Community

The BC utilities commission ruled in late December 2016 that FortisBC can’t turf existing electricity net metering customers from the program just because they regularly sell more electricity to the utility than they buy from it.

Is the Trudeau government serious about its bold promise to cooperate internationally to cut greenhouse gas emissions and so limit harmful global warming to below 2 or even 1.5 degrees Celsius?

What are the first thoughts that come to mind when you hear the words “road trip across Canada”? Most likely, you’ll think of something like a narrow road stretching far into the horizon, cutting through a mountainous landscape blanketed with evergreen forests, majestic lakes and pristine rivers. An iconic Volkswagen Westfalia rumbles and growls its way across the landscape while the stereo blasts Fleetwood Mac.

The BCSEA Victoria Chapter hosted 'THE BIG TOWN HALL: Saanich: Pathway to 100% Renewable Energy' on Saturday October 29th, together with partners Sierra Club BC and SFU Renewable Cities. And it was just that; BIG! Big attendance, with over 135 attendees clustered in round tables listening to highly credible speakers and putting their minds to work on how Saanich could accomplish the goal of 100% renewable energy. At this Town Hall, we began the most crucial first step in convincing Saanich to adopt a 100% RE policy with the mobilization of public officials and the general public. 

Climate leadership can take on many roles: it involves setting realistic targets rooted in scientific principles, developing an effective plan to achieve those objectives, and perhaps most important of all, inspiring citizens to take meaningful climate action.

Climate leadership can be carried out at different scales; most notably governments should be responsible for leading by example, therefore encouraging citizens to follow along their footsteps.

Victoria Mayor Lisa Helps, commenting on the challenges in the city staff’s new report on climate action, said: “If we are serious about this, we’d better get serious. But we need the community to jump on board.”

The Ministry of Environment graphics department has done its best. Cute silhouette graphics show how turtles, hikers and bunnies can happily coexist with helicopters, factories and container ships. Photos of eagles and green forests reinforce the bright and cheery prose.

The BCSEA Vancouver Chapter held it's Monthly Pub Night event on July 12th. This, the fifth edition, was another great success, drawing members and non-members alike to converse, network and have fun in the process.

As if the 2015 federal candidates debates weren’t exciting enough, for 2016 the Victoria Chapter has taken on the municipalities of southern Vancouver Island.

Inspired by the Renewable City Strategy of the City of Vancouver, we are asking the municipalities in our area to adopt a 2050 goal of meeting 100% of their energy use with renewables. And we mean all energy use in the community, not just municipal operations.

The BCSEA Kamloops Chapter held two consultation meetings concerning an update to Kamloops' Official Community Plan, called KAMPLAN.  An official community plan is all about land use, with implications for transportation, housing, parks, and many other aspects of our lives.  All of this relates to energy, of course.  If your city is fairly dense with mixed-use neighbourhoods that include shops, schools and parks in addition to homes, you have the potential for people to walk or cycle near home.  It's easier to build a good transit system in a city that doesn't have a lot of sprawl.