These days our regional transit authority is much more concerned with building bridges and funneling more and more cars into the downtown core than trying to get people out of their cars and choose more sustainable transportation options.
While much needed rapid transit projects such as the Evergreen Line and the Broadway corridor have been shoved to the back burner; Translink has been building multi-billion dollar bridges all over the region. In the past year two 6 lane bridges were constructed connecting the Maple ridge area, the Pitt Rive and Golden Ears bridges. With it's population of 70,000 the people of Maple Ridge now have more traffic lanes leading to them than North and West Vancouver combined. It's no surprise that the Golden Ears bridge is hugely underused and will likely be a financial burden for Translink for decades, taking funding away from mass transit.
It has been left to individual municipalities to improve alternate transit choices on their own. The city of Vancouver (whose residents pay the most taxes into Translink than any other municipality in the region) has had to take alternative transit into it's own hands. A few examples are the Burrard bridge and Dunsmir viaduct bike lane and the proposed false creek street car. People have shown a desire for this type of alternative transportation. In the first 2 months of the Burrard Bike lane increased bike traffic by 26%.
The city of Vancouver is looking to the future by making transportation more sustainable and less dependent on the car. Whereas Translink is wasting public money propping up a failed ideal of urban planning, where the car is king.
As regional transit authority, Translink has a huge influence on how the Vancouver region develops and as such should be more accountable to the people of the region. I believe that the people of our region would
prefer to use public transit if it was made more accessible and reliable; however, by building freeways and bridges, Translink is forcing people into their cars. Translink, it's time for a change in thinking, and it's time for accountability.
Comment this newsletter on our blog: http://chbe-sustainability-club.blogspot.com/
*Got news or events to share? Email my teammate Caroline: cclo...@chbe.ubc.ca*
http://groups.google.com/group/CHBE-Sustainability
Environment Canada Invests in Eco-Projects in Quebec
Nanotechnology for Water Purification
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/07/100728111711.htm
How Brazil Cut Deforestation Rates to Record Lows
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2010/07/how-brazil-cut-deforestation-rates-to-record-lows.php
Insects could be the key to meeting food needs of growing global population
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/aug/01/insects-food-emissions
X-Prize Releases Details of $1 million Oil Cleanup Competition
Samsung Invests $865M in Greener Products, Manufacturing
http://www.greenbiz.com/news/2010/08/02/samsung-invests-865m-greener-products-and-manufacturing
*Bad news*
http://www.nature.com/news/2010/100728/full/news.2010.379.html
From an oil spill to another…
http://www.elrst.com/2010/07/26/from-an-oil-spill-to-another/
Soot is second leading cause of climate change: study
The Earth is hotter than ever, global warming is real, researchers warn
N.L. the worst recycler in Canada: StatsCan
In French:
http://novae.ca/actualites/2010-07/forets-urbaines-version-20
http://www.lemonde.fr/planete/video/2010/07/31/les-micro-algues-essence-du-futur_1393296_3244.html
Ecovert construit une usine écologique en France
http://www.ecologie-pratique.org/article.php/nouvelle_usine_ecover
http://novae.ca/actualites/2010-07/la-rue-sainte-catherine-adopte-le-recyclage
Sustainability in Business Today: A Cross-Industry View
http://www.greenbiz.com/sites/default/files/Deloitte-sustainability-survey.pdf
Why the BP Oil Spill Is a Tragedy of the Commons
http://www.environmentalleader.com/2010/07/20/why-the-bp-oil-spill-is-a-tragedy-of-the-commons/
Sustainable Habitation:
Recycled Island
http://www.recycledisland.com/index.html
Pushing Green Building and Smart Grid Innovation
http://www.greenbiz.com/blog/2010/07/22/pushing-green-building-and-smart-grid-innovation
Sustainable Transportation:
Best of Green: Cars & Transportation
http://www.treehugger.com/galleries/2010/04/best-of-green-cars-transportation.php?page=1
Selling Electric Cars Requires Plugged-In Drivers
Bikes for Transporting More than People
http://planetsave.com/2010/07/17/bikes-for-transporting-more-than-people/#more-7573
Take Action:
Enter the CoolClimate Art Contest and Offer Your Vision of a Cleaner Future
http://www.coolclimate.deviantart.com/
Save South March Highlands Old-Growth Forest
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/protect-south-march-highlands
Ban Oil Drilling in the Arctic - No Compromises
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/916/077/483
Help Create a Documentary on Haiti and Its Long-Term Food Crisis
Conferences:
Solutions on Harmonising Sustainability and Nature Protection with Socio-Economic Stability
19 to 20 August 2010, Valmiera, Latvia
http://zbr.va.lv
Master Builders Green Living Conference
26 to 27 August 2010, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
http://www.mbav.com.au
Ecotourism and Sustainable Tourism Conference (ESTC)
8 to 10 September 2010, Portland, Oregon, United States
http://www.ecotourismconference.org
Corporate Responsibility Research Conference 2010
15 to 17 September 2010, Marseille, France
http://www.crrconference.org
4th Annual Algae Biomass Summit
28 to 30 September 2010, Phoenix, WA, United States
http://www.algalbiomass.org/events/2010CallforAbstracts.html
Airborne Wind Energy 2010
28 September 2010 to 29 October 2010, Palo Alto, CA, United States
http://www.awec2010.com
RIRL 2010 - International Conference on Logistics Research
29 September 2010 to 1 October 2010, Bordeaux, France
http://www.rirl.bem.edu/index.cfm?p=01,00,00,00&rnd=964&CFID=9877657&CFTOKEN=89282434
West Coast Green 2010
29 September 2010 to 1 October 2010, San Francisco, CA, United States
http://westcoastgreen.com
Events Section
UBC Events:
1. Eating Green, Thursday Aug. 5th
2. Art in the Garden, Saturday Aug. 7th – Sunday Aug. 8th
3. goBeyond Youth Action Gathering Aug. 31st – Sept. 5th
1. New Westminster Green Drinks at The Heritage Grill – Aug 4, 2010
2. Burnaby Green Drinks – Aug 10, 2010
3. Vancouver Green Drinks – Aug 18, 2010
4. Crazy Sustainable Commute – Aug 27, 2010
5. Feast of Fields - Lower Mainland – Aug 27, 2010
6. GoBeyond Youth Action Gathering – Aug 31, 2010
Eating Green
• Date: Thursday Aug. 5th
• Location: UBC James Hogg Research Centre
• Cost: Free
• Organizer: Department of Health, Safety, and Environment
• Details: THIS SEMINAR IS OPEN TO UBC FACULTY AND STAFF MEMBERS ONLY. So you thought the best thing you could do to reduce your output of CO2 emissions was to ride your bike? Well, that’s a great start; however, if you really want to reduce the amount of CO2 we produce, you need to start with what you put in your mouth. When you account for all the emissions from seed, to plate, to landfill, the food we eat accounts for as much as 31% of the planet’s greenhouse gas emissions!
Art in the Garden
• Date: Saturday Aug. 7 – Sunday Aug. 8, 10am-5pm
• Location: UBC Botanical Garden
• Cost: Free
• Organizer: Friends of the UBC Botanical Garden in collaboration with Janet Planet Designs.
• Details: Exhibition and sale of works by 30 BC artisans. Meet the artists & stroll through the Garden. See www.artinthegarden.ca for more information.
goBeyond Youth Action Gathering
• Date: Aug. 31st – Sept. 5th
• Location: Camp Capilano in North Vancouver
• Cost: Varies according to need
• Organizer: Campus Climate Network/goBeyond
• Details: The goBeyond Youth Action Gathering is a week-long, peer-to-peer program led by BC's top youth organizers. Develop your grassroots organizing and leadership skills, network and bond with fellow students, engage in fun activities in the great outdoors and enjoy great cooking! This training camp will bring together 40 youth from the ages of 14-30 and will give students the tools to run the Sustainable High Schools Project and the goBeyond Project. 20 high school students, and 20 post-secondary students, are invited to participate in this year's Youth Action Gathering. This camp is sure to help you start September off with a bang!
Vancouver Event Details:
New Westminster Green Drinks at The Heritage Grill
· Date: Aug 4, 2010
· Time: 6:00pm – 8:00pm
· Location: The Heritage Grill, 447 Columbia Street, New Westminster, BC, V3L 1A9
· Contact: Email: green...@nwep.ca, Telephone: 604-759-0819
· Cost: NA
· Details: We are pleased to announce that the Green Drinks for New Westminster is being held at The Heritage Grill every 1st Wednesday evening of the month at 6:00pm till later... ( December 2, 2009, 2010 -> January 6, 2010, February 3, March 3, April 7, May 5, June 2, July 7, August 4, September1, October 6, November3, December1)
Burnaby Green Drinks
· Date: Aug 10, 2010
· Time: 6:30pm – 8:30pm
· Location: The Firefighters' Club - Metrotown Complex, 6515 Bonsor Street, 5-7 minute walk from the Metrotown Skytrain Station, Burnaby, BC
· Cost: NA
· Details: Interested in meeting a group of friendly people having lively conversations about all things green? Then join us for Green Drinks Burnaby on the 2nd Tuesday of every month at 6:30pm.
Vancouver Green Drinks
· Date: Aug 18, 2010
· Time: 5:45pm – 8:45pm
· Location: Steamworks Pub, 375 Water Street, Harbourview room (basement), \
· Vancouver, BC
· Details: Green Drinks is a monthly unstructured and inclusive casual networking event for anyone interested in issues of sustainability. Our regular time is 5:45pm onward, on the third Wednesday of each month at Steamworks Pub, with the exception of a December Christmas party and a July BBQ. All are welcome!
The Crazy Sustainable Commute
· Date: Aug 27, 2010
· Time: 5:30 am - 11:00 am
· Location: Everywhere
· Contact: Steve Unger; sun...@commonroutes.com
· Website: http://crazysustainablecommute.org/
· Cost: N/A
· Details: The Crazy Sustainable Commute is all about raising awareness on taking sustainable transportation to and from work via one day of craziness! For one day, August 27th, our participants will commute to work by choosing a non-traditional, yet sustainable option such as canoeing, stilt walking, rollerblading, skateboarding, horse-backing...etc. The goal is to inject enthusiasm and obtain exposure to sustainable transportation. We want to get people to rethink the way they get to work!
Feast of Fields - Lower Mainland
· Date: August 29, 2010
· Time: 1:00pm – 5:00pm
· Location: Wellbrook Winery, 4626 88th Street, Bremner Farm, Delta, BC
· Cost: N/A
· Details: A gourmet wandering harvest festival - is FarmFolkCityFolk's annual fundraising event. With a wine glass and linen napkin in hand, you can taste the very best of BC from chefs, vintners, brewers, farmers, and food artisans from across the province. Connections are made between producers and chefs, food producers and consumers, and farm folks and city folks. These connections provide an increased awareness of and appreciation for local food and agriculture. Feast of Fields is a gastronomic journey towards a sustainable, local food system.
GoBeyond Youth Action Gathering
· Date: August 31, 2010
· Time: All Day
· Location: Camp Capilano, North Vancouver, BC