GC 2020
657 results found
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Work with existing district steam heating systems to switch to renewable energy sources
Half of Vancouver’s greenhouse gas emissions come from burning natural gas to heat our buildings. The large district steam heating systems found at the hospitals and downtown are significant users of natural gas. Converting these existing systems to renewable energy sources would reduce reliance on natural gas and help to lower our greenhouse gas emissions.
11 votes -
Align Capitial Spending to Pedestrian & Cyclist Injury Reduction
Implement annual monitoring, reporting, and targets for injury reduction of pedestrians and cyclists, align capital spending towards injury reduction and away from increasing SOV capacity.
17 votes -
Host an sustainability ideas series (e.g. films, lectures, how to sessions)
Sustainability is a complex and difficult topic. Many people get a sense about what it is, some don't get it at all and many others think green consumerism (e.g. cloth bags, CFL lightbulbs) is all that's required to build a friendly and safe global future. A multimedia ideas series, perhaps at community centres, would be a great tool to inform people about what is actually required (e.g. reducing overall consumption) for us to build a sustainable global civilization.
10 votesWill share this idea with other organizations in the community that already have some of this type of programming.
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Free Landfill and Recycling Areas For All Products this will Reduce Waste the Fastest
Citizens of Vancouver already pay enough in taxes, this service should be available to everyone in Vancouver, this will reduce the waste faster than any other idea.
3 votes -
Demolish all above ground parking structures and rezone for...
Demolition of all the above ground parking structures would a) reduce heat island affect B) reduce the number of parking space for cars in the city c)free up land for new housing, office space, commercial space, and create space more scaled and open for people d) reduce carbon foot print from all the cars that use to use the space
3 votes -
8 votes
The draft Greenest City Action Plan addresses occupant engagement in conservation efforts. This idea will be considered as a way to make it easy for occupants to conserve energy related to plug loads
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For the City to be Green, the Province must be Green. Stop Oil and Gas development in the interior.
The city is supported financially by the province. It is disingenuous to claim to be the greenest city in the world, while receiving money from the development of oil and gas extraction in our interior. Most of the population of BC lives in vancouver. It is our tacit approval that allows it. Vote No!
12 votesThe City is trying to it’s part within it’s own operations and broadly in the community to reduce dependance on fossil fuels. We will continue to advocate for policy and legislation that supports climate protection efforts.
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Provide more park and public open space in under-served areas
There should be more parks and open spaces available to the public in under-served areas of the city.
25 votes -
Create a safe, licensed, easy carpooling system.
Create a system where people can become registered carpool hosts for free, they would need to be screened (police record check?) and validated, and display the license in the front window. Set up stations in the city, like bus stations, that say (for example; South Surrey Park and Ride) where people could wait for a carpooler. There could be a small charge as incentive for the driver ($2 per person each way would help a lot with daily parking).
I have often driven by a line up of bus users, and thought about how much money I could earn by…
6 votes -
Retrofit apartments to have individual control over radiator heating
Many low-rise apartment buildings are heated by radiators connected to a central boiler. In lots of these buildings, individual apartments do not have a thermostat or radiator control. Often the building is overheated in winter, with windows open and the boiler working even harder. Lobbies and hallways are also sweltering.
A City program could install valves on each radiator to give occupants individual control and reduce energy wastage. There would be a hugely beneficial return on investment in terms of reduced energy use and greenhouse gas emissions in the city.
10 votesHas been implemented in pilot program.
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Provide online tools to help people educate their friends, family, and networks about green actions
The Sierra Club develop presentation tools for Ottawa's curbside organics collection program. People can use these to give 10-minute presentations in their community to educate others to "do the right thing". Similar tools could be developed for backyard composting, waste reduction, commuter cycling, energy conservation, , etc. Think Toastmasters with a mission.
2 votesVancouver has a One Day campaign and other on-line tools, as do many other organisations in the community. That said new tools will also be developed to support the Greenest City process: http://vancouver.ca/oneday/
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Reduce paper consumption.
Use less paper in City Hall. Aim marketing inititatives toward businesses to go paperless, and provide incentives if possible. Stop using flyers/cardboard signs for city events or elections. And most of all - no more leaflets!!!
3 votes -
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 votesThe City is supportive of building materials labeling however not in our jurisdiction to implement this.
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10 votes
Outside City jurisdiction. TransLink is continually looking at ways to improve transit throughout the region, but additional funding is needed to make progress.
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Profile & demonstrate clean technologies in wastewater treatment & nutrient recovery
The City can help to showcase local green businesses and improve their profile in the market place through demonstration projects. One idea is to support the development of a community wastewater treatment facility that captures nutrients from the wastewater stream to process into an environmentally friendly fertilizer. Metro Vancouver wastewater treatment plants currently produce biosolids which are rich in nutrients and can be used to fertilize lands to improve vegetative production, but this program needs further partnerships to reinforce and expand the model.
Links
MetroVancouver Nutrifor program: http://www.metrovancouver.org/services/wastewater/nutrifor/Pages/default.aspx
Vancouver firm Ostara: http://www.ostara.com/
15 votes -
Include energy costs in city & province-funded construction projects.
Construction projects get graded based on how cheap they are. But that costing model doesn't include the total environmental impact of a project, such as the carbon released by removing old buildings, the ongoing energy cost of the structures, etc.
The best way to get an environmentally conscious city is to put in economic incentives. Construction is a very high-impact area where the city can exert influence simply by changing the guidelines. A cheap, high-impact proposal.
Other cities are already doing it, and from what I hear UBC is already doing it for their own projects.
7 votesThe draft Greenest City Action Plan addresses ways and means of rewarding projects that are more energy efficient.
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Encourage truck drivers to upgrade diesel engines to more modern and efficient models
Newer heavy duty diesel engines are much more efficient and have cleaner emissions than the older ones that exist in most trucks moving through Vancouver. Truck drivers could be provided with an incentive to upgrade to newer trucks.
9 votes -
Waterless Urinals
Save millions of gallons of water!
Plumbers don't like them but i think there is a huge potential for this!6 votesNot specifically part of Draft Greenest City Action Plan, but efficient fixtures and incentives are.
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Improve air quality monitoring and make it educational
Metro Vancouver is responsible for monitoring air quality across the region. There are only two permanent air quality monitoring stations within the City and their readings aren't representative of the rest of Vancouver because of point sources nearby. Building another air quality monitoring station in a better location could help assess trends in ambient air quality across the City. Mobile monitoring studies could also be conducted along major traffic corridors or near suspected point sources to inform policy decisions.
Educational features such as signage and real-time displays could be incorporated into existing or new monitoring stations. This would help inform…
14 votesCity of Vancouver will support Metro Vancouver’s initiatives for improved monitoring
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Adopt targets for reducing oil consumption and officially acknowledge oil depletion (peak oil).
Global oil depletion will be one of the key issues impacting community and economic resiliency, and our journey to true sustainability. Our priority plans need to reduce BOTH emissions AND oil dependence.
6 votes
