Wood-burning fireplaces and stoves can emit substantial amounts of air pollutants (mostly particulate matter). Health Canada reports that the health-impacts of wood smoke include: eye, nose and throat irritation; headaches, nausea and dizziness; and it can cause or worsen symptoms for people with asthma or respiratory problems. The CIty could update its building code so that woodstoves are not allowed in new home construction or limit permitted appliances to advanced combustion technologies only.

Strengthen the anti-idling bylaws to stop idling of all vehicles beyond 20 seconds. Advertise widely that the idling fumes are a poison to our lungs. Get the police and all service vehicles included, the police to sport anti-idling decals on their vehicles. People just don't think about idling, sitting waiting for people to get in or out of their cars, when on their cell phones etc. Pay for the advertising by fines.

Fines should be high enough to cover the cost of enforcement.

And remember to include Translink - it is one of the worst offenders. It does nothing about operators who smoke on or near public transit vehicles or to enforce skytrain, seabus, and bus terminal smoking bans.

If the City really wants to be the greenest in the world, it should not equipped its beach police with quad vehicles that pollute the air (overall when they stay iddle in the middle of the beach) and with noise. Beach police should walk or bike and let people enjoy a vehicule free area. Ironic, that we ban smoking on the beach but our own city police is emiting greenhouse gas...

Rail traffic can contribute to local air pollution, specifically when idling in Vancouver rail yards. Should expand the idling by-law to rail traffic and work with rail yards to explore voluntary options to reduce idling.

Vancouver is the second busiest port in North America and sees a lot of shipping traffic. The City needs to work with the shipping & cruise industries to cut emissions whilst tankers/freightlines/cruise ships are docked in Port. Can we mandate a power hook-up to shore?

For those industries permitted to pollute (chicken and fish reduction plants, diesel exhaust from the port) tie specific targeted reductions as a condition of permit and monitor to assure results.

Metro Vancouver already offers a $250 rebate to trade in their old uncertified wood burning appliance for a new low emission appliance. This could be increased and/or more heavily advertised.

http://www.metrovancouver.org/services/air/health/Pages/WoodStoveExchangeProgram.aspx

Emissions from marine vessel traffic are not regulated as strictly as emissions from land-based emitters. These emissions have been growing steadily in the Vancouver region. The city should push for stricter guidelines to ensure that measures implemented to reduce air pollution caused by cars and heating, for example, are not offset by emissions from marine traffic.

A comprehensive odour management plan is needed for the 'greenest city'

Our neighbourhoods smell of a rendering plant throughout the summer and very little action has occured over the decades. A truly green Vancouver would smell nice on warm days and we would then be able to open our windows and cool our houses with the breeze.

Help to entice local diposal business to conglomerate and move towards gasification. Create greater incentive for local waste managment business to move towards this sustainable technology. Incurring the short term cost of enticing companies such as Nexterra to expand gasification technology and encouraging local businesses to merge and take on this great challenge will pay for itself in terms of stability by reducing large vehicle use between competeing companies, landfill and infrastructure maintenance and the grand promotion and attraction of being the first city in the world with an entirely sustainable waste disposal system.

Take the idea of the "IONIC BREEZE" enlarge it and put it on a blimp. Use solar energy to power it. Fly it over the city to filter out harmful pollution and gasses in the air!