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earthfuture.com by Guy Dauncey
To all you newcomers fresh off the bus, plane or beater, looking around our great cities of Vancouver and Victoria, welcome to ecotopia. (aka lala land, land of milk and homegrown)
Can’t you tell you’re in ecotopia? Don’t the cars, smog, consumerism, garbage and postcards of pristine unlogged mountains tell you it’s ecotopia?
Oops! We thought you wouldn’t notice. It’s in our minds, you see, this vision of ecotopia. If you’re careful, you can spot it as you walk down Robson Street, mind reading the people you pass. “Blank, blank, shopping, hotdogs, blank, late for work, blank, blank, ecotopia!” See? You nearly missed her. That middle-aged woman, walking quietly down the sidewalk. There’s another. That 15-year-old, playing hackysack with his friends. They come in all shapes, sizes and ages, our ecotopians.
Inside, they’re dreaming of a world where everyone lives surrounded by clean water, pristine forests and cities that have been transformed into clusters of car-free ecovillages. They dream of forests where there’s no more clearcutting, energy that comes from the sun, wind and tides and oceans where the orcas no longer have PCBs and fire retardants in their bodies. They dream of businesses that are based on ethics and social responsibility. They dream that this land has become magical, that the spirit of nature rules and love and delight fill the air. Inside, they’re pulsing with hope and determination.
Some of our ecotopians live in a lonely world; they think they’re the only ones. Too much of the homegrown, I’d say. For the rest, there are so many projects where people are working to turn their dreams into a reality, it’s hard to know where to begin.
Let me give you a quick tour. In Vancouver, at 227 Abbott Street in Gastown, you’ll find Western Canada Wilderness Committee, where a host of people work to protect our environment; you’ll often find them trail building, or holding vigils in our parks and forests. In Victoria, they’re at 651 Johnson Street. www.wildernesscommittee.org
Over at 2150 Maple Street, you’ll find the Society Promoting Environmental Conservation, where staff and volunteers are busy recycling, stopping pesticide use, protecting the seas and cleaning the air. They’ve also got a great guide to other ecotopian groups.
www.spec.bc.ca/greenpages
If it’s cycling, greenways and transport issues you’re interested in, head over to 822-510 West Hastings, for the offices of Better Environmentally Sound Transportation, where they have big visions of a Vancouver with way fewer cars. In Victoria, bike over to the Greater Victoria Cycling Coalition’s resource centre, at 1056A North Park St., which is the hub for all things spokey. www.best.bc.ca and www.gvcc.bc.ca
Want to join the Car Share Cooperative you’ve heard so much about? Go straight to the Cooperative Auto Network. www.cooperativeauto.net. If it’s Victoria you’re in, check out the Victoria Car Share Coop. www.victoriacarshare.com
Or maybe you’re interested in green buildings, architecture and sustainable communities? Then it’s the EcoDesign Resource Society you’ll be wanting, as your introduction to everything green. www.vcn.bc.ca/edrs
Are you vegan, or vegetarian? No problem. In Vancouver, it’s Earth Save Canada you want, at www.earthsave.bc.ca. It holds monthly organic dine-outs, potlucks and even veggie speed-dating nights. If it’s organic veggie romance you’re after, that’s the group. In Victoria, you’ll find the same with VIVA, the Vancouver Island Vegetarian Association.
www.islandveg.com
Maybe your ecotopia is filled with organic tomatoes and winter greens. Then it’s Farm Folk City Folk you want www.ffcf.bc.ca, or maybe City Farmer, for dirty fingers, cob oven cooking, composting and worms
www.cityfarmer.org. If it’s home delivery of BC’s best organic produce you’re after, then check out Small Potatoes Urban Delivery www.spud.ca. This company is as green as they come.
Is it the vision of wind and tidal energy and the coming solar revolution that fascinates you? Then check out the BC Sustainable Energy Association, dreaming of BC in which all our energy comes from clean, renewable and efficient sources. www.bcsea.org
For environmental information, you’ve made a good start with Common Ground magazine. You could also look at Shared Vision, EcoNews at www.earthfuture.com and the Watershed Sentinel from beautiful Cortes Island
www.watershedsentinel.ca And finally, the people at the David Suzuki Foundation, 219-2211 West 4 Ave. www.davidsuzuki.org and the Sierra Club, with its BC office in Victoria at 304-733 Johnson St. and local groups in Victoria and Vancouver www.bc.sierraclub.ca
That’s just the quickest of introductions. Once you know where to look, you’ll find our province to be an absolute warren of willing wabbits, working away to weave their magic into our province’s soul. Welcome to our spirit world.
Guy Dauncey is an author and futurist who lives in Victoria.
His website is www.earthfuture.com.
He is also president of the new BC Sustainable Energy Association
www.bcsea.org Please see the website for further information.
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