Synthesis Of Presentations

Recently, our class presented a variety of presentations based from Chris Turners Geography of Hope. Each chapter from the book emphasized a different area with regards to sustainability and ultimately a key piece to the puzzle in making a sustainable planet. Each individual team got assigned an appropriate chapter and topic and had to present on them. The areas that were assigned involved energy, transport, urban planning, green buildings, international development, smart design, making change, economics and sustainable communities. Generally, each of these topics had their own aspects to sustainability however the topics did overlap a lot onto others. After hearing the presentations, I felt like each area of sustainability was not necessarily dependent on another but involved key concepts from other topics. A good example of this is the theme that we presented on, which was urban planning.

Urban planning involves many other areas to sustainability that were presented on by the other groups. For example, the buildings that are built into new developments can be designed to be LEED certified, which branches out onto the smart design aspect of sustainability. The buildings can also be designed to implement many “green” processes and applications such as green roofs, solar panels, or possible wind power to take it off the power grid which would branch out to the green design and energy categories. Older buildings can be retrofitted with new and improved processes and energy efficient materials/appliances which also incorporates green design and energy.

Another key to urban planning is to reduce the need for transportation and promote the use of sustainable transport such as taking transit, carpooling, riding a bike or walking. Sustainable transport can increase the social capital and interaction within a community and create positive interactions and more time being around the community and not isolated in a vehicle by yourself.

Urban planning also is related to the development of a sustainable community. Urban planning is a framework that starts off the process in a sense by creating a community that revolves around mixed use, keeping money within the community(sustainable economics), and designing with sustainable living in mind. By having this initial infrastructure created in a community, the development of a sustainable community becomes a lot easier to maintain. Urban planning supports and is a vital constituent of a sustainable community.

All concepts presented from the class presentations were all individual components which related to sustainability. Even though they reflected on different aspects, I especially noticed that our topic consisted of examples that were used in the other presentations and overlapped significantly. Our topic, which was urban planning, reflected many examples that were touched on by the other groups such as energy, transport, green buildings and smart design.

A Local Example Of Sustainability

After viewing all the presentations as well as working on our own, which involved urban planning and sustainability, one local example really jumped out at me as it seemed to emphasize sustainability to the fullest. This example of sustainability was Dockside Green.

Dockside Green is a new and revolutionary development which is located near the downtown Victoria Harbour. There are many different features of this development that exhibit sustainability as the overall goal of dockside green is to contribute environmental efficiency into any area in which they can. They also further contribute to sustainability by creating dockside green as a closed loop system, which in theory uses waste from one source to fuel another. The buildings have also been designed to conform to a mixed use platform where they serve multiple purposes such as businesses and homes, thus keeping things contained within the area and contributing to less travel for individuals. Another key concept to dockside green is incorporating the triple bottom line into their development. This in turn creates a healthy community within dockside green while supporting economic/social aspects and minimizing the impact to the environment.

The power generation at dockside green uses a biomass system which is where wastes that are generated by the community are reused in a sense for heating purposes. This is an example of cradle to cradle as the waste generated by the occupants of dockside green is taken and used for another purpose, instead of being expelled into the ocean. The buildings also have many energy efficient techniques such as energy efficient appliances, compact fluorescent lighting and meters located in each of the rooms which monitor power use.

Another area that dockside green has made sustainable is transportation. Dockside green has invested into a car share program where one car is available for every 90 residents. There is also a mini transit system that will take people to key areas downtown and also bring them back. BC transit routes have also been incorporated into dockside green. There is also numerous artistic bicycle racks located throughout the community which promotes biking. The galloping goose trail runs through dockside which provides a suitable pathway for pedestrians to travel by bike throughout the city. Dockside green has been developed to be very pedestrian friendly and eliminate the use of vehicles in the area.

Another area of sustainability for dockside green is the building materials used. The environmentally friendly building materials used come from methods that use sustainable practices. The carpets used within the buildings are environmentally friendly and 100% recyclable. Also, there is bamboo flooring and cabinets used in the development which grows much faster and is not needed to be fully harvested when compared to traditional hard wood. The wood frames are made from triton wood, which is harvested locally in BC. A goal of the construction of dockside green is to reuse/recycle 90% of all construction wastes instead of throwing it away or burning it.

Dockside green has supported a mixed use in the development of their community. Buildings have been created to have both residential and commercial use. Also the development has applied to various incomes and ages in order to result in a more balanced community which all types of residents can live in. The community design of dockside green has been intended to encourage outdoor activities, interaction with neighbours and the overall support of local businesses. This can create a positive social capital that benefits sustainability.

Overall, Dockside green has focused sustainability into all aspects of the development. Whether it is the overall cradle-to-cradle power generation for the site, implementing environmentally friendly building materials or incorporating energy efficient design into their buildings, they all contribute. Transportation has been revolved around community interaction while promoting more “green” solutions such as walking, biking and carpooling. Also, the mixed use design of the buildings is a major factor which contributes to supporting local businesses, minimizing the needs for travelling by car, and increasing the social capital and interaction within the community. This platform created by dockside is a great example of sustainability within a community and I feel that when future developments are in the planning stage, they should take these principles into consideration which will create more tightly bound communities (socially and economically) while benefitting the environment at the same time.

My Social Capital and What Affects It

Social Capital is a fairly broad term that can be looked at in many different ways and also be defined in many different ways. According to “Social Capital: The Missing Link”, the definitions of social capital have evolved and changed throughout time. Also, it has become recognized that social capital is the missing link with regards to fully determining the process of economic growth. I guess until recently, economic growth was thought to have only consisted of natural capital, physical or produced capital and human capital. However, now that I think more about it, social capital does have a large influence on economic growth. Some of the examples in class revolving around economic growth can further show this.

Generally in society, there has been a decline in social capital. The commitment to voluntary organizations is on the decline and people are not as involved in this as they were in the earlier 19th century. Generally, it has been shown that states having high social capital generally have a more productive and prosperous society and economy. This can be correlated by how educational performance is higher in states that have a higher social capital. Also areas such as poverty and crime are generally less in areas of higher social capital. But why is this?

Social capital can take place in such forms as bonding, bridging and vertical types. The bonding between families and friends within a community gives safety and security. People are in higher spirits when they share a bond with others and when this is present, more can be accomplished. By bridging the connections between networks in high social capital areas, change will readily occur and happen at a faster rate. The drive to accomplish tasks is there with a high social capital. By having these vital connections, the benefits of teamwork within the community increase, thus resulting in greater productivity which drives economic growth.

Now that I have gone completely off of topic, I will now get into the real deal for this blog post, which is my social capital and what affects it. My social capital is pretty basic at this point in my life. Work has been put on the backburner as well as any organizational networks such as being part of a sports team. Basically, my social capital consists of family, friends and school. All of these are connected and can be dependent on one another. In one sense, these networks can be negatively affected from one another. One example is the amount of time spent on school which is time taken away from the other important parts of my social capital. However, this can also be positive due to the fact that friends and family can be there for support and a shoulder to lean on when times get tough. This crossing over of networks provides a stability in a sense. When one part of my social capital becomes stressful, the others are there for support and backup. My social capital can also be affected on a much larger scale due to things such as the economy, government, the world around me and such communication networking tools such as the internet. These are networks that I am also a part of and can influence me by what happens to them and if changes are made within them. I feel that social capital has a large amount of influence on whether or not a society can be sustainable. The general ideal on this is the higher amount of social capital, the more positive relationships exist within a community network. By this occurring, a more positive outlook on things can lead to further development within a community in the form of collective action. This can be directly related to the sustainability of a community or on a much larger scale, a society.

Sustainability of RRU

Upon reading the sustainability plan of Royal Roads University, I gathered that it is very diverse and covers many areas regarding climate change, reducing waste, as well as implementing systems that would improve the sustainability of Royal Roads University. Key initiatives of the plan include reducing the GHG emissions by 50% by 2020, become climate neutral by 2010, Go off the power grid, and to identify the best practices in order to become a leader in sustainability. Earlier this week, we were introduced to a few representatives of Royal Roads University whom shared their inputs on the sustainability of RRU and what their groups were doing in order to accomplish this. One of these representatives was the supervisor of the Royal Roads custodial services. I was amazed at how one aspect such as janitorial/garbage services could put forward so many sustainable ideas. The custodial service at RRU really takes pride in what they do and how they can benefit the environment. There are no harmful chemicals or disinfectants used on campus and all cleaning is done using microfiber cloths and water. I was skeptical at first with this cleaning method but microfiber cloths absorb all bacteria in contact and are then washed using a specialized washing machine which sterilizes the cloths and makes no need for the use of detergents. Also, the microfiber cloths have a life of 500+ washes, which is by far much more sustainable then using paper towel to clean the hundreds of desks in the campus. Also, the paper towel which is generated from bathrooms, kitchen, etc is recycled and turned into compost instead of being diverted to a landfill. A full scale recycling program was put into effect and the money generated from refundable bottles was used as donations for scholarships as well as to various charities such as the united way.

Another part of RRU with regards to sustainability is the Habitat Café. They have also put forward many different ways in order to be sustainable and environmental friendly. The wastes are not left for the consumer to sort but instead are sorted in the back of the kitchen in order to eliminate the addition of unnecessary wastes which would not belong in the compost. The majority of the cups and cutlery are made up of biodegradable materials such as corn plastics and corn lined cups. Different incentives have been also discussed with regards to reducing the amount of coffee cup sleeves disposed of. Such an incentive that was introduced was to bring in a coffee sleeve to enter in for a draw. The kitchen also uses cage free eggs and prawns were eliminated from the menu due to this not being an ocean wise choice.

Steve Grundy also talked to our class with regards to the sustainability plan of RRU. He commented on the solutions for meeting as well as how progress was being made to do this. I felt that the overall success of meeting the criteria for the sustainability plan seemed very difficult. The major problem was generating the funding needed to put through a plan and that the solutions discovered were slowly eliminated due to the infeasibility of them. Solar power proved to not be very efficient due to the high amount of carbon present in the photovoltaic cells used. Wind power and wave power were also eliminated because there are not enough of either present on the campus to provide the necessary amount for efficient generation. Another solution was the anaerobic digestion of wood wastes which produced methane. The methane generated would be burned and the heat could be used as the source of power. However, this method also seems infeasible because the large amount of wastes needed for this project. A viable collection program would have to be introduced and the public would have to be on board for it to be successful.

All in all, I feel that Royal Roads University is putting forward many different and great ideas which demonstrate sustainability to the fullest. The janitorial and kitchen staffs have put forward many ideas and have put these programs into full force. This can aid in the overall sustainability plan of RRU and help it become a reality. However, I feel doubtful that the campus can meet all initiatives lined out in the sustainability plan. It can be done, but like all things, a source of money is needed to put this through. Also, the many different ideas discussed with regards to finding an alternative source for power generation have all been slowly eliminated from the list due to either the feasibility or funding needed for the project. RRU has put forward many green initiatives and is by far exceeding any other university that I have heard of trying to do this. However to be fully sustainable and meet the targets outlined in the sustainability plan for the campus, many factors must be solved which regretfully appear to be without a solution at this time.

How Can I Tell What Is Sustainable

Sustainability can present itself in many shapes and forms. The characteristics or sustainability are quite vast however they all can be categorized and all have one major goal present at the end. Sustainability consists of many separate parts and subparts which all must work together in order to fulfill sustainable development. It must address the needs of the environment, social, and economic aspects. These aspects must have an equilibrium present with the negative feedback loops that sustainability presents. One example of this is how the cod stocks on the east coast have been over fished which has lead to the sustainability of these stocks to no longer exist. The threshold has been surpassed and a tipping point has occurred. The overfishing of these areas without allowing the proper time for recovery to occur has caused the collapse of this fishing industry. This example would not fit into my view as being sustainable.

Sustainability is a complex system. Sustainability is being challenged every day by humans and society. The fact of sustainability seems to be quite an unreachable feat due to the many factors that can halt it in its tracks. Mainly the overdeveloped countries seem to have unsustainable attributes attached to them. The increase in pollution, the unsustainable use of resources as well as the closed minded attitude regarding climate change can lead to a further unsustainable situation.

Sustainability to me involves a much simpler system. After reading the introductory chapter in the geography of hope, I was introduced to Samso, a tiny island nestled in the most populous regions of Denmark. This smaller and less evolved community reflected on the simpler things in life such as selling fruit, growing potatoes and of course drinking beer. This island was nestled away from outside influences and evolved and created its own destiny, which was becoming a revolutionary renewable energy dependent community. However, I am kind of contradicting myself. The island did boast a largely fossil fuel dependency initially, but they had the will and determination to make the change and make the island no longer dependent on fossil fuels. This happened in the short time span of 10 years and the island cut down its CO2 emissions substantially (140% drop). Typically, I thought sustainability would greatly affect the area and make living more difficult. However, Chris Turner explained it best by saying that the island still functioned just as well as it did before. Cattle still roamed in the fields, boats still bobbed on the waters. All the functional aspects were the same as they were before. If anything, sustainability created more opportunity by putting Samso in the limelight and showing the world of what determination and willpower can accomplish. Samso is a prime example that sustainability can occur and can be successful. It truly opened up my eyes to the concept of what is sustainable and how more overdeveloped and “money hungry” countries should step back and take a look at how a much more simpler and straight forward approach can tackle a major problem in which we face today. Samso cannot take all the credit for their accomplishments. The entire Danish government should be saluted in order for seeing a problem and taking the initiative to solve it. Just reading about how they invited all the dozens of islands to take part in this process and also provide some funding for the process is unbelievable. I have a hard time seeing this occur in the western world in which we live in. I feel though that this method proved to be successful and that other countries should look at this as an opportunity to do the same.