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More on Vancouver’s green guru

September 3rd, 2009 · 9 Comments

I’m not going to post every story on the city’s new enviro deputy city manager, Sadhu Johnston, but the alternative paper Chicago Reader does solid reporting and covers municipal issues seriously, so here’s their take on his time in Chicago.

Categories: Uncategorized

  • Rick

    Hmmmm does Frances have a little whiz-kid crush maybe?

  • Frances Bula

    Yes, and an Olympic village crush and a Burrard Bridge crush and a … oh, I guess it’s just a hot-news-story crush syndrome.

  • Frothingham

    “” It sounds like Johnston may have a much different sort of boss in Vancouver. As the Post-Intelligencer described him: “Mayor Robertson is a biker, hiker and founder of a successful company called Happy Planet that produces organic juices, preaches nutrition and fitness, and supports family farms.” “”

    Oh there is a whole TV comedy season in that description!

  • “Mayor Robertson is a biker, hiker and founder of a successful company called Happy Planet that produces organic juices, preaches nutrition and fitness, and supports family farms.” And no doubt he is sincere. But he is also naive and myopic.

    Greening Vancouver does not address pervasive and much wider issues:

    http://www.polarisinstitute.org/files/TarSandsToxicTrail.pdf

  • Fred

    Great. So based on his impressive track record in Chicago, we can expect a flurry of tree planting and a few more green roofs.

    That should justify his very high salary. It will make me feel so much better with a massive municipal tax hike Gregor & his band of Merry Progressive’s are about to inflict on us.

  • Blaffergassted

    Cathartic, isn’t it?

  • “Greening Vancouver does not address pervasive and much wider issues:”

    Can you outline for us what actions you would expect the mayor of Vancouver (whoever they might be) to take in relation to the Tar Sands? Seems to me it’s a bit out of his/her jurisdiction.

  • Chris,

    Not so much what Mayor Gregor should do but what he should not do: he should not add specious requirements to already over burdened regulations. Focus on necessities: i.e. affordablity.

    He should not entertain a superfluous cycle/pedestrian crossing for reasons well explained in previous posts.

    He should not have taken on the OV debt then instructing his city manager to exhort staff to take unpaid leave of absence because the cupboard is bare.

    He should not take on a deputy CM at an exorbitant salary. I assume it was he who instructed Dr. Ballem. Had the city not taken on OV, VANOC would have had no alternative.

    City council has a pivotal voice on Translink. Make it heard in view of the recently announced game of chicken: higher fares or less service. Less service and he’s talking greening the city! Get as mad as hell on this one . . .

    The city must exert a much stronger voice in land speculation and building development. Regulation is not socialism: it is good development.

    Developers have had the run of the city for far too long. Case in point: NEFC covers multiple titles and ownerships. Ergo it is restricted (so the planner says) in defining a more effective plan than just following the mistakes of FCN.

    Mayor Gregor should tell the planners straight up . . . plan for public space and building relationships the environmental way . . . do your job! That will save more energy than a few green paint dabs.

    Promoting green roofs is grand standing.

    Greening: I dunno, I’ve been in the building business for sixty years: sustainable building is a contradiction in terms. How to reduce the enviro-footprint of a multi storey high rise? Easy, don’t build a multi-storey high rise . . .

    Noise and air pollution are not on the city agenda. Why?

    And the beat goes on Chris . . . I thinq Mayor Gregor is a good guy but well he’s . . . errrrr . . . well . . . a good guy . . .

  • PS Each of the above, separately, are dwarfed by the Tar sands except for reduction in Translink service. Collectively they count.

    Greening as we know it is a drop in the bucket: window dressing.

    But the huge foot-print of developments such as NEFC are not drops in a bucket and they need more than “greening.”

    Indeed, the question arises . . . are such development needed?

    Profit for an off shore developer is not good enough reason and the answer is no . . . and that requires more civic gonads than “green” patches. . . .