Building Sustainable Cities
Last week I attended and presented at an excellent sustainability conference in Kelowna, hosted by The Fresh Outlook Foundation. Many presentations and discussions revolved around how we transform our surroundings to be around for the next 1000 years and create a happy community were people love to work, live and play.
The first presentation started off with Dr. Bill Rees , also known as Dr. Doom, who is a UBC Professor. He has been branded as Dr. Doom due to his scientific outlook on planet earth. He basically states that if the human race does not drastically change the way we live the earth will not be able to function in 50 years. There will be mass "natural" disasters and major environmental refugees.
So how do we make the change? This is the billion dollar question. One of Dr. Rees' proposals is for government to stop subsidizing products. For example, if we follow products from cradle to grave, society should pay. Two real examples – it takes 118,000 liters of water to produce a pair of jeans; the true value of the jeans would be well over $200. The second example is a gallon of gas for our car; the true cost is over $10 a gallon. I am sure if products reflected the true cost of production our purchasing habits would change drastically. Further, we need to rely on our region and less on global products.
The next speaker was Mark Holland a principal of HR Lanarc ; Mark's presentation was a little more optimistic. Mark agreed that we need to make major changes; however, we have some time to ease into the changes. Given that we have until 2050, Mark argued that we can take time to evolve and learn from others around the world and share mutual successes.
An interesting panel discussion that included the above two speakers along with Mayor Pamela Goldsmith-Jones of West Vancouver and Adrian Carr leader of the Green Party. Much discussion and debate ensued about what needs to happen and how. BTW, I did find Mrs. Carr to be over the top politically; I am sure she would define it as “passionate.”
One area not discussed is how we as government and society will finance the changes that are required. I am sure one answer from Dr. Rees would be that if we don't change and do what is necessary we will have no planet, so finances don't matter. However, we need to address the financial implications. Mayor Goldsmith-Jones made the comment that we need to encourage and empower our residents and businesses. Further, our residents and businesses need to step up to lead the change.
The bottom line of all the discussions is: we need to change. The only problem is we can not agree on what and how this change should occur. Port Coquitlam is in the final stages of our first ever Environmental Strategic Plan, called EnviroPlan. This document will guide the City’s operations and community forward creating a cleaner environment for Port Coquitam; however, we will need to continue to work with other municipalities, as well as the Provincial and Federal governments. Together, we will need to change our way of life, hopefully before Mr. Doom’s predictions become reality.
I will write a separate post about my presentation Talking Trash - Port Coquitlam's success.
Greg
