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Setting the path for sustainability

Guy Dauncey takes a positive approach to environmental issues What: Passion for the Earth: Visions of a Sustainable Future, with author Guy Dauncey Where: Telus Conference Centre When: Wednesday, Feb. 18 at 7 p.m.

Guy Dauncey takes a positive approach to environmental issues

What: Passion for the Earth: Visions of a Sustainable Future, with author Guy Dauncey

Where: Telus Conference Centre

When: Wednesday, Feb. 18 at 7 p.m.

Reading the papers, it’s easy to get a sense that the global environment is deteriorating quickly and that there’s little that individuals can do to stop worst case scenarios from coming true.

"Our children have been immersed in negative environmental news for so long by the people of my generation that their whole attitude towards nature it that we’re screwed, it’s all hopeless," said Guy Dauncey, a writer, speaker and consultant, as well as a leader in B.C.’s sustainability movement.

"First of all, I don’t believe that’s true, that it’s all hopeless. If we start to believe that then we really are all sunk, but there’s still a lot we can do – (the sustainability movement) is just getting started."

Dauncey will speak in Whistler next week as part of the Sustainability Speaker Series, which is hosted by Whistler. It’s Our Nature and the Whistler Centre for Sustainability.

Dauncey believes that there are positive environment stories to report as well as negative stories, and that the success of the sustainability movement ultimately depends on keeping the dialogue positive and our hopes for the future alive – at the end of the day, he says, the future is up to us.

"People are delighted that I’m putting a positive spin on everything," said Dauncey.

"It’s almost a (Winston) Churchill-ian approach to things (on the eve of the Second World War)… to say that success is really the only possible strategy we can imagine.

"I take the same approach with the environment. I’m aware of how awful the news is for most people, but really the only possible stance for us to take is to stand up and visualize the future now, and to aim for complete success."

In addition to being positive, Dauncey’s approach to sustainability is also practical, focusing on proven technologies and processes that are already in use around the world that individuals, companies and communities can readily adopt.

"It’s part new, and part old. You can’t get more high-tech than solar voltaic lightning and you can’t get more low-tech than growing vegetables in your own backyard," said Dauncey.

Dauncey has written three books on the subject to date, and is collaborating on a fourth.

His first book is called After the Crash: The Emergence of the Rainbow Economy , which was originally published in 1988 and is in its third printing with updated sections. The book takes a look at the different measures that companies and communities took in the wake of a recession and stock market crash to protect themselves in the future. A lot of their solutions involved building and supporting sustainable local economies that are isolated from the world market, which is an important facet of the sustainability movement.

The second book, a collection of short stories, was called Earthfuture: Stories from a Sustainable World .

Dauncey believes that it’s important for us to picture just how a sustainable society will look and function in the future if we are to ever achieve true sustainability – "You start with the vision," he said, "and work backwards."

Every fictional story in Earthfuture addresses a different aspect of sustainability, and wraps up with a non-fictional look at the issues discussed.

"At the end of each story I give examples of where this is happening in the world today – this isn’t just pie in the sky stuff, this is really happening," said Dauncey.

His most recent book is Stormy Weather: 101 Solutions to Global Climate Change , in which Dauncey addresses what he sees as the most critical social, environmental and economic issue of our time.

"The main focus of my work is global climate change, and it’s pretty scary stuff," said Dauncey.

"Just the other week the first big study by conservation biologists at the University of Liverpool came out. They analyzed temperatures as they are expected to increase up to 2050, and analyzed different biological hotspots where there’s a real richness of species. They basically came to the conclusion that the way things are going we’re going to see a million species of land-based animals and plans extinct – between 18 per cent and 37 per cent of species by 2050.

"That’s the kind of thing that really motivates me," said Dauncey.

"The flipside is that with every new announcement of more bad news, somebody wakes up in the morning and says ‘OK, it’s time to change my life, or it’s time my business started to do things differently, it’s time that our community did things differently.’ The key is to point people towards the alternatives out there, and show them it can work."

The town of Whistler and local businesses can easily adopt a lot of the same technologies and strategies that have worked elsewhere, says Dauncey.

"In my presentation I will focus on success stories around neighbourhoods, around housing, food production, health care…. Around building independent local economies, around transportation. I’m not going to say what Whistler should do – that’s up to the community to decide, but I can give you examples from around the world of communities that are doing some really exciting things."

To pass the test, a sustainable technology or process has to be viable economically, socially and environmentally, says Dauncey. In addition, it must be inclusive – applying equally to people as well as to other species.

The problem, he says, is that the concept of sustainability has been overused and watered down over the years to the point where it can mean almost anything.

"Everything is sustainable these days. People talk about a sustainable business and they think it means that they’re just getting their bills paid on time," said Dauncey.

"What that tells me is that the definition of sustainability is very weak and this is a core problem – some believe it means ‘buy today in such a way that future generations can still buy tomorrow’. And it only refers to humans. We’re not the only species on the planet."

Dauncey has come up with his own definition of sustainability over the years that he believes is more inclusive.

"Sustainability is a condition of existence which enables the present generation of humans and other species to enjoy social well-being, a vibrant economy and a healthy environment, and to experience fulfilment, beauty and joy without compromising the ability of future generations of humans and other species to enjoy the same."

Although there is still a long way to go before we can achieve sustainability, Dauncey is encouraged by a number of emerging trends.

One success story that has been the most dramatic, he says, is in the construction industry with the move towards LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Certifications.

"The latest analysis to come out of California is that yes, it is more efficient. For an extra $4 a square foot to build a LEED building, you need $40 per square foot in benefits, and that’s what we’re seeing happening. About 90 per cent of the benefit is coming from decreased absenteeism and increased productivity. Another nine per cent came from reduced energy bills and one per cent from reduced water bills."

Other success stories have to do with specific technologies, says Dauncey. For example, while acting as a consultant to build a new restaurant, brewpub and whole food store in Tofino, Dauncey discovered a new range hood for restaurants that cuts energy consumption in half. In the U.S. the payback for purchasing the hood is about two years, and in B.C., where energy prices are low, there’s an estimated four-year payback.

"There’s so much smart technology out there that is good for your bottom line. If you can save all this money in the long run, why wouldn’t you do this? The same thing can be said for low-flow urinals, or compact fluorescent bulbs," said Dauncey.

While positive action is a good way to get the attention of the public without scaring them away, Dauncey still believes that negative campaigning is still effective and will always have a role in the progressive community. He pointed to the recent decision by Citibank Group to stop financing companies that destroy rain forests after four years of intense protests by the San Francisco-based Rainforest Action Network. Encouraged by their success with Citibank, RAN has since expanded its protest to include nine other banks while endorsing the changes at Citibank.

"The activist movement is making great headway," he said. "They are really getting industry to sit down at the table and discuss things like (forest industry) certification.

"That said, we need them both together – the activist side to get them to sit at that table, and the more positive sustainable side to actually do the sitting down and hammer out solutions where everybody can win."

In addition to writing books, Dauncey writes a regular column for Common Ground magazine, publishes the monthly EcoNews newsletter on Vancouver Island, and is a frequent public speaker.

Dauncey is also a consultant, and is spearheading a series of books modelled on Stormy Weather: 101 Solutions to Global Climate Change . Called the Solutions Project, Dauncey is collaborating with authors and experts to create a series of 25 research books between now and 2012 with answers to complex issues. The next title Dauncey is working on, helping out lead author Liz Armonstrong of the Women’s Environmental Health Network, is called The Cancer Explosion: 101 Solutions to a Preventable Epidemic .

For more information on Guy Dauncey or any of his ongoing projects, visit www.earthfuture.com, or catch his presentation at the Telus Conference Centre on Wednesday, Feb. 18 at 7 p.m.

For more information on Whistler. It’s Our Nature , visit www.whistleritsournature.ca.