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Adventure Traveler Garry Sowerby in his own words:
Monday, October 18, 2004
The Parallel Hybrid Pickup and Nanaimo, British Columbia
Environmental Initiative #81
The
Parallel Hybrid Pickup Truck
There has been a moment or two during every single initiative
Mission Green has visited when it happens. We call it the Green
Beam, the little smile. And we've seen it when someone talks about
how they've insulated their straw bale house, when the idea hit
for a geo-thermal heating unit to heat their hotel, how a plan
to protect an endangered species is working or when speaking of
an off-the-wall comment that evolved into an energy-saving reality.
We've realized when people are doing something good for the environment,
somewhere along the line, that little smile surfaces.
Over the past 10 weeks I have developed a little Green Beam of
my own, mostly when I'm driving the Chevrolet Hybrid pickup. It's pretty
well guaranteed when I'm stopping at a traffic light, a stop sign
or at times when I pull over to jot down a note or check directions
scrawled in my day planner.
When coming to a stop, at about 10 km/h, the tachometer drops
to zero, the oil pressure gauge, too, as the engine shuts down.
Then the parallel hybrid system, which recharges by a regenerative
braking system, takes over to run the accessories, the power steering
and power brakes. The truck's 290-horsepower V-8 engine enables
it to do anything a conventional pickup is required to do. It can
tow, haul or carry the same capacities, it just doesn't like to
idle. A 15% fuel efficiency improvement is icing on the cake.
If there are other vehicles around me at a traffic light and I
can hear their engines running, the smile gets a little broader.
Sometimes I imagine what life in Canada would be like if all cars
and trucks had a system that basically took idling engines out
of the environmental impact equation.
It is commendable for some auto companies to have taken fuel efficient
cars and made them even more so. It is also commendable to start
at the other end of the spectrum which is what GM did. In fact
their first hybrid system is the Allison hybrid bus drive that
is being sold in major municipalities around North America, providing
savings of about 11,000 litres of fuel per year per bus.
GM's hybrid offerings do not require customers to sacrifice utility
for fuel savings and are focused on where they will have the greatest
impact, on high volume vehicles like the pickup truck that has
serviced the needs of Mission Green so well.
The system has worked exactly as it should have. From time to
time the truck carried straw, a load of sneakers, recycled building
materials and a pile of compost. The vehicle that safely transported
our butts across the country has been a focal point with the people
who have hosted us at the environmental initiatives as well as
the curious folk we've met at restaurants, hotels and roadside
attractions.
In fact the only problem we've had with the hybrid pickup is getting
our Bill Rumsey from out behind the wheel so that someone else
could have a crack at it once and a while!
So with all the Green Beams, new friends and fuel we have saved
if getting Bill out from behind the wheel is the only down side,
then our hybrid pickup rightly deserves to be Mission Green's #
81.
Environmental Initiative #82
Georgia Strait Alliance,
Nanaimo, British Columbia
The islands across the harbour look like they
are within stone-skipping distance. They must be funky and groovy
places to live as evidenced by the number of houses that dot
the shores of the numerous islands. They have magical names like
Gabriola, Newcastle and Protection. And far in the distance,
across the Georgia Strait, the dark presence is there, almost
a mirage rising out of the ocean. the mainland.
We're standing with Peter Ronald, Cathy Booler and Pat Nordin
of the Georgia Strait Alliance in Nanaimo on Pioneer Plaza, overlooking
their domain, the 10,400 square kilometre body of water that they
and many others have been working so hard for the past 15 years
to protect.
The very things that bring so many people to settle around the
Georgia Strait, the sandy beaches, the steep cliffs, the deep fjords
and the diversity and rich abundance of wildlife, are the very
things that are in danger of disappearing or are being irrevocably
damaged.
Described in 1970 by Parks Canada as one of the world's most spectacularly
beautiful and ecologically rich areas is, a mere 30 years later,
the most at-risk natural environment in Canada.
The reason for this perilous situation is the sheer number of
humans that live, play and depend on this ecosystem. There are
few other ecosystems anywhere, of such richness and complexity,
which are surrounded by so many people. Almost 3 million people
now live around the Strait and this is expected to increase to
3.6 million by 2010.
By the late 1980s, the ill effects of the pulp and paper industry
that boomed on Vancouver Island had become quite obvious in the
sharp decline of herons, eagles, fish and orcas, once thriving
in the Georgia Strait, are now listed as endangered in Canada with
just 84 individuals remaining.
The Georgia Strait Alliance was founded in 1990 with a goal to
protect and restore the marine environment and promote sustainability
of Georgia Strait, its adjoining waters and communities. The Alliance
tackles the full range of issues that affect the Strait, issues
like habitat protection, conservation of wild salmon, marine species
at risk, marine biodiveristy and pollution. There are offices in
Victoria and Vancouver as well.
Peter describes what the Alliance does as a
conspiracy of conservation, finding the delicate and inseparable
balance in promoting best practices that will benefit commercial,
industrial, residential, recreational and economic interests.
What the Alliance is doing is helping to teach industry that
thinking in different ways and changing the status quo are not
bad things. As Jean Crowder, MP for Nanaimo-Cowichan maintains, " "Diversification
is not only an economic driver but also a means to sustainable
development."
The GSA story is one of achievement. The Alliance has raised the
profile of marine species at risk and helped kick-start government
process to address conservation. They've helped win an upgrade
of two Lower Mainland sewage treatment plants to secondary treatment.
They've rallied the community in Victoria to address the long-dormant
issue of raw sewage.
Their Guide to Green Boating is available at
hundreds of marinas around the Strait of Georgia. And their hands-on
approach to educating the public on how to minimize impact is
evident in the number of volunteers, or the 'gumboot brigade'
as Peter fondly calls them, that have rallied to the cause and
practice intertidal monitoring and marine stewardship on their
own local beaches.
A lot of environment news is negative by necessity. The problems
are out there, have been for a long time and are urgent. The Georgia
Strait Alliance and the achievements they have accomplished are
part of the positive story.
Many more humans are required to take action but people like Peter,
Cathy and Pat, inspiring others with knowledge, information and
concrete solutions, reassure us that something is being
done.
There is still much work to be done and communication
must be ongoing in order to get the message of the GSA out there.
Mission Green feels inspired. we want to help in a tangible way. hmmm,
imagine if there were a soap box around. but wait there is, Peter
informs us!
Speakers Corner, here we come!
http://www.GeorgiaStrait.org
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