Andrew Ball 7639321
Sustainable Manitoba Journal
Introduction
Hello, my name is Andrew. This blog is dedicated to class topics and related information for the Sustainable Manitoba course at the University of Manitoba. I reflect on each class, held once a week, and add additional information that I found interesting and related to the topic! Enjoy!
January 8
Today
we talked about the concept of “sustainability” and what it means. It is
defined as “the ability to meet humanity’s current needs without compromising
the ability of future generations to meet their needs”. My definition would be
that we must “live for tomorrow”. Sustainability is a shared duty for all of
us. It has effects on pollution, climate change, extinction of species,
resource scarcity and allocation, and health of humanity.
The
next thing we did was see a presentation by Charles Thrift on “peg”. Peg is a
indicator system that disseminates stats and information about the community to
society via internet. Various topics and subtopics can be filtered through to
find graphs and valuable data.
More information about "peg" can be found here:
http://www.mypeg.ca/about
January 15
Today
we talked about Peak Oil, compounding change, differences in alternative energy
forms, and electric vehicles. Peak Oil is a term used to describe the top of a
bell-curved graph, which stands for the highest amount of oil that can be
extracted from the earth. Many economists and scientists believe that we
reached Peak Oil sometime around the 1970s. Compounding change is a formula
that describes why a graph will look like a hockey stick. The change seems
gradual until it suddenly spikes at near the end. Compound change is seen in
such areas as oil production and human population. We also learned about
alternative energy forms, and which one is probably be the best. This can be
done by looking at energy in versus energy out. Wind power had the best, while
hydrogen was actually a negative ratio because it takes more fossil fuels to
make less hydrogen. The phrase “like shooting barrels of oil into space” is a
fairly good description. The final thing we covered in class today was electric
vehicles. The amount of fuel purchased by a person in one year it seems, would
pay for the additional cost purchasing a electric car over an internal
combustion car. Apparently, there is a shop in Winnipeg that can take a used
manual transmission car and turn it into an electric vehicle with lithium ion
batteries for about $20,000. With that in mind, Manitoba Electric Vehicle
Association puts on a festival/show for EVs at Assiniboine Park in the summer.
I think I will see if I can make it out being an automotive and bike
enthusiast.
The Mission RS Electric Superbike Prototype! About as fast as a 600cc bike but zero emissions!
That's sustainable knee-dragging!
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2013/10/25/article-2476933-18FAD93D00000578-368_634x415.jpg
January 22
In
class today we talked about food sustainability versus food security. Food
sustainability is based off of ‘need’, while food security is founded around
‘rights’. Speaker Tabitha Martens, who worked at Oak Hammock Marsh, spoke about
food sustainability as the answer to the issues to food crisis’ in Manitoba. She
has gone around Canada and observed and participated in many local food
operations and co-ops. Most of these in Metis or First Nations communities with
limited access to trucked-in food or have poor education for children about
proper eating habits. This kind of community food initiative allows both better
health standards, but also acts as reclamation of culture.
The
second part of today’s class was on “Food Matters”. The average food product purchased
in a supermarket has most likely traveled around 10,000 miles in total. This
includes growing, processing, packaging, and distribution. This can be done due
to an abundance of cheap oil and NAFTA. Due to peak oil and possible growing
season changes from climate change, local foods need to be implemented. A
definition that was brought up, is called a “Food Desert”. This means that
there is a shortage of fresh food grocery stores in an area, usually and urban
area or city center.
This
class was a very important one. The topic of food sustainability in such places
as schools set the stage for my group proposal. We want part of the health/gym
class requirement to include growing and shopping for sustainable local healthy
foods!
Death to the 3,000 mile caesar salad!
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6WdusMEDL8C-C4KL8luPUd4mtQhW20oLJ1qHIcY-5VNTxAbdZgqZFnhrbn2qpFfLKwDs983k106eFGhUV3qKKj1L-aN3ZGA9jQgv4BpUI5pYwa4gETSRt-AR4qEQUkvlrSmYJrT30YGG7/s1600/DSC01324.JPG
January
29
Today’s
topic was taught by professor Hunter. She is taking time off for sick leave but
came in to give a presentation on a very odd topic called “Sustainable
Happiness”. This idea is comprised of positive psychology, a very different
approach than traditional western society that is based off of material
consumption. This topic is directly related to how we conduct business,
economics, and our education system. Our consumption of material goods for happiness
has created overpopulation, severe climate, water shortages, ocean changes and
many other global issues. By this I don’t mean consumption is totally bad.
Happiness is what we want and need, while consumption is merely how we obtain
those things. The key is to focus on “natural highs”. These are things in
nature and our daily lives that make you stop, breathe, and enjoy the moment,
which will most likely be remembered forever!
Day Activity and Happiness Chart
My own natural high...we not totally green but definitely something that makes me enjoy life! Riding!
In my defence, the scooter below gets about 100 MPG....
This one, not so green....
February
5
After submitting our Rights of
Nature assignment, we watched a video by Maude Barlow. The movie was a re-cap
of what we had read for our assignment. One of her main points were that the
best way to make nature sustainable, is to bring it into a market economy. If
nature is a commodity, we will want to make sure that is around to continue to
make a profit off of it, instead of just destroying it at free will.
Some
interesting things that were brought up were about water. Apparently, you can
have a lake renamed as a tailings pond with the permission of the Fisheries
Branch. This is concerning because the process of this is very short and can
happen without public consent. Continuing the point about water as a commodity,
she said it must remain a public service, not a free market option. This way it
will be protected from pollution, but will also be conserved for local use only
instead of selling it off completely for a profit or polluting it with such things as fracking.
https://secure.sierraclub.org/images/content/pagebuilder/stop-fracking1.jpg
An
interesting and shocking comment was about the world’s largest water park, it
is being built in Arizona! A state in the U.S. known for it water shortages
because the climate is a desert. Building water parks, which are known to
waste water, in an area where the Ogallala Aquifer is known to be drying up is
simply irresponsible!
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Andrew Ball 7639321
Sustainable Manitoba
Journal 2
Introduction
Hello
my name is Andrew Ball and this is my Sustainable Manitoba Journal. Now that I
have had about three months of classes once a week I have learned a lot. This
blog is dedicated to the knowledge acquired in class as well as outside topics
that I have found that are related to the course.
February 26
We
resumed classes after reading week talking about ‘Nature Deficit’. In his book
called The Nature Principle, Richard
Louv said, “The future will belong to the nature-smart. Those individuals,
families, businesses, and political leaders who develop a deeper understanding
of the transformative power of the natural world and who balance the virtual
with the real. The more high tech we become, the more nature we need.” This
means in our modern world of video games and zombie slaughter shows, we need to
take time to unplug and take a deep breathe of fresh air. Not only should we do
this every once in a while, but on a regular basis to counter all of the
virtual distractions of in our lives.
Personally,
I really enjoy the outdoors. I haven’t been able to get out to my cabin in the
Whiteshell yet due to the amount of snow that has not melted yet, but I try to
get out as much as possible. Winter can make outdoor activities unpleasant, but
some good old outdoor hockey at the community centre is awesome. One of my
favorite past times as stated in the last journal entry is riding. This
activity does not seem overly sustainable due to the fact my bike runs on
fossil fuels, but it is a great way to explore places outside of the city.
Going camping with friends to get the proper nature dose with your gear on your
back is awesome. The best part though is riding on the highway at 100 km/h and
flicking the shield open…INSTANT CRISP FRESH AIR!
March 5
In
todays class we talked about sustainability and consumption. This is a huge
issue for not only North Americans, but also people all around the world. We
live in a society that tells us to buy, then buy, then buy some more. We pump
out things that may not even make it to market. There is a city in Africa
called Accra, where they recycle electronics. The workers absorb many heavy
metals and toxins. The ‘E-Waste’ is being tossed because it did not sell in the
global market place. The most shocking thing I found was that some of this
waste never even made it to market! It was deemed obsolete or the electronics
inside where worth more that the product itself, which is due to our obsession
with production and consumption. These practices are definitely unsustainable
because they are producing waste that does not even see western eyes.
Further reading:
From
a personal perspective, I noticed that our food packaging industry is also
extremely unsustainable and produces unneeded waste. Here is an example of
Goldfish crackers that my family bought from Safeway. Individual plastic
pouches, in a cardboard box, then wrapped in more plastic. Sounds insane but
its all about quick consumption!
March 12
In
this week’s class we talked about sustainable landscapes. These are architectural
practices that are ‘green’. Examples of this would be using waste as building
materials and treating water from agricultural land. The guest speaker talked
about his various projects. They range from revitalizing harbors to studying
man-made water supply lines. This topic fits in nicely with another class I am
talking called Green Building and Planning. We cover green buildings that are
LEED and Green Building Council certified.
At
home my backyard during spring, summer, and fall are similar to my groups
proposal for this class. Our proposal was school based gardening, which is a
familiar topic seeing that my backyard looks like the Garden of Eden. My father
went back to school and got a degree from the University of Manitoba as an
arborist. Together we have grown everything from tomatoes to grapes (which he
made wine out of). I think that is a sustainable landscape because it brings
positive vibes to friends and family when they visit our house and we pick the fruits
and veggies to make food!
Here is some of the homemade wines that my father
makes every winter with the grapes he grows, picks, and freezes during the
summer!
March 19
A
man of faith came in to speak with our Sustainable Manitoba class tonight. He
spoke about spirituality and art. These topics could tie into my previous
journal entry about Sustainable Happiness. Being part of nature is a humbling
and spiritual experience. We can express these feeling through art, music, and outdoor
activities. Several pieces of art were passed out to our class. This one here
is my favorite because it stereotypes not only the accuser, but also the people
who are being accused. Sadly, the opinion expressed is shared by far too many
people in this society we live in:
“Why don’t you tree huggers & water suckers
grow up!”
March 26
In
this class we had a speaker who is responsible for promoting and maintaining
sustainable practices on the university campus. What really shocked me is that
the Wallace building (Environment, Geology, and Geography) is actually not very
green. You would think that the building would be a pinnacle of green building
technology but it is clearly not.
On
a personal note, I have been following GMO crops for some years now after
hearing an Anti-Flag song called “WTO Kills Farmers”. It does seem like bias,
but after my research on these patented crops I don’t know how we have a
sustainability section at the University of Manitoba while also housing a
headquarters for Monsanto Canada?!?
(That’s me holding the ‘B’ at our rally back in
2011)
