welcome

With the devastation that is happening in the Gulf of Mexico, this month we are focusing on the different ways in which the use of fossil fuel is affecting our oceans. We’ll also offer some suggestions on how we all can reduce the demand for oil.

One Day is a City of Vancouver initiative that encourages residents to take small actions in their daily lives to use less energy at home and on the move, to help protect the climate, and to make Vancouver the cleanest, greenest, healthiest city in the world.

actions this month

Consider your consumption. BP and other oil companies drill because there is a demand for products made from oil, such as plastics, detergents, fertilizers, medicines, paints, lubricants, synthetic fibres, synthetic rubber, fuel, etc. By consuming less and choosing non-petroleum based alternatives, you not only reduce greenhouse gas emissions but also the impacts and hazards associated with extracting, refining, and transporting oil.

Need some more motivation? Watch The Story of Stuff by the same Annie Leonard whose The Story of Bottled Water was featured in our April enews.

Reduce your fossil fuel use by participating in Bike Month. Here’s an idea: check out the Dunsmuir Viaduct and new cycling lanes on Dunsmuir Street, scheduled to open June 15.

Photo credit: BP p.I.c.

in your city

Help make Vancouver the greenest city in the world by 2020. As a kick-off to the Greenest City 2020 public consultation, the City of Vancouver is partnering with UBC and the highly successful and dynamic Pecha Kucha series for an evening of thought-provoking, six-minute presentations guaranteed to stimulate thought, discussion and action.

Walk the Talk - Green Your City on June 23, 7pm, at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre. Tickets: $10. Purchase online.

Join us on Twitter and Facebook.

oceans changed by climate

In addition to the threat of oil spills, the demand for fossil fuels is contributing to ocean acidification – yet another result of climate change. This phenomenon, already detectable in field studies, is decreasing the ability of many marine organisms to build their shells and skeletal structure.

To find out more about what changing acidity of the oceans means to its inhabitants, check out what David Suzuki has to say or watch the compelling 20-minute video Global Challenge of Ocean Acidification by the Natural Resources Defense Council, narrated by Sigourney Weaver.

For a short story, watch either ABC News’s Nature’s Edge Notebook or ScienCentral.

your food

Diving right into sustainable food choices from the sea, here are two great resources:

1. Vancouver Aquarium’s Ocean Wise program works directly with restaurants, markets, food services and suppliers to provide scientific information about seafood and to help them make ocean-friendly buying decisions. While dining out at a participating restaurant, look for the Ocean Wise symbol beside the seafood dishes listed on the menu.
2. The Seafood WATCH app conveniently rates different fish and seafood right on your iPhone.

For deeper consideration, check out the 2009 award winning documentary The Cove, which exposes the slaughter of dolphins and porpoises off of Japan’s coast every year, and how their meat, containing toxic levels of mercury, is being sold as food in Asia, often labelled as whale meat.

Don’t forget that farmers market season is now upon us. Check out a few options to enjoy our local fare:

UBC Farm (Vancouver’s last working farm)
Vancouver’s Farmers Markets
Slow Food Cycle Tours
Community Garden Waking Tour (self guided)

One Day wonders

This month’s wonders are Grant and Jenny and their roommate Rhyannon; three Vancouverites who decided to live without waste! Beginning Canada Day 2008, this trio pledged to try to not buy more “stuff” and produce landfill waste for one year. This meant not buying clothing or DVDs, make-up or iPods, fancy running shoes, shiny headbands or duct tape, plastic patio lanterns, Saran Wrap or handmade pottery mugs…you get the point. From this idea, grew the Clean Bin Project. Visit their website to find out why and how they did it, the rules they lived by and more by viewing their documentary.

know someone...

… who sails, surfs, dives, deep-sea fishes or otherwise enjoys the oceans? Forward them this e-mail, they’ll love One Day.

New readers, sign-up here.

did you know...

….that there are two highly concentrated garbage patches in the Pacific Ocean, each the size of Texas? In ocean gyres, petroleum-based plastics outweigh plankton six to one, and as a result, are being ingested throughout the food chain. Watch Trash on the Spin Cycle by Jean-Michel Cousteau to find out more.

what's happening

Urban Bike Fair
Jun 15, 11:30-2:30
Come check out the latest in urban bicycles. While you’re there, ride the new two-way separated bike lane on Dunsmuir St. for an easier and safer connection to work, shop or visit downtown.

Point Grey Fiesta
Jun 19, 11-4pm
Experience carnival rides, midway games, fiesta entertainment and children’s activities. See Laura from the City to find out more about the LiveSmart BC incentives and the Greenest City initiative.

Car Free Drivefest
Jun 20, 11-4pm
You are invited to fill the street with spontaneous local culture. Come on out and enjoy your new public space. Locations include: Kitsilano, Main St., the West End, and Commercial Drive.

Sustainability Breakfast
Jun 30, 7:30-9am
LOOK UP TOPIC AFTER JUNE 2. Register online.

Bike Month
every June
Join thousands of cyclists and participate in bike events celebrating cycling as fun, healthy, inspiring, and a great way to get around throughout Metro Vancouver.

Check out the One Day events calendar for more sustainability related events happening in and around Vancouver.

in the media

BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is U.S. biggest environmental disaster
Environmentalists mapping a greener future
In the belly of the whale
Oil, Inertia and the Energy Quest (Rocky Mountain Institute)
Can't stop the spill, stop us
United Nations identify meat eaters as warming the planet
Cruise ship industry needs better waste-control standards
The numbers say it all: Canada is a climate-change miscreant
Feds to put price on Canada's nature
Building cars with 'what we can grow'
Hybrid airplane runs on 100 percent algae fuel
Worst retreat of Arctic sea ice in thousands of years: study
Nokia releases bicycle-powered chargers
Obama: End dependence on fossil fuels
U-pass program extended to all Metro Vancouver post-secondary students

Check out the One Day media section for more climate change related news.


June 2010 Hello! welcome With the devastation that is happening in the Gulf of Mexico, this month we are focusing on the different ways in which the use of fossil fuel is affecting our oceans. We’ll also offer some suggestions on how we all can reduce the demand for oil. One Day is a City of Vancouver initiative that encourages residents to take small actions in their daily lives to use less energy at home and on the move, to help protect the climate, and to make Vancouver the cleanest, greenest, healthiest city in the world. actions this month Consider your consumption. BP and other oil companies drill because there is a demand for products made from oil, such as plastics, detergents, fertilizers, medicines, paints, lubricants, synthetic fibres, synthetic rubber, fuel, etc. By consuming less and choosing non-petroleum based alternatives, you not only reduce greenhouse gas emissions but also the impacts and hazards associated with extracting, refining, and transporting oil. Need some more motivation? Watch The Story of Stuff by the same Annie Leonard whose The Story of Bottled Water was featured in our April enews. Reduce your fossil fuel use by participating in Bike Month. Here’s an idea: check out the Dunsmuir Viaduct and new cycling lanes on Dunsmuir Street, scheduled to open June 15. Photo credit: BP p.I.c. in your city Help make Vancouver the greenest city in the world by 2020. As a kick-off to the Greenest City 2020 public consultation, the City of Vancouver is partnering with UBC and the highly successful and dynamic Pecha Kucha series for an evening of thought-provoking, six-minute presentations guaranteed to stimulate thought, discussion and action. Walk the Talk - Green Your City on June 23, 7pm, at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre. Tickets: $10. Purchase online. Join us on Twitter and Facebook. oceans changed by climate In addition to the threat of oil spills, the demand for fossil fuels is contributing to ocean acidification – yet another result of climate change. This phenomenon, already detectable in field studies, is decreasing the ability of many marine organisms to build their shells and skeletal structure. To find out more about what changing acidity of the oceans means to its inhabitants, check out what David Suzuki has to say or watch the compelling 20-minute video Global Challenge of Ocean Acidification by the Natural Resources Defense Council, narrated by Sigourney Weaver. For a short story, watch either ABC News’s Nature’s Edge Notebook or ScienCentral. your food Diving right into sustainable food choices from the sea, here are two great resources: 1. Vancouver Aquarium’s Ocean Wise program works directly with restaurants, markets, food services and suppliers to provide scientific information about seafood and to help them make ocean-friendly buying decisions. While dining out at a participating restaurant, look for the Ocean Wise symbol beside the seafood dishes listed on the menu. 2. The Seafood WATCH app conveniently rates different fish and seafood right on your iPhone. For deeper consideration, check out the 2009 award winning documentary The Cove, which exposes the slaughter of dolphins and porpoises off of Japan’s coast every year, and how their meat, containing toxic levels of mercury, is being sold as food in Asia, often labelled as whale meat. Don’t forget that farmers market season is now upon us. Check out a few options to enjoy our local fare: UBC Farm (Vancouver’s last working farm) Vancouver’s Farmers Markets Slow Food Cycle Tours Community Garden Waking Tour (self guided) One Day wonders This month’s wonders are Grant and Jenny and their roommate Rhyannon; three Vancouverites who decided to live without waste! Beginning Canada Day 2008, this trio pledged to try to not buy more “stuff” and produce landfill waste for one year. This meant not buying clothing or DVDs, make-up or iPods, fancy running shoes, shiny headbands or duct tape, plastic patio lanterns, Saran Wrap or handmade pottery mugs…you get the point. From this idea, grew the Clean Bin Project. Visit their website to find out why and how they did it, the rules they lived by and more by viewing their documentary.	know someone... … who sails, surfs, dives, deep-sea fishes or otherwise enjoys the oceans? Forward them this e-mail, they’ll love One Day. New readers, sign-up here. did you know... ….that there are two highly concentrated garbage patches in the Pacific Ocean, each the size of Texas? In ocean gyres, petroleum-based plastics outweigh plankton six to one, and as a result, are being ingested throughout the food chain. Watch Trash on the Spin Cycle by Jean-Michel Cousteau to find out more. what's happening Urban Bike Fair Jun 15, 11:30-2:30 Come check out the latest in urban bicycles. While you’re there, ride the new two-way separated bike lane on Dunsmuir St. for an easier and safer connection to work, shop or visit downtown. Point Grey Fiesta Jun 19, 11-4pm Experience carnival rides, midway games, fiesta entertainment and children’s activities. See Laura from the City to find out more about the LiveSmart BC incentives and the Greenest City initiative. Car Free Drivefest Jun 20, 11-4pm You are invited to fill the street with spontaneous local culture. Come on out and enjoy your new public space. Locations include: Kitsilano, Main St., the West End, and Commercial Drive. Sustainability Breakfast Jun 30, 7:30-9am LOOK UP TOPIC AFTER JUNE 2. Register online. Bike Month every June Join thousands of cyclists and participate in bike events celebrating cycling as fun, healthy, inspiring, and a great way to get around throughout Metro Vancouver. Check out the One Day events calendar for more sustainability related events happening in and around Vancouver. in the media BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is U.S. biggest environmental disaster Environmentalists mapping a greener future In the belly of the whale Oil, Inertia and the Energy Quest (Rocky Mountain Institute) Can't stop the spill, stop us United Nations identify meat eaters as warming the planet Cruise ship industry needs better waste-control standards The numbers say it all: Canada is a climate-change miscreant Feds to put price on Canada's nature Building cars with 'what we can grow' Hybrid airplane runs on 100 percent algae fuel Worst retreat of Arctic sea ice in thousands of years: study Nokia releases bicycle-powered chargers Obama: End dependence on fossil fuels U-pass program extended to all Metro Vancouver post-secondary students Check out the One Day media section for more climate change related news.