One of the better perspectives I have read on the negotiations is from Vancouver urban planner Stephen Rees who reminds us that we should not wait for politicians to make changes.  Climate leadership can come from cities; after all, 85% of Canada’s population lives in a city.  This was one of the points I was hoping to make with this panel discussion.  If you live in Vancouver, the best action you can take is to encourage and support the commitment that Vancouver has made to be the greenest city in the world.  And if you live in some other city, then let them know what Vancouver is doing and challenge your mayor and council to take us on.  As Andrea Reimer said in the panel discussion: “we’d be happy to get the pants beat off us if somebody was trying to be even greener.”

Watch the full 45-minute discussion now and let me know what you think.

If you only have a few minutes, then watch this short 3-minute clip from the discussion.

11am: Saturday, December 12
Vancouver Public Library, Central Branch Promenade
(350 West Georgia St – map)

Join Ashley Webster and panelists Andrea Reimer, Emily Chan and Paul Lock for a discussion on climate change, Copenhagen and the potential for leadership from Canada’s cities.

Beginning this coming Monday, world leaders will meet in Copenhagen to, hopefully, replace the failed Kyoto Protocol with a new agreement to cut carbon emissions.  Kyoto was largely unsuccessful because America, then the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases, never ratified it, and China, now the world’s largest emitter, was not bound to any real reductions at the time the deal was made.  And let’s not forget that while Canada signed the agreement, we have failed to honour it.  That climate change is real and is being caused by humans is about the only thing that most people agree upon.  Beyond that, it gets very complex and the public debate is rife with misconceptions and myths.  If we are going to take serious action we urgently need to get clear on the facts of climate change, get beyond changing our light-bulbs, and get over the not very motivating idea that we need to live in the cold and the dark to save the planet.

Bring your questions: one member from the audience will be selected to join the panel on the merits of a question or comment submitted during the first half of the discussion.  This event is being filmed for broadcast online and on Shaw Community television; details will be posted in the days leading up to the event.  Please send me an email or follow me on twitter if you wish to be notified when broadcast details are available.

This panel discussion will kick off a full weekend of action including music, kids programming, speakers, theater, and a candle-light vigil - all at the Vancouver Public Library Central Branch.

Special thanks to the Climate Action Network, TckTckTck and the Western Canada Wilderness Committee for making this event possible.

Past Events

• Climate Leadership from Within
• The Vancouver Commons Episode 2: Citizen Engagement
• The Vancouver Commons Episode 1: Busker Idol

11am – 5pm
Saturday, December 12
Vancouver Public Library, Central Branch Promenade
(350 West Georgia St – map)

Join us at the Vancouver Public Library Central Branch for a full day of climate action including a panel discussion, a signature and photo wall, music, kids programming, speakers, theatre, a candle-light vigil, and more.

In Copenhagen, at the site of the negotiations, TckTckTck partners will represent this show of global solidarity using the photos, videos and pledges sent in from around the planet at a special vigil happening just outside the summit building.

Sign up for the event on Facebook or on Avaaz.org.  Click here for other events being planned outside of Vancouver and around the world.  Tell your friends.  Let’s show Harper we care about the climate – and he should too!

Other ways to take action this week

Can’t make it to the library on Saturday?  No problem.  Watch the events live online.

If you are a member of a faith group, please consider adding your name to the Joint Faith Leaders Declaration on Climate Change.

Send a message to your MP.

Join one of the many Fasts for Courage in Copenhagen being planned around the Lower  Mainland.

Here is the interview

11 am: Cambie Street Bridge opens to public
12:30: Banner drop and Parade to Science World via Pacific Blvd
2 pm: Freem music, performance, art, action and more for the whole family at Science World.
7 pm: Inspirational speakers at Christ Church Cathedral.

We need your help making this day a huge success!

Get involved here: http://www.bridgecoolplanet.ca/en/get_involved.php

Volunteer orientations, 6-7pm, every Monday and Thursday night
at the Wilderness Committee office – 341 Water Street (4th floor)

We need to build a movement! If we are going to achieve the scale of changes needed to stop global warming, everyone is going to have to get involved.  Please encourage your organization, business, church, cultural group and sports team to take part in this day.  Invite your friends, colleagues, neighbours and grandparents too.

• Print out our poster and flyer and put them in your office, hockey rink, knitting club and give one to everyone you meet.  http://www.bridgecoolplanet.ca/en/download.php
• Email everyone you know who has a website and ask them to add a link to us.  Web banners can also be found on our downloads page.
• Ask your local MP, MLA and City Councilor to come out to the event.

Twitter: @b2cp
Facebook
www.BridgeCoolPlanet.ca

In response to declining revenues in the first quarter of 2009, Google has “imposed severe cost controls and slashed expenses”.  These actions are praised as mature and rational.  The very next paragraph then tells us that the clearest sign of change is a reduction in Google’s workforce.  The implication is that reducing the workforce is mature and rational.  Of course, we are in a recession and “no company is recession-proof”.

But hang on, Google isn’t losing money, their rate of growth has simply declined; they are still growing and still making gads of money, netting $1.4 billion in the first three months of this year to be exact.  What’s more, they have roughly $28 billion in cash and other liquid assets and negligible debt.  They are in great shape!

I will grant you that the layoffs were modest but my point is about the underlying ethos at play here: that it is mature and rational to lay people off during a recession, no matter what.  Google can afford those 58 jobs – they cut them because that is what is expected of a mature and rational company.  But in a climate where savings are at an all time low, debt at an all time high and people more vulnerable than ever, the number one priority ought to be maximum employment.  To me, these praiseworthy measures are reactionary and irrational.

Nearer the end of the article an analyst quotes: “Clearly the upside came from severe cost controls.” Clearly continued revenue growth and a hoard of cash are no longer considered upsides – more and more and more is the only goal.

The Act also requires that all of BC’s public sector organizations be carbon neutral by 2010 – this includes school districts, post-secondary institutions, and hospitals.  Specifically: by the end of 2010, all public sector organizations must have greenhouse gas auditing systems in place and must purchase carbon offsets for their emissions.  In addition, it is expected that public sector organizations will find ways to reduce their total emissions over time.

“I think the offset obligation is definitely something universities have to deal with but it’s not going to be the biggest challenge. I think the biggest challenge is going to be where they try to push their emissions down over time.  We are going to want to keep seeing reductions down the road.”  – Government respondent

This new policy direction will have profound impacts on how colleges and universities operate.

This study was undertaken to find out how post secondary institutions were responding: what actions they have taken and what challenges they are facing.

The primary focus for implementing the Act is on energy management because this represents the largest opportunity to reduce greenhouse gas emissions; but we must remember that climate change is not just about more efficient light bulbs and fewer parking lots, it is about breaking down traditional barriers and disciplinary thinking, it is about new ways of relating to the environment and each other and about reassessing what we value.  Catalyzing these essential cultural changes is where post secondary can make the largest contribution since it is here that each new generation of leaders are trained.  BC’s colleges and universities recognize that they play a critical role in this process and they are all committed to climate action.

Carbon neutrality is not the ultimate goal, but it is a first step which has the capacity to transform higher education in British Columbia which will in turn have profound cultural effects.  Ultimately, this is a grand experiment and people are watching.  What we do here will have an impact globally.

This is a project of the BC Working Group on Sustainability Education, also known as WalkingtheTalk.bc.ca.  Many thank-yous to Janet Moore, professor at the SFU Centre for Dialogue and the driving force behind Walking the Talk, for giving this project life.

Click here to read the full report.

How can we help government become more open and responsive?

How do we as citizens organize to get better outcomes ourselves?

These questions form the basis of a conference called Vancouver ChangeCamp happening on June 20.  A few weeks ago I sat down with Reilly Yeo and Steve Williams, two of the organizers, to talk about the event and public engagement more generally.  I begin this episode with a short reflection on the recent STV referendum because, after all, voting is the predominant form of citizen engagement.

Listen to the interview

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Credits: This episode was made using Creative Commons media. Bumper: “Songs of Triumph” by scottaltham, Ocean waves crashing by Luftrum, Urban herring gulls by acclivity, Road construction by Heigh-hoo

2) The Crisis of Credit Visualized: Part 1, and Part 2

Have you found yourself listening to a really good busker and wishing there was some way, more than just tossing a loonie, to show your appreciation?  Well Karen Fung has and it led her to conceive of Busker Idol.

“Busker Idol encourages crowds to participate, à la American Idol, to vote for the best buskers in a variety of categories.” What’s more, Karen envisions a highly interactive system that lets street performers share their creations and build a fan base directly. In this way, we, the public, gain a more direct role in promoting art in Vancouver.

Listen to the interview

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Credits: This episode was made using Creative Commons media. Bumper: “Songs of Triumph” by scottaltham, Ocean waves crashing by Luftrum, Urban herring gulls by acclivity, Road construction by Heigh-hoo, Episode: Market / busker sounds by vedas

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Creating a Culture of Prevention

The City of Vancouver’s Drug Policy Program (DPP) invites you to set aside March 25 for a day-long event focusing on prevention of harm from substance use.

The DPP is working with a broad-based coalition to initiate a movement towards creating a culture of prevention in Vancouver. The group is planning a day-long launch of this process on March 25.

The event will provide a platform to profile current prevention work in the community, facilitate discussion on current critical issues in prevention and offer a forum for dissemination of recent research and findings. The aim is to build public awareness and support for prevention in Vancouver.

Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson will open the March 25 event, followed by presentations from various leaders in the field of prevention. Confirmed presenters include:

• Dr. Anthony Hutchinson, CEO of the Brampton Neighbourhood Resource Centre in Ontario
• Dr. Kimberly Schonert-Reichl, Associate Professor in the Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education in the Faculty of Education at the University of British Columbia
• Chris Kelly, Superintendent, Vancouver Board of Education
• Chelsea, a youth presenter
• Dr. Gabor Maté, staff physician at the Portland Hotel in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside.

The event will be held at the Segal Centre in downtown Vancouver.

Current partners in this initiative include the Centre for Addictions Research BC, the City of Vancouver’s Social Policy department and Drug Policy Program, the School Aged Children and Youth Substance Use Prevention Program (SACY), the University of British Columbia, the Urban Native Youth Association (UNYA), Vancouver Coastal Health, the Vancouver Police Department, the Vancouver Board of Education and Watari Research Association.

Please mark your calendar for March 25. We’ll send you a more detailed program later next month. For more information, please contact Zarina Mulla, Drug Policy Program, 604-871-6481, e-mail: zarina.mulla@vancouver.ca.

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Link to Vancouver’s Four Pillar Drug Strategy webpage: http://vancouver.ca/fourpillars/