GC 2020
657 results found
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Adopt a fruit/nut tree program
Stop wasting growing space! Municipalities should encourage the planting of food producing trees on city property. The maintenance of these trees and harvesting of food could be managed through an Adopt-a-Tree program that individuals or community groups such as the Scouts or Food Sharing initiatives could participate in.
25 votes -
planted buildings
Use hedges or vines that cover buildings completely, roof top gardens, to help regulate thermal radiation. AC unit areas should be covered by plants or shaded so the energy wasted to cool the air is less.
10 votesCurrently exploring an approach to addressing cool roofs, green roofs & walls.
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Hire a respected Permaculture teacher to train city staff
example, http://patternliteracy.com/
During most courses a piece of land will be cultivated. Offer land. Pay a teacher. Educate.
Offer a Permaculture course open to the public, tuition and admission offered by project/essay/proposal.
Like the course just started at UBC, www.landfood.ubc.ca/ubcfarm/pdcad2010SMALL.pdf
20 votes -
Hire a group of young motivated leaders
Help me help you help us.
Create green jobs.
Make it a little easier for the change makers to flourish.
Subsidized trainings.
2 votesThe UBC-City of Vancouver Greenest City Scholars program will continue next summer.
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Green computing in all government offices
Cloud computing servers that run on renewable wind energy also minimize the need for computer upgrades, high-power servers that stay on all night, and costly software licences. Google has invested hundreds of millions in green power and offers government grade office services at a fraction of current costs. They also recycle computer parts to create their data centres. By using these services, we become greener.
http://gigaom.com/cleantech/google-buys-wind-power-first-deal-for-google-energy/
http://www.google.com/apps/intl/en/government/index.html
http://www.google.com/corporate/green/datacenters/server-retirement.html
12 votesGood ideas. We are looking for all kinds of opportunities for renewable energy generation, waste heat recovery and energy conservation. Current good examples of waste heat recovery are in newer swimming pools and skating rinks. See a good example though the following link: http://vancouver.ca/parks/info/2010Olympics/pdf/Hillcrest.pdf
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"Smart" garbage cans that pay you to recycle
Modify city garbage and recycling cans to contain identification tags, so the biggest recyclers can get coupons, cash or credit rewards. The worst recyclers get warnings and fines that pay for the project quickly. The cost of this project has been only $2.4 million elsewhere.
Please look at these links:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/videos/2006/1001-smart_trash_cans.htm
http://www.telecomengine.com/newsglobe/article.asp?HH_ID=AR_6544
10 votes -
Ban New paving
Stop paving green space! There is a new unneeded and ugly sidewalk (8th ave example) and the US style electric lit AstroTurf rec complex at Jericho that has taken ridiculous amounts of green space away - leave well enough alone!
10 votes -
Add a rapid transit line to the valley
Driving along the #1, it seems ridiculous to me that we're widening the highway and adding more bridges, which will just INCREASE commuter traffic.
What we should really be doing is providing an alternative to jumping into single occupancy vehicles to commute into the city, in order to DECREASE commuter traffic.
It's inconceivable to me that there is no rail line out to Abbotsford, Chilliwack, etc.
67 votesOutside City jurisdiction. While improved transit service South-of-Fraser is important, the Greenest City plan focuses on projects within municipal boundaries.
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Slow Down Vancouver: Working Less Equals Lower Footprint - Think about it
Slow it all down folks. Shorter work days, less stress, less racing about in cars, more time to walk to work, more time to think about your impact, more time to cook food, if you have time to cook you'll have time to eat whole foods - look for local products. Rushing about in our current culture is a recipe for unsustainability. Slow down Vancouver and Live Again. The facts are here...
"Shortening working time by 1% reduces the environmental impact by 0.8%, according to research carried out by Jörgen Larsson at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden - this…40 votesGreat idea that comes down to personal choices, and discussion with those that set work schedules (labour unions, other employers).
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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 -
Offer a more extensive and tailored range of transit passes, Berlin-style
We spent a month in Berlin, Germany and purchased a month-long transit pass that allowed us to travel only AFTER 10 am.
The pass cost significantly less than a normal transit pass (good for 24 hours) and because we were not commuting, we were not inconvenienced in the slightest.
Also, in New York, we bought week-long passes.
These sorts of discounted pass options make sense for locals and visitors alike and make it easier to convince people to get out of cars or cabs. I would like to see a greater range of transit passes available at several different price…
76 votesThis is a great idea, but outside the city’s jurisdiction. This is something TransLink could consider, perhaps in conjunction with the SmartCard rollout expected in 2013, which will enable new and more equitable pricing schemes.
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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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Diaper recycling plant
Some stats : 27.4 billion disposable diapers are consumed every year in the U.S.
Over 92% of all single-use diapers end up in a landfill.
Disposable diapers are the third largest single consumer item in landfills, and represent about 4% of solid waste.
No one knows how long it takes for a disposable diaper to decompose, but it is estimated to be about 250-500 years, long after your children, grandchildren and great, great, great grandchildren will be gone.5 votes -
4 votes
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Enforce smoking and littering bylaws
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.
12 votes -
food...food...and food... how do we know it's actually good?
When I go to the grocery store, how do I know that the food I'm buying is hormone and/or pesticide and/or pesticide free? Even if it says it's organic...is it really? My idea is to 1. put more of a REAL control on the food we're selling to the general public and 2. why not start growing real organic food...from real soil ourselves...urban agriculture?
4 votes -
Campbell and Union St. ~ traffic lights for bicycles and cars.
The intersection at Campbell and Union Streets is dangerous, for cars and bicycles. A traffic light for bikes on Union Street, and cars, would make both drivers and cyclists feel safer. If traffic lights are too expensive, what about a four way stop with bicycle pictures on the signs?
4 votes -
4 Weeks Paid Holiday Leave
OK, so it's not DIRECTLY a green initiative, but more holidays makes for happy citizens that love their jobs and are proud of their city! It will provide people more time to spend with family and friends, most likely leading to beneficial economic activity for the city. Perhaps you could couple the increased holidays with a "Give a Day to Charity" campaign, where you use one of your newly acquired holidays towards volunteering in your community.
Australia, a Commonwealth country like Canada, has had four weeks of paid holiday leave for years, so there's no reason we can't make it…
4 votes -
Speed Bumps of every road
Speed Bumps slow down traffic. Not only will that create a friendlier pedestrian environment but it will make travel by bike lane (no speed bump) more competitive, time wise with car travel. The same thing also goes for skytrain. With car travel taking longer, skytrain will look like a more attractive option
5 votes -
Ban all and any fireworks!!
[Idea submitted via email by Michael Csupak]
I encourage you to educate yourselves about pyrotechnics.
The “Festival of Lights” I believe it is called is a large scale pollution, initially the atmosphere, we all breathe the air, then the particles will settle in our waters we drink and the fish lives in and in the soil we grow our food in and so on. The chemicals used in the fireworks are poisonous and some cases are RADIOACTIVE. A very good scientific study was produced by the University of Vienna, sighting much of the specifics.
Concentrations of similar explosives used by…
22 votesMetro Vancouver is considering the implications of a partial ban and alternatives to fireworks (e.g. light-shows)
