News for April, 2009

Presentation on Integrated Community Sustainability Planning
Presentation given at the Environmental Studies Association of Canada Conference, June 5th 2008, University of British Columbia

Download

Following the first phase of the Nuclear Waste Management Organization’s (NWMO) mandate, the
organization moved into the second phase which is to implement Canada’s management plan for used
nuclear fuel as decided by the Government of Canada. One of the first key activities in its work as
implementer was the collaborative design of the site selection process.
In August 2008, a discussion document inviting input to the design of a site selection process for the

Community Based Research Canada (CBRC) is a network of people and organizations engaged in Community-Based Research to meet the needs of people and communities. CBRC came into being through the Community University Expo Conference held in Victoria, BC in May of 2008. At that event a group of Canadian universities, research networks and community organizations launched CBRC with a declaration that stated:

Adapting to Climate Change in the Fraser Basin
As part of the Natural Resource Canada funded project on climate change adaptation in the Fraser Basin of British Columbia, EKOS Communications have produced two 12 min. videos designed to stimulate dialogue among local government representatives, scientists and engineers on how to adapt water related infrastructure.

Islands of Achievement: People Building Hope
Hopebuilding wiki was created by Rosemary Cairns to share stories of achievement by ordinary people who are doing extraordinary things to make their world a better place to live in, but whose stories are not as widely known as they should be.

Graphic from UNEP showing how the world's water is distributed. Source: WWAP 2006 based on Shiklomanov and Rodda 2003.

From its extraction through sale, use and disposal, all the stuff in our lives affects communities at home and abroad, yet most of this is hidden from view. The Story of Stuff is a 20-minute, fast-paced, fact-filled look at the underside of our production and consumption patterns. The Story of Stuff exposes the connections between a huge number of environmental and social issues, and calls us together to create a more sustainable and just world.

Climate Change in Our World
Explore and learn about the impacts of climate change and find out how you can make a difference with Climate Change in our World. The Met Office Hadley Centre, British Antarctic Survey and UK Government have harnessed Google Earth technology to present you with an interactive animation showing how climate change and global temperature rises could affect our world over the next 100 years.

New Report on Energy Efficiency

Walk Score
Walk Score is a tool that use Google Map data to analyse the walkability of a location such as your home, or future home. Walk Score shows you a map of what's nearby and calculates a score based on the proximity of that location to local amenities. Living in a house in a walkable neighbourhood is good for your health and good for the environment.

Peak Oil and the Future of Energy

Sunday, November 26, 2006 at 7:30pm
at the Centennial Theatre - 2300 Lonsdale Avenue, North Vancouver

Breathing Earth is a visual simulation displaying the carbon dioxide emission levels of every country in the world, as well as their birth and death rates - all in real time.

An important new site, WiserEarth, that provides substantive individual and networking opportunities for connections between researchers, practitioners, artists, decision-makers, business and civil society, offered by Paul Hawkin, author of The Ecology of Commerce.

Common Energy UVic is an emerging network of students, staff, faculty and regional partners working to find solutions to climate change in Victoria. Participants can read, edit, and build the site - it constantly evolves as the network and the projects do.

Sebastopol (CA) Peak Oil Report
In April, a City-appointed citizen task force on energy vulnerability in the Northern California town of Sebastopol released its report, "Charting a Path for a New Energy Future for Sebastopol." The report identifies the vulnerabilities peak oil may pose to the Sebastopol community, and makes recommendations for City Council actions to respond.

Zerofootprint Calculator
The Zerofootprint^TM Calculator measures your impact on carbon and other ecological impacts including water, trees and land. You can compare your footprint with those living in other countries and learn how to reduce through a series of footprint reducing tips. There is also a netowrking element that allows you to make pledges and commit to reduction goals. Individuals can form groups around goals and track their success through time.

Canadians face a future that will be defined by change, with many new economic opportunities, and with a growing need to build a satisfactory relationship between the environment and development. Over the past three decades, opportunity has frequently been associated with new technologies, especially ITC (information technology and communications). More recently, biotechnology has been highlighted as a potential source of long-term economic, social and environmental benefits.

Information on Community Decision Making Tools is now available at www.rural.gc.ca

Community Accounts is an innovative information system providing users at all levels with a reliable source of community, regional, and provincial data.