Edmonton City Council: Please Fully Fund Cycling Infrastructure

(Our fabulous friends at the Edmonton Bicycle Commuters Society alerted us that this issue was coming up - join them if you're interested in cycling infrastructure, if you want to learn how to maintain your bike, or if you need a cotter pin to fix the loose pedal on your old beater.)

Dear Mayor Mandel and City of Edmonton Councillors,

The Transportation and Public Works Committee is voting on the Active Transportation Strategy tomorrow afternoon (Tuesday, November 17th). We have read the report at http://www.facebook.com/l/978d8;ereg2.edmonton.ca/sirepub/cache/2/0tdddp2qbsyr3x45myv31a45/1325711122009114753247.PDF - and we are disappointed in the relatively small investment being made in cycling and pedestrian infrastructure in this proposal (down from the original combined total of $286M over 10 years to about $22M over 3 years).

We formed Edmontonians Supporting A Green Economy (E-SAGE, www.e-sage.ca) two years ago with the goals of supporting the development of a vibrant local living economy and providing the resources Edmontonians need to take the 'next step' in making their lifestyle more sustainable. We do this through our informative newsletter (now distributed to over 1200 members), hosting of networking events and educational workshops, participation in local festivals, and creation of the Shop Local Guide (www.shoplocalguide.ca), in addition to our collaborations with other local community groups.

We appreciate that the City of Edmonton is working hard to craft policies that support a more sustainable future for its citizens. However, we worry that in limiting the immediate funding for the creation of cycling infrastructure - and combining it with the funding for pedestrian infrastructure - that the City may miss a golden opportunity to capitalize on a boom of interest in commuter cycling by making it easier and safer. Making it safer to cycle in this city will result in fewer accidents (both bicycle-auto and bicycle-pedestrian), and will encourage more people to use their bicycles. More people cycling to work, or combining cycling with public transit use, would translate into less vehicle traffic and more parking in congested areas like Downtown and Old Strathcona. It would reduce requirements for road repairs and road widening, and subsequently save the city money in the transportation budget. It would help the city meet its goals for reducing its carbon footprint, along with other environmental and public-health benefits. Making it possible for families to do without their cars, or for two-car families to make do with only one, would provide them with additional disposable income that would be spent in our community, stimulating the local economy.

Relative to the costs of maintaining and servicing an ever-expanding network of roads, a one-time investment in creating cycling infrastructure is a bargain. We suggest that deferring some of the projects planned for roadway expansion outside the Anthony Henday ring road system would be an appropriate way to find the funds to speed up creation of on-road bicycle lanes, separate cycling paths, bicycle parking, and public transit solutions for cyclists, without jeopardizing much-needed funds for revitalization of Edmonton's older neighborhoods.

For more information about the benefits to cities of increasing cycling infrastructure, we invite you to read the following articles:

The Economic Benefits of Bicycle Infrastructure Investments (a point-form summary on EcoVelo of a policy research report by The League of American Cyclists): http://www.ecovelo.info/2009/08/18/the-economic-benefits-of-bicycle-infrastructure-investments/

How To Get More Bicyclists On The Road, an article from Scientific American:

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=getting-more-bicyclists-on-the-road

Bucking The Cycle (an article from the Los Angeles Business Journal about the connection between cyclists and shoppers at local businesses): http://bicyclefixation.com/bikebucks.html

Thank you for your efforts to make Edmonton a greener, more sustainable city.

Locally yours,
Tad Hargrave, founder
Deborah Merriam, volunteer community organizer
Terra Fleenor, volunteer community organizer
Edmontonians Supporting A Green Economy (E-SAGE)

Edmonton Earth Day - rescheduled

Unfortunately Edmonton Earth Day, is being rescheduled, the projected cold for tomorrow, snow, ground conditions, and required cancellation of MANY of our exhibitors by their volunteer organizations. We will be meeting on Monday to reschedule the event. 

Thanks for your understanding,

Janice


You can contact Janice by phone at 780-760-1756 or by email at edmontonearthday@shaw.ca with any questions

Growing Food and Making a Living – Is it Possible?

April E-SAGE Meeting

Growing Food and Making a Living – Is it Possible?
Ron Berezan the Urban Farmer and Becky Lipton

For those of you who couldn't be there, we've got the slide presentation and audio from the lecture.

Becky's Presentation
Slides (1.8 MB)
Audio (455 MB)

Ron's Presentation coming soon
Slides (MB)
Audio ( MB)

*The audio was recorded using an iphone - so it is not a professional quality recording. You can play this audio file using the free Quicktime media player from Apple. (click here to download the player)

Our Eco Expo Experts!

We would like to acknowledge the people who volunteered to be experts in the E-SAGE Conversation Cafe at the 1st ever Go Green Eco Expo. These people are a wealth of information and I encourage you to contact them for information about these topics.

Food & Gardening:

Ivor Mackay - Ivor is famous for doing the 100 mile diet, and is active is creating food security in Edmonton, and was one of the organizers for the Food Today Tomorrow Together Conference held this January. He has also started a traditional skills group, and does talks on simplicity. If you are interested in contacting Ivor please email him at ivormack@telusplanet.net.

Cherry Dodd & Diana Baragar
Edmonton Naturalization Group
The Edmonton Naturalization Group is an informal group of people in the Edmonton area who like to grow native plants and promote their use in gardening and landscaping to a wider public.
Find out more at:
www.eng.fanweb.ca
engedmonton@gmail.com

Housing & Community:

Stephani Carter
Eco Ammo & Green Alberta
EcoAmmo provides tools and services to educate and excite those that work in the building industry about sustainable design. We offer services such as Sustainable Building Materials and Green Design Education, Conference Speaking and Independent LEED® Project Facilitation.
www.ecoammo.com

Green Alberta is a growing online resource of green building products and materials.
www.greenalberta.com
Suite 600A 10117 - Jasper Avenue
Edmonton, AB
780-466-7616

Nanda Gruss
Living in Unison Feng Shui
Offers on-site and remote feng shui consultations, space clearing ceremonies, workshops and Art with sacred geometry products.
www.livinginunison.com

8946 - 78 Avenue
Edmonton, AB,
780-297-8975
nanda@livinginunison.com


Nathalie Jackson
Village Lifestyles
Village Lifestyles is an intentional community that honors each others' gifts, talents and passions. We are a group of individual-owner businesses that will be collectively supported and nurtured by the community. Rental Space Available - 24 hours, 7 days a week.
www.villagelifestyles.com

10429 - 79 Avenue
Edmonton, AB
780-988-8804


Energy:

Alexander Polkovsky
GAIA Energies Ltd - CleanTech Research, Consulting, Construction, Project Management
www.gaiaenergies.com

#2222, 13 Mission Avenue
St. Albert, AB 
780.443.GAIA (4242)
alexander@gaiaenergies.com


Health & Wellness

Basia Urbanski R.N. CHt.
Pure Access Hypnotherapy
"Clearing the way to real newness"
www.pureaccess.ca

201, 8225 - 105 Street
Edmonton, AB
780-436-3776

Monique Schoenau
Natural Body
(Workshops - teleseminars - public speaking)
"Women in midlife are women on the verge of a total breakthrough."
www.natural-body.ca

9856 - 89 Avenue
Edmonton, Alberta
780-966-9338

Go Green Eco Expo

April 2, 2009

Go Green Eco Expo

April 4, 2009
10:00 am - 8:00 pm
U of A Butterdome
E-SAGE is hosting the Conversation Cafe
We are providing an opportunity for the visitors to the expo to talk with the real experts about sustainable living. There will be 5 areas of conversation:
1. Food
2. Housing
3. Energy
4. Transportation
5. Health & Wellness

We want to provide top quality information to these people and are looking
for volunteers to take a shift over the course of the day. This is not an
opportunity to openly promote your company and products to these visitors,
but a chance to build relationships and share your knoweldge. If you are
interested in being one of these "hosts" please contact Maureen at
maureen@e-sage.ca and let me know your area of expertise, name, business or group name and what time you can be there.



Food & Gardening Topic (gardening, heritage seeds, growing food, xeriscaping, Permaculture, preserving food, vegan, raw, vegetarian diets, organic, local food, )

Examples of groups that would fit here (if you are in this list you still need to sign up for a time slot):

Edmonton Naturalization Group

Ron Berezan - The Urban Farmer

Edmonton Food Security Network

City Farm

Bedrock Seed Bank

Guerilla Gardeners

Re-Fresh

D'lish

100 mile diet

Vegetarians of Alberta

food co-op



http://www.doodle.com/vdz2cdt4xkh36ydn





Energy Topic (solar, wind power, solar hot water, bio-diesel)

Examples of groups that would fit here (if you are in this list you still need to sign up for a time slot):

Off the Grid

Trimline Design

Gordon Howell

Earth Friendly Electric

Gaia Energies Ltd



http://www.doodle.com/r4ek6vayzdczee3c



Housing Topic (Straw bale, Net Zero, retrofit and renovations, Healthy Buildings, LEEDS, Eco-villages, Co-housing, lifestyle audits)

Examples of groups that would fit here (if you are in this list you still need to sign up for a time slot):

Green Alberta

Carbon Busters

Raising Spaces

Net Zero

Saito Kai

Eco-Domestica

Eco-Butler

Village Lifestyles

landscaping



http://www.doodle.com/66ht2uka7ig64724





Health & Wellness Topic (energy healing, nutrition, yoga, massage, coaching, feng shui)

Examples of groups that would fit here (if you are in this list you still need to sign up for a time slot):

Living in Unison

Reiki

economics of happiness

wholistic medicine

sustainable products and services



http://www.doodle.com/cket7kmaaerrb8dt

Michael Shuman - The Whirlwind "Smallmart" Tour

As promised, Michael Shuman was here at the end of February to share his wisdom on Local Economies, and let us know how important it is for the health and prosperity of a community to shop local first.

He was here for 4 presentation, and if you weren't able to make it to a presentation, you are in luck, because he gave us copies of his presentations. You can download them as pdfs from the links below.


Wednesday, Feb 25/09 (2 - 4 pm) - Business Owner Presentation

Thursday, Feb 26/09 (1 - 3 pm) - Economic Development Presentation (Click here for Audio - 17.7 MB)

Thursday, Feb 26/09 (7 - 9:30 pm) - Public Lecture U of A (audio coming)

Announcement! Michael Shuman is coming and doing 2 events!

Business Owners Event

Wednesday, Feb 25th
WHEN: 2:00 – 4:00pm
WHERE: City Arts Center (10943-84 Avenue)
COST: Suggested Donation of $5 - $10

While business tends to be painted as the enemy of the environment and social justice – there is actually a powerful role that local, independent businesses can play that non-profits can’t. The Small Marts can be a much more powerful force for social change than many entrepreneurs realize.

This event includes:
- the often overlooked and underestimated role for small business in developing a sustainable local economy
- examples of what local networks of independent and sustainable businesses have done to create prosperity and social change in their communities
- planning next steps KEO and E-SAGE members can take to develop our own sustainable business network
- networking with other cool, local entrepreneurs

Public Event

When: Thursday, February 26
Time: 7 - 9:30 pm
Where: Telus bldg (87 ave and 111 Street) room #150, at the University of Alberta Campus
Cost: $10 - $20 sliding scale , tickets available at Earths General Store and at the door

Sure - Walmart's an easy target.

So are the rest of the multi-national chain stores.

And buying local is important.

But why?

What do we tell our friends who say, "But Walmart brings in jobs! And
it's lower prices mean that the poor can afford things. Are you
against the poor?"

Come and hear a compelling perspective to address your niggling doubts
and wonderings in the whole "global vs. local" debate.




Michael Shuman: A Voice Leading the Small-Mart Revolution

For the past 25 years, lawyer, author and economist Michael Shuman has been an articulate voice of clarity in the rapidly growing Small-Mart Revolution. He has been taking on the Wal-Mart style Goliaths of multinational, big box chains and championing the local Small-Marts. Over the past 25 years Shuman has given an average of more than one invited talk a week – to universities, cities, legislators, economic development groups, and grassroots groups in nearly a dozen countries.

His work turns traditional ideas around Local Economic Development on their head and systematically challenges the assumptions of old, worn out models to show how we can live greener, more creatively, wealthier, happier and healthier lives by 'going local first'. Think you need to attract a big box store to your community to generate jobs and money?
Think again.

You've probably never heard of him - but his work is recognized as some of the most important written about the role that small, locally-owned business can play in creating a vibrant, local living economy.

He is the vice president for Enterprise Development for the Training and Development Corporation (TDC) of Bucksport, Maine. He has authored, coauthored, and edited seven books, including “The Small Mart Revolution: How Local Businesses are Beating the Global Competition” (Berrett-Koehler, 2006) and “Going Local: Creating Self-Reliant Communities in the Global Age” (Free Press, 1998). The Small-Mart Revolution was just awarded a bronze medal for best business book by the Independent Publishers' Association.

In recent years Shuman has led community-based economic-development efforts in St. Lawrence County (NY), Hudson Valley (NY), Katahdin Region (ME), Martha's Vineyard (MA), and Carbondale (CO). He is currently preparing studies on state business subsidies for the Kellogg Foundation and on global models of local food businesses for the Gates Foundation. He served as a senior editor for the recently published Encyclopedia of Community. And he is a cofounder and active participant in the Business Alliance for Local Living Economies (BALLE) and a founder of Bay Friendly Chicken, a community-owned company located in Salisbury, Maryland.

Shuman received an A.B. with distinction in economics and international relations from Stanford University and a J.D. from
Stanford Law School.

Why support Local independent business?
Because a San Francisco study compared the impact of $1 million spent at a local bookstore VS a national chain and found that just a 10% shift in spending to independent business would result in $192 million in increased economic activity and 1300 new jobs! You don’t have to change WHAT you buy, just WHERE you buy it!

It has been shown that local businesses redistribute about 65 – 75% of their profits in the community, while global businesses only contribute 15% of their profits to the local economy. Therefore, money spent at a local business has 3 times more economic benefit to the local economy than money spent at a global retailer.

A healthy local independent business community is the key to developing a sustainable economy. The City of Edmonton has indicated a keen interest in being a leader in sustainable practices. Take the opportunity to attend a special presentation with Michael Shuman - an expert in developing policies and strategies that encourage sustainable local economies.