GC 2020
657 results found
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Ban non recyclable products
It is about time no? Why can we still buy products that cannot be recycled? If we want a zero waste society, we can not have the choice anymore of consuming goods that will end up in the garbage.
36 votes -
Put a boom box on every corner
Cuba - one of a handful of countries living within its ecological means - is also one of the world's top producers of arts, music and culture. Is there a relationship between creative production, sustainability and happiness? We think so. Imagine a Vancouver where one's daily experience was one of engagement, creation and production rather than consumption.
2 votesThe Greenest City also needs to be the most Creative City – this is a great example of that.
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47 votes
Council members cannot be mandated to eat vegan meals, however they may accept a friendly challenge. Like other Vancouverites, they may also be swayed by communications and education about the ecological footprint impacts of various dietary choices
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E-voting saves on paper ballots
E-voting saves on paper ballots and ensures greener politicians win since they tend to be favoured by the hackers who would penetrate the online system!
14 votes -
Develop a city-supported urban farming program
Community gardens and farmers markets are on the rise in Vancouver, but there remains a need for more productive farms (market gardens) to produce significant amounts of local food.
There are more and more people interested in getting into farming as a livelihood, but barriers such as high land values and low profit margins in traditional farming make entry difficult.
The City could develop a municipally-supported urban farming program where city-owned land would be affodably leased to prospective farmers for a season to gain experience, earn an income, and produce food for local residents. This could be coupled with a…
240 votesCity has supported SOLE food project (in the DTES) and is investigating other urban farming opportunities as part of the draft Greenest City Action Plan.
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Build Salt Marshes
Salt marshes are among the most productive ecosystems in the world, and certainly some of the most productive that occur here on the BC coast (where we have a distinct lack of tropical rainforests and reefs). Salt marshes are nurseries for fishes and invertebrates, and provide an immense amount of food for other animals - especially migrating birds.
However, as the Vancouver coastline has been developed and re-developed many of these valuable habitats have been destroyed. This is not entirely a sad story, as much of the Vancouver shore has been redeveloped in to the Sea Wall and other community…
18 votes -
Comprehensive Carbon Emission Reduction Program Using Carbon Calculator to Track Our Efforts
In order to reach dramatic CO2 emission reduction targets, we need a comprehensive program that provides a framework and incentive for us to work together to implement the great ideas described on this site.
The city has set broad reduction targets and in order to meet our current and future targets (I and I think many others are willing to take even bigger steps), we need to be able to see, at a concrete level, the impact of our actions (ie - the amount of CO2 in the air going up or down) - as individuals and families, as businesses…
1 vote -
Develop incentives to restore the bee populations
[Submitted via email by Patrice Allen]
Develop incentives to restore the bee populations, not only for their products but for cross-pollination in ALL green spaces.
18 votesHobby bee keeping guidelines under review and there are beehives on top of City Hall. For details on the City of Vancouver bee keeping initiatives, please visit: http://vancouver.ca/commsvcs/socialplanning/initiatives/foodpolicy/projects/beekeeping.htm
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Develop a restoration economy
Promote preservation and redevelopment rather than new development whenever possible in order to minimize destruction of natural and cultural heritage. Capitalize on underutilized and abandoned infrastructure. Revitalize places that have already been developed. Create incentives for the preservation and restoration of buildings rather than tearing them down. This could include incentives for improvements in energy efficiency; community access to services; and improvement or creation of habitat around buildings, for instance.
27 votesDeveloping financing tools, training, and regulations that encourage and support the growth of a retrofit workforce
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Produce instead of consume
A friend of mine told me his version of eco-tourism: "stay home and shallow breath." Being green means producing more than we consume. We need to think about this at home, in our occupations and in the community. I have a hard time imagining how Vancouver can compete with poorer cities where the people cannot afford to buy stuff and therefore have a lighter footprint. Even the most conscientious Vancouve bike rider can have their carbon footprint skyrocket when their air travel is calculated. But we can always try and there are lots of great ideas being put forth here!
2 votesThis is an interesting take on reducing ecological footprint. Our research tells us that people respond better to positive messaging that activates and motivates them, and that is the likely tact we will take in our communications.
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1 vote
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Hydrogen Powered
The power of Hydrogen is very green and useful. It is already used to power some cars. Using hydrogen instead of fossil fuels will reduce our carbon footprint, get out of our dependency on oil and reduce global warming. The only output of hydrogen is water. This technology can power your car and maybe your house. Unlike nuclear fission, it has no harmful emmisions. You can use it in a fuel cell (safe) or maybe liquid hydrogen as to fuel engines for a thought. Even cold fusion can be an alternative to nuclear fission. Hydrogen has given light and energy…
3 votes -
You Do Not Seem To Understand We Do Not Care About Your Targets
You would think you would have figured this out by now!
1 vote -
Free parking for 100% electric cars
For the first x number of 100% electric cars registered, free metered parking anywhere in Vancouver.
34 votes -
increase property tax on vacant suites/homes
There are many condos owned by foreign investors that remain vacant while being held (many = 30% of new condos purchased downtown, where there are currently over 30,000 units vacant). Increase the property tax on absentee owners to incentivize the creation of more rental units and therefore more affordable housing options
3 votes -
Outlaw Freebies and Handouts
Here's a top-down, Draconian notion that still has merit: a bylaw that prohibits the distribution and posting of leaflets and placards and other miscellaney. Fine those who insist on papering our doors, bikes, benches, cars, and streets with unrequested promotional materials. It's one thing to offer somebody an item and another to scatter them pell mell.
5 votes -
Create local food distribution system
We have a back/front yard garden that grows primarily produce. Some years, like this one, the yield is pretty meager. But other years, like last summer, we have WAY more produce than we can possibly use, even with constant canning.
I typically start giving away the extra to unsuspecting friends and neighbours, but I would love to have a way to sell it.
Most back-yard gardeners don't produce enough produce to go to the trouble of selling it, but if there was an easy way to sell the excess into a system that could then combine it with the produce…
24 votesSome elements of a local distribution network are in place with the Farmer’s Markets. The New City Market will increase the scale of this. This idea is included in the draft Greenest City Action Plan.
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Super Insulate All Buildings
Super Insulate All Buildings rather than spend on finding ways to heat inefficient existing building
10 votesInsulation is addressed in the building code for new and existing buildings as well as by the Passive design toolkits
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Instead of having trucks pick up leaves in the fall the city to lend electric mulchers to neighbours
It saves greenhouse gases by the trucks cleaning the streets, provides compost, and gets citizens talking
4 votes -
Eternal Olympic Flame that actually helps the Environment!
When dog waste goes into landfill, it releases methane into the atmosphere. Methane is a potent greenhouse gas that is approximately 23 times more harmful than carbon dioxide.
When it’s burned in the presence of oxygen, it separates into carbon dioxide and water vapor, so businesses can actually earn carbon credits from burning off excess methane.
Here is an article on a park in Massachusetts where they are using methane created from dog poop for a gas burning lamppost (http://parksparkproject.com/home.html).
Eventually the methane could be used to reduce overall energy consumption by heating buildings/water etc, but in the…
3 votes
