Housing

by James Hickling

World-famous Wreck Beach, located in Pacific Spirit Park on the tip of Point Grey in Vancouver, is now threatened by a controversial plan to develop residential housing at the University of British Columbia campus. 

Recognized as a clothing-optional beach since the 1920s, Wreck Beach is renowned for its wilderness- like setting, pristine viewscapes and unique social culture. Steep cliffs and huge old-growth trees shelter the shore from urban pressures, making the beach a refuge for all kinds of marine and avian wildlife, as well as for people of all shapes and

Cohousing is an international housing style pioneered in Denmark more than 40 years ago, designed to foster true community among all residents.

by Kathryn Hazel with assistance from Suzanne Gregory

Have you ever wished that you lived where your children didn’t have to dodge cars? Could build that cabinet for your didgeridoo collection, without having to buy all the tools? Had somebody to watch the baby while you were busy shampooing the dog? 

Then cohousing may be for you! Cohousing is an international housing style pioneered in Denmark more than 40 years ago, designed to foster true community

While governments diddle around with new nuclear power and the climate crisis threatens to go over the top, you can install alternative energy yourself at home or in your business, probably for less cost than buying a hybrid car. And of course, for the householder as well as the power corporation, the “negawatt” of power saved through energy

Whether you are building or renovating, the green homes approach to housing reduces environmen­tal impacts, reduces long-term building operations and maintenance costs, increases marketability and building value, and results in healthier indoor environments. Perhaps the most important aspect of build­ing a green home is that it is not an “all or nothing” process. When carefully selected and implemented, even modest measures can result in significant conservation of resources. Green homes are also uniquely local as climates, customs, availability of materials and preferences vary so much throughout

The concept of Peak Oil is developing quite a political following, although not quite so much as climate change and global warming. Peak Oil is the idea that we have reached or will soon reach the point at which half of all the easily extractable oil and gas around the globe has been consumed. Although the pumps will not suddenly run dry, the cost of the remaining oil, both in money and effort, will continue to escalate, with unforeseeable impacts on the American and global economy. A Great Depression, or a massive transformation in energy use, is generally foretold. Of course, similar challenges will be overcome as our societies reinvent themselves and their technologies for a sustainable energy future.

When one of Canada’s largest mainstream retail companies sells across-the-counter solar panels and has a new website devoted to all things environmental, one can safely say to Kermit the frog: “It’s no longer hard being green.”

by Leslie Gillett

“Canadian Tire recognized a growing need for environmentally sustainable choices a couple of years ago,” says head office spokesperson Sarah Rodgers.

Photos and text by Jim Cooperman 

Rampant and often massive development projects around BC have become the new battleground for environmental activism over the last few years. Citizen groups which once worked tirelessly to prevent the logging of old growth forests are now