Vancouver targets eco-crown as planet’s ‘greenest’ city

If you look at Vancouver from the Strait of Georgia it is hard to believe you are sailing into the greenest city in Canada.

From the upper deck of a B.C. Ferry on a sunny, cloudless day, you will see a ghastly blue haze drifting away from the city’s glistening towers, toward the Fraser Valley.

One of Vancouver’s biggest exports is smog, which has long been a sore point for people in neighbouring Abbotsford and Chilliwack. Those much smaller towns are surrounded by farmland and by rights should have cleaner air than the big city.

Vancouver the greenest city in Canada, index shows

But Vancouver – which has its heart set on becoming the “greenest city in the world” by 2020 – has better air quality, because that’s the way the wind blows.
It’s not clear how much that helped in a recent study by the Economist Intelligence Unit, which rated Vancouver as the second greenest city in North America, and the greenest in Canada. But the city did get high ratings for its low CO2 emissions and high air quality.

Fancy that.

Of the 27 cities examined, only San Francisco rated better overall. The nearest Canadian challenger was Toronto, which came 9th on the index.

The EIU study, which was sponsored by Siemens, has drawn some criticism because the other Canadian cities (Calgary, Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal) all sprawl over much larger areas. The City of Vancouver is relatively small, with a population of 580,000 in an administrative area of just 114 square kilometres. By contrast, Toronto has 2.5-million people within its 641 square km and Calgary has a population of 1,090,000 in 725 square km.

It might not seem fair to compare little Vancouver, with its onshore breezes, to bigger cities with more stagnant air columns. But the study addresses that concern by noting “a combination of metropolitan and city-level data” are used in the index for all cities.

Any time anyone compiles a “best of” list there will always be critics of the methodology. It is clear by looking at the U.S. and Canada Green City Index, however, that the EIU has strived for accuracy and fairness. And until something else comes along, it must be regarded as the gold standard for measuring the “green-ness” of cities.

So, air pollution or not, Vancouver can rightly claim boasting rights to being the greenest city in Canada.

But don’t expect Vancouver to be satisfied with that.

City council recently adopted an ambitious action plan that aims to make Vancouver the world’s greenest city.

A report that went to council in July noted that development of the plan involved “thousands of hours of volunteer time . . . and input from more than 35,000 people.”

So it is a plan that has already engaged the public and focused city hall staff, which are two of the biggest obstacles in getting any such project launched.

The first goal of the plan is to double the number of green jobs in the city and to “secure Vancouver’s international reputation as a mecca of green enterprise.”

Goal number two – and this should come as good news to neighbours up the valley – is to reduce community-based greenhouse-gas emissions by 33 per cent. Other initiatives aim to reduce solid waste going to landfill or incinerator by 50 per cent, to increase the number of parks, to plant 15,000 new trees and to reduce Vancouver’s per capita ecological footprint by 33 per cent.

One of the other goals is to “breathe the cleanest air of any major city in the world,” but that – thanks to onshore breezes – may actually have already been accomplished.

In the U.S. and Canada Green City Index, Vancouver, with 81.3 points came very close behind San Francisco, which had 83.8 points. The two cities were virtually tied in several categories, but San Francisco took the lead because of better waste management.

If Vancouver implements its green action plan, its waste management score should shoot up, other categories will improve and it could soon be named the greenest city in North America. From there, “greenest in the world” does not seem impossible by 2020. But for now, looking at that blue haze, it is hard to believe.

Article excerpted from www.theglobeandmail.com

What a great ambition Vancouver has its sight on. So how do we actually calculate or measure a city’s “green-ness”? It would be a discussion that will take hours one can assume. Personally, the bottom line is to make one’s city as eco-friendly as possible, with the thought of and “Eco-Crown” as a side dish. We are all here to preserve mother nature. Shall it be a race to save mother earth, so be it. But is certainly great to see everybody doing their bit. May it be a big deed or a little one, every one of you counts. Kudos to Canada!

Green Getaways

A slow float through Utah’s canyons. A meditative moment on the Tibetan Plateau. A chance encounter with a hawksbill sea turtle. We looked into dozens of adventures and picked eight of the most tempting, responsibly-planned, low-impact journeys from some of…

A slow float through Utah’s canyons. A meditative moment on the Tibetan Plateau. A chance encounter with a hawksbill sea turtle. We looked into dozens of adventures and picked eight of the most tempting, responsibly-planned, low-impact journeys from some of the most forward-thinking tour operators. Most of these companies offset their emissions, and many of them reinvest a portion of their profits in conservation groups and other nonprofits, or use their purchasing power to foster community development. Some do both. All go well beyond recycling soda cans in their commitment to sustainability. Prices are per person, double occupancy.

Ladakh, India
Meditate in tranquil monasteries, trek over high passes, and meet local shepherds on a 21-day odyssey to one of the world’s most remote places: the dry, starkly beautiful Tibetan plateau. Life in Ladakh still revolves around ancient agricultural ways and small villages, though you might spot a solar panel here or a small water turbine there, thanks to recent projects by international aid groups. KE Adventure offers several trips to Ladakh; this one, Zanskar’s Wild West, isn’t the most strenuous but does follow a hardy trade route over 12 days on foot.

Borneo
Standing on top of Mt. Kinabalu to watch the sun rise, lazing in jungle hot springs after a long trek, and spending a night in a traditional Malay village are all part of Intrepid Travel’s 22-day Borneo Adventure itinerary. On this jungle island, the company supports organizations that fight trade in illegal wildlife products and encourages villagers to live off the land without destroying it. The trip includes a look at conservation efforts—travelers visit hawksbill turtle nesting areas and an orangutan rehab center.

Ecuador
Get up close and personal with Ecuador’s Amazon rainforest on GAP Adventures’s 16-day Inland & Amazon tour. You’ll stay with a family from the Quichua tribe, canoe the Napo River (an Amazon tributary), and ride horseback in the jungle that stretches over the Andean foothills. Most of the country’s visitors flock to the Galapagos Islands, so you’ll have the lush mainland rainforests largely to yourself, though the government is trying to change that situation by encouraging more community-based tourism with Amazon tribes.

Manitoba, Canada
Polar bears may be among the early casualties of climate change—and their plight may teach us something about ourselves. On Natural Habitat Adventures’s six-day Classic Polar Bear Expedition, scientists from the World Wildlife Fund discuss climate change and polar bear life, while guests, safe in buggies, watch mothers tend to cubs and giant males brawl. On these outings, the tundra appears stark, but careful observation also reveals Arctic foxes and hares. Come evening, the Northern Lights flare across the sky.

San Juan River, Utah
Use gravity as your motor on a six-day rafting trip down Utah’s San Juan River organized by OARS. This stretch of the river meanders through crimson cliffs along the northern border of Monument Valley, and the long glide is interrupted by occasional rapids as well as hikes to ancient cliff dwellings. At night, camp on sandy banks under a sky thick with stars. All outfitters in this region follow the rules of the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, including limits on the number of rafters plying the river, but OARS stands out for its offsets program and contributions to conservation projects.

Kenya
After a disastrous experiment with large-scale, high-impact tourism, community-run lodges and services are now the norm in Kenya, and U.K.-based Journeys by Design arranges custom itineraries that sample some of the country’s best sustainable developments. A 12-day itinerary might start in a lava-rock lodge that sits amid fig orchards at Lake Naivasha; then move on to the Masai Mara, where millions of impala, zebra, buffalo, and wild cats roam the savanna; and culminate with a stay in a white-washed thatched cottage by the sea.

New Zealand
The South Island of New Zealand is a study of heady, pristine landscapes: farmsteads and charming towns, glacial lakes and misty mountains that drop precipitously to the sea. Adventure South’s Milford Wilderness bike tour takes you on a scenic ten-day journey from Christchurch to Milford Sound and back to Queenstown. Most days involve about six hours of cycling, but there’s time, too, for off-road hikes and a day in Queenstown reserved for more exhilarating pursuits, like bungee jumping and jet-boating.

Panama
The Nature Conservancy has worked with Panama’s indigenous communities for the past 22 years, training villagers to become guides and conservationists. The nonprofit now offers a peek behind the scenes on a ten-day trip jointly offered with Emerald Planet. Visitors amble the streets of the old colonial capital, spy exotic birds in a lush cloud forest, and kayak through mangrove swamps in a protected area established by the Conservancy. Staffers explain their work, while graduates of the program identify botanical wonders and introduce their guests to indigenous customs during village visits.

Article courtesy of www.plentymag.com

Kids can help family go green

Many Canadians are empowering their kids to develop and oversee eco-friendly household habits by teaching children to have a green conscience around the home.

From planting organic backyard gardens to harvesting rainwater, young “chief environment officers” are sprouting up across the country and working with their parents to reduce the size and impact of their household’s carbon footprint.

“Going green as a family can be easy and fun. Even small things like switching to energy-saving light bulbs and non-toxic cleaning products can make a big difference to your local environment and your wallet,” says Mary Desjardins, executive director of the TD Friends of the Environment Foundation.

“Why not hold a family meeting to elect your own chief environment officer and brainstorm some creative ways your whole family can improve your household’s carbon footprint.”

Your carbon footprint refers to the total amount of greenhouse gas emissions, or carbon dioxide, produced as a result of your lifestyle. For example, every time you use your air conditioner or drive to the grocery store, you emit carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

One of Canada’s longest-serving environmental charities, TD Friends of the Environment Foundation offers six simple ways to lower your household’s carbon footprint:

– Complete an audit of toxic cleaning products, dispose of them safely and replace them with environmentally friendly ones.

– Take shorter showers and turn off the tap when you’re brushing your teeth.

– Avoid using the dryer and only wash full loads of laundry and dishes, preferably with cold water.

– Make sure everyone in the family understands which household products can be recycled and which cannot.

– Start a compost pile for food waste, and use it to nourish the soil in your vegetable and flower gardens.

– Unplug appliances when you’re not using them to avoid phantom energy use.

Article excerpted from www.delta-optimist.com