Category Archives: Green

The Apocalypse Project Begins!

Posted on by
Reply

CarlosVanVegas - Mayan Calendar

The world as we know it will end on December 21, 2012. There, I said it. Exactly how this is going to happen is debatable, but planetary alignment is a part of it. And there are a few theories (zombies, more zombies, meteors, robots, God, Mother Nature, nuclear war, aliens, nuclear-zombie-dinosaur-terminators) regarding how we will meet our end. And several “survival guides” and “tip sheets” and “disaster kit lists” are also available for all of your post-apocalyptic-planning needs. And this is why The Daily Gumboot team is excited to bring you The Apocalypse Project. Because such a thorough and comprehensive assessment of how humanity will end, how you can survive, and how you can re-build – or newly build – your post-apocalyptic community ever been written.

Until now.

Ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to The Apocalypse Project!

Over the next seven days, our international team of correspondents will answer the following questions:

  • Are you talking about civilization ending or the world ending?
  • How is the world (or civilization or whatever) going to end?
  • Who are these “Mayans”? And where is their “Mayan” country? Can’t we just attack it or something?
  • Are “Mayans” like zombies? Because it seems like zombies are going to be a big problem pretty soon. What are your tips for dealing with a Zombie Apocalypse?
  • What about robots and technology? How are they – or is it – going to rise up and destroy us all?
  • You write about the Sun a lot. Will that have something to do with it?
  • So the world is ending, what skills do I need to survive?
  • What are some good tips for growing food in a post-apocalyptic hellscape? What about Detroit?
  • In the post-apocalyptic world, how can I be a leader of people? Like Katniss Everdeen in The Hunger Games.
  • Why can’t we all just hop on a plane and go to Earth 2?
  • According to String Theory, we all live in alternate universes at the same time. So, does any of this really matter?
  • When civilization as we know it crumbles into oblivion, will people still be nice to each other?
  • I hear that John Travolta, Richard Branson and Rain (the Korean pop star) all have bunkers. Where are they and how can we infiltrate them?
  • How will your bloggers’ “superpowers” build “community” in this post-apocalyptic world?

Courtesy of ian on Flickr

All these questions (and more) will be answered during the next week. From zombies to terminators to Gaya to supervillains, we will chronicle the Earth’s possible potential probable definite demise. Don’t worry. We’ll also talk about how you and your community can survive and thrive (before, during and after) the apocalypse. Oh, and Kurt is going to interview John Connor (the leader of The Resistance).

Hey, Twitterverse, all I can say is this: you’re welcome.

Enjoy the apocalyptic edutainment!

Getting our daily dose of “Vitamin G”

Posted on by
1

Last September, over 200 participants took part in a unique forum in Vancouver to discuss nature and health – more specifically, the impact of spending time in nature on health, and the contribution of parks and protected areas to healthy communities. The forum sought to share knowledge, foster linkages between diverse sectors, and to identify best practices, strategies, and tools.

One of the things discussed by presenters and attendees was how people intuitively know that being in nature, simply put, makes them feel good. Whether getting a dose of ‘Vitamin Green’ helps to relieve stress, lift the spirit, or provide a bit of perspective on life, getting out into nature seems to contribute to enhanced wellbeing. While everyone intuitively understands this, our reductionist North American tendencies have had us questioning how and in what ways nature has this effect on health for the past decade or so. Well, good news for those of you scientific folk out there (you know who you are!) – the quantitative evidence supports a nature-health link. Our intuitive selves have been right all along! As discussed by keynote speaker Dr. Frances Kuo, research has linked healthy urban ecosystems to stronger, safer neighbourhoods, lower crime, reduced AD/HD symptoms, and reduced aggression, with benefits still being found even when income and other factors that could explain a nature-health link are taken into account. Additional quantitative evidence exists at the physiological level as well, with benefits having been measured objectively through such indicators as blood pressure and immune system functioning. For a comprehensive review of the literature, check out this National Recreation and Park Association report written by Dr. Kuo.

So now the evidence is there to prove what we kinda knew all along. What’s next? Well, at an individual level, we can all get outside more. If you’re like the bulk of urbanites, you may not be close to mountains, lakes, and forests (although a shocking number of us here in B.C. actually are – not to rub it in, Toronto). Forum presenters actually addressed this, and made it clear that nature can be found anywhere – a nearby park or stream by your house, a patch of trees outside your work – and even the smallest exposure to nature has been found to be beneficial.  In addition, urban planners and health professionals have been starting to act based on this ever-growing body of evidence. For example, some physicians are now prescribing time in nature to their patients.

Getting past the urban/nature divide may take some work ... but it can be done

It’s clear that to address this at a population level, an interdisciplinary approach is needed, with health professionals, urban planners, and environmental specialists being just a few of the disciplines who need to be at the table to ensure that all Canadians have access to diverse and regular sources of nature. If this forum is any indication, these various disciplines are ready and willing to come together to focus on this in creative and holistic ways.

 

 

Community Decision Making

Posted on by
Reply

Last night I had a beer and a chat with a man who is is wise beyond his years. He shared with me some great ideas about decision making in organizational environments, such as charities, social enterprises, businesses, the government, the non-government, and neighbourhoods. My friend argued that there are four kinds of decisions that we make:

  1. The ones that the leader/boss makes with no input. “Alright, sailors, I burned our ships so that you will feel a great sense of commitment to this land and, most importantly, to me, Hernan Cortes, and not that jerk Governor of Cuba!”
  2. The ones that the leader/boss makes with consultative input to/from a team. “Hey, Vancouver, we’ve developed a plan to put bike lanes everywhere. Just a heads-up. Drive carefully!”
  3. The ones that the team/people make with consultative input to/from the leader. “Hey, boss. Because I’m a Millennial and I like to customize things, I created my own performance review based on my specific skills and interests – it just feels more me, you know? Would you have some time to review it before we use it to measure my awesomeness?”
  4. The ones that the team/people make with no input. “Dear CEO of our company, I just averted a potentially horrendous brand-epic-failure on Twitter by engaging the customer immediately and solving their problem right away; this involved giving them a free service/product that we make/provide.”

The idea here is that the most effective decisions for a thriving community come from the fourth point – when in possession of a strong vision, a clear set of principles, and a wicked-awesome plan, everybody in a community knows what to do and work/business/advocacy/change/governance happens as efficiently as it does strategically as it does quickly.

And then there’s the terrible state of our poor little planet and the important decisions that need to be made in order to sustain not lose half of the Earth’s population in a tsunami-nuclear-firestorm-hurricane-drought-war.

After chatting with my friend I came home and watched the video below, which was shared by my awesome sister.

I don’t know about you, but the idea of our global team making most of the decisions seems like the best solution for the many complex problems that lie before us. And, yes, I realize the incredibly/ridiculously complicated nature of doing this. And I also recognize that it’s time to try something new and ridiculous. Because the boring old stuff ain’t working.

What’s in the Head of Young Australians?

Posted on by
Reply

Each year, youth charity organization Mission Australia conducts Australia’s largest formal survey of young people.

Over three months each year the survey asks Australians aged 11 to 24 what they value, where they turn for advice and support, what issues concern them, how they are involved with their community and their feelings about their future. The results are not only a valuable insight into the minds of young people, but also help social policy makers to produce information and develop services relevant to the needs of young Australians.

This year, just under 46,000 young people were surveyed, and the results were a mix of inspiring, concerning and thought-provoking.

Inspiring: In this year’s survey, young people were asked for the first time how they felt about the future. The answer was resoundingly optimistic, with over two-thirds responding that they felt positive about the future. It seems young Australians are a very grounded bunch, who, when asked what they value most highly, listed family and friendships well above financial security and personal independence.

Given the pasting that Gen-Y’s get from the media as self-obsessed and lazy, it’s pretty awesome to remember that young people are actually a lot more switched-on when it comes to values and ideals than we given them credit for.

Concerning: When asked where they would go for help on their main issues of concern, over 20 per cent of young Australians said they did not have anywhere to go for assistance and advice. For me, this was one of the saddest findings of the survey, and seems to explain, in a basic way, why suicide is the main cause of death for young Australians aged between 15 and 24.

Despite all the Facebooking, texting, Skyping, instant messaging and Google chatting, young Australians feel like they have no one to talk to. It’s obvious that traditional methods of support for young people are failing, and that more time and money needs to be invested in reaching out to young people through the channels that they are familiar with. For a generation that has grown up with the internet, accessing online support and communities feels safe, comfortable and easy, in a way that speaking to someone face to face just doesn’t.

Thought-provoking: A vast majority of the young people surveyed showed a strong awareness of the issues important to the wider community. When asked for unprompted views on the biggest issues facing Australian society, 45.7 per cent of young people listed the environment as a top concern.

It’s both comforting and inspiring to know that the future of the planet rests in the hands of people who value environmental issues. Young Australians have demonstrated that they want strong government leadership as well as a broad community response to environmental issues, and they are prepared to take personal responsibility for their environmental behavior in a way that previous generations have not.

For a deeper look into the minds of young Australians (and some pretty amazing web design) check out the You’re Probably Wrong Test

Masthead photo from this photostream, body photo from this photostream. Both used with the permission of a Creative Commons license.

99 Ways to Leverage Our Humanity

Posted on by
4

[Editor's note: I must start by saying that what unfolds below is a team effort - thanks to everyone who has contributed to this list! So, for better or worse, many parts of the world have been recently occupied - and in some places, like Vancouver, this may or may not be coming to an end. Many elements of the Occupy Movement have issued demands. Personally, I see many problems with demands, as they imply binary-negotiating and/or unchangeable beliefs. Personally, I see more value and possibility in ideas and collaborative brainstorming - though this is a much harder process for certain. Some other folks share a love for collaboration and they have kindly offered their ideas in world-changing list-form. So, without further ado, here is part one of a four-part series that is meant to get our community thinking about how our brilliant, passionate, inspiring, adaptive, funny, delicious, healthy, and innovative humanity can make the world a better place. Thanks for the memories, everyone!].

How can we leverage our humanity to solve the world’s problems?

  1. Read and teach more history so that we understand where we’ve come from and that we’re going into a dark and scary place if we keep up this path of taking, making and wasting nature, people, and the environment.
  2. Count back your ancestors to the early decades of the Industrial Revolution (mid-18th century). Think about how far we have come in so few generations. Think about the costs. Try to imagine the world and your decedents in two centuries (six to eight generations) time.
  3. Make people laugh (I recommend Demetri Martin) or wear funny/awesome superhero costumes on days that aren’t Halloween.
  4. Play sports, particularly soccer, as it is the most accessible and global-reaching sport that we have going at the moment.
  5. Throw and attend dinner parties.
  6. Embrace used corduroy things, for they are artifacts of a noble and honourable fabric.
  7. Create art and artists, support artists and their art.
  8. Stop for a moment and refocus on your mission, you’ve probably strayed a little from your core goal and a little refocusing will help you do the good you originally planned. *unless you’re @cobracommander, then please feel free to be distracted.
  9. Learn to play an instrument from another culture. Bongos/congas/the ukulele count if you’re North American.
  10. Plant stuff, all over the place.
  11. Get a bike, get on that bike, and ride through your communities. You’ll discover where you live is way more interesting than you ever thought it was from your car, and you’ll be doing your part to help alleviate the obesity crisis as well.
  12. Do something really nice for someone completely out of the blue. Make sure it’s not in response to something nice they did for you.
  13. Hug a stranger.
  14. Befriend a farmer. A lot of them are nice people and they have a lot to teach us. Plus they make it possible to buy good, local and healthy food in bulk, dropping the price point down from the farmers markets or yuppie focused organic butcher shops.
  15. Spend time writing. The internet makes consuming culture very easy and I imagine many of us are reading, watching and listening to a wide range of content every day. Creating is a very different process and it helps focus the mind and forces you to really think through your opinions. If you need an outlet, I imagine the Daily Gumboot is still accepting applications.
  16. Read Thomas Paine’s The Rights of Man. Think about our government. Imagine ways to change it, improve it, and fix it. Don’t give up on representative democracy. It is still a radical ideal that we need to strive towards; not something we need to replace.
  17. Try to learn something new every day. Continual passion for learning can only lead to growth and development – a crucial foundation to soling the world’s problems
  18. When you disagree with someone, try to understand the situation from their perspective. And be open to changing your stance. Defensiveness has not gotten anyone anywhere.
  19. Don’t fall into the trap of thinking that owning more things will make you more happy. It will not.
  20. Travel.
  21. Read item #16. In addition to striving for representative democracy, strive for deliberative democracy.
  22. Master a craft and share it.  None of us are good at everything but we’re all good at something.  Figure out what that something is and pursue it.  Look for mentors as you learn the craft and once you’ve mastered it become a mentor.
  23. Embrace the spirit of the Infinite Tomato Project to make your home more food secure.  Learn how to save seeds, grow your own food, cook what you’ve grown, preserve the harvest, and become attuned with the seasons.
  24. Ferment things in your home, whether bread, pickles, beer or wine.  Yeast are micro-organisms that humanity has been cooking with for at least 4,000 years.  In today’s fast-food culture they can teach us patience as they take hours, weeks or years to do their work.
  25. Do something new every month to reduce your environmental footprint.  Completely changing lifestyles that we are accustomed to is hard.  Gradually introducing new behaviours and focusing on one thing at a time makes it easier.

Part 2 (ideas 26-50) will be on the blog next Monday, November 28.

–

Masthead photo courtesy of Kurt Heinrich, who is awesome.

The Case for Wal-Mart

Posted on by
Reply

The mega-company is called Walmart and its – or his/her, because corporations are people – motto is Save Money. Live Better. I will venture a guess that – ahem – about 99% of this blog’s readers do not believe that Wal-Mart, the world’s biggest private employer and largest public corporation, allows our global community to live better.

And perhaps this is true. I mean, the company distributes a lot of stuff that we don’t really need, makes messes while figuring out how to deliver these things, and is really and truly the antithesis of local. Over the past decade, communities from South Korea to Argentina to Germany to Canada have fought Walmart’s entrance into their neighbourhoods. The company’s labour practices have been called into question. Oh, and their logo is a friggin’ Sun!

And perhaps there is more to Walmart’s unstoppable and pervasive global presence than most people know. Perhaps the company – or s/he – deserves a bit more credit for the very high standard of environmentally-friendly business practices that it – or s/he – demonstrates to all the other multi-national corporations out there.

For example, check out this totally unbiased footage from a documentary about sustainability that involves Walmart:

Thoughts? Feelings? Zero waste?

Okay, so this isn’t technically from a “documentary” – it’s from Walmart.com’s Press Room. Still, the message is a compelling one. Especially since I’m pretty sure that the word “environment” isn’t used once by anyone in the video. The corporation – s/he – has the goal of making zero waste because such a thing is good, if not great, business.

Also, Walmart is the global distributor of stuff-we-don’t-need and this means that s/he holds a lot of power in terms of what kind of packaging  in which suppliers wrap the things that we don’t really need. To say the least, Walmart can bring change from global to local more efficiently than our local retailers, the store’s sale of millions of LED lightbulbs will do more to lower household electricity use than any Canadian or American government policies ever could.

In the world of triple-bottom-line sustainability – where financial, natural and human capital are all ingredients to the shared value created by a business – Walmart has always been found wanting when it comes to taking care of people; however, the innovative employment opportunities – based on cooperative principles – demonstrated in emerging markets like Brazil are pretty darn interesting. And, for the record, many local small businesses pay and treat their employees terribly, too. At the end of the day, though, treating people well is also good for business, so don’t be surprised if Walmart finally gets there, too.

Finally, I just have to say that, as an amateur humourist, the idea that Walmart’s Zero Waste initiative probably began with a bunch of c-suite people brainstorming what could, should and would be crushed in the Cram-a-lot is just plain hilarious.

Um, so I guess I’ll wrap up by saying, um, thanks Walmart? [Editor's note: this feels weird...].

–

Masthead photo courtesy of Walmart Stores

Gasoline

Posted on by
Reply

I’ve been driving more lately.  Between a September packed full of work events, a commitment to camping every month since April (and hopefully every month through to March) and starting yesterday a transit strike in York Region, I’ve been seeing the inside of my car a lot more that I’m used to lately.  And that means a lot more trips to the pumps and consequently a reminder of the hate-love relationship that many people experience with gasoline.

Like many things gasoline is complicated.  It has enabled us to live the lives we are now – as a cheap, portable fuel that drives us, our lifestyles, and our economy.  And while the local (as in where we extract oil from) and long-term (as in climate change)  impacts can be devastating, our adoption of gasoline powered engines was considered a cleaner alternative to horses and coal.  And, as I recently was reminded at the New Bedford Whaling Museum, the discovery of gasoline resulted in a significant decline in whaling at a time when whale population depletion was getting critical.

But as you likely already know the ending of the story isn’t looking as good.  Oil is a finite resource, prices at the pump are climbing and climate change is already happening.   Whether these crises significantly affect the way we live in 30 years, 60 years, or even in 100 years, is yet to be seen.  And all the driving we do takes away time from our family, friends and community.  The time we’ve relied on gasoline for how we live, move around and feed ourselves will only be a short blip in human history yet it seems completely normal to so many of us.

To not end on a negative note, even though I’ve generally been feeling pretty blue the last couple of days, I’ll quote the band Po’ Girl and their song “Gasoline” that I listened to on my slow drive home on the 401 today.

Gasoline gasoline
It’s dragged on too long
What should have been
A weekend affair
Cause there are stories to be told
And that’s what we’re made up of oh
All the stories in our hearts cause in our hearts
Is what we are

—

Masthead photo courtesy of Rennett Stowe

 

VanValley is delicious!

Posted on by
1

I signed up for the VanValley Buyers Club in July and it’s been such a fabulous experience, I had to share.  We paid about $600 up front for 17 weeks of amazing produce.  Each week, we’re pretty much set for fruit and veggies except for a few extras here and there, like California grapes and avocados from Chile.  I’ve always supported the philosophy of community supported agriculture (CSA), but this is the first time I’ve been directly involved.  And it’s been awesome to be a part of.

From their website, the focus of VanValley is to provide buyers club clients with the best LOCAL produce at competitive pricing. We believe that through food and supporting sustainable LOCAL food systems we are also building relationships and community (http://vanvalley.wordpress.com).  VanValley started this year and from my perspective, it’s been a smash hit.

We’ve signed up for weekly delivery of organic produce before and I didn’t love it.  No matter how many cool-packs were included in the bin, the produce would always be a bit sad by the time I got home from work to fetch the delivery from our sunny front step.  Unfamiliar produce would often end up in the compost as I didn’t know what to do with it. And it was expensive.

In contrast, VanValley offers value, convenience and fun.  Volunteers staff a pick-up table at our local coffee house from 4 to 7pm once a week.  That means we can peacefully make our way there after work.  Most evenings, we go as a family and end up chatting with neighbours and the amazing volunteers while we’re there.  And usually, we munch on farm-fresh cucumbers from Surrey or peaches from Keremeos on the walk home.

Administration has been seamless from the start, which I must admit was a pleasant surprise.  I’m not sure why, but I expected a period of working out the kinks.  There wasn’t one and I’m still impressed by how efficient the process is.  Members of the Buyers Club receive a weekly newsletter that includes a list of the produce we’re getting, recipes featuring that produce and news from the farmers.  Plus, there’s a trades box at the pick-up location and I love that.  We have lettuce in our edible garden, so we can swap out greens from our weekly box and replace it with something that another member passed on (like blueberries – yum!).  It’s such a simple idea and it makes for an even better experience.

It’s been wonderful to eat seasonal produce.  We loved the radishes and stone fruit through summer, the tomatoes and potatoes as we approached Labour Day, and now the deep purple beets and beautiful green squashes as we settle into fall.  It’s such a natural way to eat and so incredibly satisfying because the food matches the season.

The beauty of supporting local producers and sustainable food systems has become somehow less important than the experience of participating in community in this way.  We signed up because of our politics, but interestingly, our ideological motivations have sort of faded into the background because the practice makes perfect sense and the experience is just so darn great.

Like most Vancouverites, I’m already looking forward to next summer.  And our next summer will definitely include VanValley.  In the meantime, I’ll go back to shopping on the Drive for my organic produce.  And I expect that I’ll buy California grapes and avocados from Chile less often than I did before.

Masthead photo courtesy of Augapfel.

Steve Nash’s Energy Efficient Community

Posted on by
Reply

During the month of October, youth in BC have an opportunity to Save Like Steve.

Once again, my main man Steve Nash shows what it takes to build community.

As discussed many, many, many times by the contributors to this blog, Steve Nash is the greatest. His resume already boasts job titles such as NBA superstar, entrepreneur,  philanthropist, film director, professional sports team owner, and now he’s adding to the list the role of badass Energy Waste Detective.

Steve’s collaboration surrounding BC Hydro’s Pocket Waste Buster App sees him playing the role of a mustachioed, 1970s-style detective who solves crimes against energy efficiency. Here are a couple of teaser trailers from the project:

Once again, Steve Nash reveals himself to be a spokesperson for noble environmental causes. In addition to wearing the world’s first basketball shoe made out of recycled materials, he’s championing one of our community’s most important causes in a downright edutaining way. Oh, and people can win fabulous prizes by participating in the contest.

Thanks, Steve, for helping us save energy and have fun at the same time.

Masthead photo courtesy of Steve Punter.

A Planetary Champion Turns 40

Posted on by
Reply

Today marks the 40th anniversary of Greenpeace and the Daily Gumboot would like to tip its hat to the founders who began an environmental movement forty years ago in their Vancouver, Kitsilano living room.

Greenpeace Turns 40

On September 15th, 1971 Greenpeace set sail on its first voyage to try and stop nuclear testing in Alaska. The small crew of activists that sailed out of False Creek has now grown into the world’s largest, independent environmental organization.

In celebration of this milestone, Greenpeace is throwing a free all-day festival at Jericho beach in Vancouver on Saturday, September 17th from 11am to 6pm.

The Rainbow Warrior

Earlier this year, The Daily Gumboot wrote about the New Rainbow warrior, the ship Greenpeace has sailed for the last 40 years.

In 2010, in an effort to fundraise for a new ship, Greenpeace International launched an online campaign that encouraged donors to select a part of the ship they want to sponsor.  The end result was an interactive project that not only broke the mold on what an online fundraising campaign can accomplish, it was a lot of fun.

Word on the open seas is that the new Rainbow Warrior is in the North Sea right now doing sea trials so it’s unlikely she’ll make an appearance in Vancouver this weekend. Rest assured there will be a real party atmosphere as Greenpeace celebrates its 40th in it’s hometown.

Greenpeace and the Rainbow Warrior have left their marks on the global psyche and I expect this organization will continue to push the boundaries of what it means to be a planetary champion, this week and for the next forty years.

Happy Birthday!