Posts Tagged ‘greenhouse gas’
Growing Smarter
This is the title of a new report. Actually the title is longer than that but I like to be snappy when I can. The publisher adds “Integrating Land Use and Transportation to Reduce GHGs” which you may be sure is right up my alley.
Two things before I go further. This report was published on September 27, and I have only just learned of it. I thought I had spent quite a bit of effort making sure that I kept on top of this topic since it is specifically addressing BC. It was not until today that I saw a tweet from Charlie Smith which linked to an article in the Georgia Straight by Carlito Pablo.
Secondly, the report was commissioned by The Real Estate Foundation of BC. Now my association with Real Estate in BC had lead me to create a mental link between realtors and the BC Liberals. During the campaign against the expansion of Highway #1 there were credible sources saying that the then Minister of Transport, Kevin Falcon, was holding fundraising breakfasts for the realtors in this region and the Fraser Valley and promising that highway expansion would enable them to continue to build and sell single family homes. As opposed to the denser forms of development that tended to support transit. The implication being that RS1 supports right wing voters.
The other important thing to note is that you do not have to rely on my opinion or that of Carlito Pablo. You can download the full report for yourself from the link above.
But I am going to copy here the list of recommendations
Recommendations include:
- Bolster regional government authority and integrate transportation planning with land use in ways that support climate action.
- Strengthen the Agricultural Land Commission’s authority to protect farmland and limit non-agricultural use of protected land.
- Strengthen coordination amongst key agencies, ministries, and orders of government and support collaboration through the Climate Action Secretariat and the Local-Provincial Green Communities Committee.
- Use market-based tools to more fairly share the costs of transportation infrastructure and expand transportation choice.
- Update tax and fee structures to support sustainable financing of civic infrastructure.
- Help establish a Low Carbon Innovation Centre in the Lower Mainland.
- Create long-term transportation financing agreements between local, provincial, and federal governments.
- Update community GHG reduction target requirements and provide provincial support to help meet these requirements.
- Establish GHG impact assessment standards for local and provincial transportation projects and planning agendas.
- Reinvest in BC’s Community Energy and Emissions Inventory (CEEI) system to provide defensible transportation sector data.
The report was commissioned by the Real Estate Foundation of BC as part of its research on sustainable built environments in British Columbia. The report was prepared by Boston Consulting, in consultation with the Smart Growth Task Force, with contributions from MODUS Planning, Design and Engage
This all looks very promising, and I am going to download it myself before I type anything else.
Returning from a two-decade road trip to find a region at the crossroads
Being a broadsheet, the Sun gives its opinion writers a lot more space – 3 times as much for the new municipal affairs writer. In a substantial piece, he compares Metro Vancouver with other cities around the world – using sources like Grist – and finds us wanting. He also flags up Gordon Campbell’s upcoming announcement at UBCM and notes
I’m also keen to hear just how our hybrid-driving leader squares building bigger bridges and wider highways for more cars with the hard fact the automobile is the region’s biggest source of greenhouse gases.
And he’s not alone there. I am looking forward to reading more coverage of the region from him. But so far I do not think there is going to be quite as much to argue about, as he seems to be a lot “greener” than his colleagues or his editorial board
Wherever you stand on climate change — believer, denier or agnostic — there are undeniably big ideas at play that will shape the next generation of cities.
It is not a matter of faith. The “deniers” can only attack by throwing doubt where there is none in the scientific community. There has not been one single piece of research in a peer reviewed scientific journal which challenges the consensus that has existed among scientists in this field for many years. The same technique was used by the tobacco industry to throw doubt on the link between smoking and lung cancer. You cannot be agnostic in the face of evidence such as the recent reports of the shrinking of the arctic ice sheet – global warning is not only happening it is accelerating, and we have no alternative but to reduce our growing use of fossil fuels, as well as mitigating the inevitable rise in sea level. Certenig should be alright for a bit in Kits – but I am seriously considering moving from Richmond.
Stephen Rees's blog 