A Better Way to Ride
July 2010
By Angus Macdonell
There are approximately 1.1 million residents in the City of Calgary. There are also approximately 834,000 registered vehicles in the city. That’s a ratio of almost one car per person. As anyone who travels Calgary by car is well aware, there are days when it seems like every single one of those vehicles are on the road.
A United Nations report released last month ranked Calgary the fifth highest producer of carbon emissions among fifty major cities worldwide, ahead of both New York City and Mexico City. Toronto and Vancouver had carbon outputs less than a third of our beloved Cowtown, a sobering reminder of Calgary’s reliance
on coal-fired electrical generation, but also the preference of most
Calgarians for using their cars virtually every time they need to go
somewhere.
Stepping up toward sustainability
July 2010
By Jennifer Allford
One of the most iconic buildings in the world is going green: the 102-story Empire State Building in New York City is having an extensive retrofit in order to be one of the top 10 per cent of energy efficient buildings in the U.S.
When the $13.2 million dollar project is complete in 2013, the building will use 38 per cent less energy and save about $4.4 million a year. The world famous attraction, built in 1930, will be a new model of sustainability.
Greening our cities, one roof at a time
June 2010
By Jennifer Allford
The man who brought a green roof to the top of Barclays Bank in London’s Canary Wharf is bringing his passion and knowledge about green roofs to Alberta for a series of presentations later this month.
Dusty Gedge, the head of the European Federation of Green Roof Associations and founder of livingroofs.org will speak in Calgary on June 21st before traveling to Edmonton and Banff for speaking engagements on June 24th and 28th respectively.
Gedge has been championing green roofs for more than a decade and is pleased to report he is seeing more and more of
them sprout up.
The newest movement in sustainable living
June 2010
Film Review: In Transition 1.0
By Jennifer Dooley
In Transition 1.0 – From Oil Dependence to Local Resilience, is the first film ever released about the newest movement in sustainable living: the Transition movement. It’s a film worth watching – it’s hopeful and powerful, showing us a practical vision for creating a post-consumer society where ordinary people make a difference.
The Transition movement, inherently powerful by its very own name, is about transitioning into a more sustainable way of life. It’s about taking small steps towards environmentally friendly choices: switching to energy efficient light bulbs, recycling, turning down the thermostat, composting, using re-usable grocery
bags, or taking the bus more often. The movement has a place for
everyone and now entire communities are joining the effort.
Why Small Business is the Key to a Thriving Economy
April 2010
By Kelly Doody
Smack in the middle of another cold and dreary January in Calgary – a month where finding fresh produce and locally-grown greens takes sharp elbows and deep pockets, and following a year where staying afloat as a privately-owned boutique or independent business proved near impossible, community-conscious locals gathered downtown to hear the wise words of renowned American small business activist Michael Shuman.
It was thanks to a joint effort of REAP and Thrive – Calgary’s Community Economic Development Network that Shuman made the trek north to Cowtown – the city some would argue to
be the northern hemisphere’s hub of big box retail, industrial-sized
grocery stores and globalized business goals.
Remember the Cradle and the Grave This Holiday Season
December 2009
By L. Sara Bysterveld
The holidays are a time of giving, to friends, family and those in
need. 
This year, don’t forget to give back to the earth by keeping
cradle-to-grave impact in mind as you shop.
Cradle-to-grave refers to the impact of a product from the extraction of raw materials to its eventual disposal or recycling. Though a true cradle-to-grave life cycle assessment involves in-depth quantification of the environmental impacts at each stage of a product’s life cycle, as consumers we can attempt to estimate these impacts and buy with this in mind.
The stages of the life cycle of a product are extraction, production, distribution, consumption and disposal. At each step there are social and environmental repercussions of the methods
and materials used.
If You…
December 2009
- celebrate Christmas, exchange gifts with friends and family,
and want to give gifts that are meaningful and personalized
this year – give the gift of your time. Time gift certificates can include anything from: gardening help, child care, cooking a dinner (romantic or otherwise), organizing an adventure experience like snowshoeing or hiking, or gifting someone with an entire day where your time (cooking, cleaning, errand running, whatever is wanted or needed) is at your recipient’s disposal. - want to give gifts that are planet-friendly, visit www.davidsuzuki.org and give “Gifts that Keep on Greening”; or visit the World Wildlife Fund store where you can purchase organic gifts, or give the gift of wildlife adoption in support of WWF-Canada’s conservation efforts.
If You…
September 2009
- commute to work by motor vehicle you are among 81% of
Canadians. From 1990 – 2005, energy use by light
passenger trucks (including pickup trucks, vans and SUVs) increased by 98%, while energy use by large cars decreased by 13%. Although gains have been made in the fuel efficiency of passenger vehicles, they have been offset by the greater number of less fuel-efficient vehicles on Canadian roads. In 2005, Canada was second only to the US in its use of energy for road transportation among the G7countries. - drive a gas powered vehicle, as most of us do, you contribute to the 26% of Canada’s estimated GHG emissions that are derived from road transportation.
