Author Archives: vincevt

Living in Canada with a federal government that seems to deny the effects of climate change, it can be a bit difficult to see any hope for the future.  The premise of books such as Andrew Nikiforuk’s Tar Sands doesn’t show … Continue reading →

Sustainable development is perhaps akin to the development of the internet, according to Chris Turner, author of The Geography of Hope.  In this book, he makes the comparison of the early days of the internet in the 1970’s & 80’s … Continue reading →

In class last week, we watched Annie Leanard’s “The Story of Stuff”.  If you haven’t yet seen this short film, it’s highly recommended, and may make you think about the high cost of low prices.  I think what this little … Continue reading →

The world’s population has become increasing urban over the last few generations, leading to vast social implications.  One hundred years ago, 45% of Canada’s population lived in urban centres, now 80% of Canada’s population are city dwellers (link).  Our major … Continue reading →

Society’s energy needs have evolved substantially over the past few centuries.  Or, has society developed according to the energy resources available to it?  At any rate, the importance of energy to humanity can’t be overlooked, especially heading in to a … Continue reading →

Today, we are going to deal with the question of over-population versus over-consumption and attempt to answer which is more responsible for the challenges we face in today’s world.  There are many points to be made on each side of … Continue reading →

I’m currently finishing my degree at Royal Roads University, a small university located on a historic site (http://www.hatleypark.ca/) in a suburb of Victoria, BC.  A couple weeks ago in class, we enjoyed a number of guest speakers, describing sustainability efforts … Continue reading →

This is an interesting time to be writing about the costs of not taking action towards a more sustainable future.  The news cycle this past week has featured major flooding in Queensland, Australia, massive landslides near Rio de Janeiro (link) … Continue reading →

In our Sustainable Development class at Royal Roads University, this is what I wrote when we were asked to define “sustainable development”: “Sustainability is an attempt to bring balanced thinking into the ways in which we organize our society.  Instead … Continue reading →