more green baby steps...

Like watching an old M*A*S*H re-run sometimes the classics are hard to resist. So here is yet another post about the environment, climate change, sustainability... you pick the buzz phrase.

This past Saturday I went to the 1st EPIC Sustainable Living Expo under the sails, at Canada Place. I kind of had to go, given the amount of space I've provided for the environment here and the lengths I've gone through to make a difference in my family's lives, but really I wanted to go to see what a first (presumably annual) expo would have to offer and I wanted to learn of anything else that I could do specifically in my life and of what I could bring to the place that I work. The Expo was certainly interesting and I did get the answers to a couple of my questions but, surprisingly perhaps I also learned a couple of things about current environmental trends and the potentially negative side of a movement recently thrust into the limelight.

I arrived at the Expo in time to see the "Greening your home" presentation on the main stage. It was interesting and I learned a bit about paints and some of the chemicals that we use to clean our homes but I'll admit that it was hard to follow for long, especially given the environment of the Convention Center and especially when you hearing is less than perfect like mine is. So my friend and I decided to skip out early and check out some of the exhibits instead. It didn't take us very long to realize the first hard lesson about a life totally green, it costs a lot of money! Looking at just a few of the products on display made us realize that current trends in sustainability don't come cheap.

I know, and I can already envision the responses to this post... Yes I do believe that the earth is worth the money... I understand that at the end of the day its a small price to pay to ensure a future for our children and generations to come... and yes I understand that we have neglected our planet for so long now that we really can't afford not to do it. But I am sorry, walking through the displays and exhibits at the EPIC fair it didn't take me that long to do the math and I was never that terribly good at math. $30 000 for a Toyota Hybrid... I guess that seems reasonable! $500 for a lamp made solely from recycled agricultural waste (who knows what that is)... I don't know! $1200 for a coffee table made of recycled industrial materials... It was a nice looking coffee table but I paid $149 for the one I have now at IKEA. $1800 for a partition made from old cross walk signal lenses... pushing it for sure. $45 for a t-shirt made out of bamboo? Enough... I don't care how soft it felt or that it had natural odour control properties. The fact is that if this is the face of the environmental movement it is doomed before it gets off the ground, no one can afford it!

Don't get me wrong, I think its great that there are some innovative people out there that have found a way to create products with low environmental impact and some that actually have social conscience as well. The fact that my friend and I found it a bit of a stretch to connect sustainability to some of the products that we saw doesn't mean that we don't give them credit for trying.

The cost of going green may be one thing but the second, and possibly the most puzzling lesson learned surrounded the fact that a lot of the stuff that we saw at EPIC really had to travel a long way to get there. One can only question the validity of the claim of "sustainability" by a product that has travelled from literally the other side of the world and then costs a small fortune for the consumer. Bamboo flooring makes a great deal of sense to me, its attractive, its durable but is it environmentally friendly? I loved the quilts that I saw that were made from used sari's and I appreciated the social causes under which they were presented, but sustainable? I didn't even try the potato chips shipped from Malaysia although they looked delicious. Face it, most of these things, all of these things are presented with the best of intentions and they are probably all great products, but dig a bit deeper. Isn't the manner in which most of these things are transported to us the most significant contributor to climate change and global warming?

Despite these lessons I did get out of the Expo exactly what I had hoped to get. It was the last booth that I visited, but not only did it provide me with the answers that I needed, but it also cast aside a lot of the negative impressions that I have been left with recently after talking to some of the "really green" members of my community. This last booth was, in my opinion the only one delivering the real message, for no reason other than the fact that the message needs to be delivered.

As I have mentioned in perhaps too many posts now, I have unfortunately encountered a few "green" people of late bent on delivering an all or nothing message when it comes to individual efforts at reducing our impact on the environment. These people are more than a little reluctant to recognize those little steps that some of us are trying to take on the road to becoming more environmentally responsible. I have had more than one conversation where I have been told that what I was doing wasn't enough and several conversations where I've been told that our current BC Liberal government is moving too slow, despite the fact that they are moving faster and with greater resolve than anyone preceding them. The really green people want it all and they want it to happen right now. I applaud their ambition but...

Back to the Expo. I have always been one to recognize the small steps and that is why I almost fell in love with the One Day Vancouver booth. When we stopped in at this exhibit we became immediately aware of how important individual contribution was/is. The booth seemed to not only recognize it but to celebrate it as well, as the entire back wall of the display was covered with Polaroid's of real people with one sentence explanations of what they are doing to contribute towards a sustainable planet. The message was clear, it was sincere, it had impact and I was impressed. So I went to onedayvancouver.ca to learn more (I've added it to my links if your interested)...

One day's purpose so incredibly mirrors my own feelings that I have to print it here. According to their site, One day:

...is about small first steps. Its about individual actions that each of us can take in our every day lives. Its about what is possible, and will reward and applaud each and every action, no matter how big or how small. Its about momentum and shared success.

...is about values - about protecting the best place to live in the world, about preserving our unparalleled quality of life for our children and grandchildren, and shared effort and enterprise.

...is about health, fitness and well being. Walking and cycling are easy ways to stay fit, lose weight and help cut down on the amount of energy we use. Changing the way that we move through our day also helps us slow down and take more time with our children, neighbourhoods and communities, reminding us that life doesn't need to be as hectic as we make it out to be.

...is about leadership. One day, Vancouver will be a model for how urban populations use and consume energy. Together, business, neighbourhoods, individuals and communities will showcase Vancouver to the world at the 2010 Olympic Games as a model city for sustainable energy consumption and urban development.

...is working with partners - youth, community groups, business leaders - to start this movement from the ground up, seeding the idea in schools, workplaces, businesses, neighbourhoods, coffee shops and more.

The one day web site provides some simple suggestions to the things that we do everyday at home, at the office and on our way in between. Things like, if you have to drive make sure that your tire pressure is correct, or how installing low-flow shower heads can save you money (so you can afford that bamboo t-shirt) or about the benefits of switching to cold water washing. One day Vancouver tells us that we don't actually have to drop everything that we have learned up to this point to become overnight environmental extremists. It does tell us that there are reasonable and practical things that we can do right now, that will reflect in immediate positive impacts on our environment.

EPIC must be rated as a success by all measures. Any gathering that would cause people to reflect on what they are doing and on what can be done to make our world a better place must be considered as a good thing. My hope is that the "really" green people will take a look at some of the things that organizations like One Day Vancouver are doing and realize that if they hope to actually gain momentum and win the support of that huge portion of the population that is currently sitting on the fence they will have to start celebrating these small steps. Change will not occur overnight and, whether the climate demands it or not, people will not buy into any ideology that is shoved down their throats.