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How can we reach our 2020
Greenest City Targets?

GC 2020

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20 results found

  1. Encourage all businesses to roof with solar panels.

    Ways of doing this could include government subsidies for new buildings going up if they build the roof/walls exposed to the sun with solar panels. Or, the company could use the energy it generates instead of having to pay for electricity from other sources or receive a reduction in taxes or something if their building provides power for the city's grid. This could also apply to houses, but I say businesses because I was thinking of skyscrapers due to the fact that they are so exposed to the sun most of the time.

    41 votes
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  2. Grants for passive houses and buildings

    The term Passive house (Passivhaus in German) refers to the rigorous, voluntary, Passivhaus standard for energy efficiency in a building, reducing its ecological footprint.[1] It results in ultra-low energy buildings that require little energy for space heating or cooling.[2][3] A similar standard, MINERGIE-P, is used in Switzerland.[4] The standard is not confined only to residential properties; several office buildings, schools, kindergartens and a supermarket have also been constructed to the standard.

    20 votes
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  3. Solar Water Heaters on roofs

    Change the building code to allow solar water heaters on residential roofs,

    23 votes
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  4. Green school/Demonstration Centre

    The two biggest barriers I see for people choosing to ignore green principles and continue in a throw away mentality is 1) Education 2) Ease of change. People need to understand and it has to be cheep and easy to do---guess what, It is!!!!!! Lectures, pamphlets, workshops--these are all good things--but seriously lets stop yapping and just start doing and showing. There is no better way of understanding what and how things can be done then by actually doing it. By sight, by touch and by participating.
    Lets build a demonstration centre on a vacant lot which aims to discover…

    15 votes
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  5. Require all properties to capture rainwater/manage rainwater runoff on-site

    In a city like ours, we should not be letting valuable rainwater sheet off the sidewalks and streets all winter, while we use drinking water to flush our toilets!

    While this ventures into the territory of the provincial building code, the City of Vancouver can show leadership in requiring all buildings to capture and manage rainwater run-off on-site (e.g. through rainwater cisterns, stormwater planters, rain gardens, bioswales, etc.). There are many policy precedents for this in Germany, and excellent examples of beautiful rainwater management in Portland.

    Reducing stormwater runoff will reduce incidents of sewage overflow (combined sewer overflow events) into…

    19 votes
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  6. Reduce electrical permits for solar (saving...) Right now the cost of an electrical permit for a

    Right now the cost of an electrical permit for a solar photovoltaic system is three times the cost of one for a diesel generator of the same capacity. By reducing this cost it would encourage green energy while not significantly affecting city revenues.

    12 votes
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  7. Invent roofs with adjustable reflection coefficient

    Expanding on the suggestion by Hashem Akbari's to combat climate change by painting all roofs and paved surfaces in the USA white, our idea is to develop roof materials that can change their reflection coefficient by changing their colour to cover a range from black to white. Regions like Vancouver, with warm summers and cold winters, should have white roofs in the summer and black roofs in the winter, to minimize air conditioning and heating energy needs throughout the year. Roofs with adjustable reflection coefficient could be "dimmed" from inside a house as simply as a light. Smart house technology…

    6 votes
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  8. Control energy efficiency of systems in buildings, rate it as a standard like A, B, C, D, ...

    Control, approve and publish the rate of energy consumption and carbon emission of the mechanical equipments in all of the buildings that encourage the people to utilizing the sustainable energy and environmental pollution free system and equipments.

    6 votes
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  9. Heat pumps not electric baseboards in all new homes!

    Electric baseboard heat is the single largest use of electricity for most condos. They are egregious wastes of electricity and provide inferior heating characteristics. Virtually all are installed with manual thermostats which wastes much more energy. If programmable heat pumps were required as the building code standard electricity consumption could be reduced dramatically, and heat pumps also have the ability of providing air conditioning during our global warming summer heat waves.

    18 votes
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  10. Georgia Street Viaduct

    The vacant dirt lots under the Georgia Street Viaduct should be turned into a desirable walkable blvd lined shops and cafes that face onto expo blvd and look out onto false creek (and hopefully the expansion of the science world park). Shops and cafes and plazas are sorely missing from this part of the city and having walked many times under this viaduct during Vancouver's common rainy days it is a pleasure! The viaduct is tall and broad and shields one from the rain while still providing the sense of openness. It would be so wonderful to have an outdoor…

    11 votes
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  11. Avoid 50-100 year mistakes.

    Ensure that long-term infrastructure, especially buildings, are sustainable from the very start.

    4 votes
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  12. Mandatory 2 day "Green Building" 2 day workshop for Contractors & Sub Trades

    Educate the small business tradespeople in Green Building technology and methods. Workshops would be geared to specific trades/phases in building/renovations e.g. demolition/salvage/recycling options, energy efficient design/products, sustainable and non toxic building materials and reducing what is sent to the landfill. Make it mandatory to attend every two years in order to operate in Vancouver. Offer the courses free to contractors, plumbers, electricians, painters, carpenters etc. Perhaps the province could also provide a tax incentive for attendance to offset their lost revenue.

    10 votes
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  13. Variable Property Taxes based on FSR

    Many SF homes built in the city today have huge footprints. Real estate economics shouldn't govern the size of homes. Reward existing homeowners and new home builders by allowing property tax discounts for greater green space surrounding their homes. Smaller homes with larger proportion of the land landscaped in trees or gardens increases the quality of city life.

    5 votes
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  14. create incentives for every homeowner to install Photovoltaics, Wind Turbines, or Solar Hot Water

    We have to have a GREEN REVOLUTION to really make a difference in our attempt to be "Sustainable". We have to remove our dependence on fossil fuels. Every home could generate enough power to run most of its appliances. We need a smart grid.

    Read "Hot, Flat and Crowded" by Thomas Friedman.

    "10 easy steps for a green future" - sorry, some sacrifice is required....

    64 votes
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    Vancouver’s Solar Homes Pilot is offering $4300 towards the cost of solar hot water systems in Vancouver – this is roughly 50 per cent of the cost of a system. The funding is available to 30 homes on a first come, first served basis. In order to qualify for the rebate, your system must be installed by December 31, 2010.

    Beginning January 1, 2011, we will be offering $3,000 towards the cost of a qualifying system. Systems must be installed by February 15, 2011.

    Will consider extension of program to other areas/technologies.

    Details here: http://vancouver.ca/sustainability/SolarHomes.htm

  15. 62 votes
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  16. 15 votes
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  17. Cap building energy consumption for different building types on a per occupant basis NOT area

    There is no use in capping annual energy consumption on a per area basis if we continue building larger buildings. If we want to effectively limit total energy use, let's do it on a per occupant basis (i.e. kWh per building occupant).

    6 votes
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  18. Futureproof Green Buildings by adapting to projected climate conditions

    Green buildings that do not consider future climate conditions are not as energy efficient or as sustainable as they could be

    3 votes
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  19. No more floor-to-ceiling windows

    Change the building code to reduce floor-to-ceiling windows. This type of condo design requires an unecessarily large amount of energy for heating and cooling. These windows usually have a couch or TV unit or shelf shoved up against them and blocking the view anyway! Even putting a solid wall on the bottom 25% of each storey would reduce energy use. (And hopefully liven up the architecture compared to the currently ubiquitous - and boring - walls of glass condos.)

    10 votes
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  20. Label local/green building materials.

    I would choose local/green building materials if there were some system of assurance. I would prefer to buy BC wood/materials for my house.

    7 votes
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