GCC 15th Anniversary, Walkolution News, Carbon Sabbath – GCNews #678

678: 26 April 2010 – Published by Green Communities Canada.

FACEBOOK PAGE. Over 1400 people have signed up to Keep the ecoENERGY Retrofit – Homes program alive! Join now. Participants are asked to make their voices heard to politicians and others. News is posted regularly, including follow-up provincial home energy programs.

ANNIVERSARY! This month marks the 15th anniversary of Green Communities Canada, founded as an unincorporated network at an early April 1995 conference in Cornwall … This month also marks the 15th anniversary of Green Communities News, published weekly since 17 April 1995. Issue 1, faxed manually to member organizations, reported the hiring of Clifford Maynes first as part-time coordinator, later as full-time Executive Director.

WALKABILITY. Canada Walks Spring 2010 Walkolution News combines updates on work with children and youth (Active & Safe Routes to School) as well as news regarding walkable communities (Ontarians Walking Now and Ontario Communities walkON).  View or download in English or in French. Canada Walks is a program of Green Communities Canada … See Winnipeg local television segment on the expansion of Green Communities Canada’s School Travel Planning program.

SECOND GEAR. Durham Sustain-Ability collects used bicycles to provide affordable, sustainable transportation in Malawi, in partnership with Africycle … When Ontario Bikes, Ontario Benefits – A Green Paper on Bicycling in Ontario proposes a $20 million "Ontario Bicycling Investment Fund"  to promote cycling initiatives. By Share the Road Cycling Coalition.

SOLAR JOBS. Windfall Ecology Centre will install solar photo voltaic systems for home owners, community groups, corporations and municipalities starting this summer, and lead the way in green job creation and training.  “This is an important time for the development of the Green Economy in Ontario and Windfall is excited to be shifting from piloting programs to direct social innovation, ” says Brent Kopperson, Windfall Ecology Centre Executive Director and Chair of Green Communities Canada.

GREEN POWER. City Green Solutions (Victoria) participates in Environmental Defense Fund public service announcements, I Am Green Power. The ad features Torsten Reimann, energy advisor and Thermal Imaging expert.

COMMON SENSE. “More homebuyers see the value in environmentally friendly homes, especially when the green features can save them money in the long run,” reveals recent TD Canada Trust Green Home Poll: 77% of Canadians willing to pay a premium on environmentally-friendly homes say that cost savings on energy bills is a main motivation.

POPULAR GRANT. Pepsi Refresh Project offers $5000 to $100,000 grants for projects that improve the environment on a local or massive scale. Grants awarded to most popular idea. Next due date 7 June.

GIVE CARBON A REST. Carbon Sabbath Initiative helps individuals and faith communities reduce their carbon footprint, reflect on the connections between climate and justice, and advocate for just and sustainable energy systems. Leadership training workshops available … Faith & the Common Good’s Greening Sacred Spaces Garden Project promotes the “30-Foot Diet” by encouraging churches, mosques and temples to turn lawns, roofs and abandoned lots into gardens to help people in need. See resources.

LET’S DO LUNCH. At  the Table dinners engage local MP and friends in a discussion about the importance of climate at upcoming G8 and G20 meetings.  Suggested topics: stopping subsidies to big oil companies, providing money to help developing countries cope with climate change and keeping global warming below two degrees Celsius.

ROAD PRICING. Transport Futures Road Pricing and Leadership Summit examines citizens’ resistance to the costs associated with congestion charging, priced networks and high occupancy toll lanes. Toronto, 18 June.

SHOP TO A GREENER PLANET? “Somehow Americans manage to turn every holiday into a shopping opportunity, including  Earth Day. Buying a T-shirt or tote bag won’t curb climate change or protect endangered habitat. That takes politics, organizing, hard work,” argues a Greenbiz journalist … See artistic video about paper cups  … Greenpeace produced a series of short videos about paper and printing.

JOBS.   EcoSource,  In-School Sustainability Educator. Mississauga, due 3 May … Centretown Citizens Non-profit Housing, Green Animator. Ottawa, due 14 May … Fleming College has two positions: Sustainable Renovations Program Faculty and Technologist. Haliburton, Peterborough, due 7 May …