Big black spots on our reputation aside (you know who you are), communities throughout the province are working towards a more sustainable future. Just follow the map. _Natasha Mekhail
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1 Edmonton The capital is building a gasification facility with the potential to divert almost all of the city’s residential waste from landfills. The plant will convert non-recyclable and non-compostable material into a biofuel. |
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2 Hinton The first Canadian municipality to designate an “eco-industrial” zone. Hinton’s Innovista Eco-Industrial Park manages every aspect of its footprint from wastewater reclamation to wildlife migration routes. |
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3 County of Vermillion The county’s gas utility captures vented natural gas from oil wells before it’s released into the atmosphere. The gas, which would otherwise have been wasted, can then be used by households. |
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4 Okotoks Home of North-America’s first solar subdivision. The sun’s energy (with help from a borehole thermal energy storage system) provides the Drake Landing Solar Community’s 52 homes with 90 per cent of each house’s space-heating requirements. |
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5 Turner Valley In April, it became the first town in Canada to ban local food businesses from using Styrofoam. |
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6 Calgary The first city in Canada to implement a sustainable building policy for new construction. The program’s showpiece is the Water Centre, a brand new eco-architectural marvel that will pay itself off through energy savings in 15 years. |
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7 Coaldale The town followed an innovative plan to divert its storm-water runoff into manmade ponds complete with nesting islands to attract birds. Today the site is an avian rescue centre and a wildlife viewing area. |
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8 Municipal District of Pincher Creek The region is considered one of the nation’s best wind power regions. Its current total of 216 wind turbines produce approximately 225 megawatts of energy, enough to power tens of thousands of homes |
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Category: Work
