Sustainability and Communities

When I think of a sustainable community, I think of the indigenous people only using what they required, and I think of my grandparents using their simple technologies to survive with what they had. But the world has become complicated so now we must use more technical and long-winded ways to describe sustainable comminites.

For instance, the UN has puiblished a plan of action called Agenda 21 for which the purpose is to improve the sustainability of communities. Here are some of the objectives of Agenda 21:

· To review and develop policies to support the best possible use of land and the sustainable management of land resources;

· To improve and strengthen planning, management and evaluation systems for land and land resources;

· To strengthen institutions and coordinating mechanisms for land and land resources;

· To create mechanisms to facilitate the active involvement and participation of all concerned, particularly communities and people at the local level, in decision-making

(Ling, C., Personal Communication, 2011)

These are important qualities that need to be obtained. We must, as a global culture, begin to use our land for its most suited purposes and do so by acting together on previously established terms. However, to put it simply, it’s quite boring to read how a community should become sustainable – it makes it seem like work. I believe this is the reason why some people, who would love to live in a sustainable community, are not aware of it, and as such, are not doing so. I would love to live in one, but I have no idea how it could be done or if these types of communities even exist.

They do exist. I very recently learned about Living Forest Communities, which are an excellent example of sustainable communities. These communities use minimal land development and minimal resources to building hamlets within a forest ecosystem. It is called ecosystem-based forestry and it conserves at least (!) 85% of the land through covenants, with the money provided by the sale of the lots. (Living Forest Communities, 2007)



http://www.elkingtonforest.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=45&Itemid=58



These communities are intelligently yet simply designed; the homes are built with green technology and the forest is harvested by single stem processes that allow the community to become economically viable. This is done in conjunction with land trust organization, such as The Trust for Sustainable Forestry. One amazing point to not is that these communites are not out in the middle of nowhere. The lastest one is Elkington Forest which is only 30 minutes away from Victoria – an easy commute. (Living Forest Communities, 2007)

Visit Living Forest Communities to watch a video on the new Elkington Forest.

http://www.elkingtonforest.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=45&Itemid=58

Watch how The Trust for Sustainable Forestry puts ecosystem-based forestry into action in this video.

References:

Ling, C. (2011). Personal Communication. Lecture Notes on Sustainable Communities.

Living Forest Communities. (2007). Retrieved March 9, 2011 from http://www.livingforestcommunities.com/

Over Population or Over Consumption?



In recent years, I have heard of the idea that our world is becoming overpopulated. This is a scary thought. It means that there might not be enough water, land, and food – all of the basic things we need to live – available for everyone on the planet. It’s a difficult idea to comprehend because our planet is so vast, and, currently, there appears to be unused land. Therefore, is the problem really overpopulation, or overconsumption?



http://www.saskwater.com/WhoWeAre/CorporateProfile.asp

 In Canada, the answer is overconsumption. SaskWater is Saskatchewan’s Crown water utility. They have embarked on a water conservation program called, Save a drop. Save a lot. This is because there is a lot of water on this earth, but only about 1% of it is useable fresh water (Retrieved February 27, 2011 from http://www.saskwater.com/Conservation/pdfs/2250-10012_SkWtr_StudentPoster_8.5x11_April8.pdf). In addition, we have polluted some of our useable water through chemical and effluent release. Environment Canada has reported that each Canadian uses 329 litres of water a day! Think of how many 4 litre milk jugs you could fill with 329 litres of water. The answer is more than 82. Could you fit that many milk jugs in your living room? It almost seems laughable that we use water at that rate while we foolishly pollute it, and the average person in a third world country uses merely 8 litres of water a day – 2 milk jugs (Retrieved February 27, 2011 from http://www.saskwater.com/Conservation/pdfs/2250-10012_SkWtr_StudentPoster_8.5x11_April8.pdf).
Please go to the SaskWater website to learn water conservation tips.



http://www.saskwater.com/Conservation/index.asp?sub=subConservation&type=Savealot

Canada has 167 million acres of farmland (Retrieved February 27, 2011 from http://www.agriculture.gov.sk.ca/Default.aspx?DN=77b33b8c-a573-4d36-9af8-f9964af59237). According to Natural Resources Canada, Alberta land that was designated for farming activity was approximately 46% cropped and 40% cattle (Retrieved February 27, 2011 from http://atlas.nrcan.gc.ca/auth/english/maps/economic/agriculture/agriculture1996/1).



This use is unbalanced since humans obtain more energy from eating plants than they do animals (Roberts & Ingram, p. 51, 2001). Therefore, we are over consuming meat products in our diet. By doing so, we also over consume water because more than 2,400 gallons of water is needed to produce 1 pound of meat, while 1 pound of wheat only requires 25 gallons. According to PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals), more water is saved by not eating a pound of meat than by not showering for six months! To put this thought in a little more perspective, a vegan diet will use 300 gallons of water per day, while a meat-eating diet uses more than 4,000 gallons of water per day. (Retrieved February 27, 2011 from http://www.peta.org/issues/animals-used-for-food/meat-wastes-natural-resources.aspx).

There is evidence from the US Working Group on the Food Crisis that if we use sustainable agriculture for farming practices, we would be able to feed the world (Retrieved February 27, 2011 from http://usfoodcrisisgroup.org/node/15). No overconsumption and no starvation. Therefore, “moderation is the key”.

References:

Roberts, M. &. (2001). Biology: 2nd Edition. Cheltenham, UK: Nelson Science.

http://www.saskwater.com

Sustainability at RRU

Royal Roads University (RRU) is a leader in sustainability. Their commitment to sustainability is clearly defined by their mission statement:

“Royal Roads University's mission is to contribute to economic prosperity, social advancement, and environmental sustainability through transformative education for working professionals and research applied to real problems in private, public, and third sector workplaces, at home and abroad” (Retrieved February 25, 2011 from http://sustainability.royalroads.ca/).

RRU has achieved a silver STARS from the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE). The silver STARS is a designation of the AASHE for a program they developed called Sustainability Tracking Assessment and Rating System (STARS). Not only does the star recognize the efforts of RRU, it calls for continuous improvement.



http://sustainability.royalroads.ca/sustainability-tracking-assessment-rating-system



This means that RRU has been able to incorporate energy saving and earth-friendly practices into a normally functioning facility, without disruption or inconvenience to anyone involved.

Here is what they have done:

All of the printers on campus (i.e. in the library, the classroom, and the computer rooms) have been set to print black and white double-sided by default. This automatically saves paper because a person does not need to remember to change the setting to print double-sided, and some people may not think to print on both sides. It also saves printing money as it is only $0.07 a page and you are really getting two pages.

RRU also recycles – everything! Beside the garbage can in every classroom there is a compost bin and recycle bins for paper, plastic, and aluminum cans. In the washrooms, there is a compost bin for paper towel used to dry hands. This has diverted 10 tons of paper towel per year (Retrieved February 25, 2011 from https://sustainability.royalroads.ca/sites/default/files/web_files/Sustainability_Plan_summary.pdf). In total, 72.6% of what was normally thought to be “waste” is diverted from the landfill through these recycling and composing programs (Retrieved February 25, 2011 from https://sustainability.royalroads.ca/sites/default/files/web_files/ Sustainability_Plan_summary.pdf). They also have a wonderful custodial staff who sorts the recyclables into their proper containers should someone throw something into the wrong bin.

One major project at RRU is the new Learning and Innovation Centre that is currently being built. This building will incorporate strategies to increase energy savings, optimize water efficiency, reduce CO2 emissions, improve indoor environmental quality, and utilize eco-friendly supplies and products as it strives to achieve LEED Gold accreditation; the second highest internationally recognized “green” certification a building can be awarded. (Retrieved February 25, 2011 from http://myrru.royalroads.ca/roadspiel/news/sharing-story-learning-and-innovation-centre).



http://www.royalroads.ca/campus-progress/learning-and-innovation-centre

For more information on Sustainability at RRU, take a look at the Royal Roads University Sustainability Plan document found here: https://sustainability.royalroads.ca/sites/default/files/web_files/rru_sustainability_plan.pdf

References:

Sustainability at RRU. (n.d.) Retrieved February 25, 2011 from http://sustainability.royalroads.ca/

Sharing the Story on the Learning and Innovation Centre. (2011). Retrieved February 25, 2011 from http://myrru.royalroads.ca/roadspiel/news/sharing-story-learning-and-innovation-centre