A Crack in the Asphalt

In response to the critical issues of Peak Oil and Global Warming, we have been holding informal community meetings in our hometown of Oakville, Ontario, Canada. Our emerging intent is to vision a clear path of action toward sustainable community. In our discussions, we recognize that there is a wealth of information and inspiration here on the internet ~ information that helps shape our understanding and empowers our resolve toward action ~ inspiration that nourishes our hope for a graceful future.

A Crack in the Asphalt is simply a compilation of links to information about Sustainability with a special emphasis on Community and Urban Greening. (Please note that descriptive paragraphs following each link originate from the cited website unless otherwise noted.) From time to time, we will also post notices of upcoming events that may be of local, national or global interest.

For help regarding searching this blog, read this post. For help regarding Google Calendar and how to access the Oakville Post Petroleum Action Committee Calendar, read this post. For a permanent link to any particular post, click on the posting time found in the signature line at the bottom of each post.

We welcome your feedback and any suggestions for new links and/or changes to existing links. Please write to: greensprouts@cogeco.ca . You are also happily invited to post comments in usual blogger fashion.

Thank you for your interest :)

David Suzuki's The Nature of Things presents:
An Interview with Dr. Fernando Funes Sr.
Cuba: The Accidental Revolution

Cuba modeled itself on Green Revolution-style farm economy - enormous production units, using huge quantities of imported chemicals and machinery to produce export crops, while over half of the island's food was imported. In 1989 this model suddenly collapsed and Cubans were left wondering how they would feed themselves.

Dr. Fernando Funes Sr. a researcher at the Pasture and Forage Institute (IIPF) in Havana, and secretary of the Organic Agriculture Group (GAO) of the Cuban Association of Agronomists and Foresters (ACTAF) talks about how Cubans turned towards self-reliance and subsequently developed remarkable acheivements – sustainable farming and alternative medicine.

Environmentalist Elizabeth May to Speak in Oakville

Thursday, August 10, 2006
7:30 - 9:00pm

South Atrium, Oakville Town Hall
1225 Trafalgar Road
Oakville, ON, Canada

Environmentalist, author and Order of Canada recipient Elizabeth May's biography reads:

Elizabeth May is an environmentalist, writer, activist, and lawyer. She has been Executive Director of the Sierra Club of Canada since 1989. She is a member of the Board of the International Institute of Sustainable Development and is former vice-chair of the National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy. In 1999, Dalhousie University created a permanent chair in her honour, the Elizabeth May Chair in Women’s Health & the Environment. She has receivednumerous rewards, including the United Nations Global 500 award and 2 honourary doctorates. She is the author of four books. In 2005, Elizabeth May was honoured to be appointed as an Officer to the Order of Canada. She is currently running for leader of the Green Party.

Sponsored by The Green Party, the event is free and open to the public; however, those planning to attend are asked to RSVP to Nancy Robertson 905-842-8126.

Come experience a more richly connected way of life in our world-renowned ecovillage and cohousing community in Ithaca, NY.

Enjoy a balance of nature connection, personal renewal and hands-on learning while:

There will also be time to create delicious meals from local foods, swim in our pond, and explore Ithaca's famous gorges. For more information, click here.

The Oil Depletion Protocol is an international agreement that will enable nations of the world to cooperatively reduce their dependence on oil. It was proposed by Dr. Colin Campbell, a prominent petroleum geologist and founder of the Association for the Study of Peak Oil and Gas (ASPO), in 2002.

By agreeing to reduce oil imports and exports by a specified amount each year, about 2.6 percent, signatory nations will help mitigate the negative consequences of an over-reliance on cheap oil and help prepare for a global decline in the world’s oil supply. The premise of the Protocol is inherently straightforward: oil importing nations would agree to reduce their imports by an agreed-upon yearly percentage, referred to as the World Oil Depletion Rate, while oil producing nations would agree to reduce their rate of production by their National Depletion Rate. This simple and sensible formula will produce, in effect, a global rationing system. If the entire world adopted the Protocol, global consumption of oil would decline by almost 3 percent per annum, thus stabilizing prices, preserving the resource base, and reducing competition for remaining supplies.

To read the Oil Depletion Protocol as drafted by Dr. Colin Campbell, click here.

LIGHT OBJECTS: A Design Competition On Sustainability
Presented by Dassault Systèmes

The impact of our exponentially escalating consumer culture on the environment has blossomed into a widespread and heavily discussed global concern. As the creators and innovators of the objects of consumption, designers have a great potential to influence, shape, and even redirect these trends.

Light Objects asks participants to submit design concepts--for any product, service or system--that are thoughtful, forward-looking, elegant and environmentally beneficial. Designers are encouraged to go farther than making their entries 'sustainable' or merely reducing the negative impact that production or use of an object has on the environment. Entries should push the concept of lightness in every way, from material selection and reduction to objects that actively improve our environment through use. The idea of "light objects" creates new opportunities for sustainable innovation in the future.

(Note: The focus of this competition is not about lighting or light fixtures, though such products may be entered; rather, we are looking for design solutions in all areas of human enterprise.)

Dassault Systèmes, is committed to furthering sustainable design practice, and this exhibition will highlight how their software tools can help designers reduce and track material usage, increase production efficiency, reduce energy consumption and promote design for disassembly. For this show, Dassault Systèmes is looking for 5 exemplary designs that lead the way in sustainability innovation

Winning designs will be realized into 3D models — complete with manufacturing considerations — and shared with the public in a 10-month symposium starting on October 17, 2006 at the Cité des Sciences et de l'Industrie of Paris.

Dassault Systèmes will work with winning designers to faithfully realize their entries, sharing modeling, manufacturing, and part geometry knowledge along the way.

Dassault Systèmes will be awarding US$9000 in prize money for the winning entries. In addition, experts from Dassault Systèmes will realize the winning entries using a variety of computer 3D modeling software packages, including CATIA for design and ENOVIA for specific Eco-Design practices (material tracking, extensive sourcing, regulatory compliance.

For complete details of how to enter, click here.