Tag Archive for: climate change

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Bonus Interview: Growing Food All Winter Long

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Mission Transition Podcast Interview: Matthias Zapatal

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Vertical Grow Tanks

When thinking about moving to a clean energy economy, we often think in terms of replacing what we have now with a cleaner version of energy.

For example, many people believe the best solution to huge gas guzzling trucks is to make huge electricity guzzling trucks.

In Episode 5: Who Owns Our Power? we talk about ways to change our thinking so we consume less electricity overall. One strategy is to eat food grown close to home, in order to avoid trucking fresh produce from the south to the north.

 

In this bonus interview, Susan Elrington visits Matthias Zapatal at Northern Bioponics in Prince George. Matthias is using aquaponics to grow lettuce all year around and explains how his system could work to feed Prince George through the long cold winter months.

Tag @SierraClubBC on Facebook and Twitter to let us know what you think about BC’s clean energy economy. You can subscribe to Mission Transition on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts. Check out more episodes of Mission Transition and pledge your support for clean energy at sierraclub.bc.ca/podcast.

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Episode 4: First Nations Leading The Way

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In Episode 4 of our podcast Mission Transition, we find out how First Nations are leading the way to the clean energy economy.

First Nations have been left behind by our mainstream economy. Now they are leading the way in BC when it comes to local, clean energy generation. In this episode we look at the innovative ways they’re producing clean energy and how this could spark an opportunity to work toward reconciliation.

Susan and Caitlyn hear from Melina Laboucan-Massimo, a fellow at the David Suzuki Foundation on Climate Change and Indigenous Knowledge and a member of the Lubicon Cree First Nation in Northern Alberta. Her community made the news when she helped lead an initiative to install one of Alberta’s biggest solar projects in the heart of the tarsands.

They also hear from Kekinusuqs – Dr. Judith Sayers. President of the Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council and a board member with Clean Energy BC, Judith shares her favourite examples of energy projects that are providing real benefits to First Nations and explains how the government’s decision to proceed with the Site C dam is a blow to First Nations. You can hear more from Dr. Judith Sayers in Episode 3: Jobs in Clean Energy.

Tag @SierraClubBC on Facebook and Twitter to let us know what you think about BC’s clean energy economy. You can subscribe to Mission Transition on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts. Check out more episodes of Mission Transition and pledge your support for clean energy at sierraclub.bc.ca/podcast.

Featured In This Episode:

First Nation Energy Projects In The News:

 

Feature image: Melina Laboucan-Massimo

Bonus Interview: Skilling Up For The Next Economy

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Mission Transition Podcast Interview: Lliam Hildebrand

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 16:25 — 22.6MB)

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It’s widely assumed that oil and gas workers are against the development of renewable energy. When we were developing this podcast, we expected to hear a lot of resistance from workers in fossil fuel industries.

But instead, we met people who were curious about a clean energy economy. And it was those kinds of curious conversations that spurred oilsands worker Lliam Hildebrand to act.

In this bonus interview, Susan Elrington sits down with Lliam to hear how his worker-led nonprofit Iron & Earth is helping oil, gas and coal workers transition to the next economy.

About Lliam:

Lliam started out his boilermaker career in Victoria building pressure vessels for the oilsands and infrastructure for renewable energy projects. He realized that his trade skills could be used to transition the world to renewable energy, and this dream led to the founding of Iron and Earth.

You can hear more from Lliam and others in Episode 3: Jobs in Clean Energy where we talk about what happens to jobs as we shift to the next economy.

Tag @SierraClubBC on Facebook and Twitter to let us know what you think about BC’s clean energy economy. You can subscribe to Mission Transition on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts. Check out more episodes of Mission Transition and pledge your support for clean energy at sierraclub.bc.ca/podcast.

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Budget 2018: What’s in it for the climate?

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February 2018

Budget 2018’s laudable focus on shorter term affordability neglects longer term climate-related threats to affordability for B.C. families, businesses and communities.

Affordability is a huge issue for far too many working families, but longer term affordability issues are being neglected as a result. Budget 2018 attempts to address intensifying climate impacts—which will continue to get more and more expensive—but doesn’t allocate nearly enough resources to this growing challenge. We need to see more commitment to acting on climate change, and fast.

There’s no question the previous government’s gross mismanagement of ICBC has dramatically reduced the fiscal room available to the current government. But we need more than the small targeted funding lifts we see in Budget 2018.

Budget 2018 contains measures to address critical issues around wildfire and other climate impacts, groundwater protection, transitioning BC’s economy away from fossil fuels and improving land use planning with a focus on the participation of Indigenous peoples. Sierra Club BC welcomes these measures, but none of them is adequately resourced.

Effects of drought. Photo: Tim J. Keegan

We know the costs of climate change are only going to rise. These costs will be borne by individuals, families, businesses, communities and all levels of government. Impacts such as longer, more intense wildfire seasons, drought in some parts of the province and flooding in others, and sea level rise have very real and mounting costs.

Yet the mitigation and adaptation measures in Budget 2018 pale in comparison to the challenges ahead.

Sierra Club BC does welcome the government’s initiative to kick start land use planning with meaningful involvement of Indigenous peoples. If we are to take the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission seriously, bringing in First Peoples as full and active partners is essential. It is the only way we can move forward on land use decisions in a meaningful way.

On the forests front, we don’t see enough movement to address the crisis facing our forests. On Vancouver Island, we are losing old-growth rainforest at a rate of 34 soccer fields a day. Much more needs to be done or we will see these magnificent trees disappear forever.

Download our new State of Vancouver Island’s Coastal Temperate Rainforest map showing the scarce remaining endangered old-growth rainforest ecosystems and recent old-growth destruction on Vancouver Island.

Budget 2018’s short term affordability focus means longer term affordability challenges of climate change neglected

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

February 20, 2018

VICTORIA—Budget 2018’s laudable focus on shorter term affordability neglects longer term climate-related threats to affordability for B.C. families, businesses and communities.

“There’s no question affordability is a huge issue for far too many working families, but longer term affordability issues are being neglected as a result,” said Sierra Club BC communications director Tim Pearson. “Budget 2018 attempts to address intensifying climate impacts—which will continue to get more and more expensive—but does not allocate nearly enough resources to this growing challenge.

“There’s no question the previous government’s gross mismanagement of ICBC has dramatically reduced the fiscal room available to the current government. But we need more than the small targeted funding lifts we see in Budget 2018.”

Budget 2018 contains measures to address critical issues around wildfire and other climate impacts, groundwater protection, transitioning BC’s economy away from fossil fuels and improving land use planning with a focus on the participation of Indigenous peoples. Sierra Club BC welcomes these measures, but none of them is adequately resourced.

“We know the costs of climate change are only going to rise,” said Pearson. “These costs will be borne by individuals, families, businesses, communities and all levels of government. Impacts such as longer, more intense wildfire seasons, drought in some parts of the province and flooding in others, and sea level rise have very real and mounting costs. Yet the mitigation and adaptation measures in Budget 2018 pale in comparison to the challenges ahead.”

Sierra Club BC welcomes the government’s initiative to kick start land use planning with meaningful involvement of Indigenous peoples. If we are to take the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission seriously, bringing in First Peoples as full and active partners is essential. It is the only way we can move forward on land use decisions in a meaningful way.

“On the forests front, we don’t see enough movement to address the crisis facing our forests. On Vancouver Island, we are losing old-growth rainforest at a rate of 34 soccer fields a day. Much more needs to be done or we will see these magnificent trees disappear forever.”

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Contact:
Tim Pearson
Communications Director
Sierra Club BC
tim@sierraclub.bc.ca
250-896-1556

Bonus Interview: The Lego Block House

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Mission Transition Podcast Interview: Arno Keinonen and Michael deChamplain

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 21:41 — 29.8MB)

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Hemp fibre blocks. Photo courtesy of Just BioFiber.

It’s being called the “Lego Block” House. In this bonus interview, you’ll find out why.

Susan Elrington interviews the man who’s building his house out of super energy-efficient Just BioFiber hemp blocks—and the man whose company makes them.

Recycling hemp fibre ‘lego’ blocks

Listen to Episode 2: Building Smarter to hear more from Arno and Michael and find out how you can start saving energy in your own home.

Tag @SierraClubBC on Facebook and Twitter to let us know what you think about BC’s clean energy economy. You can subscribe to Mission Transition on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts. Check out more episodes of Mission Transition and pledge your support for clean energy at sierraclub.bc.ca/podcast.

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Feature image courtesy of Harmless Home.

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