Fifty Ways to Change the World

The failure of the world’s nations to tackle the global warming emergency combined with Canada’s abandonment of our Kyoto treaty commitments might be enough to make you wince, despair, and reach for the whisky that is sitting wrapped up under the Christmas tree.

Reach for the whisky, by all means, but do so to celebrate the many ways in which we can make a difference and build a green sustainable world, not to wallow in global sorrow.

During 2011, thanks to the support of our members, the BCSEA has been active in a variety of fields, from our policy work in the regulatory cellars where decisions get mulled over to our work in British Columbia’s schools, where over 50,000 students have participated in our Climate Change Showdown and taken the Showdown Contest home to their families.

Of the fifty ways in which we can change the world, the BCSEA has chosen to be active in seven*. This shows how much more we will be able to do as we grow in strength and ability.

For a full report of our work in 2011, click here for our Annual Report.

* The seven areas where we are working are:

1. in schools, through our Climate Change Showdown,
2. on rooftops, helping to build BC’s solar thermal industry through SolarBC,
3. in condominiums, helping Vancouver strata councils to make their buildings more energy efficient,
4. at the BC Utilities Commission, where we are arguing the case for more emphasis to be placed on energy efficiency and conservation and more use of renewable energy,
5. in policy-making, through our interventions on critical matters such as the BC Budget and the proposed Feed-In Tariff,
6. in local community engagement, through our active Chapters in Victoria, Vancouver, Kamloops and Kelowna, and
7. in public education, through our website, sustainable energy news-lists, newsletters, and appearances on radio, in social media, and in the print media.