Stop Global Warming

Over the last twenty years or so, I've been quietly hooked on a number of building style games... SimCity, Civilization, Caesar III, and so on. These days, I don't have the time for such trivialities but still need to get a fix now and then. That's where Facebook usually comes through.

Stop Global Warming is just such a game, albeit very stripped down and very simple, but it's played on the web through Facebook. In the game, you support other players on a daily basis, earn cash and impact points, and build structures that will eventually reduce a country's CO2 emissions. As you work through the game, you have to balance your environmental and your economic needs. Once a country is on its way to a NIL footprint, you can then tackle a bigger country. In each area, you have to be careful to tailor your response to the local climate and conditions. For example, Canada gets a pretty good return for installing wind turbines, but solar panels don't perform as well as they would in more equatorial countries.

A simple, yet fun game that captures the essence of the building game style, with a well thought-out environmental education delivery.

Feel free to add me as a friend on Facebook and then in the game. Mutual support is much more lucrative.

Dalhousie Versus Acadia

A quick update on the CBC's Millions Acts of Green campaign:

Last week, Dalhousie University (where I am both staff and student) challenged Acadia University to the CBC's Million Acts of Green. The idea was simple, each university had to sign up members who would then record their total number of individuals acts of green, things like using cold water for a load of laundry or carrying a refillable mug to the coffee shop. The first university to record acts equal to the number its students (16,000 for Dal, 3000 for Acadia) would be the winner. The challenge started on January 15th and was scheduled to end on April 15th.

Well.

By 6:55pm, Dalhousie had registered over 400 members, with an average of 40 acts each, easily surpassing the challenge goal in a single day! To be fair, Acadia met its target later the same evening.

With over 24,000 acts of green a week later, the Dalhousie group is now leading the nation and is trying to sort out the details for a bigger challenge against an even more progressive university. Stay tuned.

A Day of Change

It's been a while since I've had a chance to update the blog, but the best way to get back in is simply to do it!

I just wanted to mark today and join in the crowd of well-wishers on the occasion of Obama's inauguration. The environmentally-minded and alternative energy supporters hold a lot of hope for the new president's promise to invest heavily in solar, wind, and other renewable energy sources. It's our job to educate, facilitate, and support these initiatives.

And it's our job to hold him accountable.

In time.

Let's see what the first hundred days has to bring first.

If anyone follows the US political system closely, you can help me report on things like motions in the Senate, bills that are passed, and items that relate to alternative energy and conservation issues. Just drop me a note!

Coming soon: Stop Global Warming and more Dalhousie Million Acts of Green info.

Light Bulb Exchange at Dalhousie NOV 20!

As part of Dalhousie's quest to create a greener campus, students and staff are invited to attend a Light Bulb Exchange on Thursday, November 20th. From 9am to 3pm, you can get a FREE energy efficient Compact Fluorescent Light bulb (C.F.L.) at one of four booths that will be set up in the S.U.B. on Studley campus, near the cafeteria in the Tupper, in the main entrance of Fenwick and in Building A on Sexton Campus.

The Bulb Exchange is part of the "A Million Acts of Green" program coordinated by The Hour in which Dal is participating. http://green.cbc.ca/

At the booths we will be accepting incandescent light bulbs as an exchange, but note that to receive a C.F.L., it is not mandatory to bring an incandescent bulb. Please remember to bring your Dalcard. There will be one light bulb per person. The bulbs are to be used for your personal use for lighting at home or for products that you own and have brought to the university such as a desk lamp.

The Bulb Exchange is brought to you by the Office of Sustainability, BIOL 3601 (Nature Conservation Course), and Sustain Dal! Partners that supported this project include Conserve Nova Scotia and Dalhousie University Human Resources Department.
_______________________________________________


If you would like to participate in the "One Million Acts Of Green" campaign, sign up at http://green.cbc.ca/ andjoin the Dalhousie Group.

Solar Furnace 2.0

Hey Lower Footprinters!

It's been a quiet few months, but we're now into the beginning of the heating season. Even if you don't plan on turning the heat on yet, you know that many of your friends and neighbours already have that thermostat creeping up. I, for one, enjoy waking up to the crisp morning chill, even if some days it means an extra few minutes under the blankets.

To that end, this weekend is going to be a construction weekend. I have a summer's worth of soda cans stockpiled. I have left over bbq paint from last year and I also have four south facing, vertical windows and three more ceiling windows that are ready to take the cans.

While I may not get to it this weekend, I also intend to put two uni-directional vents in the wall between my solarium "heat room" and the rest of the house. One flows into the house at the ceiling, the other out of the house near the floor. With proper louvers and good interior temperature control, this should mean very little heat loss to the solarium on cloudy and cold days.

Photos will update my progress as the weekend unfolds!

Green Shut Out of Canadian Election

While over 6% of Canadian voters supported the Green Party today, the party failed to secure any seats within the parliament. Leader Elizabeth May faired well against Tory Peter McKay, but was not actually close enough in her rural Nova Scotia riding.

The Liberal Party lost roughly a quarter of their seats while only only losing 3.3% of the popular vote (or roughly 10% of their previous total vote). Much of this loss is attributed to a weak leader and his Green Shift carbon tax platform.

While the NDP gained 8 seats, they were effectively taken from the Liberals, who share common ground in terms of environmental attitudes.

Welcome to the world of Canadian politics at the end of 2008. Environmental issues and environmental policies have never had so much support from the population, but with a lack of unified, coordinated leadership to take these issues and form them into policies and platforms that are understood by the people, we face more years of being on the outside of the process.

Certainly, our first-past-the-post electoral process is partly to blame, but given that reality, three contenders in each riding that more or less represent some part of my environmental concerns means that the voters remain confused. I'd like to say it's time for the "Left" to unite, but the environmental issues we face cannot wait for that to happen.

The economic crisis we now face is a perfect parallel for the environmental crisis we also face. Corporate greed causes catastrophic damage. Individual overconsumption and irresponsibility is encouraged and rewarded. In the case of the economic crisis, however, governments the world over recognize the need to step in and commit.

How bad does the environmental crisis need to get before similar action would be possible? Would the damage be as reversible as a few bad weeks on Wall Street? What if you lost 25% of your environmental capital in less than six months?

As we enter into a new period of minority government, the green mandate of the majority of Canadians needs to find a new voice. It needs to become the bargaining chip in everything that the Conservative government gets to do in the coming months. We can't afford to wait for the political "Left" to sort themselves out.

I put it to you. What do we do next?

Drill Baby Drill

Last night, my blood ran cold when I heard a mostly full arena chanting "Drill Baby Drill" at the RNC. I had no intention of making my blog a political platform in a partisan way, but I for one can't let this pass.

An energy strategy that involves drilling for more oil and natural gas, especially in protected areas, is not a solution... it's simply a stop-gap measure that only delays the inevitable energy crisis while also putting more CO2 into the atmosphere.

If you're reading my blog, you're probably already against the GOP's energy strategy. If you need convincing, you should check out Obama's New Energy for America page.

I'm not an American, but this is one issue where I need to make my voice heard, even if I cannot vote, because the US energy strategy will affect me and everyone else on the planet.

Are you an American undecided or non-voter? Will you cast a vote on my behalf? Tell me and we will feature it on this blog between now and November 7.