sufficiency.
It is the Dirk's and Nicol's of the world who work for about $2/hour to bring us the best, most nutritious, least carbon-intensive food of the world. We owe them our gratitude and support.
If you wish to join the effort to change the bylaws you can join the Facebook group ("Compassion Farm") or write a letter to Lantzville's council.
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Monday, November 22, 2010
Transportation Forum
Just over a week ago our non-profit (Energy Solutions for Vancouver Island) hosted a sustainable transportation forum. With about 100 people participating, 2 key-note speakers, 9 panelists, and a really engaged group, it was a great event!
Those participating recognised the fact that especially in our region we are totally dependent on the automobile to get around. Our communities have been designed around the car. Cyclists don't feel safe. Transit (while improving) is not adequate. Greyhound keeps on cutting back its service. One cannot get a taxi at the local ferry terminal. Cars costs us an average of $8K or more (that's close to minimum wage, after taxes)!
People picked up the notion that we need to design our cities and municipalities differently. We need to have more densely populated areas near the arteries, roads that have lots of public transit. We need to cut back on the sprawl. We have lots of land in the current city boundaries! We can be far more intelligent in the way we live and move around.
Being sucked into spending huge sums of money (individually and through our local taxes) to continue the current unsustainable system has to end. Maybe then we will begin to talk to our neighbours, rather than zoom past them! Maybe then we will begin to get back into shape and save the beleaguered health care system from certain demise.
The possibilities are limitless!
Those participating recognised the fact that especially in our region we are totally dependent on the automobile to get around. Our communities have been designed around the car. Cyclists don't feel safe. Transit (while improving) is not adequate. Greyhound keeps on cutting back its service. One cannot get a taxi at the local ferry terminal. Cars costs us an average of $8K or more (that's close to minimum wage, after taxes)!
People picked up the notion that we need to design our cities and municipalities differently. We need to have more densely populated areas near the arteries, roads that have lots of public transit. We need to cut back on the sprawl. We have lots of land in the current city boundaries! We can be far more intelligent in the way we live and move around.
Being sucked into spending huge sums of money (individually and through our local taxes) to continue the current unsustainable system has to end. Maybe then we will begin to talk to our neighbours, rather than zoom past them! Maybe then we will begin to get back into shape and save the beleaguered health care system from certain demise.
The possibilities are limitless!
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Community in action
This evening I had the honour of chairing a meeting of interested community people wanting us to set up our own car (time) share co-op. What an enthusiastic bunch, even when we had to slog through the major decisions in the incorporation document! I'm inspired.
You may be asking what a car share co-op is. It's like the old family car being shared between several drivers, each using the car for his or her own purpose, as needed or wanted. Expenses are (at least in theory!) shared between those family members.
In a community-run and owned co-op the cost of operating the vehicles is shared between the members. The more they drive the vehicles the greater share of the cost they incur. If they don't use the car that month, they pay nothing.
All the hassles of operating a vehicle are taken care of by the co-op. The cost of depreciation is shared. Insurance is shared. So is the car loan. As a result very significant savings are realised.
What's also wonderful is that without one's own car sitting in the driveway people are far more likely to use public transit, cycling, walking, car pooling, and making sure that when they do have the car they make maximum usage of it. As a result car share members are usually in better physical and emotional shape, are more community-oriented (and benefit as such), help to support public transit (which, in turn, adds more frequency to their schedules), greatly reduces the number of vehicles on the road, and far more.
Everyone but the car-related companies benefits.
Going back to the meeting, it just goes to show how a committed bunch of people can bring about positive changes. Indeed, as Margaret Mead pointed out, this is about the only way positive change does occur.
A toast to people working together!
You may be asking what a car share co-op is. It's like the old family car being shared between several drivers, each using the car for his or her own purpose, as needed or wanted. Expenses are (at least in theory!) shared between those family members.
In a community-run and owned co-op the cost of operating the vehicles is shared between the members. The more they drive the vehicles the greater share of the cost they incur. If they don't use the car that month, they pay nothing.
All the hassles of operating a vehicle are taken care of by the co-op. The cost of depreciation is shared. Insurance is shared. So is the car loan. As a result very significant savings are realised.
What's also wonderful is that without one's own car sitting in the driveway people are far more likely to use public transit, cycling, walking, car pooling, and making sure that when they do have the car they make maximum usage of it. As a result car share members are usually in better physical and emotional shape, are more community-oriented (and benefit as such), help to support public transit (which, in turn, adds more frequency to their schedules), greatly reduces the number of vehicles on the road, and far more.
Everyone but the car-related companies benefits.
Going back to the meeting, it just goes to show how a committed bunch of people can bring about positive changes. Indeed, as Margaret Mead pointed out, this is about the only way positive change does occur.
A toast to people working together!
Friday, September 10, 2010
Renovating energy wisely
This week I have done two energy assessments on homes that are currently being extensively renovated. What a treat to be a part of their planning, one that will save them a great deal of energy and provide greater comfort.
The first home was a 1921 home, or more correctly, two 1920's homes that were combined into one. This heritage home will have extensive work done on the basement, will be replacing the old oil furnace with an air-air heat pump (they couldn't afford to go for the in-floor radiant heat, which would have been a much superior option, especially if an air-water heat pump was connected to it).
They are removing the inefficient fireplace and installing a wood stove. Trying to move that heated air from one part of the house to another was examined.
The owner likes the old windows, especially the leaded one. Problem is that virtually all of the windows are single pane. After they seal up the major air leaks and put some more insulation in the attic those windows will be the #1 heat loss.
Solution? She is a sewer, and plans on making thick curtains for those windows. Lining them with a product that contains aluminum foil would give them even more night-time energy efficiency, as radiant heat movement accounts for more than half of all energy loss in clear windows. (If you want to know more about this unique curtain liner, do ask me.)
She liked the idea of installing heat drain recovery pipes while renovating the bathrooms. This one change (costing less than $2000) will save them more than 10% in their total heating bills!
These and other plans are going to save them well over half of the existing energy costs, and make them more comfortable and able to stay warm even during power outages. All because they are incorporating energy upgrades while renovating their lovely home.
It pays to be wise.
The first home was a 1921 home, or more correctly, two 1920's homes that were combined into one. This heritage home will have extensive work done on the basement, will be replacing the old oil furnace with an air-air heat pump (they couldn't afford to go for the in-floor radiant heat, which would have been a much superior option, especially if an air-water heat pump was connected to it).
They are removing the inefficient fireplace and installing a wood stove. Trying to move that heated air from one part of the house to another was examined.
The owner likes the old windows, especially the leaded one. Problem is that virtually all of the windows are single pane. After they seal up the major air leaks and put some more insulation in the attic those windows will be the #1 heat loss.
Solution? She is a sewer, and plans on making thick curtains for those windows. Lining them with a product that contains aluminum foil would give them even more night-time energy efficiency, as radiant heat movement accounts for more than half of all energy loss in clear windows. (If you want to know more about this unique curtain liner, do ask me.)
She liked the idea of installing heat drain recovery pipes while renovating the bathrooms. This one change (costing less than $2000) will save them more than 10% in their total heating bills!
These and other plans are going to save them well over half of the existing energy costs, and make them more comfortable and able to stay warm even during power outages. All because they are incorporating energy upgrades while renovating their lovely home.
It pays to be wise.
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Wrapping it up
On Monday a plumber and I replaced an ailing hot water tank with a new electric tank, and super-wrapped it.
No, it wasn't a Christmas gift, although the money the homeowner will save will be enough to add a gift or two under the tree every year.
What we did was to make that new tank significantly more energy efficient, especially compared to the old tank. In fact research reveals that super-insulating a tank will make it nearly as efficient as a "water-on-demand" heater! Not only is this method considerably less expensive than a water-on-demand heater one does not need natural gas or propane, thus reducing pollution, greenhouse gases, and the expense and danger associated with gas.
The most neglected part of insulating a hot water tank is that many of them sit on uninsulated, cold (and often damp) basement floors. Heat from the tank radiates in all directions, including down into that slab and, beyond it, mother earth. We put an R-10 barrier underneath the new tank, resulting in considerable energy savings right there. And the cost to do so was only about $15.
We finished off the project by insulating both the hot and cold water pipes going into the tank since those pipes otherwise radiate a lot of heat.
The total cost of super-wrapping a tank is only $200, including labour. Smart homeowners and renters can do it for half this price, saving that cost, and more, every year.
Wrapping it up. A great gift to oneself, and the planet!
No, it wasn't a Christmas gift, although the money the homeowner will save will be enough to add a gift or two under the tree every year.
What we did was to make that new tank significantly more energy efficient, especially compared to the old tank. In fact research reveals that super-insulating a tank will make it nearly as efficient as a "water-on-demand" heater! Not only is this method considerably less expensive than a water-on-demand heater one does not need natural gas or propane, thus reducing pollution, greenhouse gases, and the expense and danger associated with gas.
The most neglected part of insulating a hot water tank is that many of them sit on uninsulated, cold (and often damp) basement floors. Heat from the tank radiates in all directions, including down into that slab and, beyond it, mother earth. We put an R-10 barrier underneath the new tank, resulting in considerable energy savings right there. And the cost to do so was only about $15.
We finished off the project by insulating both the hot and cold water pipes going into the tank since those pipes otherwise radiate a lot of heat.
The total cost of super-wrapping a tank is only $200, including labour. Smart homeowners and renters can do it for half this price, saving that cost, and more, every year.
Wrapping it up. A great gift to oneself, and the planet!
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Transportation is key
I have just returned from a week of cycling around a few of our beautiful Gulf Islands, a great way to holiday! Here I get to slow down, ponder, reflect, experience nature, see far more than do people in automobiles, and get into shape!
While on Salt Spring Island I took public transportation to Victoria and back so that I could do a little business. It was a snap, and I was able to read a book en-route.
A writer to a local newspaper by the name of "J. Sharpe" keeps on advocating a complete reliance on automobiles, claiming that it costs too much to repair the railway and that bicycles and public transportation are not "viable."
Sadly we, through our governments, pay a very heavy price for the convenience of the private automobile -not only through taxes that subsidise the roads, hospitals, environmental destruction and even the extraction of fossil fuels(!), but we also pay hugely through greatly reduced physical and social well-being.
I have come to the conclusion that our collective and individual addiction to convenience, the "easy life", avoidance of nature (why is rain such a terrible thing to avoid?) and the consuming of the planet is quickly leading us to a premature death -individually and collectively.
If we plan on staying on this planetary home for much longer it is high time we moved away from the private automobile except whenever necessary (car pooling and car time-sharing are but two alternatives).
Dedicated bicycle paths have made a huge difference in Victoria, where the percentage of commuters travelling by bicycle is more than 20 times that of Nanaimo and other communities north of the Malahat.
Denser populations make car sharing, car pooling, public transportation, walking and cycling much more doable.
We need to collectively push our governments into more sustainable, livable, and affordable ways of living and travelling.
And we need to lead by example.
While on Salt Spring Island I took public transportation to Victoria and back so that I could do a little business. It was a snap, and I was able to read a book en-route.
A writer to a local newspaper by the name of "J. Sharpe" keeps on advocating a complete reliance on automobiles, claiming that it costs too much to repair the railway and that bicycles and public transportation are not "viable."
Sadly we, through our governments, pay a very heavy price for the convenience of the private automobile -not only through taxes that subsidise the roads, hospitals, environmental destruction and even the extraction of fossil fuels(!), but we also pay hugely through greatly reduced physical and social well-being.
I have come to the conclusion that our collective and individual addiction to convenience, the "easy life", avoidance of nature (why is rain such a terrible thing to avoid?) and the consuming of the planet is quickly leading us to a premature death -individually and collectively.
If we plan on staying on this planetary home for much longer it is high time we moved away from the private automobile except whenever necessary (car pooling and car time-sharing are but two alternatives).
Dedicated bicycle paths have made a huge difference in Victoria, where the percentage of commuters travelling by bicycle is more than 20 times that of Nanaimo and other communities north of the Malahat.
Denser populations make car sharing, car pooling, public transportation, walking and cycling much more doable.
We need to collectively push our governments into more sustainable, livable, and affordable ways of living and travelling.
And we need to lead by example.
Saturday, July 10, 2010
The true cost
It has been argued that the current downturn in the economy, one that came close to becoming another depression, was caused by higher (fossil fuel) energy prices and the drive for short-term profits by corporations. There is likely a great deal of truth to both.
The solutions, of course, are in switching government subsidies from fossil fuels to renewables, adding carbon taxes to energy sources that are not renewable, and in restructuring the investment community so that it takes a longer view.
I note that these two destructive factors are strongly at work in the general population, not only amongst investors and corporate heads. When it comes to energy conservation/efficiency and renewable energy the question is always asked "what is the pay-back period?" This question is never asked when deciding to update one's kitchen, buying a car, and the like. People want to know how affordable it is to them, not what the energy savings are going to be, nor how much more energy secure they are going to be.
A very innovative funding program in the U.S. has recently been closed down because the mortgage companies were not convinced that homeowners paying less for energy are less likely to foreclose on their mortgages. The long-term viability of operating a home has been sacrificed for the short-term.
Homeowners here are usually far more concerned about borrowing more money, even when it can be shown that the reduced energy costs would pay for those borrowing costs. And once the loan is paid off then they would have more disposable income.
Unless we learn from lessons provided to us from "the great recession" we are far more likely going to repeat it. If we do learn then we can have improved financial security, a better environment, and a future for our children/grandchildren.
The solutions, of course, are in switching government subsidies from fossil fuels to renewables, adding carbon taxes to energy sources that are not renewable, and in restructuring the investment community so that it takes a longer view.
I note that these two destructive factors are strongly at work in the general population, not only amongst investors and corporate heads. When it comes to energy conservation/efficiency and renewable energy the question is always asked "what is the pay-back period?" This question is never asked when deciding to update one's kitchen, buying a car, and the like. People want to know how affordable it is to them, not what the energy savings are going to be, nor how much more energy secure they are going to be.
A very innovative funding program in the U.S. has recently been closed down because the mortgage companies were not convinced that homeowners paying less for energy are less likely to foreclose on their mortgages. The long-term viability of operating a home has been sacrificed for the short-term.
Homeowners here are usually far more concerned about borrowing more money, even when it can be shown that the reduced energy costs would pay for those borrowing costs. And once the loan is paid off then they would have more disposable income.
Unless we learn from lessons provided to us from "the great recession" we are far more likely going to repeat it. If we do learn then we can have improved financial security, a better environment, and a future for our children/grandchildren.
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