Hummingbird604.com » sustainability

Sans Fin Soup Cooking Contest (October 13th) Shark Truth (win tickets)

Raul — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 18:00:43 +0000

Claudia Li (the founder of Shark Truth) is a good friend of mine, and someone who has been passionately driving home the message of how cooking shark fin soup is not a sustainable (nor humane) way of preparing soup. While shark fin soup is considered a gourmet dish, and is frequently served at traditional Chinese weddings, it’s also a rather cruel use of shark fin (did you know that the shark’s fin is removed and retained and the rest of the fish is discarded? It hurts just to think about it).

More about Shark Truth:

Founded in 2009, Shark Truth is a grassroots nonprofit dedicated to promoting awareness, education and action for sharks and around shark fin issues. Through our unique Happy Hearts Love Sharks wedding contest, 65 couples have pledged to protect sharks by not serving shark fin at their banquets, totalling to 9,500 bowls of shark fin soup diverted being from consumption (approximately 950 sharks).

I have 2 tickets (total value $70) for the October 13th Sans Fin Soup Cooking Contest to take place on October 13th, organized by Shark Truth in partnership with the Vancouver Foundation. And I am going to give them away to a lucky reader.

Photo credit: Alpha on Flickr

This October 13th, Shark Truth with the support of Vancouver Foundation, presents the Sans Fin Soup Contest: a contest where chefs will be showcasing their shark fin-free soup alternative in a tasting challenge to 300 guests at the Renaissance Harbourside Hotel.

Renaissance Vancouver Hotel Harbourside
1133 West Hastings Street
In the 360º Vista Room
Thursday, October 13th
6pm – 9pm

You can buy tickets online (and you probably should do that soon as I’m sure it’ll be a sold-out event), but for a lucky pair of readers, I have a pair of tickets to attend the event. All you need to do is to share a tip on ways to experience consuming sustainable food in Vancouver or the Lower Mainland. For example, in my case, I recently had dinner at The Observatory, which has dishes that are Ocean-Wise certified. I have also eaten at restaurants that are members of Green Table, let me know. You can win an additional entry by tweeting the following:

I shared a sustainable food tip with @hummingbird604 to win tickets to #SansFin via @sharktruth http://ow.ly/6PDhL You can enter too!

I will draw the winners on October 12th at 2pm, and I will leave the names of the winners at the doors of the event for the winners. I’ll contact them via email and drop a comment on this post too, so stay tuned!

World Environment Day (today, June 5th, 2011)

Raul — Sun, 05 Jun 2011 15:48:55 +0000

Strangely enough, Earth Day (April 22nd) and World Water Day (March 22nd) tend to be very highly publicized but World Environment Day (set by the United Nations Environment Programme) is rarely paid much attention to.

As a specialist in environmental policy, and more importantly, someone deeply concerned with environmental protection, I think it’s important to remind people that our consumptive patterns are one of the biggest causes for environmental degradation. We consume at a much faster rate than resources are replenished. Our ecosystems are fragile.

My research focus has been, for the past 10-15 years, pollution reduction and prevention, hazardous waste, solid waste and more recently, wastewater. I hope that people can take a moment today, June 5th, World Environment Day, to remember just how blessed we are with having resources that so many people are unable to, and access to a number of satisfactors that others don’t. Let’s protect our environment not only today, but every day.

World Environment Day (WED) is an annual event that is aimed at being the biggest and most widely celebrated global day for positive environmental action. WED activities take place all year round but climax on 5 June every year, involving everyone from everywhere. WED celebration began in 1972 and has grown to become the one of the main vehicles through which the UN stimulates worldwide awareness of the environment and encourages political attention and action.

What are YOU going to do for your environment on WED 2011?

Love Vancouver, Love Your Planet Festival (June 5th, 2011)

Raul — Sun, 05 Jun 2011 14:46:07 +0000

I love Vancouver, and as an educator who teaches environmental politics and someone who works hard at sustainable living, I’m pleased to see that on World Environment Day (today, June 5th), there’s also a festival on sustainable living: Love Vancouver, Love Your Planet.

Love Vancouver, Love Your Planet is a new festival for sustainable living. Focusing on fun, inspiration, and information, we are inviting Vancouverites to celebrate our city’s successes and share their ideas for a sustainable future. This is the first year for our free, family event

The organizers ask you to gather the family, pack your water bottle and a re-useable bag, and make your way to the Olympic Village seawall in False Creek this Sunday, June 5. Love Vancouver, Love Your Planet, a festival of green art,
music and lifestyle is offering up a good time with a greater purpose.

LOVE VANCOUVER STAGE presented by CBC
Kate Morgan Band -11:30am
Blake Havard – 12:30pm
Wendy Biscuit Blues – 1:30pm
David Blair – 2:30pm
Fools and Kings – 3:30pm
Graham Brown Band – 4:45pm

ECO-STEWARDSHIP SHOWCASE presented by LUSH
Community partners are hosting 13 workshops about environmental stewardship. Get inspired and share your ideas for a sustainable future.

KID ZONE presented by FORTISBC
The kids will deep in eco-friendly fun with activities including pinwheel
making, bubbles, face painting, colouring, mascots and more.

ECO FAIR and FOOD
Over 45+ local and green businesses, artisans and NGO’s are participating in our open-air eco-market on the seawall. Vegetarian and Vegan local food stalls will be serving up tasty delights on compostable plates, cups, straws and cutlery to
help reduce waste.

You won’t find plastic bags or water bottles on-site, but the water station will be serving fresh from the source Vancouver tap water. A free and secure bike valet service will be provided at the festival, or for those who don’t roll that way, it’s easy to get there by foot, Skytrain or bus (take the 50 False Creek or Granville Island, or the Skytrain Main Street Science World, or the Canada Line Olympic Village).

The event will be powered by 100% green electricity provided by Bullfrog Power, and all waste will be handled on site – sorted and weighed with help from Recycling Alternative. If I were in Vancouver, I totally would attend, but I’m in Victoria, so best wishes, and I hope you can take advantage of this free event!

Win a “Soy-At-Home” eco-prize pack from @SoNiceOrganic and me

Raul — Thu, 02 Dec 2010 19:45:43 +0000

I was browsing through my corner store recently and reached to look into refrigerator to check the So Nice soy beverages. Strange as it may sound, checking these out gave me a strange warm-and-fuzzy feeling, because I am actually one of the judges of the So Nice Contest, which captures ideas on greening our world.

In promoting their contest (and judging it), the kind folks of So Nice (Canada’s largest sustainable, organic soy beverage brand) gave me a pack of goodies for one of my lucky readers to win. I will be giving away a “Soy-At-Home” prize pack containing:

Eco-Chic Home by Emily Anderson (compliments of Raincoast Books: great book on creating a sustainable style at home)
The Legacy by David Suzuki (compliments of Greystone Books: Suzuki, one of the planet’s preeminent elders, explains how we got where we are today and presents his vision for a better future)
Sapadilla rosemary/peppermint Counter Spray (plant-based, biodegradable and earth friendly cleaner)
Simplicity natural vegesoy candle (made with soybeans and all natural vegetable wax-petroleum free)
Green Zebra 2011 Savings Guide (over 250 coupons, $10,000 in savings on eco-friendly products, restaurants, organics, health-fitness, cultural activities and getaways)
EcoJot: 100% recycled paper journals made in Canada
Abeego Snack: natural, reusable, eco-conscious food storage
So Nice product voucher (1.89L carton, as shown below) (This product needs to be refrigerated, hence the voucher)

The So Nice “$5,000 Towards a Better Organic World Contest’s deadline is December 31, 2010. I will keep my giveaway running until December 27th, 2010 at 5:00pm. The contest’s eligibility is for Canada residents only.

To enter my giveaway:

FIRST:
“Like” the So Nice Facebook Page (- while you’re there take a look at their Green Contest where I am a judge)

AND THEN do one of the following:

Tweet your favorite green tip and include @soniceorganic and the hashtag: #sonice-rpv

OR
Comment below with your favorite “green tip”. Something that you do to reduce your ecological footprint, for example. Your green tips can be anything from how you conserve water, to linking to your favorite vegan recipe. Just be sure to keep your idea clean

About So Nice
So Nice only uses certified organic, non-GMO soybeans that are grown in Canada and the US.

The So Nice “A Better Organic World Contest”

The So Nice “A Better Organic World” contest on Facebook runs until December 31 and asks: “How would you spend $5,000 towards a better organic world?” . Answer in 300 words or less for a chance to win $5,000 to put this plan into action! Check it out here. You can submit ideas of how you would go about making the world (or even just your corner of the world) a greener place.

For more information about the So Nice Facebook contest, visit the link above or view the “Media Room”.

Disclosure: The bag of goodies was generously sponsored by So Nice Canada, and it’s a token of appreciation for me as one of the judges of their “A Better Organic World”. I am neither paid to run the contest, nor do I get any other form of monetary or in-kind compensation. I just think So Nice is a very cool green brand that is working towards greening our world. As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please do feel free to contact me via email.

The Crazy Sustainable Commute (Aug 27th)

Raul — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 23:21:32 +0000

When I was in high school, I used to drive everywhere. And to be quite fair, I used to drive (or was used also to be driven around by my parents) too in each and every one of the cities in the world where I lived, before I entered my graduate degree in Environmental Studies, and realized that driving everywhere was polluting and not a very sustainable form of transportation.

While sometimes I find it really hard to commute by transit, I love walking and have recently taken up biking, simply because if I am going to teach the talk I got to walk the walk (also, it IS a great exercise, and with the recent improvements, separated bike lanes, etc., it feels so much safer). I was recently approached to write about The Crazy Sustainable Commute, I was delighted.

The Crazy Sustainable Commute challenges people in the Lower Mainland to find a creative sustainable means of transportation to get to work on August 27th. It is headed by Steve Unger who is an Ambassador for the David Suzuki Foundation at Work program.

The DSF at Work program is, from what I hear, a free service for any business to host an Ambassador to come to their workplace and talk about how staff and management can create a sustainable workplace. That’s also a neat idea. More about this in this video by DFS.

The relevance of the BP oil spill for global environmental politics

Raul — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 17:04:12 +0000

photo credit: centralasian

Having had one of the world’s foremost authorities on climate change as a PhD advisor when I was doing my doctorate was a bit challenging at times, because a lot of people didn’t understand how could I be supervised by a climate expert and NOT be interested in climate policy at all. I now do a bit of climate work. This year I have started a project on climate change and water, and since 2006 I have incorporated climate-related examples in the classroom when I teach environmental politics.

I have no problem admitting that it irks me when people assume that climate change is THE one and only environmental problem that we have. I can’t even begin to tell you how many people start their conversations with me by mentioning Al Gore and An Inconvenient Truth. And of course, I smile sweetly and roll my eyes. I am a pollution control specialist, not a climate one. I will fully admit that, up until I had to start teaching with examples from the climate negotiations, I had absolutely no interest whatsoever in climate policy. My focus was, and continues to be, finding ways to minimize the impact WE (humans) already have on the planet.

I have spent the better part of the last decade studying human behaviour and processes to minimize and curtail pollution in solid waste and in water. I am one of the very, very few social scientists who study wastewater governance, worldwide. Most of the focus on water is on QUANTITY not on QUALITY. And it does disappoint me when people forget that there are MANY other environmental problems worldwide beyond climate. This is one of the reasons why I have never been too fond of the excessive exposure that global warming and climate change have in the media.

While I am completely and utterly heartbroken by the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico (not only for the negative environmental consequences, but also because of the magnitude and extent of the damage), I am somewhat hopeful. Yes, this may sound contradictory, but I feel vindicated. The BP oil disaster has reminded the world that pollution is STILL one of the most important environmental problems we haven’t solved. We need to continue to work to reduce our impacts on the environment, and pollution is a big impact.

I mused on Twitter that the next time somebody tells me why I eschew climate policy in favor of water and pollution control policy, my answer will be just two words: “BP Spill”.

Earth Day is today April 22nd

Raul — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 19:41:32 +0000

photo credit: NASA Goddard Photo and Video

I have had an interest in environmental issues for more than 20 years. Even before I thought about starting my undergraduate degree, I knew I had an interest in protecting the environment. The better part of the last decade of my life I have spent it researching, analyzing data, interviewing government officials, activists and scholars who work in the sustainability field. I did a Doctor of Philosophy in Resource Management and Environmental Studies because I knew that I wanted to focus on pollution control policy.

While the past four years I have done a lot of personal blogging, I do have a research blog, and I am delighted that I now have extensive experience that allows me to bridge my interests: sustainability, education, social media/technology and the environment.

Unfortunately, Earth Day falls within the two weeks when I have had the most work ever, and I am really swamped for time, so I don’t have the time to recount all the pitches I received regarding events for Earth Day. BUT I will be approving comments remotely, so if you have an event for Earth Day that you’d like to tell my readers, by all means drop a comment.

For Earth Day (which coincides with my 4 years blogiversary) I am having a social gathering at my office at The Network Hub tonight, I have a short social media appearance to make before that gathering, and I am in the middle of marking papers and preparing final exams, and dealing with students. I spend every day thinking about ways in which I can improve not only my proximate environment but also that of my fellow human beings. And I’m proud of the research, consulting and teaching I do in the environment and public policy fields.

Happy Earth Day, everyone. Remember, we only have one planet. Let’s take care of it.

At @ChrisVelan concert for @TheBigWild and @1PercentFTP

Raul — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 20:47:07 +0000

Darren invited me to last night’s concert (on April’s Fool’s Day, no less!) by Chris Velan, an extremely talented Canadian musician who is also a lover of the outdoors, and who recently joined One Percent for the Planet (an organization that I knew from when I did my PhD). 1% For the Planet encourages businesses of all sizes to donate 1% of profits to environmental causes. As it turns out, Mountain Equipment Coop’s 1% goes to funding The Big Wild, a non-profit partnership project between CPAWS and MEC.

Coincidentally, I knew Esther Speck (Director of Sustainability at MEC and one of the big proponents of The Big Wild) from way back when, and it’s nice to now be reconnected through a round-about. As I told her last night, I don’t think she knew about my social media presence. Most people in the environmental community in Vancouver don’t. It’s like I live two lives at the same time (social media/PR/tech and environmental/policy). Only a few seem to know about both simultaneously. At the time Esther was doing her MBA and MREM (REM is the ‘cousin’ of RMES, the program where I did my PhD), she was really good friends with a very good friend of mine who was (same like me) doing a PhD in RMES. And now we are reconnected, after a long, long while. Vancouver is too small!

Anyways, I was delighted to be invited along with my dear Emme Rogers, and it was a pleasant surprise to bump into other friends of mine, like Monique and James, Leah and Jay, Jeremy and of course, Julie. Chris Velan‘s performance was excellent (I understand my friends from Mojave were there too, but I missed them! Chris is touring the country in support of 1% and The Big Wild, playing evening concerts and gigs at MEC stores.

Chris kicked off his tour in Vancouver at the Railway Club. As indicated by Darren, Chris’ music is kind of in the Jack Johnson, surfer folk-rock vein. I had a great time, thanks Darren for inviting me along! You can see a video of Chris below.

Towards Zero Waste – Metro Vancouver Sustainability Breakfast Nov 4th

Raul — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 16:46:40 +0000

photo credit: conskeptical

I have made a point of attending all the Metro Vancouver sustainability breakfasts that I can. Not because I actually *have* the time, but because these gatherings are an effort on the part of the regional body (not sure if I could call Metro Vancouver a regional ‘authority’ since they don’t enforce or make law) to increase public participation. This month’s sustainability breakfast will probably be a heated one, because of the discussions about the possibility of implementing a Waste-To-Energy facility here in Vancouver. As I mentioned when I sat in the Regional Dialogue a few weeks back, I think Metro Vancouver is, indeed, trying to implement a good public participation strategy. I will definitely be at this breakfast.

My panel talk at Independent Power Producers ’09 #ippbc09

Raul — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 03:18:37 +0000

photo credit: f_shields

Today I was part of the social media panel organized by Elisha McCallum (Director of Communications for Plutonic Power) at the Independent Power Producers conference, held in Vancouver, November 2nd and 3rd, 2009. I was honored to share the stage with Alexandra Samuel (Social Signal), James Glave (Hoggan & Associates), Chris Hatch (PowerUp Canada) and Gillian Shaw (Vancouver Sun). While I hadn’t met Chris before, I am friends with the remainder of the panel so the chemistry and flow of information in the panel was incredibly smooth. I created a ScribbleLive iFrame so that people could read the live-tweets (it’s embedded on my research blog but you can also read it below).

I was the last panelist, which is almost always a total risk because you never know what the other speakers are going to say. Two themes resonated within the panel: the importance of sharing your story online and building an online presence and brand. I spoke about 4 things that social media will not do for your power producing company and my top 10 best tips for doing social media within the alternative energy online space. These tips are definitely applicable to other brands, verticals and online spaces, but I spoke directly to energy issues in this talk. What follows below is a very loose crib of my actual talk.

The crib begins here

Thank you everyone for coming to our panel. I am the last panelist so my points will definitely resonate with what you have heard from my amazing colleagues. While I admit that I have a bit of split personality (I have two online personas, one that is social media and consulting and the other, my academic self), my talk will actually discourage you from doing what I do (yeah, Raul, practice what you preach, eh?) and instead, I will urge you to create a unified, coherent and cohesive online presence. There are reasons why I keep my identities online separate that I can share with you in the question and answer period if you are still interested.

First of all, I am going to tell you the 4 things that social media will NOT accomplish for you:

1. Social media will NOT replace your all of your other communication strategies. Social media will augment whatever other communications efforts you are using to put your message out there. But what it won’t do is to substitute for a solid strategy. So, if you don’t have a solid, coherent and broad communication strategy within which you insert social media tools, you probably should start with that, first of all.

2. Social media will NOT avoid the NIMBY (Not In My Backyard) phenomenon for your company. I am an academic. I know that NIMBY happens, and it actually happens with a multitude of alternative power producers’ technologies. I’ve read the literature on NIMBY opposition to wind farms to extensive lengths. I would not be surprised if people oppose your alternative power projects. And whether you like it or not, you have to accept that social media won’t avoid NIMBY conflicts. It may, however, help you manage your relationships with the community you are immersed within. And perhaps, that might just help you deal and mitigate NIMBY opposition.

3. Social media will not create your community just by producing and maintaining an online presence. It’s up to you and your company’s staff to build a community around your website, around your company and around your online platforms (Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, YouTube, to name a few).

4. Social media will not pay back immediately. Whoever tells you that social media will produce an immediate return on investment and that it doesn’t cost a cent is lying to you, and you should refer them to me so that I can slap them silly. I’m just half-kidding here. Social media is about community building, and the same way that Rome wasn’t built in one day, online communities aren’t built in 3 weeks. Whoever tells you otherwise is lying to you. And that, in good time, will come and bite them back.

Now, for the top 10 tips I can give you on how to best do social media…

[The rest of my crib is actually just going to be the tips themselves. I think they're self-explanatory]

1. Tell a story. Your company has a story to tell. Tell it!
2. Go multi-platform. Don’t just stick to Twitter or Facebook. Go where your audience is.
3. Be authentic. If you screw up, admit it and clean up after yourself. We are all humans behind the computer screen.
4. Monitor your brand. Your company is being talked about online, even if you think it’s not.
5. Build a community. I can’t stress this enough. Social media is about building a community around you.
6. Be patient. Success overnight takes between 10 and 15 years. So, don’t expect to build a community in 4 weeks.
7. Hire a good consultant. Same as with coaching, there’s only so much you can do. And then, you get someone to help you move forward. Be choosy when you ask for consulting services.
8. Align your social media strategy to your overall strategy. Nothing worse than having a social media strategy that achieves only part of the overall goals of the company.
9. Build a cohesive online identity. Create a central platform (I use my blog and recommend you do too) and then use social networking sites to share your message and bring the community back to your core platform.
10. Remember to network wisely. Don’t abuse your networks. Share stuff, be generous, and remember that everyone is connected in this day and age.

I hope that these notes are helpful. Comments, as usual, most welcome.

Passive Eco-Home – BC and Canadian entry to The Chain of Eco-Homes

Raul — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 22:49:01 +0000

Via Alex Maurer, I found out about the only Canadian entry to the Greensburg (Kansas) competition The Chain of Eco-Homes. The Passive Eco-Home, with 1400 sq ft, is the only BC (and only the second Canadian) entry to the competition. As per Alex’s words

We are the only BC participant (only one other Canadian) out of over 250 contestants from 13 countries. It is our first competition and we can use every vote we can get quite frankly. Maybe of interest to your blogreaders and you to support us if you/they like what you see.

Frankly, I am always a big supporter of BC-based businesses, so if you feel so inclined, please go and vote for them.

Metro Vancouver Regional Forums on Waste Management (Sep 15 and 16th)

Raul — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 14:43:48 +0000

photo credit: jimmyroq

Even though I have been focusing a large part of my research agenda on wastewater (and lately, drinking water and groundwater), my interest in solid waste management and hazardous waste policy has never waned. Therefore, I will be participating in the Metro Vancouver Regional Forums on Waste Management. Today is the Vancouver one, and I will be there (11:30am to 2:00pm, at the Morris Wosk Centre for Dialogue, SFU, Downtown Vancouver on West Hastings). The registration for today’s forum is closed already, but there is space in other locations, as indicated by the Metro Vancouver website. If you are interested in waste management issues, landfills, waste-to-energy processes, this is the event you should attend. If you live in the Metro Vancouver area, perhaps the New Westminster location will be the best for you. Of course, you can attend at any of the other locations that you find accessible.

Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2009, New Westminster, 12 noon to 2:00pm, (registration and lunch at 11:30am)
Fraser River Discovery Centre, 788 Quayside Dr., New Westminster

If you would like to meet up with me, I’ll be at the Vancouver one from 11:30am to 2:00pm (probably will be lingering for just a few minutes as I have another meeting at 3pm in the Yaletown area).

London Drugs and the styrofoam disposal

Raul — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 19:11:49 +0000

photo credit: sivasothi

I am not a big fan of styrofoam, but as someone who cooks and consumes Indian food, I’ve always been aware of the challenges that designing containers for this type of food brings along. Similarly, styrofoam is frequently used to prevent shocks when packaging computer hardware (I have a LOT of styrofoam from the HP PhotoSmart I was sent by HP Canada). While in my research I haven’t looked specifically at styrofoam waste management, I have always kept it in mind as a challenge, particularly as space in landfills becomes more and more scarce. I would prefer much more if we minimized our usage of styrofoam than having to dispose of it.

I learned about London Drugs‘ recent partnership with Green Deal via Cynnamon Schreinert, and from the press release, I became aware that London Drugs also can receive used batteries for disposal. I’m a bit confused as to whether this partnership and recycling program only applies to disposing styrofoam from items purchased at LD, or if consumers can also bring other styrofoam. I think applying a levy would/should work. I’m interested in learning more about this initiative, both

Sidney Pier Hotel (Sidney, British Columbia)- #sidneyvisit

Raul — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 22:00:55 +0000

For my recent visit to Sidney (Vancouver Island, British Columbia), The Shaw Ocean Discovery Centre wanted to ensure that I stayed near by the location of this amazing interactive marine exhibit museum, so they arranged for me to stay at the Sidney Pier Hotel and Spa. There is really no better location, since well, the Sidney Pier is right besides the Shaw ocean Discovery Centre.

Credit: Stv on Flickr

The overall theme of my visit was focused on the environmental sustainability features of the hotel. I was given a full tour of the facilities, and I was really impressed at the degree to which everyone at the Sidney Pier Hotel really knows what sustainable features this hotel boasts. Lisa Ballinger (Marketing, Sidney Pier Hotel and Spa) showed me the three types of rooms (from the starter suite, a one bedroom with kitchenette, to a full-blown 2 bedroom suite). I took video of all three types of room, and will update this post accordingly once the video is processed.

I can’t really single out one thing to highlight, because frankly I was positively impressed about the hotel overall, particularly the integration of sustainable features from the design to the actual construction of the site to the day-to-day performance and operation of the hotel. From their fact sheet:

The Sidney Pier Hotel & Spa is a boutique waterfront hotel in Sidney, British Columbia, on Vancouver Island’s breathtaking
Saanich Peninsula. Featuring a contemporary and timeless design with a colour palette inspired by the natural shoreline,
The Pier’s vision is to offer the finest oceanfront experience in the Pacific Northwest. Opened on May 1, 2007, The Sidney Pier Hotel & Spa features 55 spacious guestrooms, including 9 suites with full kitchens, 2,046 sq-ft of flexible meeting space, including an Seaview Boardroom, guest laundry facilities, a 3,250 sq-ft full-service spa, salon and fitness centre, street-side café/deli, and waterfront restaurant and lounge with seasonal outdoor terrace. Located just minutes from the Victoria International Airport, BC Ferries and Washington State Ferries terminals, The Sidney Pier Hotel & Spa will serve as the gateway to the Gulf Islands and Saanich Peninsula.

A summary of their environmentally-driven initiatives, also taken from their site

In addition to numerous energy-saving and waste reducing initiatives, customized hydro-thermal heat pumps warm and cool the building by borrowing and returning excess heat from the ocean, reducing our emissions by 30-60%.

To support local growers and organic farmers in our community, we feature seasonal and regionally inspired menus. And our seafood menu items are strictly selected in support of sustainable fishery practices and the Vancouver Aquarium’s OceanWise conservation program.

Our mandate is to apply eco-friendly criteria to all of our decision-making. And by minimizing our ecological footprint we set an example for responsible and sustainable tourism.

The assistant manager of marketing was kind enough to provide a quick video intro to the Sidney Pier Hotel (he also kindly took me to the Swartz Bay ferry)

As it wasn’t enough to have such great environmental initiatives and excellent customer service, they brought me this welcome treat to my room:

One of the cutest additions that I found to the Sidney Pier Hotel was Dave, their canine ambassador. You can meet him here!

I would recommend the Sidney Pier Hotel even if they hadn’t sponsored my stay, simply because I am a big promoter of local businesses with an environmental focus. The Sidney Pier Hotel is located conveniently close to the Victoria Airport and to the Patricia Bay Harbour (so you can, indeed, fly by float plane).

This is Entry # 19 of 49

If you enjoyed this post, please consider donating to the BC Cancer Foundation. You can find my donation page by clicking here. Every bit helps. Thank you in advance!

The Metro Vancouver Recycles campaign

Raul — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 15:06:41 +0000

I have been in touch with Greg Valou from Metro Vancouver since Vancouver’s first ChangeCamp and a few weeks back, I gave a presentation to their social media working group on why Metro Vancouver (the organization formerly known as the Greater Vancouver Regional District, GVRD) should be using social media. I believe they are moving forward in the right direction. Greg informed me about their Metro Vancouver Recycles online resource the last time I visited their offices but I had neglected to post about it. Since I believe it’s a great resource, here it is.

Our directory of reuse and recycling services is designed to help you answer the question “Where do I take this?” The database contains over 1,300 locations within the Metro Vancouver region to donate, recycle or appropriately dispose of those items you no longer want.

The screenshot below shows you all the different locations where I could recycle my computer parts should I desire to do so (I used WorkSpace as a landmark location, but I should have used The Network Hub since my office is there! Anyways, it’s literally like 5 blocks away from my reference point)

Dedicated lane for bikes on the Burrard Bridge (trial)

Raul — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 15:40:58 +0000

For those of us who commute by bus/Skytrain, this debate is slightly a little bit more than a moot point. I adore walking, and I have absolutely no problem with a dedicated biking lane on the Burrard Bridge. Will the lane encourage motorists to switch modes of transportation? What is really the change in behavior that the dedicated lane is attempting to encourage? More cyclists commuting from Kitsilano to Downtown Vancouver because now they will feel less threatened by the cars? More people taking the bus in order to avoid congestion during rush hour? I am REALLY interested in hearing from my readers as to what they perceive is the intended goal of the Burrard Bridge dedicated bike lane (trial begins July 13th, 2009). Lots of my fellow bloggers have written about it (including Stephen Rees, trusted friend of mine and an authority in transportation policy), but as a researcher who investigates environmental policy and who hasn’t had the opportunity to study transportation policy as much, I am definitely most curious as to what societal perceptions of this trial are (for an overview of the City of Vancouver’s view on the bike lane, click on this link). As usual, have at it on the comments section.

Farmstead Provenance Series on Food: Session 2 – Sustainable seafood and OceanWise

Raul — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 01:17:16 +0000

Anthony Nicalo invited me to come and participate in the second session of the FarmFed series: Provenance: You are What You Eat. Part 2/6 “Understanding the Provenance of Seafood”
Monday, April 27, 6pm

For me it was important to come by as I have conducted research on eco-labels. Moreover, it was a good opportunity for me to further my understanding of sustainable seafood production and consumption, eco-labels. And it wasn’t technically a social media gathering, so I’m delighted to be here. Obviously, geek as I am, I offered to liveblog!

Provenance Series on Sustainable Food (SeaFood)

From the FarmFed website you can read the description of this session I’m attending.

Mike McDermid, Program Manager of Ocean Wise and Chef Robert Clark of [C] Restaurant will join us for this evening’s discussion of the provenance of seafood. The importance of understanding where seafood is caught and harvested and overall impacts on our oceans will be discussed. Enjoy sustainable seafood hors d’oeuvres prepared by Chef Robert Clark and fish-friendly wines.
Tonight’s discussion will help guests make mindful choices when shopping for seafood and they leave with a copy of “Sea Sick: The Global Ocean Crisis” by Alanna Mitchell.

The planning process and development of Mount Pleasant

Raul — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 22:25:08 +0000

I am, as many of you know, a researcher of urban sustainability. Much of my research focused on understanding the transformation pathways of industrial regions. Mount Pleasant (and South East False Creek) is one of these previously-industrial-now-mixed-development areas in the city of Vancouver. Mount Pleasant is also where I call home, and I (as many of you know) am in love with this part of Vancouver.

Sadly, I have been unable to participate in the planning process for the Mount Pleasant area. For some reason, the meetings always end up being on a day that I am either overbooked, sick or otherwise unable to join. This time, I am using this post as a placeholder to remind me of the issues surrounding the development of Mount Pleasant, as I am currently linking to the website of the City of Vancouver’s page for the Mount Pleasant Community Planning Program. A schedule of the Community Liaison Meetings (CLM) is posted there.

At some point, hopefully within the next couple of months, I’m going to have to go through their Fact Sheets. It’s really incredible, the amount of work that has been done to understand my neighbourhood, and if I can contribute, by all means, I am going to try. I’m after all, someone who has made urban sustainable planning part of his research areas. It’s hard to fit everything, but heck, by all means I’m going to try!

Social Media for Sustainability and Public Policy

Raul — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 16:30:27 +0000

I’m exhausted but very happy with the results of my Net Tuesday talk. The speakers who were at the event were all fantastic, and I’m truly honored to have shared the stage with them.

The feedback on my presentation was great and people seemed quite happy with the content of my speech. I think people were also taken by the fact that I presented the social network of the New Testament in a very cool visualization.

Thanks to AHA Media for providing documentation through videography/photography/live-tweeting and to Darren and Joe, respectively, for MC-ing and organizing/inviting me.

The liveblog/live-tweet is inserted below (or you can click in this link) and my presentation slides are hosted in my research blog and on SlideShare.

I’d be very curious to hear people’s reactions to my talk on the comments section. One thing I noticed is that people had a lot of questions that I really couldn’t address right there and then as we had very limited time, so if you have any questions, feel free to drop me a comment on my research blog or here.

World Water Day and “The Global Water Crisis” event by WaterDrop

Raul — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 18:08:07 +0000

You might recall that I wrote a few days back about an invitation that Jered Love and Doug Van Spronsen from WaterDrop made recently. Jered and Doug asked me if I’d be willing to speak about the state of Canadian water within the global water issues context. Of course, I accepted gladly because I believe very strongly in the work that Doug and Jered are doing in regards to highlighting the relevance of water within the context of global environmental change. As I’ve mentioned before, many people are SO focused on climate change that they tend to forget that water IS also a natural resource that faces great challenges in the very near future.

The event took place last night, with a showing of a video that WaterDrop created, a screening of the movie/documentary “Flow” and two talks, one by the folks of Run for Water (I’ll write more about them in the next few days) and my own. I’ll have my slides up on my research site in the next couple of days. On the way back, we were talking about the event and I mentioned that they should be proud, because bringing 70 people to Langley (at Trinity Western University) on a Saturday night to talk water, is not an easy task, and the participants stayed for much longer to talk to the folks who had exhibits at the event (the Township of Langley, Oxfam, the Council of Canadians). They did an amazing job and they also had several people who helped make the event successful, and I personally had a great time.

Water and energy are considered two of the most important and pressing environmental issues in the next 50 years. Unfortunately, so much emphasis is placed on the need for energy resources that not enough attention is paid to the myriad of issues surrounding water. Who has the right to access water? How can we make this access equitable? Is privatization the right way pathway for water conservation? What can we do to re-purpose wastewater and how safe is the technology? There are many, many questions regarding water that are still not answered. My research on water governance aims to tackle just a few of this questions.

Only 3% of the world’s water supply is freshwater (the rest is salt water). This fact comes as a good reminder that today, March 22nd, 2009 is not only the second day of spring, but also the celebration of World Water Day. The theme for 2008 was Sanitation (where my main focus of water research is) and for 2009 is Transboundary Water.

Over the last 60 years there have been more than 200 international water agreements and only 37 cases of reported violence between states over water. We need to continue to nurture the opportunities for cooperation that transboundary water management can provide. [World Water Day UN Site]

In my research, I have examined the way in which wastewater policy is created within a river basin that encompasses territory of five Mexican states (the equivalent of provinces in Canada). The 2009 theme of Transboundary Waters is very timely, because (as I found while conducting fieldwork for this project) water can be used not only as a natural resource but also as a political resource. When water bodies (aquifers or lakes or rivers) are shared amongst two political entities, conflicts about jurisdiction over the water bodies may potentially ensue. Right now, we don’t have water wars, but given the irresponsible consumption patterns that many individuals have, we may see real water fights in the near future.

How many transboundary river basins are there?

There are 263 transboundary river basins. Over 45 percent of the land surface of the world is covered by river basins that are shared by more than one country. Over 75 percent of all countries, 145 in total, have within their boundaries shared river basins. And 33 nations have over 95 percent of their territory within international river basins.

While most transboundary river basins are shared between just two countries, there are many river basins where this number is much higher. There are 13 basins worldwide that are shared between 5 to 8 countries. Five river basins, the Congo, Niger, Nile, Rhine and Zambezi, are shared between 9 to 11 countries. The river that flows through the most countries is the Danube, which passes through the territory of 18 countries.[UN World Water Day]

On this World Water Day, I encourage all my readers to re-think their consumption patterns, to think of ways to conserve and recycle water, to ponder how can each one of us contribute to the work of non-governmental organizations that are fighting tirelessly to provide safe drinking water to the many people in developing nations that don’t have access to clean water. Happy World Water Day.

Earth Hour Canada and living green

Raul — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 22:36:15 +0000

Last year, I noticed that Corinna had written a substantial post on Earth Hour Canada (to which I linked in a linklove post earlier in 2008). She’s been promoting the very worthy work of WWF for a couple of years now, which I think is awesome. This year, Corinna has written again about the issue and how she and Adam try to be green year-round. In January of this year, the World Wildlife Federation (organizers of Earth Canada Hour) contacted me to help spread the word on Earth Hour Canada (hat tips to Dave Jones for linking them up with me) and I was very happy to do so. Several of us will be spreading the word soon so I’ll be sure to link back when I know about their posts.

On March 28th, 2009, from 8:30pm to 9:30pm, millions of Canadians will turn off their lights for Earth Hour in support of action on climate change. You can encourage friends and family on the WWF-Earth Hour Canada site. The WWF is also encouraging participants to think about ways to reduce your carbon footprint (e.g. transit, unplugging electrical appliances, etc.)

More information on their site. Also, you can follow Earth Hour Canada on Twitter here and join the Earth Canada Hour Facebook page here.

Virtual water: Should drinking coffee make you feel guilty?

Raul — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 19:01:34 +0000

While admittedly my research strength is on wastewater governance, I am well versed on the water scarcity literature. One of the concepts that has gained notoriety in the social science literature is the idea of virtual water. From the World Water Council’s website:

Virtual water is the amount of water that is embedded in food or other products needed for its production. For example, to produce one kilogram of wheat we need about 1,000 litres of water, i.e. the virtual water of this kilogram of wheat is 1,000 litres. For meat, we need about five to ten times more.[World Water Council]

Credit: Ianiv and Arieanna

Darren recently wrote about Salt Spring Island Coffee and how much guilt they put into their coffee cup paper sleeves with the phrase “the cup of coffee you’re consuming travelled 20,000 miles to get to you” (I’m paraphrasing). In my comment to Darren, I indicated that this kind of guilt was nothing. I would like to share with you just how much water was consumed in producing that one cup of coffee you can’t give up: 140 litres, according to the latest calculation of the World Water Council. Yes, you heard right. 140 litres of water go into producing each cup of coffee.

People who are unaware of the negative environmental impact of excess water consumption argue that, after all, it’s *just* a cup of coffee and that we have enough water in the world. My question to them is - How much of the world’s water is available for human consumption? Yeah, I told you about that a few months ago, remember? 0.38% – not nearly enough to sustain our current consumptive patterns.

Credit: Snap(R)

I’ll be the first to admit (disclosure time) that I do enjoy a cup of coffee, particularly when it comes to meetings with colleagues, friends, clients or the like. But I always feel guilty about it, and I try to find ways to diminish my water consumption, all the time. Moreover, a vast majority of my research work is on wastewater recycling and water conservation. Furthermore, I work hard at educating the public about the current state of the world in regards to water scarcity and the need to recycle and reuse wastewater.

The concept of virtual water isn’t new, but it is a powerful tool that helps us understand how negative our consumption patterns are. I just hope that the great work that water-focused researchers (myself included) are doing to highlight the negative consequences of our day-to-day activities and over-consumptive patterns can resonate with the public. Please remember that water is VERY, very scarce, before flushing your toilet, before purchasing bottled water, before taking long showers. Thank you.

Blogging couples: How do they deal with their online identities?

Raul — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 21:10:07 +0000

Credit: Rob Cottingham

At Northern Voice 2009 I attended and liveblogged parts of the panel moderated by Julie Szabo (with Darren Barefoot in attendance) and featuring Derek and Airdrie Miller, and Rosemary Rowe and Kate Trgovac. Both couples are friends of mine, as are Julie and Darren, so I figured it was a good idea to attend (despite my singlehood!).

It was interesting to see the conversations that arose within the panel. Issues that were raised included what can be blogged about and what can’t, the issue of readership, etc. One thing that wasn’t touched upon (because all three of the couples speaking DO have blogs) was the question of what happens when one partner blogs and the other doesn’t?

I am very curious to hear about those people who have partners who don’t blog, and how their partners perceive the relationship. I am particularly interested in issues of publicness, openness, etc. What photos can be posted, which photos can’t, etc.

At the intersection of social media and sustainability

Raul — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 21:00:32 +0000

A couple of weeks ago, I was having dinner with a few very good friends and we started talking about Twitter. They didn’t know why it was useful. I explained that frequently, people share great finds (articles, things they are doing, things other people are doing, etc). More detail about Twitter in another post. This one is to share a couple of things that I’ve learned about applications of social media to sustainability.

I see the intersection of social media and sustainability as a part of my emerging new research, teaching and consulting agendas (by the way, have you checked my new research blog? No? Go ahead and check it out then come back). And one of the great things I’ve learned is how you can apply these social media tools to enable environmental non-governmental organizations and Crown corporations to reach out to a broader audience. Examples that a variety of awesome social media gurus have done for environmental causes and the such follow (this is a short link-love list – if you find yourself not included, feel free to drop me a comment). And the most exciting thing of them all? I heard about them on Twitter

- Dave Jones from Hill and Knowlton alerted me to the work he had been doing to help World Wildlife Fund Canada to spread the message about Earth Hour Canada. He spoke to a room of 18 people from the WWF Canada as sort of a “socmed bootcamp” and got them started on Twitter, Facebook and all that jazz. Dave is a great Canadian social media/PR person, and I offered to contribute to the Vancouver Earth Hour volunteer team.

- Darren Barefoot, Julie Szabo (Capulet Communications) and Monica Hamburg (in collaboration with Capulet) helped Forest Ethics, Greenpeace Canada and Sierra Club BC launch a social media campaign (that included Flickr, Twitter, Facebook and blogger outreach) to protect the Great Bear rainforest. I wrote about their campaign on my blog a couple of times. Excellent work here too.

- Before they merged with Third Whale, Dave Olson (mentor and good friend) helped spread the amazing work of HappyFrog.ca all over the Twitterverse. I even did some podcasting and liveblogging of EPIC ’08 as part of Dave’s FrogSquad!

- Third Whale is also on Twitter. The account is managed by relentless and ultra-enthusiastic Emily Jubenvill (who by the way is considered Canada’s greenest life-style person). I had a chance to chat with Dr. Boyd Cohen (who works in the corporate sustainability field) and is an entrepreneur. I foresee great things in the future of Third Whale.

- Social Signal (headed by Rob Cottingham and Alexandra Samuel) helped BC Hydro spread their message on energy saving tips through a variety of social media tools. Although I could very well recommend some improvements to BC Hydro’s Human Resources policy, I think the work that Rob and Alex did with them was most excellent! Obviously, that speaks to the fact that Social Signal’s work is superb.

- The recently launched site that my friend Anthony Nicalo is co-leading (FarmFed) is yet another excellent example of the convergence/intersection of social media and sustainability (in this case, sustainable farming, sustainable food policy). I have a guest post for their blog that I will email ASAP.

- Finally, and not to toot our own horn, but the Vancouver Twestival is another space where sustainability (in this case, water sustainability) and social media converge. Rebecca Bollwitt is the main focal point for Twestival and Lorraine, Keira and I are helping Rebecca in whatever we can. I predict that Twestival will be a great event, and I’m very grateful to 6S Marketing, The Opus Hotel and everyone who has donated prizes for the raffle. THANK YOU SO MUCH.

In summary – social media and sustainability can and SHOULD intersect. I am actually quite excited that my work in social media (e.g. my blogging and micro-blogging, participation in social media events, etc.) is offering some leads in regards to contract work. At this juncture in my life, even though I love research and teaching, I will for sure accept some social media contract work, but only to the extent of what my abilities can do. Remember, in regards to social media, I’m still a newbie

Qoola Yogurt + Fruit (Denman Street, West End)

Raul — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 22:31:09 +0000

I had a chance to meet with Warrick and Jesse, owners of Qoola Yogurt + Fruit, and I enjoyed every minute of it. I’m always a fan of green-minded entrepreneurs, but the thing that really struck a chord with me was the fact that Warrick and Jesse started their business with a view towards being fully sustainable. They’ve been working with Green Table to ensure that they implement green measures, which is to be praised.

Their yogurt is fantastic, and while I think it deserves a fuller review (which I’ll do in a later post), it’s a good idea just to let you know that they’ve started with their soft-launch, and that they are on Twitter. Follow them here. Both Warrick and Jesse are very interested in engaging with their public and get as much feedback as possible.

I also wanted to let you know that they are on UrbanSpoon. They have also agreed to sponsor a contest in the next couple of weeks with a prize of two gift cards, which I think is completely awesome. Come to think about it (and sorry that I didn’t think about this earlier, Warrick) I should let 3rdWhale know about Qoola too!

Their grand opening is coming soon, so I’ll let them inform you guys via Twitter when this will happen. In the mean time, if you have a chance to swing by and try some of their excellent products (no, they didn’t pay me to give them a glowing review, I’m honest in saying that I *loved* their yogurt) I’d recommend to do so.

The echo chamber in water research (social sciences)

Raul — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 21:24:03 +0000

One of the benefits that I’ve gained from engaging with the social media community at large (I can no longer say I only engage with social media in Vancouver, as I have Twitter followers from all over the world) is that the terminology from one field (and the ideas) cross-pollinate other fields. That is the case with my research on water. The concept of echo chamber that has been coined in mainstream media and new media is very much applicable to social science research on water.

I can’t tell you how often I have read the same discussions over, and over, and over again. Water is scarce, we should learn how to manage the common pool resource, we need to design more robust institutions for water management, integrated watershed management is the way to go, etc. All of these are phrases that have become commonplace in the literature on water governance. I have gotten to a point where I feel as though there is an echo chamber in the social science literature on water research. I want the discussion to move forward!

Credit: Ankraut

Sadly, one of my areas of specialization (wastewater governance and policy) has been paid very little attention by social scientists. Don’t get me wrong, I’m very happy that I have carved some sort of a niche in this field (I do know some other researchers do study the topic to some extent, but this is a recent phenomenon). But it would be so much nicer if we advanced the water research agenda much further than it is right now. I have written about the topic both in the academic literature and here on my blog, and I have insisted and encouraged people to think about the hydrological cycle in a holistic way. If we stop having this “culture of flushing” that allows us to forget about the water we just polluted as soon as we see it flush away, if we begin to think forward with new analytical tools, then we can move the conversation forward too!

Yes, I am frustrated. I am particularly frustrated because despite the fact that 2008 was the International Year of Sanitation, very little progress has been made. I would hope that in the near future, we learn more about how to advance the water research agenda. And yes, the phrase I wrote before still applies – before we learn how to govern water we need to learn how to govern ourselves.

Farmstead Wines’ gift for first 10 photo submitters

Raul — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 19:08:38 +0000

Frankly, I’m kind of surprised that, given how much wine the Vancouver tech community consumes, I was still lucky enough to score a gift in the Farmstead Wines-organized Twitter contest. To quote Anthony:

“1st 10 ppl to post a new photo (twitpic, blog, flickr, etc) wearing a vinaroon button or drinking farmstead wine get a special gift from us”

My photo was taken right before I opened a bottle of a really fantastic Martin Arndorfer Grüner Veltliner Strasser Weinberge 2006″. I don’t know what people might think of this wine, but I absolutely loved it. It’s smooth and sleek, in my humble opinion.

Funny how things go, two PhDs have scored gifts so far (Dr. Rachel Black and well, myself!). I haven’t met Rachel in person but I find her research fascinating). Wine, and in particular Farmstead Wines have brought really awesome and interesting people to my life, and very positive, interesting and exciting discussions about pathways towards more sustainable farming.

Check out Farmstead Wines’ blog and submit a photo to the contest soon!

Upcoming event – Metro Vancouver Sustainability Breakfast – The Opportunities for Urban Density

Raul — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 22:44:12 +0000

WHEN – Thursday November 27th, 7:30am to 9:00am
WHAT – Metro Vancouver Sustainability Breakfast “The Opportunities for Urban Density”
WHERE – BCIT Downtown Campus.
WHY – Because urban density is a key issue in the future of the Metro Vancouver regional development.

I would have linked to the Metro Vancouver website but guess what? It’s DOWN! Argh. See you there (despite the fact that it’s going to be the second time I have to be at an event at-7.30-in-the-morning). I am SO not a morning person.

HappyFrog.ca merges with 3rdWhale!

Raul — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 23:48:11 +0000

I recently learned about the recent merger of HappyFrog.ca with 3rdWhale from my good friend DaveO, but I hadn’t had a chance to write about it, as I’d been really overwhelmed with work. HappyFrog.ca was founded by Ron Williams as an all-encompassing directory-social networking resource for green businesses in British Columbia. The platform in and of itself is fun, and handy.

I have been a proud member of the FrogSquadders (I covered EPIC 2008 for them along with a great line up of local bloggers). I frequently guest-post in HappyFrog’s FrogBlog and they have given me great exposure in their newsletter as well. Funny how everything is connected in this world, I do know of the work of Boyd Cohen, the force behind 3rdWhale (although, surprisingly, I’ve never met him in person despite the fact that we both live within the Metro Vancouver area!)

I look forward to learning more about what 3rdWhale and HappyFrog.ca merged can do combined! One improvement that 3rdWhale’s page desperately needs is an “About Us” page. I am pretty sure that everyone wants to know more about how they came about and what they’re up to!

3rdWhale recently organized a PodMob (which I also promoted on Twitter), although truth be told, at some points I was overwhelmed with so much writing and talking about the podmob. The success of the podmob at Sushi Bento on Robson Street is in no small part due to the enthusiasm and positive energy of the people behind 3rdWhale, and I believe primarily it was Emily Jubenvill, who is “The Greenest Person in Canada”.

It’s great to learn about these new developments! Congratulations to HappyFrog.ca and 3rdWhale!

Statistics Canada provides us a full RSS feed of statistical goodness!

Raul — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 07:34:35 +0000

Hat tips to Greg Andrews (TechVibes) and Darren Barefoot (Capulet) for pointing me out to Statistics Canada’s RSS data feeds. You’ll see – even though I’m a chemical engineer, during my Masters and PhD degrees, and in my post-graduate work I have done quite a lot of qualitative research.

My personality traits work to my advantage when using qualitative research methods. I am pretty good at interviewing people, analyzing textual data, coding using Strauss and Corbin’s axial coding methods, undertaking ethnography, etc. I am considered a specialist in institutional analysis because, well, I know how to study rules and routines. And the majority of these studies are undertaken by observing and interviewing.

The thing is, during the course of my PhD, I became REALLY quantitative. Since my advisor’s training was quantitative, he impressed it upon me. I’m quite grateful to him for doing that because thanks to his sage advice and training, I have examined wastewater governance and policy using quantitative methods (something that is rather atypical in this body of literature). And of course, there’s my love of game theory and econometric methods. WOWSA.

So, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that I drooled (just as Greg tweeted earlier this morning) when I saw StatsCan’s RSS feeds. Given the kind of research I do, economic, government, population and environmental indicators are the RSS feeds I grabbed. You can grab any others as you may see fit.

Unfortunately, and this is quite sad, I can’t get any quantitative data on water through those RSS feeds (or at least I haven’t been able to get any so far). I do know where to find some water-related statistics in Canada, but the state of the art in regards to accurate water stats in Canada is (as mentioned in Karen Bakker’s edited book) rather appalling.

If I manage to get my hands on some good data, you’ll see some pretty graphs here sometime soon.

Jack O’Lantern’s post-Halloween disposal – Greening your celebrations

Raul — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 22:34:11 +0000

Credit: Eric M. Martin

Ok, so Halloween has come and gone, and you went out and had a blast. The little critters (and adults) had an opportunity to dress up and be The Joker, or Batman, or a mummy, or whatever. Now comes the part that most people forget about (or would prefer to): CLEANING UP.

Since Halloween is such a big celebration in Canada, the United States and many other anglo-saxon countries, numerous Jack O’Lanterns are carved (many as cute as the geeky WordPress one that is shown here – hat tips to Lorraine Murphy aka Raincoaster for linking to this one).

But people tend to forget that they have to dispose of the pumpkin once the Halloween celebrations are over. So, when you think about disposing of your pumpkin, remember that you can

- Compost it – Cut it in very small pieces and throw it in the composting bin.

- Dispose it in the organic section of your trash bin – Don’t forget to separate organics from inorganics!

Given how many households and businesses carve pumpkins, I would appreciate if you thought about the negative environmental consequences of inadequate disposal. Thank you.

Waste Reduction Week Canada – Oct 19-25th, 2008

Raul — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 22:02:36 +0000

This week marks the Waste Reduction Week in Canada (from October 19th to the 25th). You may not recall last year’s civic strike (one of many policy and political mistakes) but in case you do, I am hoping this little visual reminder will help remind you of how awful the city looked.

Credit: Rebelcan

As I mentioned a while ago, we live in a rather affluent (and wasteful) society. We buy coffee to go, and then proceed to dump the paper cup in the trash can. We buy disposable diapers and then proceed to wrap them in double plastic bags, because “eeewww it’s poop”. We drive three blocks to buy groceries. And the list goes on.

Waste Reduction Week Canada helps remind us of the many ways in which we can reduce our ecological footprint by minimizing waste. If you need a refresher, I wrote a short post on solid waste management that will give you some useful reading material.

The website of Waste Reduction Week Canada offers some really neat factoids (some of which you may or may not know). As a scholar of environmental studies who happens to have worked for many years in solid/liquid/hazardous waste management, I actually do know that landfill sites account for about 38% of Canada’s total methane emissions (according to Environment Canada).

If you need some suggestions on how to reduce the amount of waste you generate, feel free to drop me a comment, send me an email or send me a tweet.

Greening caffeine consumption?

Raul — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 09:09:10 +0000

Photo credit: Ianiv and Arieanna on Flickr

Recently, Arieanna wrote a post about implementing more ecologically-friendly measures in coffee shops. I actually was very happy that she touched on this topic, as I used to consume a lot of coffee (not anymore).

Although I had thought about some measures (e.g. using my refillable coffee mug, not accepting paper cups, not using those little bags of sugar), I hadn’t really paid all that much attention. But Arieanna’s post reminded me that it’s important to reflect on these issues. And one of the commenters on her blog pointed her out to Agro Cafe on Granville Island.

I haven’t had a chance to visit, but I might just drop by sometime soon, if for no other reason, because the commenter (Jeff) mentioned that Agro Cafe had already implemented lots of sustainability measures. I’m curious to see them, and I’ll write about them soon.

Biodynamic wines and sustainability – The Farmstead Wines

Raul — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 04:06:17 +0000

Last week I had the pleasure of having lunch at Salt Tasting Room and enjoy for the very first time some of the Farmstead wines . Despite the fact that I missed VinoCamp (due to overcommitments) I heard rave reviews, so I was looking forward to a taste.

On my Flickr set, Sean Orr (of Beyond Robson’s Morning Brew fame) was kind enough to describe each one of the platters we were offered while at Salt (thanks Sean, very much appreciated). One additional bit of information he kindly added was the fact that Farmstead’s wines are all biodynamic .

In previous posts I’ve talked about eco-vodka, but I had never tried biodynamic wines (well, up until I met Anthony Nicalo). What is the relevance of a wine being biodynamic , you may ask? Well, according to the Wikipedia entry, biodynamic agriculture entails:

Regarded by some proponents as the first modern ecological farming system, biodynamic farming includes organic agriculture’s emphasis on manures and composts and exclusion of the use of artificial chemicals on soil and plants.[Wikipedia entry on Biodynamic Agriculture ]

Farmstead Wines are certified. I had a chance to have a few glasses of different wines not only at Salt but also at the BarCamp Vancouver 2008 party at WorkSpace . Great flavor, and I definitely feel more environmentally conscious as a result. Admittedly, I’m more of a sweet wine kind of guy, but that’s not to say that I can’t have a glass or two of a more dry wine, particularly if it’s environmentally responsible and socially conscious!

Upcoming environmental events in Vancouver – September 2008

Raul — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 22:00:12 +0000

Two upcoming events are rather relevant to me and both fall on the same day.

Green Drinks Vancouver happens again on the third wednesday of the month (Sep 17th, 2008) at Steamworks.
The Metro Vancouver Sustainability Breakfasts series continues, and this time, they will focus on the discussions we’ve been having on bottled water. I am SO definitely there!

About the Community Sustainability Breakfast [Metro Vancouver's website]:

Sustainability Community Breakfasts – Nature’s Health Drink – Always on Tap
Wednesday, 17 September, 2008
from 7:30 AM to 9:00 AM
British Columbia Institute of Technology
555 Seymour Street, Vancouver

About Green Drinks Vancouver Sep 2008 [Green Drinks Website]

WHEN the next regular Green Drinks is: Every 3rd Wednesday of the month (except in Dec and July) Our next event is on Sept 17th, 2008
WHERE: Steamworks pub at 375 Water Street on the edge of Gastown near Waterfront Station.
Please be aware that due to changing space availability we cannot guarantee we’ll be in the same room each month – if you can’t find us just ask Steamworks staff which room we are in.
TIME:5:45pm-until?

It’s lucky that both of these events fall on the same day, and that I’ll be back in Vancouver by then! And again, I’ve got a full week booked (Brew 2.0, Green Drinks, Launch Party AND a special day!). Can someone please clone me? Thanks.

Adaptation and vulnerability to floods and climatic events in Mexico

Raul — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 22:18:32 +0000

This post is worthy of much more in-depth content, but I just wanted to show that the municipality where my parents live is really unprepared for extreme rain. The photos and video shown below show the local river almost entirely flooded (and rather polluted, as you can see).

As you can see, cars are at serious risk of being taken by the river. The local authorities are rather unprepared for these extreme rain events. But the funny thing is, I wonder how prepared are the Metro Vancouver municipalities. I will be doing some research on this topic upon my return to Vancouver.

Car washing and sustainability

Raul — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 13:40:03 +0000

While covering EPIC 2008 as a FrogSquadder for HappyFrog (you can read all my content on HappyFrog here), I came across an eco-friendly carwash in North Vancouver, Easywash . Rebecca helped me set up an interview with Geoff Baker, the CEO of Easywash, around mid-July but unfortunately, I couldn’t interview him as I’ve been in Mexico (and under a lot of stress).

This weekend, I went to wash Mom’s car, and I used the same carwash she’s been using for years. I was reading some books on water while I was waiting for the car to be washed but I didn’t see a lot of environmentally-friendly features.

However, the funny thing is that I saw a sign that said “At this carwash, we don’t waste water, we recycle it”. But I couldn’t see where they recycled it, nor any type of water treatment. I didn’t ask, but I’ll be back to investigate.

In the meantime, I just thought I’d include a couple of photos and some video of the process (sorry if the music is too loud, but I was bored inside the car).

I also plan to interview Geoff Baker upon my return, once I get all my other interviews out of the way (I still haven’t interviewed Al Pasternak about Bokashi composting, and we’ve been trying to talk about this for months!).

Closing the cycle through recycling

Raul — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 04:30:18 +0000

This post is sponsored by Fresh Start Recycling Ltd. – Thank you for your generous donation to the BC Cancer Agency!

I’ve mentioned in previous posts how much it irks me when people forget about pressing environmental problems such as solid waste. In case you didn’t know, the Vancouver Landfill is filling up (geez, I wonder why?).

People are SO intent on working on issues of climate change, that they forget that solid waste is a priority issue. It’s funny, though. If people implemented the 3 R concept (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle), I am pretty sure it would be much easier to deal with the problem of solid waste.

However, the cycle is not closed completely by applying the 3R. That’s also why I enjoy the idea that Fresh Start offers – give the recycled stuff to charity. By giving back to the local community, Fresh Start atempts to close the gap between actual closed cycles and open cycles. I really enjoy this business model, and I am sure that they will be able to implement new fresh ideas (hence Fresh Start!) in the near future.

[EDITOR'S NOTE - And here is a link to Fresh Start's blog!] Mosey over and check them out!

Fresh Start Recycling and Disposal Ltd.

Raul — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 17:30:19 +0000

A few weeks back, Rebecca directed Kara Alcorn (Customer Relations, Fresh Start Recycling and Disposal Ltd.) towards my site and suggested that I talk to her. I have to say that I am very positively impressed with Fresh Start (as we bloggers have begun to call this young company).

Obviously, you’re going to ask me – so what IS Fresh Start?While I am sure you’ll check their site, basically let me tell you that Fresh Start takes the business of recycling one step further, and brings the recycled stuff to charities. Moreover, one element that really impressed me was that they look for local charities within the communities where their clients are located.

Founded in 2004 by Vancouver native Thomas Goodall, Fresh Start Recycling & Disposal Ltd. is committed to reducing clutter in your life while minimizing our impact on the environment by reducing the amount of material that goes straight to the landfill.[Fresh Start Recycling website]

Let me give you an example. Currently, my friends Ianiv and Arieanna Schweber are in the North Shore area, and are currently renovating their house. Their floor has to be fully torn apart and they need to install new flooring. They’ll probably also need to remove and recycle stuff. The obvious choice of company to do this? Fresh Start, of course!

By demonstrating that recycling can be still a successful business model AND that you can incorporate elements of corporate social responsibility (CSR), therefore enhancing how and where the product is delivered and the ethical/social aspects of recycling within local communities, I think Fresh Start is indeed off to a very fresh start, and a successful one!

Even smarter, Fresh Start maintains a relationship with customers, vendors, potential clients. How? By using one of the most innovative forms of communication – Web 2.0! Yes, sir! Fresh Start has a BLOG. I can’t help but feel really excited about this, because I am always a firm believer that you can meld social media with sustainability, and as you can see, Fresh Start is doing it!

In addition, of course, I should highlight the fact that their office is in Mount Pleasant, very close to my house, as a matter of fact!

Kudos to Fresh Start as well, because they were the first corporate sponsors of my Blogathon 2008. While I am raving about them in this post (and very legitimately, as I do believe in their positive intentions), they did NOT sponsor this post, so this is in NO way paid advertisement. They DID, however, sponsor a forthcoming post that will describe in more detail the whole concept of Recycle, Reuse, Reduce (3Rs), and for their contribution to the BC Cancer Agency and my Blogathon, I am very, very grateful!

Governing water, governing ourselves

Raul — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 14:05:10 +0000

Continuing on my research-related posts, I have previously talked about my research on wastewater governance, on environmental NGO mobilization, and now I’ll briefly talk about what I have studied on water supply governance.

I was going to leave this post all the way until Blogathon, but Arieanna’s recent post on “Canada, the water” reminded me of the relevance of understanding how water supplies and water management works (great post Arieanna by the way). Arieanna’s post calls attention to the fact that the bottled water being sold at Whole Foods was pretty much targeted towards tourist buyers.

Photo credit: Ianiv and Arieanna on Flickr

What worries me a bit more is not so much the privatization and commodification of water, but the misconceptions of water availability on this planet. According to the 2nd. United Nations Word Water Report, between 25 and 40% of the world’s drinking water comes from ground sources (groundwater).

This fact should be scary to people, but I’m not sure that people who live in Canada and particularly British Columbia (since we are so well served by our watersheds and local reservoirs) realize the degree of water scarcity that pervades the world, even if there is a generalized perception that . Therefore, it’s not hard to think that many people have a reason to be rightfully annoyed by the increasing privatization of water supplies.

Given the investment and capital costs that need to be covered in order to provide groundwater for drinking purposes, I would imagine that people would be cognizant of water scarcity and avoid increasing demand on water reserves, both by conserving water and by recycling grey water. In one of my research projects, I have looked at the use of common pool resource (CPR) theory to try and understand the conflicts amongst two communities who share and access the same aquifer (in Mexico).

The nature of public accessibility of aquifers makes them an excellent laboratory to study the behavior of communities who have to share a common resource that can be depleted if inappropriately managed. The purpose of my post was (as subtly suggested in the header) to indicate that in order to appropriately manage or govern water, we need to first learn to govern ourselves and control our natural consumptive instinct, in order to avoid depletion of our water reserves. Will we be able to do that? And how can we increase the visibility of the challenges of governing water when we can clearly see that other issues (such as climate change) are so high up in the environmental agenda in Canada?

More resources and materials for reading:

- The World Water Assessment Project page – Provides lots of information and good statistics. The UNESCO International Hydrological Programme is currently putting together the 3rd World Water Report.

- CBC Series on Water – While I am VERY weary of pointing people out to media sources instead of academic sources, I kind of liked this series.

- The National Water Research Institute of Environment Canada – Basically focuses on freshwater, but a good resource nonetheless.

- The International Water Resources Association (IWRA).