Strocel.com | Metro Vancouver Sustainability

I recently read through Metro Vancouver‘s Sustainability Report, released in January. It was interesting. The highlights are contained in numerous graphs and charts, so don’t let the 47 pages scare you off. In fact, I might not have even read much of the text myself.

Anyhow, I thought I would share some of the highlights with you. Here are some things that I found interesting:

- Between 1991 and 2006 the population increased from 1.6 million to 2.1 million (I contributed, since I grew up just outside the regional district and moved inside the boundaries in 1994)
- The average number of people in a household has held steady at 2.6 since 1991
- 40% of residents were born outside of Canada, 18% were born outside of BC, and 42% are native British Columbians
- English is spoken in 58% of homes in the region, and Chinese dialects are next with 15%
- 74% of Vancouverites drink tap water
- Levels of PCBs in the watershed are falling, but PDBEs are increasing
- 41% of waste from single-family homes is recycled, compared to 22% from multi-family dwellings and 71% from construction
- The amount of solid waste we generate increases every year
- The average commute has decreased from 7.7km in 1996 to 7.4km in 2006
- 67.3% of commuters use single occupancy vehicles, down from 70.6% in 1996
- 43% of diesel emissions come from marine vessels, 41% from construction, industrial and commercial equipment, 8% from trains, and 8% from motor vehicles
- Emissions of air contaminants and particulates are decreasing, but ozone is increasing
- Rental housing vacancy rates in 2008 were at 0.5%, compared to a healthy rental market benchmark of 2.5%
- In 2002 there were 788 homeless living in shelters and 333 living on the streets, in 2008 there were 1086 in shelters and 1574 on the streets
- 66% of greenhouse gas emissions come from motor vehicles and heating
- 13% of greenhouse gas emissions come from cement plants (apparently many plants are coal powered, and breaking down limestone also releases a lot of carbon)
- Our regional target is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 33% from 2005 levels by 2020
- From 1986 to 2002 the amount of tree canopy increased slightly, from 45.8% to 46.3% of total land area
- Between 1996 and 2006 the amount of land dedicated to growing berries, vegetables, nursery crops, greenhouse crops, poultry and eggs, and bee colonies increased
- The amount of land dedicated to cattle and other livestock decreased
- The total amount of farmland increased slightly, from 39,676 hectares to 41,035 hectares
- Between 1987 and 2007 the unemployment rate dropped steadily from just under 12% to just under 4% (although I’m sure it’s increased since then)
- Per capita energy use was relatively stable between 2000 and 2007, and total energy use declined
- Between ’96/’97 and ’06/’07 the average life expectancy increased from 79.4 to 82.3 years

I don’t really know what to make of all this information. Some of it seems good, some of it displays a definite need for improvement, and some is just interesting. In any case, I really enjoyed learning all of this stuff about the place that I live. I hope you did too.