UNEP Our Planet: Going for 100%

Late in posting this, but privileged to be published alongside global leaders in the fight for sustainability!

Going for 100%: More and more cities are pledging to switch over entirely to renewable energy

By: Betsy Agar

Oxford County is a sleepy little farming county in the agricultural heart of southwestern Ontario, Canada. Some 4,000 km away, San Diego is a Californian metropolis of 1.4 million dubbed the “City of Villages” for its many distinct communities. Across the Atlantic, Osnabrück, Germany is home to a Volkswagen car plant and known as the “City of Peace” for its role in ending the 17th century Thirty Years’ War.

Despite their diversity, these municipalities have something in common: they all have set 100 per cent renewable energy targets, making them leaders in the fight against climate change. And, since creating the Renewable Cities program, we have learned that they are in good company.

Read story

Is 100% RE in cities possible?

I had the distinct pleasure of co-authoring a chapter with Michael Renner, Senior Researcher at Worldwatch Institute for the latest edition of State of the World (2016).

Leading up to the publication launch, our chapter was highlighted on the Worldwatch blog. And I have recently discovered it is now available on Google Books.

A pleasure to be on the receiving end of a very talented editor,  Lisa Mastny, and I am grateful to all of the work she did to help Michael and I converge our perspectives into one very powerful message: 100% RE in cities is not only possible, it’s happening!

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Live within limits without limiting life
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Energy efficiency from the personal to the international

In December of 2015, I was invited by Vision Vancouver to join a panel moderated by City Councillor Andrea Reimer. I had the pleasure of participating alongside David Isaac of W Dusk Energy Group. Whereas he spoke to the “democratization of the electron,” I focussed on “democratization” of energy efficiency, in other words, what people can do towards making their homes and lives more energy efficient.

[View the story “Town Hall with Andrea Reimer: Vancouver’s leadership on sustainability, efficiency and social equality” on Storify]

There was much social media attention, but I wanted to share the message I set out to convey in my opening statement, in the hopes that it will motivate others to, well, pick up a caulking gun…

Transit is a space not just a race

Last night CBC launched my spirits, then dashed my hopes.

I was quite encouraged when the article titled “Five ways to make better use of your commute” popped into my inbox—something I’ve wanted to write on for some time now.

Then I read it.

How did Vancouver get so green?

What was the point of the Senate’s climate talkathon? Changing the terms of the political debate

This map shows how climate change is screwing over your immediate area

You are

It is not a notion.
It just is.

You are.
So, I do.

You leave.
And, I do.

You shift.
Again, I do.

You hurt.
More than ever, I do

You sigh.
I do.

You approach.
Of course, I do.

You oppose.
I still do.

You exist.
So, I do too.

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Live within limits without limiting life Follow me and check out my food blog: Meat Eating Vegans!

Today I wrote a poem

It happens when I least expect it
I know, such a cliché

Suddenly the events, the thoughts, the feelings, converge
And, I’m writing them

Scribbling them

Pondering them

Why would I write this
Why would I read this
Why would I
Why would I
Why would I

Without an answer, I carry on

There are twists
And reflections

There is more to say
And more to say

Today I wrote a poem
I don’t why

What I learned from six months of GMO research: None of it matters

Wow, this article streams about 20 of my gravest passions – grave in the sense of their depressing content – but mostly it’s an intriguing look at society’s relationship with technology. Thank you for this, Nathanael Johnson.

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Live within limits without limiting life Follow me and check out my food blog: Meat Eating Vegans!