Rapidly growing outlying communities, exasperated congestion, complex traffic challenges - coupled with the role of vehicle carbon emissions in climate change - have led to the need for long-term sustainable transportation planning in the Greater Victoria of British Columbia region. Using an exploratory mixed methods approach that employed a literature review, an on-line survey, interviews and the partaking of a personal transportation journey, this study examined the views of Greater Victoria residents regarding the implementation of a Victoria - Green Road Inner Duct (VIC-G.R.I.D.) network of roads as a way to address regional sustainable transportation needs. The study showed positive support from the residents with an approval rating of 81%, and described barriers, motivators and concerns identified by the residents (i.e., potential increase in congestion, funding, and resistance to change). The study results will inform policy development and planning of publicly and politically acceptable transportation strategies in the Greater Victoria region.

This research focuses on the academic programs at the Centre for Sustainable Food Systems at UBC Farm (the Farm). The Farm is a centre for sustainability learning and research, providing a working model of sustainable food systems with which to engage students, faculty and community. The Farm is situated within the global context of a dominant industrial food paradigm that is demonstrated to be a major contributor to the social and ecological crises the world now faces. The Farm is further situated within the context of a dominant education paradigm that provides most students with knowledge that is disconnected from social and ecological realities, leading to the misuse of knowledge and to the exacerbation of global crises. The purpose of this research is to explore the contributions that the Farm’s academic programs provide toward advancing sustainability learning from the perspective of program participants, including myself. The research methodology was guided by participatory approaches to research. Qualitative methods were employed, focusing primarily on surveys and semi-structured interviews with program participants. I have also been an involved participant in a diversity of programs at the Farm from April 2004 – December 2008. The results of the research suggest that program participants value the ability to engage with their subject matter, not only on an abstract/theoretical level, but also on practical and affective levels. Participants feel that UBC is lacking in programs that allow students to engage physically and emotionally with their learning. Students feel their knowledge will be better recalled and more likely to be useful if they care about what they are learning, if they can engage with it in a real world context, and if they have some ownership and responsibility for what they are learning. Further, program participants feel that the Farm’s academic programs would benefit from providing more theoretical context and connection to their other academic work, from additions and improvements to Farm infrastructure and resources, and from additional human resources support. This research project was site specific. Nevertheless, it connects with and complements work being done at dozens of universities, colleges and student farms around the world.

<p> As cities grew throughout the past century, the availability of locally grown food declined, mostly because urban expansion occurred at the expense of adjacent agricultural land. As a result, city dwellers turned to commercial food market systems that import food from distant production areas. Private greenspace, which is one of the largest land cover types in cities, offers the potential for substantial agricultural production. Because urban food production on private land, such as backyards, requires the willing participation of landowners, resident&rsquo;s feelings about and experience with food growing are important to understand.</p><p> This study examined the demographic differences between food growers and non-food growers with respect to their attitudes and perspectives about backyard food growing. The positive associations, the problems and barriers residents encountered, and the resources they needed to begin food gardening, were identified through questionnaires and in-depth interviews administered to study participants in Palm Beach County, Florida, U.S.A. The demographic groups that were most likely to food garden were those in long-term relationships, higher income brackets, those with college education and residents over 50 years old. Incentives and programs focused on producing more from existing gardens may be most appropriate for people in these demographic groups, while other groups will most require basic food growing information. Study participants highly valued intangible benefits of food gardening (e.g., relaxation, feelings of happiness and satisfaction), often more than the provision of food. Most barriers and problems with backyard food growing, such as a lack of space and the need for gardening information, were similar for those who food garden and those who do not.</p><p> Results from this study indicate that traditional agricultural incentives and perspectives must be rethought if they are to be applied in urban settings. The practice of backyard food gardening, which can be a significant part of sustainable urban agriculture, must be viewed and valued beyond the framework of market commodities and economics. By creating incentives and initiatives that reflect the needs and challenges faced by urban growers, urban agriculture will become an integrated part of the community, improving food quantity and quality while enriching residents&rsquo; lives.</p>

<p> This dissertation suggests that the greening of the corporate governance mechanisms&mdash;meaning efforts to tie executive compensation to environmental targets (incentive) and to enhance board responsibility over environmental performance (monitoring)&mdash;induces managers to comply with pressures to lower toxic emissions in the U.S. high polluting industries.</p><p> Although emphasis has been placed on the benefits of greater use of both incentive and monitoring mechanisms to improve corporate environmental performance, there is little consideration given to the potential costs associated with their implementation. I argue that mechanisms of incentive in the form of environmental compensation may serve as substitute of mechanisms of monitoring by the environmental board committee.</p><p> However, contrary to my expectations, results show that incentive and monitoring are positively associated. Nonetheless, I suggest that these mechanisms are most effective in improving environmental performance when adopted under specific circumstances of environmental risk. I found that the existence of environmental compensation is positively associated with firms' environmental risk. Furthermore, there is weak evidence showing that environmental board committees are more prevalent in firms that face conditions of moderate environmental risk.</p><p> This dissertation employs a panel regression model with random-effects. The sample consists of the S&amp;P500 firms that are required to report toxic emissions to the Toxic Release Inventory, years 2006 to 2011. Data was collected from proxy statements, annual reports, and various other databases.</p>

Microalgae refer to a kind of autotrophic microorganism with rich nutrition and high photosynthetic utilization degree, which are widely living in the sea and land. Microalgae can be converted into bio energy such as biogas, biodiesel and bio oil. This thesis presents a review on the different cultivation methods and energy conversion techniques of microalgae. Through comparison with other biomass feedstocks, the advantages and disadvantages of microalgae are detailed. Since the large scale of microalgae bioenergy production has not been achieved yet, the commercial production requirements and the sustainability of microalgae are analysed. As a result, high lipid content, less cultivated land use and short life time circle are thought to be the typical advantages of microalgae that it can be considered as a potential substitute of fossil fuel.

A constellation of challenges, including changing family types and shrinking household size, housing affordability, and ecological impact, can be addressed through a different approach to private dwelling. These are widespread challenges, but the challenges of affordability and changing demographics are acutely present in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, making it a fertile site to explore these issues. The thesis design addresses this constellation of challenges by adding layers of shared space to individual dwellings. The design draws from cohousing: common houses with shared facilities, parking at the periphery, massing the buildings around pedestrian circulation, and creating shared outdoor spaces. Cohousing is hybridized with a “big house” idea which puts dwellings for three to five families in a single building, where the main rooms are shared by all. Through these features the design encourages a sense of community, while taking advantage of shared facilities to improve affordability and reduce environmental impact.

Sustainable urban parks provide social and economical benefits to the residents and contribute to the urban ecosystem health. Municipalities are responsible for development and management of urban parks and the goal of this study was to better understand if, and why, the municipalities in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) have utilized sustainable development strategies in the planning, design, construction and management for their new park projects. A qualitative study utilizing an in-depth interview format was created based on the principles of sustainable development compiled from the Sustainable Sites Initiative. A sample of four municipalities in the GTA was selected based on population and development growth and the park authorities were contacted. The results indicated few sustainable initiatives implemented in the design and management stages of park development. Understanding the constraints against these suggest that there may be potential to increase the sustainability of urban parks. / The Goal of this thesis was to explore if, and why, the municipalities in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) have or have not adopted sustainable development strategies in planning, design, construction and management of their new parks.

The focus of this research is the life story of Merve Wilkinson whose practice as ecoforester and educator sustains and promotes ecological knowledge and responsibility. Using the method of narrative inquiry I explore Wilkinson's meanings, self-understandings, influences, actions and values as he reflected on the development of his sustainability philosophy, his practice of sustainability education, and his vision of education for the future. This research documents his education philosophy that shows insight into the meanings, structures and essences of sustainability education. Four key areas of reform in education emerged: early childhood personal experience with nature to nurture the sense of wonder, caring for nature, and connection with the natural world; adults/teachers share with their students their knowledge, feelings, and actions that demonstrate responsible environmental behaviours; the wisdom of historical knowledge and practical skills is honoured; a long-range vision is developed that integrates environmental values with a tradition of democratic participation.

Environmentalism, like any other noteworthy social movement, has been met with some resistance. Opposition to this movement has come both from the general public and from organized anti-environmental groups. The closeness, or lack thereof, between the organized groups' messages and those of the public has yet to be clearly defined. Given that organized groups are often more capable of getting their message out to a larger audience, it is important to know to what extent the thoughts and ideas they put forward are representative of those of the public. Without examining this relationship, responding to anti-environmental sentiment in the public will be difficult.In an effort to understand opposition towards environmentalism in the general public, this project examined the blogosphere. Anti-environmental weblog (blog) postings were subjected to a content analysis in order to reveal common themes present within them. The specific focus of the analysis was on the manner in which environmentalism was portrayed by its opponents, as opposed to points of factual disagreement. Comparisons were then made to the arguments of the organized anti-environmentalism factions, and a more complete picture of the opposition toward environmentalism was constructed. From this basis, recommendations for a response to anti-environmental sentiment from leaders in the area of sustainable development were given.

Global awareness of environmental issues such as climate change and resource depletion has grown dramatically in recent years. As a result, there has been a surge of interest in developing alternative building techniques and materials which are capable of meeting our structural needs with lower energy and material consumption. These technologies are particularly attractive for housing. Much of the global demand for housing is currently being driven by economic growth in developing countries. Additionally, natural disasters such as the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami have destroyed houses in many countries where limited economic wealth makes reconstruction a challenge. This has resulted in shortages of permanent housing in these areas. This thesis explores the structural behaviour of earthbag housing under vertical compressive loading, in an attempt to broaden our quantitative understanding of this alternative building technique. Furthermore, this technique is assessed, along with other alternative construction techniques, for suitability in southern Sri Lanka, an area heavily damaged by the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. It was determined that the compressive strength of unplastered earthbag housing specimens meets or exceeds the vertical compressive strength of conventional stud-frame housing technology using a variety of fill materials, with the greatest strength being observed for soil-filled bags. Furthermore, the results of observational research from a site visit to Sri Lanka in 2006, combined with resource availability data and interviews with Sri Lankan citizens, suggest that earthbag housing is a very promising technique for housing construction in the southern coastal region. / Thesis (Master, Civil Engineering) -- Queen's University, 2008-09-10 16:29:45.005