Renewing the Sacred Balance
Renewing the Sacred Balance in our Local Communities & Transportation Systems
Renewing the Sacred Balance means reaching out and connecting with others involved in creating healthier local communities. It also means focusing on transportation, the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in Canada – accounting for a quarter of all emissions. What would happen if some of the resources currently devoted to maintaining roads and vehicles could be spent on making our communities better places to live?
Getting Involved in Community Initiatives
Find out if your municipality has a committee working on ecological issues. If so, investigate its work as well as possible ways to become personally involved.
Seek out organisations working on ecological issues at a local level. Find out what kind of work is being done in schools, resident’s associations, and other community groups on ecological issues.
Become involved in the clean up and restoration of places of ecological significance in your area such as rivers, marshes, forests, and ravines.
Investigate local issues related to waste management, air, and water pollution as well as forestry, mining, fisheries, and agriculture. What are the major ecological issues in your community? What is being done about them? How can you or your faith community get involved?
Advocate for a municipal bylaw to ban the use of pesticides on lawns and gardens. Several communities in Quebec have already passed these kinds of bylaws, as has the City of Toronto.
Rethinking Transportation
Whenever possible, walk, bike, or use public transit. If no public transit is available, use a car pool to commute to work. For long-distance travel, choose a train or bus over air or car travel as much as possible.
Advocate for more funding for public transit and bike paths at a local, provincial, and national level as well as further tax incentives for using public transportation.
In your faith community, make sure to provide a safe place for parking bicycles. Organise car-pooling for meetings and religious services.
If you are moving, choose a home within a thirty-minute walk, bike, or transit ride from your daily destinations.
Car Sharing: If you can get by with using a car occasionally, investigate programmes like VrtuCar (Ottawa), AutoShare (Toronto), the Cooperative Auto Network (Vancouver), or the Car Sharing Coop of Edmonton that allow you to share a vehicle with others.
Check the Canadian Government’s Auto Smart ratings for the next car you intend to buy to make sure it’s fuel efficient and low polluting. Buy the smallest vehicle that will meet your needs. Consider the possibility of purchasing a gas/electric hybrid. Ensure that your car is tuned on a regular basis.
Advocate for tax incentives that encourage fuel-efficient cars – for example, a tax on fuel-hungry vehicles used to subsidise gas/electric hybrids. Also, advocate for tighter fuel efficiency standards.
» Next: Campaigns and Initiatives at a National and Global Level
The material on this page was adapted from an article by Mark Hathaway originally published in the April 2004 edition of Scarboro Missions magazine's special issue on "Renewing the Sacred Balance."