Living in the Jetsons era? How about living in Polar Cities?

Interesting things happen when you start blogging…

One post landed me in the New York Times (Dot Earth) comments section with some random guy from Taiwan quoting another blog post of mine (the “I don’t care about global warming” one).

Anyways, that ‘random guy’ is Dan Bloom and he actually has some interesting thoughts on the matter.

He wants to build polar cities to prepare us for climate change.

In the event of catastrophic global warming events in the far distant future, humankind might have to find refuge in a group of polar cities lying within the Arctic Circle in such countries as Canada, Norway, Finland, Russia Greenland, Iceland, Sweden and the USA (Alaska). Under such circumstances, the founders of the Polar Cities Research Institute, led by visionary futurist Dan Bloom, 59, have announced that they will build a model polar city in Longyearbyen, Norway, with construction set to begin in 2012 and “volunteer testing occupancy” in 2015. (More pics and Press Release here and Dan’s website here.)

He wanted to know my opinion on his big project… so here goes it.

I hope to god that the world’s survival doesn’t depend on people living in what is essentially biodomes (Oryx and Crake anyone?)  but the fact that we have some people planning for it shouldn’t be a surprise.  Climate change is a big issue and everyone is going to (and is) handling it differently – and there’s room for it all. So, although I’m not really a futurist, I’m not going to call this guy crazy.

The worst that could happen is that it does come true and then we’ll all be thanking our lucky stars that at least someone thought of a backup plan. (Not to mention that for every great inventor/thinker – they were usually thought of as crazy at the time) And, so what if it doesn’t happen? Oh heaven forbid…we now have a discussion on it? The good thing is that we’re at least talking.

And, if you do a quick google search, his idea seems to be gaining ground. Investors are talking, and the bloggers are writing. Whether good or bad comments, it’s the same as business – publicity is always a good thing;)

Mass collaboration on climate change; you tell ‘em Tapscott!

Interesting read from one of my favourite authors (well, to be honest, only read one book…) – Don Tapscott, author of Wikinomics is blogging from Davos, Switzerland at the World Economic Forum (interesting things going on there too)

Yesterday’s post in the Globe and Mail is scary but empowering.

One observer — Most people in this room will not be here in 2050. It made me think that Thomas Friedman was right — an act of stewardship is required. I think it is clear from the discussion that there is a crisis of leadership on this issue. We need to mobilize the world, and the Internet is the linchpin. For the first time we have one affordable, global, multi-media, many-to-many communications system, and one issue on which there is growing consensus. Climate change is quickly becoming a nonpartisan issue and citizens, businesses and governments each have a stake in the outcome. Indeed, the global consensus emerging on climate change is that solving the crisis will require leadership from every country and every sector in society. The “killer application” for mass collaboration may be saving planet earth-literally.

Couldn’t agree more…

How to have a productive discussion on climate change

Just starting to read Dot Earth’s section in the New York Times. I like his realism on the issues.

Here’s one that’s good for everyone.

There’s so much fuzziness with the issue of climate change. I’m even studying the science and reading the news on the issue and I’m confused. I once wrote about how I didn’t care about global warming – just to say that I don’t need to wait for scientific consensus to know which path we should be taking. BUT… that being said, it’s always good to have some of the most basic facts in your pocket so that you’re ready for a debate (whatever side of the table you may be on for that matter)

This article is good as a starting point.

Canadian Oil: the sad truth comes out…

Ok, I’m shocked, appalled and once again embarrassed…

A new report came out today on the environmental performance of our precious oil sands in Alberta, Canada. It was done by Pembina Research Institute and WWF-Canada and can be found here. (G&M article here, National Post here)

In Under-Mining the environment, The Oil sands Report Card, nine of Alberta’s 10 operating, approved and applied for oil sands mines get failing environmental grade. The average score among all oil sands projects, surveyed by Pembina Institute and WWF-Canada, was only 33%, demonstrating substantial room for improvement across the sector.

(Note: I’m most likely so appalled by these findings because I’m currently studying environmental management systems (ISO 14001) right now so all of this is fresh in the mind.)

I could probably make a novel of my thoughts but I’ll just jot down some points that are clouding my head on this issue:

HUGE ISSUE:

• extracting oil from the tar sands is the most water and energy intensive way of getting oil. it’s incredibly difficult, environmentally disastrous and expensive yet Canada has one of the largest reservoirs of crude -actually, Alberta oils are forecasted to be the world’s largest source of new crude by 2010

PATHETIC:

• only 2 out of 10 are certified to ISO 14001 - int’l standard for environmental management systems
  • these mines are part of some huge corporations – no reason that they shouldn’t be internationally certified -umm.. Shell? (Albian has it and is part of Shell… so not quite understanding the other Shell not having it
• policies are one thing, actually having an outsider look at the performance of those policies is another story…i.e. transparency!
• no commitment to continuous improvement?
  • That’s the backbone of quality management (the buzz word of the 70’s- where have they been?) and not to mention, the concept of striving to always be better is just good business practice.
• no benchmarking?
  
  • the whole point of the report is that if the oil companies in the region just looked to each other for best practices they would achieve serious ecological benefits …It’s not rocket science. Where are the Best Available Technologies?
• Rejection and denial?
  • I hate comments like this (from Syncrude who got an 18% on the report card- mind you, they weren’t included in a lot of the findings for reporting reasons)
    • “We obviously don’t agree with their findings,” said company spokesman Alain Moore. “In fact, we consider ourselves a leader in sustainability in the oilsands.” Moore said the company is the most efficient user of water in the industry. And the company has an emissions-reduction project worth $772-million that will bring down sulphur pollution in phases between 2009 and 2011, he said.
    • THE POINT IS – YOU’RE STILL WEAK ELSEWHERE! Take a hint from the report, don’t just dismiss it.

Oh my, I’m sure I could keep ranting but I must start other homework… (takes a lot of work to do the research on these blog articles!)

Oh, and to add to all of this, Saskatchewan is now thinking of going down the same path… oh dear…

But in any event, I’m not calling for an end to the oil sands in Alberta (that’ll come in its own time…) but I’m fed up with two things:

1. Government money flying into non-renewable, energy/resource intense fuels
2. those non-renewable, energy/resource intense companies being allowed to proceed with utter disregard for the people and the environment

So, Canada – there seems to be a trend here. There’s no question about the resources, we’re a very rich country indeed (re: pulp and paper). However, when it comes time to using those resources in an efficient and sustainable way, we let it all slide.

Fortune is fickle. Let’s not be blinded by the riches.

 

The American Dream – lost and revived?

I’ll be honest; I’m not really a political person. It’s just too, well, political;)

That being said, I’m getting more and more into the US elections, simply because I can’t go through my news feeds without hearing something about Iowa, NH, Obama, Clinton etc. Especially with the current hype going around right now with Obama, you can’t help but be somewhat pulled in to the drama.

In living abroad you really get a chance to see other people’s view of the States. I’ve been in quite a few ‘let’s bash America’ conversations over here in Europe. Although I can add my own harsh comments about the states, I’m always quick to point out that not everyone is George Bush and even if we don’t always like their policies, the States have done some amazingly good deeds too. But, people usually agree quickly (or not at all) and continue on with the bashing.

Here are a couple clips that I wanted to share though that I think really paints a picture of where the States are today and where they should be going.

Where America is now:

This Washington Post article was written by George McGovern , a former presidential candidate to Nixon back in 1972. This is a must read, American or not. And, as you read it, think about all the drama around Clinton’s impeachment in 1998…all for his sexual relations with Monica Lewinsky. My god, how backwards are the values here?

Why I Believe Bush Must Go – Nixon Was Bad. These Guys Are Worse.

Bush and Cheney are clearly guilty of numerous impeachable offenses. They have repeatedly violated the Constitution. They have transgressed national and international law. They have lied to the American people time after time. Their conduct and their barbaric policies have reduced our beloved country to a historic low in the eyes of people around the world. These are truly “high crimes and misdemeanors,” to use the constitutional standard.

(But read the whole thing; his examples are cunning yet very matter-of-fact)

Where America should be going:

And for anyone who hasn’t seen this yet, this is pretty powerful and inspiring. I’m not saying even that I’m an Obama fan because I’m not well versed enough on the candidate’s stance on issues etc. But, this is one hell of a speech, and agreed – they definitely need change.

 

Elections 2008: Coming from an non-political person, it’ll be interesting to watch.

chez moi and reflecting

Ahh, and back to Jyvaskyla. The sun is shining in Finland again. Colder, but so much more beautiful. I know I already gave a bit of an update on my travels but now that I’m back and reflecting on the last 20 days, I have a few more comments to share.

Lyon, France

• I became Finnish – didn’t say ‘bonsoir’ to people in the hallways … just awkward Finnish dodges.
• My French completely came back. My thoughts, dreams were all in French.
• Even the French hate their administration
• I have no idea how the French are going to handle the new anti-smoking laws that came into force on Jan. 1^st. I’m glad I caught the end of la vraie France;)

Savonlinna, Finland

• Every Mom likes a little help in the kitchen  
• Honour Christmas with your ancestors and people that have passed – strange but the graveyard is the most popular place to be on the 24^th – well, strange at first, but kind of enlightening upon reflection (why do graveyards need to be spooky and only thought of as a place for mourning or for Halloween?) It’s beautiful too – all lit up with candles.

 
Helsinki, Finland 

• Great people, great city.
• Aside from the many philosophical, deep conversations with new friends…  my “Ali G is Borat!” probably took the cake;) 

Tallinn, Estonia

• A quick trip all by your lonesome is good for the mind and the soul  
• The mix of old (medieval old town) and new (one of the fastest growing economies of the old Soviet Union) is stunning and thought provoking.

 I guess the most amazing part though is that you learn something new with every new friend that comes along, and you always learn a little more about yourself when you allow yourself to be alone with your thoughts.

That was probably the best gift this past holiday.