Community Energy Association & Sustainable Transport

To continue with sustainability and communities class we recieved a presentation from Laura Porcher whom is the manager for partnership development with the Community Energy Association (CEA). We also had a presentation from Todd Litman for the concept of sustainable transportation. The Community Energy Association was founded by the province of BC and is strongly linked to many other companies such as BC Hydro, transit and many other associations. I feel that the linkages with these companies are beneficial in order to fully implement their ideas into the communities. This revolves around making efficient and smart decisions with building and infrastructure design with regards to energy use and the release of emissions. The fact that at 2 degrees of temperature change can lead to the 30% loss of lifeforms is astonishing. Such statistics like this is influencing the government of BC to make cut back on carbon emissions. Such an example is to reduce emissions by 33% below the 2007 levels by 2020. In order to accomplish these tasks, there must be a connection between communities, energy and sustainability. The CEA has encouraged the CRD to make energy wise and conscious decisions in the areas of land use planning, energy efficiency of buildings, transportation efficiency and to diversify their energy supply. There needs to be engagement of residents and businesses in order to fully get these ideas from being an idea to actual reality. A concept that Laura shared was QUEST (Quality Urban Energy Systems of Tomorrow). Some ideas that seem very promising with QUEST is managing heat from applications and turn that into energy for further use. This can be accomplished by taking heat given off from processes, collecting it and using it to heat another building or to heat water. In order for this to accomplish and become reality there needs to be a public engagement process to get the community involved and excited about this concept. Local government will need to undertake social marketing tactics in order to build a culture that supports change from this energy hungry and wasteful society that seems to exist today. The public should be informed about the demands for change, become actively engaged in the process and allowed to collaborate with others.

The pillars of Community energy and Emissions planning involve land use, transportation, buildings, infrastructure and energy supply. Land use planning should involve a focused density of mixed use buildings. Mixed use buildings consist of both residential and commercial residents. These buildings encourage reducing the need to rely on a vehicle to drive to the store to buy goods. The land use planning should encourage transit and protect green space/agricultural land reserves. Transportation should be energy efficient and support rail, cycling, walking and using alternative fuels. Buildings can be either looked at from refurbishing an existing one or in the design of a new one. An example is district heating where one heat source provides the energy for a number of buildings. Existing buildings can become retrofitted with efficient energy products such as fixtures and lighting. Also establishing a green roof on a building can provide as an insulator in the winter and a cooling agent in the summer which saves on energy costs. The energy supply should have renewable resources and the idea of waste energy utilization imbedded in its design.

Many communities in BC have put forward energy and emissions procedures forward. Some examples are Whistler which has put forward waste heat district heating for the Olympics and Squamish has its own community energy action plan. There is a solar ready bylaw in Dawson Creek so that any new buildings have to be able to convert to solar power. Kelowna has a smart transit plan and Langford is a leed neighborhood. These are just a few examples of the communities in BC whom have put forward their own contributions to smart energy hopefully will influence others into doing the same.

The other speaker for the class was Todd Litman who presented on sustainable transportation. Todd made a lot of good points such as what do we view as paradise. Society today generates happiness by wealth, which can be presented by such material items like a nice car. Increased happiness by their material items is an economic trap. A good example that Todd shared was that when someone in a neighborhood buys a nice car naturally his/her neighbors will want to buy a nice car as well. These material things are basically a status symbol and people do not put the considerations into actually making energy wise decisions for green transportation.

There needs to be a paradigm shift in the growth and development for expanding and doing more improvement for transportation. Communities can fulfill the need for physical movement and accessibility in the creation of pedestrian friendly neighborhoods. Sidewalks can be curved to promote walkability and the use of wheeled luggage for pedestrians. This seems farfetched but the simplicity of this can promote walking and energy efficient transportation. There is a large transportation problem that exists today as it is creates a large amount of costs to a number of different areas. Traffic congestion leads to an excessive release of pollutants into the atmosphere and stress on the drivers. Road construction is expensive and ultimately costs consumers money through their taxes. Roads are also not very pedestrian friendly as there is limited space for walking and biking to occur. These problems need to be all taken into consideration with energy efficient transport and they are all a key component into the problem that vehicles are causing.

Todd created a good argument for transportation and the need for more sustainable transportation. However some of the concepts seem very distant and the general population is not going to sacrifice driving. Don’t get me wrong, cycling and promoting physical activity while reducing the impact on the environment is a good thing. But to fully not rely on a vehicle is a very hard task for most of the general population. I do know it is possible as many from our class do not have a vehicle and cycle everywhere. However how will this case be won with a busy mother of 3 kids whom has to juggle work, taking the children to activities, and all that comes with parenting. Is it safe to say that she will bike them around or put them all on a bus in order to save the environment? I think that society nowadays think for themselves and do what is most efficient for them. So therefore there will continue to be vehicles on the road. I think that the real push should be for alternative energy sources for vehicles, but I don’t see this happening for a long time. I feel that the reliance on fossil fuels has become a part of everyday life and in order to change this we must continue to educate the public. As with all the sustainability issues existing today, there needs to be the continual exposure to the concerns and what needs to be done to combat them. Then there may be hope with a change commencing on the community level.